"So what? I'm not allowed to slip up once?" Kiana clapped her hands and stood straight, pretending nothing happened.
The first attack failed, but no big deal. This is my home field. I have initiative.
"Su Ming can you help me pack? Some of the heavy stuff is hard to move"
Kiana's voice turned syrupy again.
If someone's being that nice, they're either cheating or plotting.
"No. I'm afraid you'll suddenly accuse me of molesting you."
Su Ming refused flatly.
"Hah? What kind of logic is that? How could I do something like that?" Kiana snapped, instantly dropping the act.
"If it's theoretically possible, it's not worth the risk. Boys need to learn to protect themselves outside."
"From a theoretical standpoint, yes, there are cases that support this," Bronya shrugged.
"I—" Kiana tried to argue, remembered some absurd real-life incidents she'd seen, and grudgingly gave in. "Fine. Then Bronya, you help me. Su Ming can just stand there!"
The two girls crouched by the wardrobe, whispering.
"This little stuff counts as 'heavy'?" Bronya said. "Our Kiana is such a delicate flower~"
"Can't I be? I'm just not that strong!" Kiana huffed.
"Oh? So the paramecium that can punch bricks barehanded is weak now. Want to retire on the spot?"
"Shut up. Why don't you talk about how you intentionally fed while gaming with Su Ming just to 'harass' him?"
Su Ming stood behind them, shamelessly watching them work.
What a wonderful life—getting to loaf around alone.
And it wasn't purely loafing, either.
During his last few dungeon grinds, Su Ming had started encountering two problems.
First: his Honkai resistance was still too weak. In prolonged fights, he inevitably got hurt. If wounds stayed exposed in a Honkai environment too long, corrosion would set in, combat power would crash, and he'd waste a run.
Second: he had no healing. He was relying on constitution alone. But if he wanted to become a true "balanced build," recovery was mandatory. Even that cursed "old man ring" game gave you flasks. Su Ming had only a single bottle of anti-corrosion serum.
Healing couldn't be solved quickly—but Honkai resistance might.
He hadn't forgotten that his current Honkai Resistance talent came from Kiana's Bond Quest I, meaning completing Bond Quest II could very likely grant an improved resistance.
Su Ming subconsciously glanced at Kiana and Bronya's enticing backs as they crouched. Their tops pulled tight, outlining their curves.
Paramecium really grew up…
No. I'm not. I didn't. I wasn't looking. That was the foolish old me—unrelated to the current me.
A sacred splitter. Yes. A sacred splitter.
I'm doing this purely for the Honkai resistance reward. Really. Definitely not because I have any thoughts about the paramecium. I've seen and eaten enough, okay? A mere paramecium could never shake my heart of cold iron.
He opened the system panel again.
[Name: Kiana Kaslana]
[Charm: 18]
[Description: Schicksal's little princess, the Kaslana family's second daughter. Lively and adorable, somewhat willful, but growing more mature with age. Recommended target.]
[Favorability: 40]
[Bond Quest II: You already know this clever, lovable girl comes from the Kaslana family, yet her background is filled with oddities. Why is her sister blonde while she is white-haired? Why do rumors say the Kaslana family originally had only one child, and the other "appeared" suddenly? Faced with these rumors, you decide to dig deeper.]
[Objective: Uncover the truth behind Kiana's origins.]
Kiana's origin?
Su Ming blinked. What's there to investigate? She's Bianca's clone with Sirin's core transplanted, right?
Wait—if it's still uncompleted, there's a twist.
Bianca is blonde in this world too. That can't be a rebellious dye job to spite her old man. Cecilia isn't dead yet—so it's not "motherly kindness, filial daughter" either.
So Kiana is probably still Bianca's clone, yes, but details must differ. "Uncover the truth" likely means he has to clarify all the differences.
Great. Another lore-critical quest. This system really wants to shove the truth down my throat.
Just as Su Ming decided to try tackling Bond Quest II, the two girls finished packing.
Two bags of clothing, one bag of daily supplies, one bag of plush toys and small items, and one box of electronics.
Su Ming narrowed his eyes.
"That's all you have for moving?"
"What? Is there a problem?" Kiana puffed up, righteous without reason.
Su Ming scanned the room. Several pieces of furniture clearly belonged to Kiana, not the landlord.
"You're leaving all this here?"
"Someone will move it to my aunt's house later. She has a place nearby. It's fine."
With Mei not present, Kiana didn't even bother pretending—admitting she'd had somewhere to stay all along.
"You can lie about that straight to Mei's face. Impressive," Bronya said, not even hiding her disdain.
She wouldn't rat Kiana out to Mei, though. Sabotaging someone at no benefit to herself? Not her style.
So what was Su Ming doing?
Kiana looked over.
Su Ming was looking at the sky.
Why are you looking at me? I heard nothing. Go plot somewhere else.
Su Ming's "loyalty" to Mei was… flexible. He still needed Bond Quest II. Kicking Kiana out now would do him no good.
Kiana exchanged a smile with Bronya.
Their boundary test had succeeded. Su Ming looked honest on the surface, but one push and he revealed his weak point. If he were truly faithful, it wouldn't matter even if they sat in his lap and teased him.
And as the saying goes: flies don't land on seamless eggs. Since Su Ming showed willingness to hide things from Mei, that meant their odds of succeeding weren't small.
....
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