The Vixen's Gambit: Tonight We Hunt

"To have a home, you need a family, right? But I'm an orphan. I was taken in by the Kaslana family, but a few years later, they kicked me out for being too weak… I returned to Schicksal, but only in name. I never rejoined the family."

"And as for friends… well, you know, as we grew up, Otto and Kallen were always preoccupied with their own affairs. I rarely saw them. Eleanor was close to me, but she was too busy to always be with me in Kolosten."

"So I spent most of my time alone, dealing with matters in the community and the guild. I actually spent more time at the guild than in my own house… Come to think of it, it's pretty similar to here. Since there's no difference, there's nothing to miss—though Earth's technology is far more advanced. The food tastes much better than back then!"

Lihua smiled at Mei. It was a perfect, bright smile. She spoke casually, as if joking, but Mei sensed a hidden sadness.

Mei had thought she had it rough, her life as a pampered heiress crashing down when her father was imprisoned. But somehow, she realized she was the luckiest one. Her parents loved her, spent time with her, and gave her the best life they could…

Kiana grew up separated from her parents, searching for her father alone. Bronya lost both her parents at a young age and became a child soldier.

Though they faced hardships, they had people supporting them… they weren't alone.

But Lihua…

Schicksal's Valkyrie textbooks were vague about the circumstances of Lihua's death, but with Theresa's help, Mei had found the relevant information in the library.

While all of Schicksal was obsessed with researching some crazy Herrscher-related weapon, Lihua stood up against it, only to be imprisoned by her friends, Kallen Kaslana and Otto Apocalypse.

Betrayed by her friends, her story ended there. She died in the 0th Herrscher incident.

No home… Indeed, where was the unconditional support, the trust, that a home provided for Lihua?

…My worries are probably nothing more than bragging rights to her.

Mei was partly right. Lihua wasn't as happy as she appeared, but not because she was a lonely orphan. Being the sole entry on your family register was standard operating procedure for web novel protagonists. Her emotion was primarily… regret.

Ugh, why is my mouth so loose?! Seeing the notification that Mei's affection level had increased to three, Lihua felt a twinge of nausea.

As a veteran Honkai player with two decades of experience, farming affection points was in her DNA. Seeing Mei's sadness, she'd instinctively tried to raise her affection for future currency.

But you had to assess the situation first, and this was not a good time to farm. Mei wasn't weak—at least not compared to the humans of this Earth. Antagonizing her would be a headache.

Though unlikely, if she snapped and went full Otto, Kevin, or Elysian Realm lunatic, things would get ugly.

Though there was currently a large energy deficit for installing a consciousness into the world, she needed to be smart about gathering energy.

Forget whether she could max out Mei's affection in such a short time. With Otto Mk III possibly on his way, if she died again for Mei's currency, especially a tragic death like Unit 3…

Earth? Ha, straight to heaven…

So, from all angles, Mei wasn't a good source of energy. She should even try to lower Mei's affection to prevent accidents—yet her money-grubbing instincts were faster than her brain.

The moment the words left her mouth, Lihua knew she'd messed up, but it was too late.

Oh well, it probably won't be a big deal. Mei had Kiana, her canon love interest, and their relationship was solid. It wasn't like Otto or Kevin, easily swayed. Plus, Mei was part of the main trio; her character was probably guaranteed. She wouldn't pull an Otto or Kevin.

And Lihua was Kiana's elder, her girlfriend's ancestor! Even if Mei were incredibly disrespectful, she wouldn't go for a "girlfriend's mom" scenario, right? She wasn't into that kind of thing—oh wait, she kinda is. Nevermind.

"Anyway, don't be too sad, Mei. I'll try my best to find a way to get you back. Since we got here, there must be a way to return." Lihua steered the conversation away from herself with a smile. "Besides, with the current state of this world… not to be ominous, but they might fall right in front of you any second. It won't be good if you're gloomy when that happens."

"You could always come live with us. There are plenty of houses around. I'm sure the people here wouldn't mind if you wanted to stay."

"I'll think about it… how are Elysia and the others doing?"

"Ahaha, I haven't quite figured out that Elysian Realm—uh, Lee renamed it the 'Ark of Dawn' now. I don't really know how to use it." Lie.

As someone who shared data with Unit 3, Lihua could use the Divine Key. She just didn't want to deal with those troublesome, substitute-obsessed weirdos inside.

Now that she had a good excuse, she was going to use it.

Mei won't cause trouble, the Elysian Realm weirdos are contained—as long as [Lee] stays glued to the internet, everything will be fine!