Shopping with Danzhu and Cang Xuan~, Solving a Minor Honkai

The dessert shop Danzhu mentioned wasn't far from the school, only a few hundred meters, a walk of a few minutes.

Just as she had said, the place was already packed. It was likely they had some real skill in making desserts, otherwise, it wouldn't have become so popular so soon after opening.

"It's all your fault, Cang Xuan! If you had walked a bit faster, we wouldn't have to queue!"

Danzhu, seeing how crowded the shop was that she couldn't even squeeze in, felt a bit annoyed. She turned to her older sister to complain.

"..."

Cang Xuan didn't want to bother with her silly sister.

The four of them had no choice but to wait by the entrance for a short while.

Elysia, finding the atmosphere a bit dull, asked, "Danzhu, Cang Xuan, how were you two chosen by Dr. Mobius?"

"That's easy! It's because we're smart!" Danzhu said proudly.

Unsurprisingly, she received a look from her sister that was akin to looking at an idiot.

"A few months ago, Dr. Mobius posted a recruitment notice in the genetics and biology departments of various universities. All you had to do was solve one small problem for the doctor to be chosen," Cang Xuan explained.

"Dr. Mobius, everyone knows she's the most famous biologist on the entire continent, the lifelong pursuit of almost all bioscience researchers. Danzhu and I were no exception, so we participated."

"And you solved it?" Elysia asked.

"Mm, I solved it. Danzhu was just slacking off the entire time," Cang Xuan said.

"Hey, hey, hey! What do you mean by that? What do you mean I was slacking off? You didn't mention any of my contributions at all?" Danzhu was unhappy upon hearing this, puffing out her cheeks. "If it weren't for me, could your experiments even have been done?"

"Ah... right, thanks to me letting you clean the lab, buy instant noodles, and fetch equipment, you wouldn't even know what you could do," Cang Xuan retorted, not to be outdone, and without holding back.

Elysia watched the two of them bicker back and forth, and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Hmph, I don't want to talk to you anymore. It's a waste of breath," Danzhu snorted and turned her head away.

"Tch." Cang Xuan also turned her head, crossing her arms.

"..."

Finally, it was time for the four of them to go inside.

The shop's interior wasn't very large, otherwise, so many people wouldn't be crammed together.

Looking around, the walls were painted a light cherry blossom pink. It was roughly discernible that the material underneath the paint was wood, though the specific type was unknown.

In the four corners of the ceiling, strings of pink and white balloons were hung, connected to dangling ornaments and flowers.

Above, pink lampshades cast a warm, soft light, illuminating the entire space. LED strips were also used along the edges of the ceiling, and as expected, they were also a warm pink.

There weren't many pieces of furniture in the shop, just five or six pink chairs and two pink and white velvet sofas. Small round tables were white, placed between the chairs, distributed on both sides of the space.

(Don't ask why I describe indoor spaces in such detail every time. It's because the author studied this field, though not very well...)

As soon as Elysia stepped inside, she felt completely won over.

The decoration style of this dessert shop was quite similar to her restaurant in Flame-Moth City, both having a pink theme.

However, if she had to say, her restaurant was definitely more beautiful. After all, a larger space allowed for more details to be noticed.

Most people in the small shop were gathered around the dessert display case in the corner. The four of them walked over and found that the variety of desserts wasn't very large, only macarons, small cakes, chocolates, and various oddly shaped pastries.

The display case was illuminated by lights from top to bottom, making these desserts look so tempting.

Lin Li's eyes immediately fixated on a pink dessert, below which were written the cute words "strawberry flavor."

"Cang Xuan, what do you want to eat?" Danzhu asked.

"A few macarons will be fine, any flavor is okay," Cang Xuan replied.

"A few? Do you have such a big appetite? I'll buy more, you can just have one, and the rest are mine."

"...Whatever you say."

Cang Xuan knew Danzhu was just joking. Saying this now was just to annoy her.

Sigh, her sister was really childish. Sometimes she really didn't want to admit Danzhu was her sister.

Never mind, she was younger than her, so being a little childish... was still somewhat normal.

Elysia walked to the counter without Lin Li needing to prompt her. She ordered only strawberry-flavored desserts, any kind.

There weren't many tables and chairs in the shop, and most of them were occupied. The four of them didn't really want to squeeze with others, so after paying, they prepared to head out the door.

Danzhu, of course, didn't stick to her word of only giving Cang Xuan one. According to her... after all, she was her sister, otherwise Cang Xuan wouldn't get any at all.

Cang Xuan remained silent, just eating there, just like Lin Li.

She didn't really want to argue with Danzhu. Letting Danzhu have a sense of victory by being silent occasionally wasn't bad.

Elysia was different. She kept sticking close to Lin Li, feeding her and touching her. Lin Li was almost at her limit.

Fortunately, in crowded places, Elysia wouldn't act too unrestrained.

Honestly, being with Elysia made Lin Li suddenly prefer crowded places more.

After leaving the shop, Elysia and Lin Li walked in front, followed by the incessantly chattering Danzhu and the silent Cang Xuan.

"I can't take it anymore, this darn box is too heavy. Um... Lin Li, could you help me carry it?" Danzhu stopped and asked somewhat sheepishly.

"Can't handle it already? I haven't even said I'm tired, and you're the one getting worn out?" Cang Xuan seized the opportunity to mock her, setting down the box and putting her hands behind her back with a shake.

She was indeed tired; her hands had gone numb.

"Hmph, how can I be the same as you? I was talking so much, I was practically dying of thirst. How could I not be tired?" Dan Zhu retorted.

"Then who told you to talk so much?"

"You... Hmph!"

Lin Li's eyes twitched. After thinking for a moment, she said:

"Okay."

She felt too embarrassed to refuse. If a guy had said that to her, she wouldn't have even considered it, but seeing as Dan Zhu was quite lively and cute, and had left a good impression on her, she decided... to let go of Elysia's hand and pick up the suitcase.

"?"

Elysia's beautiful brows furrowed.

Lin Li was now holding the suitcase in one hand and the snacks in the other, leaving no third hand for Elysia to hold.

It seemed there was no other way.

Elysia looked behind her, and before Cang Xuan could even speak, she took the suitcase herself.

Cang Xuan: "Thanks? (?ω?)"

The suitcase was indeed quite heavy. Elysia felt a strain when she first took hold of it, but she quickly adapted.

But this was nothing to Lin Li. She felt that with her intermediate-level strength, she could lift several such boxes at once and still be at ease.

She couldn't help but imagine what her strength would be like at its peak in the future... Could she lift a mountain? Would that be a bit of an exaggeration...

She remembered that at the advanced level of strength, her description was: "One punch can pierce a tank."

She didn't know how tough a tank was. She had only caught a glimpse of one when fighting a Herrscher at that time, and she didn't have a concrete standard in mind. However, as one of the most powerful armored weapons, being able to pierce one with a single punch... tsk.

When Lin Li snapped back to reality, she found Elysia waving the hand holding the snacks in front of her eyes.

"Xiao Li, zoning out again? Did you hear what I just said?"

"Uh... No, what did you say?" Lin Li asked, sounding a bit dazed.

"Sigh, honestly..." Elysia handed the snacks to Cang Xuan for safekeeping and picked up her phone to show Lin Li.

On it was a message from Er, stating that a small, uninhabited area in the far eastern Changkong City outskirts had detected minor HW fluctuations. It was estimated to be a small Honkai outbreak. Since the two of them were nearby, they were asked to investigate.

"Hmm... When do we go?"

"Right now, of course, you idiot. A Honkai outbreak is very dangerous!"

Elysia rolled her eyes, gave a few instructions to Dan Zhu and Cang Xuan behind her, and then directly took a taxi with Lin Li.

The two girls didn't know what Elysia had said, but they just kept nodding.

After they had completely left, Dan Zhu asked Cang Xuan with a bewildered expression:

"Huh? They just left like that?"

"Yeah, maybe they had something urgent? I think I heard something about a mission, Honkai, or something."

"Honkai? What's that?"

"I don't know. Anyway, we shouldn't wander around randomly." Cang Xuan shook her head. "Didn't you just add Lin Li's contact info? She'll probably contact you after her mission is done. Let's just stroll around nearby."

"Okay... but what about this?" Dan Zhu looked at the snacks Lin Li had just put into her hands, looking a bit troubled.

"Just eat it. In this weather, it'll probably go bad in less than half an hour. We can always buy her more later."

"Mmm, okay, then I won't be polite."

Dan Zhu had likely been waiting for Cang Xuan to say this, as she ate with absolutely no restraint.

From then on, a new delicacy was added to Dan Zhu's list of food discoveries – strawberry-flavored snacks~

In a desolate forest on the outskirts of Changkong City, a silver-white SUV slowly came to a stop.

"Young ladies, what are you doing here? Are you meeting someone?" the driver uncle asked, a little confused.

"Yes, in a way, but the person we're meeting is a bit special."

"Then be careful. It's not very safe around here lately, with many wild animals roaming. Hmm... how about I wait here? That way, it'll be more convenient for you if you want to leave."

"Okay, thank you, Uncle!"

Elysia gave a sweet smile and then pulled Lin Li towards the depths of the forest.

She took out the folding bow from her waist, and Lin Li's eyes widened.

"This is... so amazing."

"Hmm... It's quite normal. These folding weapons are very common in Flame-Moth. I'll pick one out for you later, Xiao Li, okay?" Elysia said with a smile. "When girls are out on their own, they need to protect themselves. It's not excessive to carry a bow, is it?"

"...Not excessive." Lin Li replied, still finding it hard to believe that the unfolded longbow now was the small package Elysia had been wearing on her waist earlier. "But you don't have any arrows?"

"Arrows? Hmm... Actually, I have folding ones. I originally wanted to bring them, but I definitely wouldn't be able to get through airport security like that, so I didn't bring them." Elysia said with some regret. "But it's okay. Aren't there many branches here? These can also serve as arrows. Although it's quite damaging to the bow."

"……Alright."

After listening to Elysia's explanation, Lin Li didn't say anything else, or rather, she couldn't say anything.

She didn't have a single weapon herself, completely unarmed.

But she was strong! That was enough!

"Where is the Honkai?" Lin Li asked.

"It's right beside us," Elysia said softly, a hint of solemnity in her eyes.

Even though it was just a small Honkai, possibly only producing one Honkai Beast, this was the wilderness. If the Honkai energy infected any particularly dangerous animals, they would have to be careful.

Rustle—

The two stood holding their breath, suddenly hearing movement behind them.

Lin Li instinctively turned her head and saw a gaping maw opening towards her.

At the last second, Elysia released the bow and arrow she had already nocked. Although the arrow was just a twig, the knockback effect it caused made the pinkish-purple wolf feel threatened and run off elsewhere.

"Xiao Li, you need to be careful. I'm not joking," Elysia said, looking back. "Generally, no matter what type of Honkai it is, there's a source. Once that source is dealt with, the Honkai will disappear."

"That wolf just now was probably just a small infected creature. Let's go further in. This forest isn't big, it won't be too far."

"…Okay."

Lin Li's heart was pounding.

That was close.

She had already decided that once she saved enough money, her next stat point would definitely go into Reaction. Otherwise, having all that speed was useless.

She could feel Elysia gripping her hand tightly. Her companion was probably quite nervous too, but it seemed to be out of concern for her.

She couldn't be a burden.

The two continued walking and, sure enough, after a while, they found a larger wolf. It was currently tearing at bloody chunks of meat on the ground. It should have been a wolf, but it was hard to tell now.

"Shh…" Elysia made a shushing gesture and quietly raised her bow.

But at this moment, Lin Li noticed that behind them, a wolf was watching them with predatory eyes.

It was a normal wolf, with no signs of Honkai infection.

What should she do?

Lin Li was burning with anxiety. Elysia was concentrating on aiming, and she didn't dare interrupt, so she could only guard their rear alone.

She only had her fists, but what could fists do? If she punched, what would happen to the wolf?

Would it die? Where would she have to hit it to kill it? Was her speed faster than the wolf's?

Numerous questions swirled in Lin Li's mind, but she didn't dare to think too much.

—Whoosh.

Elysia shot an arrow. The large wolf in front of them was hit in the eye. It let out a howl and charged towards them.

Behind them, the normal wolf, which had already been restless, also began to sprint.

It seemed a fierce battle was inevitable.