"You… who are you? Why do you look exactly like me?"
Wendy stared in disbelief as the girl who had suddenly appeared behind her — a girl who looked almost exactly like her — spoke. Wendy's face was full of incredulity. She had no idea who this stranger was or what her purpose might be. One thing she did know for sure: a girl who looked like her could not be an ordinary person — there were Honkai beasts and berserk soldiers everywhere here; no normal civilian would be wandering in a place like this.
"You ask who I am? Hm… whatever, it doesn't matter. We're comrades, after all. Wendy — my name's Wendy, too."
Casually pushing a wheelchair down the empty street, Su Mo answered the Honkai-world Wendy's question. As soon as the system teleported him into Honkai: Star Rail/3's world, he'd come straight to where she was — the first step of the body-swap plan was to abduct the original. Only by taking her away without interference could he complete the swap. Kiana and the others would arrive soon enough.
Two Herrschers appearing at once — that should make the switch look believable. The only worry was whether the real Herrscher in that world would notice anything.
"Wen… Wendy? Who… are you? Why are you impersonating—"
"Alright, nap time for now~ my comrade~"
Su Mo knocked the Honkai Wendy out before she could ask more questions; he couldn't be bothered to explain the tedious details. Then he tucked her into the special pocket-space the system provided and sat down in the wheelchair, waiting for the arrival of the locals. The system would broadcast a phantom signature of a Desire Gem from his body, so the Honkai protagonist team wouldn't have trouble finding him. As for the real Desire Gem inside the original Wendy… the system made sure no one could detect it.
"According to the detector, this is the location. But there's nothing here. Are our sensors broken?"
After clearing out nearby Honkai beasts and berserk soldiers, Raiden Mei frowned at the empty surroundings. Kiana had said the ship's detector could pinpoint the Desire Gem's location; yet when they arrived, there was nothing to be seen. That left them perplexed.
"Mei-nee, wait." Bronya called, spotting something on her instrument.
"What is it, Bronya?"
"Life scanner shows a living presence fifty meters to the east."
Mei looked at Bronya's screen and then up toward the east. Not far off, a girl sat in a wheelchair: short hair, black outside with a blue-green tint inside, hair tips slightly upturned.
"You alright?" Mei asked as she approached.
"I'm fine."
Wendy turned the wheelchair to face them idly and smiled at Mei and Kiana. Truthfully, if she hadn't had the wheelchair to pass the time, she might have stood up and gone to meet them; this place was boring.
"It looks like you found your target."
Himeko's face appeared on the comms suddenly — she was watching the feed and spoke to them.
"Target? We were supposed to find the Desire Gem. But instead all we've found is this girl."
Mei frowned. They still hadn't located the Desire Gem.
"Because the Desire Gem is inside me."
Before Himeko could reply, Wendy cut in and explained matter-of-factly.
"Oh." Mei's expression changed as she finally understood.
"Let me explain… hm?"
Himeko's voice on the Hyperion's console stuttered and the team noticed something odd.
"What's wrong, Major Himeko?" Mei asked.
"The detector is picking up Honkai energy—this is the signature of the Desire Gem within Wendy? Wait—the intensity is rising. 1500 HW… 2000 HW… what's happening?"
On the Hyperion's display, Himeko watched the measured Honkai energy spike higher and higher. Her face tightened.
"What does all this boring noise mean? But… what would the number be if I unleashed everything? Hm~ why am I indulging such dull curiosities… nevermind. Finish the mission quickly so that annoying one stops nagging me."
Wendy munched something and muttered to herself, bored.
"W-Wendy… Miss Wendy, what… what are you saying?"
Mei was bewildered — she couldn't make sense of Wendy's casual tone.
"This energy signature… Wendy, have you already unlocked the Desire Gem? Or is the Honkai crystal controlling you?"
Himeko watched Wendy hover above the battlefield on the feed and couldn't decide which possibility was worse. Either way, the response level was already Herrscher-grade; she ordered Mei and the others to retreat immediately.
"Kiana? You're Kiana, right? Come with me. We're comrades."
Alarm bells rang in Himeko's head — Wendy had targeted Kiana.
Just as Himeko was about to order a full pullback, Wendy floated toward Kiana with the empty cheer of someone offering a hand. Kiana had no idea what Wendy intended.
"What do you want to do?" Kiana demanded, tense.
"Take you with me… hm? Boring folks are showing up. Huh — a bunch of scrap metal."
Wendy glanced to the distance with obvious disdain.
Schicksal Headquarters
"Fourth Herrscher? Then send Yulandeil."
"Yes, Lord Otto!"
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