A few minutes later...
[Herrscher of Rice has sent a private Red Envelope to the Group Leader.]
Inside the Shackling Prison, Ling Ke clicked to receive it. Instantly, a woman's diamond ring materialized in his palm.
Bathed in the faint, eerie green light of the cell, Ling Ke briefly examined the quality of the item.
"Whoa, look at the size of this diamond. Sending this to—cough!"
He nearly broke character. Ling Ke narrowed his eyes. "Wait, is this a wedding ring?"
Upon closer inspection of the inner band, he noticed an inscription. Unfortunately, it was in Japanese. While Ling Ke could speak a bit of the language, he couldn't read the script. Don't ask—it was a natural side effect of binge-watching too much subbed anime without subtitles.
[Group Leader: Give me a few minutes.]
[Herrscher of Rice: Understood!]
In truth, Ling Ke didn't need any time at all to perform a so-called enchantment. The abstract ability Heaven-Rank Martial Skill: Ghost Possession only required the target to wear a ring gifted by him to activate. Even if that ring had been sent by the target just a second ago, it still counted.
It was essentially a logic exploit.
As for what would happen to Ling Ke's own body once the ability activated... well, his physical form would remain, but his soul would temporarily leave. During the activation of Ghost Possession, his soul would inhabit the ring worn by Raiden Mei. Once he forcibly seized control, he would enter her body.
"Why does that sound so incredibly sketchy?"
Ling Ke, purposely wasting time to pretend he was working his magic, couldn't help but mutter a complaint.
A few minutes later...
[The Group Leader has sent a private Red Envelope to Herrscher of Rice.]
Back in Nagazora City in the Honkai World, Raiden Mei quickly received the ring she had just sent out. She instinctively held it up to her eyes, inspecting it closely.
"It feels... like nothing changed?"
Mei was confused. "Is it because I'm just an ordinary person that I can't see the supernatural changes in this ring?"
That was her only guess. But despite her doubts, she was genuinely curious about the special powers this enchanted ring possessed. Without further thought, she raised her right hand and slipped it onto her middle finger—the one that felt most comfortable.
Evidently, at this stage of her life, Raiden Mei had very little knowledge regarding the language of romance. She had no idea that wearing a ring on a specific finger carried a distinct meaning.
At that exact moment...
"Hmm?"
Inside the Shackling Prison on the Xianzhou Luofu, Ling Ke felt a sensory connection click into place. The moment Raiden Mei put on the ring, he gained a medium through which he could trigger the forced possession effect of his abstract ability.
Even though the location of this node was further away than he could possibly imagine.
"Well then..."
The corners of his mouth curled up into a mischievous grin. "My little closet-chuuni girl... let me give you a bit of a lesson!"
With that thought, sitting alone in his cell, he slowly closed his eyes.
At that very same instant...
"!!!"
In Nagazora City, Raiden Mei was still gently stroking the diamond ring on her right middle finger, wondering why there were still no supernatural signs. She was just about to ask the Group Leader for more details in the chat when she suddenly found herself unable to move.
No, it wasn't that simple.
She realized that while her consciousness remained perfectly clear, her body was moving on its own. It was as if her physical self no longer belonged to her, and she had become a mere spectator in her own skin.
"This..."
"Don't panic. It's me."
A strange male voice echoed directly in her mind. Raiden Mei's consciousness, which had been spiraling into fear, froze.
"Are you... the Group Leader?"
"Correct."
The unfamiliar male voice seemed to respond with a smile. "Since this is our first meeting, allow me to introduce myself properly."
"My name is Lin Ke. I'm from the celestial lands of the Great Tang."
"I am also the Leader of the Dimensional Chat Group."
Hearing this...
"You... Sir... what exactly is happening right now?" Mei asked tentatively, her voice weak with uncertainty.
She was suddenly feeling a bit like the man who claimed to love dragons until he actually met one. Supernatural powers sounded cool in a chuunibyou fantasy, but they represented real danger and unknown variables. For instance, if this Lin Ke had malicious intent, she would be completely powerless to resist him.
Fortunately...
"Sorry if I scared you."
"However, consider this a small piece of advice, Miss Raiden Mei. They say some lessons are only truly learned through experience."
Ling Ke, using a homophonous pseudonym, spoke with calculated intent. "Remember, as a member of the Dimensional Chat Group, you must maintain a basic level of vigilance whenever you deal with the supernatural in the future."
"You must realize by now that if I were a malicious person, you would have lost your very body entirely."
"..."
Mei had to admit, the lesson was hitting home. She realized just how brainless her recent actions had been. She hadn't harbored a single shred of suspicion. She had only thought about how the Group Leader wanted to help her and how she would owe him a favor, so she followed his instructions to the letter.
"I... I understand, Mr. Lin Ke."
Mei's consciousness asked cautiously, "Then, could you please... leave for a moment?"
"I cannot!"
Ling Ke used a playful, wicked tone. "A lesson this short won't leave an impression that is truly carved into your bones."
No, believe me, I'm very impressed right now! Mei wanted to shout back.
But Ling Ke had used the cross-world possession for other reasons as well. He wasn't about to listen to her just yet. However, he didn't want to terrify her too much either.
"Let's try a different way of communicating!"
Now in complete control of Raiden Mei's body, Ling Ke attempted to activate another abstract ability.
The Tribbie Three.
As previously described, this ability allowed Ling Ke to split his controlled body into three—a form of cloning. However, in this state, all three bodies would revert to their original childhood forms.
The origin of this meme obviously stemmed from the three segments—Tribbie, Trianne, Trinnon—found within Omphalos in Star Rail. They were the surviving individuals of the original demigod Tribios, who had split herself into a thousand pieces in her early years. Their consciousnesses were linked; they were three children of destiny, yet also a single we.
And so...
"Yahallo~"
Inside the Raiden villa, following a flash of white light, the elegant girl with purple hair split into three. She became three small purple-haired loli-girls with single ponytails.
At this moment, because Ling Ke intentionally relaxed his authority over the three tiny bodies, he only maintained strong control over one of them.
As for the other two... one was naturally taken over by Raiden Mei's own consciousness. She remained in a state of total shock, her mind completely stalled as she tried to process the situation.
But as for the third body...
"Outsider, leave this place at once."
A soft, cute voice spoke, trying its best to sound majestic. "Otherwise... you will certainly die!"