Surviving in a Collapsed World, Is Something Wrong?

"Are we there yet? But... there are only books here."

Susanna tilted her head in confusion, with three cute question marks appearing above her head. Jiang Ming put a broom in Susanna's hand and spoke solemnly.

"That's right. Your mission is to clean the bishop's private library for ten days. After ten days, you will be an official B-rank Valkyrie of the Destiny Headquarters."

"OK..."

Susanna took the broom, then blinked and made a puzzled sound.

“Eh…?”

"Is that all?"

"Of course, but now go get your physical exam first. I'm just showing you the way, but after the experience, I'll clean up with you."

After saying that, Jiang Ming took Susanna to the physical examination room again, but Susanna was no longer calm.

"And...clean with me?! With me? Me!"

"Yes, just the two of us."

"Just the two of us—?!"

Susanna gently placed her hands on her slightly hot face, her amber eyes slightly widened, but she did not dare to look at Jiang Ming again.

"Isn't this...being alone...?!"

"what?"

"No! It's...it's okay."

Faced with Jiang Ming's question, Susanna just waved her hands in panic, but the blush on her face took a long time to go away. Jiang Ming looked at her with confusion and sighed silently in his heart.

"Although I knew that this child would easily get nervous and misunderstand, I didn't expect it to be this serious..."

"But her innocent and naive attributes are actually a little higher than that of the spoiled Kiana. What a surprise..."

While Jiang Ming was taking Susanna for a physical examination, he naturally attracted the attention of the other Valkyries at the Savior Headquarters.

As a student of St. Freya Academy, it is rare for Jiang Ming to appear at the Sentence Headquarters. Moreover, he is vigorous and decisive in his work. He usually accepts tasks, does tasks, hands in tasks, and finally returns to the academy.

Moreover, they usually have an expressionless look on their faces, and few people dare to approach them directly to talk to them. What they heard was naturally spread by Yarvert. They listened to it, but it was up to them whether to believe it or not.

But when Jiang Ming really showed up, who would dare to approach and talk to him as if they had met by chance?

The same goes for Yulandel. Although it is privately rumored that she also has a cute girlish side, who dares to offend her authority?

And today they actually saw a stranger chatting with Jiang Ming, but it was just a physical examination and she was so careless and caused such little trouble that Jiang Ming not only didn't feel speechless, but he also smiled and helped her with a doting look.

But this is only what they see, the real situation is——

Because Susanna was nervous because Jiang Ming was around, she might easily cause trouble to the person who was examining her or to Jiang Ming.

For example, when measuring his height, he was not paying attention and bumped into someone. Another example was when measuring his weight, he did not want Jiang Ming to see him, so he thought about getting down quickly after the medical examiner finished registering his information. However, he was too anxious and did not stand firmly, so he fell again.

If Jiang Ming hadn't been there, the medical examiner would have been very unimpressed with Susanna...

What followed was the almost endless "I'm sorry" from this cute little bear, and it seemed that it took even longer to comfort her.

After the experience, they also walked back to the library—

"Wow, I'm sorry, Master Jiang Ming, I'm really useless..."

"Ok, I know."

Jiang Ming helplessly looked at the little bear who felt ashamed and had tears almost falling from his eyes.

"But...I should be the one to apologize..."

"Huh? W-why?"

Susanna quickly wiped the tears that were about to overflow from the corners of her eyes, and Jiang Ming handed her a handkerchief, acting a little tough, and Susanna didn't dare to refuse it.

After taking it, she began to wipe away her tears, and Jiang Ming also began his apology.

"I'm sorry, I didn't notice your emotions at first. I found that you would get nervous whenever I was around you. Are you afraid that you would do something wrong and then be blamed by me?"

"No... um... yes..."

Although Susanna subconsciously wanted to deny this fact, she suddenly realized that Jiang Ming was not joking with her, so she nodded reluctantly.

"Master Jiang Ming, you are an S-class Valkyrie, while I am just a B-class Valkyrie who was promoted not long ago. More importantly, you are a young man, and the only men I have ever come into contact with are my father and some relatives..."

"Although you have only a few glorious deeds, each one of them is beyond the reach of our level. Even for Lady Yulandel, most of us Valkyries have only heard of it and have never seen it in person."

"But you are different. The bishop has made us feel everything you have done to fight the Honkai. It's as if you have become one of the legends of this era."

"In our opinion, your status is just like that of the Red Kite Immortal from Shenzhou. Most of us don't even have the courage to approach and talk to you..."

"Um......"

Jiang Ming pondered for a while, trying his best to appear calm.

"So... you don't know how to get along with me, and you're afraid of my status, my identity, and my strength?"

"...Yes...a little bit."

"That's it..."

During the conversation, they had unknowingly returned to the library. Susanna was very self-aware. She thought that Jiang Ming was just being polite when he offered to help her clean the library. If she really asked him to stay, it would be a real disrespect.

So Susanna took the two brooms before Jiang Ming picked up the cleaning tools.

Jiang Ming: "?"

Jiang Ming was slightly stunned upon seeing this, then he burst out laughing.

"What's this for?"

Susanna seemed to muster up a lot of courage and said seriously.

"Just leave this to me, Lord Jiang Ming, how can I let you work with me?"

"What are you talking about...Didn't I say I would be with you?"

“Eh…?”

Jiang Ming tilted his head in confusion, his eyes full of bewilderment, and Susanna felt the same way. After all, Jiang Ming's confused look didn't seem like he was pretending.

In the end, Jiang Ming was the first to react. He asked Susanna to sit down. After Susanna sat next to him obediently, he slowly spoke.

"Susanna, do you think... I'm scary?"

"No! Lord Jiang Ming is the most gentle person I have ever met!"

Susanna quickly answered what was on her mind, and the same was true for the next question.

"So...am I a very strict person?"

"No! Lord Jiang Ming has always tolerated my mistakes. He is a very magnanimous person!"

"So... am I the kind of person who is very arrogant and looks down on others?"

"No! We have all witnessed Lord Jiang Ming's modesty. Whether it was killing Chi You or becoming S-rank, you never showed it to anyone! Instead, you always made yourself look very ordinary."

"So... am I the kind of person who... punishes others indiscriminately?"

"No! I watched the video of the Manila collapse several times. Lord Jiang Ming was comforting Miss Anna from beginning to end, rescuing the victims, and giving away the collapse energy antibody potion for free. A selfless, gentle and considerate person like you would never do that!"

"Haha... That's a very high compliment."

Jiang Ming scratched his face with a wry smile, then he looked at Susanna again, his expression solemn yet gentle, his tone firm yet gentle.

"Since you said so yourself, why should you be afraid of me? Let me tell you a secret. What you just said is also true for other S-class Valkyries, whether it's Miss Rita, Lady Yulandel, or the last S-class Valkyrie who has not yet appeared. Their personalities are all like this."

"Gentle, considerate, magnanimous, and selfless, these should be their synonyms."

"Then... Master Jiang Ming, what about you?"

"Me......?"

Faced with Susanna's questions, Jiang Ming actually didn't want to answer. The conflicting psychology always prevented him from speaking his true thoughts.

So, he answered like this after a self-deprecating chuckle.

"There is an old saying in China: If you are poor, you should take care of yourself; if you are rich, you should help the world. The ancients said so, and so do I. What I am doing now... is just what I can do and what I should do."

"This is also what I often remind other Valkyries. Didn't I tell you before? Only by surviving can you save more people. As long as you do your best, you will never have any regrets."

"Susanna, I am far inferior to the Red Kite Immortal, whether in achievements or character."

"So, compared to the others, I am still far inferior to them, Susanna, and the same is true for you. To be honest, I seem to see a second Yulandel in you."

"What...! Lord You... Youlandel?! Me?!"

"Of course. Why? Don't you believe me?"

"Of course not! It's just that...when I think of myself and that Lady Yulandel...well! It's really impossible!"

"Haha, this is also your second shortcoming: lack of confidence."

“Eh…?”

Jiang Ming rubbed Susanna's furry head and said with a smile in his eyes.

"You may not be as talented as Yulandel, but your hard training, complicated tasks, and countless days and nights of hard work have proven that you have the same determination and dream as Yulandel."

"You didn't become a Valkyrie to fight the Honkai, but to protect humanity. That's who you are - Susanna."

"......"

Susanna covered her mouth in disbelief. She felt as if she had met her lifelong confidant, someone who truly understood her. The feeling of being recognized by others made her unable to hold back her tears.

But she continued to ask, as if she was worried that she had heard it wrong.

"But...but, my family members said that I am not suitable to be a Valkyrie. Some people told me to give up, saying that I am naive and that it is impossible for me to be a Valkyrie. Even passing the assessment was just luck..."

"So...when you think about this at night, you hide under your bed and cry?"

"Um... yes..."

"......"

Susanna opened her eyes slightly and let out a cry that was unrealistic to herself.

“Eh——?!!”

"Why...why do you know this, Lord Jiang Ming?"

"Humph, I can tell this kind of thing with just a little calculation. In the final analysis, isn't this just a sign of your lack of confidence?"

Jiang Ming gently wiped away the remaining tears on the girl's face.

"But...I...I am really weak sometimes..."

"..."

"I don't know what you think, but no matter how many years we live, we will eventually disappear, so why not do something openly at the right age?"

"Something that I can do without being bound by my family and that I truly want to do. It is said that to be a Valkyrie one must be prepared to carry the fate of everyone on their shoulders and be ready to make sacrifices at any time."

"Since you are not afraid of death, what else do you have to be afraid of? Those who look down on you and deny you are just jealous of you. Instead of listening to others, you should believe in yourself. This is what you have been doing all along."

"Master Jiang Ming, you...are not afraid of anything?"

The light gradually reappeared in the girl's eyes, and Jiang Ming answered without hesitation.

"I'm not afraid of anything except losing the people around me."

"If you want confidence, I can't help you, and no one can take it away from you."

Jiang Ming stood up and walked to Susanna, then pointed to the girl's heart and spoke in a confident and firm tone.

"It comes from here!"

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Chapter 158 I Value You

Susanna stared blankly at Jiang Ming in front of her and his hand placed on her heart. After a while, a moved smile appeared on the girl's face. The faint blush on her face told her mood at the moment. The girl said gratefully.

"Thank you, Master Jiang Ming, I think I understand."

"Well, that's perfect."

Jiang Ming gently placed his hand knife on the girl's head, as if in revenge for the girl having just snatched his cleaning tools.