"I'm Qin Shi Huang. Actually, I didn't die—I've lived until now. But I recently ran into an accident, and my funds were frozen by a Swiss bank. If you give me a thousand yuan, once my funds are unfrozen, I'll split half of the Great Qin Treasure I left behind with you."
The passage above was from a famous scam that once circulated online throughout Shenzhou for a time.
Because it was so ridiculously absurd, it became unusually popular online for a period, even reaching Mei, who lived in the island nation.
However, Mei still remained skeptical about whether this incident was real or merely a joke that existed on the internet.
After all, the scam was simply too absurd. She couldn't believe anyone would use a scam that sounded like a joke to deceive people, nor could she believe anyone would fall for it.
But today, Mei felt that perhaps this incident might actually be true.
Why, you ask...
Watching the Silver-haired Youth ramble on endlessly before her, Mei rubbed her temples with considerable exasperation.
"I'm Kevin Kaslana, the First Flame-Chaser of the previous era's civilization, 'Fire Moth.'"
He was a silver-haired, blue-eyed youth dressed in a pure white shirt. A faint smile rested on his face, and his handsome features could make any inexperienced girl fall hopelessly under his spell.
At that moment, the youth was looking at Mei, who was wearing the Senba Academy uniform. His deep-blue eyes were filled with an expression of "sincerity."
"Back then, I wielded a Heavenly Fire and committed self-immolation. Killing Herrschers was as easy as killing Crimson."
Mei: "..."
For some reason, she felt as though she had been offended.
"Although the civilization of the previous era was destroyed, I didn't die. Instead, I lived until now."
"And I even founded an incredibly badass organization called 'World Serpent.'"
"However, World Serpent ran into some trouble recently, which caused our funding chain to collapse. All you need to do is give me ten million—ten million!"
As he spoke, the youth raised one finger and waved it in front of Mei.
"Once I solve our funding problem, lead World Serpent to kick Anti-Entropy's ass, crush Schicksal, and conquer the world, I'll give this country to you. I'll even find you a wife called Kiana the Paramecium, and twist Otto's head off for you to kick around like a ball. How does that sound?"
Not good at all!
The refined upbringing expected of a young lady made Mei hold back from saying that aloud. She looked at the youth before her, who was speaking with such conviction and wearing a "sincere" expression, and felt a headache coming on.
Who was Kiana?
And who was Otto?
Why did she have to marry Kiana?
And why did she have to kick Otto's head around like a ball?
Also, Kevin Kaslana, the previous era's civilization...
Well, his imagination was pretty good, but she still found Qin Shi Huang's story more believable and realistic.
Come to think of it, could this guy really be trying to scam her with this speech?
Looking at the Silver-haired Youth before her, Mei felt that surely no one could be this naïve, right?
"Um, sir, you... were joking just now, weren't you?"
"You actually figured that out?"
Mei: "..."
Looking at the astonished youth before her, even Mei's cultivated patience began to give way to an urge to hit him.
"Actually, I'm your fiancé, Kevin Kaslana, Mei."
"Um, my name is Mei."
"Oh, so this is a Honkai Gakuen 2 setting?"
"..."
Watching the youth stroke his chin with a thoughtful expression, Mei quietly exhaled. Her gaze had already grown somewhat cold.
"It's getting late. I still have things to do. If you're not going to speak seriously, then I'm afraid I'll have to take my leave."
Given Mei's gentle personality, she normally wouldn't be this impatient.
But Mei had been through a lot recently and truly wasn't in the mood to listen to a stranger spout incomprehensible nonsense.
As for whether the youth's words were true...
Her father might not have been very competent, but he would absolutely never joke about her lifelong happiness.
Seeing that Mei seemed about to lose her temper, the Silver-haired Youth finally stopped making references and put on a pleading expression.
"Fine, fine, I won't joke around anymore!"
The youth said this somewhat helplessly, revealing the cleanest, faintest smile he had shown Mei since approaching her.
"My name is Dong Moxuan. I'm a friend of your father's."
As he spoke, the youth pointed toward the door beside Mei.
"Won't you invite me in to sit for a while?"
Dong Moxuan. It was a name overflowing with ancient Chinese flavor.
Following the usual conventions, a name like this should have appeared in a historical wuxia novel. At worst, it would have belonged in a xuanhuan novel—or even a Jinjiang story.
Yet, perhaps because Dong Moxuan had been a slacker captain during his lifetime, after his unexpected death, he had somehow arrived in the world of Honkai.
Unfortunately, he had become one of the weakest beings at the very bottom of this world: a feeble, pitiful, and helpless dead apostle.
This caused his plan to throw himself into the front lines of the fight against Honkai, just as he had in his previous life, to die before it could even begin.
Still, this world seemed to have shown him the last of its mercy. Unlike in some of the Honkai fanfictions he had read, it hadn't changed his gender and turned him into a woman.
Therefore, if miHoYo's settings from his previous life hadn't been wrong, he should be the only male dead apostle in this world.
Furthermore, as a transmigrator, he was very different from ordinary dead apostles.
For example, he could retain normal mental faculties, unlike the other dead apostles, who were all irritable older sisters that chopped people up at the slightest provocation.
For another example, he could temporarily restrain the Honkai Energy within his body, making himself appear no different from an ordinary human.
It was relying on this ability that he had managed to infiltrate Changkong City.
However, after arriving in Changkong City, he discovered something extremely serious—his bank card seemed to have been frozen.
In other words, he was currently penniless.
Although money had very little presence in the world of Honkai, the truth was that when the story had just begun, Honkai hadn't yet broken out on a massive scale. This world was actually not that different from the one he had lived in before.
At least on the surface, that was the case. At the very least, it was true of Changkong City at that time.
Therefore, if he couldn't solve his financial problem, it was likely that a tragedy along the lines of "Shocking! The secret that ninety-nine percent of the people in this world don't know: Even dead apostles can..." would occur.
Then, just as Dong Moxuan was considering how to make money, he suddenly saw Mei, who had just finished school. His brain short-circuited, and the events described above took place.
Oh, and by the way, Dong Moxuan hadn't been lying in the end. He really did know Raiden Ryoma.
As for whether they were good friends...
Only heaven knew.
Before you continue