“Survivor”

Time rewinds slightly.

Lin Wei led Anna away from the mechanical girl, retracing their steps back up the straight staircase.

Anna walked while looking back, until the girl encased in the "cocoon" disappeared from view, only then silently turning her head back, no longer looking back.

Unseen, she felt she was hateful;

Upon first meeting, she felt she was pitiful;

When talking to her, she felt she was detestable;

When Lin Wei exposed her, she felt she was despicable;

When she chose silence, she felt she was tragic;

And now, as they completely parted ways, she again felt she was pitiful, felt regret, felt melancholy…

Anna didn't know why she had such complex emotions.

"Lin Wei…"

Anna softly called out.

At this moment, Lin Wei was leading her forward, like a lamp illuminating the path ahead, making her unable to resist wanting to rely on him.

"She, why…"

Then, Anna stopped. Because the words were on the tip of her tongue, she suddenly realized she didn't know what "why" should follow the "why".

Because she had too many "whys" she wanted to ask.

Anna suddenly realized that she, with the strength and title of an "A-rank Valkyrie," felt lost and inadequate in so many situations after leaving headquarters, unable to understand, unable to figure out, unable to accept.

"Hmm?"

Lin Wei turned back to look at Anna, seeing her eyes filled with confusion, the corners of her mouth pursed in a melancholy expression, like a child who had just learned to speak asking an adult about the unknowns of this world.

"There's no why, because this world is just like this – people have to move forward, and also take responsibility for their choices."

Lin Wei answered very seriously. Perhaps this sounded too cold, he thought for a moment and added,

"Time is limited now, it's not the time to talk. If there's a chance in the future, I can tell you a story, maybe it will help you, but that is ultimately my answer, not yours, Anna. Now you just need to remember what I said before, in the days to come, no matter what, don't deceive yourself, and don't give up on yourself; if you walk more, see more, you will eventually find the answer that belongs to you."

Speaking to this point, Lin Wei smiled,

"Maybe by then, you'll turn around and tell me another different story, you never know?"

Anna's heart fluttered, unable to help but reach out her other hand, both hands clutching Lin Wei's hand tightly, as if afraid he would leave her.

This staircase wasn't long. As they spoke, the two returned to the wrecked room, filled with shattered glass fragments and shallow green liquid, the air permeated with a strange medicinal smell.

Anna looked around, trying to find a way out, but unfortunately, there wasn't one. She looked at Lin Wei with some worry, but didn't make a sound. She believed Lin Wei would definitely find a way, hoping she wouldn't interfere with his thoughts.

"That room like a spider's nest, is both the control center here, and a disguise to hide something deeper."

Lin Wei said softly, lifting his hiking stick and tapping it on the stairs behind him, virus instantly invading.

Following Lin Wei's action, the originally unremarkable staircase suddenly gently trembled, as if coming alive, every brick, every step, in the "kacha, kacha" sound, folded, changed, contracted, collapsed;

"Generally speaking, in an ant nest, there should always be some places to store food, which are always hidden deeper."

In the end, the staircase disappeared between the walls on both sides, leaving only a narrow and short passage, revealing what was hidden behind it – another elevator, standing straight below the room where the mechanical girl was, clearly only leading deeper.

Still going down, are they worried they're not buried deep enough?

Anna felt a little uneasy about this, but it seemed there was really no other way to go right now.

Turning her head to look at Lin Wei again, feeling a little regretful and reluctant, yet inexplicably feeling like this might be for the best…

What are you even thinking about? Anna felt ashamed and embarrassed by her own thoughts.

"Let's go, hurry up."

Without paying too much attention to Anna, Lin Wei directly led her quickly into the elevator. There was only one button in this elevator, either up or down, based on the current location.

With a gentle press, in a slight feeling of weightlessness, the elevator began to descend steadily and quickly.

Lin Wei closed his eyes to rest, counting seconds, calculating the depth here, to assess how much time he still had.

He was never worried about whether he could leave here. Not to mention he clearly knew from the mechanical girl's memory that there was another exit ahead; even if there really wasn't, he wasn't without other options.

At worst, he would get ruthless, pull out a flaming greatsword, and give the ceiling above a good whack~

The official 天火圣裁 (Tianhuo Shengcai - Judgement of Shamash) was said to be able to level a city with one strike – although Lin Wei never understood what kind of magical unit of measurement this was, the difference between cities is too big: a city with a population of 100,000 and a city with a population of 10 million are both "cities," but the meaning they represent is completely different!

But in any case, his pirated Judgement of Shamash, destroying the small tunnel boring machine above his head, would definitely be no problem.

It's just that the subsequent problems from doing so would be quite serious, those Valkyries wouldn't let him off so easily.

The descent time was quite long, Lin Wei estimated it was about the depth of the previous three levels combined. After this, the elevator speed began to slow down, steadily coming to a stop.

Lin Wei opened his eyes, leading Anna to step out of the elevator. Just a few steps out, Lin Wei seemed to sense something, stopped, glanced back, sighed, and then gently said to Anna, who was a little puzzled,

"Let's go…"

If she could have realized it sooner, Lin Wei would have been very happy;

But now it was too late, he could only sigh and express regret.

Too bad…

In this world, only "regret" has no cure, only "missed opportunities" are irreversible.

…

Just a few steps out, before Lin Wei could carefully observe the environment in front of him, he suddenly felt his spine tighten, danger was rapidly approaching!

"Ah! Be careful!"

Accompanied by Anna's exclamation, Lin Wei instinctively tilted his head – an arrow carrying firelight grazed past his ear, leaving a heat in the air.

Then Anna quickly raised her gun and fired back, as the gunshot echoed, a Dead Soldier who was drawing a bow and aiming fell in response.

"Dead Soldiers? How can there be Dead Soldiers here?!"

Anna looked at the fallen remains, exclaiming in disbelief,

"Shouldn't people who can reach here have very high Honkai energy resistance? Why are there Dead Soldiers here?"

As if in mockery of reality, as Anna's voice spread, roars began to echo around them, rising and falling, from various corners obscured from view, some grotesque walking corpses began to emerge, not too many, about twenty or so; as for advanced Dead Soldiers like the one just now, there were only a few, one or two.

Seeing this, Anna's face was extremely unsightly, her mood becoming extremely depressed, why was it like this?

She had been full of expectations, thinking that coming here she could find people still alive, tell them "You are saved!"

Then take them away together, so that her trip wouldn't be in vain.

But now…

Anna felt the not-too-high, not-too-low Honkai energy in the air, the Honkai energy concentration here was not higher than the Honkai energy content of the previous second and third levels, the implications of this made her even more depressed.

Could it be that everything here was just a complete scam?

"What are you spacing out for?"

Lin Wei's voice pulled her consciousness back to reality, pointing to the Dead Soldiers who were swarming towards them, commanding without any guilt,

"Hurry up, quick battle, quick resolution."

Anna came back to her senses. Yes, things had come to this point, at least she and Lin Wei had to escape, so gritting her teeth, she faced the monster horde, using speed and attitude as if venting her anger to knock them all down.

The speed was so fast, the time so short, that Lin Wei only had time to quickly scan the environment here, before Anna had already eliminated all threats, lowering her head, dejectedly returning to his side.

The overall space here was a rather empty hall, neatly arranged with twenty or thirty things that looked like hibernation pods, most of which were in the open state, with only a few closed.

"Lin Wei, what do we do next?"

Anna had seen too many victims on this trip, yet returned empty-handed, feeling quite frustrated.

"Don't blame yourself, Anna."

Lin Wei patted Anna's shoulder, gently comforting her,

"Besides, it's not time to be discouraged yet."

What do you mean? Anna raised her head in confusion, only to see that as Lin Wei's voice fell, the few closed hibernation pods simultaneously slowly opened.

Could it be? Anna's heart leaped with joy, looking at the changes in those pod doors somewhat nervously, hoping to get some good news.

Unfortunately, in every hibernation pod that reopened, Anna saw that they were all empty, once again making her heart turn cold.

"You… who are you?"

Suddenly, a timid female voice came from not far away, making Anna startle, suddenly looking in the direction of the voice.

Great, someone is still alive! Anna was overjoyed, even wanting to cry.

In an inconspicuous corner, there was also a hibernation pod that had been opened, a girl sitting up from inside, looking at Lin Wei and Anna somewhat warily, as if frightened by Anna's somewhat eager attitude, screaming like a startled bird,

"Please, please don't hurt me!"

"Don't be afraid, little sister, don't be afraid, we won't hurt you!"

Seeing her terrified appearance, Anna, who was about to approach the girl, couldn't help but stop, her heart filled with pity, comforting her in an incredibly gentle voice,

"We're here to rescue you, don't be afraid… trust us, okay?"

Just like coaxing a child.

Lin Wei watched this scene with interest, thinking, are the people of the Schariac family all so maternal?

As if comforted by Anna's gentle expression and voice, the girl's tense body gradually relaxed, and then as if remembering something, she looked at the silent Lin Wei with a wary expression.

Lin Wei smiled, taking two steps back, to show that he was not hostile, and then handed the stage over to Anna.

"…You, said you're here to save me? Is it true?"

The girl looked at Anna with suspicion,

"I don't believe it! There are bad people everywhere here, dead people everywhere, monsters everywhere… it's impossible… it's impossible for anyone to come save me!"

She tilted her body slightly sideways, ready to run away at any time – although she didn't know where to run to.

"Don't be afraid… don't be afraid… I am a Schicksal Valkyrie, specifically here to rescue you, please believe me, okay?"

Anna felt great sympathy for the girl's sensitive nerves, and at the same time hated even more the mastermind behind everything that had caused this, her expression becoming even more gentle, her voice even softer,

"My name is Anna Schariac, you can call me Anna. What's your name?"

Anna believed that exchanging names could quickly shorten the distance between them. And, she didn't know if it was an illusion, but she always felt that she had seen this girl's face somewhere…

"Valkyrie? Really?"

Hearing the words "Schicksal" and "Valkyrie," the girl's eyes lit up slightly, and then became wary again,

"What proof do you have?"

"You know Valkyries? That's great!"

Anna was overjoyed, tugging at the clothes on her body, pointing to the large "非" (fei - non, wrong, but here it's the symbol of Schicksal) symbol on the corner of her clothes,

"This is a Valkyrie uniform; and this, this is the Schicksal symbol! If you don't believe it, I still have…"

"Mmm… Valkyrie-nee-san!"

The girl ran over crying and threw herself into Anna's arms,

"That's great, someone finally came to save me… I can finally leave here…"

Anna gently patted her back, comforting her with a face of relief,

"It's all over, you'll be safe soon…"

After crying for a while, the girl raised a tear-streaked face,

"Other sisters told me… said, said Valkyries are the… strongest people in the world, they will come down from heaven like… like angels… and eliminate all demons…"

Her voice choked, her words broken.

"It's all over…"

Being praised like this, Anna felt proud for her predecessors, and ashamed for herself at the same time,

"You said, other sisters… are there other people here?"

Anna was filled with mixed feelings, this was truly a turn for the better!

"No more, they… are all dead…"

The girl's voice lowered,

"All dead…"

"..."

Anna paused, feeling a sense of loss.

Suddenly, the girl seemed to remember something, suddenly raised her head, looking at Anna with a face full of hope,

"Anna-nee-san, can I also become a Valkyrie? I also want to be as strong as you, so… so no one can hurt me again…"

The girl had just seen the Dead Soldier corpses lying all over the ground, and was extremely yearning for the power of Valkyries.

"Yes, of course you can…"

Anna knew that people who could pass the "strict screening" of this base must have the qualifications to become Valkyries,

"But, it will be very difficult, and also very dangerous…"

"I'm not afraid!"

The girl raised her head, feeling extremely happy about this affirmative answer.

Then, she seemed to remember something, pointing to Lin Wei, who had been silent all along, just watching here with interest, asking,

"Anna-nee-san… is this oniichan, also from Schicksal?"

Since he's a man, he can't be a Valkyrie, right? The girl felt it was necessary to ask clearly.

Before Anna could speak, Lin Wei spoke,

"Oh, I'm not from Schicksal, I'm here specifically for you."

Lin Wei walked over as he spoke, taking out a photo from his inner pocket and handing it to Anna, to pass it to the girl,

"Entrusted by your father, to rescue you and take you home."

Lin Wei originally thought his mission had long failed.

But earlier, when browsing the mechanical girl's memory, seeing this incredibly surprising reality, he was once extremely absurd;

But before he could complain, he was silenced by another even more absurd thing.

Anna was stunned by Lin Wei's words, taking the photo but not even glancing at it, before it was snatched away by the girl in front of her,

"This is… Dad! What did you do to Dad?!"

The girl shouted at Lin Wei in horror.

Anna suddenly understood, unable to help but look at Lin Wei, also feeling the impermanence of the world,

This is too coincidental!

But thinking that she, like Yuno, was a survivor from the Third Honkai Eruption, with higher value than survivors of general Honkai events, she didn't feel very surprised.

"You scared her, quickly explain."

Anna quickly sought help from Lin Wei, she didn't want to make the hard-won harmonious relationship tense again.

"Your father is very safe. I'm a hacker, and have a not-very-close friendship with your father. After you went missing, your father was worried sick. It just so happens that I have some connections, so he asked me to help investigate."

Lin Wei explained very casually,

"Then on the way, I met her, who was also investigating this matter, and then we came here together – although I'm not as good at fighting as a Valkyrie, I can still help a lot with technical tasks like breaking into bases."

The girl looked at Anna, Anna thought for a moment, feeling that although what Lin Wei said was a bit strange, there was nothing wrong with it, so she nodded to show her approval.

"No, no! I know all of Dad's friends, I've never seen you before!"

The girl was not planning to let him off so easily, full of vigilance.

Lin Wei looked at her, softly saying,

"I was the one who advised your father to leave Nagazora City back then."

Hearing these words, the girl was stunned, staring fixedly at Lin Wei, as if wanting to confirm if he was lying, and then tears flowed down, deeply bowing to him,

"I'm… I'm sorry…"

"Okay, okay, misunderstandings are cleared up, that's good~"

Anna quickly smoothed things over, since Lin Wei had already mentioned Nagazora City, then she wouldn't avoid it either,

"Lin Wei told me you're a student at Chiba Academy? What a coincidence, I know a Valkyrie who is also a student at Chiba Academy, and is your classmate! Her name is Yuno, do you know her?"

Anna tried her best to get closer to her.

Sure enough, Lin Wei suddenly understood.

Anna had mentioned it once before, and he already had a guess, now it was just confirmed.

However, shouldn't Yuno be at St. Freya? Why would she be at Schicksal headquarters? Could it be…

Lin Wei once again raised his awareness of how indispensable Otto's cherished experiment was.

The girl on the side was stunned by Anna's words, and hearing the name Chiba Academy brought back some memories of a long-gone past. It was a past she could no longer return to.

"I'm sorry, Anna-nee-san, I don't know her…"

Chiba Academy had too many people, she only knew a few famous figures.

For example, that Raiden heiress whose family fortunes had declined; and that transfer student who transferred in before the Honkai broke out, her hair color was too unique, very eye-catching.

At this time, the three of them also began to feel a slight tremor, the tunnel boring machine was digging closer and closer.

The girl was a little panicked, thinking it was an earthquake.

"The way we came is blocked, we can no longer leave from here. Do you know if there is another way to go?"

The girl was stunned, this change was beyond her imagination, they couldn't leave?

She pointed in one direction with difficulty,

"I know there is a passage to the outside world, but it is sealed off by seawater, only submarines can enter and exit."

Then the girl pointed in another direction,

"That way leads to the power room… or maybe something else, those terrifying monsters all come out from there."

Speaking to this point, the girl lowered her head embarrassedly, twisting her fingers,

"I'm sorry, Anna-nee-san. I only know these two places…"

Lin Wei remained silent.

"Power room? Honkai Furnace?"

Anna was startled, she had actually overlooked this information, then it was easy to understand why there were Dead Soldiers here –

The humanoid machine's self-destruction caused the system here to lose control, and the Dead Soldiers who were originally supposed to be put into the furnace as fuel were out of control.

She lowered her head and thought for a moment, then suddenly looked up at Lin Wei,

"Lin Wei, let's split up."

Lin Wei looked at her firm eyes,

"You've decided?"

"Yes, Coral Island is densely populated. If the Honkai Furnace is left unattended, once it is damaged, the leaked Honkai energy may cause very irreparable consequences!"

Anna looked at Lin Wei stubbornly, using her eyes to refuse all possible attempts to dissuade her,

"I am a Valkyrie, protecting humanity from Honkai is my duty, I must go. Lin Wei, you said, don't deceive yourself… if I just run away like this, no matter how big or small the subsequent disaster is, I will regret it for the rest of my life!"

Lin Wei looked at her, suddenly smiled, and asked,

"Then what do you plan to do?"

"Split up, you take her to continue looking for an exit; I'll go shut down the Honkai Furnace, and then take out the core from there."

Anna said, again taking off half of the pendant from her neck, still embarrassed to put it around Lin Wei's neck herself, but this time she pulled Lin Wei's hand, solemnly placing it in his palm, then helping him close his hand, softly saying,

"If I can't get out for a while, then don't wait for me, leave directly! Don't worry about my safety, I am an A-rank Valkyrie, very strong! We'll meet up again after leaving here… use this pendant as proof, and then, you return it to me."

Finishing speaking in one breath, all of Anna's stubbornness and decisiveness suddenly vanished like melting snow, pleading,

"Promise me, okay?"

Lin Wei looked at her face, helplessly sighing, this girl…

"Go quickly, I'll wait for you."

Carefully putting away the pendant, thinking, luckily Anna didn't hang it on him just now, otherwise he would have to take it off again.

This thing is for girls to wear, what would it look like hanging around his big man's neck!

Hearing Lin Wei agree, Anna was overjoyed. Gaining courage, she hugged Lin Wei once, and then rushed towards the power room direction with a blushing face.

Lin Wei watched her back disappear into the depths of the alley, sighing,

"Valkyries, are quite lovely, aren't they?"

"Yes, Anna-nee-san is really too great…"

The girl also looked at Anna's disappearing back with a face full of respect, slowly walking to Lin Wei's side, her tone respectful.

"Okay, you've achieved your goal of separating us, it's time to prepare to make your move, right?"

Lin Wei suddenly turned around, making the girl who had already approached behind him's face suddenly stiffen, one hand behind her back, not knowing what she was holding,

Lin Wei didn't care, just asking with curiosity,

"Let me ask you a question, the first time you killed someone, were you scared?"