Shu: Not Even Worth a Single Hair of a Honkai Beast.

Three days after departing the Fire Moth base station, the Hyperion finally docked once again at the Shangjing City station.

"We will conduct a one-day search here, including but not limited to rescuing survivors," Shu addressed the fully armed group before setting out.

At this moment, everyone had changed into their respective combat suits.

Shu also reluctantly put on that flashy white trench coat.

Fortunately, there was no wind in the Shangjing City station, so it just looked like a rather exquisite coat.

"This is our first time operating separately. If anything happens, don't try to be a hero. Call me immediately, understand?" Shu reminded them again.

"Got it!" Kiana waved the communicator in her hand somewhat impatiently. "Just cry and make a fuss to call for your help if there's danger, right?"

Shu: "...If you don't want to eat Mei's cooking, you can also choose not to call for help."

Kiana immediately straightened up, scratching her head awkwardly. "So, can we set off now?"

Shu glanced one last time at the state of the trio's equipment, then nodded.

Shangjing City was a large city, and they had at most two days to stay here. By tomorrow afternoon at the latest, they had to depart for the next stop.

If the three of them stayed together the whole time, they wouldn't be able to cover the entire city even in five days.

In this post-apocalyptic environment, survivors who had successfully made it would hide in the most concealed places. Finding them was no easier than pulling chestnuts out of a fire.

Therefore, they would act separately, using the train as their center point, to quickly explore.

They had a communication channel specially developed by Otto, with the Hyperion serving as their signal base station. If any danger was encountered, the others could notify Shu immediately, allowing him to rush over for rescue and assistance.

Shu was confident he could reach any location in the city in an instant.

Ai-chan was their final layer of insurance; she could also issue alarms on behalf of others.

After Shu gave some final instructions, the group officially set off.

Watching the three depart using their various methods—one leaping away, one swinging on a tether, and one relying on a flying gadget—Shu sighed and slowly started walking his own path on foot.

It wasn't that he couldn't use [Hope] to travel faster, just that it wasn't necessary this time.

The direction assigned to him didn't contain any residential areas, but rather the Shang'anmen Grand Plaza and some historical landmarks unique to Shangjing City.

Would anyone really run towards museums during a disaster?

Everyone thought not. So when assigning routes, Shu had even suggested removing the exploration mission for this direction, but the others refused.

Anything is possible, was their reasoning at the time, but Shu always felt they just wanted to create a slacking-off mission...

Well, slacking off was fine. It was better for one person to slack off a bit than for everyone to be exhausted.

But Shu never expected that he would be the one to draw the mission that allowed for blatant slacking...

Wait, me? Not Kiana?!

My whole life has been like walking on thin ice; has my luck finally turned today?!

When Shu actually reached the designated area, he fell silent.

He suddenly understood why he was sent to this place...

Indeed, no one would run towards museums and large plazas during a disaster. But when there wasn't a disaster, people would desperately flock to such places...

Moreover, the Honkai Eruption happened precisely during a holiday season... The sheer number of people in this place was imaginable.

Looking across the vast plaza, it was densely packed with slowly shuffling, low-level Honkai Zombies.

Having not seen these things for over two months, Shu actually found them somewhat novel for a moment.

Good, zombies here means no powerful Honkai Beasts around.

Shu silently gripped the replica Xuanyuan Sword in his hand, listlessly making eye contact with a zombie that had silently turned to face him.

Should I fight?

Might as well... Gotta do something.

Thinking this, Shu casually beheaded the unresponsive zombie with a clean sword stroke, then twirled the sword with a flourish and calmly walked into the sea of zombies.

He didn't even take off his glasses.

Once I clear this area, if Kiana and the others are doing well... I'll go check out that museum...

"Hello?" Just as Shu was calmly dispatching the zombies within range, Kiana's voice suddenly came through the communication channel.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" Kiana asked again in the group chat. "Is this thing working, Ai-chan... Why aren't Mei and the others answering me?"

Shu looked at the time displayed in his glasses and fell silent.

Haven't they only been out for less than an hour?

"Shu received... Is something wrong?" Hearing Kiana's voice wasn't particularly urgent, Shu slowly released the [Wish] he had momentarily raised and asked instead.

"Ah! It worked!" Kiana exclaimed, then her tone shifted to a deliberately serious reporting manner. "Report! Kiana has found nothing, over."

Shu: "..."

"Kiana, don't waste everyone's time like this," Shu gave Kiana a stern critique.

"Shu is right. Kiana should search more before reporting," Bronya the lurker appeared!

At this moment, Bronya was perched atop a tall building, scanning the streets with radar.

Not a single living person here, but plenty of zombies.

However, unlike Shu's location, the zombies near Bronya were all hiding.

"Bronya, any findings on your end? All I have here are some zombies... Aiyah! You're already dead, stop causing trouble!"

A crisp thudding sound came through the earphones, followed by the sound of something heavy falling.

Shu could already picture Kiana talking while impatiently clubbing an approaching zombie.

"Bronya's side might have a Honkai Beast nearby. Bronya estimates it should be a Chariot-class Honkai Beast," Bronya said after analyzing the scanned image.

Otto had too many projects on his plate, and his research into Honkai energy was still superficial.

Therefore, the group's equipment wasn't yet linked to Honkai energy. Even basic Honkai energy detectors hadn't been implemented. Bronya could only infer the presence of a Honkai Beast using other methods.

Chariot-class Honkai Beast?

Hearing Bronya, Shu perked up slightly.

He suddenly didn't feel like visiting the museum anymore. He felt those cultural relics weren't worth a single hair on a Chariot-class Honkai Beast compared to it...

What? Honkai Beasts don't have hair?

It can have hair.

Shu said so.