(TL/Note: The author of this Fanfic seems to have left this Fanfic or something happened to him, I don't really know because I'm not in his QQ group, in short I will upload the rest of their chapters to where he stop writing, there is a post-honkai in volume zero, just use it as your imagination. thanks for reading this with me)
After formally bidding farewell to Raven and the children, Lin Wei, while toying with the newly acquired Third Divine Key, led the much weaker Yuno westward along the highway.
Lin Wei had said, "there's still a little time," but Yuno didn't know how much time was left. Perhaps this period would only last until the two of them walked along this road all the way to the Strait of Gibraltar.
Thus, during this process, although Lin Wei hadn't urged her, Yuno had been diligently training her powers.
Perhaps because she had truly possessed it once before, even starting from scratch, Yuno's progress was remarkably swift, and slightly different from her previous self.
"It seems Hua was quite attentive when teaching you. Your movements show a hint of her shadow. I've never seen you have the concept of 'defense' before."
In a long-abandoned, desolate village, after Yae Sakura helped the fallen Yuno up, and another "restorative training" session ended, Lin Wei said thoughtfully,
"But your style is different from her usual seasoned steadiness, and also somewhat different from your previous reckless, wide-open style. It seems to have a rather sharp edge—did you learn this from Durandal?"
As a seasoned "victim" who had been ruthlessly beaten by Hua for over half a year, Lin Wei had some right to speak on this matter.
"Mm. Captain Durandal taught me some before, but at that time... I couldn't learn it."
Yuno stood up from the ground, somewhat disheveled, patted the dust off her clothes, and shook a considerable amount of fine sand from her hair, saying with some embarrassment,
"But now that I remember it, I can't help but want to try..."
After once losing that powerful strength that had brought her both pain and pride, after the flames of pain and anxiety in the depths of her heart had gradually faded and no longer seared her every cell, making her restless every minute of every day, those criticisms and teachings that had once sounded like annoying noise and were dismissed with contempt began to resurface in her memory, imperceptibly influencing her every advance and retreat.
She hadn't even realized this change in herself until Lin Wei mentioned it, at which point she was suddenly startled and then felt a wave of embarrassment and shame for her belated realization.
Being so dull, I must be a disappointment, right? Yuno thought silently.
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Great wealth obtained out of thin air can easily make one lose themselves, let alone a body of impressive power."
Lin Wei saw what Yuno was thinking and comforted her with a smile.
"To have gained and then lost it is actually a good thing. You can rediscover the potential in your body bit by bit through your own efforts, using your human mind and wisdom to control your own power, rather than being swept along by this faintly out-of-control power that grips your limbs and brain."
"Gained and lost, lost and regained, gaining and losing... Hehe, who can say for sure?"
Yae Sakura showed a somewhat emotional expression. Then she smiled and said,
"Alright, it's getting late. Let's rest early."
After saying that, her figure dissipated and returned to the Stigmata space.
"It is getting late, but it's not time to rest just yet."
Lin Wei smiled and stood up.
"Let's go, we'll continue on our way."
"Yes."
Although Yuno was somewhat tired, she didn't refute him. She just asked with some curiosity,
"Are we still heading west today?"
She had expected an affirmative answer, as they had been walking this way for the past few days. But unexpectedly, Lin Wei shook his head and said,
"No, we're going out to sea."
"Out to sea?"
Yuno was stunned for a moment, truly surprised.
"Hehe, get on."
Lin Wei waved his hand and summoned the "Vill-V model" aircraft he hadn't used in a long time, hopping on with practiced ease. After the somewhat bewildered Yuno also boarded, he pushed the control stick, and they flew straight north, crossing the coast, reefs, and fine waves, flying swiftly close to the sea's surface, seeming to merge completely with the sea and sky in the night.
"Always staying in such deserted places makes one feel like they're in the apocalypse. That's not good."
Lin Wei turned his head and smiled at Yuno.
"Let's go, we'll change locations first."
"Out to sea... are we going directly to Europe?"
Yuno asked thoughtfully.
She had stayed in Schicksal for a considerable period and naturally knew that Schicksal's traditional sphere of influence was the European continent. She also knew that the floating island where Schicksal's headquarters was located floated high in the sky above this sea.
She had previously thought Lin Wei wanted to go to Gibraltar first, then cross the strait to the European continent. But now, it seemed he had other plans.
As for why this thing, which had a rather unique design but was clearly an aircraft, wasn't flying higher into the sky to directly search for Schicksal headquarters, she didn't think much about it. After all, the altitude of Schicksal's headquarters was not something an ordinary aircraft could reach.
"It's not time yet."
Lin Wei simply said, without offering much explanation.
After speeding a short distance at sea, until the coastline behind them had gradually disappeared below the horizon, Lin Wei suddenly changed direction again, speeding east. After a long while, he let out a light laugh.
"Ha, found it!"
At the edge of their vision appeared a huge merchant ship loaded with containers. Lin Wei piloted the aircraft towards it rapidly, then quietly ascended, landing silently on the wide deck under the cover of night.
"Alright, it's getting late. Let's find a place to rest."
Lin Wei put away the aircraft and said with a smile.
"Keep it down. As stowaways, it's better not to be discovered by the crew."
Though he said that, with Pandora's cover, it would be difficult for their movements to be noticed anyway—if all else failed, there was still "Projection: Fenghuang Down" to forcibly make the crew ignore their presence.
"...Yes."
Although Yuno was full of doubts, hearing Lin Wei's reminder, she naturally dared not make any more noise. Coupled with her fatigue, she had no choice but to follow Lin Wei, find an empty cabin like he did, and fall into a deep sleep.
When the sky began to lighten, Lin Wei hacked into the ship's control room to check the logbook. After confirming they had passed through the Suez Canal, he gently shook the still-sleeping Yuno nearby.
"Wake up, time to get up."
"...Hmm?"
Yuno, awakened, looked at him blankly.
Perhaps her body's recovery was not yet complete and she needed more sleep, or perhaps she simply wasn't used to the bumpy cabin environment. In any case, she hadn't slept soundly.
"It's almost dawn. We should change ships."
Lin Wei pointed out the porthole. Not far away, another merchant ship happened to be passing by the one they were on.
Thus, the old trick was repeated. Lin Wei summoned the aircraft again and, before the sky completely brightened, carried himself and Yuno onto another giant ship heading in the opposite direction.
"Is this the direction we were heading before? Aren't we just going back?"
Yuno was full of doubts but just bit her lip and didn't ask.
"If Ana were here, she would definitely have asked all her questions."
Lin Wei looked at the conflicted Yuno and smiled.
"That foolish girl, she can't keep anything in..."
The sudden mention of Ana made Yuno pause for a moment. Then, a strange impulse and courage surged within her, and she asked,
"Why?"
"Why what?"
Lin Wei asked, feigning ignorance.
"It's just..."
Yuno, anxious, blushed, but didn't know how to say it.
"Having questions and curiosity is a good thing, but no need to rush."
Lin Wei didn't make things difficult for her. He just comfortingly ruffled her hair and then softly explained,
"Ana is in Schicksal, and Schicksal is in Europe. And that ship is heading to Asia. Of course, we can't go too far, right?"
"But, why take such a big detour?"
With Lin Wei's comfort and encouragement, Yuno finally asked the question that had been bottled up inside her. Afterward, as if a great weight had been lifted, she felt a sense of physical and mental relief.
"The purpose is to take such a big detour. This is called 'the golden cicada sheds its shell' (escape by creating a convincing decoy)!"
Lin Wei smiled and said.
"Otherwise, if we appeared out of thin air in North Africa like before, it would cause trouble for the children at the orphanage."
"Uh..."
Yuno was stunned for a moment, not expecting this to be Lin Wei's reason.
"Otto will find us sooner or later, then trace our movements, doing his best to find where we were hiding before, and why we suddenly appeared in North Africa."
Lin Wei looked up at the blue sky and said.
"If he digs up World Serpent's old nest, that's not a big deal. It's just a dog-eat-dog show. But I don't want the children's lives to be disturbed by him..."
Otherwise, I really wouldn't have the face to see Raven again, Lin Wei thought silently. Then he gently stomped on the thick steel deck beneath his feet and added,
"Now it's fine. When we return to that land again, we'll have another clear trajectory—we arrived here on a cargo ship from some unknown port in Asia. As for where we boarded the ship, whether it was in the Far East, Shenzhou, or Southeast Asia, let Schicksal slowly investigate."
"Sorry, I didn't think of that..."
Yuno was stunned. She hadn't expected this could potentially bring great trouble to the children at the orphanage.
She liked those children very much, not just because they were all survivors of Nagazora City like herself, but also because those children had never looked at her like she was a freak.
The thought that her negligence could have brought unpredictable danger to those children made Yuno feel a wave of shame.
"It's not your fault. After all, you stayed in Schicksal for a considerable period. You're probably not used to speculating about yourself with such obvious malice. It's human nature."
Lin Wei smiled and comforted her.
"As for me, I'm just wary of that Overseer Otto. I'm very confident in this 'old friend's' style of doing things..."
When he said the words "old friend" and "confidence," Lin Wei's calm tone carried a faint hint of sarcasm. I won't give you any exploitable weaknesses! he thought to himself.
"Mm..."
Yuno thought of that blond man who always had a fake smile on his face. He had never left a good impression on her. After thinking for a moment, she asked.
"Then, what's next for us..."
"Next, of course, we go back! When we pass through the Suez Canal, or some port, we'll disembark again."
Lin Wei said calmly.
"Then, we'll change direction and head north along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean. After all..."
At this point, Lin Wei paused, reached out and ruffled Yuno's hair, and smiled.
"You still have a journey of your own to complete. Of course, you can't just give up halfway!"
"A journey?"
Yuno asked thoughtfully.
"Do you mean, training like before?"
As she spoke, she summoned several more vines, which wrapped around her from her waist and arms. She said with some stubbornness,
"I've already improved a lot!"
I don't like being taken care of like a child. This thought flashed through her mind but was ultimately left unsaid.
"Of course, I certainly know you've improved a lot. And it's precisely because of this that you can enter the next stage of the 'journey'."
Lin Wei's voice was still calm, with a unique sense of comfort.
"After all, how long has it been since you walked and lived in normal human society?"
"I..."
Yuno was at a loss for words. After the Nagazora City Honkai Eruption, she seemed to have truly been detached from normal "human society" for a long time. Immortal Blades headquarters, the training room, the Elysian Realm... The only interlude was the battlefield of the Manila Honkai Eruption, and the orphanage where she had briefly stayed—and even that orphanage had never escaped the nightmare of the Honkai.
The phrase "normal life" was as distant as a dream to her...
"...But, isn't Ana the important thing right now?"
Yuno bit her lip, hoping to make Lin Wei focus on the current priority.
"Ana is still waiting for us, I know."
Lin Wei said with a straight face.
"Of course she's important, but aren't you important too?"
Of course, there was an even more important sentence left unsaid: he was going to start exposing himself, bit by bit, and then wait for Otto to make the first move. And before that, he still had some preparations to make—getting Yuno back into better shape was also part of the preparations.
Before things officially began, every bit of time he could buy was good...
Of course, if he said such words, it would seem too utilitarian. Therefore, Lin Wei chose the simplest reason.
After all, he really was in a bit of a hurry...
Although this "concluding statement" that killed the conversation sounded somewhat shameless, having Yuno re-experience the atmosphere of human society right after her "rebirth" was, of course, one of his genuine, unadulterated goals.
After all, to be able to return to human society, even just to walk through it briefly, was of great positive significance for her to stabilize her personality and restore her shattered emotions.
"..."
Lin Wei's casual sentence hit Yuno's heart hard, leaving her at a loss for what to say...
"We're almost at the shore. Let's get ready to disembark."
Lin Wei looked down from on high at the canal banks on both sides and waved to Yuno.