62: Chapter 56 New Members Join the Group

["Kaiwen, don't be afraid, I'm here."]

As Rin's voice rang out, Kaiwen felt a familiar wave of warmth surge within her body.

That warm current erupted from her chest, rapidly spreading along her blood vessels toward her limbs, and wherever it passed, a ghostly green glow faintly showed beneath her skin.

Then, some cracks abruptly appeared in the space beneath her feet.

At first, it was just a thin line, almost invisible.

But in the blink of an eye, a second and third crack emerged successively, violently spreading in all directions centered around Kaiwen!

It was as if some force was biting apart its skeleton piece by piece from the bottom of this space.

The entire night sky let out a low groan.

In the void, that outline with an unclear face condensed once again.

Otto stood in the void where the cracks were spreading, his hands behind his back, quietly watching the space collapsing beneath his feet.

The ghostly green glow of the cracks reflected on his blurry outline, flickering uncertainly.

He was silent for a few seconds, a hint of surprise added to his tone.

"It seems... I underestimated you."

Kaiwen moved her wrists.

Kaiwen moved her somewhat numb wrists, raised her head to look straight at that phantom, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly:

"There are still many things you underestimate."

Otto did not reply further.

His outline lingered for a moment in the light of the cracks, then dissipated silently like mist.

With Otto's dissipation, the force binding Kaiwen was directly eroded by Rin.

Losing support, Kaiwen's entire body fell straight down from high altitude.

However, this time, Kaiwen was no longer the powerless falling leaf from before.

"Bang——!"

Kaiwen smashed heavily into the center of the street, the stone slab road shaken by the impact into a circle of spider-web-like cracks, and gravel and dust flew everywhere.

["Kaiwen, all fake creatures in this world that cannot think independently will be frozen by me, don't worry."]

Along with Rin's words, ghostly green patterns gradually surged out from the cracks beneath Kaiwen's feet.

Those patterns crawled in all directions along the gaps of the stone slab road at an extremely fast speed.

The light pattern crawled over the ankle of a fleeing pedestrian, and the person's movement instantly froze in mid-air;

The light pattern continued to climb up the huge Honkai Beast rampaging ahead, extending all the way up along the cold heavy armor.

The Honkai Beast's violent roar came to an abrupt halt, its sharp claws brandished in mid-air stiffened in the wind, and its massive body was completely frozen.

Within just a few seconds, the entire chaotic and noisy street turned from a battlefield into a puppet exhibition.

Kaiwen stood up supporting her knees and looked around.

The entire world stopped moving.

Only Kiana and the others were still standing not far away, facing this sudden silence, looking at Kaiwen with different expressions.

Kallen stood in place, the chain of the handcuffs still swaying gently, tilting her head and curiously sizing up the ghostly green glowing patterns on the ground.

"What is going on?"

Kaiwen stood up supporting her knees, glanced at the completely static streets around her, and then turned to Kiana.

"We have to leave this place."

She asked in her heart: "Rin, can you open a passage out?"

["Yes, give me a little time."]

Kiana frowned: "Isn't this the academy's simulation test? Why do we need to leave?"

"This is not a simulation test." Kaiwen looked at them, "We broke into someone else's private space. This world was built by someone else using data."

"Data?"

The one who spoke was Kallen.

She tilted her head and looked at Kaiwen with confusion on her face.

"What is data?"

Several people fell silent.

Kaiwen thought for a long time before finding a barely plausible explanation.

"You can understand it as... soul bodies. Everything in this world, pedestrians, houses, Honkai Beasts... are all composed of souls."

Kaiwen looked at Kallen, paused for a moment, and still said the most cruel words.

"You are too. Therefore... you probably can't leave this space."

After hearing this, Kallen did not speak.

She lowered her head and looked at her hands wearing handcuffs.

Her ten fingers slowly turned over and clenched again.

When her knuckles bent, she could hear a slight cracking sound of bones, and when her palms pressed together, she could feel warmth.

She touched her face, it was very warm.

Touching her neck again, she could feel the pulse on her neck beating.

Isn't this real?

Kallen raised the handcuffs and gently shook them beside her ear.

The iron chains collided with each other, making a crisp clinking sound.

She had heard this sound tens of thousands of times, basically hearing it every single reincarnation.

She thought it was real, thought she was real, thought that the people who wanted to save her, the people who wanted to kill her, and the people who wanted to judge her were all real.

But it turned out they were all fake.

Kallen's hand slowly lowered.

She stood there, looking at those ghostly green patterns under her feet, standing quietly for a long time.

Just when Kaiwen felt she should say something to break this silence, Kallen spoke up first.

She raised her head, a smile hanging on her face again.

"Then you guys hurry back."

Kallen patted the dust off her hands and said with a smile looking at several people.

"Go back to your own world. You have your own bodies and your own lives, don't keep wasting time in a place like this."

Just as Kaiwen was about to say something, Rin's voice sounded again.

["Kaiwen, I have scanned her consciousness structure. Although she is a data entity, her integrity is very high. If you are willing, I can drag her into your Stigma Space."]

Kaiwen was stunned for a moment.

["Are you sure?"]

["Sure."]

Kaiwen looked at Kallen in front of her who was urging them to leave, and was silent for a few seconds.

Then she reached out and grabbed Kallen's wrist.

Kallen was taken aback by being pulled: "What are you doing? Didn't I tell you guys to hurry up and leave..."

"Kallen." Kaiwen interrupted her, "Do you want to leave this world?"

Kallen blinked: "Didn't you just say I can't leave?"

"There is a way." Kaiwen held her wrist without letting go, "I have a special space on me that can take your consciousness in."

Kallen tilted her head: "What do you mean?"

"It means..." Kaiwen thought about how to explain it in a way people from the year 1477 could understand, "Your soul will live inside my body. There is a space inside me, and you can stay in there. You won't dissipate, nor will you continue to reincarnate. But you don't have your own physical body, you can only stay in that space."

Kallen seemed to understand a little.

Leaving this world, the price is forever lacking her own body, residing inside someone else's body as a soul.

Kallen's smile slowly faded.

She did not answer.

Leave this world.

This sentence sounded very simple.

But Kallen knew what it meant.

Even if all of this was fake, all data, and all a loop repeated countless times.

But she had lived here for too long.

So long that these fake things were no different from real ones to her.

Kallen lowered her head and kept silent.

"Milady."

Arthur, who had been standing aside without a word, finally spoke.

After following out of the tavern, he hadn't said a word, with a few wounds left by the Honkai Beasts on his body, standing quietly a few steps away, looking at these young people.

Kallen raised her head to look at him.

Arthur walked up to Kallen and stood still, looking at this girl he had watched grow up since childhood.

"Go with them."

Kallen opened her mouth: "Grandpa Arthur..."

"Even if it's just a soul body, even if it's attached to someone else." Arthur's speaking speed was fast, but every word was very clear, "Go out and take a look, Milady. You have been trapped here for too long."

Kallen looked into Arthur's eyes without speaking.

After a while, she softly asked: "What about you?"

Arthur smiled and waved his hand.

"Forget about me, I'm old, don't want to move anymore."

"Grandpa Arthur..."

"I've stayed here all my life, and I don't want to go anywhere." Arthur waved his hand relaxedly, "It's you, Milady, being so young don't hole up in one place and refuse to move like an old man like me."

Seeing Kallen staring at him without speaking, Arthur patted Kallen's head.

"Alright, no need to feel sad for this old bone of mine, go see the outside world with them, and then end this reincarnation."

In the end, Kallen looked away first.

She turned around, looked at the hand Kaiwen extended, and then looked at Kaiwen's face.

That face that looked exactly like her own.

Kallen took a breath, then reached out and held Kaiwen's hand.

"Take me away, Kaiwen. Take me away from here... Take me to see the real world outside with my own eyes!"

Schicksal Headquarters, Floating Island Main Tower.

Outside the huge French windows was the magnificent scenery intertwined with flowing clouds and the skyline, and the setting sun dyed the entire luxurious and lonely Lord Bishop's office with a layer of heavy, hot golden brilliance.

The faint light of the vision connection device slowly went out.

The blonde man leaning on the leather high-backed chair slowly opened his eyes.

His fingertips gently tapped on the lacquered wooden armrest, making a rhythmic tapping sound.

"Kallen..."

Otto stood up and slowly walked to the French window.

On that handsome face reflected in the glass, an elegant and profound smile curled up.

"What a nice surprise, Kaiwen... Or rather, Lin Bei?"

He turned around and gently pressed the communication button on the desk.

"Lord Bishop."

Almost the next second, the door was pushed open silently.

A secretary wearing a capable uniform walked in, respectfully bowing and saluting.

"Amber." Otto adjusted his collar, his voice returning to its usual calmness and majesty, "Help me arrange an itinerary."

Amber took out the electronic pad and quickly prepared to record: "Lord Bishop, is it an inspection of the European Branch, or the routine meeting with Anti-Entropy?"

"No."

Otto picked up the red wine glass on the desk, gently swirling the scarlet liquid inside, his green eyes flashing with a strange light:

"Go to the Far East Branch."

"I will go personally... to St. Freya Academy."