Starting with the Herrschers, I Cut Down All

"Are you farming money for your little family?"

His colleague gritted his teeth. "Why do you think I stopped watching streams? Miss Pink Elf's betrayal still feels like yesterday... Well, it really was just two days ago."

He had gone from fan to hater!

An Yu, you damn normie!

An Yu: ...

Wisely ending the topic, he refocused and decided to continue indulging his inner favoritism, adding more settings for the girl with crystal eyes that carried a hint of sorrowful red whenever she was sad.

He would keep her name for now. Going by the boss's habit when making games, he would probably still use the names of friends from real life.

He had barely worked for long when a familiar melody faintly drifted into his ears.

"Why are there always stars at night,"

"Why are your eyes always sparkling!"

Why did this song have a DJ remix?! And who played music out loud while working?!

An Yu instinctively looked around and found that everyone else was also raising their heads, searching for the source of the sound. In the end, they all locked onto downstairs.

More precisely, the company entrance, where Kiana stood holding a guitar and singing lead.

"She looks familiar?"

Someone muttered.

"The boss's friend. Currently the company's most reliable modeler."

An Yu gave a simple introduction, but his gaze was drawn to the pink-haired girl beside her. His own sister, who should have been the lead singer and rhythm guitarist, was now holding a four-string guitar... a bass, quietly accompanying her.

If she had not been so pretty, no one would probably have noticed his sister at all. Kiana's presence was simply too overwhelming... Though rhythm guitar was usually handled by the lead singer anyway.

"Why did she come so early today?"

Someone muttered. Kiana usually came to the company at noon, and everyone had grown used to it. After all, she was willing to help Reson Studio with modeling, and whenever problems arose, she found people to solve them herself.

An Yu's gaze finally settled on the young girl watching from downstairs. He checked the time.

An Yu said, "Friendly reminder: it's 7:58. You have two minutes left to clock in."

Ling: "!"

An Yu returned to his seat. Inner favoritism was one thing, but if handled poorly, inner favoritism could become everyone's target—and then it would easily turn into external hatred.

At that moment, downstairs outside the office building, Elysia had never found someone so annoying. She could not even understand why someone would covet another person's younger brother's reward.

"My favoritism toward you is no longer a secret; sweetness overflows from my eyes!"

Slender fingers kept plucking the guitar strings. Kiana looked at the increasingly silent Elysia, feeling slightly confused.

Was she being too eager?

For the reward, she had moved so much stuff here by herself, even Bronya's entire drum kit.

An Yu's sister was so aloof.

"Woohoo!!"

When the song ended, Kiana looked at the gathering passersby without any embarrassment.

"Come to think of it, what did we move all these instruments here for?"

She scratched her head.

"To build chemistry in advance. After all, we're a team."

"And friendship, bonds, dreams, and the future—perhaps all these things will bind our fates together."

Elysia was silently adding another entry to her little notebook for the girl, but her smile remained clear and pure.

After all, while the morning's events could not be ignored, the band itself was something that genuinely made her happy.

"Isn't this your band?"

Kiana was even more confused.

Elysia: ...

It was supposed to be, but life was unpredictable. At home, she was no longer the older sister. She even vaguely felt that she was not in the younger sister niche anymore.

Boohoo... She had never thought Xiao Yu would turn out to be such a perverted child.

"I get it!"

Kiana suddenly slammed her fist into her palm and looked at the beautiful girl, who seemed neither happy nor sad, merely resigned to whatever came.

"You're actually the wingwoman An Yu brought in, right!"

After all, there were four people in the band: Elysia, An Yu, Kiana, and Bronya... Anyone with eyes could tell who the outsider was.

Yes, you!

The creator, Elysia!

Petty-Minded

It was nearly time to get off work at noon.

"Hey, hey, hey~ Senior~"

Ling clasped her hands together, a few strands of Sakura-colored hair falling loose as her expression filled with pleading.

Looking at the extra milk tea beside him, An Yu hesitated for two seconds, unable to understand what scheme Ling was plotting.

"Did your code break again?"

Didn't you have a senior guiding you? Why did you keep coming to me all day? Aren't you afraid Xiao Li would add you to her little notebook?

Oh, you took the back door. Right, you weren't afraid.

"Uh, it did break."

Ling scratched her hair, though that was definitely the company's feng shui at work.

She shook her head. "But I'm not here to trouble you over that this time, Senior."

For ordinary coding problems, she could ask Xiao Li or use software to have her sister remotely perform Ghost Possession.

Besides! She had four years of work experience!

"Then what do you want?"

An Yu pushed the milk tea away. No courtesy without a reason—either a traitor or a thief.

He could not let his guard down just because the girl looked harmless. Too many examples showed how one careless misstep could lead to lifelong regret.

Ling sniffled. "Senior~ You know, I have four years of work experience. Four years!"

She had not gone traveling even once during her four years of university. She had thought her sister had it hard at work, so she had worked hard at school the entire time.

But right after she graduated, her sister had made a name for herself... Boohoo, she was still the little sister being carried along.

"I know. And you've told me far too many times already. So?"

"I never had any real fun at university."

At the mention of university, Ling suddenly felt like shedding a few tears.

"..."

Then your talent was pretty bad. An Yu had thought she was working part-time, but it turned out she had been a full-time student... and after four full years, she was still somewhat unfamiliar with the job.

"And then?"

An Yu still did not understand.

"I want to join the band too!"

She wanted to have fun for once too!

An Yu strategically leaned back. "Where did you hear about this?"

"I asked Miss Pink Elf downstairs."

Miss Pink Elf had not said who was in it, but Ling was not antisocial. She had long known that the siblings had a close relationship.

And Kiana was the boss's friend. This band was not only fun, it could also help advance her career. It was honestly... not bad!

An Yu fell silent for a long time. "What can you do?"

Not everyone was such a genius. Their skill levels probably would not be too far apart. Today was only the beginning of the adjustment period anyway. If Ling was good, she might even become their ace.

Other than Kiana. According to the boss, Kiana had focused heavily on things outside her major while at university, so she was very skilled with instruments.

Ling blinked her big eyes. "I can be the bassist and help you order takeout and throw out the trash."

She could slowly blend into the band, find her hobby, and experience a colorful life too.

An Yu rubbed his forehead. All right, enough. He had heard enough bass jokes. They could take that off the table now.

"Be honest. What exactly are you thinking?"

"I'm a fan of Pink Elf. I want to take photos with my idol as a keepsake! And improve my impression score with the boss while I'm at it."

Ling took a deep breath and blurted it out in a tiny voice.

That way, she could have fun, experience the life she had missed in university, find a hobby, and improve the boss's opinion of her. She would win three times!

An Yu paused. "Didn't you spend all of university studying? Why is Pink Elf your idol?"

Ling tilted her little head. "Does anyone really not keep a side window open while working?"

Watching anime or reading novels was too difficult. Usually, she just listened to music or watched streams. When she was busy, she would mute the stream; when she was not, she would see what antics the streamer was up to.

Besides, Pink Elf used to be an outdoor streamer, and her content had always been relaxed and easygoing.

An Yu was silent for a long time, then suddenly laughed.

"At such a young age, you're already going astray. You really have the spirit of a senior."

"I'll ask for you. It probably won't be a problem."

The simplest rule still applied: as long as she was not too terrible, she could be a bassist.

"Thank you very much! I'll treat you to lunch at noon!"

"No need. My sister's downstairs."

"Can I come too?"

Ling tried to make full use of her looks, though the effect was minimal.

"You know, Senior, my sister and Fairy Miss are good friends, and you and I are coworkers. Rounding it up, that means we're family!"

Ling was certain of one thing: as long as she managed to blend in at lunch today without messing things up, both the band and her future work would become much easier.

The warmth and coldness of human relationships; the fickleness of the world—Ling.

An Yu: ...

Your sister is a deduction in my book. Also... how exactly did you round that up? Who's family with you?!

"You and my sister are close?"

"Fairy Miss doesn't dislike me, at least."

After learning that Ling was Sakura's younger sister, Elysia had obviously become a little closer to her.

"...Then come with us."

An Yu turned his gaze back to the screen. His sister's personality was not bad, after all, and Ling was Sakura's younger sister.

Although An Yu thought of Sakura as one of his sister's bad influences, on second thought, aside from being prettier, perhaps Elysia was also considered a bad influence—or even a seductress—by other parents.

Maybe other people's parents were also worrying about how to keep their children away from Elysia, that troublesome friend.

But Sakura and Ling did not have that concern. They were orphans.

Standing behind him, Ling boldly watched.

"With so many settings, is the Previous Era still going to take the cuddly route?" she asked curiously.

An Yu froze. Right, he had given them too many settings. That would make the early stage seem overly uneventful.

"Then let's add a setting where she was persecuted in childhood. Because she knew humanity's hostility toward Honkai, she didn't dare reveal herself."