HIK CH1-8 (Patreon)

HIK CH1-8

Chapter 1: What, I'm in Glamoth?

Loneliness, darkness.

This is the only scene in front of Ilu. She seems to be locked in a container similar to a culture chamber, surrounded by a slippery unknown liquid.

"This..."

Pinching her cheeks and realizing that this might not be a dream, the girl couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

She only remembered picking up her phone at around two o'clock in the morning and playing a simulated universe. After that, she couldn't remember clearly.

Could it be that I have transmigrated?

No, no, no, that's a bit too far-fetched...

"It must be because I stayed up too late last night that I had such a dream."

She comforted herself in her heart: "In this case, I usually just continue to sleep."

Just as Ilu was about to close her eyes and continue to sleep, the darkness around her suddenly faded, and a real-life CG picture, similar to a movie trailer, appeared in front of her eyes, accompanied by a strange female narration that sounded in her ears:

"Glamoth, the Sky Empire, our home."

As her voice fell, a silver-white planet came into view. People shuttled through the steel-cast city, talking and laughing, while countless steel fleets were displayed in the orbit of this planet. It was a huge empire in its heyday.

"Glamoth?"

The girl blinked in confusion.

This name seemed a little familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before, but she couldn't remember it for a while.

"Bringing the fruits of civilization to all the wild borders is the wish of Her Majesty the Queen."

"However, the dark Swarm Disaster that came from nowhere destroyed everything—"

The narration continued, and the scene in front of Ilu changed.

From the other side of the sky, the swarm of insects came in an endless stream. Although the army of the Iron Empire fought bravely, they fell one after another. Since then, all the colonies of the empire have been lost, and the proud iron fleet has fallen as well. Under the siege of the swarm of insects with compound eyes and elytra, the cries of the people of Glamoth were drowned in despair, and the sky shattered from then on.

"Is this... the Swarm Disaster of the universe?"

Seeing the scene in front of her, Ilu's eyes widened.

What the hell?

It was not until this moment that she realized where she had traveled to.

No, let me go back, I don't want to fight insects!

The girl couldn't help but cry out in her heart.

At the same time, the narration in her mind continued—

"Hehe, does it look familiar?"

"At this moment, such a scene is happening throughout the Glamoth galaxy."

"And you may be the next one."

"Unless you make the most important decision in your life and prove to yourself that you have the strength and courage to face the Sting—"

"Warriors born for the Queen, pick up the elytra shapeshifter and become a member of the Glamoth Iron Cavalry. Under the command of the supreme Majesty Titania, all the swarms that invade the empire will be wiped out."

As the narration concluded, the picture that Ilu saw changed again. Just when the Glamoth Empire was in a life-and-death situation, countless silver-white knights wearing mechanical armor fell from the sky and wiped out the Sting that covered the sky.

The images complemented each other, and the tragic and cruel scenes, coupled with the ethereal narration, made her feel immersed in it and unable to extricate herself. Until the nutrient solution in the culture chamber was completely drained and the hatch slowly opened, Ilu came back to her senses.

Wait a minute...

Why do others either start the game in the Astral Express, wait in the Xianzhou or Herta Space Station behind, or at least in Beloberg, but I have become part of Glamoth during the Swarm Disaster period? Let alone which scenario is more dangerous, this TM timeline is wrong!

"Woo!"

The girl was about to get up and leave the incubator, but she was unfamiliar with this new body. As soon as she stepped out of the incubator, she lost her balance and fell to the ground. This fall made her see stars, and it took her a long time to get up.

Through the reflective ground, Ilu could clearly see her current appearance. The girl reflected in the surface had a pair of eyes as gorgeous as fireflies. The silver-gray long hair that fell down while she was bending her head swayed gently beside her face. The delicate face under the shadow was slightly pale. She looked very similar to Firefly, as if they were carved from the same mold.

But this is normal. After all, the pilots of the Glamoth Iron Cavalry are cloned from Queen Titania. If their appearance is not similar, that would be a problem.

The only flaw is her current height. If Firefly is 1.7 meters tall and can look down on other women, then she is only 1.5 meters tall. For some reason, her height has severely shrunk, as if the Empire cut corners when making her.

"Tsk."

Thinking of this, Ilu's face grew darker.

Damn, I am still a half-finished product?!

"New warrior, please come here—"

At this moment, a familiar voice sounded in her mind again. It was the narration that had told her the history of the Glamoth Empire before, and it was also the supreme existence suspected to be Queen Titania of Glamoth.

In order not to show any abnormality in front of the Queen, and to avoid being discarded as a defective product, Ilu pretended that nothing had happened and walked naked to the position indicated by the Queen. On the table was a two-meter-long azure sniper rifle and a blue elytra transformer that could just fit in her palm.

"This is the cavalry transformation sheath of the Snow Fyrefly-V Strategic Stealth Mech (S·S·M) newly developed by the Empire. Unlike the Strategic Assault Mech (S·A·M) of the Firefly model that focuses on firepower output, it can release pheromones similar to those of the Swarm, allowing you to hide from the Sting below the level of the Emanator and go deep into the back of The Swarm nest."

Ilu: "?"

Hey, why do you emphasize that I have to go deep into the back of The Swarm nest?

Aren't Glamoth's cavalry good at fighting Insects head-on?

"As for this sniper rifle named [Severance], the bullets it fires are enough to freeze a star system. This is a secret weapon specially built by the Empire for the Snow Fyrefly Armor. We hope you can use this bullet to freeze a newborn Swarm King, which is now dormant inside a star system..."

"Ah?"

Ilu stood there with a dull look on her face.

As for what Queen Glamoth said in front of her, "The Empire will not forget your contribution, and the Empire will always remember you," she could no longer hear it. There was only one thing in her mind—ah? I fight the Propagation Emanator, is it true?

No, sister, I was just born!

The outrageousness of this matter is no less than that of a level 1 hero receiving a task to defeat a level 100 demon king in the tutorial village. The main point is an abstraction. People who don't know her would think she is the Emanator of some Aeon...

The insect that can be called the Swarm King can basically be determined to be the Emanator of the Propagation Aeon Taizi Yulos. If she, an unknown person, goes up, isn't it a gift of a high-quality seedling bed for free?

"Killing the Propagation, this is our mission; you... don't you want to go?"

Seeing that Ilu had no intention of picking up the Iron Cavalry Transformation Sheath, the Queen's tone gradually became cold, and she turned into a ruthless repeater, constantly urging her to transform quickly.

"Okay, okay, I really admire you; can't I go?"

Irritated by the Queen's voice, Ilu was impatient and picked up the Iron Cavalry Transformation Sheath on the table, starting her first mecha combination neatly.

I will burn the sea...

Oh no, she seems to be an ice type.

Then—freeze the sea!

"Henshin~"

As Ilu's voice fell, the translucent elytra in her hand emerged with an ice-blue glow and quickly enveloped her whole body.

The originally fragile silver-haired girl transformed into a silver-white mecha knight in the next second, except for the visor and chest, which were azure blue, emitting icy cold air and causing the water molecules in the surrounding air to condense together and turn into white snowflakes that fell to the ground.

---

Chapter 2: The Universe is a Huge True Sting?

The Snow Fyrefly-V strategic stealth armor was born to be a sharp blade inserted into the rear of the insect swarm and to cooperate with the special sniper rifle [Severance] to assassinate the Swarm King hiding in the rear to command the Swarm.

Due to the special nature of the mission, the entire Glamoth Empire has only this one Snow Fyrefly armor. It cannot be mass-produced like the Fire-type Firefly armor, and the driver also needs to be cultivated in a special way to adapt to changes in the battlefield environment. This is also the reason why Ilu's size is smaller than that of other Glamoth Iron Cavalry drivers.

To combat the erosion of "Propagation," the Iron Cavalry drivers all have a genetic defect called "Loss Entropy," which will gradually make their existence disappear. Ilu's "Loss Entropy" is slightly special. There is a trait called "Nihility" in her gene editing, which can make the surrounding organic life subconsciously ignore Ilu's existence, and the memory of her will from others will gradually fade with the passage of time. For the Glamoth Empire, Ilu will soon become a person who has never existed and will be forgotten by everyone.

As long as no one remembers her anymore and the world no longer has any memory of her, she will completely disappear and return to Nihility, just like no one remembers the instrument bass.

However, this is not important because Ilu was originally a war weapon carefully prepared to kill the Swarm King.

If it were not for the fact that the other existing clone warriors could not control this Snow Fyrefly-V mecha, she would not even have been born.

Using "Nihility" to fight against the erosion of "Propagation" is the most daring thing the Glamoth Empire has ever done. If it is not done well, they will be playing with fire and burning themselves, but they still made such an attempt.

As long as the goal can be achieved, for the Glamoth Empire, all valuable sacrifices are worth it; otherwise, they would not have developed weapons such as the Glamoth Iron Cavalry that use the power of "Propagation." In order not to make too much noise and avoid alerting the swarm, Ilu did not carry a series of large-scale lethal weapons such as artillery but took stealth and assassination to the extreme, focusing on behind-the-enemy operations so that she could drive for a long time without feeling tired.

The Empire even equipped her new armor with a sheath-shaped melee weapon similar to a mantis blade, which could kill the enemy with one blow after approaching. The insects killed by it would be frozen by the extreme cold; not only would they not explode, but they would not even have time to release pheromones. This is undoubtedly the favorite weapon of assassins.

"Buzz——"

As Ilu completed her transformation, a strange buzzing sound suddenly came from the mechanical device in front of her, and the dark insecthole slowly opened a gap, seemingly connected to a starry sky. This scene instantly attracted the girl's attention.

Is this... an Fragmentum tunnel?

No, that is the trace left by the rift eroding reality.

The one in front of me is more like a portal leading somewhere.

"This insecthole connects to the star system where the Swarm King is located. If you are ready, you can start the jump." The Queen's voice sounded in her ears again: "After that, you will not be able to hear my voice..."

Can't hear?

That's great!

Seemingly unwilling to listen to her nonsense, Ilu picked up the sniper rifle on the table, jumped into the insecthole without hesitation, and disappeared.

"Bye, see you~"

The Queen: "..."

The Glamoth Council behind the scenes: "..."

Will there really be no problems if this child goes?

-----------------

"Woo——"

The time and space distortion caused by crossing the tunnel made the girl feel nauseous for a short time. Even though she was wearing the Snow Fyrefly-V strategic stealth mech, Ilu, as the driver, was still affected.

After all, this was her first jump, and it was inevitable that she would feel carsick. She felt like vomiting now, but because she had not eaten anything, she could only retch.

Fortunately, the Snow Fyrefly armor has a strong internal adjustment ability, which quickly helped her adapt to the new environment.

After coming to her senses, Ilu began to observe her surroundings. She seemed to have arrived in a strange galaxy with dim stars on the verge of extinction through a insecthole.

At this moment, the land under her feet belonged to a planet ravaged by the swarm. The originally prosperous and noisy steel city had collapsed into ruins after the insect swarms had descended and become a Propagation base.

"Buzz--"

Just then, a group of dark insects with compound eyes and elytra flew from the horizon. The high-frequency vibrating elytra made a harsh buzzing sound, which immediately aroused Ilu's vigilance. She immediately displayed her mantis blade and took a fighting posture, but these young Sting insects did not seem to notice this "kind" with a strange action, and even left without looking at her.

"Wow, they really can't see me!"

Seeing that these young Sting insects ignored her existence, the girl became excited.

Well, well, it is worthy of the Glamoth Empire's black technology. It seems that her safety is guaranteed.

Of course, Ilu did not forget the goal of her trip—assassinating the Propagation Emanator.

The Glamoth Empire knew the approximate location of the Swarm King, but they were not sure which star system the Swarm King was hiding in. So, her current task was to find the location of the Swarm King as soon as possible and then use this sniper rifle to deliver a fatal blow.

Whether this shot could kill the Swarm King or not, Ilu would choose to leave here and find an unmanned corner to live her retirement life.

As for why she didn't return to the Glamoth Galaxy...

The reason was simple: Glamoth was destined to be destroyed. It had become a cosmic garbage dump, with broken limbs of Insects and cavalry everywhere. Only a fool would go back to die.

"Only one bullet? It seems that I can't shoot at will..."

After carefully examining the sniper rifle named [Severance] in her hand, Ilu lowered her head and pondered for a while, and soon made a decision. The translucent elytra behind the mecha slowly unfolded, blooming with blue light wings, and took her to the sky like a meteor flying in reverse. The cold air released from the mecha left pieces of ice crystals in the air, condensing into snowflakes and falling with the wind.

"That is..."

After driving the mecha away from the devastated planet, Ilu's eyes swept around and suddenly noticed something strange in the distance.

In this star system that was about to fall into silence, there was still a dark red star emitting strong light and heat, and there were a lot of black spots near it, just like countless bark beetles were dormant on it.

For some reason, she always felt that the star was actually a Insect, or a very, very big Insect.

This reminded her of a terrifying sentence:

Maybe the universe is actually a huge True Sting Insect...

"Yi!"

This sudden idea scared Ilu herself, but she quickly denied it.

Although "Propagation" has the ability of meme contamination, it can turn all newborns on a planet into Insects, and it can also turn newly born planets into Insects, it should not turn the entire universe into Insects, which would be too abnormal.

Although she said so, Ilu still planned to go over to see the situation. Since a large group of insects could gather together, it meant that there must be something over there that attracted them.

---

---

Chapter 3: Leave Now, No Insect Will Be Hurt

As we all know, there are two major disasters in this world: one is the gluttonous beast group, and the other is the Propagation insect group. Their existence has brought indelible disasters to the universe.

Oh, wait a minute; a friend from Xianzhou just connected and said that we seem to have missed the people of abundance and the antimatter legion.

Hmm... Although from the current perspective, it is only a matter of time before these guys become the four pests of the universe.

But in that era, [Abundance] and [Destruction] had not yet been born, and the swarm of King Tayzzyronth was undoubtedly the most terrible nightmare in the hearts of billions of creatures.

—Into the Starry Sky Special Column, Ilu.

-----------------

"Goodbye, Mom, I'm going to sail tonight~"

"Don't worry about me; I have a mecha and a sniper gun~"

"Hehe~"

While humming a little song from her hometown, Ilu flew at full speed toward the dark red star in the distance. Without damaging the driver's body, this is the maximum power that the Snow Fyrefly Armor can currently provide. Although it is not as fast as the Firefly-IV Strategic Assault Mech, or SAM, in terms of burst speed, it can accelerate continuously without worrying about the core overheating and has an absolute advantage in terms of endurance.

Similarly, as a pilot of the Snow Fyrefly, Ilu must also have the corresponding qualities.

What is the most important thing when traveling alone in the universe?

Yes, it is patience.

At first, Ilu was a little uneasy when she thought that the enemy she was facing was a Propagation Emanator, but after flying alone in the dark and empty universe for thirty system hours, her mood became extremely calm, and even if a bomb dropped would not cause any splashes for her.

It's like downloading an exciting movie on the computer when you go out in the morning, and when you come back in the evening, you find that the progress bar has only moved a little bit.

If it were someone else who was impatient, their mentality would have exploded at this time, but Ilu didn't feel much about it. She just felt that she was closer to her destination. This adaptability was unfamiliar to her.

"Am I still me?"

At first, Ilu thought so.

But soon, she accepted the reality.

"Oh my god, this is me."

Because she didn't know the specific reason, Ilu could only speculate that her genetic characteristics were causing trouble. After all, the biotechnology of the Glamoth Empire was quite advanced. To make her adapt to the battlefield environment, it was easy to perform some genetic surgery on her.

Of course, this does not mean that she has no negative emotions in her heart.

She still has the emotions that normal humans should have; otherwise, wouldn't she become a monster in human skin?

"Ah..."

Passing by a desolate and dilapidated Earth-like planet again, the girl lowered her head and glanced down. Looking at the dense black spots on the surface of the planet, she couldn't help but sigh.

As expected, life in this galaxy has basically been slaughtered by the insect swarm. The Earth-like planets she encountered along the way were all insect nests without exception. There was no one to say hello. She originally wanted to see if there were any survivors, but in the end, she could only leave disappointed.

Although no one came to greet her, what Ilu didn't expect was that she soon met a group of insects who greeted her nearby.

"Buzz—"

Perhaps smelling the pheromones released by the Snow Fyrefly Armor, a reddish sub-Sting insect with more than a dozen young Sting insects stopped in front of Ilu and began to circle around her. The high-frequency vibrating elytra made a harsh buzzing sound and fanned out a large amount of wing powder, as if conveying some information.

As for why this group of insects with Propagation in their minds took the initiative to greet her, the reason is very simple—in their eyes, the silver mecha in front of them is also "the same kind." Everyone is the offspring of the Propagation, so they have to practice the fate of Propagation. Since they can't actively copy themselves, they must help her "Propagate".

"Leave now; no insect will be hurt; otherwise, you will all die!"

"Buzz—"

Hearing her warning, the swarm of insects did not move away but got closer.

"You Insects, you really only think about Propagation..."

After realizing what the Insects wanted to do, Ilu's face suddenly turned dark. She showed the mantis blade hidden in her arms without hesitation. The cold air spread over it, turning into a very lethal ultra-low temperature air blade on the outermost layer.

Since you don't appreciate it, don't blame me for being rude.

"?"

Seeing this scene, the swarm of insects suddenly fell into confusion and chaos. They didn't understand why the "kind" in front of them suddenly took an attacking posture, but Ilu would not give them any reaction time.

From the elytra behind her, blue light wings bloomed, and then she flew in front of the sub-Sting insect at a terrifying speed that was almost impossible to capture with the naked eye. The sharp ultra-low temperature air blade slashed its body and cut it in half without any resistance.

"Crack—"

Not only that, but the self-explosion that this sub-sting insect was preparing to trigger when it died was also forcibly interrupted by the frost spreading from the wound. Its time seemed to stay at this moment forever, and it became a broken specimen of frozen borer.

"!!!"

Seeing the leader of the sub-sting insect die on the spot, the remaining insects suddenly became agitated, and Ilu, the initiator of all this, was also shocked by the scene in front of her. She looked down at the azure ice blades embedded in her arms with a look of disbelief.

I'm so powerful! Am I so powerful?

Even Ilu herself didn't expect the power of these two mantis blades to be so terrifying.

Originally, she thought she would fight back and forth with this sub-sting insect, so she chose to sneak attack the opponent at the first opportunity, but she didn't expect it would be killed in one second with such an easy blade.

"Hmph, where to escape?"

"I said, all of you Insects must die!"

Although Ilu was excited and agitated at this time, she did not forget to kill the Insects and silence them.

With her blade, all the more than ten young Sting insects were sent to meet the second Sting insect just now and became space garbage floating in space.

After confirming that no other insects nearby saw this scene, she lifted the combat state, and the pair of ice-blue wings behind the silver armor also became dim, no longer as eye-catching as before.

After such a small episode, Ilu also understood a truth: sometimes, too perfect a disguise is not a good thing, it often leading to other disasters.

Fortunately, this was only a small-scale encounter, and she could still use violence to solve the problem. If she encountered thousands or tens of thousands of them, she would think in a worse direction. If there was a True Sting nearby, she couldn't just rush in, right?

"It seems that we should try to avoid the swarm of insects..."

----

Chapter 4: Hunting Mode, Start!

After this lesson, Ilu deliberately avoided the areas where the swarms gathered on her way.

Even if some insects noticed her presence, she would suddenly accelerate and leave them far behind, not giving the Swarm any chance to catch up.

Of course, sometimes Ilu would encounter situations she could not avoid, so she had to show her mantis blade to quickly deal with all the witnesses before continuing to move forward.

As she got closer to the dark red star, the number of swarms she encountered increased, and the frequency of these encounters grew. She even saw several planet-sized insects, which were undoubtedly complete True Sting insects

Among them were many subspecies that Ilu had never seen before, and she could feel the terrifying heat radiating from them even from a distance.

Of course, Ilu had no intention of confronting these powerful creatures head-on.

With her current strength, it would be difficult to kill the True Sting insects without using the sniper rifle on her back. If she tried her best, Ilu might be able to kill one, but she couldn't stop the self-explosion of the True Sting insect after its death. Once she attracted the attention of the insect swarm, she would not be able to sneak into the vicinity of the dark red star quietly as she was now.

"By the way, that guy..."

Squinting her eyes and looking at the dark red star in the distance, Ilu couldn't help but frown slightly and whisper, "Could it really be a big insect?"

From the density of the insect swarm, she could tell that she had penetrated deep into the heart of the swarm and was not too far from the Swarm King. Additionally, a large number of True Sting insects were appearing nearby, making the true identity of this dark red star a bit suspicious.

A star-sized insect emitting such terrifying heat—could it be that this is the Swarm King she is looking for? It seemed that those dense black spots were probably the True Sting insects guarding it...

"It seems that it's time for it to appear."

Realizing the seriousness of the matter, Ilu's expression immediately became serious. She took off the sniper rifle [Severance] tied to her back, removed the cover of the scope, and aimed the gun at the direction of the dark red star.

The horrifying scene seen through the scope once again confirmed her guess. Those black spots were True Sting insects the size of planets, and the dark red star surrounded by them resembled a huge Propagation nest. Countless Sting flew out of its large mouth, like a black wave attacking the distance.

As she guessed, this creature was the Propagation Emanator she was searching for.

"Unfortunately, the distance isn't enough." Glancing at the effective range displayed in the lower right corner of the screen, Ilu muttered to herself seriously, "We have to get closer."

Although the bullet fired by [Rang] can span billions of kilometers, the distance between her and the Swarm King was too far at this time. She was unsure whether this shot could hit its body. If it failed to kill it, what awaited her would be the endless revenge of the swarm.

As for whether it would hit but not kill... Although this possibility existed, as a sniper who sneaks behind the enemy, she could only trust her own bullets. If she didn't even trust the bullets in the barrel, there would be no need for her to appear here. Ilu took a deep breath and confirmed once more that the bullets were loaded and ready to fire at any time.

She began to fly at full speed toward the pre-set sneaking route, like a firefly flying into a fire, heading toward the dark red star shrouded in the haze of the swarm.

After another thirty system hours, as the distance between them continued to close, she finally saw the ideal sniper point.

But before that, the super giant Swarm King born in the form of a star, had noticed the existence of Ilu.

One must understand that all the Swarm in this galaxy were its offspring. As a Propagation Emanator, it could naturally distinguish this lurker disguised as a Sting.

Seeing that the iron cavalry which should have been fighting with the swarm in the Glamoth galaxy now appeared under its nose, the Swarm King's heart surged with a sudden irritability.

Dangerous factors made it feel restless. The sniper rifle in the hands of the silver-white iron cavalry constantly warned it. It could sense that it was a terrible weapon capable of annihilating an entire galaxy and could even cause fatal damage to it.

Although its main task was to breed more swarms, facing such a significant enemy, it had to prioritize annihilating this human who had intruded on its doorstep.

"Buzz—"

The Swarm King made an ultra-low frequency sound that human ears could not hear, ordering the barkinsects of the entire galaxy to exterminate the humans in front of them while taking this opportunity to breed more swarms to fill the gap.

"Chichi—"

After receiving the extermination order from the Swarm King, the True Sting insects dormant near Ilu instantly made a series of piercing buzzing sounds, flapping their elytra and beginning to gather in her direction. They moved as fast as lightning, like black meteors streaking through the night sky toward Ilu's position.

Oh no, it seems she has been discovered!

Seeing that the barkinsects of the entire galaxy began to gather in her direction, Ilu immediately realized that her coordinates had been exposed. The Propagation Emanator seemed to have recognized her identity and launched a comprehensive encirclement and suppression against her.

The girl frowned slightly after glancing at the swarm of young Sting insects that had already flown near her. This was a group of mutant young Sting insects. They were red and covered with flame patterns—undoubtedly new weapons created by the star Swarm King. It was easy to imagine how difficult it would be for the firefly armor, which excelled at burning through the sea of insects, to combat these flame-resistant creatures.

It was likely that the Glamoth Empire was aware of this, which is why it formulated such an assassination plan and sent her to kill the Swarm King.

In this situation, there was no time to waste; action had to be taken quickly.

"Turn off the mimicry and start Hunting Mode."

Thinking this, Ilu did not hesitate to cancel all her mimicry disguises, completely revealing the full posture of the Snow Fyrefly-V strategic stealth armor in front of them.

Infiltration and hunting were both compulsory subjects for assassins. As a member of the Glamoth Iron Cavalry, she had learned combat experience passed down from her predecessors since her birth and naturally knew how to kill the insect swarm with maximum efficiency.

"Swoosh."

From the elytra behind Ilu, blue wings of light bloomed, and then she rushed toward the attacking young Sting insects at a terrifying speed that was almost impossible to catch with the naked eye. She held the sniper rifle [Severance] in one hand while the palm of the other hand sprayed a large amount of ultra-low temperature gas, instantly freezing the rushing insects into ice.

However, because they were too close to the star Swarm King, the ice frozen on them quickly melted, and Ilu had to use the mantis blade on her arm to cut them into pieces. This time, the insects she sliced burst forth with strong light and heat, resembling heavy bombs exploding in the universe. Fortunately, she pulled away in time and was not affected by the explosion.

"Tsk, damn planner, why did you design this kind of dung monster? Is there no one in your house..."

As she thought about how she had almost been blown away by the insects, Ilu couldn't help but curse and complain about HSR Devs' inhumanity.

Lttle did she know that in the future, she would become the T0 phantom god in the entire game because of these extremely troublesome stings. Even after several versions, no character could replace her.

---

**Chapter 5: Herta Treasure Appraisal

"Shhh——" Although these mutant young Sting insects have the weakness of ice attributes, Ilu can easily kill them with one blade. However, for a while, she was still confused by their death explosions.

There is no way; if it were just a simple battle, she would not actually be inferior to these young Sting insects.

The problem is that it is not just these young Sting insects targeting her. At a glance, the insects in the entire galaxy regard her as a target for encirclement and suppression. Dozens of real Sting insects of various shapes dive at full speed toward Ilu. It won’t take long for them to fly right in front of her. During this period, she must shoot and aim at the Swarm King.

In other words, Ilu needs a good environment to aim her gun, but those secondary Sting insects shout, "Your Majesty the Insect King is on board," from time to time and rush at her, exploding crazily, so she can't free her hands to shoot.

"SM planner, look at these B Insects you designed; they are so annoying!"

Although the wing powder of the sub-Sting insect has an irritating component, Ilu can be sure that her anger at this moment comes from deep within her heart, not because of any external influence.

Ha... What? You said that this is still a trick? No! This is not a trick; how could the dignified Glamoth Iron Cavalry Knight fall for such a trick, right? (Threat.jpg)

Ilu knew very well that if she didn't kill this Swarm King immediately, when the group of real Sting insects surrounded her, she would probably go down to the prison to play the resurrection match. In this situation, there is only a glimmer of hope.

"I can't stand it; I'll explode with you!" 

Thinking this, Ilu resolutely gave up killing the nearby insect swarms. She carried the sniper rifle [Leaving] and flew at full speed toward the location of the Swarm King.

Even if she hit the self-destructing sub-Sting insect, she didn't care; she strengthened her belief.

Since I can't aim, I won't aim. I'll just put the muzzle of the gun in your mouth and see where you can run!

"For her Majesty!"

Although Ilu didn't say this, in the eyes of the swarm, the message she released was probably this. After all, her behavior was no different from that of the sub-Sting insects that just rushed up and exploded.

Even if their IQ was low, they could tell that the human in front of them wanted to die with their Swarm King, but they were powerless to stop it. They could only watch the silver-white knight in front of them spread her elytra wings and turn into a blue extreme cold meteor that crashed into the dark red sky. The light it emitted was like a firefly against the sun, but it was the latter that was terrified at this moment.

As a Propagation Emanator who had just been born, it had never seen such a scene before. It immediately ordered the nearby True Sting insects to come to protect the emperor, but Ilu's speed was obviously faster.

Before the real Sting insects that were supposed to protect the emperor could take their positions, she passed through many obstacles and came close to the Swarm King.

 "Sizzle--"

The terrifying high temperature burned the metal armor. Even with the protection of ultra-low temperature gas, Ilu in the mecha was not feeling well. At this moment, she seemed to be in a hot furnace and could faintly smell the burning flesh.

You must know that the enemy is not only a Swarm King but also the real red star. Being able to reach here is already the limit of what the Snow Fyrefly-V strategic infiltration armor can do. Even if it takes one more step forward, the mecha may melt due to overheating.

However, she does not need to take this step.

Because the distance is enough.

All the preparations are for this moment.

Raising the sniper rifle [Severance] in her hand, Ilu aimed the black muzzle at the dark red star in front of her, her expression indifferent.

"Stars, it's time to go out."

As her voice fell, a bullet made of ice crystals drew a blue track, passed through the burning surface of the star, and sank into the body of the Swarm King.

At this moment, the world suddenly became silent.

"Hmm?"

Ilu tilted her head and blinked, her big eyes full of confusion.

Strange; why no reaction?

Wait a minute...

Ilu could feel the surrounding heat decreasing rapidly, and the color of the dark red star in front of her became increasingly dim, as if something had erupted from the inside of the star and gradually spread outward.

Run!

Before her brain could react, her body had already reacted first. She turned around and flew in the direction she came from, ignoring the blockade of the True Sting Insects behind her, just trying to get away from the dead star faster.

Soon, as the flames on the surface of the star gradually extinguished, a deep blue cold wave erupted from the inside of the Swarm King and spread in all directions at an extremely terrifying speed, turning everything into glaciers wherever it went. It soon froze the star-sized Propagation Emanator into a huge ice ball.

Although Ilu chose to stay away from the star immediately, in order to ensure that the shot just now hit the target, she was too close to the latter and was caught up by the cold wave before she could run far.

"Crack--"

At the moment of contact with the cold wave, the elytra of the Snow Fyrefly armor were instantly frozen, and Ilu, who stayed inside, could not escape. The cold, close to absolute zero, penetrated the cockpit through the mecha and froze everything into ice.

In the dark, a special existence seemed to cast a gaze here, but Ilu had stopped thinking at this time and received the same treatment as the ultimate creature, Kars-sama, floating in outer space.

Time seemed to stop flowing at this moment. With the rapid spread of the cold wave, this galaxy originally occupied by the Swarm was soon covered by ice and submerged in the waves of Remembrance, but the outside world knew nothing about it.

The entire galaxy fell into silence.

No one knew what happened here, and no one remembered her existence. The war against Propagation continued, and the universe seemed to be no different from before.

Only 'that' sat in meditation in the center of the Pure Land, still recording all this tirelessly.

-----------------

Amber Era 2157, Herta Space Station, Containment Section.

"Well, it’s okay that the thing is old; it’s very open."

"It can be confirmed that this is an Iron Cavalry Knight from the Glamoth Empire. The model is a bit special. I haven’t seen it before, but it should not be a replica..."

A doll-like girl with long, smooth light brown hair and a gorgeous black and purple dress walked around an abandoned silver mecha, occasionally getting close to observe it carefully. Not far behind her, the Express Crew stood aside, patiently waiting for the expert on rare objects to give the identification results.

Ms. Herta, member #83 of the [Genuis Society], is the human with the highest IQ on the Azure Star and is also a well-known collector of rare objects.

It is precisely because of this title of "collector of rare objects" that the Express Crew chose to contact Herta as soon as they picked up this silver mecha and asked her to identify its identity.

As for why they picked it up from a pile of cosmic garbage floating in space... Himeko and Himeko didn't intend to do so originally, but when March 7th saw the silver mecha frozen in the ice, her eyes lit up, and she insisted on picking it up, saying that the people inside might still be alive.

Although no matter how you look at it, the people inside are dead.

After all, this is March 7th's request, and everyone naturally has to listen. In the end, Dan Heng took action to carry the abandoned mecha back to the train.

But the problem is that after picking it up, it can’t be left in the train. The train conductor, Pam, strongly protested against this. Finally, everyone discussed it and had to contact Herta to send the silver mecha to the space station.

You know, Ms. Herta is usually very busy. It is unimaginable for others to be able to spare time to identify strange objects for them. The Astral Express owes her a small favor.

"Hey~"

Noticing the gazes of everyone, March 7th playfully stuck out her tongue and made a face. "You can’t blame me for this. I was only thinking about saving people at that time and didn’t think about it that much!"

---

Chapter 6: This Must Be a Dream!

"In other words, this mecha is really an antique from the Swarm Disaster period?"

Hearing the appraisal result given by Herta, Himeko couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Yes, but it's useless; at least it has no collection value for me."

Herta waved her hand to signal the assistant beside her to pick up the black cloth and cover the silver mecha. Then she turned to look at the Express Crew and said expressionlessly, "If you have been to the Glamoth galaxy, you would see its wreckage everywhere... Of course, the one you picked up is relatively intact, but without the driver, it is useless even if it is intact."

"Is there a possibility that its driver is still alive?"

March 7th whispered quietly from the side. Although her voice was very low, Herta still heard her.

Herta thought, “...”

Haha, this pink-haired girl is quite humorous.

If the driver of this Iron Cavalry Knight rider is still alive now, I, Herta, will eat this space station on the spot!

Forget it; as a scientific researcher, you still can't be too sure...

After all, there is nothing impossible in this world. Even if someone told her that the Propagation Aeon Tayzzyronth would be resurrected tomorrow, she wouldn’t dare to guarantee that it wouldn’t happen.

"Shhh—"

Just then, Herta suddenly heard some strange, subtle sounds coming from behind her and was stunned for a moment.

What's that noise?

Then she noticed the extremely shocked expressions of the Express Crew, including the staff on the scene. They all looked behind her as if they had seen something incredible.

"Could it be..."

Realizing what might have happened, Herta immediately turned around and looked at the research table behind her. She met the eyes of the silver-haired girl, who had half her head sticking out from under the black cloth, and immediately widened her own eyes.

Good grief! In such a big mecha; where did this kid come from?!

"Hi, hello... achoo! It's so cold... achoo!"

Halfway through, Ilu couldn't help but sneeze. The coldness enveloping her had not yet faded, and her delicate body under the black cloth was shivering as she subconsciously huddled up.

Although the people standing in front of Ilu were the genius scientist Herta and the crew from the Astral Express, the girl's mind was a bit confused from just waking up from a coma. She felt that the doll girl in front of her looked familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere, but she couldn't remember where.

"I didn't expect it to come true. I guess I'd better not swear randomly in the future."

Realizing that the silver-haired girl in front of her was the driver of the Glamoth Iron Cavalry Knight from earlier, Herta’s face instantly became strange.

She just doesn't know if it has collection value, but it is definitely worth researching now...

But before that, she needed to check the girl's body and confirm her physical condition.

Thinking this, Herta waved her hand to signal the Express Crew to leave the laboratory and said seriously, "Sorry, please step aside first. I need to do some physical examinations on her next, which is inconvenient for others to witness."

"..."

Hearing this, Dan Heng turned around and left the room expressionlessly, as if he were used to this situation. Welt, who was lost in thought, followed him.

He adjusted the brown frames of his glasses with one hand, muttering something like, "Beautiful Girl and Mecha; it will definitely be very popular if made into an animation, just like Arahato," and followed Dan Heng out of the laboratory.

It was clear that this man had a deep obsession with Alahato.

"Okay, let's go to other compartments of the space station first."

After speaking, Himeko reached out and patted March 7th's shoulder. "Let's go, little March; we'll come back later."

"Yeah!"

The pink-haired girl nodded obediently and followed the other members of the Express Crew out of the laboratory.

As the person who had brought this abandoned Iron Cavalry Knight back to the train against all odds, March 7th was so happy to see that its driver was actually alive.

I didn’t expect that I, who was once rescued by the Astral Express, would be able to save others in the same way one day... It’s a pity that before I had time to take a photo, Ms. Herta drove everyone away with a dark expression; otherwise, I would have definitely taken a picture to record this memorable moment!

Just before the hatch closed, March 7th vaguely heard a burst of exclamations from the room.

"Wait, what are you doing..."

"Ah! No, not there!"

Wow~ Although I know it’s just a physical examination, it sounds so exciting!

"Click—!"

With the corners of her mouth slightly raised unconsciously, March 7th picked up the camera hanging on her waist, pointed it at the closed hatch, and pressed the shutter.

Such an interesting thing still needs to be recorded.

It would be a pity to forget it in the future.

---

"Do you remember your name?"

"Ilu."

"Where are you from?"

"Uh, Glamoth Galaxy."

After a two-hour physical examination, Ilu gradually regained her memory before she was frozen into an ice sculpture. She soon recognized that the beautiful doll girl in front of her, with long, smooth light brown hair and a gorgeous black and purple dress, was the member of the Genuis Society #83, the famous Ms. Herta.

She thought she would die with the Swarm King Insect during the mission to assassinate the Propagation Emanator, but she was not only not frozen to death but was finally picked up by the Astral Express after floating in the universe for thousands of years. All this is really too coincidental, as coincidental as a false dream.

Maybe, in the real world, she is actually still frozen in that piece of ice, and all this is just a fantasy of a girl before she dies...

Thinking of this, Ilu took a deep breath and stretched out her hand to rub her face.

No, she has to try to see if this is a dream.

"Very good; there is no problem with self-awareness... Uh, just ignore what I said."

Glancing at the silver-haired girl lying on the bed and pinching her face, Herta's mouth twitched. Then she looked at the virtual screen in front of her and continued to ask, "Next question, do you remember what you did before you fell into a coma?"

*Chapter 7: Herta: I Hate People Making up History*

"I was fighting a Swarm King at the time."

Hearing Herta's question, Ilu looked up at the snow-white ceiling above her, her expression revealing that she was immersed in memories as she slowly recounted her experience: "That was the largest Insect I have ever seen. It was as big as a star. In order to kill it, I paid a considerable price, almost freezing the entire galaxy..."

"Wait, stop!"

The more Herta listened, the more she felt something was off, and she hurriedly interrupted Ilu.

The Swarm King is the incarnation of the Propagation Aeon Tayzzyronth, at least an Emanator-level existence. Fighting a Propagation Emanator alone is no different from committing suicide.

She hates people lying to her. After all, her time is very precious, and she has no time to waste on distinguishing other people's lies—so, she also hates History Fictionologists.

Herta reached out and knocked on the table, saying unhappily, "I asked you to recall, not to make up a story. Remove the part you fabricated and make it real."

"Ah, but what I said is true..." Ilu replied innocently.

If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do.

"Words aren't enough~"

Herta stared into Ilu's eyes, which were as beautiful as fireflies, and spoke in an unyielding tone, as if she wanted to get to the bottom of it: "You have to show some evidence; otherwise, how can others believe what you say?"

If you insist that what you just said was real, then I can just pretend I didn’t hear it.

But since you chose to insist, then I will accompany you to the end today because you have met a great scientist who likes to get stuck in a rut.

"Of course there is evidence; the evidence is... wait, where is my sniper rifle?"

Halfway through her words, Ilu realized she seemed to be missing something very important. She quickly glanced around and saw only the Snow Fyrefly-V-type armored cavalry transformation sheath beside her pillow, but the weapon she used to kill the Swarm King was nowhere to be seen.

Did it get lost?

"Are you talking about that gun?"

Just when Ilu felt disappointed, Herta suddenly spoke up.

"Ah..."

Hearing this, Ilu looked up at the Herta puppet in front of her in a daze as the latter pointed in a certain direction with an expressionless face.

Following the direction of Herta's finger, Ilu saw a familiar azure firearm floating in the storage tank not far away. It was the sniper rifle [Severance] that Queen Titania had equipped her with before she left.

Great, it’s still there.

The moment she saw [Severance], she couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Just when Ilu thought she had found evidence to prove that she had killed the Overlord, Herta's next words poured a bucket of cold water on her, instantly dispelling the joy in her heart:

"If the evidence you claim proves you killed the Overlord refers to this weapon, then unfortunately, this is just an ordinary kinetic sniper rifle—not even a rare item. We have not found any form of Path power on this weapon."

"How is that possible?!"

Hearing this, Ilu opened her eyes wide in disbelief.

You know, she went deep into the insect nest and killed an Emanator with this sniper rifle, and you’re telling me it’s just an ordinary kinetic sniper rifle... Are you kidding? How can an ordinary sniper rifle shoot a bullet tens of thousands of kilometers?!

"According to the description from the members of the Astral Express, it  frozen together with your Iron Cavalry Mech. Compared to the well-preserved mecha, this sniper rifle is completely broken and unusable. What you see now is its appearance after repair," Herta explained slowly.

"Is that so..."

Listening carefully to Herta's explanation, Ilu finally understood the reason.

Perhaps the key to the problem isn't the sniper rifle, but the seemingly inconspicuous bullet. She had gotten the primary and secondary relationships wrong.

In this case, the existing evidence can no longer prove that she has killed a Swarm King.

After all, there is only one bullet in the gun, and she used it to freeze the sea of stars. Unless she can reproduce the bullet, it is completely impossible—unless there is a Aeon to help.

Well...

Forget it; she killed the Swarm King anyway, so there’s no evidence, and she doesn't need to claim that honor.

The most important thing now is to enjoy her current retirement life. The Propagation Aeon and Glamoth are both dead. She doesn't have to risk her life to kill insects anymore. The future prospects are bright, so why bother about what happened in the past?

"It seems that your memory may be affected by the turbulence of time and space. This is a common symptom. It’s a good thing that you are able to return to consciousness so quickly."

Seeing the silver-haired girl fall into silence and appear to have no more powerful evidence, Herta realized that she had won the final victory in this argument. To avoid irritating the girl in front of her, she simply shifted the topic.

"Perhaps because of the gene surgery, your body structure is very different from that of normal humans. I suspect there is something we haven’t checked yet."

"So next, you need to stay in the space station for a while to observe and undergo more comprehensive examinations and treatments..."

"After that, you can also choose to travel with the Astral Express. They will leave this space station after a while and go to other star fields. If you want to go home and take a look, leaving with them is undoubtedly the best choice."

"Well, thank you, Miss Herta."

Traveling with the Astral Express group is just something Ilu is thinking about.

However, she didn't seem to see Stelle when she woke up.

Could it be that Kafka and Silver Wolf hadn’t come yet?

"Um, can I check the time?"

Thinking of this, Ilu raised her hand weakly.

"Oh?"

Herta glanced at her, then took out a purple mobile phone from under her skirt and tossed it to Ilu: "Here, use it. I’ll lend it to you."

"Ah, but this is your phone. Is it really okay to give it to me like this?"

Ilu said a little embarrassed.

"The clothes you are wearing are all mine, so what's wrong with using my phone?"

Hearing this, Herta raised her eyebrows and said in a slightly irritated tone, "Do you dislike that this is something I have used?"

"No."

Ilu shook her head quickly and accepted the gift from Herta. However, the moment she opened the phone, the March 7th avatar icon and the six big words [Honkai: Star Rail] appeared before her eyes, making her pupils tremble.

Wait, how come there’s this thing on Herta's phone?!

Or can only I see it?

Realizing the seriousness of the matter, Ilu quickly reached out and clicked it. The screen instantly went dark, and then a star train running on silver tracks appeared. This was the game startup interface.

[Countdown to server launch: 30 minutes]

----

*Chapter 8: Space Station Attack*

[The train is about to depart. Are you ready, Trailblazers? I hope this journey will eventually reach the stars!]

“Emm...”

Looking at the familiar Astral Express on the screen, the heart-wrenching music, and the eye-catching countdown to the server opening, Ilu couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

What is this...

Matryoshka?

Am I playing myself?

Or did I go back to the timeline before the server opening?

Since there is still some time before the game opens, Ilu clicked on the official community to see what the players were discussing—

[Open the door!]

[Very urgent, open the door quickly!]

[Huh ah ah ah ah ah!]

[Didn’t you say that the server would be opened in advance? Why can’t I get in?]

[Didn’t you watch the preview live broadcast? This public beta has added a lot of content, and some plots have also changed. I’m afraid there will be problems if the server is opened early.]

[It is said that a new permanent crew member has been added to the train group, but the card pool seems to have not changed. It is estimated that it is a four-star permanent crew member.]

“Huh?”

Looking at the comments from players one after another, Ilu’s face was full of confusion.

When did the train group add a new permanent crew member? She just met with March 7th and the others, and she didn’t see anyone else right?

Wait!

As if she had thought of some possibility, the expression on her face froze instantly, and the corners of her mouth twitched.

Could this so-called four-star permanent character be me...?

“Hey, why do you have that expression? Did you remember something?”

Just then, Herta, who had just been directing the staff to organize the equipment not far away, suddenly came over. It scared Ilu, who subconsciously wanted to turn off the screen of her mobile phone.

But before the screen went dark, Herta still caught a glimpse of the content on it and frowned.

“Ilu, what are you looking at?”

“No, nothing.”

“Be good, be obedient; let me see.”

After all, this phone was given to her by Herta. If the other party wanted to take it back, Ilu would naturally feel embarrassed to refuse.

By the same token, she was not worried that the secret would be exposed.

You know, when she turned on the phone, the icon of [Honkai: Stae Rail] appeared on the screen. If Herta could see this game, she should have seen it long ago.

“Tsk, why is there such a thing on my phone...”

After opening the phone and seeing the content on the screen, Herta’s brows became more furrowed and her mouth twitced.

Ilu who was standing beside her was also stunned after noticing her reaction. It was the first time she saw such a disgusted expression on Herta’s face. She couldn’t help but approach curiously.

What caught her eyes was an embarrassing love poem:

[Miss Herta, you are as light as a swallow, tap dancing on your lush skin.]

[You made my heart tremble.]

[You made the Stellaron clump together, blocking the road of the star rail.]

“So embarrassing! Who wrote this...”

After reading the whole poem, Ilu’s expression became strange. She wanted to laugh, but she didn’t dare to laugh out loud.

Of course, the most embarrassing thing was the person described in this love poem. Miss Herta, who was facing social death, was to be petrified at the moment, but Ilu did not dare to go forward to comfort her because the smile on her face was about to burst.

She feared that she would accidentally laugh out loud and become the last straw that overwhelmed the heartstrings of this great scientist.

If that happened, Herta would definitely use a strange object to forcefully erase her memory. No, no, she must hold it back!

“Read less of this kind of thing in the future; it will affect your IQ.”

After deleting this love poem that came from nowhere, Herta returned the phone to Ilu with a gloomy face, then turned around and left the room without any nostalgia, as if she didn’t want to stay even for a second.

After Herta left and she was the only one in the room, Ilu turned on her phone again.

“Huh, it should be okay this time.”

Seeing that [Honkai: Star Rail] was still alive on the screen and had not been deleted by Herta, Ilu couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief and feel a little excited.

She probably understood that the love poem just now should be the self-protection mechanism of this golden finger.

Only she could see the real [Honkai: Star Rail]. Others would see something that would embarrass them.

In this way, Herta would probably not look through her phone again in the future, which was also a good thing.

“Hey, it’s Herta’s account... Forget it; I’d better register a new one. I can’t always use Herta’s number to send messages to others.”

Just as she was about to open the communication software to send a text message to Himeko and the others, Ilu suddenly noticed that she was still using Herta’s account. After hesitating for a while, she decided to create an account of her own.

“Like this... like this... then like this... well, it’s almost done.”

After entering the basic information, she finally made a (＾－＾)V gesture to the camera as her avatar. Ilu quickly registered her personal account successfully and sent friend requests to everyone in the train group.

After doing all this, she opened [Honkai: Star Rail] again. At this time, there were less than three minutes before the game was launched.

The comment area was full of the words “open the door,” and Ilu was also looking forward to it. She wanted to verify what the difference between the game and reality was, and by the way, see who the new Express Crew member was.

Wait until I enter the game; let me see what you look like...

[Distance to server launch: 3, 2, 1]

As the countdown to the server launch ended, the Star Rail on the screen burst into dazzling light and then got stuck at that moment.

Huh?

What’s going on? It’s stuck?

Just as she was about to restart the game, a deafening explosion suddenly came from nowhere, and the whole room began to shake violently. Ilu, who was sitting on the bed, was shaken to the ground, and a piercing alarm sounded in the containment section, as if something incredible had invaded the space station.

What happened again?

Rubbing her red forehead with her hand, Ilu glanced around, her face a little confused.

But soon, she realized what had happened.

If she remembered correctly, the plot of the game started when the Herta Space Station was attacked, which meant...

After realizing this possibility, Ilu immediately jumped up from the ground, picked up the Iron Cavalry Transformation Sheath beside her pillow, and rushed into the empty corridor.

From a distance, she could see a big hole blown up somewhere in the space station, and a group of purple-black humanoid monsters was pouring out of it continuously, wreaking havoc in the space station. They were the basic combat units of the [Antimatter Legion], Voidrangers walking on the Path of [Destruction].

“Oh my god, the plot starts now?!”

---