Honkai Impact 3rd: Catching the Herrscher of Sentience at the Start

Outside the store, Fu Lin attached one of the plush toy to his phone, storing the rest in the system space. He planned to surprise Fu Shi with them when he got home.

Unknown to him, the Herrscher of Sentience, who had overheard his thoughts, had already left the consciousness space to act like she knew nothing about the surprise.

After a day of observation, she had reached a conclusion, Fu Lin wasn't using the Herrscher core to sense her location. While she should have been happy about that, for some reason, she felt a little disappointed.

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While waiting for Fu Lin to return home, Fu Shi sat on the couch, casually swinging her slender legs. But despite the delicate appearance, these legs could easily kick through an Emperor-class Honkai Beast.

When Fu Lin opened the door, he saw the Herrscher of Sentience upside down on the couch, her legs swaying in the air.

"Dinner's ready, Xiao Shi," Fu Lin called out, placing the food he had brought down, pleased to see her peacefully staying at home.

The Herrscher of Sentience jumped up and ran toward him, inspecting him from head to toe before locking eyes with him. "Is there something you're supposed to give me?"

"Oh, you mean the pickled vegetables? I bought some for you," Fu Lin said, misunderstanding her question and thinking she was craving the snack.

"Idiot!" The Herrscher of Knowledge, frustrated that Fu Lin had produced the wrong thing, threw the pickled vegetables packet onto the table.

"Huh? What did I do wrong?" Fu Lin looked puzzled, clearly not understanding what upset her.

"My plush doll, you big dummy!" she shouted. Seeing Fu Lin remain clueless, she had to ask directly, abandoning the idea of a surprise.

"Wait, how do you know I was planning to give you a plush doll?" Fu Lin was startled by her demand, surprised she knew.

"I followed you all day today. I even heard you insulting me in your mind. If you don't want a beating, give me the doll already!" The Herrscher of Sentience admitted she had been spying on him.

"So you mean the doll… Well, I was actually going to surprise you after dinner. But I guess the secret's out now." With a sigh, Fu Lin pulled out the most special doll from his storage space and handed it to her.

The Herrscher of Sentience took one look at the doll and exclaimed, "This chicken is so fat!"

It was a fluffy white bird doll with a black cloth, mixed with red, a red crystal-like decoration on its forehead, and small round glasses over its eyes. It wore clothing similar to what the Herrscher of Sentience herself wore.

"This is the Black Kite, made to mirror you. It's the exact opposite of the Crimson Kite that Fu Hua represents. This one is special—one of a kind," Fu Lin explained proudly, pointing out the unique features of this doll compared to the other nine plain Black Kites without glasses or clothes.

Delighted by Fu Lin's words, the Herrscher of Sentience excitedly nuzzled the doll against her face, then carefully hung it at her waist.

"Not bad. I'm really starting to like you more and more, Lin." She jumped onto Fu Lin, wrapping her legs around his waist affectionately, making him blush with embarrassment.

"Let's eat first before it gets cold," Fu Lin said, gently urging her to get down from his body.

With the doll in hand, the Herrscher of Sentience eagerly started eating the meal Fu Lin had brought, all the while admiring the doll. Anyone watching would think she was using the doll as a mealtime inspiration.

Fu Lin sighed, thinking to himself how easy it was to please her. She really was like a child at heart.

After finishing his food, Fu Lin grabbed his clothes and went to the bathroom to shower. Looking at himself in the mirror, he thought, every time I shower, it feels like I'm washing Fu Hua. If this wasn't my own body, I would've...

Cough cough—No, I can't let myself think like that. I'll turn into a pervert at this rate.

Determined to stay decent, Fu Lin finished his shower as quickly as possible. He stepped out, towel-drying his long hair, and found the Herrscher of Sentience still playing with her Black Kite doll.

"Time to sleep," Fu Lin said, tossing the towel aside and switching off the living room lights.

"Right," she replied, putting the doll away and slowly walking toward Fu Lin's room, leaving him utterly confused.

"You're going into the wrong room," Fu Lin pointed out, grabbing her to guide her back to her own room.

"Hmph!" she pouted, puffing out her cheeks and giving him an angry glare before reluctantly heading to her own room.

Fu Lin scratched his head, wondering what she was upset about this time. He returned to his room and collapsed onto the bed, quickly falling asleep.

In the middle of the night, a pair of glowing red eyes appeared in the darkness. The Herrscher of Sentience quietly slipped through the door using her consciousness and physical form to pass through objects. She crept into Fu Lin's arms, and the room once again fell silent.

Fu Lin stirred, feeling the weight pressing down on him. He slowly opened his eyes and, as expected, saw the Herrscher of Sentience sitting on top of him again.

"Can you... get... off me... please?" Fu Lin managed to mutter between gasps, feeling like he might suffocate.

"With your physique, stop pretending to be weak," she teased, lightly knocking on his head.

"Can't I just play along for fun?" Fu Lin smirked, rubbing his head with one hand while gently tapping her forehead with the other.

She froze at his touch, standing there in a daze as Fu Lin casually left the room. She didn't even hear him go.

...

Ah, what a beautiful morning!

Walking down the street, Fu Lin felt a light tap on his shoulder and knew he was in trouble. He was going to be late. Without turning around, he grabbed the hand and started sprinting toward the school, not stopping until he reached the gates.

When Fu Lin turned back, he realized the person he had been dragging the whole way wasn't Kiana—it was Raiden Mei.

Raiden Mei was still in a daze, standing there with her hair blown back from the wind, looking utterly confused.

Panting, Kiana finally caught up, breathing heavily. "Huff... Class rep... why did you... grab Mei... and just... run off?"

Seeing how exhausted Kiana was, Fu Lin realized how fast he had been running, no wonder Mei hadn't snapped out of her daze yet.

"Uh… how do I explain this…"

"I thought the person who tapped me was you. And since seeing you usually means I'm running late… well, you get it, right?"

Fu Lin scratched his nose awkwardly, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Were you secretly watching me or something? How else would you know me so well?" Kiana stared at him, waiting for an answer.

"I'm the class monitor. You're the only one who's late every single day. Yesterday, the day before—it's always you. So if I see you, it means we're definitely late." Fu Lin didn't hold back, explaining things bluntly, knowing he didn't need to spare this space cadet's feelings.

"Huh? Really? I didn't even notice," Kiana giggled foolishly, showing her true self.

Raiden Mei, still somewhat disoriented from the sprint, finally spoke up. "How did I get to school? Kiana, didn't I just see Fu Lin? What happened?"

"Ahem! Mei, you tapped my shoulder and then just stopped moving," Fu Lin quickly explained, cutting Kiana off before she could answer, leaving out quite a bit of the actual story.

Kiana stared at him, wide-eyed in disbelief. "I can't believe I'm seeing someone with thicker skin than a Kaslana!"