Honkai, Kaslana's Way of Survival

"What does it matter to you if there are many people here or not? Wouldn't it be better if there weren't many? Bella landing wouldn't cause a commotion."

"But things that are out of the ordinary are bound to be strange... I think that's the saying, right?"

Shaking his head, Kaino continued, "But come to think of it, Xiao Shi also said that she sneaked into the beginner's area because the advanced area was too boring since there was no one there... Did the authorities evacuate the people from the advanced area?"

"Kaino, there are two people over there, and it looks like they're being chased by a Honkai Beast... Oh, and Xiao Shi is there too?"

Blue Seele, who had been squatting nearby watching the scenery, suddenly spoke, pointing to a spot on the ground.

Kaino's gaze followed.

A constantly rolling Honkai Beast was chasing two figures, one red and one blue, while a humanoid creature resembling Xiao Shi was standing at an intersection not far from them.

Why is Xiao Shi just standing there...?

And that rolling figure looks similar to the Ganesha he captured yesterday, with the only difference being the color. Is that the Emperor-class Honkai Beast, Parvati?

Are there so many Emperor-class Honkai Beasts in this bubble world?

"Bella, find a place for them to land later. I'll go down and help out first."

Patting Bella's carapace, Kaino took out the Heavenly Fire Pistols and jumped down.

Using the Herrscher of Wind's authority to push aside the oncoming gale, Kaino took a deep breath and, using the pistols as a medium, initiated the Tai Xu Sword Form, shooting towards the rolling white behemoth at an extreme speed.

Honkai energy rapidly flowed through Kaino's body and into the pistols, and the scorching, sharp flames of the pistols accurately struck Parvati's head.

The blow from above instantly stopped Parvati's rolling momentum, embedding its head into the asphalt ground, rendering it unable to move. The speed at which it stopped even caused a considerable crack to spread across the ground.

...causing Kaino, who had jumped off its head, to nearly fall over because he couldn't stand still.

Fortunately, the time he spent practicing martial arts with Cheng Lingshuang and Li Sushang had improved his reflexes, or he would have been utterly embarrassed.

"Liliya, Liliya, we're saved!"

"Rosalia, Rosalia, we're not going to be eaten."

Kaino, who had just put away the Heavenly Fire Pistols, fell silent upon hearing their words.

Their way of speaking reminded him of the two armored creatures that had left him with a bad impression... But since there are two of them, they shouldn't be that unreliable, right?

"Ahem, are you two okay... huh?"

Kaino, who was about to ask about their condition, was stunned when he clearly saw the red figure.

Pink hair, short stature, and a tail—isn't this the person Yae Sakura described as the one they were looking for?

But it seems that she and the blue girl are inseparable. Why didn't Yae Sakura mention looking for her?

"Um, let me confirm something first. Rosalia, right? Do you know someone named Yae Sakura?"

Perplexed, Kaino asked Rosalia.

"Yae Sakura? Never heard of her. Is it something to eat? But regardless, thank you for saving us, big brother!"

Rosalia blinked her watery eyes as she thanked Kaino, her tail wagging behind her.

That tail is real?!

But speaking of which, even though she matches Yae Sakura's description, Rosalia doesn't seem to know her at all... Is it another similar individual from another world?

First Seele, then Rita, then Kiana, and now her. It's as if everyone he knows lives in this city... Is it really that coincidental?

All the strange things that have happened so far flashed through Kaino's mind. He felt that there was something fishy about this bubble world.

Liliya narrowed her eyes and looked at Rosalia with a surprised expression.

"I didn't expect even idiot Rosalia to know how to say thank you... Also, thank you, big brother."

"Hey, Liliya, who are you calling an idiot!"

"Liliya didn't say anyone was an idiot. Whoever gets angry is the idiot."

"Waaah, Liliya, you..."

Interrupted from his thoughts by the noisy bickering of the two brats, Kaino rubbed his temples with a helpless expression.

"You two be quiet... Never mind. You know Xiao Shi, right? The judge from the advanced area."

"We know her, we know her! Rosalia knows her!"

"It was Sister Xiao Shi who told us to catch Honkai Beasts, but unfortunately, we couldn't beat them because Rosalia is too stupid."

"Hey, Liliya, who are you calling stupid!"

Watching the two of them go back and forth, Kaino couldn't help but sigh.

Although they were indeed more sensible than those two armored people, the way they deviated from the topic while talking was really frustrating.

"Oh, did I hear someone calling my name?"

Xiao Shi's voice suddenly rang out near Kaino.

Kaino turned his head and saw them standing not far away, smiling and waving at him, while continuously saying:

"Oh dear, who is it, who is it? Who is thinking of their good friend Xiao Shi?"

Kaino was stunned, and a smile appeared on his face...

Then it turned its head and looked around.

"Hey Xiao Shi, do you have good friends? Introduce me?"

As Kaino spoke, he poked the Parvati that was stuck headfirst into the ground and gave the stunned Xiao Shi a cheeky grin. "Is it this one?"

Coming to its senses, Xiao Shi took a deep breath, then slowly nodded, a smile returning to its face.

And what a radiant smile it was.

"That's right! The friend I was talking about looks almost exactly like this ice pig!"

Kaino's smile froze upon hearing this, and he slapped himself in the face. "That's harsh, Xiao Shi."

"You started it! Anyway, long time no see! I'm so happy to see you! Come on—"

Xiao Shi was still smiling as it took two steps forward and raised its right hand high.

Was it going for a high-five?

Kaino blinked, a smile on his face, and stepped forward, ready to reciprocate.

"Actually, it's only been a day since we last met. Not even twenty-four hours."

"I saw you using the Tai Xu Sword Form just now, right? Even though the weapon wasn't a sword, I could tell."

Xiao Shi lowered its raised hand to chest height and extended it towards Kaino.

"That's my signature move, and I've applied for a copyright. Cough, cough, seeing as we're old friends, I won't charge you much, just 10,000 credit points!"

Kaino silently withdrew his hand.

You're the ruthless one, I'm still too green.

Chapter 70: The Final Assessment

As the two were talking, Bella descended from the sky, circling as she landed.

It was a good thing the streets were eerily quiet, without a single person in sight, or it would have been quite difficult to find a place to park a dragon in the city.

"Oh, it's Seele and the others. Wow, Captain, you're here too?"

Seeing the group dismount from Bella, Xiao Shi abandoned its squabble with Kaino and hurried over to greet them.

"Haven't seen you for a day, did you miss me?"

"If possible, I'd prefer if the number of days we don't see each other is more than one."

The Captain rolled his eyes, his voice somewhat helpless.

"The thought of needing your permission to qualify for the finals makes me feel like my credit points are in imminent danger."

"Didn't I return all that money to you guys? Why are you still bringing it up?"

Xiao Shi shrugged, unconcerned. "Besides, I'm just trying to raise your awareness of scams... See? Even a naive and lively girl like me could be a con artist. Doesn't that make you more alert?"

"Well, I really appreciate that... Ouch!"

The Captain said halfway, suddenly clutching his head, his expression pained.

"Hey, hey, hey, I haven't even done anything yet, you don't have to act like this, do you?"

Xiao Shi widened its eyes, then took a step back, realizing something. "Wait, you're not trying to scam me for medical expenses, are you?"

"Captain, are you feeling unwell?"

Unlike a certain scoundrel Xiao Shi, Seele walked over to the Captain's side with concern.

"It's nothing, just a bit of a headache... I'm fine now."

The Captain shook his head, indicating that Seele shouldn't worry, then glared at Xiao Shi. "Do you think everyone's like you, thinking about scams all day?"

"Hey, it's called having good scam awareness. Speaking of which, how's your head? What kind of pain is it? Let me help you heal it, I'm quite the authority on the brain."

Xiao Shi patted its chest as it spoke. "Don't worry, this time it's free!"

"It's not a physical pain... It just feels like I've forgotten something important, and I feel like something's off about my surroundings, but I can't quite put my finger on what it is."

"Oh, well, I can't cure that, after all, you probably wouldn't want me probing your memories."

As it spoke, Xiao Shi rested its hand on its chin, deep in thought.

"And actually, I've been having this symptom lately too, like why there's no one in the advanced arena... It's so boring."

"So you don't know why there's no one here either?"

Kaino, who had packed Parvati into a Honkai Ball, walked over and joined the conversation. "I thought the organizers were worried about Honkai Beasts injuring the citizens, but you, as a judge, don't even know..."

"How could it be them? Those people are stingy as hell when it comes to things like this. They'd rather set up the arena in a deserted place than evacuate the citizens. Like before... before..."

As Xiao Shi spoke, its expression became blank. It frowned, then slapped its head, deciding not to think about it anymore.

"Oh well, forget it, why think so much? It's so hot here! Let's go, let's go play at the amusement park I set up, there's air conditioning there, it's much cooler!"

"You set up? Wasn't there an amusement park here originally?"

Kaino was puzzled. The instruction manual's map clearly marked this place as a seaside amusement park.

"There is, but why would you want to play in the sun during the summer? Playing with air conditioning is the true meaning of life!"

"And it's for this reason that I specifically moved a lot of fun stuff into a nearby building. I was almost busy for an entire day doing it!"

Xiao Shi raised its head, practically writing "Praise me, praise me!" on its face.

Kaino didn't spoil the mood this time, raising his hands above his head and clapping: "Long live the great Herrscher of Sentience!"

Unfortunately, no one else echoed his sentiment, so the scene became a bit awkward.

Kaino opened his mouth, intending to say something to ease the embarrassment, when the pink-haired and blue-haired girls behind him suddenly spoke up.

"Xiao Shi, Xiao Shi, that Parvati got knocked down, does that mean we passed your test?"

"Rosalia's right, Xiao Shi, can you give us your stamp now?"

"How could that be? What are you thinking?"

Xiao Shi blinked, putting its hands behind its back and pretending to be serious.

But considering they were wearing swimsuits and its reputation for being a trickster was deeply ingrained, it really couldn't pull off the serious act.

"I watched you run away from that Honkai Beast the whole time. If Kaino hadn't suddenly appeared, you would have definitely increased my workload."

"In this situation, you still want a stamp?"

"Eh?"

Rosalia blinked her watery eyes, looking unwilling: "But Xiao Shi, you only said to bring it here! We completed the task!"

"Okay, okay, let's say you completed the task."

Xiao Shi sighed upon hearing this, crossing its arms and tilting its head, acting like a rascal.

"But I only said that this is completing the task, I didn't say that completing the task means you get a stamp."

"Eh? But the instruction manual says..."

"If the instruction manual says that, then go talk to the instruction manual. I didn't say anything like that."

Xiao Shi patted Rosalia's head as it spoke: "Alright, alright, the remaining task is very simple. All of you do it together, and after you finish it, you'll all get your stamps together."