No.
She was thinking too far ahead.
It was better to deal with the trouble in front of her first, then see how things developed afterward.
"Is it very serious?" Jyahnar lowered her head in thought before saying, "It's not that serious, really. They can only use a bit of Honkai energy. They haven't fully transformed into Honkai creatures. They still need to maintain a balance between the two powers."
If they hadn't completely transformed into Honkai creatures and still had to maintain equilibrium between two forces, then it was impossible for them to wield Honkai energy beyond their own limits.
It did increase their strength.
But it wouldn't be a qualitative change.
Kiana wanted to say something, but then she remembered that Jyahnar wasn't human—and had never considered herself human.
She only cared about Kiana.
Everything else meant nothing to her.
Perhaps there was no need to explain.
"I've become the true Herrscher of Finality, Jyahnar. Is there anything you want to tell me?"
Kiana remembered that Jyahnar knew more about Honkai than she did. She wanted to see if she could learn something useful from her.
Jyahnar tilted her head slightly, looking puzzled. "That was inevitable. Are you asking what to do next?"
"Mm!" Kiana nodded, curious about her answer.
"Expand your territory," Jyahnar said without hesitation. "Take over more worlds like this one."
Kiana: "..."
"Why would that be necessary?" Acheron asked, frowning.
"It's the simplest and most direct method," Jyahnar replied calmly. "Only worlds that have been completely assimilated by Honkai can continuously convert Honkai energy over the long term. Izumo has already been fully assimilated. Kiana, you now possess the Honkai energy of an entire world."
"I'm planning to give the people of this world a bit of assistance—to grant them the power of the badges."
Kiana deliberately changed the topic.
The day Acheron cleared the Stigmata trial, she had fully taken control of Izumo.
The Honkai energy of that entire world now resided within her. Because the laws of Izumo had been completely rewritten by Honkai, she had also completed her transformation into a Herrscher.
Her soul had entered a strange place.
She could no longer clearly remember what had happened there.
Everything felt blurred.
Like a dream.
When one wakes from a dream, what occurred within it becomes like flowers in a mirror or the moon reflected in water—impossible to grasp, impossible to see clearly.
Only the golden gem she had held in her hands.
That impression remained vivid.
But whenever she tried to recall what it truly was, her memory grew hazy, as though veiled in mist.
And the forgetting had allowed her body to gradually return to normal, no longer carrying that sensation of being bound within herself.
She had vague thoughts about it.
But as before, it was too early to dwell on them.
Jyahnar nodded indifferently.
As Kiana's companion Honkai Beast—born from the first mark Honkai left upon this world—Jyahnar knew quite a lot.
Sooner or later,
Kiana would reach the end.
"Jyahnar, do you have any suggestions?" Kiana continued, explaining her idea in detail.
"...The Stigmata on those humans weren't given by you. If you want to achieve the effect you're aiming for, it will be troublesome."
After hearing Kiana out, Jyahnar looked somewhat disappointed. She had no real advice, nor any way to help.
"Looks like I'll have to ask Ruan."
Kiana wasn't particularly disappointed. She hadn't truly expected to get a useful answer from Jyahnar in the first place.
She would experiment on her own first.
In the blink of an eye, two days passed.
During those two days, Kiana tried various methods to link the badges with the Stigmata and achieve the effect she wanted.
She thought that if she truly hit a dead end, she would ask Ruan Mei. After all, Ruan Mei was busy. She couldn't run to her every time she had an idea.
She also remembered the unexpected incident that had occurred when she first developed teleportation. She wanted to see if she could replicate it.
What if she had another dream?
What if her idea became reality again?
But after two days, she still had no clear direction.
Just as Jyahnar had said, the Stigmata on the people of Belobog had formed through Honkai resistance derived from the energy Ruan Mei had released.
In essence, they were imitations of the Stigmata she had purchased.
They possessed similar effects, but they were not system-produced.
That morning,
Kiana was in the old laboratory as usual, pondering solutions, when she received a message from Stelle.
[Stelle: We caught someone!]
[Stelle: Rivet Town. Get here ASAP!]
"It took them two days to catch someone. They hid themselves pretty well. But Rivet Town?"
Kiana put away her phone. She had tried several approaches while sitting there, none of which had yielded satisfying results.
Maybe going out for a walk would spark some inspiration.
And she was genuinely curious.
Was this really what she suspected? Was it connected to those scholars who had studied Honkai energy on Kasbelina-VII?
Calling Acheron over, Kiana headed straight for Rivet Town. Over the past two days, Acheron had been staying by her side the entire time.
Kiana needed someone to assist her.
Following the address Stelle had sent, Kiana quickly found them—and several IPC employees lying on the ground, knocked out.
"Over here!" Stelle waved at them, then pointed at the people on the ground. "We tailed them for days and finally found solid evidence!"
"You guys..." Kiana looked surprised—especially when she noticed the child Seele was comforting. "Did you catch them in the act?"
"You bet!" March 7th said indignantly. "These guys were actually trying to kidnap people and sell them off. Absolutely unforgivable!"
Among the people sprawled on the ground, Kiana spotted the familiar face of the so-called fan she had met before—now unconscious.
"It's him," Acheron said, recognizing the man Kiana had suspected.
"Looks like my guess wasn't far off."
Welt and Himeko had been busy these past two days communicating with Herta and negotiating with Belobog's authorities.
They hadn't had much time to spare.
"Does anyone have Topaz's contact information?" Kiana looked up. "She's their superior. If we inform her about what happened here, she should be able to locate the people who've already gone missing."
"Will that work?" Seele was full of distrust toward these people. "Aren't they all in the same group?"
"It should help," Kiana said calmly. "Don't worry. With us and the Astral Express crew here, even if the IPC tries to wriggle out of it, they'll have to consider whether offending the Express—and us—is worth protecting a few pieces of trash."
"I have her contact," Stelle raised her hand. She had met Topaz several times before and had gotten along with her fairly well. She didn't believe Topaz was that kind of person. "I'll tell her what's going on."
Stelle pulled out her phone, snapped a photo of the people on the ground, and quickly summarized the situation, urging Topaz to come over as soon as possible.
No matter what,
Now that they had uncovered this, it was no longer a small matter. The IPC had to give a satisfactory explanation.
...
Topaz arrived quickly.
The message Stelle had sent her was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.
Knowing that the Astral Express crew intended to invite Herta over, Topaz had spoken with her superiors and decided to remain for a while longer, using the excuse of assistance to observe how things developed.
She also wanted to see what exactly it was
That could attract one genius after another.
She hadn't expected that before any genius arrived, she would first receive news about the fools under her command.
Kidnapping ordinary civilians out of boredom?
And being caught red-handed by the Astral Express crew, with both culprits and evidence present?
You went through all that effort to get into the Interastral Peace Corporation just to do something that disgraces the company's name?
The veins on Topaz's forehead throbbed visibly.
This was the kind of thing even interstellar pirates wouldn't bother doing, yet it had occurred among the people she brought on this business trip.
In her entire life, she had never seen such "geniuses" who seemed to have forgotten to bring their brains with them.
Rushing to the scene, she immediately saw the men tied up tightly on the ground, several of them still unconscious.
Topaz's vision darkened.
The last sliver of hope in her heart died.
"I apologize for the trouble this has caused. It was my failure to properly supervise my subordinates that led them to commit such a deranged act." The first thing Topaz said upon arrival was an apology.
No matter what, she had to stabilize the situation first.
"Once they wake up, I will make them confess the whereabouts of the remaining victims and give all of you a satisfactory explanation!" Her gaze remained fixed on the men, her expression grim, her voice like shards of ice. "As for these scum who have tarnished the company's reputation, what awaits them will be the IPC's harshest punishment. They will spend the rest of their lives on a prison planet!"
Better to face a strong enemy than incompetent allies.
Topaz was furious enough to tear them apart herself, but she had to suppress her temper and salvage the company's image.
If this had only involved Belobog's residents, it would have been manageable.
Handle it properly, offer compensation, and it could be resolved.
But this matter involved not only the IPC and Belobog.
It would greatly affect her—and the IPC's—reputation in the eyes of the Nameless.
That was the real loss.
The unforgivable part.
Why had she made concessions during earlier negotiations?
Wasn't it precisely to give face to the geniuses and the Nameless?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
"Director Topaz, I have a question," Kiana said, watching Topaz's face darken with rage. "The person who sent Kado to test me two days ago—was that you, or someone else?"
"Two days ago? Test you?"
Topaz looked stunned.
Though she had never met Kiana in person before, the IPC was no slouch.
An incident had occurred on Jarilo-VI under her jurisdiction, and since she had decided to use this planet as a favor, she had thoroughly investigated how many parties were involved behind the scenes.
Two days earlier, one of her confidants had seen Kiana traveling with Acheron and reported it to her.
Topaz had looked into Kiana as a result.
So she was not entirely unfamiliar.
Now, hearing Kiana's words, Topaz's expression darkened even further.
So among the people she brought on this trip, some harbored ulterior motives.
And who knew who they had been colluding with.
Her face was extremely grim, barely suppressing the volcanic fury about to erupt as she said, "I apologize. That was my negligence."
"Then it seems this has nothing to do with you," Kiana said, glancing at the man on the ground. "He's from Kasbelina-VII. I happened to spend some time in that world before."
Topaz took a deep breath, afraid she might truly lose control and kill someone.
She had investigated Kiana and naturally knew about what had happened on Kasbelina-VII.
Within the IPC, those records were accessible.
After all, Ruan Mei had gone there.
There were internal records of Robin being shot as well. The company's information network was exceedingly powerful.
Because of the unusual phenomena that had once appeared there, the IPC had even invested a sum of funds—though those anomalies hadn't lasted long.
Kiana was associated with Ruan Mei.
Testing her without reason—and getting exposed at that—was no different from slapping Ruan Mei in the face.
Not to mention that this Miss Kiana herself was highly mysterious.
She was no soft persimmon to be squeezed at will.
There was also the latest intelligence.
From Xianzhou.
The Miss Acheron standing beside Kiana belonged to a wandering merchant faction known as the Ark, suspected to be an Emanator of Nihility, currently establishing diplomatic relations with Xianzhou.
The person she had casually mentioned—someone whose mere presence could bring a new disaster to this world—was none other than Kiana, who had a good relationship with Ruan Mei.
The Nameless of the Astral Express had also come to this world at Kiana's request.
The more Topaz thought about it, the colder her heart became.
Even if this matter had nothing to do with her personally, she could not escape responsibility.
After all, these people had come here with her.
In name, they were her subordinates.
"Miss Kiana, the IPC will definitely provide you—and those who were abducted—with a reasonable explanation and a satisfactory resolution."
"What about the people who were taken?"
Seele suddenly spoke up.
She didn't care about anything else. What she cared about most right now was where those kidnapped residents were.
"Are they alive or dead? What exactly were you planning to do with them?"
A satisfactory resolution?
Seele didn't believe a word of it.
Even though others had said Topaz would provide an explanation, in her eyes, all these IPC people were fundamentally the same—cut from the same cloth.
Would they really be punished?
Seele was skeptical.
Wasn't it just a matter of them saying whatever they pleased?
Finding the victims was what mattered most.
"Yeah! Where did they take the missing people?" March 7th demanded.
Topaz looked at the men again. Her expression was still grim, though no longer as dark as when she first arrived.
It wasn't that she wasn't angry.
But right now, she had to give the victims an answer and stabilize the situation.
She could not afford to lose her temper.
"You heard them," Topaz said coldly. "What exactly is going on? Who ordered you to do this?"
"You went over my head to carry out something like this. Are you so bored with your lives?!"
"It's not my fault, Director Topaz! I didn't know anything—I was just following orders!"
"Yes, Director! We had no idea you weren't informed. If we'd known, even with ten times the courage, we wouldn't have dared to do this!"
That sounded suspiciously like they were shifting the blame onto her.
Topaz's face darkened again.
"Shut up! Tell the truth. Who instructed you to do this?"
"It was Commissioner Kado!"
"Kado told us to capture them. He said they were materials requested by the Guild. We don't know anything else!"
Kado.
The Intelligentsia Guild.
Topaz ground her teeth silently, her gaze landing on the man who had been beaten the worst—still unconscious.
"Where are the people you took? Return them immediately!"