I've already said this isn't a life simulator!

Soon after, alarms blared throughout the Moth Chaser base, waking countless people from their sleep as they rushed to the assembly point.

The Fourth Great Collapse has occurred.

Chapter Fifteen: The Island Where "No One Survived"

The sudden alarm interrupted everyone's rest, and you were no exception. You quickly got up, changed your clothes, and rushed to the meeting point.

[On your journey to the Honkai outbreak site by spacecraft, you have learned the general situation—the Fourth Herrscher erupted on an island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, and then moved northward for a distance, forming a storm circle as it stopped moving. This storm is still expanding, and it is estimated that the storm will affect the southeastern coast of Mu Continent, Central America, and the western coast of South America within 24 hours, and will cause significant damage to coastal cities within 36 hours.]

[The satellite is currently continuously monitoring the Fourth Herrscher's location and has urgently recalled Alicia, who is on another mission. At the same time, emergency evacuations are being carried out in potentially affected coastal cities, with the aim of eliminating the Fourth Herrscher before she can move again or before the storm causes significant damage to the coastal cities.]

Of course, there's also a special mission involved—to travel to the island where the Herrscher attack occurred and rescue those still trapped there.

Yes, the unnamed island trapped in the storm has sent out a distress signal. Although direct contact is currently impossible due to the storm, there may still be survivors on that island.

[To be honest, it's quite unbelievable. A Herrscher-level Honkai erupted on an unrecorded, nameless island, and yet someone survived. Furthermore, a special rescue operation was dispatched, and this task was even assigned to the three teams led by you, Sakura, and Hen. It's as if the trapped person is someone incredibly powerful... Hmm?]

[An unmarked, nameless island? — You frowned, sensing something was amiss, and a certain guess surfaced in your mind.]

"I hope it's not what I imagine—you wish it were, but your hand still instinctively grips the knife at your waist."

Seeing this, Sakura wanted to say something to comfort you, but she quickly realized what was happening, opened her mouth, and then kept quiet.

The aircraft quickly entered the storm's range and slowly landed on the nameless island amidst violent shaking—thanks to the arrival of that genius Dr. Mei, the research department's protection against Honkai energy applications has reached a new level; otherwise, you probably wouldn't have even made it to this island.

You carefully disembarked from the aircraft, slowly advancing through the raging winds mixed with Honkai energy, clearing out the inexplicably large number of Honkai creatures on the island while inching your way towards the safe house for the trapped personnel—of course, that was for the others.

The moment you stepped onto this island, the moment you saw its luxurious buildings, you knew you had found it, you had found the "island." So you handed over command of your squad to Sakura and decided to "explore" it yourself first.

The others had no objections, especially your and Sakura's team members, after all, they were already used to the "good division of labor" where "you and Sakura would break away from the team and run to the front to wreak havoc, while they provided logistical support and rescued civilians from behind."

[The main problem is that you two are too fast. The speed at which you clear out the Honkai creatures is so fast that no one else can keep up. As a result, your squad members have developed a strong sense of autonomy, and your respective adjutants are now almost completely taking over command from you two.]

[It's more surprising that this time only you left, and you even handed over command to Sakura in a relatively proper manner instead of running away. You two adjutants are quite relieved—finally! Finally, no more extra work! Although you still ran away this time, at least Sakura stayed! That's a significant improvement!]

[Only Sakura knows what you're going to do, but she has no reason to stop you, nor does she intend to, because she knows very well how deep your hatred for "those guys" is. Therefore, she only gave you a few words of advice, hoping you would "be careful," and didn't say anything more.]

As for Hen, he seemed to be encountering a situation like this for the first time, and was somewhat surprised. However, seeing that your team members all seemed used to it, he didn't say much.

[So you left the team, and as always, with your swordsmanship so swift it was almost invisible, and your decisive "one-hit kill" style, you carved a path through the multitude of Honkai creatures, the fierce wind seemingly having no effect on you.]

The others, while exclaiming "As expected of you," immediately advanced using the path you had cleared. Although they were soon blocked by more Honkai creatures, they were much closer to their destination.

[And you, after getting out of the group's sight, began exploring the island.]

You found many familiar places and things, such as enclosed rooms, various fully equipped "entertainment facilities," and anesthetic and psychotropic drugs... many, many familiar things.

Ah... those terrible memories resurfaced, and the anger and hatred that had long been buried seemed to be gathering again.

But seeing those buildings collapsed by the strong winds, those "entertainment facilities" destroyed, and medicines spilled all over the ground covered in dust, you can't help but feel a sense of exhilaration.

[Thinking about the inexplicable hordes of Honkai creatures on the island, you can't help but laugh—you guys finally got what you deserve!]

[You even came to agree with this Honkai, feeling that it was absolutely justified, and that such scum would only waste air if they lived in this world.]

But then you think about it again: among these people who became Honkai creatures are others who, like you, have been persecuted and harmed, and you can't be happy anymore.

"Captain, are you alright? You haven't moved for a while on the radar. Did you run into some trouble?" The adjutant's question came through the squad communicator. You snapped out of your daze and quickly replied, "I'm fine, just taking a short rest."

"Okay, Captain, you're quite close to the destination now. Could you go check on the target's safety first? Although there's a safe house, you know how these monsters are..." Although the adjutant seemed a little puzzled, he didn't dwell on it and instead offered you the suggestion.

[You know the adjutant wants you, as the "vanguard," to check if the people in the safe house are still alive, so they don't make a wasted trip. After all, they've encountered this situation many times in previous operations—they'd rush to the rescue location at full speed, only to find everyone inside dead when they arrived. Either they were killed when Honkai creatures breached the safety door, or they died from Honkai infection because they weren't paying attention. He doesn't want to make a wasted trip this time either, especially since the wind is getting stronger, and even the crew on the aircraft have sent inquiries and urging. If this continues, everyone might be left behind.]

"I understand, I'll go right away," you reply immediately, and the other person responds with the same "thank you."

The adjutant's words reminded you that there are still people alive here.

Ah...yes, there are still people alive here, still scum alive, in the safe houses they built for themselves.

"I'll go check..." you murmured to yourself, the terrible memories buried for so long resurfacing. The thought of those who were hurt like you, turning into Honkai creatures along with that trash, filled you with disgust and revulsion.

You can almost feel the resentment and urging of the other children who have also suffered harm, urging you to take action quickly.

And you simply murmured, "Don't worry... they will be saved."

If they were still alive

[You quickly headed towards the safe house, luring nearly ten Honkai creatures along the way, especially several Honkai beasts marked "Assault Class". The rest were humans corrupted by Honkai energy.]

Then, using his mobility, he levitated them from a distance, luring them to the location of the safe house. Using his position as "rescue team leader," he persuaded them to open the security door, and before they realized something was wrong, he firmly blocked the door from closing.

[They clearly saw numerous Honkai creatures attacking, but because of you, they couldn't close the door, and there was nowhere else to escape. They could only hope that you would kill those Honkai creatures, or pray that you would enter the safe house and make them close the door.]

Honestly, it's really satisfying to see them panic and beg so desperately, but you won't let them off the hook—when others beg from them, do they ever show even a shred of kindness, let alone any at all?

You simply watched them with a calm smile, even disarming them of their weapons.

Then, wait for those Honkai creatures to arrive, dodge when the Advance-class Honkai Beasts swirl their wings, and use those sharp wings made of Honkai energy to break the locks on the safe house doors, completely extinguishing those people's hope of survival.

Then, you simply flipped over nimbly, quickly retreated, and waited quietly as the Honkai creatures killed those people one by one.

"Report, the target location has been breached by Honkai creatures, and there are no survivors inside." You pressed the team communication button in front of them, perhaps because the wind was too strong, you shouted loudly enough for the people inside to hear you.

"Understood, thank you for your hard work, Captain... Retreat quickly... The wind is getting... stronger, if we don't... we'll be in trouble too..." The adjutant's voice came through the earpiece, broken and intermittent, clearly because the storm was becoming increasingly terrifying and the team's communications were becoming more and more unstable.

You calmly kill the remaining Honkai creatures, counting the corpses in the safe house.

[Thirteen, not one more, not one less. Everyone who was still alive is dead. To be on the safe side, you finished them off with a final blow—this was to ensure they wouldn't turn into Honkai creatures, not for revenge.]

Then, you quickly retreat and rejoin your squad by following the radar.

"Thank you for your hard work," Sakura nodded to you, showing no sign of distress. Knowing you well, she knew you had accomplished what you wanted to do; now all that was needed was for a safe evacuation.

[Then you heard a violent gust of wind, followed by a warning from the crew on the other end of the aircraft, and then an explosion, and then... communication was cut off.]

You realize that the spaceship you left in has been destroyed. Based on the sudden increase in size and ferocity of the storm, you deduce that it was the work of the Fourth Herrscher. Although it's frustrating, you are now trapped on this island.

[Not only that, the concentration of Honkai energy in the surrounding area also began to increase, and Honkai creatures began to appear and multiply one by one.]

After a brief discussion, you decided to head to the safe house to establish defenses and try to survive until the storm subsided and rescue arrived.

You led your team back to the safe house along the route you had previously taken and quickly began constructing defenses.

Many people were relieved that the safe house was in a relatively good location and was in relatively good condition, with only the main door damaged. Therefore, as long as they guarded the door, they could probably hold out until rescue arrived.

Hen carefully examined the corpses inside the room—he had to prevent them from being corrupted by Honkai energy and turning into monsters that could then ambush them, or add to their ranks of enemies; that would be too troublesome.

Although he saw obvious wounds on the corpses inflicted by you, Hen didn't care. After all, "knowing how to finish off corpses when fighting the Honkai" was common knowledge that all soldiers had to learn. He even added two more wounds to prevent any corpses from "coming back to life," and then threw the corpses outside one by one.

Finally, thanks to the firepower used to eliminate the remaining enemies and your and Sakura's efforts to clear them out, the number of Honkai creatures in the area has decreased significantly. The team members have also used the available tools and materials to build a defensive position at the entrance of the safe house, allowing us to catch our breath for a while.

Perhaps because the threat of death had lessened, the team members even started chatting and joking with each other in the safe house, and the atmosphere became somewhat relaxed. If it weren't for the fact that the violent wind hadn't subsided and was even getting stronger, some people might have thought you were on a picnic... Oh, it's not that dramatic.

The main reason for this atmosphere is you and Sakura. Although you two always stray from your own teams, it has to be said that your strength is convincing. Your swift and efficient combat style allows you to quickly clear out the surrounding Honkai creatures, to the point that the members on the defensive positions didn't even manage to kill many Honkai beasts.

[Midway through, Hen hoped to take over your work so you could rest a bit, or even travel with you to lighten your load—but he quickly gave up on that idea.]

There's nothing I can do; you two are moving too fast. He can't keep up; his speed is nowhere near yours.

Of course, the two of you can't keep fighting at such a high intensity forever, so as night fell, you and Sakura stayed in the safe house to rest. The other members naturally understood, since you were responsible for their safety during the day, and now that you were resting at night, they naturally had to take on the responsibility as well.

[Someone even joked about giving you two some private space, but naturally, that person ended up getting hit by two flying pebbles and a punch—the pebbles were obviously thrown by you and Sakura, and the punch was a reward from his captain, Hen.]

Although it didn't hurt much, his embarrassed look still made everyone laugh.

After a quick meal of military-grade fast food and some lighthearted banter, the members gradually quieted down and remained at their posts. Although night had fallen, the Honkai Beasts wouldn't rest, so they couldn't let their guard down.

[And you and Sakura nestled together, gradually falling asleep in the corner.]

[On the second day, the gale had not subsided, and you and Sakura reduced the time and frequency of your outings to clear out the enemy—even you couldn't withstand that kind of blade-like gale for long.]

On the third day, the gale intensified, and even the number of Honkai creatures decreased significantly. However, the environment had deteriorated to the point that neither you nor Sakura could go outside. You could only huddle in the defensive position to resist the onslaught of the remaining Honkai creatures.

[On the fourth day, the gale continues, but the Honkai creatures have vanished without a trace, seemingly torn apart by the razor-sharp wind the moment they appeared. You must use all available resources to seal the doors of the safe house, while simultaneously checking the remaining food, drinking water, and ammunition, and constantly monitoring the status of communication devices to ensure you can contact the main force as soon as the storm subsides.]

[On the afternoon of the fifth day, the communication device was connected, and news was received that the Fourth Herrscher was killed by Kevin yesterday, but the storm left behind only began to gradually dissipate in the early hours of this morning.]

Meanwhile, you also received orders from higher command—to meet with the support troops and quickly rest before heading to the western coast of South America to provide support.

[Because a special Honkai Beast has appeared there, a large number of people are needed to deal with it.]

The codename for that Honkai Beast is—Gabriel.

Chapter Sixteen [Gabriel]

"They really don't let people rest... We just escaped one battle and now we have to rush to another."

A soldier sighed helplessly as he checked his equipment.

"That's how it is... Stop complaining. Check the ammunition reserves and the newly issued equipment. According to the news from the front, conventional weapons are ineffective against [Gabriel]. Only the newly developed Honkai energy weapons can cause effective damage. Check them carefully, so you don't lose your life because of your own weapons."

Hen urged him on from the side.

"Okay, okay... Captain, why are you being so long-winded now that you have a child? And I remember this weapon hasn't fully passed testing yet, right? Is it really okay to send us directly to the battlefield?"

The soldier waved his hand dismissively, annoyed by Hen's increasingly rambling words, and then raised a question—this was also the reason for his slow and hesitant movements. A weapon that hadn't fully passed safety tests, and one that used the same [Honkai energy] as those monsters, was anything but reassuring.

Instead of thinking about that, let's think about how to survive.

His companion, who was getting used to the new weapon, said this.

"I heard there are so many Honkai Beasts over there that they're like a tidal wave. A few teams simply can't handle them. Otherwise, the higher-ups wouldn't have sent us there immediately."

"Weren't the Herrschers dealt with? Why are there still so many Honkai Beasts?"

"Maybe it's the aftermath of the Fourth Herrscher? After all, this Herrscher appeared at sea, and we didn't encounter as many Honkai Beasts on the island as before. Maybe the Honkai Beasts that appeared along with the Fourth Herrscher were hiding in the sea and have now crawled ashore."

"What you said makes a lot of sense."

The two chatted casually, their attention shifting away from their worries about the weapons in their hands.

Seeing this, Hen breathed a sigh of relief.

Actually, there was something else he didn't say: these weapons were truly "experiments." Even the people above didn't know if they were actually effective. They only discovered that conventional weapons were no longer able to inflict effective damage on [Gabriel], and their effectiveness against other Honkai Beasts had also become negligible. They had no choice but to use these weapons, which were still in the testing phase. After all, they knew one thing: Honkai energy weapons were far more lethal than conventional weapons.

In other words, these three teams, and even the several teams that were to go to provide support later, were all "experiments".

It wasn't that the people above deliberately wanted to "sell them out" or intentionally send them to their deaths; it was simply that they were driven to desperation and had no other choice.

After all, according to the information obtained earlier, the battle to subdue the Fourth Herrscher was won with great difficulty. Ordinary weapons could not even break through the large storm circle on the outer edge of the enemy. As a result, after several days of efforts, the storm still swept across the coastal areas and even allowed the Fourth Herrscher to set foot on land.

Ultimately, if it weren't for provoking the Fourth Herrscher through some means, causing her to stop expanding the storm's range and instead use smaller, more powerful wind clusters to pinpoint and kill targets, the final outcome of the Fourth Herrscher subjugation campaign would likely have remained uncertain.

Of course, even so, their victory was hard-won. Several squads became targets of the Fourth Herrscher, and by sacrificing themselves to attract the enemy's attention, they finally bought Kevin time to break through the storm circle surrounding the enemy and the opportunity to kill him.