Bzzz—
[Anchor point established, main node connected]
[Node No. 18: Honkai Universe (Honkai Impact 3rd)]
On the moon, Setsuna placed down a teleportation anchor.
This world was now connected to the Constantinople main node—
"Hm? Honkai Universe?"
The node name displayed on the holographic interface was somewhat curious.
It seemed that the current world was only one part of this universe.
Then—
"Anchor established, prepare for teleportation."
At his command—
"Bulin Engineering Team No. 31 reporting!"
With an energetic shout echoing from the holographic interface, the Bulin fleet passed through the teleportation anchor, breaking through the void and slowly descending into this universe.
"Materials sufficient, personnel sufficient, ready to begin construction, burin!"
Foreman Bulin excitedly reported to Setsuna.
"Go on."
Setsuna waved his hand.
Bulin piloted a ship, flying a bit further out into Earth's orbit.
From the cargo hold, they pulled out various materials and, at dazzling speed, began assembling a massive umbrella-shaped structure.
A space observatory.
In the sea of stars, this was a structure used by spacefaring civilizations to observe and study pre-spacefaring natives.
Suspended outside the planet's orbit, it concealed itself with optical camouflage—unless the natives broke past the atmosphere, it was nearly impossible to discover.
The observatory was fully equipped with living facilities, scientific research equipment, and basic self-defense systems—essentially a small research base.
Designed for researchers to live in long-term.
Building a full starbase here was too far-fetched, and leaving the science lolis on Earth was inconvenient.
An observatory was perfectly suited for long-term study.
"??"
Fu Hua watched with some confusion as Bulin worked in space, hammering away with such speed that afterimages were left behind.
She didn't know much about the space age, but her instincts told her that building in a vacuum with a hammer wasn't exactly… normal.
"Is that a robot?"
"This is the chaotic might of the Magical Shipping Route. You can visit the base sometime and see for yourself."
Setsuna answered.
Suddenly remembering something, he called over a special-colored Bulin.
"Can you make Divine Keys?"
"Hm?"
Bulin scratched her head.
"Bulin's never seen them, Bulin doesn't know. Do you have a blueprint for Bulin to look at?"
"Well, not at the moment. I'll have to reverse-engineer one later."
Setsuna thought for a moment, then waved Bulin off to continue working.
The Divine Keys required Herrscher cores. That meant he'd need to get them from the Cocoon of Finality—something that would take some effort.
Perhaps in the future, with Dr. Mei and Bulin working together, some interesting results might come.
He jotted it down in his memo as a to-do item, noticing Fu Hua's astonished look.
Clack—
Aside from the Bulins, hundreds of science lolis arrived by ship, accompanied by escort shipgirls, all landing aboard the Eternal Snowfall.
"Onii-chan! Are we doing research here this time?"
At the front, as always, was Kayo Senju. She and several lolis pounced on Setsuna, rubbing up against him.
"Hehe, looks like we're pretty useful to Onii-chan. No matter which world, you can't do without us."
"Yeah."
Setsuna rubbed the little loli's head.
He gave them a rough outline of the mission.
"This time, the main focus is researching Honkai energy in this world, as well as its mathematical laws, to try predicting and intervening in its future development."
"If possible, you can also study special weapons like the Divine Keys. But you must avoid too much contact with the local natives, and under no circumstances spread overly advanced technology to them."
"Got it!"
The shipgirls and lolis cheered, bustling happily around Setsuna.
Then they noticed Fu Hua standing nearby.
"Immortal Big Sister!!!"
The group of lolis swarmed her, leaving Fu Hua overwhelmed.
Normally, she maintained a detached nature, avoiding unnecessary emotions, and had long since distanced herself from mortals.
But when faced with such cute, lively little lolis, she couldn't possibly keep a stern face.
"Immortal Big Sister, can you use immortal arts?"
"Can you fly on a sword?"
"Can you teach me swordsmanship?!"
A group of little shipgirls and lolis crowded tightly around Fu Hua.
They were all very curious about the "Immortal" that Setsuna had spoken of.
Dressed in her cloud-ink robes, with an aura detached from the world, elegant and immortal-like, Fu Hua looked just like a reclusive master from a xianxia novel.
"Uh… well, the swordsmanship I practice is a bit different from what you imagine…"
Suddenly, she realized these little lolis were completely different from ordinary mortals.
Their physical qualities were astonishing. In terms of talent, they even far surpassed her own disciples.
"You are?!"
"Genetic Ascension."
Setsuna answered.
"They've all undergone genetic enhancement. You could say, like you, they're fusion warriors."
"Mm, though the Gastrea gene enhancement factor isn't as extreme as fusion warriors. They're researchers, so most enhancements focused on intelligence."
In the Previous Era, the MANTIS project was carried out to fight the Herrschers, fusing Honkai Beast DNA into humans to create stronger warriors.
Extracting superpower factors from Gastrea was not so different in principle.
The abilities of Honkai Beasts, however, were undeniably stronger than those of Gastrea. The empire's genetic technology here could be upgraded once again.
The science lolis rubbed their hands eagerly.
"Let's catch some Honkai Beasts and raise them on Mars!"
"Slice them up for study—didn't Muroto Sumire and Purifier love dissecting alien lifeforms?"
Their wild and dangerous suggestions left Fu Hua with a darkened expression.
"You're all scientists? Why are all the scientists of an interstellar empire little girls?!"
"That's just how the Starsea Empire is. You'll see more marvelous things in the future."
...
A few days later.
Outside Earth's orbit.
A space observatory dozens of kilometers wide, umbrella-shaped in structure, had been completed in orbit above Earth.
Fu Hua followed Setsuna and the shipgirls into the station aboard a shuttle.
The interior layout was simple yet futuristic, filled with experimental equipment she didn't recognize.
It was essentially a floating city in outer space.
Science lolis and Angeloids moved back and forth inside, clearly having already begun their work.
"This will be the base for researching the Honkai world from now on."
Grey explained.
"Our research focuses on three areas:"
"First, research Honkai energy. Analyze it, and if possible, attempt to create Herrschers or cultivate Honkai Beasts."
"Second, construct and simulate this world's mathematical model. This way, when carrying out large-scale time travel, there won't be deviations, and the right people will appear at the right place and time."
"Third, study the development of the natives. Organic social structures are quite interesting."
"..."
Fu Hua felt as if Earth had become like a monkey mountain, observed and studied after being caged by the Starsea Empire.
Her mood was more than a little complicated.
"The observatory is equipped with high-powered sensors. We also brought a sophon from the starbase. It can monitor every detail on Earth, all day, without blind spots."
A nanobot proudly activated the holographic interface.
[Sophon No. 21 is ready.]
[Now conducting real-time surveillance of Earth.]
Shwoosh—
A holographic projection of Earth was constructed before them.
"You… can monitor Earth from here?"
Fu Hua's eyes revealed curiosity.
"Of course. The sophon's monitoring precision can track down to every person, every movement."
"Even if you're bathing behind a closed door, it can live broadcast to the commander."
Grey casually cracked a dirty joke.
Whack—
The nanobot was smacked on the head, unsurprisingly.
"What's so interesting about watching the Immortal… flat and… ah, wait, is that really how the sophon should be used?!"
"???"
Fu Hua suddenly no longer felt like returning to Earth. She just wanted to stay at Setsuna's side and keep an eye on him.
This was, of course, to ensure the safety of Shenzhou—or so Fu Hua convinced herself.
"Well then, let's watch something proper."
Grey got up from the floor, tapped twice on the holographic interface, muttering:
"Sophon, show me the situation at Mount Taixuan."
"It's broad daylight now—surely no one's bathing, right?"
Shwoosh—
The projection of Earth zoomed in on the Eurasian continent, then further to within the borders of the Ming Empire.
Finally, the image fixed on a room atop Mount Taixuan.
The room was shut tight, but the sophon still projected the entire scene within.
Several young men and women in sect uniforms were gathered together.
"Fourth junior sister, you mustn't practice the Edge of Taixuan any further! You don't need to go this time…"
"Fall into demonic ways, and you must be slain! Fall into demonic ways, and you must be slain!! If Master finds out…"
A young woman was trying to dissuade the slightly younger girl beside her.
"We can beg Master for leniency, maybe…"
"Impossible. Master already has the demeanor of an immortal, never caring for mortal life or death. In her eyes, we are but fleeting pawns, discarded once used."
"She would never grant mercy. If discovered, we will surely die…"
The disciples whispered among themselves, breaking out into a restrained argument.
"!"
Fu Hua nearly slammed the table.
She had spotted faint traces of zombie transformation on her fourth disciple Jiang Wanxi from the projection.
"Wait."
Setsuna pulled her back.
During the Previous Era, Fu Hua had undergone the "Blade Mantra" modification.
It was a kind of hypnotic resonance designed to stimulate the human body to better adapt to Honkai energy.
But it also subtly altered one's mind, implanting powerful psychological suggestions, ultimately producing an obsession like a kind of madness.
Now, in a sense, Fu Hua was like that—her obsession being to fight the Honkai and guard Shenzhou.
Taken to extremes, it became "fall into demonic ways, and you must be slain."
At the slightest sign of Honkai corruption, no matter who it was, she would kill without hesitation.
The later tragedies of the School of Taixuan were inseparably linked to this.
"Let go."
Fu Hua's gaze was sharp as a blade, locking onto Setsuna.
"Don't be rash, your will has been influenced by the Blade Mantra."
"It's still treatable. I'll call Tohru, Mio, and Lucoa over to give you a triple consultation."
"I am not."
Fu Hua's voice was icy.
"You see, mental patients always claim they're not sick. The symptoms are classic."
Grey nodded in agreement.
"..."
Fu Hua realized that even if she tried to fight her way out of the station, it would be meaningless.
Just as she was about to argue further with Setsuna—
[Abnormality detected in observation target]
The sophon suddenly popped up an alert.
"?"
Setsuna tapped it casually.
The display shifted from Mount Taixuan to an endless grassland.
Fully armed, armored knights were marching.
Their ranks were orderly, their momentum imposing.
By the standards of the feudal era, this was undoubtedly a grand army.
On the army's flank—
A girl riding a horse, clad in Valkyrie-standard attire: a white fitted swallowtail coat with a black short skirt, gold-patterned white thigh-highs, and the insignia of Schicksal pinned at her chest.
She had white hair and blue eyes, her long braid trailing behind.
"Oh, so it's you."
Setsuna was momentarily stunned.
1475 AD, the Schicksal Crusade eastward.
Under the lead of Kallen Kaslana and her Valkyrie unit, they swept across the Eurasian continent.
Their blades pointed directly at the Ming Empire, with the decisive battle about to take place on the Kipchak Steppe.
The Immortal Phoenix, who should have made her great mark in this battle, was now idling in the space station.
"Tsk, looks like we'll have to step in."
"The history of the Honkai world—starting now, it's going to be rewritten."
—
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