This was a desolate, deserted street. The road, neglected for years, was riddled with potholes and cracks. The buildings on either side were covered in dust, as if abandoned long ago. Standing here, one felt completely isolated from the world.
No, it wasn't entirely deserted. A woman in tattered clothes, her skin a sickly gray-blue, her eyes vacant, shuffled slowly across the street. Of course, that was if *it* could still be considered human.
But sadly, it was no longer human. It was a Dead Soldier, transformed by Honkai Energy.
Honkai Energy originates from the world's Honkai, a cyclical phenomenon that occurs every few centuries. The manifestations of Honkai are unpredictable, ranging from wars and epidemics to climate disasters, comet impacts, or even the arrival of giant mechs. According to ancient texts, it is an unfathomable divine will. In practice, it invariably brings catastrophic destruction to the dominant species of the world. The most recent Honkai was the Black Death of the 14th century, which directly or indirectly wiped out a third of the global population. Whether the extinction of the dinosaurs during the ancient Cretaceous Period was also a form of Honkai remains unknown.
In 2014, the world finally experienced its third Honkai outbreak. The sudden Honkai event turned a large number of humans in the affected city into Dead Soldiers. Most women were infected by Honkai Energy and became Dead Soldiers, while nearly all men were annihilated by the energy due to their physical inability to withstand it.
Fortunately, Honkai outbreaks had always been localized and sporadic. Even the third Honkai outbreak only turned a bustling city into a ghost town, unlike the apocalyptic scenarios in novels where the entire world is transformed into a zombie-infested wasteland. Ordinary people remained blissfully unaware of the truth, continuing their lives as usual.
Dead Soldiers lost their minds. Lower-level ones behaved like zombies, tearing at humans and spreading Honkai Energy infection. Higher-level ones gained extraordinary abilities, wielding incredible power. Regardless of their level, their sole purpose was to destroy the world.
Therefore, it was clear that in this Honkai outbreak, the mutated Dead Soldiers were the manifestation of the Honkai itself.
Nagazora City, the first town to be hit by the third Honkai outbreak, was now completely overrun by Dead Soldiers. Not even a stray cat or dog could survive here, let alone a rat. The concentration of Honkai Energy in this outbreak zone was so intense that animals either died from it or were infected, transforming into massive, powerful Honkai Beasts—the ultimate hosts for the energy!
Yet here, in this forbidden land where mortals dared not tread, three young girls strolled through streets littered with the corpses of Dead Soldiers, their expressions relaxed as if they were merely strolling through their own garden.
The girl in the middle had stunning silver hair, her long locks tied into twin ponytails that cascaded down her chest. A mischievous smile played on her fair, delicate face. Supporting her was a tall, beautiful girl with long black hair styled into a ponytail with a bow. She listened to the silver-haired girl's complaints, offering a gentle, wry smile.
On the silver-haired girl's left stood a girl with a completely expressionless face. She had light brown hair, slightly curled and styled into twin ponytails that, due to the curls, resembled drill-shaped pigtails, giving her an adorably cute appearance.
"Even if Bronya didn't step in, I could have taken down that Honkai Beast in a matter of seconds," Kiana Kaslana declared with a tsundere air.
"Bronya's system calculations show Kiana's chance of defeating the Honkai Beast at 0.01%, with a 50% chance of death," Bronya, the light brown-haired girl, stated emotionlessly.
"Damn it, you useless little runt! You wanna fight?" Kiana bristled, clutching her injured right arm.
Bronya, still expressionless, glanced at Kiana's right arm and said calmly, "Bronya's chance of winning is 99 percent."
"Aaaah! Aaaah! Aaaah!" Kiana screamed, her face contorted in a frenzy.
"Alright, alright, everyone calm down," Raiden Mei, the gentle black-haired girl, intervened as a peacemaker.
Bronya and Kiana glared at each other before both snorting and turning away.
Raiden Mei smiled wryly, about to start persuading them. She knew they were just joking around; a little coaxing would have them back to normal in no time. But then a flash of white light suddenly appeared in the upper left corner of her vision.
"Boom!" The white light streaked across the sky like a meteor, vanishing in an instant as it crashed into the far end of Nagazora City, a corner the three of them had never visited before. The impact sent a massive shockwave through the air.
"What... what was that?" Kiana stammered, her eyes wide with shock. Even she, who hadn't read many books, didn't believe there could be a visible "meteor" during the day.
"Bronya's database has no record of it," Bronya stated flatly, admitting her ignorance.
"A meteor? Aliens?" Raiden Mei speculated, but immediately dismissed the idea.
"Sister Mei, let's go check it out!" Kiana suggested excitedly. For the simple-minded, white-haired ball of energy, this kind of adventure was the most fun.
"No, absolutely not! You've just been injured. You can't go risking yourself like that!" Raiden Mei said sternly, her face serious. "Besides, there are too many Dead Soldiers there. It's too dangerous." She paused, then added, "As the oldest here, it's my duty to take care of both of you."
"Ugh~~~~╮(╯_╰)╭" Kiana whined, looking like a defeated dog.
"Come on, let's go," Raiden Mei urged, continuing toward their temporary shelter without waiting. This tactic proved highly effective; Kiana and Bronya could only hurry after their part-time "cook" and "babysitter." After all, in this day and age, milk was still mother.
The three girls continued their usual bickering as they hurried away.
'What was that?' Raiden Mei wondered, glancing back at the crash site while the other two were arguing. Her black eyes were filled with curiosity.
Seventeen-year-old girls were always curious, no matter where they were.