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Chapter 35 - Chapter 35: Dancing Under the Moon

"Kiana, look, it's that little girl from before!" Mei whispered to Kiana, holding her gun.

"She really was following us," Kiana whispered back to Mei.

"Summer fireflies… they can only shine so faintly. After this season, you'll never see them again." The girl extended a slender, fair hand. A fluorescent flying object hovered above it, emitting a soft glow that illuminated her palm, the exquisite, beautiful face under her slightly long bangs, and the sorrow in her eyes.

In that moment, she was as beautiful as a painting.

"We meet again, firefly-loving girl," Li Xuan said, stunned for a moment. For some reason, even though she had ruined his one chance to escape Nagazora City, he couldn't bring himself to feel any anger or killing intent towards her.

Why is that? Li Xuan thought he probably understood. Facing her felt like facing his own little sister...

"Calling her own glowing flying things 'fireflies,' how childish," Kiana muttered with a pout. She didn't have a good impression of the girl. Although she found her looks to be quite to her taste (wipes drool), she had her principles. This person had almost hurt her beloved Mei.

"But, the growth rate of Anti-Entropy's artificial humans is astonishing," Kiana said, staring at the girl's body with an entranced and slightly envious expression.

Her hair hadn't been this long before. Now, her brilliant, golden-laurel-like hair cascaded down to her waist… even her figure was taller than before.

"I like fireflies too. When they glow, it makes you feel so calm inside," Li Xuan said, as if to himself. He remembered the summer nights of his childhood, when the mountains and fields were filled with the glow of fireflies. That scene was like a dream.

"What meaning is there in such a fragile life? Tonight's bright moon has eternally illuminated this pale world. No matter how much emotion you invest in this world, in the end, it will all turn to ash in her light." The girl's voice was filled with sorrow, her downcast eyes seeming to mourn something.

"Even if you turn to ash, you can still find something important in a short life, right?" Mei said, as if trying to convince herself. Her gaze was firm and spirited as she met the girl's eyes. "Your hair has grown longer, you've become so beautiful. Tonight is a full moon, you're just like a shrine maiden from the legends," Mei suddenly remarked with a sigh.

"The Bronya agrees with Mei," Bronya Zaychik, who had been silent, suddenly chimed in.

"It's just an abandoned shell. But… hearing you say I'm beautiful still makes me very happy," the girl said with a faint smile, a smile so stunningly beautiful it could topple cities. She twirled a lock of golden hair around her finger. Kiana, standing nearby, felt her hands go a little weak and her nose a little hot.

"My life ends today. A failed experiment, what's there to pity?" the girl said with a detached expression, announcing her own fate.

The lifespan of the flawed girl-weapons developed by Anti-Entropy was extremely short. This was why she was in Nagazora City… once the Honkai data was collected, she could be directly abandoned, like a disposable chopstick thrown away after a meal. For Anti-Entropy, which didn't invest much cost in them, it was quite a bargain, and they could even get some experimental data out of it.

"..." Bronya Zaychik, also an experimental subject of Anti-Entropy, remained expressionless but bit her lip hard.

"But, looking at you all, I suddenly want to find a friend too," the girl said, her golden eyes fixed on the group, a trace of envy flashing in their depths. She added, "I want to play with you all again. I was born as a weapon, so that should be fun, right?"

"You sound so sad," Mei said, looking at the girl with pity, her left hand clutching the front of her shirt.

At that moment, Li Xuan also felt a strong urge to pull the girl into his arms. Why does such a cute, beautiful girl have such a desperate fate? If only I could…

Li Xuan thought…

"Wait…" He tried to speak, but his voice was drowned out by another sound…

Whoosh~ The light from the fluorescent orbs circling the girl grew stronger, and energy began to gather.

"Come! Let us fight, and then let me die," the girl said, standing up. She held a small fan in her hand and opened it with a snap. She waved her wide sleeves, as if she were dancing.

Like the ancient priestesses of old, praying to the gods under the bright full moon, she danced under the moonlight.

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