Honkai Simulator: Not for Kidnapping Herrschers!

Chen Ran sat with Bronya through the night.

He didn't know what the young girl was thinking after learning of her betrayal, nor could he comfort her, this girl who was once the Ural Silver Wolf.

Even though Wendy bought two ice creams, one purple sweet potato pudding and the other blueberry, Bronya didn't want either.

She just stared blankly as the sky went from dark to light.

Wendy and Raiden Mei left, needing more rest at this time.

Chen Ran worried Bronya might do something rash, so he stayed to watch over her.

However, he wasn't going to torture himself.

The boy took out the most advanced game console Raiden Mei had bought, and without waiting for the girl's permission, he plugged it into the TV and started mashing buttons to pull off combos.

Bronya sat there all night, and he played games all night.

"Ah, I'm so tired. Bronya, do you want to play?"

Chen Ran invited the girl.

Bronya's eyes flickered to the screen, and she nodded.

When Wendy and Raiden Mei arrived the next day, this was the scene they saw:

Chen Ran had fallen asleep at some point, his head resting on Bronya's shoulder.

Bronya, however, was expressionlessly holding Chen Ran's game controller, attempting to break high scores.

Although Bronya still looked expressionless, the dark circles under her eyes showed she hadn't rested all night.

Raiden Mei chuckled, "You guys didn't play games all night, did you?"

Wendy blinked, a hint of envy in her eyes.

She wanted to play too.

Honestly, this was beyond Raiden Mei's imagination.

In Chen Ran's words, both Schicksal and Anti-Entropy were frontline organizations fighting against Honkai. Both organizations possessed advanced technology and personnel, gathering the world's top talents.

For example, Wendy, who got a stomachache from eating too much ice cream.

For example, Bronya, who spent the whole night playing games with Chen Ran.

Indeed, if the world were to be saved by young girls, it was doomed.

While Raiden Mei was lost in thought, she saw Wendy find another controller from somewhere and start playing together under Bronya's guidance.

Raiden Mei shook her head with a smile and helped Chen Ran to the sofa herself.

"I'll go out and buy some breakfast."

She wasn't the young lady of the Raiden family anymore, so there was no one to deliver breakfast. But she wasn't the Herrscher of Consumption either, so she still couldn't cook.

However, just as she spoke, Wendy said alertly, "No, it's too dangerous if no one protects you."

"Then what should we do?"

Wendy looked reluctantly at the game console and said, "I'll go with you."

It was clear she was very unwilling to say this.

"Really, you're like a child," Raiden Mei said with a smile. "Don't bother, there should still be some ingredients at home. I'll try to cook myself."

Wendy breathed a sigh of relief.

Great, I don't have to endure the pain of not playing games.

"Prepare salt, lemon, soy sauce, shrimp, and other ingredients. Wash the shiitake mushrooms, asparagus, and bell peppers with water and cut them with a knife."

"Remove the shrimp heads and shells, devein the shrimp, and make some cuts on the shrimp meat to help them hold their shape. ... Ah!"

Raiden Mei cried out in pain, cutting a gash on her finger.

The wound wasn't deep, but the flowing blood looked quite frightening.

"Cooking isn't done like this, young lady."

Chen Ran appeared at the kitchen doorway at some point. Seeing Raiden Mei's finger, he said, "Let's treat the wound first. It would be troublesome if you got tetanus."

Raiden Mei instinctively retorted, "The knives at my house are all very clean."

"But you just used them to cut vegetables."

He produced alcohol and a band-aid from somewhere.

As the alcohol was applied, Raiden Mei instinctively gasped.

Tears welled up in her eyes. "It hurts."

"Even a Menkyo Kaiden of Hokushin Itto-ryu is afraid of pain?"

Chen Ran teased, but he still helped her bandage the wound.

Mei turned her face away and snorted, "Why don't you try it? You'll know if it hurts after you try."

Chen Ran, however, remembered his time at the Oceanic Branch.

He shivered involuntarily, "Then I'd rather not try."

Raiden Mei looked into Chen Ran's eyes, a hint of complexity in her gaze.

Growing up, besides her father, she had never been so close to any other man.

She suppressed the strange feeling in her heart and asked instead, "What about Bronya? How do you plan to deal with her?"

"That's not something I get to decide,"

Chen Ran said casually, "You should know, I'm just an employee. There are people in charge above me."

After treating Raiden Mei's wounds, he began preparing the ingredients.

Raiden Mei couldn't help but ask, "Will she die?"

"You can't bear to see that?"

"She's a very pitiful person."

Although Raiden Mei didn't know about Bronya's experiences, seeing the deathly stillness in her eyes last night had made Mei's heart ache.

She knew what those eyes represented: the collapse of faith.

In comparison, Raiden Mei felt that Bronya's obstruction of them earlier was insignificant.

Chen Ran skillfully prepared the dishes, saying calmly, "Don't worry, she won't die."

"Schicksal will consider Wendy's feelings. Wendy and Bronya get along very well."

At this time, there was no Gem of Desire injection experiment at the Oceanic Branch. Although Wendy had not yet passed the A-rank Valkyrie assessment, she was already hailed as Schicksal's fourth future S-rank Valkyrie.

It was only now that Chen Ran understood how terrifying the privileges of Schicksal's S-rank Valkyries were.

Schicksal's largest Valkyrie team, the Blade of Immovability, had over three hundred members, divided into six squads. Each squad was equipped with technical, logistical, weapon maintenance, and intelligence personnel, all serving Durandal.

Even Rita herself was in the Blade of Immovability because of Durandal.

Wendy's current talent, while slightly inferior to Durandal's, was absolutely not bad.

This meant that any reasonable suggestion made by Wendy would be respected by Schicksal.

And for Schicksal itself, Bronya was not important at all.

In such a situation, it wouldn't even be a problem to let Bronya join Schicksal.

Raiden Mei didn't know this, but hearing Chen Ran's words, she felt a little relieved.

She watched the young man start pouring oil into the pot and couldn't help but say, "Then... can I join Schicksal?"

"Of course, where else would you go?"

Chen Ran sprinkled in some salt and began to stir-fry the ingredients.

The oil, salt, and moisture from the vegetables began to sizzle, and the pungent smell made Raiden Mei frown.

She lived in the Far East and was used to eating light dishes.

She really wasn't used to heavy oil and salt like Chen Ran's.

Chen Ran noticed her discomfort.

He smiled and said, "Training at Schicksal is very physically demanding, so oil and salt are actually very necessary. Although eating too much might not be very healthy, it at least keeps you from starving."

"Besides, since you're considering joining Schicksal, you don't need to worry about your health."

Raiden Mei said tactfully, "I haven't thought about that problem, it's just... it seems like you're burning it a little."

Chen Ran: "..."

When the unappetizing dishes were served, the four of them began to "enjoy" the meal at the table.

"Enjoy" might not be the right word; it was more like a simple meal.

Raiden Mei tactfully expressed, "I'll cook the rest of the dishes. I'll try my best."

Although she had never cooked before, she knew that the stir-fried dishes with high heat, characteristic of Shenzhou cuisine, didn't suit her palate.

Mei even placed a cup of plain water in front of her, rinsing the oil off each dish before eating. It was only morning, and her stomach couldn't handle greasy food.

Chen Ran didn't mind Raiden Mei's pickiness.

She was a young lady, so being picky was only natural.

Anyway, Wendy on the side was eating happily, and that was enough.

Generally speaking, if there was enough oil in the cooking, it wasn't easy to make the dish taste bad. Of course, more oil didn't equate to deliciousness, but at least it was acceptable.

Wendy was not picky about Chen Ran's cooking.

This wasn't because there wasn't good food at the Far East Branch, but because she was easily satisfied.

Bronya, on the side, seemed to be spurred on by a competitive spirit and began to snatch food with Wendy, seeing who could eat more.

Chen Ran couldn't help but smile at the sight.

They're still just children.

After finishing her meal, Bronya felt noticeably sleepy.

High-oil dishes like these really do make you drowsy. Not to mention that the staple food in the Far East is rice; when blood sugar gets high, the effect is no worse than sleeping pills.

She had already been up all night, and her whole demeanor was listless.

The young girl's eyes were hazy, and Wendy led her back to her original room, tucking her in.

Raiden Mei mused, "So, you did that on purpose?"

"Did what on purpose?"

"You didn't actually know how to handle Bronya, so you wanted to use this method to keep her mentally fatigued, then make her relax and create an illusion of home."

She paused, then added, "I'm starting to believe you're an expert in biology."

She didn't understand the specific theories, but in principle, they should be enemies with Bronya.

But judging by the result, Bronya didn't seem like an enemy at all now; she looked like a pitiable doll.

Chen Ran was speechless and shook his head, "I wouldn't put effort into something like that."

"There's no need for it."

He made these high-calorie dishes because they were the only dishes he knew how to make.

Once Bronya realized she had been betrayed, Chen Ran had already given up on scheming against or controlling her.

After all, the advantage of foreknowledge from the plot allowed him to be so willful.

If this emotionless girl could be swayed by Mei, he didn't believe Bronya wouldn't be moved by all his efforts.

The fact that she could fall asleep leaning against him already spoke volumes.