Sobbing Sobbing Sobbing

"Even after things reached this point, you still don't want to..."

Bronya's words remained unfinished, because Dong Moxuan had already reached out and pulled the adorable girl into his arms.

"Bro... Brother..."

Feeling the familiar warmth of the young man's body, Bronya instantly cast her earlier sadness aside, and her cheeks flushed bright red.

"How could I hate Bronya?"

Holding the Silver-haired loli's soft body, Dong Moxuan gently stroked Bronya's smooth hair.

"I should say that I like Bronya the most!"

"It's just that I have things I need to do. I really can't return to Anti-Entropy."

"Bronya, you can understand me, right?"

"B-but..."

Embarrassed beyond belief by Dong Moxuan's intimate actions, Bronya still hesitated.

"There's no 'but'!"

Dong Moxuan cut her off directly.

"However, although I can't return with Bronya, Bronya can come with me!"

"Come with... Brother?!"

After hearing Dong Moxuan's words, Bronya's expression froze slightly. She seemed somewhat tempted.

However, unlike Dong Moxuan, she still had some principles, so she remained conflicted.

"But what about Mother Cocolia..."

"Cocolia won't blame you!"

Seeing that the girl seemed tempted, Dong Moxuan immediately pressed his advantage.

"After all, she's your mother! She should be happy as long as Bronya can be happy!"

"Besides, Cocolia still has Liliya, Rozaliya, and An by her side. Even if Bronya isn't there, she won't be too troubled."

"But, Bronya..."

Dong Moxuan looked at the girl in his arms, his tone exceptionally serious.

"As for me, I can't do without you!"

Bronya: "..."

"Brother, you... can't do without Bronya?"

Dong Moxuan's final words dealt Bronya a devastating blow to her intelligence. She became so dizzy that she looked as if she had gotten drunk.

"So Bronya is this important in Brother's heart?"

"So, Bronya, can you leave Changkong City with me?"

"..."

"Mm..."

Bronya nodded shyly.

In the end, Bronya fell to Dong Moxuan's sweet talk and agreed to his proposal.

Seeing this, Dong Moxuan held the girl in his arms and curled his lips into a faint smile.

As expected, Bronya was easy to deal with.

Meanwhile, Kiana, who had watched the entire scene from the side, wore a solemn expression.

"Hey, purple-haired girl. That guy looks like a habitual offender. Should we call the police?"

"Miss Kiana..."

Seeing how serious Kiana looked, Mei could only laugh helplessly.

However, when she looked at Dong Moxuan and Bronya ahead of them, she also relaxed slightly.

This powerful enemy, Bronya, had finally been dealt with.

Although the method of dealing with her had been somewhat beyond Mei's expectations.

At the same time, Dong Moxuan gently set Bronya down and prepared to call Mei and Kiana over to leave the bridge first.

Their battle had attracted quite a few Honkai-infected creatures. If they didn't leave now, the bridge would soon be surrounded.

However, before he could say anything, the bridge suddenly began to tremble.

"Eh? Why did an earthquake suddenly start?"

Feeling the shaking beneath her feet, Kiana spoke instinctively.

Naturally, Dong Moxuan wasn't as adorably clueless as Kiana. Relying on his perception, he quickly sensed the cause of the phenomenon.

"It's underwater!"

Dong Moxuan's expression turned serious.

"Eh? Underwater?"

Kiana looked bewildered.

"What's underwater? Something's about to—oh no... Catch!"

Before Dong Moxuan could finish speaking, he seemed to sense something. His expression changed, and he directly threw Bronya toward Mei.

At the same time, he released a wave of Honkai Energy, sending the three of them straight to the other side of the bridge.

The next second...

Boom!

Amid a violent roar, a building that looked highly advanced slowly rose from beneath the river.

An extraordinarily powerful repulsive force erupted from the building, forcing the river water aside. In an instant, the bridge was submerged, and the bridge was severed in the middle.

Dong Moxuan was also swept away by the waves, and no one knew where he had been flung.

"Jun Xuan!"

Seeing Dong Moxuan swept away, Mei instinctively cried out.

She ran to the riverbank and desperately searched the river, but found nothing.

"How could this happen... Jun Xuan..."

Mei was momentarily left distraught.

Bronya, standing nearby, was also somewhat dumbfounded.

Where was her brother?

Where had that enormous brother of hers just gone?

How had he suddenly disappeared?

"Purple-haired girl!"

At that moment, Kiana was the first to recover.

"Porn Xuan was probably swept away by the waves. Let's follow the riverbank. We should be able to find him!"

"Right, exactly!"

After hearing Kiana's words, a glimmer flashed in Mei's eyes, and she immediately began searching along the riverbank.

Seeing this, Kiana grabbed the still-dazed Bronya and hurried after her.

Along a section of river somewhere in Changkong City, a humanoid creature drifted slowly with the current.

Without the help of any object, he somehow didn't sink. Instead, he floated on the surface of the water.

So what exactly had happened just now?

What the hell was that building?

Lying on the river, the humanoid creature—Dong Moxuan—stared at the azure sky with unfocused eyes.

He didn't remember there being anything like that in the Changkong City arc.

Then again, the plot was only the plot. It couldn't possibly cover every detail, so Dong Moxuan didn't find it too unbelievable.

It was just that he had accidentally been caught off guard and had been swept hundreds of meters away by the waves stirred up by that building.

Of course, if he had truly gotten serious, dealing with those waves would have been easy. There simply hadn't been any need.

"Alright, Mei and the others should have found their way over by now. I'll just—pfft!"

Dong Moxuan had originally planned to return to the shore and reunite with Mei and the others.

But before he could get up from the river, a pink figure fell from the sky and slammed hard into his stomach.

"Holy crap! Who ambushed me?!"

Dong Moxuan, who had nearly been hit hard enough to vomit stomach acid, roughly threw the figure onto the grassy slope beside the river. He rubbed his stomach and walked over as well.

"Let me see. This is..."

Muttering to himself, Dong Moxuan turned the figure over so that its front faced him.

Then, a cute girl wearing a pink shrine maiden outfit, with fox ears growing from her head and her eyes tightly shut, appeared before Dong Moxuan. She looked rather disheveled.

Yae Sakura?!!

The girl's name instantly surfaced in Dong Moxuan's mind.

However, before he had time to wonder who could have left Yae Sakura, a Quasi-Herrscher, in such a sorry state, the girl beneath him slowly opened her eyes.

Dong Moxuan: "..."

Their eyes met, and Dong Moxuan instantly felt awkward.

Looking at those beautiful pink eyes, Dong Moxuan felt his heart speed up.

Eh?! What should he do?

She was awake!

What should he say?

At a time like this, basic manners dictated that he should greet her first, right?

But the question was, how should he address the girl before him?

Yae Sakura?

No way. He had once been a captain, after all. The Sanka Retsu, the Flame-Chasing Himeko, and everyone else had all reached max affection. Calling her Yae Sakura would be far too distant.

So, Little Hachi?

No way. Yae Sakura was still an old lady over five hundred years old. He was so young; calling her Little Hachi wouldn't be appropriate.

So...

"Um, hello,"

Dong Moxuan rubbed the back of his head and tentatively spoke. "...Old Eight?"

Yae Sakura: "..."