"Ugh, seriously, these zombies just keep coming!" After blowing off the head of a charging zombie with a single shot, a white-haired girl with twin braids glared irritably at the growing horde.
These simple-minded zombies instinctively gravitated toward sound, and the gunshots from Kiana's pistol were far from subtle.
In a densely populated area like this after a Honkai outbreak, firearms were effective—but also a magnet for trouble.
"Click!"
Just as Kiana prepared to take down another zombie drawn by the noise, her trusty pistol jammed.
"Dammit, of all times!" She seethed, staring at the malfunctioning weapon.
To be fair, the gun was old. Jamming was inevitable.
For Kiana, getting her hands on a firearm hadn't been easy—this one was acquired years ago. Ammo wasn't the issue, but the gun itself had chosen the worst moment to betray her.
Or maybe it's the bullets.
Either way, a jam was a jam.
Stowing the pistol temporarily, Kiana snatched up a nearby chair as the zombies lunged.
At least this damn library has furniture.
"Whoosh—!"
Just as the chair was about to meet a zombie's scythe, a cyan arrow streaked from afar, piercing the creature's skull and grazing Kiana's hair before embedding itself in a bookshelf behind her.
"Eek!" Kiana instantly ducked, clutching her head.
Fighting zombies hand-to-hand? No problem. But that arrow? That would've killed her.
Five centimeters lower, and my brains would've been splattered.
And since when did people use arrows in this day and age?
"Hey, you okay?" A gentle voice called out.
Kiana looked up to see a black-haired girl gazing at her with concern.
But the library wasn't short on zombies. More were already closing in, drawn by the commotion.
Gripping her sword tightly, Raiden Mei felt a surge of purpose—
—only for Chen Luo to pick them off with arrows before she could move.
"..."
After nearly a hundred zombies on their way here, Mei's blade still hadn't tasted undead blood.
She was starting to wonder what the sword was even for.
Decoration?
Still, his overprotectiveness warmed her heart.
In this apocalyptic hellscape, he'd gone this far for her. Surely that counts as true friendship?
"Are you alright? Hurt anywhere?" Mei turned back to Kiana.
"Thanks for the assist. I'm fine." Kiana gave them a grateful nod.
She'd have survived without them, but their help was appreciated.
Rising to her feet, Kiana shot Chen Luo a glare before inspecting her gun.
She hadn't forgotten the arrow that nearly scalped her.
"Phew—just a faulty round, not the gun. Still, time for an upgrade." Relief washed over her as she confirmed the issue.
"I'm Kiana. Thanks for the save. Didn't expect other survivors in this school besides myself, even more incredible is that you're a man." She eyed Chen Luo with disbelief.
"I'm Raiden Mei, and this is Chen Luo. Why the surprise about him being a man?" Mei asked, puzzled.
"Men have way lower Honkai resistance than women. It's rare for a guy to survive a Honkai outbreak." Reloading, Kiana scanned for more zombies.
As an elite academy, St. Freya High's campus was massive—practically a city. Its library alone was enormous.
When the Honkai struck, the place had been packed. Even after the earlier chaos, zombies lurked everywhere.
As Kiana took aim at a distant zombie drawn by noise—
"Thunk!"
A cyan arrow outspeed her bullet, nailing it between the eyes more accurately than Kiana could have done.
"Very powerful. But why arrows? Once you run out—" Kiana expressed her praise to Chen Luo without hesitation. Although he almost split her skull just now, judging from the accuracy, he should be very confident in his skills.
However, ancient things like bows and arrows should have been eliminated long ago. But when Kiana saw the bow had formed arrows out of air, she closed her mouth instantly.
Although her mouth was closed, the gun was aimed at Chen Luo.
"Are you with Schicksal?" Suspicion laced her voice. Dad said to watch out for them.
To Kiana, only Schicksal could field tech like this. Or at least, Schicksal was all she knew.
And Schicksal? Not good people.
"Kiana, what are you doing?!" Mei instinctively stepped between them.
Feeling the gun's loaded threat, Mei tightened her grip on the Dull Blade, faint currents of electricity crackling along its edge.
"Alright, everyone calm down." Chen Luo gently pulled Mei aside, slinging his bow to show he meant no harm. The Herrscher of Sentience had confirmed Kiana wouldn't shoot.
Also, her gun jammed again.
"I'm not with Schicksal. Though I do wanna join them." Chen Luo said to kiana
"Schicksal? What's that?" Mei blinked.
"A shady anti-Honkai group. Rumor says they're into some messed-up stuff. My dad warned me never to get involved." Kiana lowered her gun slightly but kept her guard up.
"Think of them as the Illuminati of this world," she grumbled, oozing bias.
"The reason Honkai outbreaks, and people turning into zombies are not made public is largely because of Schicksal. Their power permeates all over the world and are the shadow rulers of this world."
Thanks to Siegfried's upbringing, Kiana's view of Schicksal was less than charitable.
"Relax, I told you I'm not one of them." 'If I were, I'd have knocked you out the second I saw you and dragged you to the Overseer for a reward.' The last part was said in Chen Luo's heart.
"But you want to join Schicksal."
"What's wrong with joining Schicksal? They're an organized group with a salary and benefits—five insurances and a housing fund, I hear." Chen Luo muttered under his breath.
"But A'Luo, didn't you say you're a traveler from another world?" Raiden Mei asked.
"I am a traveler, but social security is an irresistible temptation." Chen Luo sighed.
"More importantly, I really want their equipment." He emphasized.
"Equipment? But you don't seem lacking. Aren't your magic and abilities already better than any gear?" Mei still found him impressive.
"Alright, enough about that. Right now, our priority is escaping Nagazora. To do that, we need to rest first. After all, we are all tired after killing so many zombies. But If we want to rest, we must first clear all the zombies in the library." Chen Luo waved his hand, dropping the topic.
"You two stay here, recover your stamina, and eat something. I'll clear the library."
Somehow, he produced two massive rice balls and placed them on a library table.
Then, slinging his bow, he headed for the second floor.
Primogems, here I come!
Leaving the two girls alone, Chen Luo granted them some bonding time.
"Um… are you hungry?" Mei pointed at the super large rice ball.
"No!"
After pointing a gun at them (even if they didn't mind), eating their food felt awkward for Kiana.
Plus, she was still baffled by its sudden appearance.
"Grrr—"
Unfortunately, her stomach disagreed.
Skipping lunch, surviving the Honkai outbreak, fighting zombies—all that drained her stamina.
"..."
"Have some. I haven't tried A'Luo's cooking, but he seems good at everything. It's probably delicious." Mei dragged over a mostly intact chair.
"But… aren't you worried about him? Is it okay to let him clear the zombies alone?" Uncomfortable with freeloading, Kiana wanted to contribute.
"Don't worry. Gunshots might attract more zombies, and A'Luo seems oddly obsessed with killing them. Let him be." Mei shook her head, setting aside the Dull Blade Chen Luo had lent her.
Seeing Mei so relaxed, Kiana slowly lowered her pistol.
***
Clearing the library wasn't hard—especially with the Herrscher of Sentience's help.
Her senses pinpointed every zombie and Honkai beast, eliminating ambush risks.
As he worked, Chen Luo chatted with her mentally.
"Well? Can the Will of Honkai detect you yet?"
"After this long, it's safe to say no."
"Plus, my evolving core absorbs Honkai energy more discreetly now. We're clear."
This time, the Herrscher of Sentience didn't speak telepathically—she materialized beside him.
Floating swords circled her before shooting out, impaling two zombies.
The dispersed Honkai energy from their deaths was absorbed by the blades and fed back to her.
"Honkai energy really is the best." She smirked in satisfaction.
"My Primogems!" Chen Luo wailed.
That was 10 Primogems!
"..." The Herrscher rolled her eyes at his pettiness.
"Cheapskate. This city's crawling with zombies."
"Senti, are you stronger or weaker now compared to before leaving this world?" Chen Luo was worried about this matter—if she'd weakened, he wouldn't agree to her plan.
"Obviously stronger." She clenched her fist, reveling in the surge of power.
Although seriously injured during her dimensional leap, she'd found spiritual energy more effective for recovery than Honkai energy.
Plus, the Heart Demon's Essence hadn't just evolved her core—it diversified her healing methods.
"You sure?" Chen Luo was still a little worried.
"When have I lied to you?" The Herrscher of Sentience looked at Chen Luo helplessly.
She appreciated his concern—even enjoyed it—but his mother-henning was grating.
It made her feel like a child.
Checking her mood tags—[Confident] and [Annoyed]—Chen Luo confirmed she wasn't lying.
"You're really going to Schicksal HQ?"
*"Of course. Haven't you noticed? Theresa's quest says 'Bring Kiana Kaslana to St. Freya.' But K-423 is Kiana, and Durandal is also Kiana."*
"..." Chen Luo fell silent.
"I never thought you'd dig up this excuse just to punch Otto." He sighed.
Was helping Chen Luo complete the quest part of her motive? Sure, but hardly the main one.
Would it be hard for Theresa to get Durandal to visit St. Freya? Not at all.
Theresa and Otto weren't in conflict yet, and even if they were, she remained his favorite granddaughter.
If Theresa wanted Durendal in St. Freya, a single call would suffice—unlike tracking down the wandering Kiana.
Durandal on the other hand? She had a job. A schedule. She and Theresa were colleagues.
Since when did inviting a coworker over for dinner require an elaborate plot?