Chapter 216 Zhuge Kongming? Mr. Assassin, Why Don't You Just Go Home and Farm?
Since Theresa's side was assigned to the Huanyue City faction, she was immediately met by the current Prime Minister of the Empyrean Empire, Rita.
"It's this haunting woman again..." Theresa suppressed the urge to punch her computer. For a woman like Rita, she felt both anger and helplessness. "Why did I have to be assigned to Huanyue City to work for Rita! This is infuriating!"
Watching Theresa's tearless distress, Su Mu looked helplessly at Kiana. Kiana exchanged a look with him and began shaking her head with a sigh.
Su Mu understood. He knew Theresa's situation and how terrifying Rita could be... After all, Rita had served as his secretary for a long time. He understood her temperament quite well. To put it simply, it was best not to let that woman take an interest in you, and certainly never to offend her. Otherwise, things would get messy; that black-bellied "Sister Rita" played dirty when she struck.
In the game, Rita handed a rice-paper scroll to the Captain, which contained the objective of the mission.
["This portrait was drawn by the palace artist a few days ago, during the celebration I held for the Crown Grandchild Kongming's twelfth birthday."]
The drawing showed a reluctant Kongming with a forced smile, which was actually quite adorable.
["Celebrating a birthday? But she looks completely unwilling..."]
["Mhm, that is precisely where her charm lies... This matter is irrelevant to the mission. You only need to bring Lady Kongming back safely. According to the late Emperor's decree, she is to inherit the throne and prosper the nation. Unfortunately, she is young, and the officials harbor many dissenting opinions. Three days ago, Lady Kongming vanished after leaving Huanyue City... Though I have concealed this fact, it is only a temporary measure."]
This opening scene allowed the audience to understand that as the Captain, their goal was to find the missing Crown Grandchild, Lady Kongming. However, bullet chats soon pointed out that the opening plots for different factions were different!
[Oh! This faction war plot is like the last one—different openings?]
[I checked other streams. Wu-Shuang starts with a talk with Durandal, while Bailu City has Kiana and Jackal...]
[Huanyue City wants to find Kongming, but the other factions are different...]
Coincidentally, Senti, who also started streaming today, was assigned to Bailu City. Many viewers gathered in Senti's office couldn't keep a straight face after seeing the Bailu opening.
[Consciousness status good, brain perception clear, prepare... Ouch!]
[The moment the consciousness mapping was completed, the back of my head was pushed down.]
[???: "What are you dazing off for in front of the Second Prince? Kneel and pay your respects!"]
The moment the Captain completed his mapping, his head was pushed down to bow. He was currently in a magnificent hall, and before him was Kiana—who was currently feasting, devouring the delicacies on the table like a whirlwind! Beside Kiana stood a woman wearing a dog-head mask, her features obscured.
Jackal!
Of course, this Jackal wasn't the one from the main story. In this event plot, she was the strategist under Second Prince Kiana. Pityingly, the Captain's identity here was just a common soldier under Kiana's command, temporarily controlled via consciousness mapping. Kiana and Jackal were plotting something, and the Captain had been chosen as the executor.
["The person in this portrait is the target. You may have crossed paths with her in previous missions, but I hope you can prioritize the big picture."]
[With that, she handed me a scroll.]
The audience took one look and was startled! The scroll featured a chibi Kongming holding a feather fan. Those eyes, filled with "rich information," revealed exactly how "wise" her owner was.
[Ah?]
[Th-this is Kongming?]
[Pfft! Hahahaha!!!]
[Whoa, that 'wise' gaze is too funny!]
[Who drew this? I'd call them Van Gogh reborn! It's too abstract!]
The viewers in Senti's room burst into laughter. When the plot later revealed that Kiana herself had drawn the portrait, they laughed even harder.
Subsequently, players jumping between streams posted all three portraits on the forums. Wu-Shuang's was the most normal—a dignified Lady Kongming. Huanyue City's was the reluctant Kongming. As for Bailu City... it was the Kongming with the extremely "wise" gaze!
Regardless of the starting faction, the Captain's goal remained finding Kongming. However, the leaders of each faction had different agendas. Jackal wanted to usurp power, General Durandal was dissatisfied with the heir's flight, and Prime Minister Rita needed to stabilize the court—thus began the story of Honkai Kingdoms: ZERO.
Back in Theresa's livestream.
After receiving the mission, the Captain met up with Tesla's ZERO (Xiao Te) hiding in a corner. This ELF looked identical to Dr. Tesla. she was the Captain's assistant for this mission. At night, the two arrived in the forest outside Huanyue City to confirm the mission.
["First, tonight is our first meeting with that fortune-teller in this forest."]
["Then, we need to help her overcome various hardships to ensure this history follows the 'correct path'... is that it?"]
["Exactly! you understand quite well!"]
["Not at all... if anything, you haven't explained anything clearly, have you?"]
["Ha? Are you dissatisfied with this genius's powerful summarization skills?"]
The bickering between the Captain and Xiao Te amused Kiana.
"The way Xiao Te talks is exactly like Dr. Tesla! I'd believe it if you said she is Dr. Tesla!" Kiana slapped her thigh, finding Xiao Te hilarious. "Hey! I have an idea! If Xiao Te and Dr. Tesla were in a room together, would they start strangling each other?"
Su Mu imagined that scenario. The game would probably be filled with censored beeps. Think the Anti-Entropy telegraph operator is joking with you?
Though still somewhat confused by the plot, the audience gathered several facts from the dialogue. First, Kongming would definitely appear here tonight. Time was running out; if the Captain didn't find her quickly, she would die in the forest. And... while talking, the Captain accidentally fell into a trap Kongming had set. Absurdly, Xiao Te told him that even stepping into the trap was "part of history."
Soon after falling, Kongming appeared. Under the moonlight, she held her feather fan, looking like a master strategist looking down at the Captain. This beautiful CG immediately stirred the audience's emotions.
[Holy crap? This is really Theresa?]
[Theresa actually has such a... wise side?]
[This Kongming really has an intellectual beauty, doesn't she? It's a vibe no other Theresa has...]
[Whoa, the world is ending! Theresa and the word 'wisdom' are actually in the same sentence! Is the apocalypse tomorrow?]
Seeing the comments, Theresa's clenched fists were creaking. So angry! But must maintain the idol image!
"Pfft-hahaha! Auntie, is this really you? I can't see it at all—you actually have such a smart side! Mhm, let me think, what's the saying? Right—'don't look at Auntie's small stature, her ability is heaven-sent'!"
Kiana's teasing earned her a murderous glare from Theresa. Su Mu cleared his throat and said something that left Theresa baffled:
"My name is Shinichi Kudo, a high school detective who specializes in difficult cases. One day, I was unfortunately fed poison by a black-clad organization, and my body shrunk, turning me into Conan Edogawa. Though I look like a primary schooler, my mind is unchanged—I am a hidden reasoning expert. No matter the case, there is only one truth!"
Theresa: "??" Kiana: "??" Theresa: "I have no idea what you're saying, but 'body shrinking' and 'becoming a primary schooler'... you're definitely mocking me!!"
Simultaneously, in Otto's office.
Looking at the stunningly beautiful Kongming in the CG, Otto felt his soul ascending. "Theresa! My Theresa! For you, I will SSS you! I'll pull, I'll pull, I'll drain this gacha pool!!"
Amber wiped her sweat as she watched the uncontrollably emotional Otto. Lord Overseer's mental state was getting more "beautiful" every day. One moment he was deep in thought about how to stop his granddaughter from being snatched away, and the next he was completely intoxicated by the game. All of this started once Otto began playing Honkai 3rd! Honkai 3rd, you've ruined a man!
In the subsequent plot, after an explanation from the Captain and Xiao Te, Kongming finally believed they weren't assassins... though she continued to call him "Mr. Assassin," which left the Captain helpless. Late at night, the three rested around a campfire. The Captain grilled fish for Kongming, but it clearly tasted terrible, earning a look of disgust from her.
The dialogue further expanded the worldview of Honkai Kingdoms: ZERO. The beasts Yama and Wuxiang had dealt a heavy blow to the empire. Kongming, proficient in vast knowledge, calculated that a third beast, Huodou, was yet to appear. she decided to leave the capital to seal it at an undersea altar. However, she was wary of how the "Mr. Assassin" knew about the top-secret altar.
[Mhm... based on the dialogue, is the Captain following a script he already knows?]
[ZERO is set a thousand years before the original Honkai Kingdoms. Kongming isn't the Sage King yet...]
[Eh? Wait, in the previous Honkai Kingdoms timeline, Rita was alive, right? Is she the same Rita as the one in Huanyue City? Or a descendant?]
[she looks the same, even the clothes and tone are identical. It must be Rita herself.]
[Doesn't that mean by the time of the previous event, Rita was over a thousand years old? Is she immortal?]
The audience discussed the lore. As the plot progressed, Beichen Meixin arrived to capture Kongming by the Second Prince's order. The Captain recognized her immediately as "Shadow Dash" Mei in a cameo role. To protect Kongming, the Captain fought Meixin. Though he was at a disadvantage, he turned the tables at the last second and defeated her. However, the battle left him injured, and he collapsed from blood loss. Before losing consciousness, he heard Kongming's anxious cry.
[Darkness...]
[The darkness makes me recall fragments of the past.]
[I once searched for someone in such darkness, pursued someone.]
[That memory makes my heart ache.]
[No... not just my heart. My head hurts, my legs hurt, my whole body hurts...]
[The sharp pain wakes me. Before my eyes is a blindingly bright sky.]
Upon waking, the Captain found Kongming applying chewed herbs to his wounds, complaining about his recklessness while bandaging him.
[The girl patiently wrapped silk cloth around me, her technique clumsy but careful. Her cool fingers occasionally brushed against my skin.]
[Looking closely, her forehead was beaded with sweat, and her beautiful sleeves were stained with mud and blood.]
["Pathetic! What kind of assassin are you! Stepping in traps, getting stabbed, you can't even grill fish! I should grant you a piece of land to go home and farm instead!"]
[Though the girl's mouth never stopped scolding, her hands never stopped bandaging.]
Watching Kongming bandage the Captain, Kiana smiled: "Hehe, Kongming is a typical 'sharp tongue, soft heart'! she was scared to death but had to put on a tough act... she's actually quite kind!"
Su Mu nodded: "Mhm, not just kind, but quite cute."
Unlike the mature and composed master strategist she first appeared to be, facing an injured Captain made Kongming act like a panicked child. To maintain her dignity, she had to act tough, but her movements gave her away. That contrast made her adorable.
"C-Cute...? Do you really think so?" Theresa's face turned beet red. she covered her burning cheeks; being called cute to her face was a bit embarrassing...
Kiana looked at her with disgust: "Hey, Auntie, what are you being shy for? He's talking about Kongming, Starlit Astrologos! What does it have to do with you?"
Theresa's shy expression vanished instantly. she smiled at Kiana, but there was no warmth in her eyes. "Kiana~ do you know the Shenzhou idiom about a mouse licking a cat's nose? Do you know the next part?"
Kiana scratched her head and looked at Su Mu for help. Su Mu thought for a bit and replied: "A mouse licking a cat's nose—seeking death."
END OF CHAPTER
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