---o---
[In the time that followed, because she had already met quite a few people, Hua integrated into her new environment very quickly.]
[During this period, you obtained the anti-Honkai agent you had asked Mobius to create and secretly added it to the first-year students' drinking water.]
[You requested that The MOTHs Who Chase the Flame establish a small research laboratory for you in Changkong City, where you began replicating the battle armor and weapons from your previous simulations.]
---o---
Several months after starting school, rumors of zombies suddenly began to spread.
"Hey, hey, Hua, have you heard the latest rumor?"
"Yeah, yeah, that one! The rumor about zombies attacking people."
"That's right! I heard that the victim this time was a student from our school."
"Eek, stop talking about it, it's so scary."
Zombies? What are those?
Hearing the term for the first time, Hua was a bit bewildered. However, news about zombies didn't feature much in the girls' idle chatter.
Soon, they moved on to other topics. For example, Li.
"Hua, can I ask you for a favor?" a blue-haired girl asked, blinking her eyes and looking at Hua pitifully.
"Hmm? What is it?" Hua nodded. She was never good at refusing people's requests.
"It's just, could you give me your brother's contact information? Or maybe we could just meet him once?" the blue-haired girl asked expectantly.
"That… I can't. My brother is very busy."
Hua, who was usually so bad at refusing others, rejected the request directly, her resolve unshaken even by the girl's disappointed sigh.
Fortunately, the pestering didn't last long, as the class bell saved her.
Still, it seems my brother really has been busy lately.
Thinking of the increasingly elusive Fu Li, Hua couldn't help but sigh as she looked out the window at the students running towards their classrooms.
Tomorrow is the off-campus day. I should invite my brother to go out and have some fun.
[The off-campus day arrived quickly. Hua invited you to go out and grab some noodles, as she hadn't eaten any good noodles at school for a long time.]
[You agreed and accompanied her to a very ordinary but tasty noodle shop.]
[On the way back to school, you heard a girl's cry for help.]
---o---
"Help me!"
A girl's terrified cry echoed from a small alley, attracting their attention.
"Brother, what was that?"
"Let's go check it out."
"Okay."
They exchanged a glance and ran towards the source of the cry.
Passing through a corridor, Fu Li saw a girl who strongly resembled the later-era Carole, surrounded by several Stalkers with ferocious appearances.
"Is that…? A zombie?" Looking at the Stalkers, Hua immediately recalled the rumors she had heard before.
"It's fine, I'll deal with them."
"Hey, wait, Brother! Honestly."
Seeing that Fu Li had already charged forward, Hua didn't hesitate and rushed in as well.
Three minutes later, after Hua had led the Carole-lookalike away to safety, Fu Li dropped the act. He kicked the remaining Stalkers to death with a single blow each and then ran out, feigning panic.
"Hah… hah… thank you both so much. If it weren't for you, I think I would have died."
Once they were out of the alley, the girl bent over, gasping for breath, her voice full of awe.
"What was that you guys were doing? Was that kung fu? How could you jump so high? And those monsters… they were really terrifying."
"We don't know either."
After resting for a moment, Hua looked up at the girl.
"Your uniform… are you also from Changkong High?"
"Huh? Yeah, I am! My name is Carole, from Class 5 of the first year. And you are?"
"My name is Hua. I'm in Class 3."
"What a coincidence!"
As if it were a fateful encounter, Carole and Hua hit it off within just a few sentences.
This is good.
After glancing at the two of them chatting away smoothly, Fu Li's gaze shifted to the depths of the alley.
With the technological aid he provided to the MOTHs via Mobius, the Third Honkai Eruption should be easily manageable.
In that case, all he needed to do was help Hua grow.
[After that night, Hua and Carole quickly became good friends. They often went to and from school together.]
[They went to the arcade together and ate meals together. They were the best of friends.]
[After some hesitation, you decide to add Carole to your protection list. You also arrange to have Uncle Mu and Auntie Lan, who are still in their hometown, moved to a safe location.]
[During the last half of the semester, Hua was extremely happy. Until the Third Honkai Eruption descended.]
---o---
That night, it rained.
Splash! Splash! Splash!
The rain poured down in torrents. Hua mechanically pulled Carole by the hand, following Fu Li as they navigated the ruins of the city.
Just a few hours ago, this had been a bustling, ancient metropolis. People walked the streets, bustling about their daily lives.
Everything had been so ordinary, no different from any other day.
Until those monsters, terrifying as demons, descended upon the city as if from thin air.
"Hah… hah… Hua, and Li… we can't go on like this. We should find a place to hide."
Compared to the two who had practiced martial arts since childhood, Carole's stamina was clearly failing.
"But…" Hua started to say, but was cut off by Fu Li.
"She's right. We can't waste all our energy just running. We have to conserve our strength to fight the monsters."
In the downpour, Fu Li raised a hand to wipe the rain from his face, looking utterly wretched as he scanned their surroundings.
Finally, his eyes locked onto a secluded alleyway.
"There. Let's hide in there for now."
"This… okay."
Seeing that her brother had made a decision, and that their stamina was indeed severely depleted, Hua subconsciously followed his suggestion.
It was an extremely narrow alley. The three of them huddled inside, like three homeless puppies, a miserable sight.
But beneath his pathetic exterior, Fu Li's eyes shone with a sharp light as he discreetly glanced at Hua.
At this moment, the girl's black stockings were torn, her eyes filled with terror. Her fists were clenched tightly, and she was curled up beside him like a frightened fawn.
Carole was in a similarly sorry state, huddled close to Hua, all of her usual energy gone.
The sudden catastrophe had left an indelible shadow on the two girls' hearts.
"Right, my phone! I still have my phone."
Hua took out her phone with trembling hands, her fingers struggling to swipe across the screen until she tapped on a contact named 'Dad'.
However, the only thing that came from the phone was a hollow echo, and the merciless automated message: 'The number you have dialed is not in a service area.'
"It's okay, Hua. Don't be afraid."
Reaching out, Fu Li pulled Hua into his arms, gently stroking her long hair.
It was soaking wet now, and the texture wasn't very pleasant, but in this moment of crisis, it offered her a sliver of comfort.
The rain continued to fall. The three of them fell silent, waiting for the dust to settle.
An unknown amount of time passed before the sound of footsteps echoed from the mouth of the alley.
"Yo, still alive, huh."
At the sound of the voice, the three of them looked up at the same time and saw a fiery red figure.
"Follow me. I'll teach you the way to survive."
---o---
Hua with torn black stockings