After Kevin, MEI, and Sim Su returned with catastrophic news written plainly across their faces, no one within the Newborn World Serpent dared to become another of Ling Ke's so-called "uninvited guests."
At the same time, they abandoned the naive hope that they could seek aid from a God, take a convenient shortcut, and solve every problem standing before them.
That left them with only one option.
"We will proceed with the Kindling Migration plan as scheduled."
"At the same time, we must establish a cooperative relationship with Kiana Kaslana as soon as possible and ensure that she eventually becomes the 'God of Earth.'"
Their own recklessness had caused the situation to spiral even further out of control. Now, the core members of the Newborn World Serpent could only swallow their pride and endure the bitter consequences.
They could not contend with the Cocoon of Finality.
Before the embryo of Nihility, their only option was to flee.
As for the being who had forcibly reduced the true countdown to extinction to one-third of its original length, a transcendent existence who stood above them all as a genuine God…
They did not even possess the qualifications to resist.
With complicated emotions weighing on them, they could only grit their teeth, move faster, and clean up the disaster they had helped create.
The survival of human civilization depended on it.
On one front, MEI intensified her research into the Key of Blankness. Her goal was to complete it as soon as possible and gain practical access to the Authorities of Reason, Void, and Death.
On another, Kevin issued a direct order to Aponia.
Having already seized control of the upper leadership of every major faction, she was to mobilize nearly every investigative force across the planet and locate Kiana Kaslana as quickly as possible.
To be honest, the Newborn World Serpent would never have needed to lower itself and seek cooperation with someone Kevin had previously hunted if the Prometheus main cluster could provide an alternative.
After stepping onto the Path of Erudition, Prometheus had undergone an enormous increase in overall capability.
However, after reconnecting following her reboot, Prometheus No. 17 had repeatedly emphasized one fact.
At present, she could exert very little influence over the Cocoon of Finality.
Furthermore, it would likely take an extremely long time before she developed enough to control it directly.
Because of that, the Newborn World Serpent had no other choice.
They could only place their hopes on the white-haired girl who possessed the greatest chance of becoming the "God of Earth."
Before his so-called heroic sacrifice, the Ascendant Su had revealed one crucial piece of information to Sim Su.
The more dangerous consciousness belonging to Sirin had already separated from the white-haired girl.
The girl who remained was simply Kiana Kaslana.
That revelation was the true reason Kevin and the others felt a measure of relief and completely reversed their previous attitude toward her.
Of course, Kiana was only one of many urgent matters.
The Third and Fifth Herrschers still required constant surveillance.
A detailed plan had to be drawn up for the disposal of more than three thousand Undersea Temples.
At the same time, the locations of the major Base Cities had to be reconsidered and construction had to begin.
All of these vast and interconnected operations were being carried out simultaneously.
Fortunately, the Newborn World Serpent had both Prometheus and the Gray Serpents assisting with its internal operations.
Without them, handling so many civilization-level crises at once without descending into complete chaos would have been nothing short of miraculous.
There was also the global Cold Wave.
The Newborn World Serpent had not yet begun to resolve it in earnest, but not because it was deliberately delaying.
The group of Girl Dolls who formed the cornerstone of the response plan had not yet reached the necessary numbers.
Producing several dozen or even a hundred might have been manageable.
Producing thousands of omnic bodies, each capable of containing Herrscher-level reserves of Honkai Energy, was not something that could be accomplished with a snap of the fingers.
If MEI completed the Key of Blankness and gained access to the true Authority of Reason rather than an inferior imitation such as Void Archives, many of these problems would become far easier to solve.
The Authority of Reason was almost perfectly suited to a scientist of MEI's caliber.
And Honkai Energy, when properly controlled, was capable of almost anything.
In short, the Newborn World Serpent was not wasting time.
Its preparations were simply incomplete.
Unfortunately, the worsening Cold Wave had no intention of waiting for them.
As the days passed, hundreds of millions of ordinary people suffered beneath the spreading cold.
Amid this worldwide catastrophe…
"Wah! Cold, cold, cold!"
Somewhere in North America stood an abandoned shopping mall.
[Outdoor Temperature: -25°C]
In this northern region, the world outside had become a frozen wasteland.
Heavy snow continued to fall, and the long-abandoned building was already half-buried beneath a blanket of white.
One of the ventilation windows near the roof had been left slightly open.
More accurately, someone had deliberately kept it that way.
Inside the mall, shelves still held countless frost-covered products abandoned during the Great Evacuation.
Then, without warning, a golden-orange portal opened.
Pardofelis's Sim stumbled through it with her inseparable companion, Can, shivering beside her.
One hand carried several bags of supplies, while the other held a bundle of firewood beneath her arm.
The moment she set everything down, she hurriedly brushed the snow from her clothes.
Beside her, Can shook himself wildly, sending powdery snow flying in every direction.
Only after both cat and catgirl had confirmed that no remaining snow would melt indoors and soak their clothes or fur did they finally relax.
Pardo's long tail curled around the entrance flap of a nearby tent and pulled it open with practiced ease.
The fire inside the small wood stove was nearly extinguished, but the temperature within the tent remained comfortably above freezing.
A narrow chimney extended from an opening in the tent's side.
The smoke traveled through the pipe and escaped through the ventilation window above, preventing it from lingering inside the mall.
This was the little nest Pardo had built for herself, far away from the crowded shelters.
Outside the tent was an enormous shopping mall filled with shelves of abandoned goods. Almost any everyday supply she might need could still be found somewhere inside.
She had selected a well-ventilated section, secured a windbreak, set up a tent fitted with a wood-burning stove, and extended the chimney pipe toward the nearest opening.
She had been living there comfortably for the past several days.
After crawling inside, Pardo removed her coat.
Her tapered tail reached toward a plastic bag beside her, curled around a fresh apple, and brought it into her hand.
She took a bite.
"Hiss!"
Cold.
Far too cold.
"Looks like I need some hot milk first. Don't you think, Can?"
"Meow~"
Inside the warm tent, the fluffy cat stretched lazily, lifting his round little backside into the air as he answered.
Pardo placed the apple aside after only one bite.
Then she sat cross-legged, leaned toward the wood stove, and began adjusting the device she had somehow managed to acquire.
The chimney was connected at the rear, while the front included a heated surface where she could place a kettle or cooking pot.
A stove like this was excellent for warming a confined space such as her tent.
Its only major flaw was its appetite for firewood.
Even a large supply of good hardwood would last only a few days without regular replenishment.
It was far less efficient than smokeless coal, a small amount of which could burn throughout the entire night.
Fortunately, Pardo did not need to worry about conserving wood.
She could open a long-distance portal whenever and wherever she pleased.
All she had to do was step through, summon her chakram, and cut down a tree with a single strike.
One tree alone could provide more than enough fuel for quite some time.
That was precisely why she preferred wood over coal or kerosene, even though the latter options would have been far more convenient for an ordinary person.
It was not that she could not find coal.
Rather, she understood that people without her abilities needed those limited supplies far more than she did.
Pardo would never openly admit to such a noble reason.
Even so, she instinctively refused to consume resources that might otherwise keep someone else alive.
For now…
"All done."
She poured bottled water, already thawed by the warmth inside the tent, into a kettle and placed it on the stove.
While waiting for the water to boil, she put her coat back on.
It was time for another free shopping trip through the mall.
Tonight's dinner would be a feast.
Of course, she could have remained inside the warm tent and copied a certain sorcerer who read stolen books through portals.
She could simply open a small gateway in front of herself, reach through it, and collect whatever she wanted without taking a single step outside.
Unfortunately, leaving a portal open would allow the warm air inside the tent to escape.
The temperature would plummet almost immediately.
Pardo's MANTIS physique was vastly superior to that of an ordinary person.
She was even capable of moving freely on the Moon.
But still…
"Cold is cold… Haaah."
Standing at the entrance to the tent, the fifty-thousand-year-old catgirl breathed warm air into her cupped hands.
After lingering there for a moment, she casually picked up a shopping basket and began wandering through the truly chilly, utterly deserted mall.
This time, Can remained behind.