As dusk approached, Ming Yu and his group found a relatively secluded house to use as a temporary base for the night.
After clearing out the surrounding Honkai Zombies and zombies, Ming Yu looked at his accommodations for the night, fell silent for a moment, and chose to break down the door violently. Raising the blade in his right hand, Ming Yu brought it down in a single stroke, and the door swung open.
"Will the owner complain about us doing this?" Ming Yu said with some concern.
Bronya let out a "Heh," Mei rolled her eyes at Ming Yu, and Kiana said nonchalantly, "These are special circumstances, who has time to worry about that? Besides, it's not even certain the owner is still around."
In a city ravaged by a Honkai Eruption, the vast majority of people would turn into Honkai Zombies or zombies within minutes due to Honkai Energy corrosion; very few survived. Perhaps because the disaster struck so suddenly, most of the supplies were preserved in relatively good condition, so Ming Yu's group didn't have to worry about resources. As long as one was strong enough, they could still live quite well in this Honkai-ravaged city.
The house Ming Yu's group chose was practically a small villa. Fortunately, the water and electricity were still working. Ming Yu couldn't help but want to complain about the quality of the engineering—did this kind of thing really fit the post-apocalyptic aesthetic?
Perhaps it was because girls tend to love cleanliness; with Ming Yu standing guard, the three of them, Kiana, Mei, and Bronya, excitedly ran off to take a shower, leaving Ming Yu alone and bewildered in the living room.
Ming Yu stood in the living room for a good while before accepting this reality. The three girls he was traveling with had all gone to shower, while he was left behind to watch the door. It was only then that Ming Yu realized this was a yuri-centric world. Was he, perhaps, superfluous?
Not knowing how long girls take to shower—the carefree Kiana probably wouldn't pay attention to the time, and the considerate Mei might consider the situation, but she wouldn't be able to resist the pestering of Kiana and Bronya, who both had designs on her. After a moment of quiet melancholy, Ming Yu decided to use the time to make dinner.
Thinking back on his culinary skills, Ming Yu decided to choose from his many areas of expertise... instant noodles. I choose you!
He skillfully boiled the water, put in the noodle cake, added the seasoning packet, and stirred it to infuse the flavor. He timed it perfectly and served it. Although there were no fresh vegetables, the rehydrated vegetable packet could still add a touch of green to the noodles. He also added two fried eggs to each bowl and sliced up a ham sausage—a truly luxurious meal. Ming Yu couldn't help but give himself a thumbs-up.
Before long, the three girls finished their showers. The sight of them, as beautiful as lotuses emerging from the water, made Ming Yu's face flush slightly. Frankly, all three were very beautiful. Mei was a classic Eastern beauty, her skin appearing delicate and alluring after her bath. Kiana, on the other hand, had a fair complexion clearly distinct from Easterners, which was tinged with a rosy hue from the hot water. Her usual twin braids were let down, making her look a bit more mature, giving off a queenly vibe. As for Bronya, she was also the cute type. With her spiral twin tails undone, she also looked more mature, but her petite loli height was something one couldn't bear to look at directly.
Turning his head to hide his embarrassment, Ming Yu pointed to the noodles on the table and said, "I was bored waiting outside, so I made dinner. My cooking isn't very good, so please don't mind it."
"Thank you for the trouble," Mei said with a smile.
"Wow, it smells so good!" Kiana exclaimed loudly. "Even if it's not as good as Mei's cooking, this young lady won't mind!"
"Thank you. Bronya is very happy," Bronya said, still expressionless.
The three of them came to the dining table, and Ming Yu pushed a bowl of noodles to each of them.
"Hey, Ming Yu, why are there only three bowls? Aren't you eating?" Kiana asked, looking at the three bowls on the table with confusion.
"Heh heh," Ming Yu sneered, pushing the basin on the table, which was as large as three big bowls combined, towards Kiana. The meaning was self-evident.
"I... I can't possibly eat that much!" Kiana's face flashed with embarrassment as she hastily tried to cover it up.
Ten minutes later.
Kiana put down the completely empty basin and said in a very unladylike manner, "That was delicious! Is there more?"
Seeing everyone staring at her, Kiana said guiltily, "Alright, alright, I'm full too."
Seeing that everyone had finished eating, Ming Yu stood up and said, "Well then, I'll leave the dishes to you. I'm going to take a shower now."
After Ming Yu left, Mei spoke to Kiana and Bronya with a solemn expression, "Did you notice? This Ming Yu seems to know us. He not only correctly named Bronya's Project Bunny, but he even knew about Kiana's unusual appetite."
Reminded by Mei, Kiana also noticed the anomaly and couldn't help but fall silent. Bronya thought for a moment and said, "Ming Yu is indeed very strange, but the strength he has shown is not that great. Moreover, he hasn't shown any hostility so far. Bronya believes he can be trusted for now."
Mei nodded as well. "I think so too, but we still need to be careful. After all, it's always wise to be on guard against others."
At this moment, Ming Yu was unaware that he had just weathered a crisis of trust. The knowledge and concern he had unintentionally shown for the three girls had instead aroused their suspicion, leading them to speculate about him.
When Ming Yu returned to the living room, Mei asked, feigning casualness, "Ming Yu, how did you find Kiana and me today?"
"Oh, that," Ming Yu thought for a moment and replied, "I happened to be nearby and heard gunshots. I thought there might be other survivors, so I came to check. I saw you were being chased by a Honkai Beast and couldn't help but intervene." Ming Yu thought to himself, *At least the sound of gunfire is a conspicuous excuse. I can't just say I've been looking for you for three days; that would be impossible to explain.*
"Is that so?" Mei didn't dwell on it and continued to ask, "What are your plans after leaving Nagazora?"
Ming Yu pondered for a long time before saying, "I haven't decided yet. I came to Nagazora for a trip, but I didn't expect to run into a Honkai Eruption. I might continue my travels afterward." Not having a legal identity was the biggest flaw in Ming Yu's persona. The person known as Ming Yu had, in fact, only appeared in this world a few days ago. His past was a complete blank slate, something that was impossible to conceal.
To change the subject, Ming Yu asked in return, "What are your plans after leaving Nagazora?"
Kiana immediately said, "I'm going to find my stinky old man and show him the consequences of abandoning me!"
Mei's expression darkened. "I also want to investigate what happened to my father."
Bronya glanced at Mei and said, "Bronya wants to be with big sister Mei."
Kiana instantly became furious, pointing at Bronya and yelling, "You little pipsqueak! Then I want to be with senior Mei too!"
Watching their interaction, Ming Yu once again felt like a bowl of dog food had been thrown in his face, dealing 10,000 critical damage to his heart.
Looking at the sky, and worried about Honkai Beasts and Honkai Zombies, the four of them didn't dare turn on the lights, lest they attract an attack. The light was already dimming. Ming Yu advised, "It's getting late. Everyone should rest early. We have to travel tomorrow."
Mei nodded. "Good night. Rest well."
"Good night."
"Good night," said the other two.
With one last look at Mei and Kiana, Ming Yu walked into his room. According to the original plot, a Templar-class or Thunder God-class Honkai Beast would attack tonight, likely drawn by the Herrscher of Reason within Mei or the Herrscher of the Void's consciousness within Kiana. Although they had changed their base, it was still necessary to take precautions.
Glancing at the Shirlena Stigmata, which had only one day left, Ming Yu guessed it probably only had a few hours remaining. He hoped it would be enough. Gripping the Seishuu Muramasa in his hand, Ming Yu drifted off to sleep.
In the middle of the night, Ming Yu felt a chilling sensation on his back. His eyes snapped open, his brain quickly booting up, and his body shot up with a carp-like leap. *It's here,* Ming Yu thought.
A loud "BOOM" echoed as the wall between Ming Yu's room and the girls' room collapsed. Through the large hole, a Honkai Beast dozens of meters tall could be seen slowly retracting a white, spiral-shaped long spear. The white spear tip crackled with faint purple lightning. It was, without a doubt, a Thunder God-class Honkai Beast.
The giant Honkai Beast held a spear in one hand and a grotesquely shaped large blade in the other, with arcs of purple electricity wrapping around its body. The cold moonlight reflected off its white shell, emitting a faint white glow. On its facial armor, there was a hint of what could almost be described as mockery.