The Third Honkai Eruption—the Calamity of Thunder—had ended. The skies over the Far East returned to boundless blue, yet humanity's struggle against the Honkai would continue.
Nagazora City lay in a low-lying area and was also a port city. After being battered by thunderstorms and the meteor-like rain of Honkai Beasts, the land had sunk severely. Seawater poured back into the city, flooding it entirely with ocean water saturated with Honkai energy.
MOTH's mobilization order had not been lifted. The final cleanup of the war still had to be carried out.
More ordinary soldiers picked up rifles, rowed life rafts, and followed mechanized units into the city's ruins to eliminate wandering Honkai Beasts.
They were peacekeeping forces under the United Nations, not soldiers directly under MOTH. MOTH's troops were all elite, one in a hundred, far too precious to continue expending. So the United Nations soldiers were assigned this kind of "cannon-fodder work."
After the Herrscher's death, the Honkai Beasts had shrunk to a fraction of their former size, and their aggression was no longer as intense. Even so, they remained troublesome, consuming valuable rescue time.
"Careful! Don't touch the contaminated seawater!"
"We found an injured person over here!"
"Confirm whether they're infected with the Honkai virus first!"
"Ah—he's turning into a zombie! Fire!"
Himeko sat atop the tallest nearby building, gazing down at the rescue operations below.
After sending Zofia, Kevin, and the other disaster survivors to Australia, she had rushed back to Nagazora City without pause, waiting for a result she was destined never to receive.
For four full days, she had stared at this crimson sea littered with the corpses of Honkai Beasts and the wreckage of fighter jets.
Officially, the United Nations announced that a severe nuclear power plant leak on an island in the Far East had triggered the large-scale disaster. Within MOTH, the unified statement was that their cutting-edge weaponry had once again defeated the Herrscher of Thunder and protected human civilization.
Perhaps future history would record it as humanity overcoming the Third Honkai Eruption through wisdom and advanced technology.
But Himeko knew the truth.
The one who had defeated the terrifying Herrscher of Thunder and given humanity hope once more was that white-haired old youth who loved to grin foolishly.
And she would never again see that old youth return triumphantly from the most brutal Honkai battlefield, still in his combat suit, barging into her bedroom as if nothing had happened and laughing, "Yo, I'm back. Did you record that anime yet?"
Himeko held a disc tightly in her hand and muttered to herself, "Looks like you won't get to watch the Homu Project I recorded after all. Give me a few days. I'll put up your tombstone first, then burn this for you."
"Don't rush me. You're already a ghost—waiting a few days won't matter, right? I know you. If you don't finish your favorite anime, you won't reincarnate..."
Clang. A MOTH squad member in uniform pushed open the rooftop's metal door and reported, "Captain Himeko, you've left those kids waiting for quite a while."
Himeko let out a soft sigh and tucked the disc into her chest. "Let's go."
Following a nurse to the ward at MOTH's Disaster Response Central Hospital, Himeko stopped at the door.
Kevin and Mei had already been taken away by other MOTH departments. After signing a confidentiality agreement, Zofia had been sent back to West Asia.
The remaining civilians all required psychological counseling. Most were middle or high school girls, their minds extremely fragile.
After hesitating for a moment, she opened the door.
As expected—vacant, confused eyes.
Himeko exhaled softly. Her own grief had yet to ease. How could she possibly soothe someone else's sorrow?
"Yo," she greeted.
"Hello," Hua replied somewhat stiffly.
Leaning against the doorframe, Himeko made no move to step inside. "No need to be so formal. You holding up?"
"I'm fine." Hua shook her head. "Um... may I ask who you are?"
"Seems like you're pretty tough. The others I saw earlier were crying their eyes out. You're much calmer than them."
"More than my identity, I bet you're wondering where this is. What happened outside. What became of Sapphire City."
In front of Hua, Himeko activated her mobile smart device, projecting detailed news reports onto the white wall.
"This is our base. And outside—due to a certain disaster—the Far East has been destroyed. The entire East Asian coastline has been affected."
Seeing the vast red shadow covering the Far East and the shores of Shenzhou, Hua was stunned. Vill-V hadn't explained anything. Only now did Hua realize how wide the disaster's impact had been.
"What exactly happened?"
"Meteors. Natural disasters. Thunderstorms. Call it whatever you like. You survived it—I know I can't fool you." Himeko's tone carried a faint trace of playfulness.
"But if I tell you the truth, you'll have to shoulder the corresponding burden. Your future won't be as light as it is now. Rather than having nightmares every day, it might be better not to know."
"I..." Hua hesitated.
Just as Vill-V had said, both her "best friend" and her father were still alive. The anchors of her life remained in her original world. If she learned the truth of this new world, she would step into danger—and that danger would extend to her friend and father as well.
Even though Vill-V had seemed fully aware of everything...
Right. Since Vill-V knew the truth yet hadn't told her, that must mean not knowing was the best choice.
"I understand." Hua nodded.
"Haa..." Himeko didn't know whether she felt disappointed or relieved.
Given Hua's mental resilience, Himeko had a feeling she could become a formidable MOTH warrior. Yet at the same time, she didn't want Hua to become one. She was still too young—only fourteen. She shouldn't have to bear such heavy responsibility.
Saving the world was better left to adults like her.
"Very good. You'll be sent to Australia for psychological treatment. Once you're deemed mentally healthy, you can apply to go wherever you wish."
...
After comforting Hua, Himeko moved on to the next survivor's ward—only to find the scene inside entirely different from what she had expected.
The moment she opened the door, she was greeted by the aroma of cumin-spiced barbecue and the blaring chaos of street-style electronic music:
"Finest food under heaven, ultimate flavor in this land—travel north and south, still these skewers are the best..."
The girl in the cheongsam was actually grilling meat inside the hospital room, shouting passionately. Himeko seriously suspected she'd been overstimulated by the Third Honkai Eruption.
"Hahahaha! Do you feel this blazing fury?"
"Burn to ashes in this intoxicating blaze—be reduced to nothing!"
When she saw Himeko enter, Vill-V declared imposingly, "Since you've intruded into my kitchen, you should already know your fate, right?"
She grabbed a skewer of chicken, sprinkled it with various seasonings, and handed it to Himeko.
Himeko stared at the strangely blue-tinted barbecue and frowned. "Where did you get all this equipment? There shouldn't be anything like this in a hospital ward."
"Ah, that..." Vill-V blinked. "I found it under the bed. Must've been left behind by some barbecue chef."
"Under the bed?" It wasn't some four-dimensional pocket.
Himeko eyed her suspiciously. Which MOTH patient had violated regulations and smuggled this in? Honestly... oh. She herself had broken regulations too. Never mind.
"Details don't matter... Here, have a beer. Keep it a secret~"
Then Vill-V picked up a tray piled high with barbecue and headed toward Hua's ward.
The food served to patients in the MOTH hospital was far too bland—porridge, steamed buns, cabbage, apples, day after day. Vill-V simply couldn't stand it. She wasn't recovering from a major illness. Why restrict her diet?
So she tampered with the hospital's service robot program and snuck some good stuff from the staff kitchen—meat, seasonings, and various cooking tools.
To avoid any dark-cuisine debuff, Vill-V even had Expert personally craft a [Maillard Reaction Anti-Carbonization Grill Rack], queued up the classic night-market anthem "Inner Mongolian Barbecue Hawker Chant" as a buff.
With so many buffs stacked, surely even Honkai Beast meat could turn delicious. As long as she didn't burn it, it wouldn't count as dark cuisine. And even if her cooking skill had been taken by Scholar, the main body's cooking ability should still remain... at least that's what Vill-V thought.
However, Vill-V had long since forgotten that in none of her three lives had she ever been good at cooking.
Well, best let Hua taste it first.
...
Hua: "Uh... what is this? Amnesia barbecue? I'll try a bite... ah..."
Hua: "Uh... what is this? Amnesia barbecue? I'll try a bite... ah..."
Hua: "Uh... what is this? Amnesia barbecue? I'll try a bite... ah..."
Vill-V: "Damn it. That whole 'high-IQ beautiful girl can only produce dark cuisine' anime trope is enough already. Fine. I choose amnesia too—live and die with Hua. (taste)"
Vill-V: "Hua, I made barbecue for you. Come try it~"
Hua: "Ababa... (blank stare)"