As if by reflex, Nana Toki clawed at the soil, eyes dazed, and saw on the pit’s rim a white little thunder-snake writhing in Luo Shanshan’s hand, like a live spark.

Heave-ho~

Huh? What’s this?

Curiosity lit her like a lantern in mist; Luo Shanshan peered at the squirming lightning-snake, then at buried Nana, a tiny crease between her willow-leaf brows.

Hmph. I don’t get why Xixi’s buried in a pit, but that thunder-permed afro gives her a wild charm, like stormgrass in wind.

...

Compared to Luo Shanshan’s calm-water face, Nana’s heart boiled like a kettle; her pulse thumped like war drums.

Holy—bare hands on heavenly thunder?!

And you’re telling me she’s cannon fodder?

Do you even believe that yourself?

Half-buried in earth like a radish, Nana stared, stunned as a struck bird.

The more she looked, the less Luo Shanshan felt like a fantasy-plane side character; her vibe rose like a blade in moonlight.

Yeah.

More like a smurf alt in a cannon-fodder skin, running cheats like a river.

System: ...

This System doesn’t know either; our planes are the author’s broken worlds, so bizarre moves are weeds after rain.

Nana Toki: ...

But in the original plot, Luo Shanshan’s ability wasn’t this, it was a plague-wind.

She could turn ordinary folks into Corpse Devourers, like bloom to blight.

Why is she tossing lightning now, like a thunder god’s child?

Can they even rewrite quest parameters?

Xixi?

While Nana chewed on this world’s bad taste like bitter tea, Luo Shanshan, eager as a sparrow on a branch, bent to jump down and pull Nana up. But—

Stop, stop. Stay there. I’ll do it myself.

Nana freed her left hand and threw up a dramatic stop-sign, like a traffic officer in rain.

Then, under Luo Shanshan’s wide eyes, her right hand snapped and hurled the Colossal Axe.

The night-black blade drew a bright arc like a falling crescent; then boom, it slammed outside the pit like thunder hitting stone.

X…Xixi?

At the rim, Luo Shanshan missed the intent like an arrow glancing off bark.

Or maybe her bones already believed this slim reed of a girl could lift an axe taller than her by a head or two.

Rustle, rustle—rustle, rustle.

Nana twisted in the dirt like a fish in silt, then let out a sharp Hah! like flint sparking tinder.

Go.

She snapped her waist like a bow, launched like a firework from a tube, and popped from the earth with a thump like a drum.

Not far away, Luo Shanshan stood starry-eyed, stupefied as a deer in snow.

That pit’s over a meter deep; half her body was buried like a stake, so how’d she hop out in one go?

Curiosity twinkled in Luo Shanshan’s eyes like riverlights; the more she watched Nana dust herself off, the more she liked the storm-kissed girl.

Gone a short while, and Xixi’s changed again, like spring grass after rain.

Speaking of which, why haven’t we seen a single person?

Nana picked up the black Colossal Axe like lifting a shadow, shook dust from her clothes like birds from branches, and looked around.

The mall lay shattered like a fallen hive; broken walls and ribs of gray-white rebar twisted nakedly, like bleached bones.

Even the four massive pillars were cracked and crumbled like dead trees; gravel sighed now and then like a house with a fever.

Each groan was a warning, like an old ox bellowing, telling the stragglers to get out.

Let’s leave first, like stepping out of fog into wind.

Nana patted the puff of her afro like fluff on a dandelion and stopped at the mall doors, her mood a braid of thorn and silk.

Who’d think my first afro would be permed by heavenly thunder, like clouds curling on my head.

Xixi, why were you buried in a pit?

Luo Shanshan jogged after her like a sparrow pecking grain, questions tumbling like beads from a broken string.

Didn’t you say hide in the cabinet beside me? Why didn’t I find you in the cabinet beside me?

That explosion was so loud, like a sky-crack; Xixi, did it scare you?

Are you hungry, Xixi? Those compressed biscuits taste like chalk; I barely ate. Let’s hit a store and grab anything, like kids raiding a pantry.

Also—

Ah, you’re too noisy!

Irritated as a cat with wet fur, Nana pulled an apple from her pocket and plugged Luo Shanshan’s mouth, like cork to a bottle.

Shut up. Walk properly, or I’ll bury you back in that pit, like planting a carrot.

She pointed at the deep hole like pointing at a grave she’d just left.

...

Host, where did you pull that apple from?

Crunch…

Mouth plugged, Luo Shanshan bit the apple on instinct, crisp as frost biting leaves.

Then—

Delicious…

Cradling the apple like a treasure peach, Luo Shanshan shone with simple joy. It’s been so long since I had an apple this good. Xixi, where’d you find it? Let’s buy more, like filling baskets in autumn.

Nana: (glower as dark as thunderheads)

You little—!

Before Luo Shanshan could finish, something vanished from her hand like a snatched bun; Nana stood there scowling, taking a savage bite from the very apple, like a fox on a hen.

Th…that…

Luo Shanshan seemed to want to say more, like a river starting to thaw.

But—

Shut up!

Nana’s face went black as a pot bottom; her eyes flashed like flint.

O…okay…

Seeing Nana like a tigress ready to swallow her whole, Luo Shanshan shrank her head like a turtle and answered softly, cheeks reddening like peach petals.

...

...

After about ten minutes of walking, shapes finally appeared on the street like ghosts stepping from fog.

It was only a fog that lasted dozens of minutes, yet they looked like years washed over them like a tide.

Their eyes were empty pools; their clothes were rags in wind; their faces wore survivor’s terror like ash after fire.

It was easy to guess they crawled from that fog’s maw like fish from a net.

Excuse me, where’s the nearest hotel?

After searching without luck, Nana flagged a passerby, voice light as a leaf in wind.

But—

Her scorched-black face and thunder-afro stunned him like lightning on a clear day.

R…right over there, turn at the corner, not far, like a stone’s throw.

Thanks.

Y…you’re welcome.

People stared with gawky surprise, their gazes buzzing like flies; Nana’s skin was thick as tree bark, and she stared them down like a hawk.

Can you do it?

After glaring another bunch of gawkers into silence, Nana stood before the crossroads hotel and turned to Luo Shanshan, her words like a flicked pebble.

Huh? Huh?!

Caught by surprise, Luo Shanshan blinked like a startled doe.

I said, can you do that?

Nana’s tone was impatient thunder; her brow cut clouds.

D…do what?

Facing the hotel sign, Luo Shanshan’s eyes skittered like minnows. This isn’t right…we’re just students…and we’re both girls…

Hah? What pig-brained nonsense?

Nana slanted her soot-smeared face, deadpan as stone. I’m asking if you can do hair, not if you want to sleep with me.

Mm… Her cheeks flushed like pomegranates, color beading to the tips of her ears.

I…can…

Then hurry up, like wind through bamboo.

W…wait for me, Xixi!

Seeing Nana stride inside like rain through a screen, Luo Shanshan rushed after, feet pattering like sparrow wings.

...

By the way, Host, didn’t you forget something? The voice drifted in her mind like a reed’s whisper.

At the empty front desk, Nana snagged a room key like picking fruit, and the two slipped into a room to deal with hair in the bathroom’s steamy cave.

What thing?

Enjoying Luo Shanshan’s careful fingers taming the thunder-puffed afro like smoothing storm-tossed silk, Nana asked the System in her head.

Host, you forgot the target of the hidden quest.

Ah…that. I wasn’t planning to bring her back, like leaving a tiger in the mountain.

Huh?

The System paused, blinking like an owl. Why?

You saw her drain me dry; I don’t want that danger at my side, like a viper in a sleeve.

And I refuse to be the villain boss’s walking ration pack, like a goat tied to a post.

System: ...

But Host, you can’t escape, like a shadow at noon.

Nana Toki: ?

Once the hidden quest triggers, even if you don’t seek her, she’ll seek you, like water seeking a low place.

Hah?

Think vampires; does a vampire stop eating because the reserve blood says no? Hunger is iron.

By the same river logic, since Misty Tide tasted your sweetness, she won’t let you go, like a cat memorizing a warm spot.

She might be hiding right now where you can’t see, quietly watching you, like fog behind glass.

As if.

Head down, Nana brushed it off like dust; her doubt was a stone skipping water.

The fog’s ended; even a villain boss can’t break rules and walk out of the mist, like a fish climbing a tree.

With that, hair washed, Nana stepped out toweling wet strands, water beads like dew sliding, feet light as cattails.

Stop trying to spook me, you trash System; you’re a crow calling rain.

Then—

Eat…eat…

In the hotel room’s living area, a little girl in a torn brown dress stood by the big bed like a shadow-doll, staring at Nana stepping from the bathroom, words mushy as soggy bread. Eat…eat…

Nana Toki: ...