"Oh! Right! I almost completely forgot."
Kiana smacked her forehead. She really had forgotten that tomorrow was the day the Q&A space would open again.
It couldn't be helped. Her days had been too packed. The high-intensity training every day consumed a massive amount of energy, and she had just returned from the training grounds. If Theresa hadn't reminded her, the thought probably wouldn't have crossed her mind until the next day.
On top of that, Theresa would periodically drag her in for physical examinations. Unfortunately, after a full battery of tests, they still couldn't detect the Herrscher consciousness within her body.
It seemed that with St. Freya's current level of technology, they weren't going to find anything.
"So, Auntie, you didn't just come here to remind me about this, did you?" Kiana asked.
"What do you think? I'm a busy person. You think I'd come all this way for such a small matter?" Theresa said exasperatedly. "I came here to discuss tomorrow's Q&A session with you all. By the way, Bronya, have you found anything on your end?"
"Bronya has spent the last few days searching online and even checked Schicksal HQ's database, but there is no intelligence whatsoever regarding the Q&A space."
Bronya said softly, "This space is as if it appeared out of thin air. There are no traces of it left anywhere in this world. If nothing unexpected happens, we should be the first lucky ones to encounter it."
"'Lucky ones'?" Himeko raised an eyebrow. "That's a rather fitting title."
"Forget it. If we can't find any information, then we'll stop looking. From what we've seen so far, this Q&A space isn't dangerous. On the contrary, it's an opportunity for us."
Theresa continued, "Through these questions, we can learn about future events. Although answering incorrectly costs a year of one's life, answering correctly also yields rewards."
"And the rewards obtained from the system have now all been confirmed to be incredibly useful and precious things."
"Take the HE-type Honkai Energy Suppression Serum that Himeko took. After a full-body examination, we discovered that Himeko's body, which had been eroded to the brink of collapse, had miraculously made a full recovery. Her body now is as healthy as it was when she first became a Valkyrie."
"And those two weapon blueprints. Although it will be difficult to produce the finished products with St. Freya's current resources, their power is already beyond question. Even a typical A-rank Valkyrie wouldn't be qualified to wield weapons of that caliber."
"So, to summarize, I hope all of you will treat every Q&A session seriously. It is a channel for us to understand the future and to become stronger!"
"Don't worry, Auntie. We'll take it seriously even if you don't tell us to," Kiana said, patting her chest as if to reassure Theresa.
Theresa rolled her eyes at her. "You have the nerve to say that? It seems like you're the only one so far who's gotten a question wrong and had a year of your life deducted, right?"
"Well, that was... hehe, a mistake, just a mistake." Kiana gave a dry laugh and obediently shut her mouth.
"That's all I have to say for now. Does anyone have anything to add?" Theresa glanced around at the group.
"Nothing."
"Alright. Then let me remind you one last time. Do not tell anyone about the Q&A space. Outside of the five of us, this information cannot be shared with anyone. Understood?"
"Understood!"
---o---
Time flew by, and soon it was noon the next day.
Just like last time, the group gathered early in the dormitory, waiting for the Q&A space to open.
However, what none of them expected was that just as the space was about to activate, the dormitory door was suddenly pushed open from the outside.
"Principal, I heard you were here. I wanted to ask you about a mission... Eh? Student Kiana? Why are all of you here?"
Fu Hua had just walked in when she saw five pairs of eyes staring fixedly at her, and she couldn't help but ask, puzzled.
"C-Class Monitor?! What are you doing here?!" Kiana cried out instinctively.
"This is bad. It's time." Bronya was suddenly anxious, but there was no time to say anything more. A familiar white light flashed before their eyes, and they were already in the Q&A space.
When the white light faded, everyone turned in unison to look at one spot.
Sure enough, Fu Hua was standing there, completely stunned.
"Sigh... A miscalculation after all."
Theresa slapped her forehead, looking helpless.
She thought that dismissing everyone from the vicinity of the dorm beforehand would be enough. She never expected Fu Hua to show up at this exact moment. Now things were troublesome.
"Principal, where is this place?"
Fu Hua cautiously observed the unfamiliar surroundings, feeling a deep sense of shock.
Even if her current strength was less than a tenth of what it used to be, to be inexplicably transported to this place without any warning or chance to react was simply too outrageous.
If it weren't for the fact that Kiana and the others were also here, she probably would have been tempted to activate Fenghuang Down already.
"This..."
Everyone exchanged glances, hesitating, unsure if they should explain.
In the end, it was Himeko who spoke up.
"Theresa, since Fu Hua is already here, trying to hide it from her is probably impossible. Why don't we just tell her?"
"Sigh... I suppose that's the only way."
Theresa sighed, feeling a headache coming on. If it were a Valkyrie she had personally trained at St. Freya, it would be one thing. But it had to be Fu Hua, this enigmatic Valkyrie sent by her grandfather, whose true depths even she couldn't fathom.
"Fu Hua, can you promise me that you will not tell anyone else about what happens here after we leave? Not even my grandfather," Theresa said with a grave expression.
"...Alright. I promise." Seeing the group's strange expressions and hearing their cryptic words, Fu Hua had a faint feeling that she had stumbled upon a major secret. Perhaps the reason for Kiana and the others' changes these past few days originated from this very place.
"It's like this..."
Seeing that Fu Hua had agreed—though she had no way of knowing if it was a genuine promise—Theresa had no other choice. Since she was already here, they couldn't possibly hide it from her during the Q&A session. It was better to be open and honest than to be secretive.
And so, Theresa took some time to briefly explain the situation regarding the Q&A space.
After listening to Theresa's account and personally witnessing the video recordings projected by Project Bunny, even with the cultivation and knowledge Fu Hua had amassed over fifty thousand years, she couldn't help but stare wide-eyed, her face a mask of utter disbelief.
I've lived for 50,000 years, what kind of scene haven't I witnessed? (Scratch that.)
This is a scene I've truly never witnessed!