Honkai Diary: Start With Picking Up A White-Haired Treasure

[Pope, have you managed to escape?]

"Damn it! Who is this?!"

Amidst the crowded chaos, a petite girl with her elegant long dress torn in several places relied on her small stature and athletic prowess to continuously weave through the crowd while cursing vehemently.

Behind her, a swarm resembling a black cloud relentlessly pursued. Whenever there was a momentary lapse in her defenses, laser cannons or worker bees armed with countless spinning blades would swoop down, leaving bloody wounds in their wake.

Meanwhile, within the throng near the Pope, individuals were continually hypnotized by her, oblivious to the chase unfolding around them. Unconsciously, they shielded the Pope with their bodies.

[This is the Dean of the research institute.]

"Got it. I'm still fleeing—what about you?"

[Same here. As expected, Anti-Entropy's Chief Officer quickly grasped the key issues. The armed coups are insignificant; once Anti-Entropy and Schicksal's war machines start rolling, any resistance will be futile, crumbling at the first blow. What truly matters are individuals like us, responsible for guiding public opinion and dividing society. Consequently, more power has been directed against our squad... Never mind, let's get straight to the point: Do not return to the Theater of Domination.]

"Why not? Won't that mean certain death?"

["Just voted and passed: each targeted individual among us holds considerable intelligence value, so we can leverage our collective strength to protect their consciousnesses. The physical bodies they inhabit are interchangeable anyway; if necessary, we'll simply discard them. As for why this is being done... Three minutes ago, an individual escaped into the Theater of Domination, and subsequently, its imaginary coordinates were calculated... In short, it's now filled with intense heat and radiation."]

"...Understood. May you die dismembered."

"Thank you, same to you—Quack, quack, quack!"

Miss Dean terminated the telepathic communication, leaving behind a playful burst of laughter.

Immediately after, amidst her swift movements, the Pope made a mistake, exposing a vulnerable opening. A laser beam instantly pierced through her calf.

"Fwoosh!"

"A type of plant!!!" The Pope's face paled as she swiftly rolled on the ground, simultaneously pulling several bystanders close to shield herself.

"Hss—"

Huddled behind the human wall, the Pope glanced at the charred hole in her calf, took a deep breath, peeked through the gaps at the dark clouds outside, and extended her finger.

"( `0 ? )凸!!!"

"Fwoosh!"

Her finger was cleanly severed by a laser, blood spurting from the scorched stump.

"I—"

"Fwoosh!"

"Pfft!"

Another laser from the side penetrated the Pope's throat, abruptly cutting off her eloquent greeting.

Despite using the crowd as cover, they ultimately couldn't fend off the swarm personally controlled by Zeke. The Pope had anticipated this outcome but didn't expect her resistance to last so much shorter than she imagined.

"(◣д◢)!"

The Pope collapsed within the human shield, trembling, and extended another middle finger defiantly.

"Zing!"

Her second middle finger was promptly severed. At the same time, worker bees with slender mechanical limbs carefully parted the mind-controlled pedestrians under the Pope's influence, gradually approaching her now unprotected figure.

Lying on the ground, unable to speak or resist in any way, the Pope glared venomously at the drone swarm overhead. Then, activating Honkai Energy, her eyes instantly filled with bloodshot veins as she directly triggered a self-destruct within her brain.

"Pop!!"

At the site where the Pope's head once was, it turned into a pool of red and white splattered flesh, its various fragments spraying onto pedestrians several meters away.

Following that, the psychological suggestions she implanted among the crowd were broken, revealing the gruesome scene and the sky teeming with black spherical robots fully to their eyes.

A young man touched an unusual spot on his face, noticing from his trembling fingertips some nauseating red and white substances.

"Ahhh!!!"

Amidst the agonized screams, chaos was about to erupt in the unbelievably dense crowd.

In the next moment, countless fine needles containing anesthesia shot out from the swarm.

"Another failure. They're remarkably resolute, clearly unafraid of sacrifice. It's becoming evident that the Herrscher of a Thousand People possesses a similar ability—individual invulnerability as long as the collective endures. The location this time is Los Santos; arrange for cleanup, Welt."

"Again? Our resources are truly stretched thin..."

"Then reach out to your friends and seek help from those you've assisted before. They represent the true majority."

"...You're right, I'll give it a try." Welt removed his black-framed glasses, wiped them briefly, then gathered himself anew, returning to directing operations.

Einstein entered the combat command room at this moment, handing Zeke a concise report filled with data.

"We've conducted tests, and the coordinates of the Herrscher of a Thousand People's Virtual Space have indeed changed—it can no longer be accessed now."

"It was expected. With both Welt's and my gifts delivered within two days, coupled with their losses in the real world, they must be significantly weakened by now."

Zeke glanced at the report's figures before casually tossing it onto the table.

Through one of the virtual screens, Einstein observed the scene of worker bees carrying away the headless corpse of the Pope and frowned:

"Still haven't captured any alive?"

"These individuals are quite cunning; they exploit crowds for cover, and most actively choose to commit suicide... It's such a bother!"

Zeke silently shook his head, sighing.

He began longing for the typical Herrschers—the naive ones who would just stand still, letting him burn them with ease!

Einstein pondered before suggesting, "Why not induce unconsciousness among the crowd from the start? Wouldn't capturing them be more assured that way?"

"We can't make them feel cornered right away; those anti-human beings, when desperate, might take many others down with them as a last resort. We must guide them, ensuring each individual focuses solely on fleeing for their lives rather than seeking victims to accompany them. By exhausting them through constant evasion, we'll lead them unwaveringly towards their demise, minimizing unnecessary casualties."

"I see, I hadn't considered this aspect."

"It's merely about weighing consequences. Leaving room for criticism due to handling these situations could damage Anti-Entropy's carefully cultivated pro-citizen image, making it counterproductive."

As Zeke processed various data on the projection screen, he spoke in a detached tone. The faint glow illuminated his face, giving it a mechanical chilliness—one might even describe it as cold-hearted indifference.

Einstein fell silent for a moment before returning to her position and continuing to provide support for the battle operations.

Welt glanced at Zeke, shook his head, but said nothing.

Zeke's words sounded like those of a classic villain, but Welt had long understood that one should judge a person not by what they say, but by what they do.

Zeke consistently protected civilians, never prioritizing victory over lives even amidst the Herrscher of a Thousand People's extreme chaos—a testament to his principles.