Gou Dan'er

Han Jiang kept chuckling foolishly as he opened the car door and ran toward the dormitory. "I'm heading back first. I still have wounds to take care of."

Back in the dormitory, Han Jiang lay on the bed like a plastic bag and howled miserably for a while.

Hiyori was still fumbling around in the system inventory, searching for an exit. Meanwhile, Yae Rin showed no reaction. After all, she was only a fragment of a soul and had already fallen asleep.

Because of the collapse at Changkong City Girls' High School, the camp's official Valkyries had all been deployed to clear out Honkai Beasts.

An abnormal surge of Honkai Energy had appeared at Changkong City Girls' High School, triggering Honkai Beast riots across more than half the district.

The next morning, Himeko officially informed all the students that training was suspended.

Han Jiang, meanwhile, was brought alone by Himeko to the area beside the former site of Changkong City Girls' High School. Theresa and Yae Sakura were already waiting at the edge of the collapse.

"We were waiting for you," Theresa said first.

Han Jiang frowned. He had encountered over a hundred Honkai Beasts on the way here. If Himeko had not been with him, he would never have been able to make it here alone.

There were still large numbers of Valkyrie squads clearing Honkai Beasts nearby. Why were they waiting for someone with barely B-rank combat strength like him?

"I'll head back first. The Honkai Energy here has caused a huge impact. Large numbers of Honkai Beasts have gathered in the city. If they're drawn to the Honkai reactor in the camp, the consequences will be unimaginable."

After delivering Han Jiang here, Himeko turned and returned to the camp.

Han Jiang walked over to Theresa and Yae Sakura and asked, "With such a massive Honkai Energy eruption, wouldn't it be the same whether I was here or not?"

With Changkong City Girls' High School at its center, everything within a five-kilometer radius had collapsed downward, forming a massive pit more than a hundred meters deep.

As he approached the edge, Han Jiang saw the scene below.

A path leading down had already been built along the edge of the pit. Below, Valkyries were clearing out Honkai Beasts and Deadwalkers bearing unusual patterns.

"Yae Village?" Han Jiang asked.

Yae Sakura nodded. "These are the ruins of Yae Village. Three hundred years ago, an earthquake caused Yae Village to collapse underground. The villagers at the time buried it where it stood and built a new city above it."

Han Jiang stared at the ruined buildings below in disbelief and sighed. "After being buried for so long, some of them still retain their appearance from back then."

"The Honkai Energy within the Tenshukaku formed something like a barrier that protected these buildings. Otherwise, what we saw would not look like this," Theresa explained.

"It's about time. The three of us should set out."

"Wait, wait. You still haven't told me why you called me here. This place doesn't lack a C-rank fighter, does it?" Han Jiang hurriedly asked.

"You absorbed part of the evil god's energy. We need your help to open the doors of the Tenshukaku," Yae Sakura explained.

The three of them followed the slope underground. Since the camp's Valkyries had already swept through the area beforehand, they encountered very few Honkai Beasts on the way to the Tenshukaku.

The Tenshukaku stood in the backyard of the Yae Estate. Just as Theresa had said, the entire courtyard was the best-preserved part of Yae Village.

There was still a withered old tree in the side courtyard where Yae Sakura had lived. Yae Rin's gravestone stood beneath it, exactly as it had in the Stigmata Space.

"Let's go." Yae Sakura glanced at the gravestone before leading Han Jiang and Theresa into the backyard.

The backyard seemed like a separate world from everywhere else. Other than the thick layer of dust, it was impossible to tell that this was a ruin buried for more than three hundred years.

When the three arrived before the doors of the Tenshukaku, Han Jiang could sense the dense Honkai Energy even without the system notifying him.

Rin's fragment of a soul stirred in the inventory, then quickly fell silent again.

Hiyori, on the other hand, began flailing about wildly, desperately wanting to escape that dark place.

With a thought, Han Jiang released Hiyori from the inventory.

Hiyori climbed onto Han Jiang's shoulder, unable to believe for a moment that she had escaped that pitch-black little room.

"Where is this? The aura feels so familiar." Hiyori rubbed her eyes, her tiny nose sniffing hard at the air.

Yae Sakura fell into thought upon seeing Hiyori.

"So this is the good side of the evil god?"

"Big sis, you're back!" Hiyori lowered her hands from her eyes and immediately saw Yae Sakura, with her fox ears.

Hearing herself called big sis, Yae Sakura's delicate brows furrowed. "Don't call me big sis."

Theresa was too short. She could only hear a fourth voice speaking to Yae Sakura, but she could not see what it was.

Seeing this, Han Jiang pinched Hiyori's clothes between two fingers and lifted her in front of Theresa.

"This is the good side of the evil god? Do we need her to open the doors of the Tenshukaku?" Theresa asked curiously.

Before Han Jiang had arrived, Yae Sakura and Theresa had already come here once.

Neither of them wanted Han Jiang to risk himself, so they had tried opening the Tenshukaku's doors beforehand.

After failing, Yae Sakura concluded that Han Jiang had to be present for the doors to open.

"Mm, I can't open the Tenshukaku's doors. We still need something else." Hiyori clutched her head and struggled in midair.

Then she turned to Han Jiang and shouted, "Put me down! I can fly! Put me down!"

Han Jiang released Hiyori. As if following a scent, she floated over to Yae Sakura's side.

"Big sis, I think I know you." Hiyori said happily.

Yae Sakura sighed. "Don't call me big sis. Who are you, and why do you know me?"

Hiyori held her head and put on an expression of intense thought. "I don't know. I remember sleeping for a very, very long time. But I really do know you."

"What's your name?" Yae Sakura turned to Han Jiang. "Did Mr. Han Jiang give her a name?"

It looked like Yae Sakura wanted to formally name Hiyori. Han Jiang thought for a moment and said, "I did. Her name is Gou Dan'er."

"I don't want to! I don't want to be called Gou Dan'er! Big sis, save me! I don't want that name!" Hiyori flew onto Yae Sakura's shoulder, grabbed Yae Sakura's hair, and hid behind it as though she were terrified of Han Jiang.

Yae Sakura chuckled softly and said to Han Jiang, "I feel that this little one and I are fated. How about calling her Hiyori?"

Hiyori kept nodding when she heard her new name. Han Jiang merely stared at Hiyori with a smile, frightening her into repeatedly backing away.

If she had not been clutching Yae Sakura's hair, Hiyori would have nearly fallen off Yae Sakura's shoulder.

"I don't want to be called Gou Dan'er. It doesn't sound nice," Hiyori muttered softly.

Han Jiang shrugged. "For Miss Yae Sakura's sake, then Hiyori it is."

"Hey, what are you all talking about? I can't see anything at all! Are we going into the Tenshukaku or not?" Theresa, standing nearby, listened to the three... uh, three voices chatting and laughing, and anxiously stomped her feet.

"Sorry." Yae Sakura apologized to Theresa.

"Opening the Tenshukaku's doors requires two kinds of power. There are very frightening things inside. Are you really going to open them?" Hiyori asked.

Yae Sakura nodded. "We have to clear out what's inside. Otherwise, it will come out on its own sooner or later."

"The Tenshukaku has seven floors. The evil spirits inside become stronger with each floor. The very top floor contains an extremely terrifying evil god." Hiyori looked up at the Tenshukaku, her expression grave.

"I can feel it. That monster at the top is incredibly evil."

Thanks to big brother [Xuexue Can Shang] for the 100 reward, big brother [Mou Fa] for the 100 reward, [Hongchen Shixian] for the 100 reward, and big brother [Sky of Loneliness] for the 500 reward!!!