Chat Group: Starting by Swapping Bodies with Elysia?

Kalpas, a unique man, was, to Otto, something of an 'unexpected boon' during the expansion of Schicksal.

They discovered this being in a remote little village, bound to a cross by the local villagers. These villagers adhered to an obscure sect, believing that drinking the blood of this 'sacrifice,' whose origins were unknown, would grant them divine protection and immunity from the Honkai disease.

Needless to say, as a burgeoning sect, Schicksal's attitude towards heretics was exceptionally harsh. After failed attempts at 'conversion,' conflict erupted, resulting in the deaths and injuries of nearly all the villagers.

However, this cleansing led to terrifying consequences – the wrath of the man named Kalpas.

The members of Schicksal never imagined that this man, bound to the cross and on the verge of death, wasn't a 'victim' at all... no, at least judging by his subsequent actions, if he were to be called a 'victim,' then this man named Kalpas must have been a 'willing victim.'

Alone, this single man slaughtered hundreds of Schicksal members. This anomaly caught Otto's attention, prompting him to mobilize the majority of Schicksal's forces, finally capturing him at a significant cost.

A human body possessing such astonishing power shocked and thrilled Schicksal's researchers.

They discovered that this man's physical structure defied normal human biology – undoubtedly, he was a monster.

Unfortunately, the villagers in that village had all perished, making it impossible to learn his origins from him.

While the appearance of 'Kalpas' was indeed a pleasant surprise, understanding his attitude towards Schicksal would reveal that this 'surprise' was overwhelmingly 'shock.'

Attempting experiments on him was a dangerous endeavor. Restraints made of specialized materials were easily broken, and even large doses of anesthetics – lethal doses sufficient to fell a hundred elephants – only induced brief periods of unconsciousness.

Left with no choice, after losing a significant number of researchers, Otto finally abandoned the idea of continuing to study this man.

He imprisoned him in a specially designed cell, intending to deal with him once a suitable method was devised.

But fate had other plans –

A petty thief who snuck into the base inadvertently released the man from his restraints.

Otto: "Let's go, Ninti."

While the appearance of Forget-Me-Not (Wu Wang Wo) was still within Otto's 'controllable' scope, the unleashing of that beast forced him to make this decision. He knew that beast lacked the 'possibility' of communication.

Under different circumstances, he could have mobilized manpower to suppress and recapture him. However, with Sakura's presence and the eavesdropping of those two petty thieves, this underground base was undoubtedly in an extremely precarious state.

Guarded by the blonde girl, the man retreated and left. Sakura didn't choose to pursue.

"Are we just going to let him go, Sakura-nee? He and that other bad guy wanted to hurt Elysia-nee!"

Sakura sheathed her katana and shook her head.

"That girl is strong. I couldn't subdue her quickly."

Without the influence of the 'Fusion Warrior' factor, even with her refined techniques, she wouldn't surpass Ninti by much. The same went for their weapons.

Although her two blades were far superior to those short swords, the current Sakura couldn't fully unleash their power. After all, she was just an ordinary assassin. Without the ability to manipulate Honkai energy, it was difficult to utilize the full potential of these Honkai-powered weapons.

"Besides, Elysia seems to be encountering some trouble as well."

Sakura looked in a certain direction – even from a distance, she could feel the walls vibrating.

Indeed, that was the case.

At this moment, Miss fat woman stared at the figure not far away, a look of utter headache on her face.

Seriously, what is this?

She thought she wouldn't encounter any troublesome individuals, but as soon as she entered, she bumped into this white-haired woman with a bizarre metal plate covering her face, wreaking havoc.

Wreaking havoc was one thing, but this person had absolutely no sense of restraint!

When Elysia entered, she narrowly avoided being struck directly. The consequences of a direct hit could be seen in the large sections of collapsed wall behind her.

If I die, I die.

Were the security personnel in this base this useless?

"Being so rough with a girl is very impolite, you know!" Barely dodging a punch accompanied by a shockwave, Elysia managed to escape unscathed thanks to her agility. However, her hairpin was knocked off, and her tied-up pink hair cascaded down her back. She was a little annoyed.

"If you keep this up, I won't be so nice!"

Miss fat woman was quite displeased with being constantly on the defensive. So much for a comeback; why was she at a disadvantage?

Moreover, borrowing Jiang Qiao's Origin power, she could vaguely sense another dangerous individual within this base.

Very similar to bad Jiang Qiao... a Herrscher!

"Die!"

The only response to Elysia was a fist and a furious growl. In Kalpas's mind, everyone in this base deserved to die!

Furthermore – waking up and inexplicably finding herself in a different gender was incredibly infuriating.

Kalpas was certain that the people from Schicksal did this while she was unconscious.

Therefore, old grudges and new hatreds would be settled together.

Give me back my brother!!!

Thinking this, Kalpas's fury surged even higher – her attacks became even faster, leaving Miss fat woman feeling incredibly wronged.

What did I ever do?! I just came to pick someone up, and suddenly I'm being chased and beaten by some weirdo!

I'm really going to cry!

Enough was enough!

Elysia's Chatgroup

Elysia: @Jiang Qiao @Jiang Qiao @Jiang Qiao Someone's bullying me!!! Come back ASAP!!!

Jiang Qiao: Uh...

Elysia: No "uh"s, get over here now!

Jiang Qiao: Hmm... now might not be a good time.

Seeing this message made Miss fat woman so angry she felt like her chest was sticking to her back. Distracted, she almost took another punch from Kalpas.

Bad Jiang Qiao! I'm asking you to come, and you won't!

Fine, don't come then! There's no place for you in this family anymore!

She really wanted to retort with such strong words.

But getting punched by Kalpas really hurt –

She had no choice.

Elysia: If you don't come, I'm going to get beaten to death!!!

Elysia: I'll die for you to see!!!

Jiang Qiao: Alright...

Seeing this finally calmed the fat woman down – of course, this matter was far from over!

Her usually reliable Mr. Jiang Qiao was starting to flake out, probably too busy flirting with other women!

Elysia made a mental note to settle the score later.

For now, she switched from annoyance to a smug look as she stared at Kalpas.

You're dead meat! Elysia has called for backup!

Go ahead and hit me! When bad Jiang Qiao gets here, watch me have him beat you to a pulp!

However, moments later –

"...Who are you?"

Expecting to see Jiang Qiao in his 'duckling' form, Elysia was completely bewildered to see a strange girl with low twin-tails, wearing simple cyan clothes.

Where's my bad Jiang Qiao?!

In response, the girl's emerald eyes showed a hint of helplessness as 'she' said, a little exasperated:

"It's me."

"My ability acted up again."

In fact, the reason Jiang Qiao hadn't arrived immediately like before was precisely this.

This time, the body swap had really thrown Jiang Qiao for a loop.

The Grand Astrologer of the Divination Commission – [Qingque] at your service!

Having just finished swapping and not even having a chance to figure out the situation, Jiang Qiao received Elysia's SOS message in the chat group. Even with his vast experience, his brain couldn't help but feel overloaded.

Elysia, familiar with Jiang Qiao's ability, instantly understood what had happened.

Miss fat woman puffed up her cheeks.

Damn it, that bad guy has gone and gotten himself a new pretty girl body!

This is even worse than him being stuck in his own body! (Annoyed)

"Okay, no time for this, enemy..."

Jiang Qiao wanted to assess the situation, but in the next moment, a sense of danger washed over him. The girl's usually nonchalant expression sharpened, and she abruptly raised her hand to block – the white-haired masked woman... why did she look so familiar?

It was strange, but [Qingque] didn't dwell on it. 'She' used the Origin authority she was most accustomed to, and blossoming cyan crystal flowers erupted, forcing the attacker back and creating distance.

"Who is he?"

Staring intently at Kalpas, [Qingque] was both probing the power within this body and puzzled by the attacker's origins.

Terrifying strength, scorching heat... and that violent attack style, a bit like Kalpas... but Kalpas is a man. Could this be someone from Kalpas's homeland?

Jiang Qiao knew Kalpas was an alien. If another similar being suddenly appeared from the Previous Era, it wouldn't be entirely surprising.

Maybe this was Kalpas's sister or something?

"Who knows? This person saw me and just started chasing and hitting me without rhyme or reason! It really hurts! Hurry up and help me teach her a lesson!" Although unhappy with bad Jiang Qiao playing with a 'new toy,' Miss fat woman's current focus of resentment was clearly still Kalpas.

"Alright."

Sighing, although 'he' preferred to 'reason' with people, looking at the furious Elysia, [Qingque] could only cast a sympathetic glance at Kalpas.

Girl, why did you have to pick a fight with her?

"With this body, I should use it like this..."

Feeling around the body, the girl raised an eyebrow and slowly lifted her hand – a jade tile glowing with light appeared between her fingers.

Although they shared a universe, unlike the Honkai system, the power used by the Xianzhou people was 'imaginary internal energy' drawn from 'Paths.'

Honkai energy was also transformed imaginary internal energy – just different.

Theoretically, Qingque shouldn't possess much powerful strength.

While her abilities were indeed outstanding, unfortunately, the usually leisurely Qingque wouldn't be motivated to hone the power of the 'Path.'

However, relying on innate talent and sensitivity to energy, Jiang Qiao still managed to tap into the power within this not-so-strong body.

The Path of [The Nihility], activate!

A delightful arc appeared on the girl's lips – the power within this body couldn't compare to any of the previous bodies he had used, but for him, he didn't need too much power, just enough.

"Alright, let's draw~"

Compared to previous combat systems, the power of [The Nihility] wasn't as direct, but it was definitely full of fun, so much so that [Qingque] could actually use the 'stacking skill' like in the game.

Draw one – "Got it!"

Draw two – "Don't panic."

Draw three – "Oho—"

"Going for the Flush!"

[Qingque]'s smile was incredibly bright.

'She' suddenly threw the small mahjong tile in her hand.

A simple, unadorned toss – the most ancient form of human combat.

And the weapon was just an inconspicuous 'Heavenly Jade Tile.'

It looked so ordinary that Elysia couldn't help but wonder – was this bad guy just messing with her?

What's the point of throwing a small stone? I might as well shoot an arrow!

Kalpas had the same thought.

Out of curiosity, she allowed the action.

But this, this is it? A small stone?

She could flick this kind of thing away easily!

"Have you had enough?!"

Annoyed, Kalpas immediately planned to swat away the broken mahjong tile, but the moment she touched it, the whole scene seemed to slow down. She watched helplessly as the mahjong tile flew towards her, and then—

"Boom—!"

Terrifying force sent her flying, crashing heavily into the wall, smashing through countless rooms before finally landing near Sakura and Pardo, who had just arrived. The previously dismissive Elysia's delicate face froze instantly.

...What was that?

"All done~"

Looking at the effect, [Qingque] nodded in satisfaction.

The power of [The Nihility] was a type of power with strong 'variance,' and therefore – he used the Heavenly Jade Tile as its vessel. Achieving a Flush allowed him to unleash an extremely terrifying amount of power. Of course, there was a downside. After that single strike, this body was completely drained, not a drop of energy left.

It looked unremarkable, but that was only because all the power was contained within.

Besides, the opponent was quite foolish, actually trying to take that thing head-on without any real defense. Jiang Qiao was just trying to test out the power.

"It's over already?"

Facing Elysia's disbelief, the girl in cyan cheerfully replied:

"Yep... oh, she seems to have pretty strong vitality, might still be able to move, but my power is almost completely depleted. I'll leave her to you, Sakura."

"..."

Sakura was speechless – who are you?

Looking closer, she seemed a bit familiar... but she didn't remember meeting such a girl. However, with Elysia beside her, she still did as asked.

"…?"

[Qingque]'s gaze shifted to the white-haired girl beside Pardo. He curiously approached and looked her up and down.

Why is the white-haired dumpling here in the Previous Era?!

Jiang Qiao was puzzled – he didn't think the chat group had the ability to bring people along.

Confused, he glanced at Elysia, who shrugged innocently.

Huh, so where did this white-haired Tuna come from?

...Wait, could this unlucky child be the predecessor of the Herrscher of the Finality who appeared on the moon?

Recalling the 'Herrscher of the Finality' from the manga, [Qingque]'s brow furrowed as he looked at {Kiana}.

Led by Pardo, they returned to the lower level.

The core was still there – this didn't surprise Jiang Qiao.

After all, aside from Herrschers and Honkai beasts... even low-level Honkai beasts didn't have the ability to touch this thing. A Herrscher core, just being exposed to the outside world, was like a walking nuclear bomb.

Moving it quickly wasn't an easy task.

But—

"Sacrificing the pawn to save the chariot?"

Staring at the Core of the Herrscher of Reason, [Qingque] stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Sakura and Elysia's arrival undoubtedly proved that headquarters had their eyes on the Herrscher core. Leaving with the core would mean facing the full pursuit of the 'Moth Chasers' organization.

If that were to happen, even the European higher-ups wouldn't be able to intervene.

Humanity couldn't accept a 'Herrscher core' falling into the hands of an unknown organization.

"Jiang Qiao, come look."

Hearing Elysia's voice, the girl walked over.

It was a laboratory connected to the storage room – the layout was similar to the entrance hall, but there was only one incubation pod.

Looking up, it was already empty.

[Qingque] squatted down and touched the water stains.

"Not long ago."

Tentatively licking his finger, Jiang Qiao made a judgment – "It's a girl."

"Does it taste good?"

Facing the Miss fat woman's direct, smiling gaze, the girl's eyes darted around –

"Nutrient solution doesn't taste like anything."

It wasn't like she was curious about the taste, that's all.

Looking at the disingenuous Jiang Qiao, Elysia's smile was subtle – but her puffed-up cheeks betrayed her current mood.

If there weren't other people around, she would probably 'teach' this bad guy who licked another girl's 'bathwater' a good lesson!

"Any other gains?"

Turning her gaze elsewhere, the girl looked serious.

"Yep."

"What?"

"We found a clock, hehe!"

Pardo cheerfully pointed to a small screen she had pulled out.

It was something she found in a locked small room.

A countdown timer was flashing on it.

[00:09]

"..."

Jiang Qiao had to admit, the gains were indeed significant.

...

A beautiful day, of course, starts in the morning.

After the diligent work of yesterday, the excessive workload assigned by the esteemed Grand Astrologer had been efficiently handled to the point of 'leisurely living.'

Of course, work was something to be sent to hell!

Waking up from her dream, Qingque didn't want to think about those troublesome things. Compared to annoying work – she preferred to recall yesterday's 'Heavenly Jade Tile' game.

Unfortunately, yesterday's luck didn't seem to be very good.

But little Que never admitted defeat. After all – life is like a gamble.

Yesterday's luck was bad, who knew if today's luck would explode?

This was a high-stakes gamble, friends!

In short, Qingque couldn't wait to start today's high-stakes gamble.

Before that, she still had to deal with the annoying work –

Of course, the first step was to get out of bed.

"Haa~"

Yawning, Qingque still felt a little sleepy and really wanted to go back to sleep for a bit.

She didn't sleep well last night – if you asked why, it was probably because she had a nightmare.

The content of the nightmare was: she was pushed onto the throne and became the next general of the Xianzhou.

General Jing Yuan looked at her with a smile, while the Grand Astrologer had a face full of anger... ugh, the dream was really too scary.

Recalling the contents of the dream, Qingque couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

When she helped the Grand Astrologer with tasks before, she had the honor of visiting the Seat of Strategic Affairs once. General Jing Yuan's intimidating... the documents on his desk were piled up like mountains!

Damn it, if she became a general, wouldn't that be a life sentence?

You should know that a Xianzhou general can't easily resign!

Thankfully, it was just a dream.

Qingque wasn't worried at all that it would become reality. After all – she was just a small Diviner in the Divination Commission right now. With a little more effort, she could directly become the head of the Divination Commission.

The difference between the head of the Divination Commission and a Xianzhou general was like night and day.

Slipping out of bed and into her shoes, she planned to go to the washroom to freshen up. Maybe it was just her imagination, but the surrounding environment felt a bit unfamiliar...

Casually passing by the dressing table –

She caught a glimpse of the girl in the mirror.

Wow, she's quite pretty. Looks kind of familiar.

Qingque thought, not taking it to heart.

Moments later, she backed up.

Standing in front of the mirror.

"..."

Qingque stared wide-eyed at the silver-haired girl in the mirror, blinked, and waved her hand.

The other person made the same gesture.

At this moment, Que was certain that she was the person in the mirror.

She fell silent.

Ah, what's going on here?

Even with Qingque's intelligence, she couldn't understand the situation.

Why did she suddenly look different?

And this room, it definitely wasn't her home.

The decorating style wasn't just not her home; Que even doubted if she was still on the Xianzhou Luofu.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration made Qingque remember the existence of the chat group.

She remembered that in this group – wasn't that bad guy who tricked her before said to have the ability of [Body Swap] according to the other group members?

In other words... she had swapped bodies with him?

Unsure, her mood was a bit complicated. If she had to say, she was a little happy. If they really swapped, wouldn't she be able to slack off openly?

As for that bad boy – although she had already dealt with most of the work, the rest was enough for her to handle for a while!

As for whether he would mess things up...

To this, Qingque just wanted to say, go for it!!!

If he messed things up, wouldn't she have more room to drop in rank?

When they swapped back later, she would have even more time to slack off. This was absolutely awesome!!!