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

The sky outside was still bright, so the convenience store wasn't pitch black, just dim.

Shu quietly closed the door and looked around. He couldn't find anything he could use to barricade the door without making a racket, so he simply pulled over a chair, piled some items on top, and wedged it behind the door as a makeshift alarm.

Having done this, Shu felt a little more at ease.

There couldn't be too many people in a small convenience store like this. As long as he was careful, clearing this "convenience store dungeon" without taking damage should be a piece of cake.

Shu tightened his grip on the mop handle, replaying the imaginary "ancestral family style" he had conjured up in his mind: The Mad Dog Thirteen Strikes.

According to his non-existent master, these thirteen strikes could slay tigers in the forest and bully children in the village (a common hyperbolic expression of power in Chinese fiction).

As long as all thirteen strikes were unleashed, even the Monkey King, Sun Wukong, would have to yield and avoid their sharp edge.

Against mere zombies, wouldn't it be a walk in the park?

First strike, sweep the leg to break their balance, second strike, a quick jab to the chest to create distance, third strike, an upward swing to dislocate the jaw, fourth strike, a downward chop to stun them, fifth and sixth strikes, target the wrists…

Shu continued to refine The Mad Dog Thirteen Strikes in his mind, his confidence growing, his hunched posture straightening.

For a moment, Shu even wished a zombie would appear before him so he could swiftly take it down.

But he quickly dismissed the thought.

Tsk… A martial artist must avoid arrogance and impatience. Kung fu is a skill for self-preservation and taking lives, not for showing off and gaining personal advantages.

There were signs that the shelves had been touched, but most of the items remained, and in ample supply.

Shu was both delighted and a little disappointed. Delighted that there were enough supplies to last him a long time, disappointed that he still hadn't found any sign of other survivors.

However, Shu believed that as long as he stayed here long enough, someone would eventually stumble upon this well-stocked convenience store.

He just hoped this world didn't have any ridiculous superpowers, or ridiculously overpowered elite monsters.

Just the zombies outside... a single store door should be enough to keep them out.

As Shu pondered, he carefully explored the convenience store, unaware that while he was treading lightly, another figure was also quietly approaching him from behind.

Shu cautiously rounded a shelf, proceeding to check the other side.

Reaching the front, Shu still hadn't found any trace of zombies inside. He finally let out a sigh of relief.

So, as long as I barricade this door...

Shu looked at the reflective glass door and saw a white-haired figure in the reflection behind him, raising a baseball bat high. He fell into deep thought.

Who am I? Where am I? Who is this white-haired figure?

How can I survive this baseball bat?

Shu pondered for a moment.

Shu's eyes sharpened.

With a sudden burst of movement, Shu bent his knees, leaned back, straightened his arms as if holding a gun, and executed a perfect back bridge, thrusting the mop handle like a spear behind him.

Take my surprise attack!!

_"Bonk!"_

Ah, such a pleasant sound… Shu thought.

Shu's eyes closed, and he collapsed.

Looking at the fallen Shu, Kiana, gripping the baseball bat, also breathed a sigh of relief, just as Shu had moments before. Then, leaning on the bat, she curiously crouched down to observe the young man with a red mark running down the center of his face, from his forehead to the philtrum between his nose and upper lip.

Shu's face still held a touch of youthful innocence. Kiana guessed he might be around her age.

From the front, Shu wasn't breathtakingly handsome, just pleasant-looking, decently handsome.

And now, with the obvious red mark and his messy hair, his looks were even less apparent.

Anyway, Kiana's attention was focused on the blood trickling from Shu's nose. She couldn't help but glance at her baseball bat.

Did I hit him too hard?

Kiana felt a pang of guilt and worry. She hadn't expected him to take the hit head-on... but he had been sneaking around suspiciously when he came in. She thought he might be one of the creepy guys from the neighborhood, so she panicked and...

No, what if he's a bad guy?

"Uh... Fu Hua said, 'Be wary of others, but don't be afraid to harm them'... ah, no... wait... what did Fu Hua say again?

"Ugh, whatever! A little countermeasure shouldn't be a problem, right? At worst... at worst, I'll just give him this whole convenience store as an apology."

After muttering to herself for a while, Kiana poked Shu's head with the bat. Getting a ragdoll-like response, she quickly grabbed a roll of rope from a nearby shelf, tested its strength, and then looked at Shu with a mischievous grin.

When Shu woke up, his head was still buzzing, and his face throbbed with pain. He instinctively reached up to touch it, only to find himself completely bound.

Shu was startled. He quickly looked down.

Whoa! What kind of professional knot-tying is this?!

Good news: It's a person. Bad news: That person knocked me out.

Good news: I was only knocked out. Bad news: I was not only knocked out, but I'm also tied up.

Good news: They just tied me up. Bad news: It's kame- what's-it?! [Kame- what's-it refers to a type of intricate Japanese rope bondage.]

Who in their right mind would use that?!

Shu's forehead pulsed with a vein, and a wave of despair washed over him.

In this day and age, the source of someone's kame-whatever skills was pretty obvious. Could it be that on his first day in this apocalypse, he, Shu, was going to be imprisoned, reduced to a breeding machine, someone's plaything?!

What if... it's a "him"?!

Shu's face turned pale, his heart skipping a beat.

Wait, I remember seeing the reflection of a white-haired girl before I blacked out.

Although he hadn't seen her clearly, at least the worst-case scenario was averted. Shu found another strange source of comfort and calmed down.

Since he was only tied up, whether it was to be used as bait for the zombies or something else, the person who tied him up would definitely come to see him. So, there was no need to worry about that.

It's just that the white figure seemed familiar... like he'd seen it somewhere before.

But did he know any girls with white hair in real life?

While Shu was still pondering, Kiana walked into the room, carrying a small pile of food.

Shu looked up at the doorway with a mixture of wariness and curiosity. One glance: astonishment. Two glances: confusion. Three glances: pupils shrinking. Four glances: eyes devoid of life.

"Kiana... Kaslana?"

Kiana froze, stopping at the doorway, her arms tightening around the food.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?!"

Shu's eyes widened, his pupils dilated, and a beautiful chime echoed in his ears.

Shu faced reality, and then let out a heart-wrenching wail.

"SHIT!! It's fucking Honkai!!!"