Chapter 60 - The Method of Transaction 

Afterward, Jun An went to Griseo's room with Griseo, Fu Hua, and Vita to explain his experiences during this period.

"There's not much to my story. I died for a year, then came back to life. Later, I met Vita in a certain World Bubble and made a deal with her. That's about it."

Jun An looked at Griseo. "To put it bluntly, my sole purpose in coming here was for Griseo. So, my objective is mostly achieved, just not perfectly fulfilled yet."

As long as he could bring Griseo back, it was a guaranteed win. If he could scheme against Sa, that was a bonus gain. If he could kill her, that would be perfect fulfillment. And if he could also seize her authority, that would be exceeding the objective.

Of course, seizing authority was indeed difficult. After all, it required using Brahma's ability on Sa, and Sa wouldn't just obediently let herself be devoured.

And if he had Kiana attack, it would definitely blast Sa into nothing but fragments, leaving an insufficient amount for Jun An to form a complete authority.

After all, small intakes required multiple instances to form an authority.

Like with Aponia's and Mobius's abilities, Jun An had ingested them in small amounts multiple times, which was why he was now most adept at using their powers.

As for Kevin's ice ability, his power level was astonishingly large, so directly stripping away a portion was enough for Jun An to form the authority.

"For me?" Griseo blushed slightly. "But... did we know each other before? Although I can sense a very close feeling between us, we haven't met, and why do you have so much of my color on you?"

"That's naturally because we've had close contact."

To be precise, we've mutually dyed each other with our colors, and have repeatedly engaged in negative-distance contact.

"I am a visitor to the Elysian Realm. I received sigils from them. Speaking of which, you and I are actually old acquaintances."

Jun An even joked, "If you like, we can interact just like we did in the Elysian Realm. How about starting with you calling me 'Dad' again?"

"Is that what I called you in the Elysian Realm?!"

Griseo's eyes widened instantly. Elysian Realm me, what on earth were you doing?!

"But looking at you, even back then, I couldn't possibly be your older brother, right?"

Jun An's current height was even shorter than the loli-type figures in Honkai Impact 3rd like Theresa and Griseo. It wasn't strange to be mistaken for a child.

"Just think of it as a side effect similar to your Grandma Mobius's snake shedding. Maybe I'll grow back in about twenty thousand years."

Speaking of which, Jun An's resurrection did bear some resemblance to snake shedding. "However, my situation is dying and returning to life, while snake shedding is more like restoration, and it doesn't involve a direct reset and restart like mine."

"That's my story finished. Fu Hua, Griseo, what about you two?"

Jun An habitually inquired about their situations to compare them with the main storyline and see what differences existed.

After all, Jun An had already had a significant enough impact on this world's trajectory, so triggering butterfly effects was only natural.

"Then let me start."

Fu Hua recalled, "At that time, the Herrscher of Sentience and I were researching the miracle you once performed, Captain, attempting to revive Danzhu, Chiyuan, and Jilin. But something went wrong during the process, and then, through a strange twist of fate, I appeared on Froth."

"Later, with the help of Froth's two agents, I entered what they called the forbidden area, which is here. What happened after that was meeting Vita."

As she finished, Fu Hua glanced at Vita, clearly blaming her for deliberately causing trouble despite not being an enemy.

Vita, however, replied without any apology, "I thought you were an enemy back then, too. Besides, you weren't hurt, were you?"

For someone like Vita, who considered herself not a good person, if no harm was done, she wouldn't feel any remorse, even if she herself had caused trouble that nearly cost her life.

"Alright, ignore her. That's just her moral compass."

Jun An knew well the principle of 'when views clash, saying more is pointless'. Instead, he looked at Fu Hua with some surprise. "So, how is your resurrection plan progressing?"

Jun An wasn't opposed to reviving certain people. Although resurrection was a matter that touched upon ethics, potentially making life measurable by concrete materials and actions...

But those currently capable of controlling rebirth seemed to share a common understanding: they would only revive those who died accidentally, granting them a second life.

Especially Danzhu and Cangxuan. They weren't MANTISes, yet in the prime of their youth, they fought the Honkai Beast Chiyou, which didn't belong to their era, sacrificing their lives to seal it.

They truly deserved a second chance at life.

"It was going smoothly at first, but then I suddenly arrived on Froth during the process, so everything was interrupted."

Fu Hua felt some regret but still looked at Griseo. "Now it's your turn, Griseo. How did you end up here?"

"I was traveling through space on the Ark when the Ark was attacked, and then I ended up here."

Griseo stated frankly, "If the Captain hadn't come to save me, I probably would never have woken up again."

When Jun An arrived, Griseo's mental state was already extremely poor. If not for Jun An, even if she woke up, she would have suffered from psychological stress for a long time.

Griseo still said with lingering fear, "Thanks to that, I don't want to be alone now, and I don't want to sleep for a short while either."

Jun An nodded. "It seems there aren't too many changes from what I foresaw."

Fu Hua likely arrived here due to Su's intervention, and Griseo ended up on Froth because of Sa's attack. The slight differences were that Fu Hua wasn't sightseeing when she arrived but was reviving teammates, and Griseo had been hit with a 'cannot wake up' debuff by Sa.

The only change related to Sa was undoubtedly that She was more cautious and harder to deal with than in the original story. Finding Her would probably require some effort.

"It seems you've finished chatting."

Prometheus entered through the doorway. "So, according to the plan, can we return to Earth now?"

"Return to Earth?"

Vita's face paled. Jun An's objective was indeed achieved, but if he really returned to Earth, she would genuinely be Used for Free.

After all, with Jun An's strength, not only could she not stop him, but to survive, she would have to follow Jun An back to Earth and continue accepting his 'free use'.

Prometheus continued, "According to the data, the Honkai on this planet is evolving at an extremely rapid rate. In just two days, the Honkai Beasts have evolved from the weakest Assault-class to Chariot-class. If they continue evolving at this speed, this world will be destroyed by Honkai Beasts before long."

"It's probably the Ark's Honkai energy leak."

Jun An said, "After all, because of Griseo's slumber, this Ark hasn't been maintained for a very long time. Plus, it was shot down by Sa in the first place, so it's normal for Honkai energy to leak."

Fu Hua also nodded. "Yes, according to my investigation, there is indeed severe Honkai energy contamination in this area. If it's the Ark's Honkai engine, that would explain it."

"Given the scale of the Ark's Honkai engine, capable of interstellar travel and guaranteed operation for tens of thousands of years, it's fully capable of creating contamination no less severe than a Great Eruption."

Prometheus continued, "Therefore, leaving directly is the best option. Based on our journey here, returning to Earth will also take about five days. Fortunately, everyone here can adapt to the Sea of Quanta environment and can survive for five days without food or drink."

Vita's heart sank. Was she really going to be used for free?

No, this can't happen!

Vita remembered Jun An saying that this time, the seven Little Vitas were supposed to resist Sa!

Even if Sa had high hopes for them, it didn't mean they could actually resist Her! And with Sa's power, the seven Little Vitas had absolutely no capital to resist!

Even the freedom she craved...

Griseo also looked troubled. "Then what should we do next? The Honkai engine was built by Sister Vill-V. I don't know if I can fix it just by relying on the repair manual."

Vill-V was, after all, a genius, and Griseo had spent most of her time in hibernation. She could definitely perform simple maintenance, but a Honkai engine that had already started causing Honkai evolution likely required more than just simple repairs.

"Relax, I thought of a plan early on. Although it's like Repairing the Barn After the Sheep Have Gone, this barn really needs mending."

Jun An looked at Prometheus. "Look, don't we have a master mechanic right here, Prometheus?"

"...Why am I the one working overtime?" Prometheus protested.

"Because even if the Honkai engine explodes, you won't die."

Jun An stated, "Why do you think I specifically chose someone Hard to Kill?"

Prometheus said in her mechanical voice, "I will remember this debt."

"Griseo, you'll be responsible for assisting Prometheus. Oh, if it blows up, you can run immediately. Don't worry about Prometheus; she can easily switch bodies anyway."

Jun An then looked at Fu Hua and Vita. "Fu Hua, Vita, you two come with me to Froth. You know Froth better than I do; I need guides. We'll see the situation and decide our next steps."

After giving the instructions, the others had no objections. Vita, however, felt rather conflicted.

She thought Jun An would be a more unscrupulous person, but now it seemed he was seriously fulfilling his promise.

"Tha..."

Vita subconsciously wanted to say thanks, but the next moment, she belatedly realized, Wait!

This was part of the deal! Why should I thank him?

Even if he seriously fulfilled his promise, then at most, I'll seriously fulfill mine too! During this time, I'll properly be his Sexual Slave, properly arch my waist, diligently clench my muscles, and work hard to lick him until he's satisfied!

—This is all just a transaction! The method of payment must naturally follow the content of the transaction!

—I just don't want the quality of my side of the transaction to be inferior to his!

Anyway, saying thank you is something that would Ruin My Character Setting, something I absolutely cannot bring myself to say!

Vita swallowed. She stepped forward and grabbed Jun An's arm. "Um, Captain, I think being too close to Sa's domain... I feel a bit itchy. So, could you give me a little Refill?"

Vita decided that if the Captain performed well, it wouldn't hurt for her to appropriately increase the reward.

"—Don't misunderstand, I'm just doing this to survive."

At this moment, Vita had completely forgotten that the duration and effect of Jun An's authority had no direct relationship with the 'amount' applied.