Collapse, Survive

If Kiana hadn't intercepted him early, who knows where he'd be "shopping for free" right now.

Not long after, Changkong City, outside Qianyu Academy, breakfast street.

Kiana hesitated to speak, then stopped, looking at her meager wallet with a hint of despair, tears on the verge of falling.

Scholarship, the scholarship I got from entering Qianyu Academy!

How can you eat so much?

Do I have to work part-time again to save up for living expenses?

"Ah, I'm full, I'm full, thank you, thank you!"

Fang Jie clasped his hands together, sincerely and wholeheartedly grateful. It wasn't that he couldn't afford grass or trees, but that ordinary people's food was more cost-effective, especially meat. Humans had evolved for so long, and it was reflected in the food chain.

"I'm glad you're full, I, I..."

Kiana couldn't bring herself to smile. She sighed, not bothering to ask the refugee gentleman what he had experienced. Anyway, she could imagine it. It was hilarious, as if she hadn't come from a similar situation. When she was wandering, she even had to cook for herself.

"Then goodbye. I still have to go to school. If you hear any news about my stinky dad in the future, please tell me. Here's my contact information."

Fang Jie's eating habits dispelled some of Kiana's thoughts. She handed him a piece of paper. Seeing Fang Jie's expression, which was as expected, lacking contact information and yet still so self-righteous, she couldn't help but think – this person seems even more pathetic than I am.

He must be a good person. It's not some twisted pleasure of seeing you miserable, but a simple deduction. The strength she had previously lost control of couldn't crush him.

How strong is Kiana? Let's just say that in Schicksal, a qualified C-rank Valkyrie could shatter a granite pillar one meter thick with a casually thrown stone! And even then, she could only serve as support staff who couldn't go to the battlefield, only sit at the children's table. Kiana, however, not only possessed B-rank strength but was also a Kaslana!

Ordinary people? Ordinary people didn't need to worry about what she would do if she made a move. They only needed to worry about what kind of fragments they would be torn into by the aftershocks if they were caught in her fight.

Oh, wait, Kiana usually fought Honkai Beasts. Ordinary people caught in the crossfire wouldn't need to worry about anything; they would simply turn to dust if they got any Honkai residue on them. Only those with Honkai resistance who contracted an erosion disease would need to consider more.

Therefore, for Fang Jie, who could withstand her strength, getting money would be incredibly easy. Yet, he remained so... down and out. He must have some principles.

He's a good person, Kiana thought so.

Fang Jie, who hadn't even had a chance to start his "free shopping," watched Kiana leave gracefully. Her empty wallet and receding figure were so... looking closely, although she was thin, her beautiful bone structure was obvious, and her skin was excellent.

She's so beautiful.

Beyond her retreating figure, on the Qianyu Academy sports field, one could faintly hear cheers erupting one after another. Figures full of youthful vitality, brimming with life, everything flourishing.

"Heh, fighting for all the beauty in the world. Tsk, should I also come up with a catchy slogan? Love and peace? Or is victory just about surviving?"

Fang Jie chuckled, shook his head, and dismissed those extraneous thoughts.

The new world isn't bad. Although there's still the Honkai, although I don't even know if it's Honkai 2 or Honkai 3, although...

Alright, it's a bit terrible, but it's not bad.

.

.

ps: Dear readers, this is a new author's new book, please support! (?o?o)??

Chapter 2: Carrying Hope and Dreams

Changkong City, a highly urbanized city in the Far East that lived a pretty good life. In a sense, it could be considered the starting point of the Honkai world. No matter which Kiana it was, she had to carry a baseball bat and fight her way out of Changkong City.

After a series of tense and exciting deductions, Fang Jie preliminarily confirmed that he was likely not in Honkai 2, but Honkai 3. Although he couldn't rule out a World Bubble or the aftermath of Aha, Fang Jie felt even more relaxed and strolled through this unfamiliar city.

"Mhm, mhm, it should be correct. Kiana has twin braided pigtails, not Roman curl twin tails. But it might not be the case next time."

With a sense of relief mixed with a hint of a headache, Fang Jie looked at the light screen that appeared before him.

'Before him' was just a metaphor. Even looking at his eyes, one couldn't see its reflection, but Fang Jie could see it clearly.

The light screen's appearance was his phone interface, but most of the apps had disappeared, leaving only a few game icons. The one running previously was Honkai: Star Rail, through which he landed in Belobog. Currently, the face of the mascot character March 7th was still there, but next to it, the face of the mascot character Kiana was displayed.

'This is my superpower.' Fang Jie thought silently, not activating the 'Return Ticket.' He had stayed in the ice and snow long enough. Instead, he began to ponder a question that was very important to him.

'What other worlds will appear? Undecided can be ruled out. Honkai: Star Rail is fine, Genshin Impact is also acceptable, Honkai 2... Why do I still have the old stuff?!'

You must know that during his month in Belobog, this light screen only had one icon. He had held onto the Astral-Express Anchor in the snowy plains, which had brought about changes to this interface by charging it, and indirectly obtained the power of the Trailblaze God.

The change referred to a loading bar. Once the loading bar was full, the second icon appeared. He clicked it, and then leaped to a new world, with the ability to travel back and forth.

Currently, the new icon with Kiana as the mascot also had a progress bar at zero. If further changes occurred...

Without even considering what energy this world had to absorb, Fang Jie's mere recollection of the games on his phone made him feel that his future was boundless, even full of potential.

As a "skip button" user in games and a meticulous researcher on video websites, he knew how troublesome and how magical these worlds could be.

Silently closing this 'superpower,' Fang Jie didn't intend to leave yet. He gazed at the sun, which was casting brilliant rays of light, without any evasion. Only after three minutes, when his eyes felt sore, did he lower his head.

This was Fang Jie's resilience, a sliver of the Trailblaze God's power gained outside of his superpower, which allowed him to persevere for a month in the ice and snow with insufficient food and clothing. If it weren't for his inability to withstand the psychological torment, he could probably have continued.

'This is probably just passive, a 'Visitor' level of blessing. It's hard to imagine what kind of monsters 'Pathstriders' are. Anyway, the Nameless on the train can float and cry in subspace storms.'

Let me explain here. In the world of Honkai: Star Rail, countless worlds are collectively called the Galaxy. Within this Galaxy, there exist beings known as 'Aeons.' They create reality, erase stars, and each presides over a different 'Path.'

Those who walk with them can receive their blessings, walk upon the Path, and gain power from the Path, or even directly receive power from the Aeons.

The former are called Pathstriders, and the latter are calledipients.

Fang Jie's current level is that he has observed the existence of Path energy. While drawing energy from the Astral-Express Anchor via the icon, he passively acquired a portion of power. However, it was not enough to be called a Pathstrider, because he hadn't done much trailblazing in Belobog.

'Now I can trailblaze, but I can't feel the Path anymore.'

Fang Jie could only describe his condition as "unacclimated" as he subtly felt the Fate energy within his body no longer growing, or rather, no longer recovering.

Of course, he wasn't entirely without sensation. At the very least, he was keenly aware of the thin, malevolent energy that permeated the air – a "Honkai" that felt like it would contaminate him upon contact.

This world, its sky, earth, and seas, everything was suffused with an energy invisible to the naked eye: the Honkai energy. It had already integrated into the world's fundamental parameters, reducing its danger to a level where ordinary people could coexist with it.

But this was only a portion of the Honkai energy. The vast majority of Honkai still roamed in the imaginary space, isolated from reality, as residual entropy generated when the imaginary numbers anchored to real numbers.

Therefore, when Honkai energy gathered to a certain extent in reality, it would draw Honkai energy from the imaginary space, subsequently creating disasters of varying levels. These included, but were not limited to, the corruption of beasts and humans leading to mutation or death, viruses and natural disasters, and even the birth of Herrschers during a Great Honkai – all collectively referred to as 'Honkai phenomena.'

Changkong City was currently in a phase of increasing energy concentration. Furthermore, a Herrscher had already appeared. If this trend continued, the moment a Great Honkai descended, those without Honkai resistance would simply drop dead, without even a chance to turn into monsters.

As for those with Honkai resistance, congratulations, they could become monsters.

"This is really quite terrible."

Honkai energy was formless, invisible, and pervasive. The energy Fang Jie was passively consuming within his body was to counteract this erosion. At this rate, he wouldn't even last a month – only 2.5 weeks. After all, there was no World Anchor here for him to draw Fate energy from. Instead, the Honkai energy erosion was more than sufficient and only growing worse.

Excluding the new world for the time being, he had two worlds he could move between. Even though each world had its unique strengths, he could still gain a lot from them.

'Survival is the primary need, followed by resources for development. Suspicion is inevitable, but fortunately, communication between us is unimpeded. That's good.'

Lost in thought, Fang Jie spotted a trash can by the roadside, and his spirits immediately lifted.

"Ah, the trash can. Not only is it the guardian of our green lifestyle, but it also silently bears our discarded items, offering a piece of cleanliness to the Earth."

He glanced around, feeling a slight pang of guilt, but he couldn't resist the temptation. He unleashed a flying kick, discovering a new function for this silent guardian.

Hey, there's another one up ahead!

Meanwhile, beside a high window that even hurried passersby would instinctively overlook, a girl with a spiraled ducktail hairstyle expressionlessly retracted her gaze and contacted her mother.

"How is it, Bronya? Is that suspicious person an obstruction?"

On the other end of the communication system was Cocolia, questioning her adopted daughter. Though the plan had reached a critical juncture, her tone towards her daughter remained gentle and calm.

"Cannot judge yet. The target has shown no inclination to approach Raiden Mei, only interacting with Kiana Kaslana. Also, he knows Siegfried Kaslana," Bronya did not report her speculation that the person might be conveying information by desecrating trash cans. That was unimportant.

Indeed, in response to the report concerning Kiana, or rather, Siegfried, the other end of the communication did not immediately reply, pausing for a moment.

Within Anti-Entropy, no one would overlook the S-rank Valkyrie Siegfried, or rather, few people in this world wouldn't care about 'S-rank.'

Bronya waited quietly while Cocolia pondered.

During this time, Bronya had come to Changkong City with her mother Cocolia to save her friend Seele Vollerei, who had disappeared due to the X-10 experiment.

As Cocolia's plan continued to progress, she had successfully seized control of ME Corp, the world's most valuable and technologically secret intelligent electronics company, from her Anti-Entropy colleague Raiden Ryoma. The next step was to act upon Raiden Ryoma's daughter, Raiden Mei, the true target, by inducing her to become the Herrscher of Thunder and then retrieving her.

In other words, artificially triggering a Great Honkai, the third Great Honkai.

As an extremist faction member of Anti-Entropy, Cocolia could experiment on creating the Herrscher of Thunder in a city controlled by her estranged conservative colleagues, obtaining valuable data and spoils of war, at the cost of merely one Changkong City. Did she need to hesitate?

She couldn't let the American headquarters be engulfed in flames, though she wouldn't mind.

Besides, what was so terrifying about a Great Honkai? Siberia had already fallen during the Second Great Honkai, followed by meteor showers from the sky. That was her homeland and birthplace, and where she rose to prominence.

As a leader of the extremist faction who rose amidst this war and disaster, she should demonstrate her resolve in the Far East, thereby coercing the Anti-Entropy American headquarters. This would help her strike down those weak and incompetent conservatives, ascend to a higher position, and thus effectively fight against Honkai.

After all, this was also Raiden Ryoma's choice. When Cocolia learned that the long-lost Alliance Leader had received his plea and generously implanted the Conqueror's Gem into Raiden Mei to suppress her excessively powerful innate Stigmata...

'You guys are definitely creating the Herrscher of Thunder, right?'

'Hand it over!'

Bronya... didn't care much about this. The reason she participated was that, according to Cocolia, if everything went smoothly, she might find a way to save Seele from it.

In this process, no one who might interfere with Raiden Mei's interpersonal relationships could be overlooked, ensuring everything remained within the plan.

But Kiana...

Looking at the photo of the white-haired girl with a goofy smile, Cocolia couldn't help but recall the Valkyrie who had saved her during the Second Great Honkai.

—Cecilia Schariac.

Also, Kiana Kaslana's mother.

Finally, Cocolia instructed her adopted daughter: "Pay him no mind. I will arrange for others to follow up on the subsequent investigation. Bronya, continue to keep a close watch on Raiden Mei."

"Yes, Mother," Bronya understood. That meant she didn't need to take action.

In one of the many dark alleys in Changkong City, a group of people were huddled together, surrounded by smoke and exuding a colorful aura. They appeared to be doing nothing in particular.

At this moment, a black-haired young man walked in from outside the alley, seemingly intending to pass through.

He looked ordinary, dressed in rags, yet he didn't seem embarrassed by it at all. On the contrary, he was beaming, projecting an almost... arrogant demeanor.

Yes, he exuded an arrogant aura that would make even a stray dog want to kick him.

He was very conspicuous.

"Hey, you! Stop right there!"

He was immediately surrounded. The colorful crowd, bored, wouldn't miss out on fun, especially with someone so conspicuous. As soon as one of his companions spoke, they all joined in.

"That's right, stop right there, kid. Do you even know what this place is, barging in like this!"

"I'm asking you, speak up!"

If words failed, the next step would likely be the much-anticipated stress-relief session.

Then, they heard it.

"How much force should I use?"

A seemingly troubled voice, accompanied by a clenched fist, not as big as a casserole dish, which then relaxed, creating a gust of wind.

The trash can had protected everyone, allowing Fang Jie to gauge his current strength.

Then, with a smooth arc, his palm met one of them. Slap! He fell straight down.

Thump!

Hitting the ground for a second impact.

Reality wasn't a game. Hitting someone in the face with a bit too much strength wouldn't result in a big "Critical Hit"; it would, at best, cause them to faint and fall, or at worst, end their life.

There was a moment of silence all around, but the slap sounds didn't stop; they continued in succession.

He realized he hadn't quite controlled his strength. How could these people compare to a trash can? He had almost killed someone.

But Fang Jie showed no discomfort. Without hesitation, he reined in his strength further. One slap per person, snuffing out the shock on their contorted faces before they could even register it.

Simple and unadorned.

Strong and powerful.