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

That night, all parties involved gathered at Anti-Entropy's new backup base.

"I never expected his target wasn't me but Tesla and Eins instead. If it weren't for you, we would've been caught off guard... By the way, what are you doing now?" Welt asked Zeke, still shaken from the ordeal.

Zeke tapped away on the virtual screen without looking up. "Schicksal's entire system is completely crippled right now. Otto's too busy reviewing reports to oversee security. Their central archive is wide open; I can freely extract information and leave Dark Gates as I please."

"Dang! Why didn't you say something sooner?!" Tesla, who had been staring blankly, suddenly exclaimed. Without hesitation, she pulled out her own computer and started working feverishly.

Feeling frustrated after being outwitted by Otto, this presented her with an opportunity for immediate revenge!

Welt decided not to disturb them, as they were intensely focused. He then turned toward Einstein... Well, Eins had already noticed what Zeke was doing almost immediately, so she was fully immersed in her work.

Seeing the Enforcers deeply engaged while he, as Alliance Leader, stood idly felt awkward for Welt. So, he excused himself.

"I'll go check on Siegfried."

Siegfried remained unconscious.

There were no bandages on his body, as all external injuries had automatically healed during his partial transformation. Instead, numerous wires connected to him, monitoring changes within his physiology.

Kiana leaned against the window outside Siegfried's hospital room, watching her father intently without moving.

"He'll be fine. The doctor said he's already past the critical stage; now it's just a matter of gradual recovery."

"But Zeke mentioned that our concern isn't his physical condition anymore—it's psychological. He might not want to wake up... Uncle Welt, what exactly did my dad go through? What was so urgent that he had to do it?"

"...You're still young. You'll understand when you grow older." Welt tugged at his hair, feeling exasperated.

Zeke, you blabbermouth! Why reveal such harsh truths to a child? Couldn't you have spun a kinder lie instead?

Kiana was innocent and good-hearted, making her quite endearing as long as her minor quirks weren't overly exposed. Given Welt's nature, after interacting with her, it became difficult for him not to develop a fondness for Kiana.

Confronted by Kiana's persistent gaze, Welt felt deeply troubled and could only remain awkwardly silent.

Seeming to grasp his stance, Kiana sighed and said,

"It's fine; I'll ask Zeke later. He always tells me everything."

Her words were filled with unwavering trust in Zeke. It was as if she would believe anything he told her—even if he claimed the sky was red.

Kiana continued staring at Siegfried lying on the bed, ignoring Welt completely.

Welt couldn't help but feel unwanted—just like earlier in the living room.

With Siegfried still unconscious and it being inappropriate to linger watching a grown man sleep, Welt decided to head back the way he came.

As he passed a corner, Welt noticed two girls sitting in the shadows: one with curly gray hair dressed in military attire, and another whose hair and eyes displayed contrasting colors.

The first girl had an expressionless face against a dark, pitch-black background. The second leaned gently against the former's shoulder, surrounded by hues reminiscent of blooming lilies' brightness.

Despite their intimate pose, something about the atmosphere felt off.

"You two...are Cocolia's children, aren't you?"

"And you must be the leader of Anti-Entropy?" Bronya asked expressionlessly. If she had been stronger, she would have already snapped Sin's arm by now... Zeke had indeed lied to her. What did he mean "Sin is perfectly safe with me"? She was anything but safe.

"Yes, just call me Welt."

"I heard Anti-Entropy is broke?"

"Oh no, not at all."

"Anyway, Bronya recently learned how to make money. Here, take this and help me pry her off." Bronya pointed at Sin, directing an intense gaze toward Welt.

Welt suspected he might have misheard, but upon looking back at Bronya, her posture and expression remained unchanged... Although there was money involved, without knowing more details, it seemed best not to get involved recklessly.

He decided to leave and head back to the living room instead.

"Zeke, are you really not considering working with me? Together, obtaining Welt's core would be effortless."

"No thanks, I don't trust you. I'll find my own way to get it. After all, it's just Welt; shouldn't be too difficult."

"What a pity... Oh, he seems to be coming back. Don't let him overhear us. Goodbye!"

"Goodbye."

Welt stiffly closed the door and then reopened it moments later.

In the living room, the three Enforcers remained engrossed in their work.

"Zeke, um, I think I just saw..."

"It's your imagination."

"No, I'm pretty sure I spotted O..."

"Prolonged use of the Herrscher Core can apparently cause damage to the host's consciousness. Why don't you remove the core, and I'll help check for any issues?"

"...No need, I guess it was indeed my imagination," Welt hesitated before declining, noticing Zeke's disappointed gaze.

Bullshit, Welt knew that Zeke had been secretly playing along with Otto. But based on that conversation, it didn't seem like they were joking around.

Welt had an inexplicable intuition that if he had handed over his core just now, he would never have gotten it back... Wait, how valuable is my core anyway? Why does everyone want it?

With that, Welt closed the door and continued searching for a place to rest.

Perhaps it's better to return early to Saint Freya and resume teaching there; the environment is simpler at least.

Zeke worked late into the night before finally deactivating the virtual screen with satisfaction, stretching his back and yawning.

"?(ˊ〇ˋ*)? Ha~"

Glancing around, he noticed Tesla and Einstein still deeply engrossed in their tasks.

Exploiting the opportunity to extract confidential data proved fruitful. Although Otto had undoubtedly hidden the most sensitive information beforehand, there was still valuable intel to be gleaned. However, leaving behind Dark Gates seemed pointless; as long as Otto remained alive, he would eventually detect and remove them once he found the time.

Seeing Tesla's enthusiasm, Zeke decided not to disturb her. After greeting Einstein, he tactfully left the room.

On his way out, he passed Bronya and Sin, who were leaning close together.

Sin had fallen asleep, snuggled comfortably against Bronya's shoulder.

Bronya glared fiercely at Zeke, but he merely glanced at her, ignoring her gaze, and continued walking without pause.

"(▼皿▼#)!"

Further down the hall, he spotted Kiana pressed against the glass window.

As he reached out and tapped her head, Kiana instinctively turned, noticing Zeke immediately.

"Zeke!"

"It's quite late already. Still not sleeping?"

"I couldn't sleep with Dad like this."

"Then don't worry about it. Your physique can handle it," Zeke nonchalantly replied as they approached Siegfried's hospital room secured by palm recognition. He fumbled around briefly before producing a spherical worker drone from thin air and placing it on the palm scanner.

Beep-beep-beep!

Hiss—

The sealed door opened.

"Let's go inside and check on him."

Zeke led the way, followed swiftly by Kiana.

At Siegfried's bedside, Zeke casually picked up a monitor to review the displayed waveform readings. Then he leaned over Siegfried, gently pried open his eyelids for inspection.

Next came checking his breathing, pulse, and more.

After completing these procedures under Kia's anxious gaze, Zeke calmly reassured her:

"Don't worry; physically, there's nothing wrong now. The resilience of Kaslanas is truly remarkable... Can I dissect him?"

"No!" Kiana instinctively crossed her arms in protest. Seeing the disappointment on Zeke's face, she hesitated before suggesting cautiously, "At least, let's wait until Dad wakes up first?"

Zeke nodded.

Kiana sighed with relief but then furrowed her brow and asked, "So, what exactly did my dad go through for you to worry he wouldn't want to wake up?"

"You really want to know?"

"Yep."

"Be prepared—it's brutal."

Kiana's gaze remained resolute.

Raising an eyebrow, Zeke summoned a virtual screen.

"Huh? Why are there so many...all of me?"

"They're clones, created by using specific human genes as templates and cultivating identical bodies in bioreactors, much like growing crops. However, since souls exist in this world, lacking technology to nurture them results in most clones being mere walking corpses, rarely developing self-awareness."

"Oh..." Kiana scratched her head, somewhat grasping the concept—these were all replicas of herself—and then queried, "Then who is the one that looks different?"

The strangely familiar and comforting face sparked a hunch in Kiana, causing her heart to race.

"Their true forms were Cecilia Schariac, Schicksal's former priestess who sacrificed herself during the Second Honkai War, Siegfried's wife. Theoretically, your mother."

"Mommy! She's my mommy! Look how beautiful she is, Zeke—see?! That's my mom!"

Kiana's eyes sparkled with tears of overwhelming joy. She completely overlooked Zeke's "theoretically" and focused only on him confirming that this was her mother.

As if receiving a cherished gift, she clung to Zeke's clothes, feeling immensely elated and proud, eager to boast about it to him.

Zeke gently patted her little head without revealing the full truth.

However, what followed might not have been much better than the reality.

Kiana witnessed the most brutal scene—the one that shattered Siegfried. Shuddering visibly, she asked through tear-filled eyes:

"Why did they...explode?"

"They were controlled by someone evil."

"You mean the golden-haired guy? He looks pretty sinister, doesn't he?"

"Mm-hmm."

After Zeke nodded in confirmation, Kiana bit her lip, sniffled, and raised her fist.

"One day, I'll pound that bastard to a pulp!"

"Let's work together on that—I feel the same."

"If that's the case, let Dad sleep as long as he wants if he doesn't want to wake up. The rest is on me... Oh yeah, since Dad won't be using it, can I borrow his gun?"

"Hmm... There might be risks involved. Let me study it first before deciding."

Zeke, prompted by Kiana, hastily secured Judgment of Shamash at his waist so he wouldn't forget it later.

Kiana watched this scene blankly without saying a word.

The two stayed in Siegfried's room late into the night, until dawn broke and a new day began.

Siegfried remained unconscious.

As Kiana took one last look at him sleeping peacefully, she seemed to grasp something suddenly. She drew a deep breath, turned away from him, and followed Zeke silently. Yet there was now something more in her eyes—perhaps a hint of maturity.