In Honkai, But Integrated Strategies Activated

"Going on a trip."

"Who would believe that!"

Chapter 38: To Save, or Not to Save?

Anna's life had been quite pleasant recently.

Having become an A-rank Valkyrie at the young age of 16, she had now been living in the scenic city of Manila for half a year.

Although as a European, Anna had initially found the humid climate and year-round spring-like weather a bit unaccustomed to, she gradually adapted to the local seasons after some time.

After half a year of grassroots experience, Anna was successfully promoted to deputy captain of the Snow Lotus Squad. The captain of the Snow Lotus Squad was a veteran A-rank Valkyrie who, while very strong, was already approaching thirty years old.

For a Valkyrie, that age could be considered the twilight of their career.

Therefore, it wouldn't be long before Anna might be promoted to captain, then improve herself through continuous battles against Honkai, ultimately becoming an S-rank Valkyrie, reaching the same level as her good friend Durandal.

Pleasant living conditions, manageable work intensity, and stable promotion prospects – under such circumstances, if Anna weren't naturally disciplined and driven, she might have already become complacent.

However, May 22nd was also a special day for Anna.

Manila housed a total of six Valkyrie squads. With three squads patrolling daily, this particular day was one of the Snow Lotus Squad's rare rest days each month.

Even though Anna usually chose to improve herself during her free time, whether it was after work or on rest days, this time she decided to go out for a stroll.

The reason was simple: a strange "guest" had recently appeared outside her training base.

It was a young woman dressed lightly, wearing a wide-brimmed sun hat. Although Anna hadn't seen her face because she always wore a mask, her delicate skin and well-proportioned figure suggested that this young woman was definitely in the prime of her youth.

At first, Anna thought she was just an ordinary passerby. But after observing her intentionally a few times, Anna noticed that this person seemed to appear at very fixed times and often lingered outside her training base.

It was important to note that in Southeast Asia, the presence of Schicksal Valkyries was always semi-public. Therefore, her training base couldn't technically be classified as a military restricted zone. Moreover, it wasn't Schicksal's public property but rather a private detached villa she owned that had been converted.

After all, the Saniat Family was "somewhat famous" within Schicksal, and Anna, as a standout member, naturally wasn't short on money.

After this situation persisted for a few days, Anna suspected she might be an Anti-Entropy spy. She asked the Manila government to check the person's entry records, only to discover that the individual was actually a painter from Europe with complete identification, showing no connection to Anti-Entropy from any angle.

With no other options, Anna decided to handle it herself. Under the guise of the villa owner, she questioned the painter. Anna discovered that the painter insisted she was merely there for inspiration, and her reason for staying was simply because the scenery was beautiful and she wanted to gather more material.

Although this painter didn't affect her training, Anna worried that if she made too much of a fuss, it might attract the painter's attention, leading to a host of confidentiality issues.

Therefore, Anna decided, "If I can't deal with it, can't I avoid it?" At worst, she wouldn't train on this rest day. The painter would be leaving soon anyway.

Finally having a rare opportunity to relax, Anna decided to go shopping for some new dresses.

Although Schicksal uniforms were also very attractive and personalized, cute girls ultimately couldn't wear the same outfit every time, so Anna was quite enthusiastic about buying new clothes.

However, the mall today seemed a bit different.

Amidst the noisy music of the mall, Anna suddenly seemed to hear a different sound.

The sound was both familiar and strange. Familiar because she had heard it countless times during simulations.

The strangeness stemmed from the fact that this was the first time Anna had heard an alarm of this magnitude in reality.

Accompanying the alarm were the roars of Honkai Beasts, the shrieks of dead soldiers, and the tremors of collapsing buildings and cracking earth.

Even before her mind could fully process it, years of training had made Anna instinctively reach for her communication terminal to contact headquarters.

"Calling headquarters, calling headquarters, this is Anna from Snow Lotus Squad, I require..."

Before Anna could finish speaking, the terminal's signal was silenced by intense Honkai Energy interference, leaving only a crackling static sound.

Now, Anna's situation had completely fallen into a passive state.

No weapons, no supplies, no Valkyrie armor.

No communication, no mission instructions, not even a warning for high-risk targets.

At this moment, all Anna had left was her A-rank Valkyrie physical prowess.

Casually grabbing a steel pipe from a nearby railing, Anna smashed the heads of the few dead soldiers that approached her.

Before she could even catch her breath, the sounds of buildings collapsing from the advance of a Saint-class Honkai Beast, the screams of civilians being chased by dead soldiers, and the cries for help from citizens buried under the rubble all reached her ears from outside the building.

The sense of responsibility from the Saniat Family and Schicksal Valkyries compelled Anna to quickly rescue the civilians, defeat the Honkai Beast, and then lead the people to safety.

But the remaining rationality in her mind immediately dismissed this unrealistic idea.

Setting aside whether she would be crushed under the Honkai Beast's might without her Valkyrie armor, weapons, and supplies, even if she managed to gather a group of civilians, they might not be able to break through the encirclement under the relentless pursuit of the Honkai Beast.

Reason told her that she couldn't help these civilians at this moment. She had to prioritize her own safety, retreat to the assembly point, obtain her equipment and weapons, and only then could she save more people.

However, the assembly point was still a considerable distance away. And before reaching it, the cries for help she had ignored along the way were simply too heavy for a sixteen-year-old girl to bear.

Anna gritted her teeth, forcing herself to ignore the cries for help, and ran swiftly towards the assembly point.

"So that's how it was. During the Great Honkai in Manila, Anna faced such a choice."

"But in the end, she didn't manage to reach the assembly point. Before she got halfway, her guilt and sense of mission crushed her, and she chose to save Chen Tianwu."

"Yes, but even if Anna had reached the assembly point, it would have been futile."

"According to my observations, there are several large Honkai Energy outbreak points in Manila. One is at the Schicksal branch in Manila, and another is near their assembly point."

"Meaning, even if Anna reached the assembly point, she wouldn't have received any support?"

"Correct. In fact, one of the reasons for the heavy casualties among Schicksal colleagues in Manila was that they were too close to the Honkai outbreak points."

They aren't Herrschers, nor are they like Dumb Goose, who has absurdly high Honkai Energy adaptability. Intense radiation would likely incapacitate them immediately.

"So that's how it is... No wonder Anna received commendation from Schicksal after choosing to rescue civilians midway... Without considering the reasons, compared to heading to the assembly point to die, such an action can indeed be considered decisive."

"Since that's the case, then allow me to help her a bit more."

Chapter 39: Flame Willow: This is the healing speed of us Curse Healers

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Anna lowered her head, running with all her might, leaving the cries for help along the way behind her.

In reality, not that many people were crying for help. To survive the initial outbreak of Honkai without dying, one had to meet two conditions first.

One was sufficient Honkai Energy adaptability, and the other was being in a sufficiently safe location.

In fact, Anna, running through the ruins, wasn't enough to make survivors risk discovery by calling for help. As for the survivors buried deep underground, their cries for help couldn't reach Anna's ears.

The cries for help that had always accompanied the girl were merely a hurdle she couldn't overcome in her heart.

Until...

"Help me... Help... Help me..."

In the shadow of the ruins by the street, Anna saw a little girl with gray hair.

Unlike most survivors, she showed no signs of turning into a dead soldier due to Honkai Energy erosion. What was truly taking her life was the giant stone and broken wall pressing down on her body.

Smoke and dust filled the air, and blood slowly seeped from the cracks in the stones. As if hearing Anna's footsteps, the little girl struggled to lift her head.

"Big sister... Help me..."

Severe blood loss, multiple abrasions and crushing injuries all over her body, suspected internal injuries, and visible fractures...

Anna's medical knowledge as an A-rank Valkyrie allowed her to quickly assess the severity of the girl's injuries.

With such injuries, if not treated promptly... she would die within an hour. But in a city that had just experienced a major Honkai outbreak, an hour was a long time. It was uncertain whether she could even find a medical point, let alone safely leave Manila City.

Whether to abandon the assembly point, spend a lot of time rescuing this girl, and then watch her die – this was a question almost anyone would answer without hesitation.

But Anna hesitated because she was the one facing this question. The girl's outstretched hand and hoarse cries for help were like a monstrous flood, making Anna tremble.

She knew that taking a step out of the ruins was equivalent to sentencing this girl to death.

"I, I'm sorry..."

Anna lowered her eyes, squeezing out a mumbled apology from her mouth, and prepared to lift her feet to leave with almost all her strength.

"Hey, hey, are you going to save her or not? If not, then make way for me."

Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded from behind Anna.

"Wh-what?!" The sudden voice startled Anna, and she reflexively jumped back.

Accompanying the voice was a figure with long golden hair.

"You're... that painter!" Anna instantly understood why the voice sounded familiar. Not long ago, she had questioned her about her purpose for approaching the training base.

However, compared to their last meeting, the painter's body had noticeably gained some things this time, such as the long dragon horns on her head, and the tail with flickering flames swaying behind her.

You're really not ordinary! Flame Willow thought Anna would say something like this. However, what Anna blurted out was completely different.

"You, you said you can save her? Please, hurry and save her, her blood loss won't last much longer!"

"Tsk, you truly are a Valkyrie of the Saniat family..."

Shaking her head with some helplessness, Flame Willow stepped past Anna and took the girl's hand.

"Don't be afraid, close your eyes and sleep soundly. When you wake up, your injuries will be healed."

Accompanying Flame Willow's gentle voice, Chen Tianwu slowly closed her eyes. The dizziness from blood loss and the comforting sensation of her pain being soothed almost instantly lulled her into dreamland.

"Hey, Anna, give me a hand and slowly move the stones pressing on her."

Seeing her abilities beginning to take effect, with the wounds on Chen Tianwu's body almost healed, Flame Willow called out to Anna behind her.

"Hurry up, I called you, or was the name you gave earlier a fake?"

"Ah, yes, yes."

Anna snapped back to reality and quickly ran over, moving the stones and broken walls off Chen Tianwu one by one.

Then, before Anna's astonished eyes, wisps of golden flames appeared on Chen Tianwu's crushed and bloody wounds, and these wounds rapidly healed as if time were reversing.

"So, so magical... It's almost like Black Abyss White Flower..."

As the injuries were mostly healed, Flame Willow picked up Chen Tianwu, preparing to leave.

"Wait, wait... are you leaving?"

"What, you want me to stay for dinner?" Flame Willow turned back and chuckled.

"A Valkyrie of Schicksal, we aren't on the same path. If you want to keep me here, you don't have the ability. The only reason I'm not attacking you is that saving people is more important right now."

"No, it's not like that... I wanted to say, thank you..."

"..."

"Sigh, I really can't do anything about you bunch of idiots."

Flame Willow put on a show of sighing before tossing a map to Anna.

"I recall Schicksal having a headquarters and an emergency assembly point around here. You were probably aiming for that, weren't you?"

"Don't waste your effort. Look at this map. These are the locations of several Honkai Energy outbreak points I recorded on my way here."

"Unfortunately, both your headquarters and assembly point are among them."

"H-how could this be?" The moment Anna took the map, her body felt like it had been struck by a heavy hammer, nearly causing her to lose her balance.

"So, forget about any assembly or support. You have no support anymore."

"If you still wish to fulfill your duties as a Valkyrie, I have a suggestion for you."

"On the way to your assembly point, there's a police station. Go there, get some weapons, rescue as many survivors as you can, and then lead them to break out of the city."

"As long as you can outrun the spread of Honkai Energy, there's a high chance you can lead them to safety."

"I understand. Thank you for the information..." Anna forced herself to perk up and looked at the child in Flame Willow's arms. "Where are you going next? This child..."

"She's not out of danger yet. I need to get her treated as soon as possible."

Flame Willow seemed to sense Anna's worry and directly interrupted her. "Don't worry, I won't do anything to her. However, my treatment isn't without its cost."

"Unlike the Black Abyss White Flower, my treatment involves draining her body's potential and energy, stimulating her metabolism, and allowing her to recover through a process akin to self-healing. Treating an injury of this severity will nearly deplete her body."

"Since I can't directly inject Honkai Energy into her, I have to replenish her energy through conventional means. Therefore, I need to take her to the rear first. Otherwise, when she wakes up, she'll only suffer more before dying."

"Thank you..." Anna couldn't remember how many times she had said thank you today. "What's your name? When there's a chance in the future, I..."

"We can talk about that if there's a chance in the future. As for my name... never mind. It's better if you don't know too clearly."

"My codename is Reed Grass. I hope we can get along better the next time we meet."