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The familiar puddle and soda can appeared, followed by the blaring alarms and the operator's urgent report, drawing everyone's attention. Then came the massive battleship, the bisected skyscraper, the swarms of fighter jets tangling with an Emperor-class Honkai beast…and Kiana, roundhouse-kicking her own drone out of the sky.

Everyone stared at the culprit. Shu paused the video.

"W-what are you looking at?" Kiana stammered, shrinking under their gazes. "There were so many planes and Honkai beasts…it's…it's normal to make mistakes!"

"Kiana, be glad that was a drone. Otherwise, you'd be facing a court-martial," Himeko sighed. She wouldn't put it past Kiana to do something like that, though she knew it wouldn't be intentional.

"Heh, but I didn't," Kiana said sheepishly, and everyone turned back to the projection.

"Shu," Bronya said, raising her hand before Shu could resume the video. "Is this game…anime-style?"

Shu nodded, puzzled. "Is there something wrong with that?"

Bronya remained silent. Otto, understanding her unspoken question, interjected, "It's not a dating sim, is it?"

Shu: "…No, absolutely not."

Romance wasn't exactly a priority for the Captain in this game…

Otto smiled, mentally discarding his "romance saves the world" theory. Shouldn't have gotten my hopes up…

Shu, wincing, resumed the video. Everyone watched intently, especially Kiana, who seemed to have inserted herself into the story, muttering comments to Mei. Is she trying to control her in-game counterpart?

"Is that…Imperator? Mei, did you see that? I can beat up Imperator too!"

"That's right, with Mei by your side, you have the strength of a hundred people!"

"A hundred people…I'm not…uh…that's exactly what I was thinking…"

"See, see? With Mei, I'm a hundred times stronger!"

"Huh? That thing's coming back? I can totally beat it again…wait, what? How did I lose?!"

Shu watched, amused, as Kiana's mood fluctuated wildly with the events on screen. She was far more entertaining than anyone he'd ever…recommended this game to. Her animated reactions, her chuuni commentary…it was a feast for the senses.

I need to adjust the viewing schedule. Right, after Chapter 2, we'll switch to the manga storyline…

The video continued, reaching the scene where Mei unleashed her power, slicing through the Honkai beast. But everyone's attention was drawn to the blaring alarm.

"Mei's the Herrscher of Thunder?!" Kiana blurted out, nearly jumping out of her seat.

This time, Mei didn't stop her. She stared at the frozen image: Mei, a haughty, almost regal smile on her face, tinged with anger, declaring, "Go to hell, you mongrel!"

It was…cool, but not something she would say…

Herrscher…Shu said they were chosen by the Honkai, forces of destruction…

Does that mean…

Mei looked at Kiana, then at the others, their gazes making her remember how her classmates had looked at her after her father was arrested…

Would she…hurt them?

Hurt Kiana?

She looked at Kiana, who was smiling dreamily. "Heh, that Mei's pretty cool too…heh…so handsome…"

Mei: "…"

"Mei-senpai, Shu also said that without specific triggers, Herrschers appear randomly and unpredictably," Bronya said, moving her chair closer to Mei, hugging her Homu, and tugging on Mei's sleeve. "So you won't become a Herrscher." She deliberately stated the uncertain as a fact.

"Mei, even as a Herrscher, she was protecting Kiana," Fu Hua added reassuringly.

"That's right, Mei! You're one of us, no matter what. We won't abandon you just because you're a Herrscher!" Theresa declared confidently. "Just like in the game!"

She earned a death glare from Shu.

"Uh…" Theresa's confidence wavered. "We…we won't be separated, right…?"

"Just keep watching," Shu said, suddenly feeling tired. He wanted to skip ahead, to see their reactions to certain scenes. This was too slow!

But he had to follow the sequence. "Mei's transformation into a Herrscher is unique. We don't have those elements here, so you don't have to worry," he reassured them.

"Phew…" Kiana, rather than Mei, seemed most relieved. "That's good…" Not a trace of regret for missing out on "Queen Mei."

Mei paused, then smiled softly, placing her hand on Kiana's. "Thank you…"

Bronya quietly moved her hand away, hugging her Homu and scooting further away.

Shu resumed the video, his expression neutral.

Bronya appeared, the trio finally assembled. During a lull in the action, they mentioned another organization Shu had talked about: Anti-Entropy.

"Bronya…was with Anti-Entropy?" she murmured, lost in thought. "And…control…"

She gripped her Homu tighter, a shadow passing over her face.

Then came…

"Is that…a Titan?!" Himeko's eyes widened as the Anti-Entropy mecha appeared on screen. The hours spent in the simulator, the complex mechanics, the self-destruct sequence…everything about the Titan in the game was real.