Li Xuan was born into an upper-middle-class family. He never lacked for food or clothing growing up. As the eldest son, his parents were strict with him but also loved him very much. When he was four, his parents had his younger sister, Li Xinyi.
Since his parents had to work and couldn't possibly take care of two children at the same time—Li Xuan alone already kept them busy—if they had to take care of his sister as well, they would have no time for work. So, after some discussion, his parents sent his sister back to their hometown in the countryside to be temporarily looked after by her maternal grandparents.
Perhaps because the countryside was rather quiet, his sister's personality became a bit reserved, but she was also very well-behaved and obedient... It wasn't until Li Xuan was about to start middle school that his sister came from the countryside to live with their parents...
Li Xuan didn't know if he had a sister complex, but he really did love his little sister. She was very good and sensible, never crying or throwing unreasonable tantrums... He thought that, at least compared to other people's sisters, she was the perfect little sister. So he had always protected his sister, and when their parents weren't home, he was the one who cooked and took care of her...
You could say that he and his sister had relied on each other since they were young. Of course, it didn't lead to a "German orthopedics incident"; anime is just anime... In reality, most sibling relationships are very normal.
His sudden transport to this world where Honkai Zombies roamed freely and monsters were as common as dogs still made him miss his family from time to time... just like when he first boarded at school in middle school, he was constantly missing home, missing his parents, and... his sister.
When he was trying to escape Nagazora City with Kiana, Mei, and Bronya, he met that girl... 'Yaoye-hime' was the name she had secretly told him. As if it were a joke from the gods, that girl looked exactly like his own sister...
So in the end, he still stopped Kiana from killing her with her own hands... and, in a moment of rashness, he suddenly wanted to adopt her as his sworn sister...
'I hope she is still her...' Li Xuan stared at the crack on the Familiar Egg, his heart feeling as if it had stopped beating.
"Kacha, kacha!~" The hard shell of the Familiar Egg continued to crack. Half of the shell was covered in spiderweb-like cracks, and beneath them, a golden light could be faintly seen flowing.
"Boom!" The Familiar Egg suddenly exploded. Golden shell fragments fell onto the table around the egg. A faint golden light emanated from within the Familiar Egg.
"..." Li Xuan remained silent and walked forward, his eyes fixed on the familiar within the egg...
A furry head suddenly popped out of the half-remaining egg. Seemingly a little shy, the familiar only poked its head out after a while to look at Li Xuan, who was standing in front of the egg.
"Daddy?" a little girl with long, fluffy golden hair opened her sparkling golden eyes, looked at Li Xuan, squinted her eyes, and said in a dazed and cute way, even waving the sleeves of her slightly oversized clothes.
"..." Li Xuan looked at the familiar before him, or rather, Yaoye-hime... and suddenly felt tears welling up in his eyes. Thank goodness... it was still her...
"Li Xuan-kun, is she your sister?" Yae Sakura asked curiously.
"...Yes. Although she's younger now and seems to have amnesia... her soul is still the same..." Li Xuan said with a warm smile on his lips, reaching out to pick up Yaoye-hime, who was sitting in the egg and opening her arms for a hug.
"....What an amazing Familiar Egg." Yae Sakura said as if talking to herself.
"Daddy~" The completely young daughter-fied Yaoye-hime snuggled into Li Xuan's arms and called out sweetly. It seemed that his embrace was very comfortable, as she squinted her eyes and looked like she was about to fall asleep."..." Li Xuan was speechless. After being a single dog for over a decade, how did he suddenly gain a daughter?! Where was the child's mother?!
"Yaoye, be good, call me big brother..." Li Xuan patted Yaoye-hime in his arms and said softly.
"Big brother?~..." The ignorant Yaoye-hime was very obliging and obediently called out once, then fell asleep in Li Xuan's arms, drooling.".Master..." Liv said, her eyes shining as she looked at Yaoye-hime in Li Xuan's arms. "Master! I'm the best at taking care of children! Let me do it!~" Liv said, eagerly offering her services.
"Huh?" Li Xuan looked blankly at Liv, who had suddenly become incredibly enthusiastic for some unknown reason.
.............
Meanwhile... After finishing the draining tutoring session with her niece, a weary Theresa walked into the command room of the Hyperion.
"Principal?!" Yuudachi, who was organizing documents, said in surprise. "Weren't you tutoring Miss Kiana in biology?"
"..." Theresa collapsed onto the sofa like a salted fish that had lost its dreams.
"What happened?" Adjutant Yuudachi quickly brewed a cup of milk tea, placed it on the table in front of the principal, and asked, puzzled.
".I have never seen such a foolish idiot..." Theresa said, her eyes rolling back. Before, teaching math was fine, but when she tried to teach Kiana biology... it was a nightmare...
No matter how interestingly or detailedly she explained the concepts... her dear niece Kiana was like a piece of rotten wood... she just couldn't remember anything!
"?" Yuudachi tilted her head, her smooth, khaki-colored long hair falling over her chest.
"By the way, Principal Theresa..." Yuudachi suddenly said, "Are you planning to go to Nagazora City in the next few days?"
"Yes, I am." Theresa turned her small head, which was buried in a Homu pillow, to look at Yuudachi and affirmed. "Doesn't the Hyperion frequently detect Herrscher reactions in Nagazora City?"
"...But haven't we already captured the Third Herrscher?"
"Yes..." Theresa sighed and covered her forehead. "But... recently, strange golden pillars of light have still been appearing in Nagazora City. It might be that after losing the Third Herrscher, the remaining Honkai energy in Nagazora City is gathering, trying to create a Pseudo-Herrscher, right?"
"Pseudo-Herrscher?" Yuudachi asked, puzzled.
"Uh... Forget it, it's not a huge secret. A Pseudo-Herrscher is just a Honkai Zombie with power infinitely close to that of a Herrscher. It's just that becoming a true Herrscher isn't easy." Theresa waved her hand dismissively.
"So I plan to go personally and nip the threat in the bud."
"Then why not just use the Hyperion's main cannon?" Yuudachi said casually. "Ah!" Only after she said it did she realize her words were unnecessary.
"You know it too... The 'Hyperion' was quite damaged during the last battle against the Third Herrscher and is still under repair... That's why we couldn't investigate the golden pillars of light we detected before."
"After all, if the target is truly a Herrscher-level enemy, the children still lack the power to fight it. They would only be throwing their lives away." Theresa said seriously.
"We must cherish the life of every crew member..."
"Yes, of course!...." Yuudachi looked up at Principal Theresa, a wave of respect rising in her heart. "Principal, I have other things to attend to, so I'll be leaving now..." Yuudachi said with a slight bow. She waited for Principal Theresa's slight nod before leaving, not forgetting to close the room's main door.
"..." Silently gazing at the blue sky, Theresa picked up her teacup and took a gentle sip, feeling the sweet taste slowly blossom in her mouth.
"Back then, how I wished to protect your life..." she said, as if in a dream.
"Cecilia..."
(End of Chapter)