Honkai, why do you only play high-end games?

Anna seemed to have returned to the carefree and innocent state of a girl at the headquarters. She walked over happily, took her hands warmly and familiarly, and looked carefully at this friend who had not seen her for a long time and had come from afar.

"It feels like you haven't changed at all."

"……Yeah?"

Yuno seemed a little overwhelmed by her enthusiasm. She looked at Anna bewilderedly, and after a long while, she said with some confusion,

"But I feel like you've changed a lot... but I can't really put my finger on what exactly you've changed."

"is it?"

Anna was stunned. Countless images flashed through her mind like a kaleidoscope. The originally innocent and enthusiastic smile on her face turned a little emotional.

"Maybe... After all, people always have to grow up."

Yuno nodded, and then began to think hard, as if she had to find a specific change in Anna. Then, when her eyes accidentally swept across her smooth white neck, her eyes lit up and she remembered something.

"Where's your pendant?"

Yuno remembered that the other person never took off the beautiful heart-shaped pendant.

"Ah? Uh... this..."

Anna was a little embarrassed by this sudden question. After hesitating for a while, her face turned red and she answered hesitantly.

"I put it away... After all, we often encounter battles here... I was afraid I would lose it..."

You can't just say you gave some of it away, right?

The better the friends, the more embarrassed Anna is to tell the truth!

"What a hasty decision..."

Anna wailed silently, feeling a little regretful, but not much.

"Oh……"

Yuno nodded in understanding.

"Okay, don't just stand there! I'll take you to my current station to rest for a while, then show you around, see things, and have some fun. How about that?"

Anna saw that she was still about to "find the difference", so she hurriedly interrupted her and changed the subject.

Yuno nodded in agreement, her eyes obediently no longer looking around.

Anna finally breathed a sigh of relief and took her out of the airport and boarded the car that had been prepared long ago, ready to return to the base.

It has to be said that as an elite team stationed abroad, Tianming has always done a good job, at least in terms of material life.

"Yuno, did you receive the gift I gave you some time ago?"

Even in the car, the usually taciturn Yuno just sat quietly in her seat without saying a word. Anna, however, had long been accustomed to her behavior and took the initiative to find topics to talk about.

"Yes, I received it. It's a coral, very beautiful. Thank you."

"Hehe...as long as you like it!"

It is very easy to feel happy when a gift you give is praised. Anna saw Yuno tilting her head and looking at the crowd outside the window in a daze in the rearview mirror, and her heart ached. After a slight hesitation, she asked,

"Are you feeling okay now?"

Anna knew that Yuno's power could easily get out of control, but since the headquarters agreed to let her go out, it meant that everything was moving in the right direction.

"Yeah, much better. It'll be fine as long as you don't use it."

"..."

Anna felt a headache. What kind of answer was this?

It's fine if you don't use it, but something bad will happen if you use it?

Is the headquarters so careless?

As if seeing Anna's hesitation, Yuno thought for a moment and changed her words.

"It's gotten better, I just don't want to use it, so it's fine."

Anna breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's okay, Yuno, I will protect you."

"Want to fight?"

Yuno was stunned.

"Battlefield, I can do it."

"Bah bah bah!"

Anna wanted to slap herself twice. Why did she say such nonsense?

"I mean, I'll take care of you. No need to fight. Don't worry."

"Oh……"

She got a response that was either understanding or disappointment.

……

We returned safely to the Snow Lotus Team’s base, where birds were singing and flowers were blooming, and the tropical plants were lush and verdant, which easily made people feel relaxed and happy.

"Captain, I'm back."

As soon as the door opened, Anna couldn't wait to introduce them to each other.

"Let me introduce you. This is..."

"Hello..."

It seemed that she was not used to such crowded occasions, or perhaps because she considered herself an "oddball", Yuno simply greeted her and didn't know what to say.

"We are all Valkyries of Destiny, and you are also a friend of Vice Captain Anna. You don't have to be so polite."

The atmosphere felt awkward, and before Anna could say anything, Captain Jier took the initiative to smooth things over.

"There are still some rooms available here, Captain Anna. Take Miss Yuno to a clean room first. Once you've rested up, you can consider your trip."

"Okay, Captain."

After saying that, Jie Er walked up and patted Yuno's shoulder, comforting her gently,

"Don't think too much, just treat this place as your own home and live here with peace of mind."

"……Thanks."

Yuno nodded gratefully.

Jier smiled gently, then left and returned to her room; the other Valkyrie team members also said goodbye and watched Anna and Yuno leave.

About half an hour later, there was a light knock on the door. Before she could respond, Anna pushed the door open and said apologetically,

"I'm sorry, Captain. I always cause trouble for everyone. I'm really sorry..."

"Okay, I already said it once a few days ago. No need to say it again."

Jier looked at Anna with pretended anger. This was how Anna apologized to her when she first proposed the idea to her.

Anna looked a little embarrassed, and inexplicably guilty.

"Okay, I know what you mean."

Seeing her hesitant look, Jier spoke for her reluctantly.

"No wonder you said she wasn't very popular at headquarters. I didn't quite understand it before. But after seeing her today, I can see she's quite dangerous. Her eyes are as menacing as a wild animal... Look, quite a few team members were frightened just now."

"I am sorry……"

Anna breathed a sigh of relief, and her apology grew stronger.

"Actually, Yuno... didn't mean to do that..."

"I know, so you don't have to say it again."

Jie Er was really helpless.

"I say, could you please stop using your stubbornness to torment me?"

Anna blushed and looked even more embarrassed, but she didn't dare to speak again.

"Okay, I don't mean to blame you."

Seeing that Anna could finally listen to people quietly, Jie Er couldn't help but smile.

"Looking at your friend's expression, I can't help but admire you for being such a good friend of hers."

"Because I know Yuno is a really good and gentle girl at heart."

Anna said with emotion,

"Actually... to be honest, when I invited her, I just wanted to express my gratitude. I didn't even think that headquarters would actually approve her departure..."

Yuno's state of being a "prisoner" under the strict guard of the Undying Blade was not something he understood clearly when he was at the headquarters. Now that he had left there, he finally understood what was going on and felt even more sorry for his friend.

Maybe to Yuno, I really am her only friend?

"Captain, will you hate her?"

Anna asked a little uneasily.

She really wanted to protect the girl's little world and didn't want to see her being rejected by everyone.

"how could be?"

Jie Er stood up from his seat, took out two cups from the cabinet, poured two cups of hot tea, pushed one of them in front of Anna, and comforted her,

"Let's not talk about whether we should trust the headquarters' judgment. There are reasons why the headquarters would approve it. As for Miss Yuno herself..."

Anna held the hot tea in her hands, feeling a little relieved, waiting for the captain to continue what she had not finished.

"You've told me some of her stories and experiences, Team Member Anna."

Jier sat back on the chair, turned the bench so that she was facing the window, looked at the mottled shade of the trees and the bright blue sky outside the window, and silently sipped the hot tea.

"A resident of Changkong City, an ordinary student still in school; she encountered the Third Honkai, and by some strange coincidence survived by coexisting with a Honkai beast. She was promptly rescued by the Far East Branch and later sent to the Destiny Headquarters, becoming a powerful trainee Valkyrie and joining the Undying Blade..."

Jier tilted his head and looked at Anna.

"Am I right?"

Anna nodded slightly.

"At the time, I was wondering what kind of girl this would be. Now I finally get to meet her... Haha, it's an honor."

"What kind of little girl..."

Anna chewed on these words, her eyes lit up.

"Captain, you don't hate her, do you?"

"Hate? How could that be..."

Jie Er looked at the vibrant green leaves outside the window.

"You know what? For the survivors of a disaster, their lives are like a devastated ruin. But God will send snow over this ruin, gently covering up all the trauma and sorrow."

"But for Miss Yuno, this 'snow' may have been a little too intense... A blizzard can mask past wounds, but it can also bring new damage."

Anna was silent.

She once envied Yuno's power; she also knew that Yulan Dell hoped she would master this power as soon as possible.

But she knew even more that Yuno hated the power she possessed, the power that was forced upon her without her permission.

This "gift" made her an "outlier".

She didn't understand it before, but now when she thinks back, she feels that fate is really cruel.

It clearly takes away everything in a person's life, but still gives a special "reward" in a pretentious way.

"But the snow will eventually melt. When it does, will it reveal a rotting, dead land, or will it give birth to new life... Heh... So, I admire that little girl. At least she's strong enough. Well... she's as stubborn as you, Anna."

"...I don't believe you can see so much on our first meeting!"

Seeing the captain making fun of her, Anna began to protest.

At the same time, she also felt a strange uneasiness, because she felt that the captain's words were not only about other people, but also about herself.

"What if I'm your captain?"