The Storm Approaches

For the people in this city, it should have been just another ordinary rainy night.

The girl, wearing a cheap raincoat, ran through the rainy night, carrying the food she had earned from a day of odd jobs and selling flowers in the evening.

She was lucky today. In the evening, she met a couple who looked very attractive. She dared to say that the girl in the couple was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen. The girl complimented her flowers, and the boy paid for all of them. He also asked her why she was selling flowers there. She didn't trust strangers, so she answered that it was to help support her family. The boy then said, "Since it's to help support your family, try to go before dark."

If given a choice, who would want to be out and about like this every day?

He is someone who truly lives the life of an ordinary person. How can he imagine how hard she, someone struggling at the bottom of this city, has to work to survive?

She came to a run-down apartment, a place that could still be called "home".

This place will soon be demolished. The city can't tolerate a backward and dilapidated apartment building. A skyscraper will rise from the ground. The original residents here will receive a compensation payment, neither too much nor too little. She plans to move away from the city with her sister after receiving the money.

We moved away from this city where we felt no warmth.

"Sophia, I'm here." The girl opened the door. The room was dark, the lights were off, and no one answered her.

"Sophia!" She turned on the light and called her sister's name again.

There was still no response.

She recalled a legend that had recently spread throughout the city: on rainy nights, demons would emerge from the shadows and snatch children who were home alone.

The food in the girl's hand fell to the ground, but she didn't care. She turned on all the lights in the cramped little house and called her sister's name over and over again.

There was no response; there was no one else there except her.

The sound of knocking on the floor came from the ceiling, as if the person upstairs was annoyed by her noise.

"It's so noisy, can't you be quiet for once?" The young man living next door appeared impatiently at the door. "You've lived in this crappy place for so long, don't you know how bad the soundproofing is?"

"I... excuse me, have you seen my sister?" the girl asked with a glimmer of hope.

"I don't care where your sister is. If you can't find her, just call the police. Don't make a scene here." After saying that, the young man went to his house, and the sound of him closing the door was particularly jarring in the quiet rainy night.

A hotel somewhere.

Zhu Yufeng looked at the heavy rain outside the window, drew the curtains, and said to Sakura and Elysia, "According to Kevin's memory, the size of this organization is smaller than the initial estimate of the Fire Moth. Their main test subjects come from the city, those who are not noticed by the people and are struggling on the edge of survival... the little people."

"Indeed, Hen also told us that the police station here has been receiving a lot of reports of missing persons recently, and most of the missing persons are from the lower class." Sakura said, revealing the information she had obtained. "However, the police station only investigated it briefly and then stopped. Although there is a young man who is still investigating, overall, it can be considered that they will not continue to investigate this matter."

"Because they are dispensable to this city, and there is no need to spend unnecessary police resources on them, right?" Zhu Yufeng said. "Recently, there have been many unidentified wild beasts appearing in the city. The Fire Moth Honkai Beast from Honkai Beast the police injured during a blockade."

Honkai Beast can be born from Honkai Energy, or they can be formed from animals that have been infected by Honkai Energy and mutated. When I took Pardo on my first mission, the so-called "mountain god" in that place came about in this way.

"To prevent the Honkai Beast from harming people further, the police have also mobilized a large number of officers. Even though the Fire Moth ... isn't really a part of these people's lives." Elysia smiled helplessly. "So... this is their predicament."

"I don't think the police would have put much effort into finding people even without the Honkai Beast injuring people," Zhu Yufeng thought to himself.

He turned his gaze to the flowers in the vase.

The rapid development of technology has fostered a cold society, which is particularly evident in this city. He noticed this when he came out of the noodle shop earlier. People on the street were in a hurry, and a young girl was selling flowers by herself, but almost no one stopped to watch her.

He asked the girl why she was selling flowers there, and she replied that it was to help support her family. Unexpectedly, she was definitely lying. Although her clothes were clean and tidy, the signs of wear and tear were undeniable.

Speaking of which, besides Pardo who grew up in Dusk Street, there seems to be another one...

Zhu Yufeng looked at Elysia. This one must have traveled through the world since childhood, right? Fortunately, she always manages to meet some kind people and witness the brilliance that shines in this era.

But not everyone is lucky, and besides... even Elysia was tricked by Pardo.

Zhu Yufeng withdrew his gaze and said, "Starting tomorrow, we'll search for clues about that organization in this city. The Fire Moth will also soon seal off the city, and they'll slip up at that time. Although Kevin said we could find a reason to find out the location of their base first, report it directly to the higher-ups, and take action to destroy the organization in advance."

"Unfortunately, Kevin has forgotten where the organization's base is." Elysia shrugged and said, "But you can't blame him. After so much time, it's good that he can still remember some details about this mission."

Elysia gets angry when she thinks about the three of them eating noodles together when she met with Kevin. Why couldn't they be a little more romantic? Why did they have to eat noodles together like that?

"So we still need to focus our attention on those living at the bottom of the city?" Sakura said. "He will get the investigation report from the police, and we can also find some clues based on that."

"No, this time it should be easier than the last one," Zhu Yufeng said. "After all, we have Pardo in our team this time, don't we?"

Pardo is quite skilled at gathering intelligence, and her identity also makes it easier for her to contact that organization. At the same time, it is also quite easy for her to deal with that organization.

No matter how dangerous the situation, Pardo's strong luck would allow her to escape successfully, unless... that shouldn't be the case. Before coming, he had repeatedly told Pardo that protecting herself should be the priority.

However... Kosma and Disaster are more worrying.

Hopefully, nothing unexpected will happen.

"Speaking of which, when we parted, Pardo told me something. She said she saw Xila," Sakura said.

"Xila?" Zhu Yufeng was somewhat surprised. "She's here? Does she also have some kind of mission?"

"I don't know, but since Kevin doesn't have any memories of Xila, she probably wasn't involved in this affair," Sakura said.

"Lilith is here, Nahamah is here, Xila is here too, if Mostima also comes to join the fun, then it will really be..." Zhu Yufeng thought for a moment, he didn't know what to say.

Is it possible that this time, the Thirteen Fallen Angels... in some way, were also intertwined with the Thirteen Flame-Chasers in terms of fate?

It must be... a coincidence, right?

An underground smelting factory.

"Welcome, Lord 'Arc Moon' and 'Evil Eye' have come to us in person to cooperate with us." A man in a suit and tie said to the girl in front of him who was wearing a mask that only revealed one eye.

The girl didn't speak, but another woman beside her said, "Let's skip the formalities. It's just that the leader is interested in the device that can temporarily enhance a person's explosive power, which is why we're cooperating with you. So, you have to show us the results."

"Of course, Lady Modesti, our research has made considerable progress. However, the extent to which we can reach is indeed somewhat limited, so... we need the assistance of 'Arc Moon'." The man in the suit said, leading the two to an iron cage.

"What is this thing?" Modesti asked, examining the monster in the cage. To the best of her knowledge, this monster was beyond her comprehension.

"Nathaniel, you explain this to the two ladies," the man in the suit said to a man in a white coat and glasses.

"Honkai energy." The bespectacled man pushed up his glasses and stepped forward, saying, "Honkai Energy, this most recently discovered energy source has immense potential. It not only has a powerful power supply effect on machines, but it can also be effective on humans and beasts. The Mu Continent prohibits Scholar other than their own Scholar from researching it, and the whole world prohibits its use for any industrial purposes. This is simply an absurd practice."

He paused, then pointed to the monster in the iron cage and said, "Look, we've applied Honkai Energy to the cheetah, and its speed has surpassed the theoretical limit. In other words, it has evolved. Of course, its aggression has also become stronger. At the same time, some other changes have occurred. It no longer needs other food for nutrition; Honkai Energy is its food. And Honkai Energy... although it's somewhat difficult to collect, it only needs a small amount to Honkai Energy its life."

"Xila, what do you think?" Modesti asked the girl beside her.

"Weak," Xila said without any emotion.

Nathaniel's eyes widened. He rushed to Xila and said, "Miss 'Evil Eye,' I think your assumption is wrong. Even with the police surrounding it, it was only slightly injured, while we only used a little Honkai Energy to make it self-repair. Its combat power far surpasses any other creature in this world!"

"But it is still weak," Xila said very honestly.

"Go ahead, go ahead. Since our Miss 'Evil Eye' doesn't believe in its power, then let us demonstrate it." Nathaniel looked at the man in the suit.

The man in the suit looked at Xila, "But... we don't have a suitable opponent."

"I'll do it," Xila said decisively.

"Xila, are you confident?" Modesti.

"It is weak," Xila said, repeating the same words.

The word "weak" struck a nerve with Nathaniel, who nearly went mad as he exclaimed, "Then let's try it! And the facts will prove that your assumptions are absurd!"

The group quickly arrived at the next level of the experimental site.

Modesti glanced around at her surroundings and muttered, "It's just like a gladiatorial arena..."

She glanced at Xila beside her again. Beast fighting... She always felt that Xila was not human, or rather, not a normal human. She had no needs, no emotions, and only knew how to carry out missions.

Calling her a beast wouldn't be right; at least beasts have some desires or something, Xila has absolutely no desires at all. She's practically a human weapon...

Upon entering the experimental site, the modified monster was released from its cage. Attacking it allowed it to pounce on Xila at an astonishing speed. However, Xila merely turned slightly to the side, avoiding its initial pounce, and then, with even greater speed, stabbed it in the body with a military dagger in its hand, piercing through its core.

The monster was killed in an instant.

Nathaniel was so shocked he couldn't speak. A whole bunch of police officers could only hurt the monster, but this girl killed it so easily?

Is this what happens to the top-ranked assassins in the world?

"I told you, it's weak," Xila said calmly, putting away his bayonet.

"The only one who can Xila age to Sira is probably that Crimson Night Sakura, right? It's a pity that her organization was wiped out half a year ago, and her whereabouts are unknown," Modesti said.

Recovering from his initial shock, Nathaniel wanted to rush to Xila immediately and give her a full medical examination. If possible, he wanted to immediately experiment on Xila using his own abilities.

He was pulled back by Modesti said calmly, "Stop your disgusting fanaticism. If you don't want to be torn to pieces by Xila in the next second, watch your behavior."

Then she looked at the man in the suit and said, "I've at least seen the results regarding the beast experiments, since the opponent was Xila, so this outcome is normal. But what about the results regarding the human experiments?"

The man in the suit didn't answer, but calmly said to Nathaniel, "Of course we've already prepared for that, and the experimental materials just arrived today."

In a top-tier suite of a luxury hotel.

"Wow, as expected of Miss House Attagina, she's so generous!" The light blonde girl tossed herself onto the sofa. "This sofa is way more luxurious than any I've ever touched before!"

"If you like it, I can buy one for you, Mostima," Lilith said calmly.

"Really?" Mostima's eyes lit up. "You're the most generous friend I've ever met, Lilith."

Lilith walked to the French windows, looked at the heavy rain outside, and said, "It's just an equal exchange. I asked you to do something for me, did you do it?"

"Of course, since Miss Lilith is so concerned, how could I, as your friend, not do my best?" Mostima said with a smile.

"It's getting windy," Lilith said, looking at the night sky.