After returning, Kiana lay in her room, smiling as she looked at the group chat where Knight Kiana @'d her, saying she should visit often when free.
It seemed like the bonding over the last two days had made Knight Kiana develop a good impression of her... At that moment, a system prompt suddenly popped up.
[Host, enough energy has been accumulated to upgrade both the system and the Host. Would you like to proceed?]
"Not just a system upgrade, but I can upgrade too?"
Kiana thought she had misheard and repeated what the system had said, feeling incredulous.
She had seen systems upgrade before, but this was the first time she had heard of the Host being upgraded along with it.
[Sufficient system energy allows for upgrade optimization, and enough Soul Fragments allow the Host to enter the next stage, similar to rank-ups in a game.]
"Well, that's great then. Let's start the upgrade!"
Kiana no longer hesitated and agreed to the system's upgrade request.
But the system's next words made her want to stop the upgrade, but since it had already begun, it could not be stopped—
[Synchronized upgrade of system and Host beginning. In five minutes, the Host (including Clones) and the system will fall into a deep sleep. Please make all necessary arrangements.]
"Why didn't you say that sooner? Aaaaah!!!"
Kiana clutched her head and let out a sharp, explosive scream.
But the countdown on the system page didn't stop because of her scream, making her realize the upgrade was unstoppable.
Outside, Cecilia and Siegfried looked over in confusion after hearing Kiana's scream.
What's wrong with this child?
Both of them wondered inwardly at the same time.
As for worrying about Kiana?
Kiana was so powerful now that no one could hurt her; they just hoped she wouldn't cause trouble for others.
Seeing no further movement in Kiana's room, the two looked away.
Inside the room, Kiana hurriedly sent the news of her impending slumber to everyone close to her.
Then she left a letter by her pillow—
The position of Acting General was given to Bianca, so she could manage the Wangshu Astral Express with the assistance of the Six Sovereigns while Kiana slept.
Next was the nearly finished Wangshu Grand Hotel; Kiana assigned Siegfried and Cecilia as the owner and proprietress.
As for Sirin's Tailor Shop and other miscellaneous matters, she left them for A Hua and the others to arrange when the time was right.
Finally, there was the "Cosmic Search, Strike, and Retreat" game managed by Nous-Duck, which Kiana finally named: cosmic calamity.
[1:24]
Seeing a little over a minute left on the system, Kiana re-read the letter she left. After finding no issues, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"little system, how long will we be asleep?"
Kiana stared at the countdown while questioning the system.
[Estimated to be no more than 20 years.]
"That's really a long time... What exactly is being upgraded..."
Kiana's heart trembled at the upgrade duration, and she spoke with downcast eyes, feeling a bit reluctant.
"I won't see Mei and the others for nearly twenty years. It feels quite lonely. They won't forget who I am by then, will they..." [After falling asleep, the time flow for group chat members (except Phainon) will be adjusted relative to the Host's universe.]
[0:25]
"That's not important, sigh..." Kiana sighed inwardly, lay quietly on the bed, and as the timer hit zero, she slowly closed her eyes.
Kiana's body transformed into a cocoon, emitting a soft seven-colored light, and a rhythmic heartbeat could be heard from within.
*Bang—*
Mei and the others pushed the door open and entered. Seeing the cocoon radiating Kiana's power, their eyes trembled.
"Kiana!"
Mei's eyes grew moist as she rushed to the cocoon, stroking its smooth surface and shouting loudly.
But the cocoon continued to beat rhythmically, as if responding to Mei.
"Sister Mei..."
Bronya walked to Mei's side, gently patting Mei's trembling shoulder before placing her hand on the cocoon.
She tried to analyze the composition of the cocoon and the reason for Kiana's slumber.
But the clearance gave no feedback, meaning the clearance of Truth could not analyze this cocoon. The cocoon's existence had already exceeded the laws of this world.
"Everyone, Kiana's message said she will return, it just might take some time."
Bianca took a deep breath, rubbed her eyes, and spoke softly.
Fu Hua walked to the bedside and found the envelope Kiana had left behind.
"Left by Kiana..."
Fu Hua opened the envelope and slowly read the contents of the letter aloud.
Everyone listened silently as Fu Hua read, discovering that the contents Kiana left behind were mostly various arrangements for Wangshu.
Fu Hua turned the envelope over and saw a small line of text accompanied by an emoticon.
"It's a pity I won't see Little Brat grow up. If she really can grow up, this young miss will definitely marry both Bronya and Mei! By the way, I still have to tell A Hua that 8 is greater than 5w—(◍•ᴗ•◍)"
For some reason, veins suddenly throbbed on Fu Hua's forehead, and her fists couldn't help but clench.
Although she didn't understand the meaning of the last sentence, she could still sense Kiana's teasing intent.
Sigh... I'll ask Kiana after she wakes up... "Pfft, as expected of Little Junior Aunt..."
Li Sushang narrowed her eyes and covered her lips with her hand, chuckling softly.
This single sentence immediately broke the somber atmosphere caused by Kiana falling into a deep sleep.
After regaining their composure, everyone gradually came to terms with it. Their lifespans were now very long, so ten or twenty years didn't seem that long to them.
They would just treat it as Kiana going on a long trip... "Idiot Kiana..."
You must wake up, or else Bronya will act as if she never heard that last sentence of yours.
Bronya gently stroked the cocoon, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly as she spoke inwardly.
Mei wiped her eyes, turned to look at the smiling Bronya, opened her mouth to speak, but finally let out a soft sigh.
It seemed Bronya also had some unusual feelings for Kiana... Since it's Bronya... Forget it, we'll talk about it after Kiana wakes up... Mei shook her head.
Subsequently, the group decided to take turns guarding Kiana here, waiting for her to wake up.
Maybe it's like being in a coma; perhaps staying with her would help her wake up sooner?
The members of the chat group simultaneously received a notice of system maintenance, during which only the chat function would remain available.
On Phainon's side, the prompt indicated a long-term system maintenance of no more than 20 years... But after thinking about it, he didn't care too much since it wasn't that long.
After all, these 20 years were far too short compared to those long, cyclical memories of Remembrance.
At this moment, Kiana slowly opened her eyes and found herself in a pitch-black void.
"Haven't I already fallen asleep?"
Kiana looked around in confusion, finding not a single speck of light.
Could this be the mental world after falling asleep? But it's too dark... Kiana then tried her abilities and communicated with the system, only to find... the system did not respond. It was likely in the middle of a deep update, and her power seemed to be temporarily offline.
She could feel it, but she couldn't use it... However, she could only feel the powers drawn from the system. She couldn't feel powers not obtained through the system, such as the Manifestation of Kianas Power, Finality, or the Sea of Trees.
No, rather, the sensation was extremely faint... as if the distance was vast and unreachable, giving her a feeling of being suddenly transported to a no-man's land where GPS positioning had failed.
Oh right... The Wangshu Astral Express and the Hall of Valhalla were also grayed out and unusable...
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