Chat group, if you have anything to say to my Holy Sword,

"Alright, alright, why think about so many random things during mealtime?" Xiling's tone was as relaxed as if she were coaxing a child. She casually took the bowl in front of Kiana, filled it with white rice, and then without hesitation picked up a spoon, scooped up a large spoonful of grilled pork, and placed it on top of the rice. "Try it! This is the work of my heart and soul!"

A pungent smell, a mixture of burnt, salty, spicy, and some strange spices, wafted towards me.

Kiana looked at the bowl of food in front of her, then glanced at Xiling's expectant eyes, and at the encouraging gazes of the Faded One, Kevin, and Remyanna...

The words of refusal stuck in my throat.

A long-lost bittersweet feeling of being treated like an ordinary person welled up in her nose. She picked up a small piece of meat coated in dark sauce with her chopsticks, mixed it with a little rice, and hesitantly put it into her mouth.

The moment the tip of the tongue touches the food—

Salty! Extremely salty! Accompanied by a sudden, pungent, and throat-stinging sensation that explodes out!

This should have been a disastrous taste experience.

However, Kiana's body suddenly stiffened! Not because it tasted bad, but because—

Taste!

She tasted it! Salty! Spicy! Even burnt!

Since her body was severely eroded by Honkai energy, she has forgotten what taste is like!

A surge of emotion welled up from the depths of my heart and rushed to my eyes. Tears streamed down my face, splashing into the rice bowl in front of me.

The sudden tears froze the atmosphere at the dinner table.

Kevin was the first to react, looking at Xiling in shock and saying, "It can't be that your cooking is so bad it makes people cry, can it?"

"Hey, hey, hey! What kind of food in this world is so bad that it makes people cry?!" Xiling immediately retorted, pointing at Kiana's tears, trying to argue, "These are clearly tears of emotion! The highest praise for my cooking! Right...right?" Xiling's voice trailed off at the end, a hint of uncertainty creeping into her voice as she looked at Kiana's silently rolling tears.

Just then, Kiana finally found her voice. Choking back tears, with a heavy nasal tone, she almost instinctively and with utmost honesty uttered her judgment:

"...It tastes...it's awful..."

Dead silence.

The next second—

"Pfft..." The one who faded couldn't help but cover his mouth, and Remian also couldn't help but laugh, turning her face away and her shoulders shrugging slightly. Kevin laughed and clutched his stomach, giving Xiling a thumbs up, "Genius, I lost."

Xiling, on the other hand, was struck dumb, her finger trembling as she pointed at Kiana, her face filled with disbelief. "You...you tasteless bastard! Do you dare...do you dare to say it to me out loud!"

Now, everyone burst out laughing.

Kiana's tears were still flowing, a salty taste slid down her cheeks.

Yeah, it was really awful... It was so salty it tasted bitter, so spicy it was pungent, and the burnt smell just wouldn't go away...

but……

This was also the first time she had actually eaten anything since she lost everything.

She watched as Remianne handed her a tissue, watched the Faded One pour out the food from her bowl and refill it with rice, watched Xiling try to force her food onto Kevin, and watched Kevin desperately resist Xiling.

A smile bloomed on Kiana's face at that moment.

Even though she might leave this place soon, she was genuinely happy at this moment.

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Add numbers.

Chapter 121 The Girl's Labels to Everyone

Two weeks later, early morning.

The jarring electronic alarm rang out, and the girl struggled slightly in bed. With her eyes closed, her arm groped around by muscle memory, finally grasping the slightly vibrating, charging cube on the bedside table. A swipe of her finger on the screen, and the world instantly fell into a reassuring silence.

A few more minutes passed before consciousness finally broke free from the quagmire of confusion. Kiana struggled to open her eyelids, and the hazy morning light shone into the room through the gaps in the curtains.

"It's morning..." she mumbled indistinctly.

Her gaze slowly swept over the room where she had been living for two weeks. The simple furnishings, the warm-colored walls, and the potted plant that Kevin had insisted on giving her yesterday, which was said to be very easy to care for, all exuded a homely and peaceful atmosphere.

Clearly... clearly I had already made up my mind to leave.

She had lost too much and knew the preciousness of a moment of warmth, which made her even more afraid—afraid that she would bring accidents to those around her. She should leave, immediately, right now, before tragedy strikes.

But when she actually leaves, she can't help but come back for a look, and then she's always discovered and invited back.

The words of refusal lingered on the tip of my tongue, but were ultimately suppressed by an indescribable longing and a sense of侥幸 (a feeling of getting away with something).

How about... staying one more night?

And so, night after night piled up, until her clothes were hung up in the guest room where she had originally stayed, and her toiletries were also placed openly in a corner of the bathroom, alongside those of the other four people.

As for the Honkai energy erosion on her body... it seems to have really stabilized?

The excruciating pain and sense of loss of control that clung to her like a leech completely disappeared after that bowl of instant noodles from the convenience store. Everything was getting better. She wasn't without doubts; her gaze had fallen on Xiling, that white-haired young man who was always smiling, more than once.

But in the end, she didn't ask.

She dared not ask, for fear that asking would shatter this illusory peace, so she chose to bury her doubts deep in her heart.

Let's just consider it... a miracle.

Kiana took a deep breath, threw back the covers, and got out of bed. She walked to the door, grasped the doorknob, paused for a second, and then gently turned it open.

The hallway was quiet. She walked towards the washroom; the door was ajar, and she could hear running water inside. She pushed the door open and went in.

A familiar figure was standing in front of the sink, facing the mirror, vigorously rubbing his face with cold water in his hands. He looked somewhat tired, with faint dark circles under his eyes, clearly having stayed up late again last night.

Facing this person, Kiana uttered the homonym of the name she had once been unwilling to confront.

Good morning, Xiling.

Xiling forced a sleepy smile: "Good morning to you too, Xiling."

Yes.

Kiana didn't tell the other person her real name. No, that wasn't her real name, was it? That belonged to Kiana Kaslana, not her.

And in these two weeks, she actually... got used to it.

Sirin... Sirin it is, anyway, there's still Xiling here.

Kiana stopped thinking about it, picked up her toothbrush and cup, and silently stood on the other side of the sink to wash up. The cold water stimulated her skin, making her more awake. Through the mirror, she glanced at Xiling beside her out of the corner of her eye.

How should I describe this person named Xiling? Kiana brushed her teeth while sketching out an impression in her mind.

Normally? He's like a carefree big boy—he'll lounge on the sofa playing video games until late at night, and he'll fight with Kevin for the last piece of fried chicken.

But what if... something happens?

The other person would act very reassuringly, just like the instant noodles they handed her that night, that warmth that seemed to soothe the restlessness in her soul.

Just then, another person walked in while washing up.

Just as Kiana's thoughts were drifting, the bathroom door was pushed open again.

A yawn broke the silence, and Kevin walked in, his eyelids still drooping. "Good morning, you two Shirins," he mumbled.

"Good morning, Kevin," Kiana replied, her mouth full of toothbrush.

Kevin was a sunny boy in Kiana's eyes, but for some reason Kiana always felt that... he and she had an inexplicable similarity deep down.

Is it just my imagination? Probably.

"I've got it sorted out, you guys take your time." After saying this, Xiling walked out.

He had barely left when Remienne walked in. A gentle smile graced her face. "Good morning, both of you."

Good morning, Sister An.

Good morning, hello.

Kevin and Kiana were brushing their teeth when they turned around and called out to Remian almost simultaneously.

In Kiana's eyes, Remian is a very gentle older sister, but she can also have some sudden and whimsical ideas.

"I'm done, Kevin, Annie, take your time." Kiana quickly washed her face, dried it, and left the washroom.

Then I saw the faded one in the restaurant, who had already put breakfast on the table.

The Faded One raised his hand in greeting when he saw Kiana. "It's almost time to eat."

"Okay, thank you, A-Tui."

In Kiana's eyes, the Faded One was an incredibly skilled chef; his food was truly delicious, even comparable to... that of her former best friend.

Kiana's gaze swept across the restaurant. Xiling was already seated at the table, and the sounds of Kevin's footsteps after washing up and Remian's soft voice came from the corridor.

She silently labeled these four roommates in her mind.

Xiling: Always smiling, he calls himself a detective (but it seems he has never taken on any cases).

Kevin: A food delivery driver (His delivery range seems a bit too wide? And he's too agile).

Remian: A gentle and reliable pharmaceutical company researcher (but she's a bit strong and likes to drive fast).

The Faded One: A very skilled chef (who reads strange books every day that he can't understand).

Four ordinary urbanites, whose interactions always felt slightly awkward, seemed to live their lives in this ordinary way, accepting a girl who called herself Xilin.

Her identity here is: a 19-year-old JK (high school girl) who came to this bustling city alone to make her way in the world.

Incidentally, this label was given to Xiling by herself.

"Speaking of which, Sirin, what do you do every night when you go out?" Xiling asked curiously.

"Would I tell you I'm going to investigate why there are so many Honkai Beasts in this city?" Kiana mumbled, stuffing a fried egg into her mouth. "It's work."

"Recently, there have been frequent collapses in the city. I suggest you avoid going out at night," Kevin reminded him while eating.

"Don't worry, my area is still very safe," Kiana replied with a smile to Kevin.

Kiana quickly emptied her bowl and stood up, saying to the others, "I'm finished eating. You can continue eating; I have something to do."

After washing the dishes, Kiana changed her shoes at the door. Once she was done, she opened the door, turned around, and waved to everyone.

"Then I'll go out."

"Be careful on the road." Everyone waved to Kiana.

Kiana moved quickly through the alley, and a figure invisible to ordinary people appeared beside her.

"Where do you plan to begin your investigation today, Kiana?"

"This is none of your business, Fu Hua." Kiana's voice was unusually cold at this moment.

Fu Hua sighed. "At least my insights did help you, didn't they?"

Kiana didn't reply, but ran on in silence.

Fu Hua didn't seem to mind and continued, "Do you remember the person we met that night?"

Fu Hua's words reminded Kiana of what had happened a few nights ago.

While investigating the company, Shencheng Pharmaceuticals, she discovered that another group of people were also investigating the company, and she met one of them once during a Honkai disaster. He was a person covered in armor.

The opponent was very strong, easily eliminating the Honkai Beasts of the Honkai Disaster at that time, and then discovered him, but did not attack him, but nodded in a friendly manner.

"Why are you talking about this?" Kiana asked Fu Hua.

"Perhaps you can exchange some information."

"...Let's talk about it when we see him."

The two were completely unaware that a very small machine was following them at a distance, transmitting images to the projector in front of Remian.

"Want to talk to me? Perhaps we can cooperate directly." Remian gently tapped her cheek, smiling as she looked at the girl in the picture.

"Why do we feel like we're the villains behind the scenes?" Xiling shook her head and sighed as she prepared to leave.

Kevin, who was also preparing to head out and strolling through the city, nodded earnestly. "You know what, it really has that vibe."

"It's all because you insisted on keeping it from them." The faded one rolled his eyes.

Xiling opened the door, turned around, and smiled, saying, "After all, she is the one this world needs. She needs to grow, and we, who are just passing by, can only be her protectors for the time being."