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

"No!" Almost simultaneously, the voices of Kiana, Sirin, and Bronya rang out.

"Even Shu shouldn't go out alone," Bronya was the first to speak, rejecting Shu's proposal.

Kiana nodded in deep agreement, her entire demeanor seeming to shift. "You could be in danger too. What if something happens to you while you're out there alone?"

Are you trying to jinx me?

Shu felt a bit helpless. "You guys stay here. The train needs someone to look after it, and you'll be able to coordinate better together. If I go in by myself, I can be more flexible. If I run into trouble, I can just escape."

At that, they all fell silent.

Shu was right. Alone, he wouldn't have to worry about anyone else. Logically speaking, if a situation was dangerous enough to trap Shu, Kiana and the others wouldn't be much help even if they went together.

But hadn't they encountered plenty of special situations on this journey?

Whether it was the indiscriminate range of the memory wipe or the vast dreamscape of the Herrscher of the Dream, their Honkai energy levels didn't surpass Shu's. In fact, in terms of memory, they were far inferior.

Yet Shu had been trapped. Those unknown abilities were always catching people off guard.

Shu felt a bit creeped out by everyone's stares, but there was nothing he could do. They were worried about him, and he was worried about them.

The best choice was for them to stay on the train, ready to provide support at a moment's notice.

While they were watching him, he had already sent out a mental drone to scan the situation outside.

It really was a huge estate outside, unbelievably so. Shu estimated that his drone had already flown about two kilometers, but he still couldn't see the end of the estate.

What caught Shu's attention were several bodies lying on the ground. They showed signs of zombification and looked as if they had been attacked shortly after turning.

Shu controlled the drone's perspective, moving closer. He saw at a glance the dried bullet hole in the zombie's head.

The entire back of the zombie's head was a mushy mess, while there was only a small bullet hole in the center of its forehead. This was clearly the work of a large-caliber firearm.

Was it the estate's security force? Or had some mercenaries been here?

"Shu?" Shu's thoughtful expression looked like he was daydreaming to the others. Kiana couldn't help but call out to him in a small voice. Shu snapped back to reality, his expression a bit strange.

"Let's stick to the plan. You all stay on the train, I'm going out," Shu said a bit hastily. This time, he didn't give them a chance to argue before turning and leaving the train.

Stepping out of the train car, Shu's robes fluttered. The next moment, he shot forward, heading straight for a specific direction.

If he hadn't been mistaken just now, there seemed to be someone in the estate.

It was a little girl, about Bronya's age. Though she had only flashed by in a corner for a moment, Shu was certain he hadn't been mistaken.

There are still survivors in a place like this? Or is it...

Shu stopped on top of a large house. He didn't approach directly, but found a vantage point to observe the situation up close.

---||---

This was a luxurious villa that could be described as magnificent, a level of luxury unimaginable to many of the lower class.

It was hard to say if the person who built it had good taste or bad taste. The first thing anyone would see was the exaggerated exterior and decorations that would leave them speechless.

But for someone who opened their eyes to this scene every day, it was nothing special.

In fact... this place reeked of an annoying scent.

Frélle crept along, deftly slipping through a small hole in a broken window. Her small body dragged a large backpack, and the tattered clothes she wore seemed absurd in this setting.

"Heave-ho—" The heavy backpack landed on the floor with Frélle, kicking up a small cloud of dust.

"Phew... so tired..." the little girl wiped away a bead of sweat and sighed. "But it was worth it. With all this stuff I've collected, I shouldn't have to go out again for a long time, right?"

The girl's face was full of smiles. Looking at the huge bundle, she couldn't help but feel proud.

The golden splendor around her was nothing compared to the... junk... in her backpack.

After muttering to herself for a short rest, Frélle mustered her strength again, grabbed the tattered backpack, and prepared to move on.

Suddenly, with a ripping sound, the little girl stumbled forward and fell heavily to the ground.

A small whimper, barely audible, escaped her lips. If you weren't right next to her, you wouldn't have heard it.

Frélle rolled over, first looking at the broken strap in her hand, then frowning at her knee.

In just that short time, a large patch of blood had seeped through, looking particularly gruesome.

But Frélle seemed numb, showing little reaction. The girl who had been chattering nonstop just a moment ago was now silent. She moved next to the large backpack and shoved half her body inside.

After some rummaging, Frélle pulled out two emergency first-aid kits, the kind that bikers often carry.

Frélle skillfully opened the first-aid kit, decisively tossing aside the needles, thread, small scissors, and pliers. Then, she poured all the pills into her hand and was about to stuff them into her mouth.

So you don't know how to treat wounds!

Just before the pills reached her mouth, a large hand quietly reached out from the side, helplessly grabbing the girl's slender but not-so-delicate arm.

Frélle froze, her head accidentally brushing against the hand. She stared at it in disbelief.

She slowly followed the hand up, finally tilting her head to meet a pair of breathtakingly brilliant eyes.

They were the most beautiful nebulae in the world, an endless sea of emotions, like a snow globe that contained the universe, sparkling with every flicker of his pupils.

The scream the little girl had been brewing died in her throat.

The next second, Shu blinked. Frélle snapped back to reality. When she looked again, all she saw was a pair of unremarkable, light-colored pupils.

Her attention gradually shifted, and Frélle got a clear look at the person who had appeared.

A man. Hmm... he didn't look like a bad person.

Very young, well-groomed. His clothes were new and made of fine material, but his style was a bit unique. Not bad-looking, but definitely not mainstream...

After a quick analysis, Frélle, who had been so stoic in the face of her injury, suddenly went limp. She fell to the ground in a delicate yet feigning-strength manner, while also trying to pull her hand out of Shu's grasp.

Shu obediently took a step forward, bending down slightly, his hand still holding Frélle's hand, which was full of pills.

The scene paused awkwardly for a second. The scream Frélle had been holding back for so long finally came out.

"Aah~"

Shu: "..."