After pledging to the creed, it was only natural for the curious Stelle to ask Himeko about the train's next destination.
"Our next stop is a planet called Jarilo-VI, though the last time the Express passed by there was already thousands of years ago."
"According to the archives, the planet was still a scene of thriving life and vibrant competition back then… who knows what it looks like now…"
Lynelle was already quite familiar with the situation on Jarilo-VI, so she didn't join in the excitement. Instead, she waved to Old Yang, excused herself to return to the Honkai side for a bit before heading to the next planet, and found a comfortable sofa on the train to sit back and rest her eyes.
Of course, this was just a front. In reality, she was sinking her consciousness into the system.
Because, right after she swore to become a Nameless, the system had suddenly pinged with an update notification about meeting certain conditions.
"Kiana-chan, Kiana-chan."
Lynelle curiously scrolled through the system's update log: "Why does this already meet the conditions? What was the mission requirement for this update?"
[It might be because you came into contact with the Path of Trailblaze's power, or officially joined the Nameless… Honestly, I'm not really sure either. The mission here just says 'Embark on the Trailblaze journey.']
"Not sure?"
Lynelle looked utterly shocked. "This system is that unreliable?"
[Ahem, well, how do I put this…]
Kiana-chan's voice was filled with a tinge of grievance.
[Lots of the mission conditions in this system are set really vaguely. And the ones with clear conditions can even have bugs.]
[Like, there was one update condition you should've completed before, but for some reason the system didn't register it as successful… So that mission will have to wait for another time.]
"Eh?"
Lynelle blinked curiously. "What mission was it?"
[Uh… sorry, since the mission is still incomplete, I can't reveal it.]
Kiana-chan's voice sounded slightly guilty.
After all, the mission requirement she mentioned that failed to trigger was…
Well, it was that night she spent rolling in the sheets with Lynelle.
Some of the missions in Lynelle's system were genuinely odd, and in her first playthrough, these rather unorthodox system tasks had played a big part in turning Lynelle into the 'Charm Queen.'
As for why her zero-distance contact with Lynelle wasn't counted as completed, it was probably because, from the system's perspective, the act of customer service rep Kiana-chan possessing someone didn't qualify as Sirin or Kiana's own volition.
"I see… alright then. So, what new features did this system update add?"
"And also…"
A teasing smile spread across Lynelle's face. "This time, the update didn't need any… preparation? I remember a certain Kitten Kiana doing a lot of 'mental preparation' for the last system update."
[Cough cough cough… You can't lump all updates together! Last time I wasn't doing any 'mental preparation'!]
Customer service Kiana-chan's voice immediately turned flustered and indignant. The specific manifestation of this fluster?
She sent a "Ask again and I'll fuck you up" meme directly into Lynelle's mind.
"Hehehe…"
This time, Lynelle was fearless. "Go on, then. There's no Kiana around for you to possess now. Even if you wanted to, you couldn't come out to play~"
[Hmph, you'd better hope an opportunity never comes up again. I hold a grudge, you know.]
[As for this update… it's actually that function I mentioned before: Auto-mode.]
[After all, from your memories, Jarilo-VI, where you're about to go, isn't exactly a peaceful place. You can't keep popping back to the Honkai world four times a day like you do now.]
[So this function is pretty timely. Especially since the space-time fluctuations over on Earth have been pretty unstable lately. There's a real chance of another situation like last time, where you blink and a long time passes.]
"But…"
Lynelle sounded puzzled. "You said this Auto-mode function can control my body to handle some basic daily tasks when I'm not on the Honkai side… Won't that be out of character?"
"And what if some emergency suddenly happens? Does it just… crash?"
[Don't worry, there are safeguards for that. For your first question: when the system controls your body in offline mode, it will only perform simple daily routines—like going out for a walk to show your face, attending a class for you, or feeding Bella.]
[The behavioral logic is based on the system's records of your daily habits.]
[Note, these records aren't just from your last month or so. They include nearly a decade of behavioral data from your first playthrough.]
[So the simulation accuracy is guaranteed. Also, after accumulating a certain amount of auto-mode time, the system will compress and transfer those memories back into your mind, so you won't experience any memory gaps.]
[As for your second question… if an emergency occurs, the system will immediately send you a prompt: 'Proxy command error, request manual takeover.' If you can't take over immediately… then I, or someone like Cecilia who also resides in your body, can take control.]
"Oh… that puts my mind at ease."
Lynelle nodded. "But…"
[But?]
"But I get the feeling you're still not telling me everything…"
Lynelle's face was full of suspicion.
[That's just your imagination! Besides, the train's jump is over. Aren't you going out to take a look?]
"I wasn't sure before, but now I'm certain you're hiding something from me…"
Lynelle sighed. "Whatever, I suppose asking you won't get me an answer… I'm heading out now, okay?"
[Phew… since when did Lynelle's intuition get so sharp?]
Watching Lynelle finally leave the system, customer service Kiana-chan wiped a cold sweat from her brow, then pulled out a green, crystalline object that looked like a cabbage head.
Because, regarding the Auto-mode function, she really had omitted some details.
In fact, the auto-pilot aspect was the most trivial part of this function. Its real purpose was to use Lynelle's body, allowing Kiana-chan to perform certain "preparatory work" at fixed time nodes during the second playthrough.
After all, Kiana-chan's goal was ultimately to merge the first and second playthroughs.
For something that involved, certain preparatory steps were essential—like planting markers at specific fixed times.
So, while Lynelle was in system-controlled Auto-mode, Kiana-chan could seize the chance to place these markers, essentially hitching a ride on Lynelle's journey.
Moreover, the Auto-mode function guaranteed one more thing—if any truly unsolvable problem cropped up on the Honkai side while Lynelle was offline, the auto-function could be legitimately triggered.
And when that happened… the ones who could take over and play on her behalf wouldn't be limited to just Kiana-chan and Cecilia anymore.
[Heh.]
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.