She still had some degree of fame.
Although fame built in that way would fade quickly, the sea of stars was vast. There would always be a few "die-hard fans."
So right now...
Had she just run into one of them?
After all, it had been more than a year since she and Robin toured together. That was long enough for most people to forget she had ever existed.
Back then, she had only borrowed Robin's fame to raise her own profile. With that kind of exposure, being forgotten would only happen faster.
"Could I get your autograph?"
The man swiftly pulled something out of his pocket.
An album?
He carried that around with him at work?
Kiana couldn't help showing a look of astonishment. Carrying something like that while on duty felt strange no matter how she looked at it.
"This is an album?"
Taking the album he handed over, Kiana stared at the cover, feeling an intense sense of unreality.
"It's the first album you and Miss Robin released together! I'm from Kasbelina-VII!"
Kiana's signing hand paused mid-stroke. She looked up at him in surprise.
"Kasbelina-VII?"
He was really from that world? Wasn't that a little too coincidental?
"Miss Kiana, you still remember!" The man grew even more excited. "My name is Kado. I'm from Kasbelina-VII—the world trapped in the mire of war, where rebels and nobles fought endlessly for power."
"I used to be one of the volunteers escorting supplies into disaster zones. It was Miss Robin's singing that awakened hope in people's hearts. It was you who gave our world a chance to escape the war. Not long after that, I successfully joined the IPC!"
Kiana handed the signed album back to him. Now that she knew he truly came from the world she had once visited, she couldn't help asking curiously,
"Has the war on Kasbelina-VII ended?"
"It has!" Kado nodded vigorously. "The news that Miss Robin was injured couldn't be hidden, and the rebels' attack on the IPC's supply convoy was exposed as well. The IPC was furious. They backed a new faction, and within just a few months, they ended the long-standing war on Kasbelina-VII and established a new regime! People like us finally had a new way out!"
As he spoke of how the IPC ended the war—how they could now live safely and peacefully, with real choices before them—his smile only grew brighter.
"That's wonderful."
Kiana could see that he was genuinely grateful to the IPC.
The war on Kasbelina-VII had never been unrelated to the IPC in the first place. And the reason they ultimately supported a new regime and personally stepped in to end everything wasn't because the convoy had been attacked or because Robin had been injured.
It was because of Honkai.
But how things truly happened no longer mattered. It was clear that Mr. Kado was happy with his current life.
"Miss Kiana, will you and Miss Robin collaborate again?" Kado carefully put the album away and, seeing that she was about to leave, asked hurriedly.
"Perhaps there will be a chance."
Kiana maintained her smile and nodded before leaving with Acheron.
After walking some distance, Acheron suddenly spoke.
"It doesn't feel like a coincidence."
"It really doesn't," Kiana agreed. "The people of Kasbelina-VII shouldn't know it was me who acted there and triggered that small-scale Honkai Eruption."
"Robin and I did go deep into the war zone, and she was injured because of it."
But ordinary people wouldn't normally link the end of a war to the two of them—especially not to her.
It would have been fine if that world hadn't been mentioned.
But once it was, she couldn't help feeling that the so-called "fan" just now hadn't appeared by chance.
"He might really be from that world, and he might truly have listened to Robin and me perform," Kiana said, rubbing her chin. "But the timing of his appearance right in front of us? That's probably not a coincidence."
"As a member of the Interastral Peace Corporation, it wouldn't be difficult to look into my relationship with Ruan," she analyzed calmly. "You mentioning Ruan to Topaz probably piqued her curiosity, so she investigated further."
"Ruan previously contacted the IPC in her own name to arrange for them to escort me to Euphorion. There's also the bounty posted under my name with the IPC. It wouldn't take much effort to trace and conclude that I'm someone connected to Ruan."
"The IPC probably sees me as someone who works for Ruan Mei."
So someone had appeared out of nowhere, claiming to be her fan—trying to close the distance.
But since she had remained somewhat distant, he had only taken the autograph and left.
"They're trying to use you to get in touch with Ruan Mei," Acheron said.
"That's not impossible," Kiana nodded. "Ruan lives a reclusive life. In outsiders' eyes, opportunities to speak with her are extremely rare."
Even more mysterious than Herta.
Herta at least had countless puppets working on her behalf—and an entire space station floating out there.
But Ruan?
Hardly any information about her ever circulated.
Those who met her would soon forget her.
"That does sound like the IPC's style."
Just a test, nothing more.
For Kiana, it was merely a small interlude—but it stirred up memories.
When she first arrived on Kasbelina-VII, she had still been suffering from amnesia. If that world hadn't been so ravaged by constant war—so perfectly suited for the spread of Honkai—and if she hadn't been attacked and inadvertently used Honkai energy...
She might not have regained her memories until she reached Izumo.
At some point, the blockade between Belobog's Overworld and Underworld had been lifted. To reach the Underworld now, all one had to do was take the train at the station.
No more complicated detours.
They had just arrived in the Underworld and were about to head toward the house they had previously rented when they ran into several familiar figures on the road through Boulder Town.
Not strangers.
It was Stelle and March 7th, who had boarded the Astral Express. The girl they were speaking with was none other than Seele.
They seemed to have run into some trouble.
Just as Kiana noticed them, they also spotted Kiana and Acheron.
March 7th even rubbed her eyes in disbelief before exclaiming loudly,
"Miss Kiana? Weren't you staying on the space station?"
She remembered Acheron saying that Kiana needed to remain on the station for observation for a while.
"March 7th, and Stelle—long time no see. Didn't Mei send me a message saying that the Voidrangers frozen by the cold wave in Belobog are about to fully revive?" Kiana's voice carried a trace of helplessness. She glanced at Seele as well. "What were you just talking about? Did something happen?"
"You're friends?"
Noticing their exchanged looks, Seele turned toward the two warmhearted girls she had only met earlier that day—Stelle and March 7th.
"Yep! This is Miss Kiana, and this is Miss Acheron," March 7th introduced enthusiastically. "And this is Miss Seele from Wildfire."
"Nice to meet you," Kiana greeted her with a smile.
She had actually seen Seele several times before, but Seele had no memory of her.
Although Kiana had lived here for quite some time in the past, she had used Ruan's method to avoid exposing her identity as an outsider.
Anyone who saw them would experience cognitive interference. After they left, people would quickly forget them altogether.
"You all looked pretty serious just now," Acheron said with concern. "Did something happen?"
"There's been a bit of trouble," Stelle replied, scratching her head. She glanced at Seele.
Seele had just said they needed to investigate this quietly, so Stelle sought her opinion with her eyes.
If Seele chose to keep it secret, Stelle was prepared to make up an excuse.
"Since they're your friends, they should be trustworthy," Seele said, resting one hand on her hip. There was no sign of dissatisfaction in her expression.
Wildfire had been observing these outsiders. They were clearly not affiliated with the first wave of uniformed personnel. Judging from their actions and behavior, they seemed like genuinely kind people.
Their friends were probably trustworthy too.
"Here's the situation. Those uniformed outsiders barged into the Underworld and have caused a lot of trouble for the residents here."
"We heard that some big shots in the Overworld are negotiating with them, but it doesn't seem to be working. They're still acting the same as before."
"Sneaking around, blocking off the mines, collecting who-knows-what," Seele said irritably. "If their equipment weren't so advanced, I'd have taught them a lesson myself!"
"You're getting off track," March 7th reminded her gently before taking over. "So, Stelle and I heard that Belobog had an Underworld and decided to come take a look. On the way, we met a kid searching for her missing sister. She looked pitiful, so we helped her search around the area—but we didn't find anything."
Up until that point, Kiana had been nodding, thinking everything sounded fairly normal.
But now she frowned.
"A missing child?"
"Yeah. A living person just vanished into thin air. Nowhere to be found," March 7th said. "That's when we ran into Seele. She's been investigating missing people too."
"This isn't the first case," Seele said, her tone growing sharper at the mention of the disappearances. "According to Wildfire's investigation, several residents have gone missing over the past few days. No bodies. No witnesses. Nothing."
Kiana had never encountered such a plotline when she played the game. Instinctively, she thought of the variables she herself had introduced.
"Are there many missing?"
"Including the one discovered today, we know of eight cases so far," Seele answered. "Young and old."
"That's no small matter." Kiana rubbed her chin, instinctively suspecting it was connected to the changes she had brought. She couldn't simply stand by.
If she hadn't known, that would be one thing.
But now that she did, there was no way she could pretend otherwise.
"Do you have any leads?"
"We do!" Stelle raised her hand eagerly. "I looked into the missing people's social connections. They all share one thing in common."
"They didn't have complicated social circles. The earliest victims were living alone. They could disappear for days without anyone noticing."
"I found something too," March 7th said mysteriously. "I suspect it might be related to that clinic in the Underworld. All of the missing people had visited it before."
"That's impossible," Seele immediately retorted. "This has nothing to do with Dr. Natasha."
"But they all went to that clinic."
"Going to a clinic doesn't mean the clinic is involved," Kiana said thoughtfully. She frowned slightly. "Did you ask what illnesses they were being treated for?"
"Erosion Syndrome," Seele answered before March 7th could. "The missing individuals all came from cities that had fallen. They were exposed to the Fragmentum and suffered lingering physical issues."
"So someone is secretly abducting people who were affected by the Fragmentum—and deliberately targeting those with simple social ties?"
"They don't want to draw attention?"
After piecing together the information, Stelle voiced her conclusion.
"That's what I think too," Seele nodded. "I suspect this has something to do with those uniformed outsiders. The first disappearance happened the day after they arrived in the Underworld!"
That kind of coincidence was too suspicious.
If she had proof, she would have already grabbed a few of them and forced answers out of them.
"The IPC?!" March 7th exclaimed. "That can't be right. Aren't they here to collect debts? Why would they kidnap patients?"
"We'll have to find the missing people first—and then ask them ourselves," Seele said firmly. She was already convinced the employees were responsible.
"I do have a lead," she continued. "I'm fairly certain they're holding the victims in a specific location."
Stelle perked up immediately. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go rescue them!"
"That place is… special."
"Don't worry about danger. We're here to help!" Stelle declared boldly. "No matter how many enemies there are, we can handle it. And if I can't, Acheron and Kiana can!"
"You have a lot of faith in us," Kiana said helplessly. "But you probably won't need us."
They were just IPC employees. Stelle and March 7th could handle them on their own.
"It's not about danger," Seele shook her head, her expression serious. "The place itself is unusual. That's why I need your help—to find it."
"Unusual?"
Kiana was puzzled. They had only been here a short while. How special could a holding site be?
Stelle's interest was piqued. "How unusual?"
Compared to when they first met at the space station, she was clearly far more talkative now.
"It's a place that has 'disappeared' from people's sight," Seele said in a low voice. "Building No. 11—the vanished building."
Kiana froze.
She instinctively looked at Acheron—and found Acheron looking back at her.
"A vanished Building No. 11? Whoa, when did we switch to a paranormal channel?!"
"There must be some kind of misunderstanding…"