A pilot was chatting with the girl seated in the back of a helicopter.
The girl had medium-length pink hair tied neatly behind her head with a hair tie. Her lively blue eyes were observing the ruins below the helicopter.
Her features were delicate, and her pale gray combat suit accentuated her fair skin. She had a slender, elegant figure, and a faint hint of sorrow lingered in her eyes.
"Why do you have Dr. Mobius's badge, Elysia... recruit?"
"Of course Dr. Mobius gave it to me herself. Otherwise, did you think I stole it?" Elysia replied with a smile.
"Compared to the first possibility, I'd rather believe you stole it." The pilot spoke expressionlessly. "In Flame-Moth, no one can get along with Dr. Mobius, much less a rookie who just joined."
"Um... maybe it's because I'm cute? The Doctor likes my type, you know?" Elysia rolled her eyes playfully.
"..."
The pilot neither confirmed nor denied it.
He had just been about to continue the conversation when Elysia suddenly stopped him.
"Stop! Go to that rooftop!"
Hearing that, he immediately began searching for the rooftop Elysia meant.
He found it quickly. On one rooftop, a Deadwalker was chasing a girl dressed in a white skirt.
The girl seemed to be running out of strength. She could not even outrun the Deadwalker.
"Hurry!"
Elysia was nearly frantic as she urged the pilot onward. At the same time, she prepared to lower the ladder and descend onto the rooftop.
More than ten seconds later, Elysia landed successfully.
She nocked an arrow, drew the bowstring, and fired in one fluid motion, shooting the Deadwalker dead right in front of Lin Li.
Still shaken, Lin Li stared at the scene. Some of the Deadwalker's blood had splattered onto the hem of her white skirt, staining it a deep red.
Gulp.
Lin Li swallowed and looked at the pink-haired girl who had helped her, her eyes filled with gratitude.
"Thank you for saving me..."
"Oh my, no need to thank me. Hurry up and get up, then come with me. It isn't safe here."
Elysia stepped forward, grabbed Lin Li's wrist, and pulled her to her feet.
Her skin is so soft and smooth. It feels so nice, too.
Elysia turned around to look at the helicopter that had brought her here, only to see it fly away!
At the same time, her radio crackled.
"Elysia, I need to support the front line. Please evacuate the civilians and ensure the survivors' safety."
"...Sigh." Elysia sighed, then looked at Lin Li and said,
"Well, it looks like the two of us will have to work together."
"Um... could you tell me what's happening right now? Is this the end of the world?" Lin Li asked.
"Pfft... the end of the world? Well, it does seem a little like that. Anyway, this is a disaster called Honkai. It might be a little complicated to explain, so let's leave first." After saying that, Elysia pulled Lin Li through the rooftop door.
"Okay..." Lin Li was not disappointed by that.
She did not know what had happened, but... she would take things one step at a time.
The two walked through the high-rise building for a while. Along the way, they encountered many monsters like the Deadwalker, but Elysia easily dealt with all of them.
From then on, Lin Li's gaze toward Elysia held an extra hint of admiration and reverence. Of course, there was also a trace of envy.
"You don't have to look at me like that. I may seem impressive now, but I trained for a long time. I'm only a tiny bit stronger than ordinary people," Elysia said with a smile, sensing the burning gaze behind her.
"But I feel like you could punch several people like me to death with one hit." Lin Li said that from the bottom of her heart.
"Um... what kind of comparison is that? That's a little exaggerated." Elysia shook her head, then suddenly moved closer to Lin Li and examined her carefully.
"What's your name? You're so pretty, so your name must sound nice too, right?"
"Lin Li."
Apparently unaccustomed to Elysia suddenly moving so close, Lin Li took a step back.
Just now, she had clearly seen the slight flutter of the girl's lashes and those bright blue eyes, which looked rather mischievous.
"It really does sound lovely." Elysia praised her. "My name is Elysia. Remember it, okay?"
"Okay."
Lin Li nodded and committed that name to memory.
So there were people in this world with the surname Ai. Was this what one would expect from a transmigrated world?
"Um, could you stop holding my hand?" Lin Li felt Elysia's grip on her wrist getting tighter and could not help asking.
"No. What if you run into danger? How would I pull you over in time?" Elysia refused.
She had finally run into such a cute girl! She had to spend a little more time with her. Otherwise, after today, who knew how long it would be before they met again?
There was actually another way: she could invite Lin Li to join Flame-Moth as a soldier. But judging from how Lin Li had faced the Deadwalker just now... that would probably be difficult.
After some time, they cleared out every monster in the high-rise building.
More precisely, Elysia cleared them out alone. As for Lin Li's role... all she had to do was keep herself safe.
Strangely enough, Lin Li was the only living person in the entire building.
Elysia began sizing up the somewhat frail-looking girl before her.
"Um, why are you looking at me like that? You're not going to silence me, are you..."
Lin Li trembled beneath that gaze, already preparing to run.
Elysia was so strong that Lin Li probably would not last even a few seconds if they fought.
"Silence you? Why would you think that?" Elysia tilted her head. "I was thinking about where we should go now."
"But didn't you come here by helicopter?" Lin Li asked.
"Yes, but... the pilot may have thought I got here in a rather unofficial way, so he left me here to rescue survivors." Elysia sighed, looking somewhat sad.
Seeing Elysia like that, Lin Li wanted to comfort her. But as a shut-in who had never even held a boy's hand, comforting someone... was a little difficult.
Though Elysia was a girl, she looked a little older than Lin Li.
So after holding it in for a long time, Lin Li finally managed to say,
"Don't be sad."
"I'm not sad. Thank you for caring about me, Xiao Li." Elysia smiled happily.
Like a flower blooming in spring, her smile was warm and radiant, instantly dazzling Lin Li.
"Actually, I really did get here in a rather unofficial way. That's my little secret, so don't tell anyone, okay?"
"..."
Then what were you looking sad about just now? You even made me think about how to comfort you.
Lin Li rolled her eyes and grumbled inwardly.
The two left the high-rise and stepped onto the city streets.
Dust and smoke filled the sky, while all sorts of pink-and-white monsters wandered through the streets.
"Where did those people from before go? I remember seeing lots of people running around down here when we were up there."
"They probably evacuated on their own. After all, Flame-Moth notified them at the very beginning of the disaster."
Elysia casually shot a monster dead and continued forward without looking back.
"Flame-Moth? What's that?"
"It's where I belong. It's like... a kind of military organization that specializes in dealing with Honkai." Elysia thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Actually, I only joined Flame-Moth a few days ago, so I don't know much about it either."
"..."
Lin Li was still being led along by Elysia.
The deathly silence of the streets and the ruins before them matched perfectly. Even just looking around brought forth an overwhelming sense of despair.
This had probably once been a prosperous city, but now there was nothing left.
What exactly was Honkai? It was powerful enough to do this and could even summon monsters she had never seen before...
Lin Li once again sighed at how different another world truly was.
"So what should we do now? Didn't you need to evacuate the civilians?"
"The civilians have already been evacuated. Now we're going to subdue someone formidable." Elysia pointed at the sky, toward the golden figure Lin Li had seen before.
"That's a Herrscher, the name Flame-Moth gave her. It roughly means... someone very powerful, I suppose?"
"Um, she does look powerful. Is she a bad person?" Lin Li asked curiously.
"I don't know whether she's a bad person, but she's the culprit behind what happened to this city. That's all I need to know."
As Elysia spoke, she narrowed her eyes slightly and pulled Lin Li behind her. The two hid in a small alley that had not yet been completely reduced to ruins.
A few seconds later, a wormhole suddenly appeared where they had been standing. The next moment, the golden figure from the sky floated above the street, looking down over the surroundings.
"Shh..."
Elysia gently covered Lin Li's mouth, stopping her from making a sound.
She had almost failed to notice it. The Herrscher had already seen them. Fortunately, Elysia had reacted quickly, or they would have been finished.
"Mmph..."
Being covered over the mouth was truly uncomfortable, but Lin Li could tell Elysia was not teasing her. She could sense the tension emanating from her.
Perhaps Elysia was even more nervous than Lin Li right now.
The Herrscher remained there for several dozen seconds. Once she confirmed there were no living things within sight, she returned to the sky.
She flew elsewhere, where a large modern armed force was waiting for her.
Elysia finally released Lin Li's mouth.
"Actually, you..."
"Shh..."
Elysia placed her index finger against Lin Li's lips, signaling her not to speak.
They waited a little longer. Only after confirming that the Herrscher had completely left did Elysia's expression return to normal.
"Actually, you could have let go after covering my mouth for a moment. I know how to keep from making any noise."
"Um... sorry, I'll keep that in mind next time~" Elysia smiled apologetically.
But what she was really thinking was: Lin Li's lips are so soft. If I pinched them, would they swell up right away?
"There'll be a next time?"
"..."
Elysia pulled her out of the alley.
"Um, so are we going to fight that person now? She's flying in the sky. No matter how you think about it, that seems impossible, doesn't it?"
"But that's Flame-Moth's mission."
"But I'm just an ordinary person. How about... you take me somewhere safe first?" Lin Li asked tentatively.
Though she felt that was unlikely. Elysia clearly seemed determined to take on that Herrscher, and she did not appear particularly concerned about where Lin Li ended up.
Besides, Lin Li was a useless person with low-tier stats in every category and no ability to fight. No matter who she fought, she would just be throwing her life away, right?
"Um... all right. But I actually don't know of anywhere safe nearby. How about you come with me for now, Xiao Li? When I go to subdue her later, you can find somewhere safe to wait for me. Okay?" Elysia turned around, looking troubled.
"Okay..."
"Could you stop calling me Xiao Li? It sounds... a little unfamiliar."
"You'll get used to it if I keep calling you that. Or... you can call me Elysia too? I'd be very happy if a cute girl called me that." Elysia said with a smile.
"...Forget it. Call me whatever you want." Lin Li had no choice.
This person's way of thinking seemed a little different from normal people's?
Before you continue