Chapter 12: You Didn’t Get Hurt, Did You?
Although unfamiliar with the city, Elysia was able to move around Nagazora City with ease using the map app on the spare mobile device she had borrowed from Mei.
Unfortunately, she hadn't seen Kiana Kaslana, the white-haired girl with blue eyes, who might also look a little goofy, that Jiang Qiao had mentioned.
However—
"So, this is Mei's ME Corp? It looks quite impressive!"
Elysia tilted her head back, gazing up at the tall building in the distance, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand, in amazement.
This was to be expected. After all, ME Corp was the leading mechanical technology enterprise in the entire Far East region. As the headquarters of ME Corp, the ME Corp Building was a landmark in Nagazora City due to its special functions.
She wore a small, delicate communication device on her ear, which she used to maintain contact and communication with Mei, who was acting separately.
This wasn't Mei's. Although ME Corp had plenty of similar devices, Mei, whose assets had been frozen due to Raiden Ryoma's imprisonment, couldn't afford such high-end products.
In fact, this was something that Elysia had asked Jiang Qiao to send her. It was produced by Fire Moth, and the Fire Moth logo could be seen on the side.
Mei, on the other end of the communicator, heard Elysia's casual chatter and didn't know how to reply. She could only ask casually:
"Uh... I rarely pay attention to my father's work, and I rarely go to that building. How is it now?"
Her status as the daughter of the ME Corp president had always been her claim to fame, but Mei herself didn't like it that much. However, since it was her father's life's work, she was concerned about ME Corp's current situation after hearing that Elysia had gone there.
"Hmm, I'm not really sure. It seems to be operating normally… By the way, isn't today a day off?"
Elysia observed ME Corp, but didn't gain anything. Thinking about something, she asked strangely.
Didn't ME Corp's employees get days off?
This was a question that Raiden Mei obviously couldn't answer.
"Hmm, I don't see anything obvious. Should we try going inside?"
"!"
Mei on the other side of the communicator was clearly shocked by Elysia's bold idea, but before she could say anything, Elysia said with a smile:
"Just kidding. It wouldn't be good to stir up the hornet's nest~"
"I haven't found anything here yet. How is it on your side, Mei?"
"I haven't either… Ah—!"
A cry of surprise came from the other end of the communicator.
This instantly made Elysia's smiling face turn serious. She asked anxiously, "Mei, what's wrong?"
"Th-There's a… mo-monst-—beep, beep."
A trembling, terrified voice came from the communicator, but before she could finish her sentence, all sound was lost.
"Hey! Mei! Hey! Can you hear me?"
Elysia tried to contact her, but the bright red light on the communicator undoubtedly meant that contact was lost.
Her expression darkened.
Elysia: Oh no, Mei seems to be in danger!
Jiang Qiao: ?
Jiang Qiao was confused when he saw this message.
Seriously, what's with you always getting into trouble, little sis?
Soon, after learning the situation from Elysia, he fell silent.
This situation…
Jiang Qiao really didn't know if Elysia was going to save the cook or send her to her doom.
She had almost pushed Mei into having a breakdown and wanting to take her own life, and when they went out to find someone, she found herself in danger.
… Alright, why don't you just give up on saving Nagazora and just escape with the cook instead?
"Did you remember that locator I told you to add on Raiden Mei's phone?"
Elysia: Ah! There was a locator! I almost forgot! I'm going to save Mei right now!
Elysia, who had originally been anxious, suddenly remembered that she had added a locator after getting the phone from Mei.
She had been a bit flustered from her broken portable communicator.
Now she finally had a direction to go in.
Mei's personal mobile device also seemed to be working fine. Judging by her movement trajectory, she seemed to be running towards the north, clearly being chased by something.
"Wait for me, Mei!"
…
Even in a major economic metropolis like Nagazora City, there was no lack of small alleys.
And at this moment, the girl named Raiden Mei was desperately running away.
Buzz, buzz, buzz
The high-speed fluttering sound, like a fly, came from three pale creatures with purple patterns that looked like mosquitoes.
—Seraph-class Honkai beasts.
They were the lowest-level life forms in the Honkai beast system spawned by Honkai. According to Schicksal's standards, a B-rank Valkyrie could easily deal with this kind of weak Honkai beast—provided that it was not in a pack.
But the above information was useless for the Raiden Mei who was running away right now.
As just an ordinary human, even the lowest-level Honkai beasts like the Seraph-class were not something she could deal with, and there were three of them.
It had to be said that this was the highlight of the Impulsive-class Honkai beasts.
Do you understand how high-quality we Seraph-class Honkai beasts are?
Making the future Herrscher of Thunder and the Herrscher of Origin run around with their tails between their legs.
Soon, the chase came to an end.
"Dead end!"
Mei looked at the wall in front of her and froze, her expression turning desperate.
She turned her head to look at the three Seraph-class Honkai beasts that were approaching step by step, her body trembling uncontrollably.
Was she going to die here today?
She had finally met… someone important in her life.
She wanted to fight back, but the katana she had brought with her was lost and damaged during the initial escape, along with her portable communicator.
"I'm sorry, Jiang Qiao, it seems I won't be able to save this city with you."
Looking at the approaching Honkai beasts, the girl slowly closed her eyes, feeling very apologetic and regretful.
But, it was probably for the best.
If she died, she wouldn't have to worry about anything.
It was often said that choosing death was the most cowardly decision.
But, wasn't she a coward from the beginning?
…There was nothing left to be afraid of.
The pain she had expected didn't come. Mei couldn't help but have the strange thought: "So, dying doesn't hurt?" But when she opened her eyes, she saw a white-haired figure.
She swung a baseball bat, heavily striking the head of the Impulsive-class Honkai beast, sending it flying.
The Honkai beast that had been smashed disappeared into the air as purple particles.
Leaving behind only the white-haired girl with a baseball bat.
She tilted her head, her blue eyes filled with a hint of question:
"You didn't get hurt, did you?"