Looking at the sly grin in the nun's eyes, Kiana wiggled her bound hands and said, "How can I trust the words of someone who ties up another person at their very first meeting? If you want me to agree, let me see Mei first!"
"'First meeting,' you say? That's rather hurtful. I even held you when you were a child, you know," Theresa said with a flick of her hand. The chains loosened from Kiana's limbs and retracted back into the cross.
*Held me? What nonsense. You're clearly younger than me,* Kiana thought with doubt.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, Kiana quickly said, "What about Ming Yu? How is he?"
Theresa let out a light chuckle, taunting, "You mean that guy? Do you think just anyone can survive an attack from a Honkai Beast?"
Kiana's eyes widened in disbelief. She murmured, "How could... that's impossible. He was so strong, how could he have died just like that..."
Seeing Kiana's reaction, Theresa couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Relax, he's not dead yet, but his injuries are much worse than yours."
Kiana immediately shot the nun a huge eye-roll.
When Ming Yu opened his eyes again, the sight of the white hospital room made him think of the protagonist from a certain anime who ended every incident by being hospitalized. He wouldn't follow in those footsteps, would he? But at least that world had a god-tier doctor known as "Heaven Canceller." He hadn't heard of any famous doctors in this world yet.
Thinking about his miserable future, Ming Yu couldn't help but curse the System for being useless. It had been so long since he'd transmigrated, and he still couldn't one-shot a Honkai Beast. He hadn't even come close to S-rank! He was someone who would have to face Herrschers in the future, how could he be so weak!
"Host, please do not complain. Your weakness has nothing to do with this System. Therefore, please work hard to improve your strength!" the mechanical voice of a certain system echoed in his mind.
Ming Yu assessed his current situation. Since he had been picked up by the Far East Branch, it meant that Mei did end up becoming a Herrscher. He hadn't changed anything. A sense of powerlessness washed over him. Now his trial Stigmata was gone, and his only weapon had broken in battle. *What a crappy two-star weapon, it couldn't even block one hit from a Thunder God-class Honkai Beast,* he complained internally. He sighed. His current strength was solidly C-rank, only slightly better than D-rank. The road to becoming stronger was still very long!
Now, he needed to think about how to latch onto Theresa and her support, develop his skills discreetly under her protection, and slowly work his way up to S-rank, or at the very least, peak A-rank. Otherwise, when the later parts of the story began, he would only be able to watch things happen, powerless to change anything, just like now. Against a Herrscher, even an S-rank could only barely protect themselves. Only a peak S-rank would dare to go head-to-head with a Herrscher.
Leaning against the pillows of the hospital bed, Ming Yu reached his right hand towards the air and clenched his fist, as if trying to grasp something. In the end, it all came down to a lack of strength. Ming Yu sighed heavily.
As Ming Yu was lost in thought, the door to the hospital room suddenly opened, and a petite figure in a nun's habit walked in.
"Yo, you're finally awake," the nun said with a light laugh. "To survive such serious injuries, you're really lucky!"
Lightly hopping onto the frame of the other bed, the nun looked down at him and said, "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Theresa, the person in charge of this Schicksal organization's Far East Branch."
Ming Yu nodded and replied in kind, "Ming Yu, from Shenzhou. Currently, I suppose I'm a world traveler."
"Oh?" Theresa lifted her small chin, a trace of amusement flashing in her eyes. "Not even the Honkai could stop your journey. You really are a lucky one, aren't you, Mr. Traveler~
An unnatural expression flickered across Ming Yu's face. *So she does suspect my identity.* *This useless System can't even handle a small thing like this, it really needs to be scrapped,* Ming Yu roared internally.
"..." The unfairly implicated System felt very hurt.
Ming Yu's mind raced, desperately trying to recall any information about Theresa. A loli in her forties, likes HOMU manga, likes to drink bitter melon juice, likes to sleep inside Judah... Why did it feel like all of this was useless information, with no breakthrough points at all?
Besides, Theresa even dared to recruit people from Anti-Entropy, so why was she so fixated on him? Ming Yu felt quite helpless.
Seeing Ming Yu's anxious expression, Theresa believed she had seen through his little act. If another organization wanted to plant a mole, they would surely arrange a decent identity beforehand. Therefore, the blank-slate Ming Yu must have had his past deliberately erased for some reason, cast aside as a pawn. Looking at Ming Yu's still-youthful face, Theresa sighed internally. *Such are the tragedies of this era!*
Since Ming Yu could survive in a Honkai Eruption, he must have Honkai resistance in his body. Perhaps she could take him in at St. Freya? An idea sparked in Theresa's mind. People with good Honkai Energy resistance were rare. To increase the human body's resistance to Honkai Energy corrosion, most Valkyries chose to be implanted with artificial Stigmata, but this caused irreparable damage to their bodies and shortened their lifespan. Therefore, people with natural, high Honkai resistance were very rare. This Ming Yu had at least A-rank, or even S-rank, potential.
With this in mind, Theresa said in a gentle tone, "Well then, would you like to join St. Freya High School and become a warrior with the ability to fight against the Honkai? You should know, St. Freya High School is the only institution in the world that trains warriors who fight the Honkai—Valkyries."
Hearing this, Ming Yu was startled. *A second ago she was suspicious of my identity, how did she accept me the next? Isn't this change of heart a bit too fast? I haven't even had time to react.*
Seeing Ming Yu's surprise, Theresa felt a little smug and continued her persuasion. "Your three friends have already agreed to enroll. So, young man, would you like to become a world-saving warrior with them?"
Ming Yu's heart was moved, and he was about to agree when a thought suddenly struck him. *Wouldn't agreeing so quickly be too eager? No, I have to be more reserved.* Ming Yu tried his best to calm himself and said, "I can, but I need to see my friends first. Only then can I give you my answer."
When Theresa heard Ming Yu's reply, a smile appeared in her eyes, with an expression that said, *Just as I expected.*
Seeing the smile on Theresa's face, Ming Yu felt a little confused. *Did she misunderstand something about my identity?* Ming Yu couldn't help but start to reconsider whether joining St. Freya was the right decision.