"Aaaaah! Why do I have to suffer like this?!" Sitting on a small cargo trolley, jolted by the bumpy road, Kiana wailed in despair.
"Quit complaining. At least you didn't get stuck with just a skateboard," Chen Luo retorted from the driver's seat.
Chen Luo didn't have a driver's license, but it didn't matter—because he was driving a go-kart.
[Super Go-Kart] (2-Star Vehicle): A specially modified go-kart with seating expanded from one to two. Easy to operate, powerful, and beginner-friendly.
After all, this was a 2-star item from the Talent Panel—extremely practical.
The only issue? Only two seats.
So the extra person had to make do with a rope-towed attachment—like a skateboard or a luggage trolley.
"Why can't we just drive a real car?!" Kiana continued to lament.
"Can you drive?" Chen Luo shot back.
"...No." Kiana shut her mouth.
Chen Luo could drive—thanks to his Omni-Proficiency with all items—but since he wasn't the one suffering, why not try the go-kart?
"But why does my butt have to pay the price?!" Kiana was still unhappy.
"Because you're the one who wanted to go to the TV station," Chen Luo emphasized.
"..." Kiana had no rebuttal.
The trolley wasn't terrible. Sure, it was bumpy, but at least it was fast.
Crouched on the trolley, Kiana looked pitiful—small, helpless, and miserable.
"Kiana! Jump out!" Chen Luo suddenly shouted from the front.
"Huh?"
"JUMP. NOW."
"O-okay!" Though confused, Kiana trusted Chen Luo.
She leaped toward a pile of trash bags—soft landing spots, if you ignored the smell. Unless you were unlucky enough to land on something sharp.
The moment Kiana jumped, Chen Luo yanked the go-kart into a sharp drift.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted as the trolley was obliterated by an artillery shell.
Had Kiana stayed, she would've been the one blown to bits.
In one fluid motion, Chen Luo drew a Barrett M82 (2-Star) and fired toward the source of the attack.
With Firearms Mastery, his aim was impeccable.
"Out of the kart!" After stowing the sniper rifle, Chen Luo and Mei dismounted. He then summoned his Elven Bow.
The shooter wasn't far—close enough for multi-shot arrows to be more effective.
"Which bastard attacked us?!" Unharmed, Kiana stormed out, shotgun in hand.
"Idiot! Don't just walk into the open! Get back!" Chen Luo glared.
"Stay behind me." He pulled Mei to his back.
WHOOSH!
Two more shells streaked toward them. Chen Luo nocked three arrows—
One intercepted each shell mid-air, while the third curved around them, homing in on the attacker's position.
Today, they'd learn what a homing arrow looked like.
Or, as the spellbook called it, Tracking Shot.
The Beginner Magic Compendium from Yun Lian'er truly lived up to its name—comprehensive. It even included archery spells.
With Furniture Mastery, Chen Luo's archery now rivaled that of a decades-trained elven hunter.
His physical stats were lacking, but that was fine.
The homing arrow arced toward a distant high-rise, triggering a small explosion out of sight.
A shadow leaped from the building—
—and landed with a thunderous crash.
A girl, flanked by a massive, bizarre mech.
Twin spiral drills framed her face, her ash-gray curls and doll-like eyes belying the threat of the weapon behind her.
"Biological signatures detected: 3. Initiating Honkai radiation scan."
"Scan complete. Target confirmed: [Subject A]. Executing retrieval protocol."
"What's going on? Why is a girl that young paired with that strange mech?" Mei tightened her grip on her sword.
"Judging by her robotic speech, she's likely a bio-weapon—someone else's puppet," Chen Luo said, summoning a spear.
The weapon was pitch-black, yet radiated an eerie sanctity. Its blade gleamed white, tipped with a sinister crimson.
[Demon-Slaying Holy Spear]
"Bio-weapon..." Mei murmured.
But while she hesitated, the "bio-weapon" didn't. The mech's fist slammed toward them.
Chen Luo met it with his spear, the clash of force sending him and Mei skidding back.
"Luo, please... don't hurt her. If possible, save her..."
Recent events had left Mei unusually sensitive.
She had been saved by a friend. What about others like her?
"I'll try. Kiana, aim carefully—don't hit me. Use your pistol, not the shotgun."
Even without Mei's plea, Chen Luo wouldn't kill her. Besides, whether or not he could beat her was still a question.
"Targets resisting. Requesting armament restriction lift... Granted. Project Bunny: Combat Mode."
"This is Bronya's final warning. Surrender your weapons, and Bronya will guarantee your safety."
Her voice was cold, her gaze empty—fixed on Chen Luo, Mei, and Kiana.
"Lay down your weapons and surrender? I have too many weapons—I'm afraid you can't handle them all." Chen Luo gripped his spear, poised for battle.
The Dull Blade was meant for Mei's self-defense.
When it came to slaughtering zombies, long-range sniping was enough—Chen Luo hadn't needed close combat until now.
But that didn't mean his melee skills were lacking.
If nothing else, the Demon-Slaying Holy Spear felt perfect in his hands.
"Wait, Bronya—why are you attacking us? What's your goal?" Mei tugged Chen Luo's sleeve and spoke up.
"Bronya is following orders," Bronya replied coldly.
"Whose orders?"
"You are not authorized to know. You will surrender now."
"A girl your age shouldn't be a tool for battle. There must be a reason—what do you want?" Mei's voice softened as she studied the girl, who seemed like a puppet controlled by some system.
Perhaps it was Mei's natural kindness, but the "bio-weapon" actually responded.
Or maybe Bronya just preferred a bloodless resolution.
"Bronya does not understand. Do not interfere with system operations. Surrender immediately."
"System operations... Who would do something so cruel?" Mei's suspicion deepened—Bronya was clearly being controlled.
A living weapon...
"I know a bit about this. Kiana, you only know about Schicksal—but have you heard of Anti-Entropy?" Chen Luo kept his spear leveled at Bronya.
"Anti-Entropy? What's that?"
"An anti-Honkai organization with ideals opposite to Schicksal's. Schicksal uses Valkyries; Anti-Entropy uses mechs. They prioritize minimizing casualties, replacing human soldiers with machines."
"Minimizing casualties... By turning young girls into bio-mechs?!" Mei's voice trembled with anger.
"No, no! I mean actual mechs—steel giants from anime and comics, not this monstrosity. Anti-Entropy has moderates and radicals. This is clearly the radicals' work."
"Then what do we do?" Mei asked urgently.
"First, we knock her out. Bio-weapons usually have a control module—we just need to remove it."
Without warning, Chen Luo lunged.
Bronya, Mei, and Kiana were all caught off guard.
His spear became a blur as he closed the distance, forcing Bronya into melee combat.
Project Bunny had both ranged and melee modes—but firing artillery at point-blank would kill both Bronya and Chen Luo.
So, unprepared for the assault, Project Bunny could only parry with its fists, struggling under Chen Luo's relentless barrage.
His spear strikes were inhumanly fast, and swirling wind blades lashed out unpredictably, harrying Bronya from all sides.
Under this onslaught, Project Bunny's defenses began to falter.
But Bronya herself was no slouch—a legendary assassin, her coordination with Project Bunny was flawless. Slowly, she regained the upper hand.
The Demon-Slaying Holy Spear (3-Star) had anti-magic properties and suppressed dark energy, but Project Bunny feared neither.
Its defenses were monstrous—if ranked, it'd be a 4-star weapon.
And its ability to convert Honkai energy into artillery fire was terrifying.
The battle was too fast for Mei or Kiana to intervene.
A tornado began forming at the center of the clash, winds howling violently. Soon, both combatants were gasping for air.
Chen Luo, shielded by Anemo, could sustain himself—but Bronya had no such luxury.
Her breathing grew ragged.
Whoosh!
Bronya hurled grenades at her own feet—ensuring the blast radius would catch both of them.
Yet the moment they left her hand, Project Bunny morphed into a shield, protecting only her.
A gambit—if she didn't break the stalemate, oxygen deprivation would doom her.
Seeing the grenades, Chen Luo cursed her ruthlessness—then kicked off Project Bunny, using the recoil to launch himself out of the tornado.
BOOM!
The explosion erased the nascent tornado. A gust of wind cushioned Chen Luo's landing beside Mei and Kiana.
"A'Luo! Are you hurt?!" Mei frantically checked him for injuries.
"I'm fine. Don't worry."
"I'm glad you're fine. What about the girl?" Mei peered into the dust cloud.
"According to the law of smoke but no damage—she's unharmed."
Chen Luo waved a hand, dispersing the haze with a breeze.
A crater marked the blast site—but Project Bunny's shield was untouched, already shifting back to combat mode.
"See? Smoke means no damage."
"No idea where you get these weird sayings, but it seems to be quite useful?" Kiana muttered.
"Combat analysis complete. Capture probability: 15.96%. Below threshold. Executing retreat."
Recognizing Chen Luo's strength, Project Bunny lifted Bronya—preparing to flee.
"She's getting away!" Kiana yelled.
"A'Luo, stop her!" Mei tugged his sleeve.
"How, she's flying? You think I'm omnipotent?" Chen Luo rolled his eyes at Mei
"A'Luo is omnipotent," Mei said with absolute conviction.
After all, she'd yet to find something he couldn't do.
"..."
[Ding! New quest received!]
[The Omnipotent Traveler]: Oh omnipotent traveler, stop the bio-weapon's escape, remove her control module, and free Bronya.
Reward: 150 Primogems + Mei's Acknowledgment
"Fine. I can actually do this." Chen Luo reluctantly nodded.
"You offended me, Chen Luo, an you still want to run? Not that easy. Project Bunny—beat her up!" Chen Luo shouted at Project Bunny, who was slowly taking off with Bronya on its back.
"Project Bunny is Bronya's most precious treasure. Project Bunny would never—" Bronya, soaring through the air, glared at Chen Luo.
THUD!
Project Bunny's fist slammed into her skull, knocking her out instantly.
"Never say never." Chen Luo leaped, catching the falling Bronya.
[Ding! Defeated Bronya Zaychik. Reward: 80 Primogems.]
Since Bronya wasn't a zombie, Honkai beast, or Herrscher, the reward didn't convert to Crystals.