Honkai Impact: The Dream Keeper

"Um... little friend, we're not robbers..." Theresa said awkwardly.

"Then let me go," the humanoid machine said.

"I'm afraid that won't work..."

"Kidnapper."

"Hey, you little brat, we're good people." Long Qiao said, wiping the blade as she looked at the humanoid machine, but the cold glint of the blade in the moonlight didn't match the image of good people.

"..."

“Let Bronya do it…” Qingmo said.

"I second the proposal."

"I second that proposal."

The four teenagers then went off arm in arm to another place, leaving Theresa and Bronya to communicate with the humanoid machine.

In an open space, Menmo and Qingmo were supporting Zhang Qing, while Long Qiao was squatting on the ground.

“My system told me that Zhang Qing has an unactivated knight inside him, and it’s just one step away from being activated,” Long Qiao said.

"What knight?" Zhang Qing asked.

"Spirit Rider..."

"!!!"

"So you're holding me up because..."

"Ah, yeah, I'll kill you."

"!? You can't be joking, can you?" Zhang Qing said, sweating profusely.

"What do you think?" Long Qiao asked in return, taking out a kitchen knife and a whetstone from her necklace.

"Gulu——"

"Don't worry, we've already come up with an excuse," Menmo reassured her.

"Is this the point of focus?! What if not?" Zhang Qing hurriedly shouted.

"No? Hmm... then he's dead..." Long Qiao sharpened his knife faster and faster.

"Hey! Stop making that blurry hand movement first. What do you mean 'that means death'?"

"Tsk, why so many questions? Just trust me, don't worry, I guarantee I'll make sure you fall flat on your face without any pain." Long Qiao patted her chest and assured him.

"...Fine, I accept my fate."

Just as Long Qiao was about to make her move, a figure suddenly rushed over and grabbed Long Qiao's neck with his left arm, sending her flying.

"Gurgh..."

Caught off guard by this sudden attack, Long Qiao felt a surge of hot blood gushing out as her throat was gripped. Her pupils dilated and became unfocused as she slammed against the wall.

"Pfft—" Long Qiao's injuries worsened, and she fainted and spat out another mouthful of blood.

"what?"

After seeing Long Qiao fly out, Qingmo and Menmo immediately reacted and transformed into Yongqi and Decade to fight the monster, but they were blocked by another monster who rushed out with a gun.

Before Zhang Qing could even transform after being put down by the two men, he was stabbed through the abdomen by a strange man with a knife in his right hand. When the strange man pulled out the knife, Zhang Qing was left staring blankly at the large hole in his abdomen, blood flowing out. After seeing the pool of blood at his feet, Zhang Qing slowly fell backward...

"Xiao Qing!" Men Mo shouted.

However, Zhang Qing could not respond. After killing Zhang Qing, the two monsters instantly fled into the distance, while Qing Mo and Men Mo also deactivated their transformations and came to Zhang Qing. Men Mo held Zhang Qing's head, checked his breathing, and then shook his head.

"he died……"

"Yes, after all, with a huge hole cut in the abdomen, anyone would die if they were in that situation..."

"Hey! Qingmo, what happened?" Theresa ran over with Bronya and the others and asked.

Just now, when Long Qiao slammed into the wall, a loud bang was heard, which made Theresa and the others suspicious and they rushed over to ask.

"We were just talking about something when two crazed monsters came running over. One of them, who had a knife in his right hand, ambushed Long Qiao and then stabbed Zhang Qing to death. We reacted in time, but were interrupted by the other monster who was wielding a spear," Qingmo explained.

"What did you say? Zhang Qing... he's dead?!" Theresa exclaimed, her eyes wide.

"Yes……"

"Then...where is he?" Bronya asked quickly.

"Look back."

When Bronya looked back, she saw Long Qiao embedded in the wall in a starfish shape, with blood dripping from his mouth onto the ground.

"Long Qiao! How are you? Long Qiao!"

Bronya ran over and summoned Heavy Bunny to capture Dragon Clever.

"Pfft—cough cough, Bronya? I'm fine, Zhang Qing isn't really in any serious condition either...cough cough...damn, my throat really hurts." Long Qiao said weakly after opening her eyes, but blood kept coming out of her mouth as she spoke.

"What do you mean?" Theresa and the others asked.

"Zhang Qing's spirit mount is about to be activated. He'll be back soon, but for now he can only communicate with us in knight form. Ha—ha—he's only temporarily lost his body, but his soul has been preserved, though we can't see it..."

After saying that, Long Qiao coughed up all the remaining blood in her throat onto the ground with a loud "whoosh".

"Do you guys have any throat lozenges? That bastard attacked my throat and it feels like it's going to be ruined," Long Qiao asked.

Just then, a hand appeared in front of Long Qiao, with two throat lozenges and a bottle of throat syrup on it.

"Thanks, Bronya..." Long Qiao took the food and ate it without even looking at it.

"But... Bronya didn't move?" Bronya asked, puzzled.

"Huh?" Long Qiao looked around at everyone present, pondered for a moment, and then smiled.

"So that's how it is. Alright, stop playing around, Xiao Qing, come out." Long Qiao suddenly said.

"Oh no, I've been discovered."

An orange beam of light converged and formed a figure wearing armor. The armor was entirely black, with white armor around the knees, an orange and black outfit on the upper body, and a silver horn on the forehead of the faceplate.

"It seems you have already activated your Spirit Rider."

"Yes, but I have to wear armor every time I want to chat with you. Otherwise, I can only follow you as a ghost."

"Don't worry, you'll definitely be able to revive again later. Alright, let's go finish the rest of the work."

And those two bewitching demons must die too!

(P.S.: Please don't just read this for nothing, leave a review! I'm begging you, so the author knows where I'm lacking and can improve. Thank you all.)