At that moment, Fuli was mourning his armor.
Not the invincible Golden Armor. The Armor of the Sun was a permanently active defensive Noble Phantasm, integrated with his body. It was the materialization of the concept of light itself and couldn't be "damaged."
What the boy was mourning was his completely wrecked Raiden Mei Type-II Soulium battlesuit.
As the first line of defense, this B-rank armor had taken the full brunt of the assault from several Emperor-class monsters.
That's why Fuli found the whole situation so unbelievably ridiculous. How on earth did such a powerful colony of Honkai beasts pop up in this remote, backwater border region?
And if they had to exist, why did they have to be connected to the mission he'd accepted?
As a test from his father-in-law (?) for his son-in-law (?), this was way beyond the scope of the curriculum.
But on second thought, it was unlikely Ryoma Raiden knew the full story either.
After all, the person assigned to this mission hadn't been decided yet. What if Mei had been there during the siege? Wouldn't that doting father have completely lost it?
Speaking of the siege, Fuli did a rough calculation and found that they had killed a total of eight of the weaker Kanas Lake monsters.
They had caught the enemy off guard at first, but once the monsters reacted and formed a military formation centered around the few Emperor-class individuals, the damage they could inflict dropped drastically.
Yes, a military formation.
They were a bunch of fish monsters, yet they understood combat tactics summarized and refined by human ancestors.
Or perhaps, the mastermind controlling them did?
Even so, despite having the upper hand, the enemy still chose to retreat decisively when faced with the Judgment of Shamash, which was showing signs of being unsheathed in the distance.
Did Mr. Siegfried save us? Fuli wondered.
"Um, Ah Li..."
The once-lively voice was now unprecedentedly docile. The boy, his thoughts interrupted, turned his head.
The little white-haired fuzzball had appeared before him at some point. Her head was bowed like a frost-bitten eggplant, her gaze darting about, not daring to meet his. Sometimes she would stare at her slender fingers, which were twisting together in anxiety; other times, she would look up at the brilliant, clear blue sky.
"I'm sorry..." she said in a small voice.
Bronya, who was kneeling on the ground bandaging Fuli, glanced at her coolly.
"Can't hear you."
"I'm sorry! I was just talking without thinking..."
"No power! No power at all! Again! You think he'll forgive you with a voice that soft?"
When you stand at attention, you're bound to get hit, even if it's not by the person you've wronged.
Kiana rubbed the spot where she had just been slapped and took a deep breath.
"I am extremely sorry! My CPU was just simultaneously hacked by 360 Security and Tencent PC Manager, who then engaged in a passionate brawl! My neurons collectively escaped to participate in Fun Run, leaving only a two-and-a-half-year trainee to sing, dance, and rap! My brain just completed a quantum collapse from a 985-tier university to a 250 IQ, causing my intelligence to spiral into the heavens! That's why I committed such a bewildering human act!"
"I suggest Bronya send my head for dissection right now. You'll definitely find two tons of Pacific Ocean water and thirteen pounds of crayfish inside, but don't throw them away. Coat them in egg, cover them with breadcrumbs, fry them until golden brown and crispy, and then drain the oil. The kid next door will cry and say it smells terrible, and only the mysterious Zombie King Jiangchen would be willing to slurp it down like a jelly pouch!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
This time, it wasn't just Bronya. Fuli, who hadn't had a chance to interrupt, and even Fu Hua at the side had dark lines forming on their foreheads.
This little sister of mine has quite a few strange words in her belly, despite her excellent foundation of having failed prenatal education.
The person in question quickly helped the kowtowing Kiana-cat to her feet. "It's not that serious! It's not necessary!"
Fuli meant it. He couldn't just remember her bad side because she'd hissed at him once.
Since their "reunion" after eight years, the style Kiana had shown had always been cute but not bossy, her words tough but her waist super soft.
When Fuli had just arrived in the Far East and heard a cry for help from an alley, he had grabbed a steel pipe and rushed in to beat up the bullies tormenting Asakura Miyuki. It was Kiana who had arrived upon hearing the commotion and silently helped clean up the mess.
It was also this girl who had memorized the surroundings of their rented apartment, afraid that she wouldn't be able to rush to his side the first time if he got into trouble again.
As for fighting the four-tailed fox spirit that was Rin's incarnation, and standing firmly with her companions even at the cost of her life during the conflict with Cocolia, and then providing all sorts of fan service after joining the Hyperion—
Ahem, let's put the last one aside for now. Even without the childhood filter, Fuli quite liked this Kiana.
The girl had found her father, whom she had been searching for for four years, nearby. It was perfectly normal for her to be a little anxious and speak without thinking.
He wasn't some fragile, artistic youth who would hold onto a single mistake. There was really no need to nitpick to this extent.
At the same time, the information from her aerial detection circuit told Kiana that the boy's heartbeat was normal when he said he "forgave her." He wasn't forcing a smile.
She bit her rosy lips and asked tentatively, her big eyes blinking, "...Really?"
Hontoni?
"If you keep dawdling, it'll become fake," Fuli replied, exasperated.
A huge weight lifted from her heart, Kiana instinctively wanted to cheer "Yay!", but then felt that doing so would make her seem like someone who forgets her lessons.
"Let me help!"
She hurried forward and took the bandage and healing spray from Bronya's hands in a fawning manner.
The girl didn't refuse, but as they passed each other, she leaned close to Kiana's ear. "Onii-chan may not mind, but Bronya has to say it."
Kiana nodded solemnly to show she understood. "Mmm! Thank you, Ah Li's little secretary!"
If Bronya hadn't pointed out the problem so bluntly, Kiana would have apologized anyway, but only for her recklessness causing Fuli to get hurt.
The boy wouldn't have minded on the surface, but a thorn might have been planted in his heart, which would have subtly affected their relationship.
This is what people mean when they say, "It's best to address conflicts from the start."
Watching this scene, Siegfried, hidden in the distance, didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
He was relieved that his daughter and prospective son-in-law had made up, but, you silly girl, are you so focused on your boyfriend that you've forgotten to look for your dad?
Even just wandering around a bit would have been fine! This is why they say daughters' loyalties lie elsewhere!
But then, the old man's gaze sharpened.
To avoid being conspicuous (though her white hair was already very conspicuous), Kiana had worn a blue contact lens on one side when she left the Hyperion.
But due to the intense battle with the lake monsters and her first time summoning the Lance of the Void, the contact had fallen out, and her left pupil was now glowing with a brilliant golden light.
'Herrscher of the Void...'
Not wanting to provoke Sirin, Siegfried gritted his teeth and continued to pretend to be Qiteng, lying beside the unconscious Dr. Zhou.
Now was not the time to reveal his identity, at least not from his perspective.
A short while later, Fuli and the others returned to the corner far from the battlefield.
Looking regretfully at the shattered remains of the gym car, the boy hoisted the "unconscious" Siegfried onto his shoulder. "Let's take the SUV Dr. Zhou rented."
With a wave of his hand, a hospital bed mimicked by the Traceless Sword lifted the doctor up. The bed was soft and springy, like falling into a cloud, ensuring that the old man's fragile herniated disc wouldn't be injured.
Looking at the lake, Kiana had a sudden thought. "Class Rep, that what's-it-called curse."
"The Four Duty Gods' Reversion Curse?"
"Right, right! Didn't you say it doesn't work on living beings? Why did the trees on the shore recover too?"
"St. Freya Library, Shenzhou Curses section, Divine Authority subsection, Spirit Possession volume, eighth book, pages 335 to 374."
Fu Hua pushed up her glasses, her fingertips finding nothing as she realized the lenses had been shattered in the battle.
The girl simply put away the frames and said coolly, "Everything you want is there."
Her face, as exquisite as carved jade, was cold and otherworldly. The sight made Fuli pause, and Siegfried's head, which he was carrying, went DUANG! straight into the trunk door that he'd forgotten to open, making him a rare cosplayer of a Gerald R. Ford-brand battering ram.
Siegfried: (⊙_⊙)?
Wait! Why am I in the trunk?
Fu Hua was in the driver's seat, Dr. Zhou in the passenger's, and the three little ones were squeezed in the back. What was left but the trunk?
"Uh, never mind..." Kiana chuckled awkwardly.
She now understood that some things that seemed like bugs were just not described in detail because it wasn't necessary. If one were to write a detailed explanation for every single event, it would probably take tens of thousands of words.
It wasn't that Fu Hua lacked the patience, but even if she explained it, Kiana probably wouldn't understand, so it was easier to just treat it as a plot point.
"Hold on."
Fu Hua, in the driver's seat, called out and stepped on the gas, driving everyone back to Kanas Village.
On the way, a fine drizzle fell silently from the gray sky, weaving the world into a translucent gauze curtain. The distant mountains were blurred by the rain and mist, their dark outlines like faint ink spreading on rice paper, blending with the low-hanging clouds to form a long, misty ink wash scroll.
Her eyes reflecting the silky rain on the car window, Kiana spoke softly:
"When it rains,
it is the clouds falling into the water;
Walking in a downpour,
an umbrella is a boat rowing upside down across the sky."
Fuli was intrigued. "That's a nice poem. Where did you copy it from?"
"From some idiot's blog."
Bronya raised a small hand and wiped the condensation from the glass.
"Something's not right on the street."
"It's probably this." Fuli promptly handed over his phone. The pop-up window on the screen read: "3.6 Magnitude Earthquake Near Kanas Scenic Area in Xinjiang's Altay Prefecture."
"It's the aftershock of the battle." Bronya immediately understood. Battles between A-ranks often reshaped the landscape, creating landforms that would never appear under normal circumstances. And they were a group of multiple A-rank and above, Emperor-class, and even Divine Key wielders fighting in a river valley. The scattered shockwaves had clearly been mistaken for an earthquake.
This was one of the reasons why Honkai-related events were becoming increasingly difficult to cover up in modern times. Who could handle the random destruction caused by these Honkai beasts that were often tens or even hundreds of meters in size?
Fu Hua parked the car on the side of the road. "Unlike big cities, there aren't many tall buildings here. And the battle has been over for a while. The chaos should subside soon."
The girl was right. A short while later, seeing no more aftershocks, the chattering crowd gradually dispersed, and the shops on both sides of the road reopened.
"Ugh..."
At that moment, with a low groan, Dr. Zhou in the passenger seat slowly woke up.
"Where am I?"
Feeling the pressure on his chest, he was startled, thinking he had been kidnapped.
Then he realized it was the seatbelt. As he relaxed, the memories from before he passed out flooded back:
Bronze scales pierced the indigo surface, the air itself seemed to tear. The giant creature's spine rose from the lake like a moving mountain range, kicking up a monstrous curtain of water that fell like a downpour.
He opened his mouth. "Lake—"
Fuli's hand chop came swiftly. "If you get too excited, we don't mind physically calming you down for a while longer."
He said cheerfully, "Don't worry, old sir. My control over my strength is especially precise. There won't be any embarrassing incidents like 'I wanted to knock you out but accidentally sent you to see King Yama'."
'This little brat means he'll send me straight to hell if I don't behave, doesn't he? He definitely does!'
Reading the naked threat in the boy's words, the old man, a wise man who knew when to submit, unconditionally calmed down.
"A car is no place to talk. I know a restaurant with large portions. How about we eat and talk, little brother?"
There were no objections. They definitely needed to resupply after a big battle.
It was just a shame about that pot of hot pot that had been smeared on some unlucky lake monster's eye. Hopefully, the passion of the super-spicy broth brought it some comfort.
Under Dr. Zhou's guidance, Fu Hua drove through several turns and arrived at the entrance of a farmhouse restaurant.
It was an old house with blue tiles and white walls, decorated with farm tools like coir raincoats and bamboo weavings. A stone mill and pottery jars were scattered in the courtyard. Two lanterns hung under the eaves, and wooden tables and chairs were scattered in the shade of the trees.
Probably to deal with the sudden drizzle, several large red and white umbrellas were set up in the yard. Steam rose from the wood-fired stove inside, creating a leisurely atmosphere unique to the countryside.
Kiana, getting out of the car, spotted the moss on the corner of the wall. Her mouth twitched, and she muttered under her breath, "Is this place clean?"
"Not clean? An hour before it gets to your table, your meat dishes were still eating your vegetable dishes!" a heavy nasal voice came from inside, and an old man in simple clothes stepped out.
His gaze swept over the unfamiliar faces of Fuli and the others, finally settling on the sheepishly smiling Dr. Zhou.
"What'll it be?"
"Wait a moment." Dr. Zhou took a step back and said in a low voice, "The employer doesn't cover food and lodging. It's written clearly in the mission notes."
He was tempted to offer to pay, to suck up to these superhumans, but his wallet was tight.
The last time he ate here, he had forgotten his money and had to shamelessly promise the owner he would pay next time.
The owner refused, so Dr. Zhou, in a fit of anger, called over a dozen of his buddies, and they finally managed to scrape together the money for the meal.
"Don't worry." Fuli, supported by the little rich girl Asta, waved his hand magnanimously. "This meal is on me. Cousin, you guys can order whatever you want!"
Bronya, who was in charge of the Hyperion's finances, puffed out her cheeks but decided not to embarrass her big brother in public. She'd deal with him when they got back.
To be praised by Dr. Zhou, the owner of the farmhouse was clearly not the type to look down on people.
He didn't ask if these kids could pay and simply took the marked menu and went back inside.
Fuli, seated, rested his chin on his hand and looked around. "Speaking of which, if I hadn't met Kiana, my original dream was to open a popular family-style restaurant."
"Family-style?"
"Right, with a focus on a family dining atmosphere," the boy said seriously. "The waiters would sit next to the customers while they eat, constantly reminding them of their table manners and the correct way to use utensils. And they'd keep nagging the customers about getting married, going on blind dates, losing weight, and quitting their jobs to take the civil service exam."
"So that's what you mean by family!"
Kiana scratched her head, suddenly curious about what kind of person Fuli's other half would be if he hadn't met her.
The thought made her unhappy, and she pouted and sulked by herself.
Like Kiana, Fu Hua's expression was not so good either.
With a wave of her hand, she created a breeze to block out sound around the table. Her beautiful green eyes swept around.
"Everyone, I want to confirm something."
The girl's expression was solemn. "The mission to investigate the Kanas Lake monster—are you all still planning to continue?"
...