His body felt so light as it was thrown into the air. Whether it was debris or something else, it fell into his collar. Beneath his sunglasses, the pitch-black world was stained with ominous crimson.
His head was splitting with pain. A gnawing ache seeped beneath his skin; a pillar fragment must have struck the back of his head.
His consciousness approached a blur. Everything before his eyes was covered in a haze. The staggering Lin fiercely bit his tongue. The pain, mixed with blood and the taste of rust, snapped him back to consciousness.
He squinted, observing the ruins of collapsed buildings that had been the first to be devastated by the impact. The blood and gore around him were too gruesome to bear. In the initial phase of the Honkai, many people did not die from Honkai energy corruption; the Honkai's manifestations were diverse—war, infectious diseases, meteorites, or even the descent of giant mechs—and the first direct wave of the eruption easily killed at least half the population from physical trauma.
Lin immediately checked on Seele, who had been next to him before the eruption. After the Honkai erupted, the entire city would become a monster cage fraught with danger. He could already hear the roars of some Honkai Beasts approaching from afar. As her senior, he had to first ensure his teammate's safety.
"Soldier Lin, are you alright..." Fortunately, he saw Seele not far away. She showed a relieved expression upon seeing Lin.
When the streaks of light destroyed the buildings, Lin, sensing danger, pushed Seele away, causing him to be hit by debris and thrown out by the impact. Seele, in contrast, only sustained minor injuries and was fine.
Lin touched the gash at the back of his head. Blood was still slowly oozing out. He did not respond. Instead, he immediately took out his sonar detector and pistol: "Seele, assume formation."
"O-okay." Seele also realized the situation was dire. They were within the affected zone of the Honkai and only had basic gear. They urgently needed to find a place to regroup and wait for support from the Moth of the Flame-Chasers.
She put on her headset-style communication device, took out her pistol, and quickly moved over the obstacles to Lin's side.
As she passed the corpses, she couldn't bear to look at their gruesome state. These lives, vibrant just minutes ago, were now reduced to pulp beneath the rubble.
But seeing Lin naturally checking his equipment, her gaze hardened.
This was no time for sentimentality. Lin was right; they had to carry the burden of these lives. If they truly felt compassion, they had to do everything possible to prevent further tragedies.
"First, advance toward the areas with low Honkai energy concentration. Try to avoid combat. If we encounter survivors..." Lin paused, then answered decisively, "Take them with us."
The reorganized Fifth Squad only had three members. With Captain Himeko absent, Lin effectively became the commanding officer. They immediately began to relocate based on the Honkai energy concentration shown on the detector.
"Roar————"
With a muffled, furious roar, the entire city began to revive in a different way.
Lin grabbed the attacking claw. His right hand, gripping the dagger reversed, fiercely stabbed into the Honkai Zombie's eye socket, then sliced, removing half of its head.
It was unknown when the Moth of the Flame-Chasers' technology started to lead the era. Perhaps the discovery of the Honkai forced a technological explosion, causing a gap between the Moth of the Flame-Chasers' technology and contemporary technology.
For example, the dagger produced by the Moth of the Flame-Chasers in Lin's hand was naturally not a conventional cold weapon. The knife's built-in chip could increase the blade's lethality through vibration frequency and heat, allowing it to cut through the skin of ordinary Honkai Zombies and Honkai Beasts.
Lin released the Honkai Zombie's hand and retrieved the dagger. He had killed all the Honkai Zombies on this street. To avoid attracting Honkai Beasts, he used only the dagger for all the kills, which was nearly as effective as a gun.
The problem with his uncoordinated body still persisted, and his injured head was in poor condition, but Honkai Zombies were still no threat to him.
Seele also dealt with a Honkai Zombie. She kept an eye out for survivors while fighting, but so far, everything moving was a Honkai Zombie. Their salivating, bloody mouths were clearly not a sign that they needed help.
"The target location is ahead. Wait for the transport plane on that rooftop."
Lin gazed at the tall building not far away. Ominous shadows flickered under the streetlights. There was blood on almost every window, and there was no need to guess what had happened inside. It was going to be a perilous route.
"Beep."
The sonar suddenly detected one target, located in the alley on the right. Lin gave Seele a hand signal to stop, and quietly walked toward the alley himself.
A Honkai Zombie?
Most likely.
But Lin was searching for that one slim possibility...
He gripped the dagger, and peeked around the corner.
"..."
There was no Honkai Zombie howling and rushing at him.
"..."
A pair of jade-green eyes met Lin's black eyes beneath his sunglasses. The dullness in her eyes seemed to be a constant feature, though this time, it was more vacant than ever, like a Seeleless puppet.
She was hugging her legs, sitting at the end of the filthy alley, in an area of pure darkness.
Lin stood still at the alley entrance, illuminated by the sparking streetlight.
He was like that beam of light.
Lin recalled her friend calling her name, and he softly spoke the name without inflection: "Hua."
Hua's body trembled. The dullness in her emerald green eyes gradually faded.
Not an illusion, not a living corpse... a living person?
Lin saw the consciousness in her eyes and nodded: "Seele, we have a survivor."
"That's great!" Seele put away her gun at Lin's signal and rushed over, her eyes widening in surprise when she saw the survivor. "Is that... Miss Hua?"
"You are... those two people?" Hua finally realized she had seen these two people recently.
She had separated from the white-haired girl after the disaster struck. She desperately wanted to find her, but all she saw were corpses. She had seen Honkai Zombies standing up one after another, and she was unknowingly forced into this alley, where she could only hide.
"We can talk about what happened later. We need to leave now."
Lin reached out his hand to Hua. His detector showed another target had appeared, but this time the target's size was terrifyingly large; it could not possibly be human.
"Leave... but..." Hua thought of the white-haired girl. A sudden pain pierced her heart—not her actual heart, but something deeper was aching.
The pain made it difficult for Hua to breathe.
Was she dead? Just like that, simply crossed off the roster... dead?
"...Live."
A cold voice pierced through the pain.
Hua numbly looked up at Lin, who had spoken.
He had walked up to her at some point, reached out, and forcefully grabbed her arm, pulling her to her feet. He looked directly into her scattered jade-green eyes, repeating the words once more: "Live."
"Your friend would surely want you to live, and I also want you to live."
Those whose minds are crushed by disaster are not uncommon in the Moth of the Flame-Chasers.
Unable to find direction in life, they make hating and seeking revenge on the Honkai their life goal; otherwise, simply living becomes meaningless.
He had seen that look too many times in the Moth of the Flame-Chasers.
"For your own sake, live."
"Beep————"
The wall on his right exploded. A massive, beastly arm shot out of the debris, sweeping toward them with terrifying, destructive power.
"Snap—"
Lin, using a single hand, pulled Hua's arm and violently flung her into Seele's embrace, then used a backbend to barely dodge the attack that would have ground his body into pulp.
The master of the attack, having missed, let out a heart-wrenching roar, smashing through the entire building and charging out, revealing its true form.
"Chariot-class... that Honkai energy concentration..."
The mountain-like figure and the crimson readings on the detector made Lin cautiously retreat a few steps to the alley entrance. He observed its colossal body, which was even larger than any previous Chariot-class Honkai Beast.
The different tiers of lower-tier Honkai Beasts were only distinguished by form, with no absolute strength difference. Thus, a Striker-class was not necessarily weaker than a Chariot-class or Knight-class. Moreover, there were many variants even among lower-tier Honkai Beasts, including some exceptionally troublesome individuals.
This Honkai Beast, whose size rivaled the entire building, was likely the pinnacle of the Chariot-class. Although still far from an Emperor-class Honkai Beast, its sheer Honkai energy concentration and destructive power had already reached the level of a Honkai Emperor.
If they were cornered by this creature, even the tall building designated as the evacuation point would be easily demolished.
Thoughts raced in a flash of lightning. Lin immediately made a decision—
"Seele, escort the survivor and leave."
Seele, who had just helped Hua to her feet, immediately blurted out: "No!"
Lin was injured, unbalanced, and only equipped with a pistol and a knife. It was impossible for him to fight a Honkai Beast of such immense size. That was no different from rushing to his death.
The Chariot-class Honkai Beast did not immediately resume its attack. Instead, it examined its prey like a wild beast. This Honkai Beast even possessed rudimentary intelligence and instinct. If the Moth of the Flame-Chasers were to classify it, it would likely be named to distinguish it from a common Chariot-class Honkai Beast.
"That is an order." Lin tightened his grip on the dagger, focusing his full attention on the Chariot-class Honkai Beast.
"You don't have the equipment..."
"Protect the survivor's life. Do you want her to participate in the fight?"
"..."
Seele was speechless, but she stared resentfully at Lin's retreating back. Hua also stared blankly at the figure, who showed no trace of wavering, looking like a fragile sapling beneath that massive creature.
The light had been entirely consumed by the giant beast. Foul dust rained down from the sky. The broken remnants of the streetlights on the ground emitted a final, sizzling lament and a dim light.
The dark corner was cast in shadow.
"I have a friend."
A glimmer of light cut through the darkness.
Lin held the knife in a forward grip, aiming it at the Honkai Beast. This provocative movement clearly enraged the creature. The ground shook with its roar, but Lin's figure stood firm and resolute, like a leaf riding the waves.
His entire body was screaming from the disharmony, but Lin still stood tall.
"He is a complete idiot."
"If it were him, even with only a baseball bat, he would never take a single step back."
The image of that white-haired boy appeared in Lin's eyes.
"This is an order. Escort the survivor away, and then wait for my communication to rendezvous."
Seele gritted her teeth, staring at Lin. Her rationality told her she must execute the order now, but...
She had just begun to understand Lin, to understand his thoughts, to understand the side of him where sentiment and rationality coexisted, and now, he was asking her to watch a comrade... rush to his death?
Seele lowered her head, her bangs shadowing her eyes.
Her pause was brief.
"Let's go." Seele grabbed Hua's hand and ran.
Seeing its prey escape, the Chariot-class Honkai Beast roared, and its massive body began to move.
Lin was expressionless. He raised his knife and charged, meeting the bloody gaping maw.