Honkai infection isn't a disease; it's the body's rejection response to absorbing too much Honkai Energy in a short time. The only way to cure it is to absorb or neutralize the excess Honkai Energy.
Absorption is naturally impossible for ordinary people, so the inhibitor's only function is to neutralize the Honkai Energy.
However, this substance was initially developed for Valkyries. Even after mass production weakened its potency, it was still strong enough to pull an ordinary person back from the brink of becoming a Honkai Zombie. But after the boy used it, his infection only weakened slightly. This was clearly abnormal.
Unfortunately, at this moment, Kiana only saw the smiles on the mother and son's faces, completely missing the medicine's unusual effect. Just as Ren was about to mention it to her, a sudden, piercing scream erupted from the settlement.
This time, it wasn't arguing; it was genuine chaos.
"Run! Someone's turning into a monster!"
Hearing the commotion, the two rushed to the scene. Upon arrival, they saw a figure, pale all over, pinning someone to the ground, its bloody maw wide open, ready to tear into the victim's neck.
"A newly transformed Honkai Zombie." Making the judgment, Kiana acted swiftly, grabbing the zombie by the back of its neck and pulling it away. She didn't deliver a fatal blow, however, because it was still in the early stages of transformation. With an inhibitor, the infection's progression could still be suppressed.
She knocked it unconscious with a single palm strike. The woman who had been pinned down began sobbing uncontrollably, but instead of running, she crawled closer to the unconscious zombie, crying out something.
Kiana didn't understand the language, but she roughly guessed they were mother and son. Unfortunately, this pair wasn't as lucky as the boy who had guided them.
The immediate chaos was quickly resolved, but it was only the beginning. As time passed, the conditions of some severely infected individuals rapidly deteriorated. The worst among them began the transformation into Honkai Zombies.
The refugees, who had initially huddled together instinctively after surviving the disaster, quickly became wary of each other. Not only did people start fleeing in all directions, but some, suffering mental breakdowns, began actively attacking others.
Before long, order completely collapsed.
Fortunately, some people hadn't lost consciousness when Kiana rescued them earlier. They knew Kiana was extraordinary. Combined with Ren's forceful suppression, they managed to barely stabilize the situation.
After temporarily restoring order, Kiana understood the severity of the problem. "This can't go on. The longer we wait, the higher the chance of zombification, unless they get inhibitors immediately."
Luckily, before the Honkai Eruption, they had already investigated the Relief Association and knew large quantities of medicine were stored beneath its military fortress.
Thus, they divided the tasks. Ren maintained order, while Kiana used her teleportation ability to return to the Relief Association base.
Arriving back at the familiar location, Vyasa's corpse still lay in a pool of blood. Looking at it, Kiana couldn't help but recall the image of him dying at Ren's hands. Her expression instantly became complex.
After all, since the day Siegfried Kaslana rescued her from the lab, she had been raised on ideals of heroism, believing that with great power comes great responsibility. In her view, Valkyries were inherently meant to protect ordinary people; no matter what, they should never attack civilians.
Witnessing Ren kill Vyasa firsthand felt like a thorn lodged in her heart. While it didn't make her reject Ren, she still felt uncomfortable.
Sighing, Kiana looked away from Vyasa and headed back down the original path towards the underground entrance.
However, since the elevator shaft was destroyed, she had to find an alternative route.
Walking through these passages, she discovered the base contained more than just military equipment. There were also many strange rooms. Some were prison cells, stained with uncleaned blood. Others were operating rooms, but lacked both sterilization facilities and emergency equipment. Most rooms, however, were completely sealed shut.
She didn't know what lay within those rooms, but the further down she went, the heavier her heart felt. She had a feeling this base served a purpose beyond just misappropriating Schicksal's supplies.
Not daring to dwell on it, only one thought occupied her mind: get the medicine quickly and return to Ren.
However, upon reaching the cold storage, she discovered that while the quantity of medicine was vast, the labeling seemed problematic.
"The outer packaging has the Schicksal logo, but the individual vials seem to have no markings at all. And the color of this inhibitor..."
She took out a vial, first sniffing it cautiously, then removing the needle cap and pouring the liquid onto her hand.
The moment it made contact, Kiana noticed something was wrong.
Logically, since the inhibitor treated Honkai sickness, it should neutralize Honkai Energy. But the substance on her hand showed no Honkai Energy reaction whatsoever; instead, it carried a foul odor.
Connecting this with what she had seen earlier, Kiana's face instantly turned grim.
"These guys were actually trying to reverse-engineer the inhibitor... and they were using human subjects for experiments." Realizing the truth, she felt a chill run down her spine. She never imagined Vyasa would stoop so low.
She had previously felt conflicted about Ren killing him. Looking back now, Ren probably knew the extent of this guy's depravity all along.
The thought that she had actually misunderstood Ren filled her heart with guilt.
But the priority now wasn't apologizing; it was finding a way to solve the infection crisis.
These medicines were clearly of dubious origin. Using them rashly was risky; they definitely couldn't be given to the refugees.
With the situation urgent, what should she do?
Helpless, she could only place her hope in Ren. As for the medicine, she could only store it away in her Imaginary Space for now.
Returning to the settlement, the situation had worsened. Seeing the refugees suffering and struggling, Kiana felt her heart ache as if pierced by a knife.
Fortunately, the sight of Ren always brought her a sense of reassurance. After a brief exchange, Ren pieced together what had likely happened.
"The inhibitors provided by Schicksal were probably genuine, but the quantity definitely wasn't this large. After sending most of the real medicine into the city, Vyasa likely diluted the remaining inhibitors himself."
"Are you saying these doses were made by diluting the normal inhibitors?" Though not understanding the details, Kiana realized these inhibitors could have saved lives, but Vyasa, driven by greed, had privately diluted them, destroying this vital batch of supplies.
"Correct. Theoretically, they might have some effect, but there's no guarantee about impurities. Besides, there are only two ways to stop infection: absorption or neutralization."
"Absorption?" A bright idea flashed through Kiana's mind.
Noticing the change in her expression, Ren immediately realized what she was planning. "But, right now you..."
"Help me, Ren."
"..."
"Alright." Sighing helplessly, Ren couldn't bring himself to refuse. Since the girl had made her decision, how could he not support her?
And so, a silent 'lullaby' began to drift through the air. The refugees, affected by it, felt their bodies become light, as if the sickness clinging to them was being carried away by some invisible force.
No one knew that high above, the white-haired girl was using her own body as a conduit, forcibly absorbing the excess energy radiating from the people below.