Boonie Bears: Another World Fantasy

Sunlight filters through the green leaves, casting dappled shadows and patches of light. A gentle breeze rustles through them.

Amidst the students' noise, the bell rang to signal the end of get out of class.

Unlike most people, the girl sat quietly in the classroom, her pencil tracing a smooth arc as she sketched a few moments of boys playing and frolicking not far away on her notebook.

Flowing hair, expressive facial features, and an old school uniform casually draped over his shoulders.

A smile graced his handsome face.

She was completely absorbed in watching it.

"Oh my, our little Han is swooning over a boy again—"

By the time she came to her senses, her quick-witted deskmate had already snatched her sketchbook and was admiring it with a grin.

"well?"

An Han tried to reach out and take it back. But being always a step behind, she naturally became the target of her deskmate's teasing.

“Don’t… don’t do this.”

Fearing that the other person's flamboyance would reveal her little secret, she tugged at him somewhat helplessly.

“Peng Fei likes girls who are more proactive, so you can’t be so reserved.”

“I…we’re just friends,” An Han said stubbornly.

"Tsk tsk tsk, who doesn't know that? We've been childhood sweethearts since we were little, why are you bringing this up with me?"

When this kind of topic comes up, An Han always keeps quiet. She doesn't think it's anything to brag about.

"Why aren't you saying anything, Xiaohan?"

Seeing that she had her head down, her deskmate deliberately leaned closer to her and said something sarcastic.

An Han couldn't stand it when others did that.

"It's really... not what you think."

"Really? Then I'll take it to show him."

Her mischievous deskmate vanished in a flash, leaving An Han frantically pacing back and forth. For now, she could only pretend to be looking through the books on the table, her eyes involuntarily glancing in Peng Fei's direction.

He, who was flipping through a picture book at that moment, also looked over.

Their eyes intertwined.

Feeling extremely uncomfortable, An Han tossed her hair, continuing her usual habit of avoiding the situation.

"Xiaohan, did you draw this?"

Peng Fei proudly held up her picture book, her voice so loud that almost the entire class could hear her.

That shameless Peng Fei... he's so embarrassing! She wished she could dig a hole and crawl into it right now.

Under the envious and jealous gazes of the entire class, An Han forced herself to nod at him.

"I'll treat you to potato chips tonight!"

He grinned, his voice undiminished.

"Wow~"

The young men and women around them cheered and teased, their eyes filled with the kind of look one might give an old married couple flirting.

The shy An Han covered her face and quickly fled the classroom...

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A pair of "scissors" cuts away the past in her memory, allowing her to focus only on the present.

The force in his hand did not diminish; the scorching iron block burst into sparks in response to the blows of the hammer in his hand.

"Anhan, you are my only daughter, no matter what others say..."

“Just be yourself.”

The image of the father appeared amidst the scattered sparks of steel.

The steel blocks were folded and forged and welded again and again.

"You can only become as strong as steel through forging and tempering."

The iron block was forged into shape, and the heavy shoulder armor was thrown into the water, bursting out scalding hot steam.

Sweat poured down her body, soaking her sports bra. An Han peered through the boiling water tank at the marks branded onto her shoulder blades.

A broken wing.

That's a symbol.

......

A howl, like that of a caged beast, echoed from the room. Karl, who had just arrived, clearly sensed something was wrong.

"call--"

With heavy breathing, he saw An Han, who had chained herself to the horizontal bar.

The veins on her forehead were bulging, and her bulging biceps proved that she had maintained this posture for a long time.

"Miss?"

Carl received no response from her.

An Han had a bullet firmly between her teeth. Every time she moved her arms and body, she wished she could crush it to pieces, along with all the humiliation she had suffered in the past.

Seeing this, his guilty conscience began to ache again.

"Mild concussion, bronchial damage, multiple bruises all over the body from being beaten, and..."

"Hymen ruptured."

Years ago, the hospital's examination report described her body in this way.

The dumbbells were thrown on the ground, and An Han's eyes were filled with absolute certainty.

With a thick rope tied around her waist, the girl showed no pity for her body, dragging a weight dozens of kilograms heavier than herself forward step by step.

Despite the difficulties and the many things she had to give up, she persevered.

Even if she has to lose him—

Countless times she was exhausted, and countless nights her old injury flared up, tormenting her to the point of near death.

If this is the only price to pay, then I am willing to be the moth drawn to the flame, pursuing the last remaining light in the darkness.

......

In the dim light, An Han walked to the other end of the room and opened the wardrobe full of cosplay costumes.

Not long ago, Peng Fei almost discovered the secret hidden behind this.

Touching the button hidden in the corner caused the wall to immediately recede, revealing a rectangular metal cabinet inside.

An Han stared at "her" in the closet.

It was a matte black jumpsuit, with the midsection made of reinforced bulletproof double-layered textile fibers and fire-resistant materials. On the shelf next to it were a pair of heavy steel silver boots, two pairs of arm armor with shoulder armor, and finally, one more important thing—a special impact-resistant mask that covered half of the face.

"She" is not just a piece of clothing, nor is it limited to a set of armor.

She represents neither justice nor salvation.

An Han once prayed that one day she would never have to use "her".

"She" is merely a last resort when "Sunset" encounters problems that cannot be solved openly through written means.

violence.

in the workshop.

"Miss, here's the information you requested."

Carl adjusted his glasses, having responsibly completed the final preparations.

"Thank you, Carl."

He wondered if it was just his imagination, but he noticed that An Han's hair appeared somewhat white under the light.

"Since I can't change your mind, I can only clear away the obstacles for you."

"Don't talk like I'm about to die. Sunset is sick, and I'm just planning to treat it with an extreme method."

At this moment, the old butler turned his chair around and revealed his last words to her:

“I never wanted this group to have you, miss. You don’t owe it anything.”

"I know."

She smiled sweetly at him; it was the first time Karl had seen her smile in days.

"Three hours later, Sunset and V Group will meet near the theater in the downtown quarantine zone."

He carefully searched for several possible ambush locations on the electronic map, but An Han ignored them, seemingly very confident.

"No need for an ambush. They will load all the processed Purple Stars onto one vehicle. I just need to install a tracker."

"I hope it's really as simple as you say."

He started making sarcastic remarks again. But he still thoughtfully uploaded the map to the electronic receiver that An Han carried with her.

"To be precise, this is the first time you've faced the entire city of Shenzhen in this manner, Miss."

Faced with a table full of high-quality equipment, Karl kindly offered a reminder.

"This won't be the last time I wear this outfit, Karl." As if foreseeing her future fate, An Han was already prepared to give up her present at any time.

"I don't intend to be their hero, nor will I use this to create any hype."

"I just want the sunset to be better."

After setting up the necessary equipment, she left everything to time. Three hours later, she would no longer be An Han... but someone else entirely.

Now I finally have some rare time to relax.

"By the way, Mr. Peng Fei has been trying to contact you these past few days, but I have refused each time."

Carl always "gave" her something to do when she wanted to slack off.

An Han hesitated for a moment.

After that night, she was completely at a loss as to how to face Peng Fei... Their complicated relationship made her anxious.

“Karl, I…”

"There are still three hours left, let's go find him..."

Carl was clearly implying something else.

"..."

She picked up the coat from the table, her heart filled with mixed emotions.