Honkai, Survive

Seele's face lit up. "I guarantee it's clean enough to give those Wanderers whose homes were swallowed by the Cleft a new place to live."

"Wanderers?"

The Stellaron Spirit, who had been squatting by Fang Jie, chirped like a curious baby. No, she was a curious baby.

"They're just a bunch of homeless folks. Most of them are decent enough, but when there are too many, inevitably some troublemakers sneak in. The result is: the Wanderers fight with the miners every other day, and they often steal the miners' supplies—and that's just the minor stuff."

She didn't need to mention the bigger incidents. She didn't want to.

"It's good that things have eased up a lot these past couple of days. Speaking of which, the weather has actually gotten warmer today."

Natasha smiled gently.

"It'll be warmer tomorrow too."

Fang Jie didn't mind continuously clearing the Cleft and the ice and snow, or practicing his skills, before the Stellar Nucleus was sealed by the Stellaron Spirit.

He didn't have much in the Underworld to trailblaze or explore. He was happy to handle the fighting.

Preparing the winning formula for the counter-Rin operation was enough to keep him busy.

Seele also said with emotion, "That would be for the best, but I can't accompany you tomorrow. The mining area is the lifeline of the underground. We must ensure the Subterranean Vein supply so we can get the ground provisions from the transport line."

She was also being a bit disingenuous. Perhaps she didn't want to appear weak. She had rushed forward earlier to make Fang Jie 'stop,' and had been affected by dehydration. She needed to rest well and do some light work.

Looking so weak now, she couldn't even resist if he treated her like an object...

Otherwise, she probably would have wanted to continue doing important things with him.

"You must have something to look for me for, too."

Seele looked at the other outsider, her tone unusually kind. "If it's related to the Underworld Fire, Leader Oleg has taken the Underworld Fire into the mining area and handed over town security to me. I need to go provide support... You can come with me tomorrow."

Stelle's eyes lit up. Dan Heng and March 7th hadn't even seen the person, but she, the great Trailblazer, had successfully completed her mission!

"Okay, okay."

The little raccoon nodded.

"Why is she acting a bit..."

With the strange habit of writing on her face and her erratic behavior all the way here, Seele wasn't very sure. She glanced at the person on her back, Bronya, who was still asleep: "Before that, this person's matter also needs to be resolved. She's a Silvermane Guard, right?"

"Probably."

Stelle wasn't sure.

Just like Gepard, who knew if he still counted as a Silvermane Guard.

Midlife crisis, lost his position, how pathetic.

"So that's it. There isn't much I haven't seen underground, and I didn't expect to see a 'young lady' from above. Is she the one Fang Jie mentioned... Where did you go?"

He was already gone.

"Shh."

Natasha shook her head at her and finally took Bronya, placing her on a chair. "Let's not disturb her for now."

Because Fang Jie had been taken away by Rin.

"What are you doing?"

Fang Jie wasn't afraid of her, even though the furthest place he had reached today had Erosion from the Cleft... Damn it!

Fang Jie wasn't afraid of her. He stubbornly followed.

What a slander to say she had taken him.

Rin's expression was troubled and uneasy, not because Fang Jie was attacking her rear today. She whispered, "Hey, she's waking up."

"My name isn't 'Hey'."

Fang Jie said stubbornly, "Call me Fang Heart Arsonist."

Rin couldn't be bothered. She had her own worries.

Fang Jie heard the good news. Doctor Natasha was truly a miracle worker.

"You mean Yae Sakura is awake? That's great. Did you slap her to teach her a lesson that you are the..."

"Shut up."

Rin led him towards the ward. The Shrine Maiden sleeping on the sickbed finally woke up, looking a bit dazed as she watched Fang Jie enter...

And Rin, who was shielding him.

Her small face was filled with 'unwillingness to face it.'

"Ask him if you have anything you want to ask."

Rin said coldly.

"It is you, Your Excellency. May I ask, who am I... Where is this?"

Yae Sakura also recognized Fang Jie. In her memories, they had previously fought fiercely. She had been unable to resist the demon fox, acting as its accomplice, and had even caused him to use a peculiar technique, 'Changing Heaven and Earth.' In the end, she had fallen in the ice and snow.

When she woke up, the demon fox... was gone.

Yae Sakura couldn't sense Rin's presence, and she herself seemed to have turned back into a human. This should have been a cause for joy, but she felt a sense of loss.

And then, there was a... delicate and beautiful child in the ward.

However, she seemed to dislike speaking and ignored her, her face full of impatience, along with someone else who was here for reasons unknown.

Fortunately, Fang Jie arrived. Yae Sakura had too many questions.

"One by one, we have plenty of time to talk."

Fang Jie wasn't as unrestrained. He familiarly took out a can of tree sap and handed it to her: "It's better to drink something after waking up."

"Thank you."

Yae Sakura cupped it in both hands. She ignored whether it was appropriate for him to give alcohol to a patient and didn't rush to drink. She cared more about other things, gazing at him with expectant eyes, waiting for his explanation.

"This is Belobog, the Underworld. Natasha's clinic. Natasha is a doctor with a kind heart and beautiful appearance; she's the one who cured you."

Rin had no objections to what Fang Jie said. She no longer wanted any involvement with this woman.

Fang Jie tilted his head, looking at the face that deliberately maintained a cold expression, and suddenly smiled: "Just kidding, Rin saved you."

"You...!!"

Rin was furious, baring her teeth and claws, and bit his shoulder.

Seele had achieved what she wanted.

What about steel bones and biological fields, the Tekkai that the Stormbringer couldn't break? His shoulder immediately transmitted intense pain, or rather, the 'pain' information.

The galaxy was not lacking in anything, even if stones were shattered into atoms, each atom would wail with pain. 'Pain' was quite abstract.

Fortunately, Rin wasn't like that.

She was just a fool who had detonated herself.

Yae Sakura watched this scene. She was just a village girl, not an idiot. When she didn't deceive herself, she was quite perceptive, just as Rin was also very smart. She immediately confirmed her suspicions about the person in front of her.

The demon fox... Rin, had transformed into a human form.

"So she's Rin, the person Your Excellency wanted to save..."

Yae Sakura naturally remembered that scene. She had told Fang Jie not to worry about her and to kill the demon fox together.

Fang Jie's response: I intended to let her go; you were just an afterthought.

Not an enemy.

"It seems Your Excellency succeeded."

Yae Sakura gazed at Rin, who showed no evil actions other than her coldness. Was she really such a small child? Was this her true form?

How...

So similar.

Feeling the ears she now possessed, Yae Sakura wasn't sure if she had truly returned to being human. Humans didn't have ears like these, did they?

"Let's say it's a success for now. Rin is a good child, gentle, kind, and considerate..."

Your Excellency, you're bleeding from that bite.

It's nothing, Fang Jie said without even a flicker of his brow. He grabbed Rin's ear in return.

He bit her too!

"Ouch~"

Rin couldn't stand losing, pushing Fang Jie away to protect her precious ear, her face contorted in rage: "You scoundrel!"

"Gentle, kind, and considerate, just like me. I meant originally."

Fang Jie calmly ignored Rin. The awakened Yae Sakura could become a cornerstone of peace, so she wouldn't make a move.

Besides, what was the point of fighting? Were you that strong? To get by in this world, you need influence and background.

He continued to explain the current situation to Yae Sakura: "This is a long story. If Rin is willing to tell you, let her tell you. As for me, I can tell you,"

Fang Jie had long considered how to face the awakened Yae Sakura. His final thought was to inform her of the current situation and respect her decision:

"Welcome to the new world, Miss Yae Sakura."

Applause.

The Stellaron Spirit clapped her hands, looking at the beautiful older sister with curiosity.

She also wanted to touch Rin...

Fang Jie couldn't help but grin, scaring the child into taking a step back, raising her hands... not in surrender, but in defense, crossing them in front of her chest to block all enemies.

I attack, attack, attack, attack—

—I defend, defend, defend, defend.

Afterimages crossed in the air, and great battles wore down the universe.

"And who might you be, Your Excellency?"

Seeing the Stellaron Spirit, Yae Sakura didn't recognize her, but she felt a radiant vitality emanating from her, a warmth and familiar aura.

"My name is Stelle, you can also call me A-Xing. That's what my friends call me."

Stelle loved making friends the most. While beating up Fang Jie, she even ignored Bronya, leaving her to the 'cruel and sharp-tongued' Seele. She must have already been thrown out of the clinic by Seele.

She introduced herself with a proud expression, that kind of aura… Yae Sakura felt a bit dazed.

"Greetings, Stellar Excellency. I am Yae Sakura, a mere… Shrine Maiden."

Then, silence fell. She didn't know what else to say.

Awakening as if from a dream, things had changed, yet some familiar sights and people could still capture her attention. Beyond that…

You are not her.

Even with a similar aura, you aren't even blonde.

"Alright, hurry back to bed. March 7th and Dan Heng are waiting for you."

Sensing the awkwardness, and mostly realizing he was about to lose, Fang Jie quickly resorted to a grown-up's despicable tactic. He seemed to stop fighting, urging Stelle to return to the right path and find her Stellar Nucleus, rather than going off on side quests.

Stelle believed him and remembered her companions.

Opening!

Fang Jie reached out—

Sneak attack!

"You can't pat my head!"

The Stellaron Spirit quickly slapped his hand away.

Because of her exceptional height, Stelle hadn't had her head patted before. March 7th didn't like jumping either… Wait, it seems like no one likes jumping.

She automatically ignored the bouncing and jumping she had learned from Fang Jie, suddenly looking as if she had discovered the truth of the world.