The Vixen's Gambit: Tonight We Hunt

"My, my, the people of this world seem quite reasonable~" [Lee] lounged in the back of the stretched limousine, cheerfully examining the interior.

"This car is almost as nice as Eden's. Treating me with such high standards shows they know how to respect their savior, a far cry from those clowns on Earth!"

"The people in this world are very kind..." Lihua smiled wryly beside her. They were the only two in the car. The Earth government had wanted to send representatives along, but [Lee] had shooed them away, even Lihua's assistant, Shen.

As for their attitude toward [Lee], it had to be good. The Anomaly Response Department had a dedicated team speedrunning games to gather intel, and they'd started researching Honkai Impact 3rd immediately after the update. By now, even many regular players had cleared the story.

There was no way the government wouldn't know about Lee. Even ignoring everything else, Lee's sheer power demanded respect.

But if they expected the obedient and cooperative Lee from the game, they were in for a rude awakening. This wasn't the compliant Unit 3. Provoke her enough, and she might just evolve into a full-blown Osmosis Jones villain... Hopefully, nobody's that suicidal.

Speaking of suicidal—would this [Lee] fly into a rage if she saw some of the crazier things fans said online? She shouldn't be that petty. She claimed to be the Lee, after all; getting upset over some harmless internet banter would be beneath her... That said, she doesn't seem all that normal either.

"Lihua, what are you thinking about, spacing out again?" [Lee] waved a hand in front of Lihua's face. "Don't tell me you're having memory problems at such a young age—oh my, look! A shooting star!"

Lihua followed [Lee]'s gaze out the window. A golden streak of light was indeed shooting across the distant sky, like a daytime comet.

Before, Lihua might have believed it was a shooting star. Now, she was 80% sure it was that unlucky sap from the Honkai world getting blasted over... Hopefully, he's not a troublemaker.

-----

"Otto, I shouldn't have believed a word you said... This is what you call knowing how to drive?!"

On a deserted Pacific island, a soaking wet Fu Hua glared furiously at the man before her, then pointed accusingly at the ocean. "Driving straight into the sea counts as knowing how to drive?!"

Not long ago, Otto and Fu Hua finally arrived at his destination world, their first stop being, of all places, a deep ocean trench. Whether it was revenge for its careless user or not, the battered Cosmic Juggernaut plunged straight into the sea and slammed into the seabed.

If Fu Hua hadn't been a MANTIS and Otto a being of Honkai-resistant metal (Soulium), they'd have achieved the "die on arrival" speedrun.

Though they survived, it still took Fu Hua considerable effort to navigate her way back to land.

"Don't be angry, my old friend. We can't be selfish." Otto leaned elegantly against a coconut tree, looking much more presentable than Fu Hua thanks to a built-in drying function in his body. "Yes, this planet has vast landmasses, but it also has a large human population. A reckless landing in an uncontrolled area could have endangered the locals."

"Or are you the type of person who, when stuck in traffic, points out how wide the sidewalk is?"

"Enough with the sarcasm! Figure out how we're getting back to Earth!" Fu Hua's face creased with worry as she stared at the vast ocean. Getting themselves out of the sea was one thing, but retrieving a car—a wrecked car, no less—from the ocean floor was a whole other story.

"You have no idea what you've done, Otto... Kevin never gave up on his insane plan. Now, without me, how are the others supposed to fight him?!"

"Relax, old friend. Don't you think you're being a bit of a mother hen?" Otto chuckled dismissively. "To teach a chick to fly, you have to let go... Have faith that your Kiana and the others can defeat Kevin. They have the power of bonds and love, things that can create miracles. Believe, faith needs no reason."

"Where did you pick up that nonsense...? Belief won't change the facts. If Elysia fails, Kevin won't give them any chances. Worst case scenario, he's already defeated everyone..."

"If they've already lost, worrying won't help. If they're going to win, worrying is pointless—therefore, you should put aside these concerns about another world for now."

A glint of light sparked in Otto's eyes, and a look of understanding crossed his face. "Time travel, Ultraman and monsters... Honkai Impact 3rd. Heh, interesting."

Watching Otto mutter to himself, Fu Hua couldn't help but ask, "What are you talking about? Does this planet also have Honkai?"

"It does have 'Honkai,' though perhaps not in the way you think."

Otto smiled. The components in his body allowed him to access this world's network and find many things of interest.

A world with weak dimensional barriers, frequently visited by people from other worlds... It made sense that Lihua would be here.

While Lihua's story existed on the public internet, there was no trace of her. Otto couldn't be certain he'd find her here. He had only observed a fluctuation similar to Lihua's, not received direct information about her.

But the moment he set foot on this planet, he had a feeling, an unprovable yet undeniable feeling—yes, his Lihua was here, breathing the same air on the same planet!

If she wasn't on the open net, she was probably part of some organization... His current body's portable terminal wasn't ideal for hacking. He needed to observe this world further, find a suitable location, and infiltrate the databases of various countries.

Soon, Lihua. We'll be reunited soon...