"Raiden Mei, the only daughter of President Raiden Ryoma. I'm not mistaken, am I?"
A man with dyed blond hair, somewhat dark skin, and a frivolous smile plastered across his face – a man whose appearance, mannerisms, and even tone of voice perfectly embodied the word "frivolous" – stood before Raiden Mei.
Raiden Mei felt a strong sense of unease. She wanted to step back, to flee, but several large men blocked her escape route from behind.
"Heehee! Why try to leave without saying a word? Is that how your family taught you? Such poor manners."
"Raiden Ryoma is having a tough time in prison right now, you know? The president who once lived in luxury can now only eat scraps behind bars. He even gets 'disciplined' by many inmates who dislike him. They say he gets beaten black and blue every day."
Of course, the man didn't know if what he was saying was true or false; the person pulling the strings simply told him to say it.
"What..."
Raiden Mei's pupils constricted, her face filled with disbelief.
"Raiden Mei, you jinxed your own mother, causing her to die of cancer. Now your father is about to be jinxed to death by you too. President Raiden Ryoma made quite a few enemies back in the day. Now that he's fallen, naturally, many who resented him want to take the opportunity to teach him a lesson. Some radical ones even want your father dead in prison!"
"You really are a harbinger of misfortune! You didn't know, did you? We told that so-called good friend of yours about how you jinxed your parents to death. The little girl's face changed instantly! Did she run off without even giving you a reason?"
"Hahaha!"
The man's crazed laughter echoed in her ears. Raiden Mei's expression grew increasingly vacant, her pupils slowly dilating, becoming empty.
Seeing Raiden Mei completely devoid of spirit, the frivolous man licked his lips. Anyway, the person behind the scenes only needed him to deliver these words. There were no further instructions... He could savor the taste of this young lady himself!
He'd been eyeing her for a long time! Heeheehee!
"Brothers, let's invite our dear Miss Raiden over for a nice chat. Don't worry, you'll get your share. Let's all have a good taste together, see just how tight this young lady is! Heeheehee!"
Raiden Mei slowly lowered her head, as if giving up resistance. But the two large men who had blocked her path remained frozen in place, unmoving.
The blond man, whose smile had been utterly lewd and who had been steadily approaching, also stopped dead in his tracks, his expression still frozen in its previous state.
Raiden Mei slowly raised her head, purple arcs of electricity crackling around her body.
"Disgusting ants, die!"
In an instant, lightning engulfed the surroundings. The moment the thunder descended, a certain phenomenon instantly spread, causing the bustling crowds to freeze mid-motion.
Pedestrians stopped walking; moving cars instantly lost control, leading to violent collisions erupting everywhere. Radios and televisions that were playing normally lost their signals in an instant; some were destroyed outright. Even insects, normally unnoticed, ceased all activity at this moment.
This period of biological stasis didn't last long. Just moments later, countless agonizing screams echoed throughout the city.
It was as if Hell had descended upon the mortal world.
Xin Yu had just handed the delivery to a young mother. She had a weary smile on her face as she gently stroked her child's head. The child had been clamoring for pizza, so she could only oblige and order delivery.
"Mommy's the best!"
The child happily bounced back into the room, holding the pizza box.
"When I give you yummy food, it's 'Mommy's the best.' When I make you do homework, it's 'Mommy's the worst.' Oh, you!"
Though she spoke these words, Xin Yu could still see the smile on the mother's face.
However, just as Xin Yu was about to leave, he suddenly sensed something. Before he could even react, an intense wave of "Spiritual Power" instantly swept through the area.
Even he was momentarily stunned by the powerful impact, losing consciousness for a split second. When he came to, he saw the mother, who had been smiling just moments before, collapse to the ground in agony.
And the child, who had been holding the pizza, lay collapsed just in front of the mother... utterly silent.
The mother cried out, desperately trying to crawl towards her child, but her outstretched hand ultimately fell short by a single centimeter.
Her eyes wide, straining with all her might, she remained frozen in that position as life left her.
Before Xin Yu's eyes, both bodies crumbled into fly ash – a result of extreme energy erosion, where the physical form couldn't withstand the energy-induced transformation and disintegrated.
Nothing remained.
Xin Yu felt his entire body trembling. He didn't know if it was fear or rage; he couldn't comprehend the emotion brewing within him.
He rushed to the hallway window and looked outside, witnessing a city engulfed in flames.
Cars collided, and the resulting explosions ignited fires, alongside flames caused by severe electrical overloads.
He could hear the screams of countless people – cries of pain, howls of despair – lasting for a mere twenty seconds.
Twenty seconds later, all human sounds vanished from the city. The former hustle and bustle were gone. Only the roar of explosions and the crackling of fire could be heard.
The peace and prosperity of yesterday vanished in an instant. Twenty-three seconds. In just twenty-three short seconds, millions of people in the city had died.
The fragility of life was laid bare in this moment.
Kiana smashed a Deadwalker before her with the baseball bat in her hands. The girl no longer wore her usual naive, slightly goofy expression. She gritted her teeth, her face somewhat fierce.
"Great Honkai Eruption... Why? Why did it have to happen now! Mei! You have to be okay! Wait for me, I'll definitely come save you!"
With that, Kiana tossed aside the broken bat, punched another lunging Deadwalker to the ground, and sprinted rapidly towards the distance.
Raiden Mei – no, the Herrscher of Thunder – walked across the empty school campus. Here, she had been bullied, and she had also been revered. She was once called the Lightning Empress, admired and adored by countless people. But after her father's imprisonment, everything changed.
Humans... how ugly they are.
The Herrscher of Thunder stood on the school rooftop, silently absorbing the surrounding Honkai energy. She had just been born and was still far from her peak state. But once she absorbed enough Honkai energy, the Herrscher of Thunder would leave this place to eliminate humans elsewhere.
The Third Honkai Eruption had arrived.