The girl stood silently in the moonlight, raising her delicate left hand and gently waving it down. The glowing fluorescent bodies around her seemed to understand her intent, beginning to emit a radiant glow like concentrated moonlight. Beams of light shot out from the Fluorescent Flyers, attacking Li Xuan and the others.
Lasers streaked toward Li Xuan and his companions. "Dodge!" Li Xuan shouted, and everyone scattered to avoid the beams. The milky-white lasers grazed past them, leaving deep gouges in the bridge's surface even when they missed. The damaged ground glowed with a fiery red light, the lingering embers of intense heat.
"Stop! We mean no harm!" Li Xuan called out to the girl standing before them. But she didn't respond. Instead, another laser shot out, forcing Li Xuan's pupils to contract. He tried to dodge, but it was too late.
With no other choice, Li Xuan extended his left hand as if to catch the laser. But instead of piercing his palm as the girl had expected, the beam was blocked by a previously invisible shield of deep blue energy that materialized in front of his hand, completely nullifying the attack.
"Stop her!" Li Xuan said, slightly exasperated by the girl's unprovoked attack. Though she bore a striking resemblance to his loved ones, that didn't justify their being attacked without retaliation.
"Kiana! Target the Fluorescent Flyers!" Mei commanded. She held a shotgun instead of her usual katana, a necessary compromise. Charging into a laser firestorm with a sword was no one's idea of a good plan.
Kiana followed Mei's order, summoning a yellow-and-black pistol—her backup weapon, the Fairy Bow Silven. The devastating Mjolnir had already exhausted its ammunition at the start of the battle, leaving her with no choice but to rely on the Silven. While its firepower wasn't particularly high, it had an infinite supply of bullets. This was the classic case of compensating for insufficient power with sheer volume!
With the Fairy Bow Silven in hand, Kiana unleashed a flurry of gun-fu attacks against the Fluorescent Flyers. To her frustration, the Flyers proved incredibly slippery targets, making it nearly impossible to land a hit. Even when she did manage to strike one, the damage was minimal unless she landed multiple shots. But hitting them multiple times was easier said than done, and it seemed they were taking turns attacking.
*First, focus all firepower on taking down one of them.* Kiana thought, raising Fairy Bow Silven and concentrating her aim on one of the Fluorescent Flyers. The effect was surprisingly effective; the flyer Kiana targeted quickly became riddled with wounds. But as Kiana focused, another flyer stealthily flew behind her and fired a laser directly at her.
"Watch out behind you, Kiana!" Bronya, with her sharp sensory perception, immediately spotted the laser and shouted a warning. Kiana had just fired a shot to neutralize an attack from another flyer and turned around too late to react.
Li Xuan had started the battle by firing a Super Electromagnetic Cannon from his Super Electromagnetic Handcannon at the unknown girl. Though he hadn't aimed for a vital spot, intending only to drive her back, the shot was neutralized by a concentrated laser barrage from the flyers surrounding her. The Super Electromagnetic Cannon exploded harmlessly in front of the girl.
After several unsuccessful attempts to hit the girl with his Super Electromagnetic Cannon, Li Xuan heard Bronya's shout and realized Kiana was in danger. Being the closest, he immediately rushed forward, shielding Kiana from the laser. The milky-white beam struck Li Xuan, disappearing like a pebble dropped into the sea. However, the azure glow of his Shield visibly faded with the impact.
Li Xuan, struck by the laser, ignored the Fluorescent Flyer behind Kiana. Instead, he aimed his gun at the Flyer, already battered and scarred by Kiana's attacks. White arcs of electricity crackled around the gun's dark muzzle before erupting toward the Flyer. The sudden burst of kinetic and electrical energy caused the Flyer to falter, then explode in a fireworks-like display. The bright flames momentarily illuminated everyone's faces, then vanished like summer fireflies.
"Thank you," Kiana said, turning away with a hint of reluctance. Her cheeks flushed pink in the firelight—whether from shame, anger, or embarrassment, Li Xuan couldn't tell. Judging by her bristling hair and her usual IQ and EQ, he suspected it was mostly anger.
"...You're welcome," Li Xuan replied, suppressing a smile as he watched Kiana's textbook tsundere behavior. He silently added, *Just be a little nicer to me, okay?* He finally understood why Kiana was always so hostile toward him. The reason was simple, yet unexpected: Kiana Kaslana was a genuine lesbian.
It had taken Li Xuan quite some time to confirm this. At first, he wasn't entirely sure.
Li Xuan could only sigh, "The world is vast, and anything is possible." But this also explained why Kiana had been so cold to him. Imagine a man constantly hovering around your wife, even if he had no ulterior motives—would you be pleased? So Li Xuan completely abandoned any romantic notions and silently blessed them. He was actually a little afraid that if he flirted with a girl, Kiana might take Mjolnir and smash it over his head!
So, girls may be precious, but life is even more valuable! Strategic retreat is essential. A man should know when to be flexible and when to retreat.
The explosion of the Fluorescent Flyers caused a flicker of regret to flash in the eyes of the girl who had been sitting there so calmly.
"Tch! Requesting retreat," she said reluctantly. The useless outer shell of her cockpit peeled away, revealing a glowing body that carried her and the Fluorescent Flyers toward the bridge leading to Nagazora City.
"Phew, they got away," Mei sighed in relief, but her gaze remained fixed on Li Xuan, who seemed lost in thought. "Li Xuan-kun, you've looked a bit pale since earlier. Are you hurt anywhere?" Mei was the most observant member of the team.
"I'm just a little surprised," Li Xuan said softly, closing his eyes after a moment. "That girl looks a lot like my sister."
"Huh? Li Xuan, you have such a cute little sister, too?" The White-Haired Ball immediately started tearing down the wall. As an only child, she'd always wanted a sister.
"Hmph, do I look that ugly?" Feeling slighted by Kiana's implied criticism, Li Xuan turned around to repack his bag, grumbling. But his mind kept replaying the girl's image.
*She really does look a lot like her.* Aside from their hair and eye colors, their features were nearly identical. In truth, Li Xuan was quite the siscon.
"By the way, Bronya, did she just mention the Valkyrie System?" Kiana suddenly asked, as if remembering something.
"Bronya believes she is an experimental subject like Bronya, but Bronya cannot identify her ID," Bronya said, frowning.
"An Anti-Entropy experimental subject? Why would she be here?" Kiana wondered aloud.
"Wait, what the hell is Anti-Entropy?" Li Xuan asked curiously. As a top student in high school, he knew about entropy, a thermodynamic parameter representing the state of matter. It was also used in social sciences to metaphorically describe the degree of disorder in human society.
"Anti-Entropy is an organization that opposes the Schicksal Organization. They've conducted in-depth research on Honkai, but their ideology clashes with ours, leading to frequent conflicts," Kiana explained, adding with a shrug, "Anyway, they're our enemies. We just need to wipe them all out!"
"Huh... I don't quite understand, but it sounds impressive," Li Xuan admitted, still confused about Schicksal and Anti-Entropy.
"You're neither from Schicksal nor Anti-Entropy. I have no idea where you got your power!" Kiana stared at Li Xuan.
"Haha, I just accidentally fell into this world!" Li Xuan laughed, but a strange sadness welled up inside him. He was, after all, not from this world.
"Do you think she mistook us for the people who hurt her?" Mei asked, sensing Li Xuan's sudden change in mood and trying to change the subject.
"Maybe," Li Xuan shrugged.
Bronya walked over to the discarded shell of a Fluorescent Flyer on the ground. "Failed Product. Life Support: 360 Hours!" it read. "Does she only have fifteen days to live?" Bronya lowered her head.
"The moon is so round tonight," Kiana said, looking up at the full moon. A perfect orb hung in the night sky, casting a soft, gentle glow.
"Let's get out of Nagazora City!" Li Xuan said urgently, yet excitedly. He wanted to see other places. But before he could finish speaking, a loud boom echoed from the bridge ahead. The bridge, already riddled with holes from laser attacks, collapsed completely. Large slabs of stone, mixed with reinforced concrete and steel rebar, plunged into the bottomless water with a resounding splash.
Li Xuan's mood was complex, the atmosphere awkward. Amidst the laughter and chatter, he typed "GG."
"No! Aaaah!" A pathetic loser's mournful howl echoed under the moonlight.