Honkai: Oh No, I’ve Become the Herrscher of Corruption?! - Chapter 103

“Over the past three years, whenever a Honkai eruption occurs somewhere, the Special Affairs Bureau deliberately waits until the situation develops before taking action. And whenever possible, they avoid letting my sister participate. After all, if there are no survivors in the affected area, there won’t be any new refugees to deal with.”

“Those people blocking the Bureau’s entrance, shouting about how cold and heartless we are—they do it with such passion and sincerity. But if they knew that rescuing refugees would mean spending their tax money to support them, they’d be the first to complain. In the end, they’re just hypocrites who want to claim the moral high ground without sacrificing any of their own interests.”

Faced with the reality of Atlantis, Enoxia could only sigh in resignation. Sitting in her position, she couldn’t think of a better solution either. Though standing by and doing nothing was undeniably cruel, treating Honkai infection was expensive. Even if the infected didn’t turn into zombies and harm others, those with low Honkai resistance could suffer lifelong disabilities after prolonged torment—unable to afford treatment and drowning in debt. In such cases, a quick death might be more merciful.

Besides, the people of Kaplan Village had nothing to do with her. Following the principle of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” Enoxia couldn’t bring herself to criticize their methods.

“I’m willing to join you.”

Enoxia’s decisiveness took Angelia by surprise.

“You’re not going to ask more questions?”

Enoxia smiled. “You spent so much time emphasizing how much living standards in Atlantis have declined over the past three years, yet you still get to enjoy lavish meals and live in a villa. That tells me the Special Affairs Bureau enjoys privileges far above the average citizen. With a chance for upward mobility right in front of me, why wouldn’t I take it?”

Of course, that wasn’t her real reason. Since the Special Affairs Bureau was this world bubble’s primary organization fighting against the Honkai, it undoubtedly represented the pinnacle of its technology. Earlier, Enoxia had already seen helicopters and cars, meaning this world must also have things like big data networks. By joining their system, she wouldn’t just gain a “resurrection safeguard”—she could also use their technology to explore the entire world bubble and locate Sirin and Bella.

But her surface-level reasoning seemed to convince Angelia just fine.

“You’re quite pragmatic. If I’d known you’d be so reasonable, I would’ve gone through the official channels and saved myself a scolding from my sister.”

Enoxia rolled her eyes.

“So you brought me to your home because you planned to force me if persuasion failed? Don’t tell me everyone in the Bureau was ‘recruited’ this way.”

Angelia burst into laughter. “Seems like I’ve given you some strange misconceptions about the Bureau. Well, let me assure you—since its founding, you’re the only person I’ve ever brought home like this.”

“Why?”

“My intuition told me… you’re special.”

Enoxia took a cautious step back.

“In what way?”

“Extremely high Honkai resistance, and… exceptionally pretty?”

Seeing Angelia’s playful wink, Enoxia relaxed. She realized she’d been overthinking things—no ordinary instrument, let alone one without the power of a Divine Key, could bypass the Authority of Corruption to uncover her secrets. At the same time, it dawned on her that Angelia was, after all, just a teenage girl around sixteen years old.

“Alright, seems like we’ve cleared up the misunderstandings. You’ll have to make do with the couch tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to the Bureau for a few quick tests. Once you pass, they’ll arrange housing for you. If you can’t cook, you can hire someone or order takeout. I’m going to check on my sister and Kiana—if you need anything, just call for either of us.”

With that, Angelia strode into Kiana’s bedroom. Enoxia plopped down onto the sofa. Since everything had been arranged for her, she might as well go along with it. The couch wasn’t as luxuriously comfortable as the ones in Elysian Realm—the kind Eden provided that made you never want to get up—but as a temporary bed, it was decent enough.

Looking up, she noticed a group photo hanging on the wall. On the left was Angelia, on the right was Cecilia, and the woman in the middle was unmistakably Maria.

“Angelia Schariac, Cecilia Schariac… I hope you and Kiana can live happily together.”

…..

Late at night, after putting Kiana to sleep, Cecilia entered Angelia’s room.

“Angelia, you said you brought her back because of intuition. What did you see in her?”

Angelia shook her head with a bitter smile. “Her soul is a chaotic blur—I couldn’t make out anything. You know how my ability works.”

“I see… So you were worried—”

“Yeah, exactly. I’ll leave the matter of Enoxia’s identity to you, Sis.”

Cecilia nodded solemnly. “Understood. I’ll handle it. Angelia… you’ve worked hard while I was away.”

Hearing this, Angelia finally let her guard down completely. She slumped into Cecilia’s embrace and began to vent.

“Ugh, I never realized how tough it is to manage everything until I had to do it myself. Four years ago, when I was out on missions with you, being captain didn’t seem like a big deal. But now, with Maria gone and Siegfried gone too, I’m the one carrying the weight. Only then did I realize how hard this role really is.”

“Not only do I have to fight Honkai beasts outside, but I also have to mediate between the Bureau and other factions internally.”

“When infected people stretch out their hands, begging for help right in front of me, I have to give the order—‘Do not save them, even if they die before your eyes.’ All to prevent them from suffering further and to maintain Atlantis’s stability. Every time I make that call, it tears me apart inside.”

“People don’t resent scarcity—they resent inequality. I get that. But every time I return from a mission, I have to listen to ignorant fools complain, ‘We’re all human, so why do Bureau agents get to live in luxury while my family sleeps on the streets?’ Oh, sure! If any of them could annihilate thousands of Honkai beasts in one strike like you, Sis, I’d gladly hand over my villa to them!”

“And let’s not even mention the snide remarks before every mission or the nitpicking afterward. These people revel in the Bureau’s failures. They achieve nothing themselves, so they want others to fail too—drawing strength from others’ misery to keep themselves going. Little do they know, if the Bureau’s teams were wiped out, they’d lose everything in the Honkai’s indiscriminate destruction.”

“But no matter how furious these voices make me, I can’t lash out. Instead, I have to urge my team to stay calm and composed… Sometimes, I really wish you were still by my side, Sis.”

Cecilia didn’t offer any judgments. She simply patted Angelia’s back gently, letting her release all the pent-up frustration.

“But it’s good that you’re home now. You don’t have to deal with these messes, and you can be there for Kiana. She lost her father so young—having her mother means everything to her.”

Once she’d vented enough, Angelia nestled in Cecilia’s arms for a while longer before reluctantly pulling away.

She knew all too well that no matter how many grievances she had, life would go on as usual tomorrow.