Honkai: You're telling me this difficulty is from Honkai Impact 3?!

After a bit of tidying up, the group nervously stepped back onto the streets.

Shu and the others were anxious about Otto's safety, while Liu Zhuohua was worried about her and Yun Mengxi's well-being.

The walk was mostly silent, with Liu Zhuohua leading the way, lost in thought. The more she thought, the more uneasy she felt.

Ninety percent of the time, something felt off!

Wait a minute, that brat Yun Mengxi worrying about her brother?! Where was this concern when they had that massive falling out?

Immediately, Liu Zhuohua spun around and shot a fierce glare at Yun Mengxi, who was bringing up the rear.

While she was at it, she also shot a glare at Shu, who was beside Yun Mengxi.

The collateral damage that was Shu: "..."

Whatever, this woman's our guide for now. Can't glare back… can't even roll my eyes at her…

"Yun Mengxi… right?" Shu slowed his pace to walk alongside Yun Mengxi at the back of the group. "I wanted to ask, why are you helping us?"

"Huh?" Yun Mengxi looked up in surprise, then quickly shook her head. "I'm not…"

Shu rolled his eyes. "Just be honest. Speak quietly, no need to worry about being overheard. You should know how dangerous those white monsters are. Why suggest taking us to the city center?"

"I really didn't…" Yun Mengxi stubbornly insisted.

"You're not some bro-con tsundere, are you…" Shu muttered in exasperation.

"Yeah, I don't think she is either." Kiana suddenly turned her head, whispering as if sharing a secret.

"Kiii-aaa-naaa~" Mei placed her head on top of Kiana's, drawing out the words with a smile.

Kiana shuddered and quickly gave Shu a thumbs up before turning back around.

Shu raised an eyebrow.

See? It's common knowledge what kind of person you are.

Yun Mengxi: "..."

Never thought someone could see through a person like this… no, like these two…

"I…" Yun Mengxi stammered softly, unable to form a complete sentence for a long time. Finally, she could only offer a helpless apology. "Sorry…"

Shu was silent for a moment, then, looking at Liu Zhuohua's figure ahead, understanding dawned on him.

It's rebellion…

He hadn't expected a girl who looked, sounded, and even acted like an obedient student to be going through a rebellious phase. But this rebellion was incredibly reckless, wasn't it?

To go against common sense in a life-or-death situation?

Whatever, this is just my deduction… I don't know for sure what's really going on.

What if she really is a bro-con tsundere?

Hard to say, nothing's certain…

"Can you tell me about your brother?" Shu changed the topic. After chatting with Mei last time, Shu seemed to have found the key to starting conversations.

Though the aftermath was a little…unpleasant to recall.

Yun Mengxi fell silent, clearly not wanting to answer. Shu had no choice but to continue the conversation himself.

"You and your brother got separated, he must be really worried, right?" Shu asked, watching Yun Mengxi. "Uh, at least give me some kind of reaction… I'm so bored…"

He'd learned this trick from Kiana… When they had first met, he was still in a state of disbelief, not saying a word all day, just walking and spacing out.

Then Kiana had shown her thick-skinned (scratch that, let's call it charming) side, gradually getting Shu to open up.

Yun Mengxi nodded silently.

A reaction is better than nothing.

Shu continued, "Your brother will send people to look for you, it sounds like he's quite capable? Was he some kind of young master before the disaster?"

Yun Mengxi looked up in confusion. "What… is a young master? Like the emperor's… son?"

"It's like the young master of a powerful family, or as Kiana put it, the 'prince of the local scene'!" Kiana turned around again, speaking excitedly. "It's like the head of the biggest family in a region! Their family is like the emperor of that area! So the heir is called the young master!"

"Mei used to be the young miss of Nagazora City! If Mei were a boy, she'd be the young master of Nagazora!" Kiana said, grabbing Mei's hand excitedly.

"Kiana~" This time Mei was embarrassed. "How could I be a young master… I wasn't really the young miss of Nagazora… I'm just an ordinary person like you guys…"

Sorry! Can't agree with that!

If you guys are ordinary, what am I?

An earthworm?!

Shu scoffed inwardly, then looked at Yun Mengxi, who now understood what a "young master" was. "Right?"

Yun Mengxi hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.

"No… I don't think… so."

Shu: "..." So he is then?

Let me think… Kiana is the direct heir of the Kaslana family, Mei is the 'young master of Nagazora City', Bronya is the military leader of Cocolia's Orphanage, and now we have the young miss of Shanghai City…

Thinking about the ones who aren't here…

Otto and Kallen aside, Fu Hua's family also owns a martial arts school, Theresa became the headmistress of a high school at just '12' years old, and Himeko also comes from a good family…

So, am I the only misfit here?!

Yeah, just another day of being excluded by the protagonist group… even the villains are.

Mei didn't stop Kiana this time. Once she turned around, Kiana quickly unleashed her social butterfly skills.

As expected, Kiana is the one for this kind of conversation.

I just need to listen to the conversation and gather the information I need…

Wait, so that's why Otto didn't ask a single question when I was explaining Honkai in the car?

Half an hour later, Shu watched as Yun Mengxi, with one of Kiana's arms draped over her shoulder, chatted and laughed with Kiana and the others, fitting right in. He fell into contemplation.

Am I just not suited for socializing?

"Oh man, let me tell you, I was so scared when Shu ran into the alley! I almost knocked him out with my baseball bat!" Kiana was sharing her "Three Battles with Shu" story with Yun Mengxi, Mei, and the others.

The girls huddled together, laughing brightly, occasionally adding "woahs" as a hype squad.

Completely ignoring the "Shu-essence's" feelings.

"Don't doubt it, if that bat had connected, I would have met my great-grandmother for sure." Shu finally vented the resentment he'd accumulated over the past month.

Did they think he'd forgotten? Wrong! He had it all written down in his little notebook!

The day after meeting Kiana, he'd almost been mistaken for a zombie and bashed to death with a baseball bat in an alley. Again.

"But I stopped myself, didn't I? You were totally fine!" Kiana argued. "Besides, weren't you okay even after taking a direct hit to the face before?"

I should thank you, shouldn't I?

Shu felt that ever since he'd met Kiana, the frequency of his eye-rolls had significantly increased.

Just as Shu was about to properly debate this with Kiana, a burst of surprised joy suddenly came from nearby, just like when they had first encountered Yun Mengxi and Liu Zhuohua.

"Great! We finally found you!!"