Then she closed her eyes again, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled, repeating the process several times to shake off the drowsiness.
Now fully awake, Kiana☆ gently pushed Mei☆ aside, glanced calmly at the lifeless figure in Sirin's arms, and then said flatly,
"No need, I already know the reason."
Upon hearing this, Fu Shi's heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly looked up at Kiana☆.
However, when their eyes met, she saw Kiana☆ looking at her with a teasing expression, and so she shouted loudly, "What are you looking at me for? Want to fight? I'm always ready!"
----------------------------------
The sun rose from the eastern horizon, illuminating the snow-white land. The lush red pine forest stretched along the hillside into the distance.
At this very moment, in a remote and quiet village in Siberia...
Little Kiana☆ was quietly sitting on a wooden chair, her gaze fixed on Siegfried, who lay on the bed with freshly bandaged wounds she had just tended to with great care.
At this moment, Siegfried had his eyes tightly shut, his face pale as paper, resting quietly on the bed.
Gazing at the scene before her, a trace of indescribable melancholy appeared in Kiana☆'s eyes.
However, just then, the phone placed at the bedside suddenly vibrated, breaking the previously peaceful atmosphere.
The sudden sound startled Kiana out of her thoughts. She quickly turned her head, and her eyes fell on the phone screen.
It clearly displayed, Honkai beast detected!
Faced with such a situation, Kiana hesitated for just a moment—but only for an instant. As she looked once more at the battered and bruised Siegfried lying on the bed, her heart was already made up.
Kiana☆ silently stood up, murmuring in her heart,
'I can't let my injured dad keep fighting anymore…'
'I'm going to prove to Dad that I can be a warrior who can stand on her own too!'
She reached out and picked up the Heavenly Fire, Sacred Judgment from the table, then turned decisively toward the door and walked out. Her figure quickly disappeared into the vast snow, leaving behind a trail of deep and shallow footprints.
...
On the pristine, mirror-like snowy plain, a tall and upright red pine stood proudly. Below it, a slightly bulging snow mound stood quietly.
In the vast expanse of snow, the mound appeared somewhat unusual and particularly eye-catching.
While anxiously searching for Honkai beasts, Kiana☆ was suddenly drawn to the snow mound. She slowly tightened her grip on Heavenly Fire in her hand, and a surge of courage filled her heart.
Without hesitation, Kiana☆ began walking step by step toward the mound, her wide curious eyes fixed intently on it.
However, just as she was about to approach the mound, the snow pile suddenly exploded, sending a spray of white snow into the air.
The unexpected event frightened the completely unprepared Kiana☆, making her stumble backward in panic and fall to the ground, her bottom landing squarely on the snow.
After finally regaining her balance, Kiana☆ looked closely and found that what had emerged from the snow mound was actually a person.
Seeing the long-haired Fu Lin, Kiana☆ thought she could finally relax, but as her gaze slowly moved downward and she saw… she immediately covered her eyes with her hand and shouted,
"Ma-Male... There's a pervert here!"
Fu Lin scratched his head in confusion. Hearing Kiana☆'s shout, he immediately looked around cautiously.
But aside from the two of them, there was no one else around. This made Fu Lin's expression show a trace of puzzlement and bewilderment.
"Where's the pervert? I don't see one."
Kiana☆ pointed at Fu Lin and shouted, "It's you! Why aren't you wearing any clothes!"
Following Kiana☆'s gaze, Fu Lin saw that he was indeed standing there completely naked, his entire body covered in a layer of glistening snowflakes, even his hair and face weren't spared.
Hearing Kiana☆'s words, Fu Lin finally realized that his muscular body was fully exposed without the slightest covering. His face gradually turned red, then he exploded,
"Huh? Damn it! Where are my clothes?!"
Fu Lin covered his private parts with his hand and quickly hid behind a nearby tree. While brushing the snowflakes off his body, he took a clean set of clothes from his system space and put them on.
After getting dressed, Fu Lin noticed his hair had returned to its original blue-gray color, and only then realized he had somehow exited his Artificial Honkai form.
"Could it be that the clothes were burned away when I entered Artificial Honkai Form, and that's why I had no clothes when it ended?"
Thinking this, Fu Lin couldn't help but feel grateful he didn't know how to cancel the form back then. Otherwise…
A scene appeared in Fu Lin's mind—him canceling the form in front of a crowd. He felt a chill on his scalp and sucked in a breath of cold Siberian air.
"Yikes, terrifying. Too terrifying."
At that moment, Kiana☆ peeked out from behind the tree and, seeing Fu Lin now dressed, reminded him,
"You should leave quickly. It's very dangerous here."
Fu Lin lightly straightened his collar, then slowly lowered his head to look at the small figure beside him, examining her carefully.
He saw Kiana☆'s right eye wrapped in several layers of bandages, a red scarf neatly wrapped around her neck, complementing the brown leather clothing she wore.
Fu Lin stroked his chin, thinking,
'So that's it... This must be the period when Siegfried and Kiana☆ were in Siberia. Then, what is the mission this time...'
Fu Lin opened his system panel, only to be greeted by a string of flickering gibberish. Moments later, a clear message appeared on the system interface.
[ Mission, Kiana☆ Nurturing — The host is to fully unleash their talents and raise Kiana☆ according to their own ideals.
Once the mission is complete, Kiana☆ will be comprehensively evaluated based on her performance in morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor, and appropriate rewards will be granted. ]
Seeing this message, Fu Lin was stunned. He never expected that this time, the mission would be to personally raise his "wife"!
"Is this interesting? This is just too interesting!"
The mission was so unexpected that Fu Lin couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile, a glimmer of excitement in his eyes.
But immediately after, a thought flashed through his mind—since he was to raise Kiana☆, wouldn't that mean he could instill the right values in her?
That had been his intention from the start. Thinking of this, a strong sense of duty welled up within him, and he couldn't be bothered to think about the age-old paradox of time travel.
Seeing Fu Lin seemingly lost in thought, Kiana☆ reminded him again,
"What are you smiling at? Are you even listening? It's really dangerous here right now—Honkai beasts could appear at any moment... I'm not going to save you then."