"The United Nations has confirmed an outbreak of infectious disease B in Nagazora City. All survivors are urged to proceed to location XXX for evacuation."
The screens on the streets continuously broadcasted the disaster notice, but the only response was the hissing and screeching of the Honkai Zombies on the streets.
"Get out of the way! If you're already dead, don't block the path!" Kiana ran wildly through the streets, holding Mei's hand. The weapons in their hands continuously spat fire, but to little effect, as they were just ordinary firearms.
Behind them, a massive Chariot-class Honkai Beast followed closely. Although it moved slowly, it simply smashed through walls, while Kiana and the others had to navigate the streets.
On the roof of a nearby building, Kika and Bronya flickered in and out of sight.
"Target locked. Annihilation operation initiated."
Several beams of red light shot out from Kika's Sabayon, piercing the Honkai Beast's body and immobilizing it.
Then, Bronya leaped down from the rooftop.
"Project Bunny."
With a soft call from Bronya, a giant mecha appeared behind her. Project Bunny's right hand held a shield to protect Bronya, while its left hand transformed into a spear and descended from the sky, directly impaling the Chariot-class Honkai Beast and creating a large crater in the ground. The caved-in ground nearly caused Kiana to trip.
Afterward, Project Bunny disappeared, and Bronya landed softly on the ground, walking to Mei's side.
"Thank you, Bronya. You came just in time," Mei said gratefully, taking Bronya's arm.
Seeing Mei constantly thanking Bronya, a jealous and angry Kiana pointed at Bronya and said, "What's there to be so thankful for! It almost attacked me too! You useless little pipsqueak!"
But Bronya didn't even glance at Kiana, saying, "Kiana's safety priority is 0. System has determined there is no need to be concerned about her life or death."
"Are you trying to start a war!" "Bronya's probability of victory is 99.99...9%" "Mine is 100%!"
Kiana argued with Bronya, flailing her arms, while Bronya responded to Kiana with a constant ??? expression.
Kiana and Bronya had already argued several times over various things during this period. Bronya remembered Kiana beating her up before, while Kiana was jealous that Bronya was always by Mei's side.
Kiana felt that even though she already had Ryn, adding Mei wouldn't be a problem. After all, Ryn had told her that most of Asia practiced monogamy. My husband is Ryn, and my wife is Mei. What's the problem? No problem at all!
At that moment, Kika also jumped down from the roof. She then lightly chopped both Kiana's and Bronya's heads.
"You two idiots, stop arguing. We need to leave quickly. There are many more Honkai Beasts nearby, and they'll come over if they hear the noise."
Then, both of them held their heads and ran to Mei's side, each grabbing an arm for comfort.
————————
At night, the four of them found a house to rest in. Kika and Bronya, being the main combatants, rested first, while Mei and Kiana were on watch.
Kiana and Mei sat shoulder to shoulder. Bronya rested her head on Mei's lap, sleeping, while Kika used Kiana's lap as a pillow.
Pouting, a grumpy Kiana poked Bronya's face with her finger.
"Hmph, how dare she sleep on Mei's lap. We really shouldn't have picked her up!"
"Don't say that. Bronya has helped us a lot along the way. It wouldn't have been so smooth without her."
Kiana turned her head away, replying to Mei in a snarky tone. "Yes, yes, Bronya is so amazing, Mei likes her the most!"
"Yes, I like her the most."
"Ugh..."
Kiana's heart ached. Was this the feeling of heartbreak Ryn had talked about... Waaaah~ My wife is about to be gone. You idiot Mei, just go off with your Bronya! There's no place for you in this family anymore!
While Kiana was having a mental storm, Mei nudged her with her head and said to Kiana with a smile:
"I like Kiana the most too!"
"Really?!"
Kiana happily stood up and hugged Mei. Because Kiana stood up so suddenly, Kika rolled to the side, and Bronya was woken up by their embrace.
"Of course, Kiana is my savior!"
"Mhm!"
Kiana instantly forgot everything she was thinking before. All she could think about now was, I have my wife back! In the future, Ryn in my left hand, Mei in my right, a beautiful life is about to begin! Cuddle with Kika in the morning, cuddle with Mei at noon, and sleep with Ryn at night, woohoo!
"Idiot Kiana, what are you doing!" "Sister Mei, Bronya can't breathe..."
Just then, Cortana issued an emergency alert.
"A high-level Honkai Beast has appeared nearby. On your guard."
Bronya and Kika no longer blamed Kiana for her carelessness. They both summoned their armor and prepared for battle.
"Cortana, direction."
"The target is charging towards our position. It has spotted us."
Then, a huge spear shot across, splitting the floor they were on in two. The massive Templar-class Honkai Beast then raised its spear again and stabbed at them.
Bronya summoned Project Bunny, transforming it into a lance to clash with the attack, but she was sent flying by the blow. She crashed straight through a nearby building and disappeared into the night.
"Bronya!"
Mei shouted in worry, but the next moment, the Honkai Beast's spear was aimed directly at her.
"If you're always thinking about Bronya... I'll get jealous, you know."
At the critical moment, Kiana leaped over and held Mei in her arms. But the Honkai Beast's attack landed on Kiana, and the two of them were thrown heavily to the ground.
"Phew... glad I made it in time."
Kika wiped the sweat from her forehead. It was a close call. Luckily, she had managed to cover Kiana's back with Sabayon in time, preventing her from getting seriously injured. Recalling the Sabayon from Kiana's body, she turned and opened fire on the Honkai Beast. Unfortunately, that blow had also dealt considerable damage to the armor, and Sabayon's firepower was now greatly reduced.
"Kiana... Kiana... Ah! Aaaah—!"
But Kiana was still knocked out by the impact. Mei's eyes widened. She hadn't seen Kika's action just now; all she saw was Kiana passing out in her arms. The moment Kiana closed her eyes, Mei felt as if the world had turned upside down, and the thread of her sanity snapped.