The Vixen's Gambit: Tonight We Hunt

Comiket in Japan is arguably one of the largest gatherings of anime enthusiasts in the world, a vibrant melting pot of otaku from every corner of the globe.

But this also means—crowds. Massive crowds.

"Why did I agree to this…?"

Looking at the sea of people stretching as far as the eye could see, Li Bei sighed, munching on his popsicle.

Standing in line under the scorching summer sun, close to 40 degrees Celsius, carrying bags and wearing a cosplay outfit… what was the point? He had cheats. His physique was optimized, he had the Herrscher of Flames' abilities, a few dozen degrees meant nothing to him.

But if his senses were correct, 99% of the people here were ordinary humans. Enduring this torture just for fun was beyond Li Bei's comprehension. His ideal peaceful life involved avoiding large crowds.

Yet, here he was, not only in the middle of a massive crowd but also acting as an unpaid security guard, risking being mobbed by overzealous fans...

Li Bei surveyed his surroundings. If a dimensional intrusion, like the Tomato Devil incident at the Kongchang City convention, occurred in this densely packed area, the casualties would be far greater.

He could sense a few slightly stronger-than-average auras scattered among the crowd. Likely security personnel deployed by Japan to prevent incidents. After all, this was a major international event. Any problems would reflect poorly on them. Security measures were essential.

However, their strength was… concerning. The strongest among them was about on par with Hammer Captain from Kongchang City. If something did happen, how much could they actually protect? Probably nothing…

And the sheer density of the crowd… if it was just a few small monsters, it wouldn't be a problem. But what if a truly dangerous enemy, someone who attacked from the shadows and couldn't be easily dealt with, appeared?

Transforming into the Herrscher of Flames for a direct confrontation was out of the question. While incarnations were expendable, Li Bei didn't want to expose his main body, especially knowing that some old geezers from the Honkai universe were about to crash-land on Earth.

Lihua's incarnation was still in China; she couldn't just disappear.

Shoko… well, her combat abilities were… negligible. Li Bei hadn't even summoned her yet. The only way she could fight was by self-destructing or using the Spark Lens. But using a one-time-use Spark Lens for something trivial seemed wasteful.

"Hopefully, nothing happens..."

"Nothing? I prefer big things to happen."

Li Bei looked up. As expected, his annoying friends, Gao Ming and Liu Yue, had joined him. Gao Ming, having clearly overheard him, chimed in, "As the saying goes, bigger is better, and better is bigger!"

"..."

Li Bei glanced at Gao Ming's Azur Lane t-shirt and NIKKE ita-bag, nodding in resignation. "Clearly, you're a man who wears his XP on his sleeve."

"You pig." Liu Yue, Gao Ming's girlfriend, rolled her eyes. "Changing waifus every other day. Not like me, loyal and devoted – I'm a diehard Lihua fan!"

Glancing at Liu Yue's Lihua t-shirt, Li Bei nodded solemnly. "Duly noted."

If he could, he'd stay far away from these two goofballs.

Especially with Liu Yue wearing that Lihua t-shirt and surrounded by Lihua merchandise. Every time he saw it, he felt so awkward he wanted to dig a hole and bury himself.

Imagine your friend wearing a t-shirt with your face plastered on it, strutting around in public… while you happen to be standing right there.

Li Bei could only be grateful that he didn't look that much like Lihua.

"Weren't you two confidently declaring you'd snatch the first edition doujinshi? Why aren't you in line?"

Less than half an hour ago, on their way here, these two had been boasting about arriving early to secure the first release copies. They'd been so sure their one-hour head start would guarantee victory.

Reality, however, proved that the hustle was eternal. By the time they arrived, the line was so long the entrance was no longer visible.

"Well, there's a limit to what human effort can achieve..." Gao Ming looked back at the endless line snaking under the scorching sun, shuddering. "Since we can't be first, why bother? We'll just go in later."

"Nothing is impossible if you simply give up." Liu Yue clearly shared Gao Ming's sentiment. These two were truly on the same wavelength.

And so, the three of them squatted in the shade, munching on popsicles.

"Speaking of which, you started playing Honkai Impact 3rd recently, right?" Gao Ming asked, mid-popsicle. "Did you know they released a major update yesterday? A new roguelike mode called [Elysian Realm]. MiHoYo really knows how to keep secrets. Such a big update, and there wasn't a single leak beforehand."

"Yeah, I heard about it." Li Bei nodded. He'd known about the update long before Gao Ming, thanks to Lihua's intel.

"I was planning to try it out, but I had to get up early to line up today."

"Hmph, your love isn't strong enough." Liu Yue scoffed. "I stayed up all night finishing the new story content!"

That explained her dark circles… She looked like she'd been possessed.

"Wait, you were in the bathroom for hours last night! Were you secretly playing the game while I was sleeping?!" Gao Ming exclaimed, aghast. "Since when did you care so much about Honkai?"

"I heard there would be new story content about Lihua..."

Liu Yue's voice was filled with regret. "There wasn't! It was all about Mei and World Serpent! I'm not interested in Mei or Kevin. I'm a Lihua fan! They played with my feelings!"

Lihua seemed to possess some sort of charisma aura. Liu Yue had only been saved by her once, so why such intense devotion?

Poor Gao Ming. Li Bei offered a silent prayer for his friend.

"Wasn't there speculation that Lihua might be related to the Previous Era? After all, Fu Hua seems to have a grudge against her… maybe some sort of reincarnation? Kevin's from the Previous Era too, so maybe Lihua's past self will appear." Gao Ming offered some consolation. "The Elysian Realm story has just begun. We might see her soon."

"Kevin took Mei to a place called Elysian Realm, where they play roguelike… some of the Flame-Chasers who were previously just background characters appeared." Liu Yue sighed. "Didn't see Lihua. The one with the most screen time now is a pink-haired girl called Elysia. Looks like a bad woman…"

Li Bei had stopped listening. He looked up at the sky, then at a nearby clock.

Murphy's Law in action. The thing he least wanted to happen was about to happen…

Future Foresight activated again, and this time, the vision was very close.

In ten minutes, the Gun Devil would appear here.

Seriously? The Gun Devil was practically a background character in the Chainsaw Man manga now, and it was about to make an appearance on Earth?