Honkai Impact 3rd: Catching the Herrscher of Sentience at the Start

"Heh, I may not have large-scale teleportation like Anti-Entropy, but sending small objects is still possible. Such a pity about that specialized soulium body of mine..."

"Amber, how is K423 doing?"

Amber, "K423 is living well in Siberia with Mr. Siegfried and an unknown youth."

"I see... Continue monitoring."

With his legs crossed, Otto tapped his fingers lightly against the table, his face emotionless as he stared at the screen displaying Kiana, who was grinning foolishly while building a snowman. Who knew what he was thinking?

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"Huff... Where did Little Li run off to..."

Chasing after Fu Lin, Mei stopped at the corner, leaning against the wall and gasping for breath.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a man sitting cross-legged against the wall not far away, unable to look away.

"That person is..."

Sensing someone approaching, Fu Lin slowly opened his eyes and looked at the approaching Mei with some confusion. After a moment of thought, he pretended nothing had happened and closed his eyes again.

As the footsteps grew closer, Fu Lin initially thought Mei was just passing by. However, the sound of footsteps suddenly stopped, followed by the sensation of breath brushing against him.

Fu Lin furrowed his brows and slowly opened his eyes. His gaze met Mei's, who had brought her face so close to his that he instinctively averted his eyes, feeling a bit awkward.

Mei stared at the masked man before her, a sense of familiarity surging within her. A figure from a year ago faintly emerged in her mind, slowly overlapping with the person in front of her.

Upon recognizing him, Mei's eyes lit up, her heartbeat quickening. A blush crept onto her cheeks as she instinctively reached out to remove his mask, only for her wrist to be firmly grasped.

Fu Lin touched the mask on his face, then released Mei's wrist and said, "Mei... little girl, what are you trying to do?"

"Sorry, I... I..."

Hearing Fu Lin's question, Mei nervously gripped the hem of her clothes, stumbling over her words.

She wanted to ask if he was the person from that night, but her shyness prevented her from speaking.

Yet, when she looked into Fu Lin's deep blue eyes—like hidden treasures in the depths of the ocean—her young heart was completely captivated, leaving her frozen in place.

Just then, a soft jingling sound came from the bell around Fu Lin's neck. Mei's gaze shifted to the bell, momentarily stunned.

"If you're not going to say anything, I'm leaving..."

Fu Lin, noticing Mei lost in thought, adjusted the baseball cap on his head and the tail hidden beneath his clothes before getting up to leave.

"...My name is Raiden Mei." Mei snapped out of her daze, quickly grabbing the hem of his clothes, looking up at him with a pitiful expression.

Fu Lin rubbed his nose, not quite understanding Mei's intentions, and responded casually, "I know... The young lady of ME Corporation, of course I recognize you."

Mei's eyes brightened as she followed him, asking, "What's your name?"

"Fu Lin." Fu Lin raised an eyebrow, glancing at Mei as he subtly quickened his pace, his tone indifferent.

Mei matched his pace, smiling. "What a coincidence, my cat's name is also Little Li."

"I said, my name is Fu Lin."

Fu Lin shot her a glance. If she weren't just a thirteen-year-old girl, he'd suspect she was implying something.

"Then why do you wear a mask? And why do you have cat ears sticking out from your cap? Where did you buy it?"

Mei grinned, staring at his mask, finding it somewhat obstructive. However, she really liked his cap, especially the very realistic-looking cat ears.

Fu Lin, "My face is ugly. I don't want to scare people. I made the cap myself... I like cat ears."

'Yeah, right. I just don't know how to hide them. Keeping them under the cap is itchy, so I had to cut holes for ventilation.'

Mei, "I'm not scared. Can I touch the ears on your cap?"

Fu Lin, "No."

Mei pouted. "So stingy. You even slept with me, and I didn't say anything."

Fu Lin, "..."

Fu Lin suddenly stopped, sensing scrutinizing gazes around him. His mouth twitched as he crouched down, gripping Mei's shoulders.

"You can't just say things like that! We only just met! And if you keep following me, I'm going to be mistaken for a perverted lolicon!"

Just then, a hand landed on Fu Lin's shoulder. He turned his head to see a police officer smirking, pointing toward the patrol car behind him.

"See..." Fu Lin patted Mei's shoulder, then slowly stood up and patted the officer's shoulder as well.

The next second, he bolted.

The officer was stunned for a moment before gripping his baton and giving chase.

"Don't run, you perverted lolicon!"

"I'm not a perverted lolicon!"

Mei watched Fu Lin's retreating figure with a chuckle before running after him, puffing her cheeks and calling out,

"...I clearly saw you a year ago."

"Maybe."

Fu Lin's mouth twitched. He had spent the past year carefully restraining himself, never transforming again.

The only possibility was that one night... He hadn't expected Mei to have woken up and seen his face.

But now was not the time to be worrying about that.

...

After a long chase, Mei clutched her knees, gasping for breath as she watched the officer, but Fu Lin was nowhere to be found. She stomped her foot in frustration.

"Huff... He didn't even give me a clear answer, hmph."

"Meow~"

A cat's cry sounded. Mei turned her head to see a figure darting out from the bushes, instinctively reaching out to catch it.

Holding the cat in her arms, Mei finally remembered that she had come here to find her cat. She picked up Little Li and started brushing the leaves off its fur, saying,

"Little Li, so you ran all the way here. You got yourself all dirty after just one outing. How am I supposed to let you out again in the future?"

After tidying up Little Li's fur, Mei lifted its head and rubbed it gently. Then, she looked into its deep blue eyes and froze for a moment.

"Little Li, I never noticed before, but your eyes are so beautiful. They're the same color as his..."