3. Following in Her Footsteps
As he expected, although the Fire Moth is a multinational organization on the surface, it is actually fighting against some unknown disaster.
The meteorite that fell from the sky was one of them.
They call this disaster "Honkai"!
However, when facing the entry physical examination of "Fire Moth", he encountered a crisis.
Because he was just a mediocre weakling and had spent the previous ten years studying hard, he was a piece of trash with a combat power of less than five.
As a scientific researcher, he is just an ordinary high school student and is totally unqualified...
However, seeing that there was a column on the medical examination form that said "Honkai Resistance: Good", the examiner gave him the green light.
He soon joined the intensive training and was exposed to more and more things.
I learned a lot about "Honkai," and my physical condition improved a lot.
Finally, after a year of training, he stepped onto the battlefield.
However, this high-spirited team was destroyed in the first battle.
The appearance of an Emperor-class Honkai Beast completely plunged the entire team into crisis.
The captain of his third squad died in battle while covering their evacuation.
After narrowly killing a Seraph-class Honkai beast, Ling was gasping for breath.
A black shadow enveloped him, and a Chariot-class Honkai beast several dozen meters tall leaped into the air and smashed down in his direction.
Although Ling dodged in time, the wind pressure still blew him away, and he hit the wall, almost killing him on the spot.
He struggled to get up, surrounded by the bodies of his teammates.
He couldn't fall here. The emotion he had never expressed to others and the pink figure hidden in his heart once again ignited his fighting spirit.
The gun in his hand kept spewing out flames and attacking the core of the Chariot-class Honkai beast.
Finally, cracks appeared in the core of the Chariot-class Honkai beast, and it fell to the ground with a loud bang.
But there was no joy on his face, because what followed was the even more terrifying Emperor-class Honkai Beast.
Facing the concentrated Honkai energy emitted by the Emperor-class Honkai Beast, the high temperature of thousands of degrees can turn him into ashes in an instant.
Ling could only run away with his head in his hands, draining every bit of strength from his body.
He wants to live; he must live!
Finally, Ling fainted after the fourth team of support arrived.
In this battle, Ling is the only survivor. (Lucky, activate)
But he also suffered severe psychological trauma and post-war stress.
Everyone thought that he would never be able to step onto the battlefield again. This kind of thing was not uncommon in the Fire Moth.
But just a week later, he was back on the battlefield.
No one knows why.
"Our mission this time is to clear out the remaining Honkai beasts around. Everyone, be careful, okay~?" Elysia shouted to the people around her.
"Understood!" the team members answered in unison.
Looking up, Ling was among them.
That day, he met Elysia again.
The first time, he was so clumsy; the second time, he was so embarrassed.
"Your name is Ling, right?"
"…"
"We've met before, remember? The way you looked at me when we first met really scared me, even though I'm really pretty."
"…"
Elysia said a lot, and her cheerful personality and beautiful smile became the plaster that healed his wounds.
"Will you be my teammate?"
She stretched out her hand toward Ling.
Ling looked at her and put his hand on her.
In this way, he became a member of the second team.
She is very powerful, and almost no task can stop her.
During the Second Honkai Eruption, she defeated the terrifying "Herrscher of the Void".
Ling has been following Elysia and would use his rare rest time for training.
Before he knew it, the title of "training maniac" was attached to him.
However, his mediocre qualifications meant that no matter how hard he tried, he could only be in the middle.
He was even pinned to the ground by Kevin, a recruit who had only trained for a month...
"Ling, why do you train so hard?" the teammate asked in confusion.
"...Because I don't want to be left behind," Ling replied.
"Hehe, I guess it's to follow the captain's footsteps!" A team member revealed his past with a laugh.
"Yeah." Ling nodded.
This is not something to be ashamed of.
The second team... no, the vast majority of people have admiration and love for Elysia.
Regardless of gender...
"Well, for ordinary people like us, it's already a great achievement to be able to retire alive. But it's always a good thing to have a goal." The team member patted him on the shoulder.
Although Ling is mediocre, he is still very popular among the team members. At least many girls are happy to talk to him.
He is not outstanding, but he works very seriously, never compromises, and always rushes to the front in battle.
Ling was somewhat helpless about this. After all, most of the members of the second team were girls, and as one of the few men, of course, they had to be at the front.
Sometimes he was exhausted from training, but as long as he saw the smile on Elysia's face, he would be full of energy.
Maybe this is the role of idols?
Or maybe I like it.
Although he liked her, he knew that the gap between him and Elysia was still too big.
He even had a hard time clearing out a few Chariot-class Honkai Beasts, while Elysia could easily fight against Emperor-class Honkai Beasts, and even had ease when facing Emperor-class Honkai Beasts.
Therefore, he very wisely classified this emotion as longing.
During the Sixth Honkai Eruption, Kevin's hesitation resulted in the death of almost all members of the second team.
Only Elysia and Ling were left.
Good Honkai resistance saved Ling's life at the edge of the battlefield, but his teammates could never come back.
That was the first time Ling successfully landed a punch on Kevin's face.
Kevin's handsome face was full of confusion and helplessness.
If it weren't for Elysia mediating, Ling would definitely have shot him into a sieve with the gun in his hand.
Because of Kevin's hesitation, only three people were left in the second and fourth teams...
Since then, Ling and Kevin have had conflicts.
The Seventh Honkai Eruption came as expected. The power was so powerful that it made people lose the courage to resist.
In order to deal with the unprecedentedly powerful "Herrscher of Fire", Dr. Mei and Mobius jointly planned the "MANTIS" program.
Kevin was the first to join the plan, and Elysia followed closely behind.
Ling did not hesitate and followed Elysia's footsteps to join the first batch of the "MANTIS" program.
That's a plan with a 0% success rate.
After entering the nutrient chamber, the factor of the Emperor-class Honkai beast was injected into the body.
First, there was endless pain, as if every bone in the body was ground into powder and then pieced back together bit by bit.
Repeated cycle...
Ling didn't know how he had managed to hold on. Perhaps it was his belief in pursuing Elysia that kept him going until now.
When the pain disappeared, Ling felt as if he was immersed in an endless ocean, his body falling continuously.
Keep going down...
He did not feel any discomfort and even felt like a baby swaddled in his mother's arms. (Good Water Affinity, Activate)
Finally, after two weeks, he succeeded.
He became a "MANTIS" warrior!
The Emperor-class Honkai beast that Ling fused with was named "Black Turtle". It possessed the ability to control water flow and had extremely powerful defensive capabilities.
He seemed to finally be able to stand by Elysia's side.
However, just as he was about to step onto the battlefield, Kevin had already defeated the Herrscher of Fire...
And Elysia also succeeded. She was even better than Kevin and fused with the only Vipralopa-class Honkai Beast - "Maheśvara".
The distance between him, Kevin, and Alicia didn't seem to shorten, but rather grew even greater.
…