"Even if I'm surrounded, this lady can still escape!"
The white Tuna muttered in her blankets, comfortably curled into a ball.
Her thumb swiped rapidly across the phone screen, quickly finding the web novel she had been following in her bookshelf.
The timestamp showed it had been updated twenty minutes ago.
"That guy Ah-Li is quite diligent, isn't he!"
Kiana-cat squinted, expressing satisfaction with a certain neighbor's industriousness.
The various organs of a mutant Honkai Beast could sell for a good price. Since she, the "sugar mommy," now had surplus grain in hand, she should indirectly tip Fuli to prevent him from starving to death in a foreign land.
What? Why not give it directly?
What if he misunderstood and thought she was interested in him?
Even so, every time she thought about the website taking a fifty percent cut of the tips, the already not-so-wealthy girl felt the evil of capitalism even more keenly.
"I really want to enter a Communist society where I can just eat and wait for death."
Kiana grunted and clicked into the chapter, but then she noticed something amiss.
The screen didn't display the message "This chapter is a VIP chapter, please purchase to read."
The girl froze for a moment, then read the content of the update out of curiosity:
Once upon a time, there was a blacksmith who always worried about his forging efficiency.
He saw the blacksmith named Yingxing in the neighboring village making a hoe every three days and a shovel every five days. He became very anxious, fearing that if his output was so slow, no one would come to him.
His customers were very enthusiastic, always encouraging him and expressing understanding even when he didn't deliver on time.
The blacksmith felt guilty about this encouragement. He always wanted to be faster but never could be.
Finally, one day, the blacksmith asked a customer who was waiting with interest: "I forge iron so slowly, why are you still willing to wait?"
"Nonsense! The sign on your door says 'Sword Casting Workshop'. I only care if the sword is good or not. What does it matter to me if it takes you three or five days to make it!"
—What does this mean?
Kiana, who had always been at odds with knowledge, was dumbfounded. She thought for a moment and opened the app's comment function.
After browsing the top-voted comment, the girl understood.
"If you're going to skip a day, just say so! Why make it so confusing?!"
"Stinky Ah-Li! Your golden treasure chest is gone!"
Then, her confusion turned into anger.
...
[The chapter content was clearly finished staying up late before the regression. Why doesn't the Host publish it?]
On the crowded train to Tokyo, Prometheus's emotionless electronic voice mixed into the noisy environment.
The originally boiling human voices suddenly had a touch of milky sweetness added to them.
[Because even after the draft is written, it needs editing.]
Ah-Li, the scum who used leave notices to deal with readers, looked completely justified.
[If I could give the readers a draft, I definitely would. The problem is I have to edit after writing. If I don't edit, even I can't stand to look at it. Editing takes even more time than writing, and right now I don't have the time for such trivial matters.]
He said decisively, [Instead of uploading an unfinished product to scam people, it's better to just post a leave notice!]
The little AI felt this damn pigeon was blatantly making excuses for his flaking, but she had no proof.
She changed the subject: [The Host hasn't told me what we are going to do next.]
[To find someone and shore up my current weakness in immediate combat power.]
Hiss—
The sound of the train doors opening and the arrival announcement rang out simultaneously. Fuli squeezed through the tide-like crowd, only sighing in relief once he was safely standing outside the doors.
After that, he transferred to a train heading for Chiyoda Ward. He rode a few trains seemingly aimlessly. The train route shifted from above ground to underground, and the people in the carriages gradually became scarce.
After the last person got off, the lights inside the carriage suddenly flickered. A sizzling sound of electric current echoed in the empty space, and a cold aura quickly enveloped Fuli's entire body.
[Detecting faint Honkai Energy reaction. Host, please be alert and ready for combat at any time!]
To avoid affecting Fuli's vision, the little AI, who had been projected on his retina, faded her figure while saying this.
Fuli sat calmly in his seat. [It's fine. This counts as a necessary step to get here.]
[It should be some kind of screening device,] he speculated. [Revealing the existence of the Honkai to ordinary people has always been strictly prohibited by Schicksal and Anti-Entropy. Although this rule has loosened somewhat recently, many people still hold to the original concept.]
As if to prove Fuli's words, the Honkai Energy merely brushed past his body without triggering any adverse reaction.
The rest of the journey was peaceful. Thirty-five minutes later, the train, carrying only one person, finally arrived at the station.
Fuli rose from his seat and walked off the train carrying his Galactic Baseball Bat.
A ghost-like cold wind whistled past, surging toward the depths of the tunnel that looked like a man-eating black hole. Above the sunless platform, the words "Kisaragi Station" emitted an eerie green glow that sent chills down one's spine.
The little AI couldn't help but retort, [An ordinary person would probably wet themselves seeing this.]
Fuli retorted, [Don't criticize people's personal tastes. I think this station's composition is quite artistic.]
[How is it artistic?]
[The fact that it can bring me benefits next is very artistic.]
[The Host is just purely realistic.]
[Please call me a simple pragmatist.]
While bickering with the little AI, Fuli walked along the signs on the platform. At first, it was extremely narrow, only allowing one person to pass. After walking several hundred steps, he saw a dark red figure standing in front of a locomotive.
A large hooded robe completely obscured the person's facial features. Holding a candle in his hands, he issued a soul-searching question to the unseen visitor.
"What do the bishops of Christianity envy most about the Far East?"
"They envy that the sky in the Far East drops Little Boys."
Fuli answered refreshingly.
In an instant, the eerie atmosphere of Kisaragi Station and the gloom and mystery the hooded figure brought to Prometheus completely faded. In her rapidly spinning CPU, only the letters 'LOL' were spreading frantically.
So much so that after the other party turned around and gestured for Fuli to follow, she sluggishly squeezed out a single syllable from her throat:
[Huh?]
[Huh what? Keep up, pretty girl!]
Fuli followed the hooded figure into the massive locomotive.
The interior of the locomotive had obviously been expanded. Furniture like sofas and refrigerators were neatly arranged in a room of at least a hundred square meters. The LCD TV hanging on the wall was playing Stephen Chow's classic Kung Fu Hustle. The cozy arrangement looked no different from an ordinary home.
The only difference might be the huge banner hanging overhead with red characters on a white background reading "Future Foundation."
In the bottom right corner of the banner, the Arabic numeral '21' was lightly crossed out with a slash, and the Chinese character for '18' was written in elegant script above it.
Only eighteen loan opportunities left?
Fuli was thoughtful, his index finger tapping the armrest of the sofa.
Meanwhile, the mysterious hooded figure of indeterminate gender brought out a cup of rich-smelling black tea from the room.
Placing the porcelain cup on the coffee table in front of Fuli, he spoke. "Do I need to explain the rules?"
The voice was obviously processed—a raspy sound like a cat scratching glass. It was uncomfortable yet carried a strange allure that made one unable to stop listening.
"No need." Fuli cut straight to the chase. "I want two swords: one Mikazuki, one Shiranui."