Bronya stood on the bank of the River Thames, her thoughts drifting as she gazed at the truly spectacular locomotive.

The surrounding crowds had long since been forcibly dispersed by the Suggestion Field; thus, she was the only one here.

She was waiting for someone.

It had been some time now since her boss had taken the Armed Puppet and entered the world bubble of one of the Previous Era's Forerunners.

Forerunners were monsters; that much was certain.

And her boss was in there, negotiating with a Forerunner who had lived for tens of thousands of years, hoping to obtain Seele's precise coordinates from him.

Next, the boss would find the Sovereign to open the so-called "X-10" Laboratory, and then step into the Sea of Quanta.

He was really... giving it his all.

Bronya thought silently, her heart growing ever more lost.

How could she ever repay everything she owed him?

With work, her body, or her feelings?

After pondering for a long time without an answer, she stared ahead, quietly waiting for the young man who was a little too tolerant of her to return.

Time trickled by, and the sun in the sky moved from its zenith towards the west, giving rise to a vivid sunset glow.

Soon, the twilight began to blur, and the sky, once piled high with sunset clouds, gradually faded, losing its color.

Her boss still hadn't returned.

Did something happen?

Bronya's heart grew frantic.

In her impression, her boss was a nearly omnipotent person. As long as he was willing to act, there was almost no obstacle he couldn't overcome.

Although the boss seemed a bit carefree, his mind was actually very sharp, and he was very good at managing his time.

Since he had taken her for lunch and then had her wait for him here, his expected timeframe should not have been too long; one could even say it should have been very short.

So, why hadn't he returned yet?

Feeling that the situation had taken an unexpected turn, Bronya clenched her fists, her expression shifting again and again.

The boss might have run into trouble.

Even though she had long guessed that the boss's actions could be very dangerous, it was only when she realized the problem was happening right before her eyes that she understood the severity of the matter.

The boss had fallen into danger because of her, and she had to find a way to rescue him.

Even though she was exceptionally anxious, Bronya still maintained a rather calm and composed line of thought.

It would be useless for her to go in.

The enemy was a remnant from the Previous Era, the strongest warrior capable of restricting her boss. She, a noob who only had the strength of an A-rank Valkyrie even with all her weapons unlocked, would only get in the way.

Therefore, the next step was to contact someone who could help.

There weren't many figures capable of fighting a super-soldier from the Previous Era. Only characters like her own Anti-Entropy's Sovereign, Welt, or the ace Valkyries from the opposing Schicksal could be of assistance.

Vaguely remembering that her boss had some form of pact with both Lord Sovereign and Schicksal, Bronya took a deep breath.

If she made a direct request, the boss would definitely be extorted, or even have stones dropped on him while he was down.

She had to think of a reasonable way to trick the Sovereign and Schicksal's top Valkyries into the Second Divine Key.

And then—

Just as Bronya was pondering how to find reinforcements, a figure leaped out from the Second Divine Key.

"Good afternoon, Bronya."

The young man, his eyes a vivid red, greeted the girl who had already taken out her communication device, preparing to call for support.

There were no wounds on his body, but his expression was much more fatigued than it had been at noon.

Like vines climbing into her heart, squeezing it tight, Bronya's mood sank lower and lower.

The boss really did run into trouble.

And those problems should have been borne by her.

"Boss, what's your condition now?"

Bronya bit her lip, suppressing the worry in her heart as she asked.

"I'm alright."

The young man, who had spent the whole afternoon watching world bubbles with Su until his head was spinning, sighed.

He felt that this world was a little bit crazy.

Those two characters, Kevin and Su, he didn't know if their brains were cramping, but they wanted him to take the Honkai world's human gene pool and run for it.

However, this wasn't entirely incomprehensible.

The Previous Era of humanity had been completely wiped out, except for those Forerunners who could live for tens of thousands of years and were still alive and kicking.

The ancestors of this era's humans were all, without exception, test-tube babies modified by Dr. MEI.

Seeing that this civilization was also on the verge of collapse, Li Zihan, who seemed able to hop between different worlds and even take people with him, had appeared.

And Li Zihan had also said that there were very safe worlds outside, uncorroded by the Honkai.

Such words couldn't help but stir in Kevin and Su the idea of restarting the Ark Project and the Ember Project in a safe world to rebuild civilization.

Feels like my main questline just went from a youthful slice-of-life to world colonization.

Li Zihan thought to himself and sighed.

But a sigh was just a sigh; he wasn't opposed to Kevin and Su's idea.

It just meant that in the future, he would take a few Forerunners and a gene pool to a barren world and let them start a grand development project.

If this went through, he could easily reach a mutual assistance agreement with Kevin and Su, and gain access to the knowledge of the Previous Era.

It was just that, if they did this, the humans of this world would most likely be treated as scrap.

The young man thought that once Kevin established a new civilization, he would probably abandon the people of the Honkai world.

However, that sort of thing has nothing to do with me.

The young man, who clearly wasn't too concerned about these things, quickly felt his mood become light and cheerful again.

If Kevin took off, this world still had Otto, Void Archives, and Welt holding the line.

Looking on the bright side, he could now ask Su to use the Second Divine Key to send him to the Sea of Quanta, without having to worry about Kevin following the coordinates to slip into the real world and stir up trouble.

Once he arrived in the Sea of Quanta, he would even be received by the strongest warrior in history, Kevin. He wouldn't encounter any danger throughout the entire process.

"Boss, you keep spacing out. Are you injured?"

The girl, feeling that her boss might have been burdened by her, had clear worry in her light grey eyes.

"Not at all."

The young man, who had simply come out to bid farewell to Miss Banya, smiled.

"I've already found a faster, more effective, and more harmless way to reach the Rifts between worlds compared to 'X-10'."

A faster, more effective, and more harmless way?

The girl, not understanding what her boss was talking about, was a little stunned.

"I came to say goodbye to you. I'll be heading off first. In a few months, I'll come back with Seele."

The young man, who always had a longsword hanging at his waist, waved at Bronya, then turned and left with a stylish flair.

In the darkness, the longsword at the young man's waist glinted with a dark red light.