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

The road ahead stretched endlessly. Shu had no idea where they were headed, but he knew one thing for sure: if Kiana didn't stop soon, he was going to run himself to death!

Don't ask why he didn't just tell her to slow down or take a break.

Firstly, they were escaping for their lives; he didn't dare stop. Secondly, Kiana was running ridiculously fast; he could barely keep up. And lastly... wouldn't it be better to use that breath for running instead of shouting?

Initially, that's exactly what he'd thought. Catch up, catch up. Later, he was too exhausted to even speak, focused solely on staying within sight.

He didn't know how long they'd been running. Just as he started seeing his great-grandmother in the afterlife, convinced he was about to transmigrate back, Kiana finally stopped in a deserted, narrow alleyway.

She stopped! She actually stopped!!

Great-grandma! Don't come over yet! It's dangerous here!

Kiana, breathing heavily, quickly regained her breath. "Whew, that went pretty smoothly. Didn't attract a huge horde..."

Just then, Shu stumbled into the alley, his steps unsteady.

He saw hope! He felt truly alive, like that time in college when he'd been holed up in his dorm for ages and was suddenly informed of a fitness test…

Like…

A familiar baseball bat… Baseball bat?! Was Kiana carrying a baseball bat while running?!

Shu's exhausted, muddled brain only had time to process the bat's unexpected presence before it whooshed towards his head.

"Take this, straggler—whoa, whoa, whoa!"

A gust of wind ruffled the hair on Shu's forehead, revealing his bewildered eyes.

"Huh?"

At the last second, the bat stopped just short of his face.

"Ahem, it's you. I thought you were a zombie, haha..." Kiana casually retracted the bat, chuckling awkwardly.

It wasn't her fault, right? Shu had looked just like a zombie back there. She'd momentarily mistaken him for one, and... well, she did stop in time…

Shu frowned, the pressure of the near-miss still lingering on his forehead. A moment later, he realized he'd just had a very close brush with death, a cold sweat breaking out all over him.

So I didn't die from exhaustion on the road, but almost got killed at the finish line?!

"Are you okay?" Kiana hid the bat behind her back, asking with concern.

Shu glanced at the exposed end of the bat, swallowed, and, against his better judgment, pushed down his inner turmoil. "Fine, I'm fine."

"Phew, that's good." Kiana beamed, slinging the bat over her shoulder and clapping him heartily on the back. "Not bad, you actually kept up with me. Back at school, besides the class monitor, no one could ever keep pace with me during runs."

So you knew you were hard to keep up with! If they were running for their lives too, you'd see if they could keep up!

Shu complained internally, not daring to even roll his eyes.

That star-patterned baseball bat on Kiana's shoulder was just too intimidating.

Speaking of which, who's this class monitor who can keep up with Kiana? Mei?

It couldn't be Fu Hua, could it? That'd make this timeline way too messed up. Could he actually see Welt and Otto getting along and being all lovey-dovey?

The thought of that scene sent shivers down his spine, like the first time he'd seen the Honkai Boy Band debut video.

Kiana chuckled, then her expression turned serious as she looked at Shu.

He instinctively flinched. "What?"

"There's something I've been meaning to ask." Kiana stared at him. "I know your name, but I don't think I know yours. What was it again?"

"Huh? Didn't I tell you?" Shu looked confused.

"Huh? Did you?" Kiana mirrored his confusion.

Am I so dumb I can't even remember someone's name? No, no, no, I'm a genius! Just a little bit challenged academically. He definitely didn't tell me!

Meanwhile, Shu was thinking, So you were acting all chummy with me without even knowing my name? Is this the terrifying social butterfly power of you bright and cheerful young folks?

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Shu finally broke the awkward silence, revealing his name.

"Shu."

"Shu?" Kiana committed the name to memory. "That doesn't sound like a name from around here. It's similar to the class monitor's, though."

Shu's heart skipped a beat. Could he really see Welt and Otto being all lovey-dovey?

"Maybe your class monitor and I are from the same hometown. If we ever meet, we'll have someone to reminisce with, haha..."

"Yeah! You'll definitely meet! I'll introduce you when the time comes!" Kiana declared confidently, her optimism so radiant that it almost made Shu forget they were in a post-apocalyptic world.

Although he didn't know if the class monitor she spoke of was indeed Fu Hua, the fact that Kiana so firmly believed that others could survive this disaster unscathed... this was the protagonist's aura.

"You..." Shu wanted to ask why she was so certain the people she was looking for were still alive, but thought better of it. "Where are you going to look for them?"

"School, Mei's house, places Mei frequents, places she might go… I'll search everywhere. If they're not there, I'll move on to the next place!" Kiana said resolutely.

"What if you can't find them?" Shu blurted out before he could stop himself. Realizing his mistake, he clamped his mouth shut, waiting for her answer.

"Can't find them…" Kiana fell unusually silent. Shu waited, his conscience gnawing at him. Just as he was about to apologize, he heard her voice.

"Then I'll search every corner of this city until I find them... no matter what they've become, I'll find them. Every street, every city... no matter how many places, I will find them!"

Okay, so this is the power of friendship and love? You truly deserve to be the protagonist! Waaah, I'm such a terrible person, questioning the power of love and bonds… I'm guilty, I repent. Does a mere natural disaster think it can tear apart the protagonist group?

Don't underestimate the power of bonds, got it?

Shu, emotionally moved, set off with Kiana.

"Ahem, I'm a little hungry after that run..."

"No way, we need to ration our food. No snacking."

"Why? Isn't chocolate a snack?"

"When there's no main course, snacks become the main course."

"Aww…"