At this moment, Chen Ran was unaware of Wendy and Raiden Mei's situation.
He had returned to Saint Freya ahead of Theresa and the others.
With Yae Sakura taking care of things, Theresa wouldn't run into any trouble. The poison of the Pseudo-Herrscher is very strong, but let's not forget, Theresa is Vishnu.
However, when it comes to the real Kiana and Sirin on the moon…
He didn't know how to face them.
At this time, he couldn't even hope for Otto.
Although Otto wouldn't leave a mess, the current Sirin holds multiple powers.
If he were Otto, he would definitely accelerate the emergence of the Herrscher until he stole the powers of control and binding before challenging Sirin.
That would be the best and fastest method.
And the only way to accelerate the emergence of the Herrscher is through a series of Major Honkai Eruptions.
Don't think Otto wouldn't do such a thing; after all feasible methods fail, accelerating the emergence of the Herrscher would definitely become Otto's choice.
Of course, Otto could have another option.
That is to cooperate with the World Serpent to open a passage connecting the Sea of Quanta with the world.
Chen Ran shook his head, casting aside unnecessary thoughts.
"The god-slaying spear is the best weapon against Sirin, but that doesn't mean having the god-slaying spear will suppress Sirin."
"After all, even when Himeko injected the serum into Kiana, she still needed to get close to Kiana first."
He still needed to find a way to get close to Sirin.
Chen Ran sat in his office, starting to map data on the computer.
"Hey, Chen Ran, it's time to get off work."
A colleague reminded him: "Are you still preparing lessons?"
"Yeah." Chen Ran replied to his colleague: "The students haven't been in the right state lately, I'm thinking about how to teach. You all go ahead, I'll lock the door."
"Okay."
Colleagues left one after another, and Chen Ran was lost in thought.
"So I still need a separate laboratory."
Chen Ran felt as if he couldn't avoid Theresa.
Oh, no, he had another option.
That was to contact someone from World Serpent.
If he wanted to avoid being discovered by Theresa, this was not a bad idea.
Chen Ran didn't know where Elysia was right now, but since World Serpent was under Kevin, they should also be aware of his existence.
At times like this, World Serpent could also become his ally.
The premise was to not let Jackal interfere casually.
However, that situation could be considered a last resort; if Jackal learned about the special Kiana, it was hard to guarantee she wouldn't have her own designs.
His eyes visibly showed his agitation until Hyperion returned to the airport.
…
…
"Should I trust him?"
Inside Hyperion, Kiana instinctively sought help from Bronya.
She had no friends at Saint Freya, apart from Theresa and Shigure Kira, she didn't know anyone else.
And regarding her encounter with Chen Ran, she instinctively felt she shouldn't tell her elders, so she subconsciously turned to Bronya, who had helped her before.
Bronya shook her head: "Bronya doesn't know, but Bronya can feel that he is very dangerous."
From the beginning, she had not been swayed by Chen Ran's words.
Kiana was a bit puzzled: "Very dangerous, does that mean he is lying?"
"Bronya thinks he should be telling the truth, just hiding some possible consequences."
She said directly: "If what he said is true, Kiana, you should be careful; you will be treated as a weapon against the Herrscher."
"If that's the case, it might actually be a good thing."
Kiana held back the words she didn't say.
The girl's eyes clearly showed she was weighing the pros and cons.
Bronya looked into Kiana's eyes, feeling a wave of worry rise in her heart.
For some reason, even though she had spent little time with Kiana, she felt the girl's face was very familiar.
As if she had seen her before.
But Bronya could be sure that no one named Kiana had been part of her life in the past.
She held onto her complex thoughts, waiting for Hyperion to land at the airport of the Eastern Branch.
Kiana couldn't wait to get off Hyperion, then heard someone calling her.
"Kiana."
"Aunt Kira."
Kiana looked at Shigure Kira and couldn't help but smile: "Aunt Kira, is there something you need?"
"Nothing much, just wanted to ask if you're adapting well to your first mission?"
Shigure Kira followed Hyperion's operation but did not take action.
Now she was an A-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal, capable of taking the S-rank exam, but she hadn't taken the assessment.
Cecilia was missing, and she needed to take care of Kiana in Cecilia's stead.
"I'm adapting well, don't worry about me, Aunt Kira." Kiana said seriously: "I've grown up, Aunt Kira."
"Alas, even though you've grown up, don't keep calling me Aunt, or I'll be very sad."
Shigure Kira paused, then walked up to Kiana, ruffling her hair: "Keep it up, be strong, everything will be fine."
"Mm."
A hint of determination shone in Kiana's eyes.
At that moment, she seemed to think of something and asked Shigure Kira: "Aunt Kira, I have something I want to ask you."
"Aunt Sirin became a Herrscher to find her mother, right?"
Shigure Kira hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Lady Cecilia disappeared in the imaginary space beyond the subspace, only the Herrscher of the Void can reach that place."
"But you shouldn't think about this, Sirin... sigh, even if she can control herself now, she won't come back."
Squad Snowwolf refused to participate in the hunt for Sirin.
But that didn't mean they would agree with Sirin's actions.
The casualties caused by Sirin were too great; even Shigure Kira couldn't find any good words to say to Sirin in this situation, nor could she adopt a positive attitude.
Kiana fell silent for a moment: "Then, people will definitely go to the moon, right?"
"Must go." Shigure Kira said firmly.
"People cannot leave their fate in the hands of the Herrscher's whims; this is everyone's consensus."
"I understand."
Facing Shigure Kira's words, she also made up her mind.
"Aunt Kira, I have something else to do, goodbye!"
Under Shigure Kira's surprised gaze, Kiana ran off.
Meanwhile, Bronya was among the students, watching Kiana talk to Shigure Kira and then leave.
She couldn't offer Kiana any effective advice, so she decided to give herself some more time to think.
…
…
That night, at the fountain square of Saint Freya.
Kiana bathed in the moonlight, her eyes showing a hint of agitation.
Until she heard footsteps approaching, she looked over and finally sighed in relief.
"Why did you take so long to come?"
Kiana frowned and said: "I really hate it when people are late."
Chen Ran sighed: "Don't mention it, I was looking for unnoticed factories all afternoon and evening."
He bluntly said: "I'm afraid I need to borrow some money from you."
"For what?"
"To buy equipment." Chen Ran said confidently.
When Hyperion arrived at Saint Freya, Kiana immediately found Chen Ran and agreed to this transaction.
Then, she felt she was about to be defeated by Chen Ran.
"Although we reached a preliminary understanding, we currently have no venue, insufficient funds, and need to purchase instruments." Chen Ran said confidently: "Schicksal's salary is too low, and I'm a moonlight clan."
After Kiana found him, he was indeed thinking about where to manufacture the God-slaying spear most appropriately.
However, he realized that unless he contacted Otto directly, there was no suitable place.
But in the end, he really thought of a place: a legitimate biological laboratory.
Collecting blood didn't require high equipment standards; a regular hospital or school laboratory could do it.
And extracting serum to make the God-slaying spear was the same.
With this idea, he found that he only needed to find a biological laboratory and obtain usage rights.
And such places wouldn't be lacking as long as there was money involved.
However, the system gave Chen Ran an identity but didn't match the corresponding funds.
Kiana: "..."
"I should still have some money left from my parents, but I don't know if it's enough."
"Don't worry, I've already negotiated; three days of usage rights for a private laboratory, twenty thousand dollars for four days." Chen Ran said directly, looking straight at her.
Kiana nodded, then used her communicator to transfer her money to Chen Ran.
"Okay, now everything is ready."
Chen Ran's eyes narrowed slightly as he grabbed Kiana's wrist: "Next, don't make a sound."
"And then, take off."
A strong wind swept in, and Kiana instinctively closed her eyes.
The wind howled in her ears, and Kiana was forced to keep her eyes shut, her heart secretly astonished.
Inside Schicksal, she had experienced flying before, but flying like Chen Ran, who could almost take off from the ground without any protective armor, was still a first for her.
She had too many questions she wanted to ask.
Chen Ran's background, his relationship with Cecilia and Sirin, his abilities...
But Kiana didn't ask any of these questions.
She was smart enough to sense that Chen Ran was a person with many secrets, and he wasn't wrong; using 100cc of blood to exchange for a possibility was indeed a very cost-effective deal.
Even if nothing happened in the end, she would only be contributing some blood.
She didn't trust Chen Ran; she just instinctively didn't want to seek more trouble.
Soon, Kiana felt herself land on the ground.
She opened her eyes and saw a desolate place.
Chen Ran smiled and said: "We can't fly directly over the city; otherwise, Schicksal would trace it back to the end. Just treat me as an illegal resident."
"But this place isn't far from the city; there's a good university nearby, and extracting and cultivating blood only requires a university laboratory."
Essentially, the biggest difficulty in making the God-slaying spear wasn't the manufacturing process but the raw materials.
Once the raw material issue was resolved, any legitimate biology graduate could manufacture the God-slaying spear.
The greatest achievement of the defector Dr. Magi from Schicksal wasn't because he manufactured Schariac's serum, but because he discovered the effects of Schariac's blood and mixed the best proportions.
By the time Kiana followed Chen Ran to the university's location, it was already two in the morning.
A cold wind blew, and she instinctively asked: "At this late hour, will there still be anyone?"
"Don't underestimate the allure of twenty thousand dollars."
For a university, twenty thousand dollars was just a small amount.
But what if the person he contacted was actually a laboratory administrator?
This money didn't need to be reported, so the profit would be his.
Chen Ran always knew where to start. Sometimes, the reason formal channels were slow was that they opened convenient doors for other channels.
Sure enough, someone was already waiting there.
"Why did you take so long to come? I thought you were messing with me."
"Twenty thousand dollars, you handle the identity, four days."
Chen Ran straightforwardly transferred the money.
The person immediately beamed with joy: "Don't worry, the biological laboratory hasn't been used for a long time; who among the current teachers and students still does experiments?"
A set of keys was handed to Chen Ran.
After the person left, Kiana instinctively said: "Can that person be trusted?"
"That's not important; he doesn't know Theresa."
Chen Ran smiled: "Twenty thousand dollars is not a small sum; why create trouble for an unexpected windfall?"
A complex look flashed in Kiana's eyes: "Whoever becomes your enemy will definitely suffer."
Although she didn't understand much about politics, Chen Ran's insight and manipulation of human hearts left her somewhat breathless.
Chen Ran casually said, "It's just some little knowledge to protect oneself. You don't need this; you just need to fight."
"Oh."
Kiana didn't press further.
In the night, they entered the laboratory.
After Chen Ran confirmed the instruments, he began the cleaning and disinfection work.
Kiana couldn't help, so she could only watch from the side.
She didn't dare to fall asleep; who knew what Chen Ran would do to her if she did.
Out of boredom, she started a conversation with Chen Ran: "You seem very familiar with this."
"Yeah, I make a living off this." Chen Ran didn't hide it, saying, "Don't doubt that I'm a half-baked expert, but I can't really provide you with any proof."
Kiana asked, "You're not from Schicksal, are you?"
"If I were from Schicksal, there would be no need to do this."
"How should I put it? I just know Theresa better." Chen Ran didn't answer whether he belonged to Schicksal, merely saying lightly, "From start to finish, she has never been a qualified leader, but she is a qualified parent."
Chen Ran still evaluated Theresa based on the plot.
He paused and said, "If she knew I was eloping with you in the middle of the night, Judah would be at the door in no time."
"Don't say it so ambiguously; it's not eloping."
Kiana turned her head and yawned.
She looked at Chen Ran and asked, "If the weapon you mentioned is made, can it really deal with the Herrscher?"
"No guarantees." Chen Ran said, "A weapon also needs someone to wield it."
Kiana thought of Chen Ran's ability to fly and then recalled the storm in Nagazora City.
She said, "Are you a Herrscher? Or do you have Herrscher's abilities?"
"I thought you would guess it a bit later."
Kiana shook her head: "Pseudo-Herrscher isn't uncommon, and there are indeed Herrschers with human thoughts. But if you have to fight Aunt Sirin, it should be quite difficult."
"It'll be difficult, but it has to be done. I can't just watch the world be destroyed, can I?" Chen Ran smiled and said, "Isn't your mother fighting for this too?"
Hearing Chen Ran mention Cecilia again, Kiana felt a bit dazed.
"Alright, it's time to draw blood."
Chen Ran held a needle, and Kiana extended her hand.
He simply tied Kiana's wrist with a rubber band, then disinfected it with alcohol and numbed the pain.
Crimson blood filled the syringe.
Chen Ran couldn't help but sigh; this should be the most expensive blood in the world.
Kiana's blood was something even Otto coveted greatly; it could be used for too many research directions.
One could say that Otto's restraint in not locking up the amnesiac Kiana for research was quite remarkable.
If it fell into Mobius's hands...
Chen Ran stopped thinking about that.
He began to set up the petri dishes, planning to quickly extract serum for mass production.
Without experiments and computer-assisted simulations, he needed to prepare different concentrations of serum to find the maximum effect.
Isolated Schariac blood was useless, or rather, while isolated Schariac blood could suppress Honkai Energy, at most it could only treat Honkai-related illnesses.
Otto had increased the concentration of Schariac blood in the serum researched by Dr. Magi to create the God-slaying spear.
He also needed to increase the blood concentration while ensuring the serum remained active.
This was the most troublesome part, and it was also something Dr. Magi hadn't researched back then.
Dr. Magi thought of using the serum to turn Valkyries into ordinary people, while Otto was more radical, wanting to turn Herrschers into ordinary people.
From this perspective, Valkyries and Herrschers were essentially no different; it was just a matter of how much Honkai Energy they controlled.
Kiana's eyelids fluttered as she listened to the sounds of Chen Ran manipulating the instruments, almost hypnotized.
She was already tired, and now with her blood drawn, sleepiness washed over her.
Kiana fell asleep directly.
When she woke up again, she found herself back in her room.
Vaguely, she heard a voice.
"Kiana, it's time to get up."
It was Shigure Kira.
She was slightly taken aback; how did she get back?
If it weren't for the needle mark on her wrist, she would even suspect that last night was just a dream.
"Aunt Kira, I understand."
Kiana's voice was a bit weak.
It wasn't until she looked in the mirror that she felt slightly relieved.
Her clothes hadn't been changed.
As Shigure Kira prepared breakfast, she said, "Kiana, why did you run outside late at night? If it weren't for Teacher Chen finding you and bringing you back, would you have stayed out all night?"
Kiana instinctively wanted to retort, "Clearly it was..."
She was so angry; it was clearly Chen Ran who took her out.
But thinking of what happened last night, she had to change her words: "I was feeling a bit down and then fell asleep."
Shigure Kira sighed, "Alright, alright, you go wash up first, and then attend class properly."
Kiana hesitated and looked at Shigure Kira.
"Aunt Kira, I want to leave here."
"Why? Is Theresa treating you badly?"
"No, I feel like my growth here is too slow. I want to join you, join Squad Snowwolf." Kiana said seriously, "I can become stronger."
However, at this moment, Kiana didn't know that beyond the world's veil, someone was watching her with complex eyes.
Bia exclaimed, "I knew it would be like this; all efforts are in vain."
Her voice was youthful yet pained, and Cecilia couldn't help but sigh, then looked at Durandal beside her.
Durandal softly said, "Even if the outcome is already determined, I still want to choose the process that leads to that outcome."
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