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

After a simple lunch, Shu leaned back on the sofa. Opposite him was a window, and he was currently staring blankly at the snowy scenery outside.

They were more than halfway through this railway route. There weren't many towns or villages they could stop at along the way, and they hadn't seen a single survivor.

The environment here was harsh to begin with. Humans had only managed to take root and survive in this place thanks to the flow of various supplies through the towns. Energy, food, and all sorts of industrial products necessary for life were transported from the outside world.

This land was virtually barren, save for the mineral deposits buried deep underground.

After the Honkai outbreak, the supply lines were cut. Even if there had been survivors, they would have long since perished due to the harsh conditions.

The air conditioning was on in the train car, so Shu couldn't feel the cold from outside. But when he placed his hand on something beyond his own body, the cool touch still made him shiver.

"Ah—!!" In front of the game console nearby, Kiana let out a sudden, tragic cry. Her voice was filled with annoyance, regret, and unwillingness... Shu didn't even need to turn his head to understand why.

"This is the 648th time Kiana has lost to Bronya," as expected, Bronya's calm, emotionless voice rang out. Victory, it seemed, was as common as breathing for her.

"I... I was just..." Kiana stammered, trying to come up with an excuse, but she couldn't think of a new one.

After losing over six hundred times, she had come up with over six hundred excuses. Even after discarding the ones that were essentially duplicates, Kiana had still come up with hundreds of reasons. For her, this was truly an incredible feat.

"Hmph... as weak as ever," Sirin snorted, looking equally unsurprised, and then took the controller from Kiana's hands.

"It's my turn!" Sirin eagerly scooted in front of the game console, controller in hand, and shouted.

Bronya's eyes widened slightly, her expression becoming much more serious. "The Bronya will not lose."

"Magical Girl Sirin will absolutely not lose either☆!" Sirin declared triumphantly after getting the controller.

The battle begins! Bronya has a rough start!

Bronya is on the retreat! Bronya makes a desperate gamble! Bronya's defeat is sealed! Bronya delivers her victory speech!

"Next!" Bronya waved her hand grandly, continuing to sit proudly on her champion's throne.

"I'm so sorry for not being able to make Lady Bronya use her full strength..." Sirin muttered, shrinking to the side in a daze.

"Bronya! I challenge you for the six hundred and forty-ninth time! I'll definitely win this time!!" Without a moment's mourning for Sirin's defeat, returning to the battlefield was—Kiana!

Shu's gaze shifted from the window to the group in front of the game console.

"So lively..." Schrödinger approached with her world-weary voice. Shu glanced over and saw a notebook in her hand.

Although her motives were a bit impure, when it came to studying and recording him, Schrödinger was truly serious.

"Don't you like playing with them?" Schrödinger asked, sitting down next to Shu.

Shu shook his head. "How could I not?"

"As expected," Schrödinger nodded. "They hold a very important place in your heart. Even if you don't enjoy such activities, you'd still take the time to be with them."

The corner of Shu's mouth twitched. He didn't think he was capable of that...

"So you just don't like that game?" Schrödinger's tone softened, at least sounding less like a formal interrogation.

"Not really... I actually quite like playing games..." Shu shook his head again, explaining.

Schrödinger nodded in understanding and, without questioning him further, lowered her head and wrote a sentence in her notebook.

Shu curiously peeked over.

[Subject's natural inclinations are suspected to be suppressed, recreational activities prohibited. Recommend developing new games to win him over.]

Shu: "?"

Wait, has Joachim not given up yet?

"Ahem..." Shu coughed lightly to ease his embarrassment and turned his head back to Kiana and the others.

Schrödinger looked up, not a hint of embarrassment on her face for being caught. She followed his gaze to the rapidly-defeated Kiana, and a rare softness finally appeared on her face.

"A scene like this... makes me think the Honkai is just a joke," she said sincerely. Shu nodded in agreement.

He had always felt this way. Compared to the storms and blizzards of the outside world, the train was as beautiful as a secluded paradise, cut off from the world. There were no storms, only laughter... and an indescribable sense of security.

Perhaps it wasn't the train itself that gave him this sense of security, but the people by his side.

In front of the game console, the two rotating challengers still couldn't score a single point against Bronya. Just as Bronya was getting bored, Schrödinger sat down beside them, holding her little black cat.

"Can I join?" she asked.

Bronya's expression grew slightly more serious, while Kiana had already thrust her controller into Schrödinger's hands.

"Of course you can! I've been playing for so long, I'm just a little tired. It's not because I can't beat Bronya!"

Bronya and Sirin shared the same dead-fish expression, glancing helplessly at the self-righteous Kiana.

If you're going to call for backup, don't make it sound so grand...

Schrödinger took the controller, familiarized herself with the controls, and then made a gesture to Bronya indicating she was ready.

Is that... the gesture of a professional player for this game?

Now Bronya was serious. She began to control the Homu Hero on the screen to fight against the Homu Demon King that Schrödinger had chosen.

Compared to the previous eye-searing matches, the fight between Schrödinger and Bronya was a back-and-forth affair, eliciting gasps of amazement from Kiana.

Shu watched with great interest from the sofa nearby, until the smoothly running train suddenly shuddered.

"Captain Shu!" A green cabbage head appeared on the screen Bronya and Schrödinger were using just as they were about to determine a winner.

"We've entered a small station. This used to be a large estate, so there should be a lot of supplies. Should we leave immediately?"

Shu sat up straight, pondering for only a moment.

"No need. I'll get off and scout around. There might be some rare supplies here..." Shu thought for a moment. "Kiana, you all stay on the train. I'll go alone this time."