Chapter 45: The Battle Begins Within Five Minutes of Meeting!

Li Huan never expected to encounter a living person here, and the fact that she appeared to be quite young was even more surprising.

Was she a relative of someone who managed to survive the disaster?

While Li Huan was still pondering this, the young girl on the other side reacted first.

She stared directly at Mei and suddenly said, "Confirmed reaction of the Herrscher of Thunder detected. Initiating retrieval operation. Eliminate unnecessary personnel."

"Project Bunny 19C."

The girl's voice was almost devoid of emotion, and as soon as she spoke, a massive mechanical creature materialized behind her out of nowhere.

"Damn, this is bad!" Li Huan immediately realized the danger and tackled Tom to the ground.

As Tom's owner, he felt compelled to protect him, even though Tom might survive the attack unscathed.

Mei, recognizing the danger as well, shouted, "Get down!" As she said this, she quickly pushed Kiana to the ground, covering her.

At the same time, the mechanical creature's right arm transformed into a massive cannon, which it aimed at the spot where they had been standing. A rocket was fired in their direction, but since they had already ducked, it shot over their heads and crashed into the wall behind them, creating a gaping hole with a loud explosion.

"What the hell is going on?" Li Huan yelled as he got up, cursing at the girl, "We haven't even known each other for five minutes, and you're already attacking us?!"

"Li Huan!" Mei also got up and shouted, "She's the one who attacked me on the rooftop earlier!"

Li Huan's heart sank upon hearing this, and he took a closer look at the girl. Silver twin-tailed hair, an emotionless expression, floating legs, and the giant mechanical creature behind her. As he studied the girl, a memory slowly surfaced in his mind until he finally recognized who she was.

In the world of *Honkai*, much like in *Pokémon*, there are three starter characters often referred to as the "Three Founding Families." At the beginning of the game, players are given three characters: Kiana, Raiden Mei, and the girl standing before them now.

Her name was Bronya. Li Huan couldn't recall her full name, but she was known as a silent loli, always accompanied by her giant mechanical warrior, Project Bunny 19C.

But now wasn't the time for explanations!

Seeing that her first attack had failed, Project Bunny's left arm transformed into a machine gun, which it aimed at Li Huan and the others, unleashing a barrage of bullets.

"Quick, hide behind that bus!" Li Huan shouted as he pointed to a nearby bus.

The three of them, along with the cat, quickly took cover behind it as the mechanical creature continued its relentless assault.

Amidst the clattering sound of bullets hitting the bus's metal, Kiana yelled, "What the hell is that thing?"

"I don't know! But it's strong—really strong!" Mei, who had fought it before, replied. "I almost got killed by it earlier, and that's when the Herrscher took over my body."

"But didn't you defeat the Herrscher? Why is it still so tough?"

"Even though I defeated it, it didn't take much damage and immediately ran down from the rooftop."

As they spoke, the machine gun fire suddenly ceased. A massive shadow appeared above them.

They looked up to see Bronya and the enormous figure of Project Bunny looming overhead, with Bronya's emotionless face staring down at them.

"Retreat!" Mei shouted as they scrambled to roll out of the way. Project Bunny's right hand, which had transformed into a massive fist, came crashing down where they had just been. The bus, already riddled with bullet holes, was split in half by the sheer force of the blow, leaving the trio and the cat gasping in shock.

Bronya jumped down from the bus and began advancing toward Li Huan and the others. Behind her, the broken bus exploded in a burst of flames.

In the firelight, Bronya's expressionless face resembled that of a Terminator sent to eliminate the last hope for humanity—a harbinger of death.

"This looks really bad…" Li Huan muttered as he made a decision. Turning around, he yelled, "Tom—"

Then he saw Tom, who was trembling in fear, biting his own paws.

"Damn, this is bad."

Li Huan began to panic as well.

Tom's combat abilities depended on his own perception of his strength, and it was clear that the sight of Project Bunny 19C had frightened him. Sending Tom to fight the mechanical creature would likely end in disaster.

After a moment of consideration, Li Huan made up his mind. "Tom, go! Take down that mechanical monster for me!"

Tom looked at his owner, bewildered, while Li Huan gave him a determined look that said he was serious. Seeing his owner so resolute, Tom swallowed hard and reluctantly charged forward with his baseball bat.

Bronya, however, remained unfazed by Tom's advance, but Project Bunny responded by swinging its massive arm at him.

As the giant arm came hurtling toward him, Tom desperately tried to stop by digging his feet into the ground, leaving long skid marks in an attempt to halt his momentum.

But it was no use. Tom couldn't stop it in time, and the giant arm slammed into him, sending him flying across the parking lot and crashing into a room on the other side, leaving a large hole in the wall.

"Hey! Your cat just got taken out!" Kiana exclaimed in disbelief. "The cat that could fight a Herrscher got taken out in one hit!"

"What are you talking about? Tom isn't dead yet!"

"Oh, right. A cat that survived being electrocuted probably won't die from something like this."

"And you two still have time to chat about this?"

Mei, already in a combat stance, shouted anxiously, "She's coming!"

The two turned to see Bronya and Project Bunny charging toward them with deadly intent!

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