Honkai Impact 3rd: The Girl Who Chases the Flame

Padofilis chuckled.

"That was a lie I told. I was afraid people would bully me... When I talked to people, I always tried to slip in a few words like 'boss' so they would think I had powerful backers and wouldn't dare to bully me..."

"........."

Having learned the truth about the boss that was causing such a stir within the Firemoth organization, Melutina sighed for the third time, rubbing her forehead.

"Didn't you steal a batch of weapons a few years ago?"

"Huh? That was yours too, big sister... Waaah, I really didn't know! Please... please forgive me this time? I... I really know I was wrong, I'm just trying to make a living..."

Upon hearing that he had stolen from this group twice, Padofilis felt an urge to give his past, greedy self a good beating.

"You've got some nerve..."

Melutina facepalmed for the fourth time, while Lewis, who overheard these words, nearly smashed his machine gun against his leg.

This……

The legendary boss who could steal Sakura's weapon without anyone noticing, and who also smuggled large quantities of Soul Steel...

That's it?

Chapter Twenty-Two: Please Come Over Here

"Hmm... a little to the left."

"Okay, okay, Sister Mei!"

"Hmm... a little harder."

"okay!"

……

"Vice Captain, the Soul Steel has been retrieved, but this..."

When Lewis and Salome returned with a cart laden with Soulsteel, they witnessed an unbelievable scene.

"Where are Susana and the others?"

Adam asked while writing his report.

"We decided to follow humanitarian principles and send the customer we crippled to the hospital."

Salome shrugged.

"Oh, that's alright."

Anyone who dares to covet the Soul Steel of the Fire-Chasing Moth will be executed on the spot, and the higher-ups won't say a word.

"Um, Vice Captain, so this is?"

Salome pointed to Patofilis, who was massaging their captain, and her lips twitched.

"...It seems the captain doesn't intend to hold her accountable."

Adam shrugged.

"After all, she's such a young girl with no fixed address. If we report it truthfully, she'll definitely be sent to the operating table... Let's turn a blind eye this time."

"I never expected that such a young girl would have a way to steal weapons from that 'Sakura'."

Lewis shook his head and gave a wry smile.

“Sakura… Hmph.”

Salome snorted coldly, seemingly unimpressed.

“Salome, I understand how you feel... but orders come from above, and the poison pupa is just an executor.”

Adam glanced at her.

"I'm not that unreasonable, but that woman... never even tries to put up a fight. Isn't that just aiding and abetting evil?"

Salome, on the other hand, looked indignant.

"Such naive words don't sound like something you'd say to the members of Honkai Impact 3rd Squad. We all know that people's behavior in this world is often beyond their control."

Lewis crossed his arms.

“I am different from you high-achieving students. I was selected from ordinary soldiers. I have seen many people who have no power and are manipulated by others... as well as people like Sakura who have power but are forced to be restrained.”

“I’d almost forgotten if you hadn’t mentioned it… Why did Lewis join the Third Squad? With your seniority, you could have retired safely by now.”

Salome suddenly remembered that although they were all comrades-in-arms, Lewis was practically their mother's generation in terms of age.

"..."

At this point, Lewis suddenly fell silent, and after a moment, he continued,

“My daughter died, and her city collapsed… Her friend told me the news when I was going through the procedures to leave the team.”

"...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

Salome lowered her head, her face full of apology.

"It's alright. Since everyone has joined the Firemoth, they all have their reasons, don't they?"

Lewis shook his head.

"Um, Sister Mei, can I... leave now...?"

Padofilis chuckled.

"Wait a minute, let me ask you a few questions."

Melutina stood up and crossed her arms.

"Oh, oh... Don't worry! I'll answer every question!"

Padofilis nodded repeatedly.

"First of all, was there a sanatorium here before?"

"Oh? You know about this? Yes, yes, it's the only sanatorium in this area."

Padofilis nodded.

"However, it was destroyed in a gas explosion a few years ago."

"A gas explosion... Pado, let me ask you, have you ever heard of the name Qianjie?"

Melutina seemed lost in thought.

"No, is he from this area? I'm not familiar with the nursing home area."

"And... what about Aponia?"

"I think I've heard of her before. I've heard people mention her, saying she was a great philanthropist at the sanatorium or something."

Padophilia rubbed her head as she recalled,

"However, I don't know the details."

"I understand. By the way, do you have any local specialties or anything like that?"

Melutina suddenly remembered this and asked.

"Yes, you've come to the right person! Sister Mei, are you bringing someone something?"

Upon hearing this, Padofilis suddenly became excited and patted his chest, saying...

"..."

"W-what happened... Sister Mei..."

Padofilis noticed Melutina's gaze fixed on his chest, a faint hint of murderous intent emanating from her, and he shivered uncontrollably.

"No, it's nothing..."

Melutina looked away.

"Go and prepare it, this should be enough."

She reached into her pocket, took out several large-denomination banknotes, and handed them to Padofilis.

"Alright! You can rest assured, I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"

Padofilis's eyes sparkled.

"It must be a 100% pure specialty product from Twilight Street!"

...............

Moth Chasing Fire Headquarters

"...What is this?"

Qianjie squatted on the sofa, staring blankly at the pile of canned food in front of him.

"This? It's a specialty of Twilight Street."

Melutina sat beside her, puzzled.

"...Twilight Street has no local specialties."

"……kindness?"

Melutina was taken aback.

"A garbage dump... has special products? Oh... that makes sense, since the only special product of a garbage dump is garbage."

Qianjie glanced at her, took out one of the cans, and pointed to the label on it.

“I know you don’t recognize the writing there… I’ll tell you, it’s called cat food.”

"...Click."

Melutina instinctively squeezed the cup in her hand until it shattered.

"Ha...hahahahahaha..."

Qianjie seemed to have discovered something, and suddenly burst into laughter.

"Looks like you weren't trying to provoke me... you just got tricked? What, after joining the regular army, your IQ dropped to the same level as theirs?"