Honkai: You're telling me this difficulty is from Honkai Impact 3?!

The Shanghai Pearl…Shanghai City's largest venue, a massive arena capable of holding sixty thousand people without feeling crowded.

When the Honkai erupted, a grand concert had just begun. The lights dimmed, signaling the star's imminent arrival. The fans raised their glow sticks, then the uninvited guest arrived, plunging the arena into a darkness that never lifted.

Most of the people inside had succumbed instantly, transforming into zombies.

The truly unlucky ones hadn't turned fast enough, devoured before they could join the horde, their remains insufficient even to sustain a single zombie's existence.

Yun Feng stood on a steel beam high above the arena floor, gazing down at the teeming mass of zombies below, a flicker of despair in his eyes. They weren't just sixty thousand threats; they were sixty thousand lost lives…

"Shicheng…what do you think…what will the world be like if the Honkai ends?" he asked, turning away, carefully making his way along the beam.

"Who knows? What happens after victory ain't my concern. I just focus on winning." Chen Shicheng spat, his saliva arcing down to land on some unfortunate zombie's head.

The zombie growled, looking up, but its clouded eyes couldn't see anything above. It continued its futile snarls, quickly silenced as the surrounding horde pressed in.

"Hey, look at them. Don't they look like the fish in your pond?" Chen Shicheng chuckled, nudging Yun Feng with an elbow.

Yun Feng rolled his eyes. "First, I don't keep fish. Second, spitting is disgusting." He didn't keep fish. As for the "pond"…he chose to remain silent. That was just Chen Shicheng's warped imagination. He was entirely innocent.

"Tch." Chen Shicheng looked away, refraining from spitting again.

They continued their trek across the beam, aiming for the stage on the other side of the arena. There was a faster, safer route through the dressing rooms and backstage area, but it wouldn't allow them to reach both the speakers and the control room.

That route was a deathtrap. So, they'd chosen this longer, more perilous path.

It was long. The first section had been manageable, with other beams to hold onto. Now, it was just a single beam stretching across the vast space. They had to crawl. No one had designed these beams for unprotected traversal. If someone did try this, the first question wouldn't be their safety, but whether the security personnel were all dead.

…which…they were.

"Never done anything this exciting in my life," Chen Shicheng chuckled, watching the normally dignified Yun Feng inching along on his stomach.

"It's…something, alright," Yun Feng admitted, picturing his own ungainly posture, and chuckled.

"I wouldn't mind a few more adventures like this." They continued crawling, their conversation flowing more freely.

"Don't even joke," Yun Feng said dryly, looking at the long stretch ahead. "I'm only crawling this distance once in my life."

"Same here. Not like I enjoy this." Chen Shicheng waved a dismissive hand. "But seeing you like this…makes it almost worth it."

"That much of a grudge?" Yun Feng looked back, raising an eyebrow. "Did I offend you somehow?"

Chen Shicheng's eyes widened. "Offend me?! You trying to wipe the slate clean after all you've done?!"

"What are you talking about?" Yun Feng asked, looking away, a flicker of guilt in his eyes. "Keep moving, keep moving…"

But Chen Shicheng wouldn't let it go, continuing to crawl while ticking off his grievances.

"First, every time you and your sister fight, she runs to me? Who do you think put her up to that?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"You two are close, what's that got to do with me?" Yun Feng replied smoothly.

"Then, later, when she stopped coming to me and started running away from home, why did I still have to go find her?" Chen Shicheng held up a second finger. "Couldn't find her yourself? Had to send me on a rescue mission?"

"Just habit. Mengxi used to always come to you," Yun Feng said, wiping his brow, seemingly tired from the crawling. "Figured you two were closer."

Chen Shicheng raised an eyebrow, giving Yun Feng a look of utter disbelief.

"Why didn't you ask Liu Zhuohua?"

"He ran away with her."

Chen Shicheng: "…"

"Do…do those things really count as offenses?" Yun Feng asked, turning back with a smile.

Chen Shicheng rolled his eyes. "I'm just saying, it's annoying!"

"Fine…" Yun Feng sighed. "I thought you were going to ask why I always scored one point higher than you in school…"

Chen Shicheng exploded. "You! I didn't even want to bring that up! But since you mentioned it…why?! Even when I got a perfect score, you'd ask for a bonus question and add one more point! Were you deliberately trying to humiliate me?!"

"Just trying to get your attention," Yun Feng replied, his tone unexpectedly serious.

"Huh?" Chen Shicheng froze. "What do you mean?"

Yun Feng paused, turning back to offer Chen Shicheng a small smile.

"Yeah, just wanted you to notice me."

Chen Shicheng: "…"

Realization dawned, and for the first time, pure shock registered on his face.