Silence stood amidst the clamor of voices, growing secretly in the shadows of her heart.
Having left the noisy crowd, Hua found Himeko on the third and final night, during the time she should have been sleeping.
Himeko: "Still awake? Coming to find me so late, it seems you've made your decision."
Facing Himeko's assessment, Hua remained silent for a moment, then slowly raised her head.
Her jade-green eyes seemed misted with a pale color, diffusing like fog.
Hua: "If all the Honkai Beasts are killed, can everyone survive then?"
Himeko: "You want to walk the path of salvation? But saving the world is no easy task; one person cannot do it alone. The enemies we face aren't just Honkai Beasts and DeadMen, but also beings called Herrschers. Files on these will be provided once you become a warrior."
"You're right. If all enemies are killed, everyone can survive."
"But the difficulty is too high. One person cannot achieve it."
Hua: "..."
Himeko: "Regarding the path forward, I can only offer my advice. But if you want to walk ahead of everyone else, I will provide all possible assistance and watch you go further than any of us."
Hua: "Thank you..."
Himeko: "You're welcome. But your eyes tell me you still have doubts. Are you wondering why I chose you back then?"
Hua: "Yes. I've thought a lot these past few days, about the future and the past. But I still can't understand why Captain risked entering Shanghai City for someone completely unrelated like me."
"Although Captain told the other captains it was to gather unknown intelligence, I don't think that was the real reason."
Himeko observed Hua with interest. She could clearly feel visible changes in this child, especially in her mentality.
She just didn't know if this change was good or bad.
Himeko lowered her eyes, glancing lightly at the mostly concealed purple-black marking on her wrist, a faint smile playing on her lips.
"You'll understand in the future."
"That day isn't far off for you, or for me. But for now, the answer to that question is still too early for you."
"I understand. Thank you, Captain, for clearing my doubts." Hua left Himeko's room. She had decided to become a warrior fighting against the Honkai.
Without burdens, without worries, she could charge into battle without distractions until the day she died in combat, letting the punishment of her unfortunate fate fall upon herself.
And before that...
Hua walked to her room. It was filled with numerous bottles containing liquid for preserving corpses, holding Mo's organs and limbs.
On the table lay shredded fragments of clothing.
Under the dim light, Hua sat in her chair, picked up a needle and thread, and tirelessly, patiently began piecing the clothing fragments together, wanting to restore them to their original form.
The night deepened. Hua turned back, gazing at Mo in the bottles.
A distorted thought spontaneously arose.
————Three days ago, downtown Shanghai City, the Martial Arts Hall.
"Is it my imagination? Why does it feel like there are more and more Honkai Beasts, and they're all coming towards me?"
Li Mo stared thoughtfully at the Honkai Beasts swarming towards him like a tide from all directions, lost in contemplation.
Mobius had said that Honkai spreads outwards over time. The epicenter of the eruption transitions from "no survivors possible" to "perhaps someone could live."
In the epicenter of an eruption, almost no normal person could survive. The excessive number of Honkai Beasts, plus the continuous appearance of DeadMen and more beasts – even the luckiest person would eventually encounter them.
Adding to that, the city disintegrating in an instant – few could survive the massive earthquake.
Unless they weren't normal people.
And Shanghai City was clearly at the epicenter of the eruption; that explained why he was crushed under buildings before he could even react and escape initially.
However, so much time had passed, the Honkai energy concentration had dropped significantly, yet the number of Honkai Beasts and DeadMen was increasing, as if drawn by something.
"Forget it. No matter how many come, they're just small fry."
"That's right, small fry Honkai Beasts~!"
Li Mo looked up. The martial arts hall was two hundred meters ahead. Before him stood a massive Templar-class Honkai Beast.
Li Mo didn't know the classification of Honkai Beasts, nor did he need to.
Just as Li Mo prepared to charge and take down the opponent, a light sword shot out from a halo beside the Templar-class Honkai Beast. Like a cannonball, hindered only momentarily by flesh and blood, it easily pierced Li Mo's chest, pinning him suspended against the wall of a building behind him.
The light sword pulsed with a bright, dazzling purple-black glow.
But it was stained by the crimson blood flowing from his pierced chest.
Instantly, the light sword and Li Mo's eyes dimmed simultaneously.
But Li Mo's eyes quickly regained their original brilliance, becoming even more dazzling.
"That's really... a very enthusiastic way to greet someone."
Regaining consciousness, Li Mo pulled the now completely faded light sword from his chest, landed steadily on the ground, and tossed the sword aside.
The halo beside the Templar-class Honkai Beast flickered continuously, trying to recall the light sword. The faded sword on the ground remained unresponsive, as if its connection had been severed.
"Then, you should gratefully accept my feelings as well."
With a Shunpo [Flash Step], Li Mo rushed before the Templar-class Honkai Beast, grabbing its head-like structure firmly with one hand.
As time passed, he applied more force. Cracks began to appear on the Templar-class Honkai Beast's head, like fissures appearing on the earth during an earthquake.
"ROAR—!"
At the end of its rope, the Templar-class Honkai Beast let out a beastly roar.
Li Mo remained unfazed, casually remarking, "Just shouting?"
Soon, after the deafening roar ended, the ground began to shake violently. Li Mo looked back; a dark mass of beasts was rushing towards them.
"So you were calling for backup. Makes sense, just the two of us alone would be rather dull, wouldn't it~"
Li Mo swung the massive Templar-class Honkai Beast like a hammer.
The scene was as bizarre as an ant lifting a human head.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Li Mo grabbed the Templar-class Honkai Beast and used it like a club [literal translation was "hoe the earth", implying a repeated slamming motion], smashing the incoming Honkai Beasts into the ground.
The Templar-class Honkai Beast finally flew into a rage, making a desperate last stand. Ignoring the risk of its head being crushed, it channeled all its power into the halo. Instantly, light swords shot out from all directions, piercing towards Li Mo's head.
The next second, Li Mo continuously sidestepped, dodging the light sword attacks, then punched the Templar-class Honkai Beast's body, creating a hole large enough to see the scenery behind it.
"Phew... Close call, close call. You almost got me there."
"Now then, it's your turn. I declare that you are surrounded by me alone!"
Li Mo casually picked up a scythe from a dead Deadman on the ground. He didn't know where these Deadmen got their scythes, but it was quite useful.
Before long, the arriving Honkai Beasts and DeadMen were all annihilated by Li Mo alone. Purple liquid, presumably Honkai Beast blood, splattered onto Li Mo's face. So much splattered that more than half his face was covered in purple blood.
"Find people, find people."
After the slaughter, Li Mo didn't forget his objective, nor was his mentality affected in the slightest.
It was as if this battle was just an ordinary game, not worth dwelling on.
Sparks of fire ignited in various corners of the martial arts hall. Li Mo had no time to deal with it, let alone extinguish the flames.
Entering the martial arts hall, he found a building standing horizontally in the center, separating the hall into two parts.
Li Mo first searched carefully in the accessible areas but found no trace of Hua's father.
The Honkai outbreak was sudden. The martial arts hall wasn't far from where he was. It didn't make sense that Hua's father would have reacted and escaped when he himself hadn't.
Of course, it would be best if Hua's father had managed to escape safely on his own.
But the probability was too small, almost negligible.
It was more likely he was buried before he could leave the hall.
How could an ordinary person in the epicenter of a Honkai eruption possibly survive?
"In the back section...? Looks like I'll have to take some time to go around."
Regarding the collapsed building, Li Mo knew his limits; he couldn't lift it yet.
Li Mo circled around to the back of the martial arts hall. Still no one in the main hall or guest rooms.
"Strange, where could he be?"
Suddenly, Li Mo thought of something. Hua's father wasn't like him, able to go many days without eating. As an ordinary person, he would die after two or three days without food.
Therefore, Li Mo headed towards the basement where food was stored.
The basement was a rather extreme location. If an enemy entered, it was either kill or be killed, as there was only one entrance/exit.
Alternatively, if Honkai energy seeped down, the person inside would still face certain death.
Because the Honkai energy couldn't leave or spread elsewhere, it could only linger and accumulate in the basement. Over time, the person inside would be eroded by Honkai energy, with only two possible outcomes: direct death or turning into a Deadman.
Li Mo could only pray that the basement was neither discovered by Honkai Beasts and Deadmen nor infiltrated by Honkai energy.
But such hope was extremely unrealistic, especially the latter. The basement was mainly used for storing traditionally brewed liquors and foods, so its passage wasn't particularly hidden. Energy like Honkai permeates everything; it's hard to block.
Sure enough, the moment Li Mo entered the basement, he smelled the rotting stench of a corpse, extremely strong.
"Damn it..."
A dreadful guess faintly emerged in Li Mo's mind. His pace quickened. Soon, Li Mo reached the deepest part of the basement.
Deep shadows enveloped every corner, damp air filled the space, chilling to the bone.
A row of faded wooden cabinets stood silently, filled with various jars and bottles.
Before Li Mo lay a decomposing corpse.
It leaned against a wooden cabinet, its rotting flesh crawling with maggots. Several small rats gnawed at its dangling hands.
Beside the hands was a pile of opened wine and food, now moldy, covered in nauseating black fuzz.
The clothes on the body proved it was none other than Hua's father.
He had luckily hidden in the basement during the Honkai eruption, with no lack of food or drink.
The wounds on his body weren't fatal, just marks from rats gnawing after death.
Hua's father wasn't found by Honkai Beasts or Deadmen, nor did he starve to death due to lack of food.
Instead, he was eroded completely by the inescapable, accumulating Honkai energy that seeped down, ending his life in the dark basement without becoming a Deadman to harm others.
Or perhaps, he knew some people turned into Deadmen after Honkai erosion, which is why he didn't leave the basement, wanting to trap himself there.
"...Sorry, I'm late."
Li Mo walked up to the corpse, speaking heavily.
Perhaps it wasn't his fault, but if he had been beside Hua's father during the eruption, maybe he could have fought their way out.
"..."
Li Mo didn't know how to tell Hua this news. Death was death. No one could bring the dead back to life. Even if resurrected, that person might not be their original self.
However, Hua might not be able to accept it. She would blame all the bitter consequences and tragedy on her own misfortune.
Although she was indeed somewhat unlucky.
Thinking this, Li Mo turned to leave, but suddenly, his pupils darkened for an instant. Then, mechanically stiff, he turned back and walked straight to the corpse.
He bit his own finger, letting his blood drip into Hua's father's mouth.
Soon, life's mechanisms began to restart. Fresh blood flowed through dried vessels, damaged flesh gradually healed, Honkai erosion marks quickly faded, and even the stench of the corpse gradually dissipated over time.
Five minutes, ten minutes, thirty minutes, two hours...
Li Mo quietly watched the changes in Hua's father. After two hours, his body had completely revived. Breathing, pulse, heartbeat, body temperature – all returned to normal levels, yet he remained unconscious.
A vegetative state?
Li Mo didn't understand why this happened, but vegetative was better than dead.
At least there was hope for recovery. However, publicly accessible medical technology couldn't revive someone from a vegetative state.
"Mobius. She might have a way to wake Hua's father."
Li Mo wasn't worried about his secret being exposed, because Mobius already knew his flesh possessed this special ability.
However, Mobius had repeatedly warned him not to reveal it and absolutely not to use it.
Li Mo knew very well that such a freely given gift, with unknown costs, absolutely could not be made public, because the price to be repaid in the future might be unbearable.
Especially for those at the end of their rope. What did it mean that Li Mo could save them? It meant Li Mo would be endlessly harassed, or morally condemned.
Facing some extremists, Li Mo might even have his flesh forcibly cut off.
In that situation, even he would fight back. After all, Li Mo was just a mirror.
But Li Mo could kill Deadmen and Honkai Beasts. Killing humans – once that first step was taken, it was hard to turn back.
That's why Mobius emphasized so strongly not to expose this ability.
"What's done is done, too late for regrets. Better contact Mobius and have her arrange for someone to pick us up."