Chapter 85: Where's Fu Hua?

[Mainline Task: Requiem for the Sinful Insects has begun...]

[Act One of the Mainline: Arc City Meteor has begun...]

[Act One - Arc City Meteor: Identify and resolve the hidden crisis in Skyfall City.]

[After completing Act One, the assist function will be automatically activated... (Quickly use righteous group beating on TA!!!)]

[After completing the first act of the mainline task, rewards will be provided based on the evaluation...]

....

"Get out of here!!!" The voice of the Queen of the Void echoed in her ears, and Sirin's spirit was a bit confused. Everything around her seemed to freeze.

The flickering lights outside the window no longer twinkled, pedestrians on the street stopped moving, and even the black-haired young man sitting on the bedside telling stories did not move. The soothing and gentle voice disappeared, and the hand flipping the book also paused in mid-air.

Sirin was stunned for a moment, and everything around her seemed to fade away, losing its color. The Queen of the Void appeared from somewhere, glared at her angrily, her golden eyes filled with resentment.

The girl couldn't help but become alert, preparing for battle.

"Get out of here!" The Queen of the Void waved her hand, and Sirin's vision became chaotic again. The field of vision began to darken...

In the end, Sirin's gaze fell on the Queen of the Void, and she couldn't help but feel puzzled.

At this moment, the Queen of the Void did not seem to be in a normal state. Her eye sockets were slightly red, and there were tears in the corners of her eyes. It was obvious that this was not caused by anger...

The girl couldn't help but wonder. Wasn't the Queen of the Void finally finding her flaws, driving her out of her memory, and turning her world into darkness?

But suddenly, in the darkness, a beam of light appeared. Although the light was not bright, it was particularly eye-catching in this darkness. Without much thought, Sirin rushed towards the light, extending her hand toward the light.

Sirin woke up, opened her eyes, and saw the face of a familiar yet unfamiliar boy, with black hair and pitch-black pupils, a typical Eastern face.

Chase.

This is the name that Kiana naturally remembered. She had seen this young man in Sirin's memories. Although he looked a bit older than the one in her memories, Kiana had a premonition that the young man in her memories and the one in front of her were the same person, not twins who just looked alike.

"Ahem, miss, is there something you need?" The young man in front of her, Chase, smiled awkwardly, then looked down at the hand she was holding.

Following Chase's gaze, Kiana realized that she had grabbed his hand at some point. Her cheeks reddened slightly, and she quickly withdrew her hand, pretending to be composed. "Uh, who are you?"

"I'm Chase, a passing Kamen rider." Chase smiled and introduced himself.

Kiana nodded inwardly, confirming her suspicion, but she found it strange. Why did she feel an inexplicable closeness the moment she saw Chase? What was going on?

Without giving Kiana much time to ponder, Chase, after introducing himself, started asking her questions.

"So, miss, what's your name?"

"I'm..." Kiana paused for a moment, hesitating. Even though she felt an odd closeness to the young man in front of her, she couldn't blindly trust a stranger just because of that. Kiana was no longer the grasshopper who relied on companions for everything.

After some thought, Kiana slowly spoke, "I'm Theresa."

She couldn't reveal her real name as she was wanted.

Kiana initially thought about using Sirin's name, but considering that Chase seemed to be Sirin's brother, she didn't want to take unnecessary risks.

A person's life of wandering leaves plenty of room for trial and error.

Chase, upon hearing her response, was momentarily stunned but quickly recovered, not showing any sign of his confusion. "Alright, Miss Theresa, can I address you like that?"

"Feel free," Kiana replied. She gave Chase a deep look. His eyes were clear, like a pristine lake, without any impurities.

Chase then opened the simulation panel and noticed that the main quest's target was blinking above Kiana's head. He was momentarily speechless.

[Quest Target—Kiana Kaslana (Bound, Cannot Be Modified)]

Theresa???

Chase's mind was in a whirlwind. He thought his hearing was fine; he did hear the name Theresa. Moreover, Kiana confirmed it herself. That made things simple.

Although Kiana and the simulator had to be linked, Chase trusted the simulator, which was far more powerful than he was, a bit more. His trust in the simulator grew when he remembered his interaction with Otto's avatar.

Even though Kiana didn't recognize Chase in this world, it didn't prevent her from acknowledging him as her brother, given her memories of Sirin. However, what bothered Chase was that he didn't know the current state of the world. He had just arrived and felt like a fish out of water.

[Year 2017]

This was what Chase found on the electronic device screen in this shabby room.

The time span was quite extensive, and Chase found it challenging to organize the information. The first and second simulations were both around the year 2000, and neither had experienced such a long period.

One was activated prematurely, and the other was sent directly. Overall, Chase did not have a memory gap between the year 2000 and 2017. He had simulated and experienced the events of both times.

Although the main task was to find and resolve the crisis in Arc City, Chase found it challenging to move forward without more information about the current world. He suddenly missed the hacking talent from the first simulation.

Arc City, despite Chase's short stay, had already given him a basic understanding. A city of technology, filled with glimpses of mechas and cyberpunk-style buildings, indicating its uniqueness.

If he had the [Hacker] talent, finding information wouldn't be a problem. Chase had forgotten to ask Welt about what happened after 2000, a big mistake.

Chase made up his mind. After this mission, he would ask Welt for a detailed account of how the world fell apart. Even if subsequent events changed significantly due to his interference, at least he wouldn't be in the dark.

But now was not the time for self-pity. Since Kiana was bound to the main quest, it was undoubtedly related to her. Chase just needed to follow her, and a solution would present itself.

Looking at Kiana, who was scrutinizing the room with caution, Chase couldn't help but smile. "Miss Theresa, do you want some water?"

"Oh, okay, thank you," Kiana subconsciously responded, only to suddenly realize that she had just agreed?

Isn't that too careless? Come on, Kiana, you can't be like this!

Show some spirit!

"Gurgle~" A timely, inappropriate growl emanated from her stomach. Kiana heard the sound, looked at Chase, and saw his helpless expression, as if he wanted to laugh but forcibly restrained himself. Her face turned a bit red.

Kiana understood. Despite her desire to be spirited, it seemed her stomach had a different opinion.

They say, when you can't fight hunger, fight for dignity. Kiana's stomach opted for dignity over fighting hunger.

Kiana lowered her head, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

Chase sighed and muttered, "This is a bit tricky. Let me see if I can find something."

This room was a temporary find for Chase. Due to the sudden Honkai outbreak, residents nearby who hadn't turned into zombies and hadn't been killed by Honkai Beasts had mostly fled. After clearing the Honkai Beasts in the area, Chase found a relatively intact house as a temporary shelter.

The water was bottled mineral water stored in the refrigerator. As for food, while there were raw materials in the fridge, with no water, electricity, and gas now, Chase found it challenging to cook anything.

In Kiana's somewhat awkward gaze, Chase searched around and finally found a somewhat intact package of bread. The plastic wrap on the outside was undamaged. After habitually checking the production date, Chase tore open the packaging and handed it to Kiana:

"This is all we have. Make do with it."

Kiana hesitated for a moment, looking at the bread in front of her, suppressing the urge to reach out.

Maintain composure, be composed! Can't afford to be so careless again!

"What's wrong, Miss Theresa? Do you want me to feed you?" Chase chuckled. "I don't mind, but are you sure, Miss Theresa?"

"No, no need," Kiana suddenly remembered the scene from her memory where she was fed by Chase and couldn't help feeling a bit embarrassed.

Although the girl being fed in her memory was indeed Sirin, she had experienced it in a virtual reality setting...

Pushing aside the complicated thoughts in her mind, Kiana took the bread handed by Chase and started eating.

Forget about maintaining composure; let's talk about that next time...

Remember what someone said, right? People are like iron, and meals are like steel; skipping one means feeling hungry.

(TN: Is this canon?)

After finishing a few bites of the bread, Kiana licked her lips, feeling her stomach somewhat filled but still with room to spare. She was a bit reluctant because it had been a long time since she had eaten a proper meal.

To this, Fu Hua, who had been wandering with Kiana in the city of Sky for so long, would say that following Kiana meant going hungry three days out of nine. Although the current Fu Hua didn't have time to say such things, she had long been too busy.

Just as Kiana was hesitating whether to eat more, another unwrapped bread was handed to her. Kiana was stunned for a moment, then continued to take the bread and eat.

Feeling a bit warm inside, Kiana didn't know why, but she quickly suppressed that feeling.

"Do you want more? Miss Theresa," Chase asked after Kiana finished eating.

It must be said that even though he knew Kiana's identity, Chase called her Miss Theresa without the slightest blush. After all, he often wore Otto's disguise himself.

Although he knew Kiana's identity, Chase called her Theresa without hesitation. After all, he often wore Otto's avatar himself.

Kiana shook her head, her deep blue eyes staring into Chase's eyes as if she wanted to peer into his thoughts. Despite her fierce appearance, it would be better without the somewhat pale complexion. Kiana now looked intimidating, and her gaze was quite vigilant, but Chase wasn't afraid. Instead, he felt that the Kiana before him was more like a little fierce kitten.

Kiana asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Chase," Chase replied.

"Who are you really?" Kiana continued to inquire.

"Just a passing Kamen Rider," Chase responded confidently.

"I don't believe an ordinary person can rescue me from the Honkai Beasts," Kiana's eyes displayed a mix of vigilance and confusion. If Chase was indeed Sirin's brother from her memory, then what was his purpose in getting close to her?

It might be better to leave her alone. In that case, the Herrscher of the Void would naturally recover, and there would be no need to save her at all.

However, if the person in front of her was truly Sirin's brother, he would be in his thirties now. What was the deal with this youthful version that appeared to be about the same age as her?

Kiana's mind was a bit chaotic.

"I told you, I'm just a passing Kamen Rider. Don't underestimate the Kamen Rider, you jerk!" Chase retorted, suddenly becoming agitated, resembling an Ultraman fan who was told there was no light in the world.

"But Kamen Rider is a tokusatsu drama from the Far East, so it's fake," Kiana shook her head, continuing to question.

"But I am a real Kamen Rider. I even have a Door-Ju (gun) and Handle-Ken (sword)!!!" Chase asserted.

"Where is it?" Kiana smiled softly, continuing her inquiry.

"...It was taken away by the main villain," Chase looked sad and angry.

Kiana just smiled, silently staring at Chase with an expression that said, "Are you kidding me?" Her eyes were full of disbelief and mockery.

Chase lost interest in continuing the joke. He withdrew his previous sad and angry expression, putting on the familiar smile that Kiana recognized from Sirin's memory.

"Feeling better now, Miss Theresa?"

Kiana was stunned. Indeed, as the other party said, after the recent argument, she seemed less pessimistic than before. Was his behavior intentional or...

Kiana didn't know, so she wanted to seek help from her friends.

"Monitor? Monitor? What do you think?" Kiana called Fu Hua in her heart.

But after waiting for a long time without Fu Hua's reply, she couldn't help but become a little anxious.

"Monitor?!"

Even after waiting for a long time and not receiving Fu Hua's response, Kiana felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

What's going on with the Monitor?