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

"But..." Kiana looked troubled. "But I need to find someone... it'll be very dangerous if you come along..."

Find someone? She must be looking for Mei.

"What's there to be afraid of? I'm a big, strong guy, with working hands and feet. I'm not just dead weight, am I? I have eyes to see, a mouth to shout, hands to hold weapons, and legs to run. I'm really not that much of a burden, am I?"

Shu desperately tried to sell himself, terrified that Kiana would shake her head and leave him behind in some random convenience store.

Kiana's expression became more conflicted. Shu could practically see the confused scribbles appearing above her head.

"I can cook."

"Okay! But you can't slow me down, got it?" Kiana agreed instantly.

Shu: "..."

Okay, so just knowing how to cook is enough to sway you? Have you considered that in this hellhole, there won't be many opportunities to cook?

How is this any different from freeloading?

Kiana, seemingly oblivious to this point, walked over to the window, looked down, surveyed the surroundings, then beckoned Shu over.

"From now on, you're under my protection! Come on, no time to waste, let's get ready to go!"

Kiana hurried out of the room. Shu shrugged helplessly and followed.

Downstairs, he saw a horde of zombies gathered outside the glass doors. They seemed disoriented, milling about aimlessly, not yet attempting to break in.

Shu crouched down, peering through the large windows. The number of zombies was already substantial, and more were shambling in from the distance.

At this rate, he estimated that by the afternoon, the street outside would be packed.

The current number still made him gasp. He started to brainstorm escape routes.

Just then, Kiana tapped him on the shoulder.

Shu turned to see a yellow plush bunny, grinning at him with large, white teeth.

"Homu?" Shu thought for a moment, recalling the name of the yellow plush bunny.

"Ooh, you like Homu too?"

Shu stared at the plush bunny for a good fifteen seconds, unable to see any appeal in it.

It wasn't exactly cute, grinning with that mischievous look. And calling it "roguishly handsome"... Shu could only find its stubby limbs comical.

Perhaps the yellow bunny's charm and personality were built up in the manga and games... In any case, until he understood it better, Shu couldn't quite connect with the plush toy.

He realized, however, that it was a Homu-shaped backpack. Ignoring its peculiar form, he took the backpack and began selecting high-calorie, non-perishable food from the shelves.

Kiana, meanwhile, opened a bag of chips, watching the growing horde of zombies outside, seemingly lost in thought.

After Shu had filled the Homu backpack with cookies and chocolate, Kiana finished her chips, crumpling the bag and tossing it into a distant trash can.

"Ready to go?" She clapped her hands, producing an alarm clock from seemingly nowhere and placing it by the door. "Come on, let's go back to your room."

"My room?" Shu frowned, sensing something amiss. "But my room's on the second floor."

"It's just the second floor, not that high." Kiana gave him a confident grin.

Shu immediately realized the problem.

Not that high? What does that mean? Don't tell me you want me to jump?!

He recalled the height he'd seen from the window that morning, his mind conjuring images of a several-story drop.

No, no, it can't be that high. It's just the second floor, maybe a few meters at most.

Shu, sweating nervously, tried to reassure himself.

Just absorb the impact on landing. Bend your knees, roll a couple of times…

"I set the alarm for five minutes, let's go!"

I set a bomb to go off in five minutes, let's go!

Shu rolled his eyes behind Kiana's back, slung the Homu backpack over his shoulder, and followed her upstairs, a miserable look on his face.

"After we jump, just follow me. Most of the zombies will be attracted by the alarm, don't worry about it." Kiana glanced at the zombies below, then turned to Shu with a confident assurance.

Does that mean there will still be a couple of zombies down there when we jump?

Shu suddenly felt less confident in his decision.

But Kiana had already placed the alarm clock by the door. Was he supposed to run downstairs, grab the clock, and tell her he was abandoning ship?

I chose this path, no matter how absurd, I have to see it through!

Shu took a deep breath, his gaze fixed on the windowsill, a look of grim determination settling on his face.

I outran a horde of zombies yesterday; what's a few more?

Despite his bravado, the wait for the alarm was agonizing.

It felt like ten minutes had passed, but the alarm remained silent. Only then did Shu realize that six five-minute intervals made up only one forty-eighth of a day.

In those short five minutes, Shu felt like he'd contemplated a lifetime's worth of thoughts, and yet, nothing at all. Finally, the alarm by the door shrieked.

He flinched, instinctively wanting to bolt and jump out the window.

But seeing Kiana's calm demeanor, he suppressed his panic.

From below, a chorus of roars erupted as the alarm blared, but the sounds quickly receded.

After about a minute, Kiana peered down, then nodded at Shu. She placed one hand on the windowsill, struck a dramatic pose, and gracefully leaped out.

Shu took two deep breaths, did a short run-up, and mimicked her movements, vaulting out the window.

Before he could even register the sensation of falling, his feet landed firmly on the ground. He rolled, quickly stood up, and looked at Kiana.

"Oh! Not bad!" Kiana complimented his smooth landing, then immediately took off running. "Now, make sure you keep up!"

Shu, still slightly dazed from the roll: "?"

She just... left? Like she'd made up her mind about something, and I'm just… baggage?

"Hey! Wait for me! Hey!" Shu yelled, scrambling after her as the few remaining zombies nearby looked on in confusion.