Although Kiana and Mei had reacted quickly to the appearance of the golden light and had gone downstairs to find its source, they were hindered by the fact that they had been staying on the fourteenth floor of the building to avoid being discovered by Honkai Beasts. Without an elevator, their descent was painfully slow. By the time they reached the ground floor, all they saw was a cold wind blowing a few withered leaves around. The golden light was long gone.
Li Xuan had no idea what the Stone of Stellar Resonance did, so he simply tossed the summoned item into a corner of his ring's space and decided to deal with it later.
Just as Li Xuan was getting up to leave, he saw Kiana and Mei looking around at the base of the building from a distance. He paused for a moment, then instantly understood. Nothing but the golden light could have drawn them down here. However, Li Xuan had long been prepared for this possibility.
"Li Xuan?! What are you doing here? By the way, did you see that pillar of golden light just now?" The sharp-eyed Kiana immediately spotted Li Xuan walking toward them and hurriedly asked. Li Xuan's right hand, which was behind his back, flipped, and a bag of food appeared out of thin air… Of course, Kiana and Mei didn't see this.
"Nope. I was busy with something else," Li Xuan said with a straight face, spouting nonsense. Mei, next to Kiana, stared intently at Li Xuan's face but couldn't see through his lie, so she had to drop it.
"Then what were you doing?" Kiana asked, her azure eyes wide with curiosity.
"Me? I found something delicious…" Li Xuan said with a smile.
"Food?!" The foodie Kiana's eyes instantly lit up, sparkling like little stars. But then she frowned, her expression skeptical. "It's been so long. The food should have gone bad by now, right?!" She had found plenty of well-packaged food before, but when she opened it, oh heavens, the chicken legs were covered in a layer of mold.
"Of course not. And it's the perfect food for this time of year…" Li Xuan said with a grin.
"What? What is it? Let me see," Kiana said, her eyes gleaming.
Indeed, children's eyes really do sparkle… Li Xuan thought to himself.
"It's this…" Li Xuan revealed the food in his right hand.
"Mooncakes!…" Kiana snatched the mooncakes from Li Xuan's hand. Looking at the well-packaged treats, she couldn't help but rub her cheek against the bag, like a little cat rubbing against its owner's hand. Her eyes were narrowed in bliss.
"Come to think of it, the Mid-Autumn Festival is almost here…" Mei said, touching her face.
"Then let's go to the rooftop tonight to eat mooncakes and watch the moon!" Kiana exclaimed excitedly, holding up the mooncakes.
"Uh…" Mei opened her mouth, about to say something.
"Li Xuan, you should have more, right? Hand them over for the group to eat tonight!" Kiana turned around and held out her hand to Li Xuan.
"…Fine, here you go." Li Xuan shrugged indifferently, reached into his collar, and pulled out three mooncakes, tossing them to Kiana.
"Ew, it's so unhygienic to keep things in your chest…" Kiana grumbled, but her hands moved quickly to put the mooncakes in her bag.
"…" These are ancient-style clothes. Where are the pockets?! Li Xuan silently complained in his mind.
"Alright, alright, let's go back. We'll eat the mooncakes after dinner," Mei said. "I'm talking to you, Kiana! No sneaking any!"
"Ow, ow…" Mei had grabbed Kiana's ear.
I hope the weather is good tonight, Li Xuan thought, looking up at the cloudless blue sky.
…
Perhaps due to the rooftop mooncake event, everyone ate dinner with particular speed that evening. Kiana, especially, could only be described as a starving tiger pouncing on its prey; her eating skills had reached a whole new level.
"…" Bronya, sitting next to Kiana, watched her ferocious eating display with a bewildered expression.
And so, after Kiana's one-woman show at the dinner table concluded, the group made their way to the rooftop, sitting on chairs they had brought up.
A full moon was slowly rising from the horizon, casting a faint, gentle glow. The bright moonlight shone down on the earth, making no distinction between humans and Honkai Zombies.
"It's really beautiful…" Li Xuan said with a sigh, taking a sip of tea. Nagazora City, now occupied by the Honkai and free from industrial pollution, seemed to have an exceptionally clear sky. Perhaps, for the world, the 'God' (Honkai) is the righteous one.
"Yeah, it's sho pwetty…" Kiana mumbled, her mouth full as she continued to stuff mooncakes into it. Girls really must have a separate stomach for dessert.
"What's that?.." Mei suddenly pointed at the bright moon.
A black dot seemed to appear in the center of the bright, full moon, and it was growing larger, flying toward them.
Kiana put down her mooncake. With a flick of her hand, a pistol appeared in each hand: 'Fairy Bow Silven' and 'Mjolnir.' Raiden Mei was also handed a shotgun, 'Lucian's Secret,' by Kiana. Bronya was already protected by Project Bunny 19C. Li Xuan stood quietly in place as a layer of blue shield manifested over his 'Xuanyuan Festive Garb.'
Everyone was on high alert… because the figure was familiar.
"Well… we meet again," a voice said. The black dot in the sky was a floating cockpit, and a girl with waist-length golden hair sat lazily upon it.
Fluorescent flying objects circled around her, and her long golden hair danced gently in the breeze.