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

Morning. The sun couldn't penetrate the thick cloud cover. On the street, zombies continued their friendly greetings, eagerly awaiting new faces (meals) to appear.

Shu opened the curtains, stretched gracefully, took a deep breath of fresh air, and promptly slammed the window shut.

Ugh, that rotting stench!

There weren't any decaying, smelly zombies in the game, were there? Why are they everywhere here?

Where are all the cool and stylish Dead-ites?

Shu grumbled, then shook his head fiercely, dispelling the dangerous thought.

As if! Those Dead-ites in the game were all superhuman. The archers were either crack shots or could fire five arrows a second. I'll never forget that scythe-wielding Dead-ite jumping at me from a mile away and one-shotting me.

If they're that exaggerated in the game, what would they be like in real life? Should I start planning how to leave a complete corpse so Kiana can give me a proper burial?

Better to not meet them, hopefully never. The world is vast; those Dead-ite ladies don't need to fixate on this crooked tree.

And those Honkai beasts... while I'm curious if the Chariot-class Honkai beast really does make "choo-choo" sounds, sometimes, the unknown is the most beautiful kind of regret.

As for Herrschers... there are only a few per civilization. What are the odds of running into one?

"..." Shu fell silent.

Crap, I'm with the protagonist group.

"Oh well, what will be, will be." He shrugged, stretching as he walked into the kitchen.

It was the fifth day since Shu had boarded this rogue ship. They'd found a new convenience store yesterday to rest and restock.

The Homu backpack wasn't very large; it held about as much food as Shu used to pack for a school field trip.

He'd initially thought it would only last him and the big-eater Kiana two days, but surprisingly, despite her constant complaints of hunger and attempts to wheedle more food, she hadn't actually consumed that much.

At least Shu didn't need to worry about being Kiana's emergency rations.

Outside the kitchen, Kiana was slumped over the table, looking half-asleep yet determined not to miss a meal.

Her eyes lit up when she saw Shu.

This convenience store had some stored ingredients. Last night, Shu had picked out some unspoiled vegetables and meat and, using the gas stove, given Kiana a small demonstration of his culinary skills.

Having lived on dry rations and bread for over a month, Kiana had devoured the hot food with gusto. Shu had even earned the high praise of "Your cooking is almost as good as Mei's!"

See that? He's almost as important as Mei! Shu thought triumphantly.

"Shu, what are we having today?" Kiana asked eagerly, her eyes sparkling as he tied on his apron.

Shu held up a bundle of dried noodles and a piece of beef. "No need for anything too fancy this early. I'll make you a bowl of beef noodles."

"Yay!" Kiana cheered. "What about lunch? Can we have a feast? Like… a Manchu Han Imperial Feast? Can you make that?"

Shu rolled his eyes. "A Manchu Han Imperial Feast… that's 108 dishes! Top-quality ham, abalone, all that stuff is just used for the broth. You want me to make that with this slightly-off beef?"

"Aww…" Kiana sighed in disappointment, slumping back down. "I really want to eat it… 108 dishes… where can we find all those fancy ingredients…"

Listening to her mutter, Shu helplessly started boiling water.

By the time the beef noodles were on the table, it had started raining outside.

They sat across from each other, Kiana slurping down the extra-large bowl of Shu's special beef noodles.

Making a big eater like Kiana subsist on small portions for days was cruel, so Shu had cooked the entire package of noodles, letting her eat her fill.

As for the potential health consequences of suddenly gorging after days of rationing... that was Shu's problem, not Kiana's. She was indestructible.

After finishing his small portion, Shu carried his stool over to the window, quietly watching the intensifying rain wash over the bleak world outside.

The dark clouds had gathered yesterday afternoon. The rain had been one of the reasons they'd sought shelter in the convenience store.

Rain washed away their scent, and the sound masked their footsteps. Ideally, rainy days were the best time to travel.

But the rain dampened their spirits, so they'd found a supply point and decided to rest for a day before continuing their journey.

It's raining today, so we're not going out.

Nagazora City was vast, and their destination was far. With the streets teeming with zombies, they couldn't cover much ground in a day.

They were about two days away from their destination, Chiba Academy. The reason it would take two days was that Kiana wanted to check the nearby train station tomorrow. Before the Honkai Eruption, her class monitor had been at the station, waiting for a train home.

The Great Disaster had struck just as the holidays began. Before anyone could fully enjoy their vacation, Honkai had mercilessly snatched away their bright future.

You never know what comes first, tomorrow or an accident. Plans never survive contact with reality. Just like now, as Shu saw a small figure stumbling through the rain, barely visible through the downpour.

"What's that?" Shu frowned, squinting to get a better look. But the figure quickly ducked behind cover.

"What?" Kiana, holding her large bowl of noodles, walked over to the window, curious.

"I think I saw someone." Shu searched for the figure again, but found nothing. It was as if he'd imagined it.

Kiana scanned the area carefully, then shook her head. "I don't see anything... Maybe it was just your imagination. Are you too tired?"

"Maybe..." Shu rubbed his temples, standing up. "I'll go back to sleep for a bit. Wake me up for lunch."

Kiana nodded, slurping her noodles.

Shu sighed, turning to leave with his stool.

Just then, a sharp sound of shattering glass came from outside, followed by the enraged roars of zombies.

Shu and Kiana spun around, just in time to see a gray figure, arms raised defensively, crash through a second-story window of a building across the street and jump down.

That was…

Shu's attention was instantly drawn to the figure's swirling twintails. Before the concept of "Bronya" fully formed in his mind, the window beside him burst open, and a white figure leaped out, disappearing into the rain.

Shu instinctively turned to look beside him, but there was only a half-eaten bowl of beef noodles.