This was a deserted, empty street. The road, long neglected, was pitted and cracked. The buildings on both sides were covered in dust, looking as if they had been abandoned for years. Being here gave one the illusion of being completely cut off from the world.
No, it wasn't entirely deserted. A woman in tattered clothes, her skin a grayish-blue and her eyes vacant, staggered slowly across the street. That is, if 'it' could still be considered human.
But unfortunately, it was no longer human. It was a Honkai Zombie, formed by Honkai energy infection.
Honkai energy is generated from the world's Honkai, a cyclical phenomenon that occurs every few hundred years. The manifestations of a Honkai are unpredictable—wars, plagues, climate disasters, comet impacts, or even the descent of colossal titans are all possible. According to ancient texts, it is the inscrutable will of a god. The result is always a devastating disaster for the dominant species of the world. The most recent Honkai was the Black Death in the 14th century, which directly or indirectly wiped out one-third of the global population. Whether the extinction of the dinosaurs in the ancient Cretaceous period was also a form of Honkai is unknown.
In 2014, this world finally experienced the Third Honkai Eruption. The sudden [Honkai] turned a large number of humans in the outbreak city into "Honkai Zombies." The vast majority of females were infected by Honkai energy and became Honkai Zombies, while males, whose bodies could not accommodate Honkai energy, were almost entirely annihilated by it.
Fortunately, the [Honkai] had always erupted randomly in small, localized areas. Even the Third [Honkai] Eruption only turned one prosperous city into a city of the dead. It didn't change the entire world as depicted in apocalyptic novels, with zombies roaming everywhere and humans being less than dogs. Ordinary people still lived their lives, oblivious to the truth.
Those who become Honkai Zombies lose their minds. Low-level ones will bite humans like zombies, spreading the Honkai energy infection. High-level ones seem to gain supernatural abilities, possessing incredible powers. But no matter what, they exist for one purpose only: to destroy the world.
So, it was clear that in this Honkai, the mutated Honkai Zombies were its form of manifestation.
As the first city of the Third Honkai Eruption—Nagazora City—was now completely overrun by Honkai Zombies. Not even a cat, a dog, or a single mouse could survive here. As the epicenter of the outbreak, the Honkai energy was so dense that animals either died or were infected, becoming the perfect hosts and transforming into enormous, powerful Honkai Beasts!
But at this moment, in this forbidden land for mortals, three young girls were walking down a street littered with the corpses of Honkai Zombies, their expressions as carefree as if they were strolling through their own garden. The girl in the middle had beautiful silver hair tied into two long pigtails that fell over her chest. A mischievous smile played on her fair, delicate face. Supporting the silver-haired girl was a tall, beautiful girl with long black hair tied into a ponytail with a ribbon. She listened to the other's complaints with a gentle, wry smile. To the silver-haired girl's left was a girl with a blank expression. She had light brown, slightly curly hair tied into twin tails, which formed a drill-like shape, making her look quite cute.
"Even if Bronya Zaychik hadn't helped, I could have taken out that Honkai Beast in minutes," the silver-haired girl, Kiana Kaslana, said arrogantly.
"Bronya's system calculates the probability of Kiana defeating the Honkai Beast at 0.01%, with a 50% chance of death," said the light-brown-haired Bronya Zaychik, her face expressionless.
"Damn you, you useless pipsqueak! You looking for a fight?" Kiana, clutching her injured right arm, flared up.
Still expressionless, Bronya Zaychik glanced at Kiana's right arm and said flatly, "Bronya's chance of victory is 99%."
"Ah, ahhhhh!!!" Kiana looked like she was about to go berserk.
"Alright, alright. Let's not fight," the gentle, black-haired girl, Raiden Mei, said, playing the peacemaker.
Bronya Zaychik and Kiana glanced at each other, then turned their heads away with a simultaneous "Hmph!"
Raiden Mei was about to speak again with a wry smile, knowing they were just joking around and would make up with a little persuasion. But at that moment, a flash of white light appeared in the upper left of her vision.
BOOM!
The white light streaked across the sky like a meteor, vanishing in an instant as it fell on the other side of Nagazora City, a corner the three of them had never been to, causing a massive impact.
"Wh-what was that?" Kiana asked, stunned. Even with her limited knowledge, she didn't think you could see 'meteors' like that in broad daylight.
"No data in Bronya's database," Bronya Zaychik stated simply.
"A meteor? Aliens?" Raiden Mei guessed, but immediately dismissed the idea.
"Mei-senpai, let's go check it out!" Kiana suggested excitedly. For a simple-minded, white-haired furball like her, this kind of adventure was what made life interesting.
"No, you can't! You're injured, you can't go on an adventure!" Raiden Mei refused sternly. "Besides, there are too many Honkai Zombies over there. It's too dangerous," she added after a pause. As the eldest sister present, she had a duty to take care of them both.
"Aww..." Kiana looked completely defeated.
"Let's go," Raiden Mei urged, turning and continuing towards their temporary shelter. This tactic was clearly effective. Kiana and Bronya Zaychik could only hurry to catch up with Raiden Mei, their part-time 'chef' and 'nanny'. After all, in this day and age, you follow the one who feeds you.
The three girls continued on their way, bickering as usual.
'What was that?' While the other two were arguing, Raiden Mei stole a glance towards the place where the light had fallen. Her dark eyes were filled with curiosity.
A seventeen-year-old girl is always full of curiosity. That's the same everywhere.
(End of Chapter)