Chapter 1

Where's the promised Third Honkai?!!

Author: Person in Light and Shadow

Synopsis:

A 4 million-character masterpiece Honkai fanfiction has landed safely.

My name is Fu Li, and I am a reborn.

Before I was reborn, I endured the Third Honkai, but still died a year after Kiana from the endless Great Honkai events.

Then, I was reborn, reborn before the Third Honkai.

This time, I will be prepared, lest I once again get a GG.

Through a series of developments, although I haven't escaped yet, I have already gained considerable returns by leveraging my intelligence advantage.

As a price, a swarm of Anti-Entropy Titans, heavy drones, and armed soldiers have been relentlessly pursuing me and my companions, leaving us with nowhere to run.

But I'm not panicking at all. The Third Honkai is about to arrive, and their offensive will instantly collapse.

So I calmed myself down and waited peacefully.

However...

Huh?

Glancing at the time on his wristband, Fu Li looked at the azure sky that was no different from usual, the Titan units that were no different from usual, and the Kiana, Bronya, and Mei in the car, each with a different expression.

—No way? Buddy?

Where's the promised Third Honkai!!!

Volume 1: Where's the Promised Third Honkai?

Chapter 1: "My surname is Fu, as in Fu Li (Seeking collection, recommendations, and all sorts of support for the new book!)"

The heavy rain that lasted all night quietly subsided as dawn approached, leaving behind a lingering chill and some puddles.

Sunlight pierced through the mist, scattering on the morning dew dripping from the leaves, creating dappled rays of light.

If an ancient swordsman well-versed in Tang and Song poetry were here, they would surely pour a cup of dew condensed from the morning mist, wear a long robe, hands behind their back, a sword at their waist, and write their own legend of righteous vengeance.

In this hurried modern society, however, both the working class and students are forced to wake up early as the sky turns pale, get dressed, wash up, and begin their monotonous work and studies.

Muye was no exception.

The 33-year-old single man got up early to wash up and not make his bed. After changing into the cheap suit that proclaimed his status, he half-heartedly stepped out of his room.

The moment he stepped out, the world opened up.

Many of the cheap apartments in the Far East are like the one he rented, three or four stories high, with an exposed corridor connecting many single rooms, and staircases at both ends to connect the upper and lower floors.

These corridor-style buildings are not so much poorly soundproofed as they are completely lacking in soundproofing. If someone speaks a little louder on the second floor, Muye can hear it clearly.

This was something he had just experienced firsthand.

The current time is 6:30 AM. No matter how diligent Muye is, after working overtime until midnight, he wouldn't be able to tear himself away from the temptation of the bed demon so early.

What woke him up were the shrewish curses from downstairs and the violent banging on the door.

"Fu Li, open the door! Open the door! Don't hide inside and be silent, I know you're home!"

The shouting was ferocious, making one's heart tremble, and the grogginess of early morning disappeared by more than half.

Muye naturally knew who was banging on the door. That shrewish-looking woman in her thirties was the landlady of the entire second floor.

Driven by the rise of the renowned multinational electronics manufacturer Massive Electric Inc. (ME Inc.) more than a decade ago, Changkong City has unknowingly transformed from its previously unremarkable state into the international metropolis it is today.

With the city's vigorous development, related industries such as industrial parks, commercial facilities, medical resources, and relevant educational institutions have naturally sprung up like mushrooms after a rain.

For workers from poor backgrounds, such a burgeoning city full of opportunities is no different from the New World during the Age of Discovery.

Everyone wants to strive upwards desperately before the upper class solidifies. Every year, a large number of strangers with dreams come here, igniting themselves to become cheap consumables for Changkong City's vigorous growth.

And as the population increases, housing resources become scarce.

When housing is scarce, renting naturally becomes popular.

There are not a few locals with business acumen, such as the landlady who is currently banging on the door.

She had made arrangements with the owner of the corridor-style building, rented the entire second floor, and then sublet the rooms individually at a higher price to earn the difference.

It's not just her; the third floor where Muye lives is in a similar situation.

Fortunately, the person who rented the third floor is a middle-aged man with a good personality. Having achieved financial freedom early, he often brings a few bottles of beer and barbecue to drink with his tenants when he has free time.

The young man from China living in Room BK202 downstairs is truly unlucky. That sister-complex landlady is not someone to be trifled with.

Look! In the time it took Muye to think about something, she had already driven away three or four tenants who came to reason with her after being woken up!

'Speaking of which, that young man with red eyes... wasn't his name Fu Li?'

Muye, passing by the second floor, gave the landlady, who was glaring at him, an innocent smile. He then calmly walked towards the subway station entrance about 200 meters away, carrying his briefcase.

He knew why the woman was banging on the door so early in the morning. It wasn't just him; many people living in the apartment building were well aware of it.

The landlady had a younger brother. To put it bluntly, he was a fat slob who lived off his family's inheritance and never left his room.

This good-for-nothing was already over thirty and unmarried. He spent his days lost in the fantasy world of anime, unable to pull himself away from the idea of cuddling with beautiful girls. He was also a devoted fan of many VTubers and idols, the most hopeless kind of Heisei-era otaku.

The landlady doted on her brother. She always gave him the best of everything and went out of her way to get him whatever he wanted. After her husband's accidental death, she even transferred ownership of their only house to him.

This had always caused great dissatisfaction among her husband's family. On several occasions, the disputes had become so serious that they even attracted reporters from the civil litigation channel to stir up trouble.

And this time, the landlady's brother had set his sights on a female high school student who had come to study abroad.

That incredibly beautiful Nordic high school student was currently renting Room BK201, right next door to Fu Li.

Muye knew with his toes that this spiteful woman wanted to drive Fu Li out so her brother could move into his room.

As the saying goes, "The moon shines brightest over the water close to home." In the eyes of the older generation, the distance between men and women was as thin as gauze. Spending time together day after day would inevitably create opportunities, not to mention she had a cheat-like filter of "lying flat" to her advantage.

However, Muye felt that this time, things were... uncertain!

The secondary reason was that the anorexic brother was only 1.62 meters tall and weighed 130 kilograms. His face was so fat that his features were all scrunched together, making him unattractive to anyone.

The main reason was that Fu Li was also pursuing the JK student.

Muye completely understood Fu Li's thinking on this matter.

Silver hair, blue eyes, fair skin, and long legs – she was a super beautiful girl straight out of a painting. Her background was rumored to be that of a young lady from a prominent Nordic family. Who wouldn't be smitten?

Muye was smitten!

But he was self-aware.

He felt Fu Li should also be self-aware.

Yes, even if you, Fu Li, and that girl named Kiana Kaslana came to Changkong City on the same ship from Shenzhou, attended the same school, were in the same class, and even rented rooms next door to each other, that wasn't a reason to keep pestering her after she rejected your confession, was it?

Alright, Muye admitted it. He was just jealous, afraid that some cliché plot of true love moving heaven and earth would actually happen, allowing that immature Shenzhou brat to win the heart of the Nordic beauty.

If he couldn't have her, no one else should.

Even if someone could have her, it absolutely shouldn't be someone he knew.

Besides, the girl was genuinely indifferent to you, Fu Li.

Let's not even mention your looks, which are only slightly worse than mine because you're young. Just the fact that you keep going on about, "Kiana, you really don't remember me? We met in Klostern Town in Europe when we were eight, back in 2007!"

Good grief! It's 2014 AD! How can anyone still use such tactics to pick up girls?

And you even said that you promised her when you were little that she would be your bride when you grew up? And you're still clinging to it, following her from Shenzhou all the way to the Far East? Oh my god! It's so awkward, it's giving me goosebumps!

And honestly, even if you did meet as children in Europe, she definitely wouldn't want to deal with you now, which is why she's deliberately pretending not to recognize you after your reunion.

It couldn't possibly be a cliché plot of the girl having amnesia, right? That's hilarious. This isn't some sappy eight o'clock drama!

Muye hugged himself and shivered, a mocking smile on his face as he stepped onto the train heading towards his company.

On the second floor of the apartment building, the landlady, who was twenty-nine years and one hundred and twenty-eight months old, retracted her sinister gaze from the average salaryman and continued to bang on the door with a clatter:

"Open up, open up, hurry and open the door! Don't think I don't know! I checked the surveillance cameras when I arrived! You haven't left the house since you got back last night!"

Her persistence was comparable to a Huluwa whose grandfather had been kidnapped by a snake spirit.

The landlady had already decided that if the door was broken down by her, she would deduct Fu Li's security deposit.

"You outsiders come to Changkong City begging for food. So what if you're from Shenzhou? The Far East is our territory, the Great Nuclear Underworld. If it really came to a lawsuit, you'd still have to swallow this bitter pill!"

Of course, even if Fu Li opened the door, she would just tell him with a dark expression that the rent was increasing and she would collect half a year's rent upfront. If he couldn't pay, he could pack his bags and get out!

The thought of her brother's eyes lighting up when he saw the white-haired Nordic girl a couple of days ago when he came for pocket money gave the landlady a surge of motivation.

Even though East Asians and Europeans had different aesthetic values, she had to admit that Kiana's little face was truly beautiful and heartwarming.

Her waist and hips were a bit thin, not the ideal shape for childbirth, but since everyone had C-sections at the hospital now, it didn't really matter for having children.

Besides, having lived for over forty years, the landlady could tell at a glance that the girl wasn't naturally skinny but rather wasn't eating well.

If she could raise her from a young age, she would definitely make her as plump and fair as her own brother!

While the landlady was lost in these wild thoughts, her knocking didn't stop.

Time ticked by amidst the noise, and the mist that permeated the heavens and earth did not dissipate but thickened.

A white veil enveloped the houses and roads within a radius of tens of meters, making the woman who was still insistently banging on the door feel a sense of loneliness, as if she were being rejected by the entire world.

This scene, like in the movie "The Mist," made her shiver unexpectedly, and the force of her blows on the door weakened by a third.

At that moment, the door to Room BK202 creaked open from the inside.

The sudden creak in the silent world brought a sliver of relief to the solitary landlady, followed by a mixture of genuine and feigned anger.

She tensed her face, looked up, and expertly launched into a shrewish tirade: "Fu Li, are you dead asleep in there, or is your ear blocked with wax? Didn't you hear me working so hard to knock on the door for half the day..."

Her sharp and harsh voice grew lower and lower, finally fading into a deathly silence.

Until another voice rang out.

"My new ASMR headphones are too good. I accidentally got lost listening to Miyuki Nakajima's new album."

The black-haired youth's skin was as pale as if he hadn't seen the sun in a long time, yet it shone brilliantly in the light that stubbornly pierced through the morning mist.

He wore a clean scarf that matched the March season. A slender, slightly curved eyebrow, like the budding willow in early spring, gave him a delicate, somewhat androgynous beauty. His eyes, like a mirror of white paper on a placid lake, were calm and flawless. Overall, he exuded a harmonious aesthetic, reminiscent of the Six Poetic Sages of the Heian period.

"Something wrong?" Fu Li raised an eyebrow.

"..."

As she surveyed the guest, whose appearance was little changed from her memory yet felt like an entirely different person, the landlady suddenly recalled something.

It was an amusing anecdote her male confidant, who insisted that temperament was more important than looks or makeup, had mentioned during a casual afternoon tea:

In the 1980s, in the Loulan region of western China, two ancient human remains, 3800 years old, were unearthed.

The one with the better temperament was later named the Loulan Beauty by researchers, while the other was perfunctorily called Corpse No. 2.

And now, the Loulan Beauty stood before her.

Transformed from the unremarkable Corpse No. 2.

—As if reborn.

Chapter 2: "Prometheus"

"...The Belobog aircraft carrier battle group is holding a multinational joint military exercise in the Whale Sea..."

After dismissing the annoying sister-complex landlady with the excuse that he would be moving out in a few days, Fu Li leaned against the door once it was closed.

He turned off his phone, which was playing the morning news, and slowly landed with a complex expression.

For humans, the experience of death was inherently a false premise.

The truly deceased had no chance to describe the feeling of death to those still living. Even the most renowned top medical experts, past and present, ancient and modern, could only remain speechless when asked such questions, much like Confucius debating with two children.

Fu Li was different. He could proudly declare, "Nobody knows death better than me."