Honkai—a threat originating from the 《Honkai》 series.
Honkai energy is a negative energy that causes disasters, gives rise to Deadwalkers or Honkai Beasts, and can lead to the birth of Herrschers if its concentration reaches a certain threshold.
“Deadwalkers” are humans who have mutated due to Honkai energy infection; only those with high resistance can undergo the process, and once the transformation is complete, it is irreversible.
—They can roughly be understood as a special type of powerful zombie.
“Honkai Beasts” are animals infected by Honkai energy, or creatures created by Herrschers, or entities naturally generated from high concentrations of Honkai energy; they are mostly silicon-based.
—They can roughly be understood as the mutant animals typically found in apocalyptic novels.
As for “Herrschers,” they require the Honkai energy concentration to reach a threshold and the existence of a human compatible with extremely high Honkai adaptability.
They are the executors of the Honkai's will and possess various Authorities, such as the Herrscher of Reason's analysis and reconstruction, or the Herrscher of Thunder's control over electromagnetic fields...
It was an incredibly powerful ability. Mo Shao still remembered the locations where several Great Honkai Eruptions occurred... but they were all quite far from here.
As for their current location... it wasn't a Great Honkai Eruption, but merely a small-scale Phantom Event. The concentration of Honkai energy wasn't enough to birth a Herrscher.
Yet, in the original work, a Honkai event like this—which might not even be recorded—had directly turned an entire city into a living purgatory.
...
The remaining survivors had all fled into Seven Hills City.
As for how humans in the Real Realm, who lacked Honkai energy resistance, managed to survive within the Honkai?
—It was because every human was capable of Dead-binding.
And Honkai energy was also something that could be Dead-bound. One shouldn't limit Dead-bound objects solely to physical items.
This kind of “abstract” energy was likewise something that could be Dead-bound—though it was significantly more difficult than binding a physical object.
Consequently, out of all the people in a single city, only a few managed to complete a Dead-binding in the moment between life and death, ultimately surviving.
—Honkai energy flooded their bodies; if their bodies could Dead-bind it, they lived. If they couldn't, they died.
In the beginning, they didn't even know they had Dead-bound Honkai energy, because it was a passive Dead-binding performed in a state of ignorance.
They hadn't actively performed any operations, so they naturally couldn't analyze the specific details.
It wasn't until later, when a very small number of people Dead-bound items that had randomly intruded, that they began to understand “Dead-binding” slightly better.
—Even if the Dead-bound object wasn't related to the Honkai, as long as it could provide internal energy, it could still resist the Honkai's effects.
There were also some Dead-binders who understood more—those who lived on the edge of the Honkai outbreak and survived temporarily.
After they were lucky enough to kill a Deadwalker or, against all odds, a Honkai Beast, they completed Dead-bindings with their drops and other such items.
Eventually, they arrived at Seven Hills City, and after comparing notes, everyone finally gained a basic, fuzzy concept of Dead-binding.
Well... she would go hand out some flyers later to publicize this matter and pre-order a wave of Feedback from [Order].
...
Aside from the city cluster to the south affected by the Honkai, Mo Shao had also scouted several other locations.
To the southeast was the desert terrain of 《Terraria》.
The surface desert was home to monsters like Vultures, the Antlion series, and Angry Tumblers...
Naturally, there was also an Underground Desert portion.
One could go dig up Pyramids to find treasure chests containing [Sandstorm in a Bottle], [Flying Carpet], and the [Pharaoh's set].
More importantly, these treasure chests were one-time deals, first come, first served... This direction would definitely be listed as a primary objective.
The Underground Desert was also worth a visit to find Sandstone Chests, which contained even more items and were well worth exploring.
However, the monsters there were stronger and the environment more dangerous, so she would need to wait until she had developed a bit more before going.
...
The east was naturally the Ocean Planet block where they had come from, and beyond that was the island from Peacekeeper Elite.
The danger level was high, and anything worth obtaining was still on the seabed... there really wasn't much worth exploring there.
...
To the northeast was... the Black Wind Mountain map from 《Black Myth: Wukong》. She hadn't expected to see it in a place like this...
The monsters inside could drop plenty of good things, and the map's resources were quite abundant. It was an excellent spot for grinding monsters.
However, the monsters weren't weak either, so it remained an arrangement for later.
...
To the north was the 《Pokémon》 Phantom Realm. The terrain was a volcano with many Pokémon present.
Most were Ground-type, Rock-type, and Fire-type, with other types scattered among them.
While their attitude wasn't exactly friendly, they were in a neutral state; if you didn't provoke them, they wouldn't bother you.
However, this place... surely it couldn't be that volcano she was thinking of?
Mo Shao used Pathfinding to search her memories, and as it turned out... it really was! Stark Mountain from the Unova region!
—Arceus's Flame Plate was right inside!
She hadn't expected it to be so close... this matter had to be done first. She immediately adjusted its priority to the highest level!
...
To the northwest was a forest containing various fantasy creatures, but for the time being, there was no obvious source material it pointed toward.
She would have to see the creatures inside to be sure. For now, she would treat it as a classic Magical Beast Forest from fantasy novels.
...
Further west was a small town—the town from Plants vs. Zombies, specifically the first version.
Yes, it was worth a trip. At the very least, she had to collect a wave of plants. If she planted them all in the Wilderness, they would provide decent combat power.
...
Finally, to the southwest was the Soul House from 《Soul Knight》, and the most critical part was the Dungeon inside.
It was an infinitely repeatable instance where all kinds of weapon materials could drop. From trash to divine artifacts, it had everything.
It was truly perfect for a hardcore grinding session.
...
The above were the general situations for the eight directions, listing only the most prominent parts, with a few smaller Phantom Realms mixed in between.
However, the scouting range of the people in Seven Hills City was limited, so this was all the intelligence they had for now. Mo Shao would have to explore the rest herself.
Looking at it now, the threats to Seven Hills City were quite clear.
The plants to the west could contend with the zombies, the Dungeon monsters to the southwest wouldn't enter reality, and the Pokémon were neutral.
So, the main things to deal with were the Honkai Beasts, the yaoguai of Black Wind Mountain, the monsters in Terraria, and the creatures in the Magical Beast Forest.
Thus, her next arrangements were set.
First, go get the Flame Plate, then collect the treasure chests from the Pyramids, then collect a wave of plants, and finally, go grind the Dungeon.
Those were the early-stage plans. There were other plans for later, but these things would have to wait until tonight was over.
Tonight was Halloween night, and undead-type monsters would receive a buff—and as everyone knows, those zombies count as the undead!
There were also the Mummies, Ghouls, and Desert Spirits from Terraria; they would also appear early and temporarily due to the holiday effects!
At the moment, Mo Shao didn't know if Deadwalkers would be classified as undead... but in any case, the situation tonight was going to be very grim.
Rate on N.U.
