Honkai: You're telling me this difficulty is from Honkai Impact 3?!

"By the way, Senior Theresa, have you seen Senior Quinn?" Bianka looked around, then turned to Theresa with a puzzled expression. "I can't find her anywhere..."

"How strange..."

Bianka's words made Theresa's heart skip a beat. She whirled around, only to see the spot beside the smiling Rita was now empty.

Quinn, whose sheer size made her feel like a wall, had vanished without a trace.

When did she—?!

No, wait—why didn't you take me with you?!

The fragile alliance crumbled in an instant, leaving Theresa to face Bianka all alone.

"Ahem... Bianka..." Raising a fist to her mouth, Theresa cleared her throat guiltily. "You're pushing yourself so hard... don't you ever feel tired?"

"Huh?" A trace of confusion appeared on Bianka's face. "Tired?"

Theresa nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes! If you keep pushing yourself like this, you'll get exhausted! And if overworking yourself leads to an injury, it just won't be worth it!"

Seeing Bianka's expression gradually grow serious, Theresa suddenly felt a glimmer of hope.

Perhaps she could actually convince Bianka to change her schedule?

Seizing the opportunity, Theresa pressed on: "No matter what you do, you have to strike a balance between work and rest! If you only ever look forward, won't you miss the weaknesses at your back?"

"Bianka, as a truly powerful warrior, we must always be mindful of our condition. We can't be rash, nor can we be complacent. After working for a long time... uh... I mean, after training for a long time, you need to take a proper rest. Don't you agree?"

Theresa delivered her speech with an air of righteous gravity, then watched with hopeful eyes as Bianka fell into deep thought.

As Bianka began to nod slightly, her expression showing approval of Theresa's words, Theresa was ecstatic.

"I understand..." Bianka murmured.

She understands!! Theresa rejoiced internally.

"Senior Theresa, you believe that training only with Senior Quinn is too one-dimensional, and that my combat style and techniques are in danger of becoming too specialized, right?" Bianka declared her newfound understanding with forceful conviction.

No! You don't understand at all!! Theresa, who had plummeted from heaven back to hell in an instant, wailed internally.

"That's right..." Bianka continued, sharing her thoughts. "Come to think of it, my battles these past few days have indeed settled into a particular style. But if I were to face a different opponent... would I be able to maintain this level of combat effectiveness?"

"As expected of you, Senior Theresa! To have seen the core of my problem at a single glance!" Having figured it all out, Bianka looked excitedly at the "farsighted" Theresa and clenched her fists.

This is a level of sharp insight I don't possess... Senior Theresa still has so much I need to learn!

Seeing the gratitude, admiration, and even reverence in Bianka's expression, the smile on Theresa's face gradually stiffened.

Rita watched Theresa's expression shift from elation to despair, finally settling into a look of world-weary resignation. The corners of her lips, which had been fixed in a constant smile, couldn't help but twitch upward slightly.

"Rita~" Theresa made one last desperate attempt, throwing Rita a lifeline.

"I believe Lady Bianka is absolutely right," Rita said, her words crushing Theresa's hopeful gaze.

As Bianka's attention shifted to Rita, Theresa, hidden from Bianka's view, clutched her heart.

You two were in on it together all along!!

"This was Senior Theresa's guidance for me. I should be the one thanking her," Bianka said earnestly. Rita nodded and gave Theresa a slight bow.

"My apologies, Lady Theresa."

Bianka followed her gaze and saw Theresa quickly pull her hand back, whistling guiltily.

"So, how should we solve this problem?" Rita skillfully drew Bianka's curious gaze back to herself.

Faced with this question, Bianka paused for a moment before beginning to think.

"Indeed... The only opponent I've faced is Senior Quinn, but Senior Theresa and Senior Fu Hua are also here to train with..."

Kallen had returned to the front lines a few days ago. The pressure there was immense; the closer they got to the center of Sapphire City, the more Honkai Beasts they encountered.

Himeko's Titan squad sometimes had to shuttle between four different fronts six or seven times a day. The squad's daily Honkai Beast kill count had skyrocketed from two a day to six or seven.

Kallen, who was originally part of a spearhead unit, was now forced to lead her team to provide support everywhere, making up for the Titan squad's inability to fight on multiple fronts simultaneously.

The current situation was that the pressure on the four main fronts could not be solved by a few support missions. Each front needed a permanent special squad stationed there to maintain the advance.

More importantly, according to reconnaissance from Natasha's squad and positional scans from their instruments, there was a large refugee shelter in the path of their four-pronged advance, housing dozens of survivors. This meant that the advance on these four fronts could not be halted.

The MOTHs were, after all, a new organization in this world. Even though their official story was that they had once operated in the shadows and only revealed themselves now that the disaster was becoming uncontrollable.

Shu's unbelievable power had silenced the first wave of skepticism. The information about the Honkai that Otto published on [The Spark] had delayed the arrival of the second wave.

But that second wave would eventually arrive. Shu could be the strongest, but he couldn't be the only exception.

Fu Hua's full power was tied to the Xuanyuan Sword, and she lacked any truly remarkable combat achievements. Ultimately, she fell just short of Otto's standards for creating a "god."

Until a second member capable of holding their own emerged, the MOTHs' actions were their best form of proof.

Distributing the radio equipment that could connect to [The Spark] to Sapphire City and its surrounding areas had been the MOTHs' sign of commitment to all survivors. Sapphire City, in particular, was their showcase for proving their worth.

The people in the shelter awaited their arrival, and survivors in other cities were watching to see if the MOTHs could truly rescue them, thereby proving they had both the capability and the determination to help everyone.

Therefore, they could not retreat this time. They had to give it their all and rescue those trapped survivors, living up to everyone's expectations. Only then could the MOTHs' future be bright.

"No amount of simulated combat can compare to a real battle, right, Lady Theresa?" Rita said with a smile, looking at Theresa.

Both of them froze for a second. Then, Theresa coughed heavily, put a hand on her hip, and pointed at Bianka.

"Bianka! I order you: right now, immediately, go and rest! Prepare to head for the front lines!"

"Understood!"

It wasn't until she stepped into the elevator, her heart full of ambition, that Bianka sensed something was off.

Wait a minute... rest... how am I supposed to rest?

Bianka, who had seemingly never taken a proper break, was lost in thought about this sudden half-day vacation.

Standing inside the elevator, she hesitated, not pressing the button for any floor because she genuinely didn't know what she should do to "rest properly."

Do some low-intensity training?

No, if it's training, it's still expending energy. Even at a lower intensity, it can't be called rest.

Then... go back and sleep?

No, I can't sleep... I really can't. The thought of heading to the front line soon, of joining those warriors and fighting the Honkai alongside them, makes my heart pound like a child's.

"Haaa..." Taking a deep breath to calm her restless heart, Bianka finally decided on her destination.

The tenth basement level, the floor where she lived.

However, she wasn't going home. She wanted to take a good look at the street scenes on the tenth level.

She remembered what Theresa had once told her—that she still didn't know which steamed bun shop on the ninth or tenth basement level was better.

This was another one of the weaknesses Senior Theresa had pointed out.

True, she ran through the streets of these two levels every morning and knew the layout of the ninth and tenth basements extremely well. Even if you blindfolded her now, she could probably still navigate them at a jog.

But she really didn't know which bun shop was the best.

And it wasn't just the bun shops. Who lived in which house on the tenth level, which buildings had been converted into shops, what kind of people came and went, where she could buy things...

Bianka knew none of it.

It seemed like Bianka went out every day, but in reality, she was still isolated from the world.

"Maybe I should just take a good look at these two streets now," Bianka said to herself, then grew troubled again.

"But at this time... the bun shops and places like that should be closed, right...?"

She had already eaten lunch! Although it only took her nine minutes, she hadn't skimped on her stomach! She was completely full!

And she had secretly paid this time, too...

Wait, money...

In an instant, all the chaotic thoughts were wiped from Bianka's mind. She was left with only one question.

A very serious problem.

The card she used to pay was Rita's... Bianka herself had no money. Other than the house assigned to her by Otto and the things in her room, she had nothing to her name.

So, never mind whether the bun shop was open; Bianka probably couldn't even afford a single bun.

"It's fine... I'll just look around and not buy anything, right?" Bianka quickly came to terms with the fact that she was broke and pressed the button for the tenth basement level.

It was just after lunch, the designated rest period for the entire MOTHs' base.

Aside from those working shifts, everyone—whether they were administrative staff or city exploration members—was beginning their short but precious break for the day.

As Bianka stepped out of the elevator, she saw the crowd on the street and froze on the spot.

The scene before her was far from bustling. After all, the entire MOTHs' base, including the children Natasha had taken in, numbered only two or three hundred people. Spread across the vast tenth basement level, that only amounted to one or two people per street.

But at this moment, what unfolded before Bianka's eyes was a liveliness unique to a "civilized society."

People walked leisurely along the street, with nothing chasing them from behind, nor were they rushing to get anywhere. They would raise a hand in greeting when they saw others, and they would chat with shopkeepers about prices and goods...

The architectural style of the MOTHs' base had always been cold and oppressive.

The walls constructed of metal, the electronic screens dominated by cool tones—everything served as a reminder that this was the apocalypse, the last gasp of civilization.

Only here, on the ninth and tenth basement levels, did people return to their former civilization and see the goal they were striving for.

After a brief moment of feeling lost, Bianka's heart calmed, and she stepped onto the street.

The streets weren't lined with shops; you'd have to walk a dozen or so steps before seeing a small one. Simple advertisements hung beside them—either crudely hand-drawn posters or minimalist price lists.

Bianka glanced over curiously and was surprised to find that one shop sold candy.

The variety of candy inside wasn't large—a dozen or so types at most, consisting of common things like lollipops, milk candies, and the like...

Even knowing she had no money, curiosity still compelled Bianka to take a couple of steps closer.

The shop owner was a middle-aged man. Judging from the wrinkles on his face and his subconscious posture, he had probably worked at a construction site before the Honkai descended.

Sensing someone approach, the man, who had been taking a midday nap, first cracked open one eye. Upon seeing a young person dressed rather conservatively, his spirits lifted, and he quickly sat up from his rocking chair, grabbing a cattail leaf fan.

"Hello there. Can I get you something?" the man asked Bianka gently, a kind smile on his face.

Bianka hadn't expected to be addressed directly. "Uh... I... well, actually..."

"I don't have any money," Bianka admitted honestly after a moment of hesitation. In the end, a last shred of youthful pride made her add quietly, "...with me."

Well, not having Rita's card on me counted as not bringing any...

Hearing this, however, only made the middle-aged man's smile grow wider.

"I get it, haha... Don't you worry about that." The man waved his fan and then used it to gesture toward Bianka. "You just got back from the front line, right?"

The man fanned himself confidently. "All the kids back from the front are just like you. No cash on hand, just a whole bunch of merit points they're too reluctant to spend..."

Then, the shop owner pointed to a sign hanging at the entrance. "I don't take merit points here. As long as your points are over a certain threshold, you can eat and take whatever you want from my shop for free!"

"Huh?" Bianka stared blankly for a moment. "No... I didn't come back from the front line..."

Seeing the man had already reached out and grabbed a handful of candy, Bianka quickly explained, "To be more precise, I'm about to go there..."

The man's hand froze. He looked up, his wrinkled eyes scrutinizing Bianka from head to toe.

"You're a new recruit...?" he asked tentatively. Bianka nodded sincerely.

The middle-aged man sucked in a sharp breath.

As far as he knew, only one team was scheduled to head to the front from the base anytime soon...

Could this young girl in front of him actually be a member of the "Judah" squad?