Chapter 232: Hardline

Perspective shift·System Space

In the pure white void, Black Curtain Lady stood still; beneath the wide brim of her witch hat, her violet‑black eyes stared intently at the massive floating Light Screen ahead.

On the screen, a waterfall of tangled data and images streamed, centered on a topological map of the Xingyue World, with a flashing red dot highlighted—Winterwood City.

"Location precision has been upgraded to city level."

The system's calm, steady electronic voice reported nearby, "Based on the periodic traits of anomalous magical energy convergence during the Holy Grail War, and the signal transmission on the target entity 'Huo Huo', there is a 97.3% probability that the target is within a time slice of Winterwood City during the Holy Grail War."

Heimu gave a slight nod, her fingertips unconsciously tapping her arm.

Holy Grail War... I've heard of it for a long time.

I didn't expect Aha to toss a person so casually, yet do it with such 'care'.

"Time Flow Rate comparison?" she asked.

"Preliminary cross‑universal spacetime anchor observations indicate a significant difference at present."

The system quickly retrieved another data set, "Roughly converted, one day of the system's reference time (Beng Tie Universe standard) corresponds to about seven days in the Xingyue World's Winterwood City time slice where the target resides."

"A week, then... time is relatively ample."

Heimu pondered.

That gave her more leeway to plan calmly; she needn't worry that a moment's delay would cause Huo Huo over there to have lived out an entire life.

Then she considered a crucial question: "The world's Suppression Force... akin to Gaia and Alaya—would our involvement provoke their repulsion or direct interference?"

"We are attempting to establish a preliminary communication protocol."

The system replied, the data streams in its inverted cross‑shaped pupil flickering faster, "Based on a non‑hostile premise. However, the other side seems... to require some proof of 'good faith', or rather, to assess whether we possess the ability to achieve our goal without excessively disturbing its world line."

Heimu's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly, "... just like last time in the Honkai 3rd World, when we slightly 'displayed' to that World Will?"

"The logic is similar. However, this exchange will occur within a 'neutral buffer space' temporarily constructed by the system, which can maximally isolate your presence from causing direct panic in the other world, avoiding unnecessary escalation of misunderstandings."

The system explained in a matter‑of‑fact tone, "Displaying 'capability' rather than 'malice' is an efficient way to obtain passage permission."

"Efficient, but blunt and crude."

Heimu evaluated, yet did not object.

Dealing with these 'administrators' who maintain world stability, sometimes a straightforward display of power works better than convoluted diplomatic language.

At that moment, the system's voice acquired a subtle tremor, "Madam, the preliminary connection has been established. The other side... seems to agree to a 'face‑to‑face' assessment. The communication space is stabilizing."

As the words faded, not far from Heimu, the pure white space seemed to be infused with ink, quickly spreading into a profound darkness that then coalesced into a black door whose edges shimmered with a star‑like luster.

The door opened silently, its interior an impenetrable gloom.

"Shall we be a bit 'hard‑line'?" Heimu raised an eyebrow, confirming.

"This buffer space has maximally isolated direct influence penetration; you may freely... manifest your form."

The system politely indicated, "Simply let the other side 'understand' that we are not a variable they can readily handle or ignore at present."

"Understood."

Heimu's mouth curved into a faintly mischievous grin.

She adjusted her hat brim, stepped forward, and walked straight through the black door.

Perspective shift·Temporarily constructed 'neutral' buffer space

It felt like a phantom of the cosmos.

Below, endless darkness stretched, while distant, slowly rotating, model‑like exquisite star rivers dotted the horizon.

Most striking was the center of the space, where a beautiful blue‑green planet—the projection of Earth—rotated slowly.

Heimu's silhouette appeared in the void, still in a humanoid posture.

But she neither waited nor assumed any communicative stance.

She simply lifted her head slightly, gazed at the Earth projection, and then extended both hands.

In silent instant, centered on her, the space began to quake violently!

Violet‑black light, resembling circuit board patterns and abyssal fissures, burst from her body, instantly tearing the surrounding 'universe' veil!

"Crack—Bang!!!"

Amid the nauseatingly sharp shattering roar, a colossal 'hand'—enormously massive, sheathed in violet‑black snarling machinery, its fingertips wreathed in ominous energy—forcefully emerged from behind the ruptured space!

Like a demon god tearing a canvas!

Immediately after, a second gigantic hand seized the edge of the fissure and yanked it violently to both sides!

"Schi—!!!"

The space's 'veil' was brutally ripped open, creating a massive gap!

An indescribably grand and bizarre 'entity' slowly 'squeezed' in through that opening into the buffer space.

The first thing that caught the eye was the iconic, now enlarged to mountain‑size, wide‑brim witch hat; beneath its brim lay not a face but a smooth deep‑purple plane.

Countless violet‑purple cross‑shaped star glimmers of varying sizes, like guardians and ornaments, floated around the massive being, rotating slowly, emitting a cold, sacred radiance.

Its body was enormous and non‑human, its structure complex as if forged from the most precise alien machinery fused with some organism, its lines both geometrically elegant and oppressively powerful.

At the center of its chest, a pulsating deep‑purple core, like a miniature star, emitted a ghostly light that seemed capable of devouring souls.

This was Heimu's form closer to her primordial side— not a Complete Form, yet already beyond the ordinary world's comprehension of 'powerful'.

Its faceless 'face' turned slightly, as if gazing at the Earth projection that appeared so tiny before it.

Without words, without deliberately exerted intimidation, merely the entity's unreasonable mode of arrival and visual impact constituted the most direct 'display'.

Silence lingered in the buffer space for about three seconds.

Then, at Heimu's ear, the system's calm report sounded: "Communication complete. The other side has unilaterally granted us entry into its world for target search and retrieval operations. Condition: our actions must be as contained as possible, avoiding irreversible disturbance to the 'Humanity Foundations' and the primary world line."

Almost as the system's words ended, Heimu felt a gentle 'farewell' thought arriving.

The cosmic illusion before her, the Earth projection, even its own massive manifested form, all resembled shattered mirrors, beginning to fragment and dissolve.

In the instant just before consciousness fully returned to the pure white System Space, Heimu seemed... to faintly catch a lingering echo of a trembling, soft, mushy voice:

"So… so terrifying… (quietly)"

System Space

Light and shadow recombine, Heimu has resumed a normal human stance, standing again before the System, as if the shocking entrance just now were merely a dream.

"So… that's it?"

Heimu's tone carries a hint of oddness.

She had thought there would at least be a dialogue, or a bargaining process.

"Yes, madam. Deterrent diplomacy worked."

The System confirms, "The other side has marked our proposal as 'high‑priority force majeure event' and opened a green channel. They seem to want us to finish quickly and leave promptly."

Heimu, hearing that, shook her head with some regret: "I thought we could at least exchange a few words with the world consciousness that, according to rumors, has a loli appearance."

After all, the related "settings" of the Xingyue World are rather interesting in her Memory.