"Test your blade?"
March 7th looked at Bai Ming, a trace of playful doubt in her tone. "But that weapon you're holding... isn't it a baseball bat?"
"Eh?" Bai Ming's eyes widened comically. She hurriedly waved the bat. "That... that's a metaphorical figure of speech! Like how 'wife cake' doesn't actually contain a wife!"
"I have a feeling you're thinking about something very strange again..." March eyed Bai Ming warily, a familiar sense of exasperated affection rising in her.
Just then, Dan Heng's calm voice cut through their banter from ahead. "So it's these creatures."
Hearing the recognition in his tone, Bai Ming immediately perked up. "Dan Heng—!"
"Wait." Dan Heng raised a hand, preempting her. "Allow me to organize the information first."
"Okay!"
A few minutes later, having surveyed the approaching threat, Dan Heng turned to face them, his expression composed. "What approaches are likely Fragmentum Constructs. While this area isn't fully eroded yet, they have emerged from the Fragmentum's influence."
"Constructs from the Fragmentum?" Bai Ming tilted her head. "What does that mean?"
"..." Dan Heng studied her for a moment, a hint of something unreadable in his gaze. "You... haven't received a briefing from Mr. Yang since boarding the Express? He should have covered this."
"Ah, well..." Bai Ming faltered, a flicker of unease crossing her face. She didn't dare seek out Welt Yang on her own; his quiet, discerning gaze always felt like it saw right through her, stirring up doubts about her own origins. For a moment, she was at a loss.
Seeing her discomfort, March hesitated only a second before stepping forward with a bright, slightly forced smile. "Dan Heng, Bai Ming didn't go see Mr. Yang."
"Why not?"
"Um, because..." March twirled a finger through her hair, her voice taking on a light, airy quality. "...because I wanted her to keep me company at the time~ So she never found the time to go see him!"
"Eh?" Bai Ming blinked, surprised by the cover.
Dan Heng's brow furrowed slightly, his eyes shifting between them. "..." He let out a slow, almost imperceptible sigh, as if releasing a tension he'd been holding. "I see. Then I've asked another unnecessary question. Regarding the Fragmentum: according to mainstream records in the Express's Data Bank, it is a phenomenon generated by a 'Stellaron.' Entities and spacetime that come into contact with the 'Fragmentum' are transformed, giving rise to these special 'Constructs.'"
"This..." It was the first time Bai Ming had heard the concept explained so clearly. A cold dread suddenly gripped her. "Wait! Dan Heng! By that logic... wouldn't I be a 'Fragmentum Construct,' too?! The Stellaron is inside me!"
"Speaking in purely academic terms, that inference has merit. However—" Dan Heng's gaze lifted to the heavy, snow-laden sky, his voice steady. "—since both Himeko and Mr. Yang chose to send you with us, it indicates the Stellaron within you is in a stable state. They would not dispatch an active hazard to accompany a reconnaissance team."
"Oh..." A wave of relief washed over Bai Ming, followed by a warm gratitude. She grinned. "Good. I really wouldn't want you guys getting hurt because of me."
"..." Dan Heng looked at her, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes before being schooled back into neutrality. "Understood. Let's focus on the present."
"Hehe, right! So, Dan Heng!" Bai Ming's focus snapped back to the snowy expanse, her body thrumming with anticipation. "Those Fragmentum Constructs... which way are they coming from?"
"If my predictions are correct..." Dan Heng raised his arm, pointing a steady finger toward a specific drift in the middle distance. "...they will emerge from there."
"Got it! Be right back!" Before the words finished leaving her mouth, Bai Ming was already a blur of motion, sprinting headlong in the direction he'd indicated.
"Bai Ming! What are you doing?!" March shouted, then immediately gave chase. "Wait for me!"
Dan Heng watched the two dash off, a familiar sense of resignation settling over him. He pulled out his phone, typed a quick message—"Potential Fragmentum Construct encounter. Requesting standby backup."—and sent it to Himeko. Then, without another moment's hesitation, he took off after them, his movements swift and silent.
---
Bai Ming raced ahead, with March struggling to keep up behind her. It wasn't until now, trying to match her pace, that March realized just how formidable Bai Ming's physical conditioning was. What started as a small gap had rapidly widened into a significant, snowy chasm between them.
No choice!
March had to resort to the most direct measure.
She yelled.
"Bai Ming! Wait up! Why are you running so fast?!"
Miraculously, the shout worked. Bai Ming skidded to a halt ahead. March pushed her legs harder, finally catching up, panting slightly. "What's wrong? Why'd you stop?"
"Stay back!" Bai Ming's usual playful demeanor was gone, replaced by a razor-sharp intensity. Her eyes were fixed ahead. "So many... how interesting!"
Just as she said, before them, numerous ice-blue figures had materialized from the swirling snow. Their bodies were crystalline structures of pure, pale ice, reflecting the weak daylight with a cold, clear glint. They hovered in the air, their forms vaguely avian but twisted by unnatural geometry. The chill radiating from them wasn't just temperature; it was a palpable aura of wrongness, a void of life.
"There are so many of them!" March exclaimed, eyeing the flock of shimmering, hostile creatures. "It's like they planned an ambush!"
"No problem!" Bai Ming cracked her knuckles, a fierce smile spreading across her face. "More just means a better warm-up! March! Stay right here! And—" She shot a quick, dazzling grin over her shoulder. "—if you can, use that camera on your waist to get some cool shots of me!"
Without waiting for a reply, Bai Ming launched herself toward the swirling mass of crystalline enemies.
This time, the power she called upon was [Valkyrie Bladestrike]!
Like [White Comet], the suit's basic attack was a five-hit combo with wide, cleaving arcs. But [Bladestrike] possessed one irreplaceable advantage: its blistering base attack speed, legendary even among Honkai Valkyries. Some later S-rank suits struggled to match its fluid rhythm.
[Gokiketsu] Each strike deals area damage. [Kinetic Aura] Increases normal attack speed.
For Bai Ming, this translated into a sensation of seamless, effortless motion—a step up from the solid but heavier feel of [White Comet].
From March's perspective, the difference was night and day. Bai Ming's previous fighting style with the baseball bat had been a unique, almost chaotic martial art—flashy, incorporating kicks, and sometimes seeming oddly disjointed, as if the bat were an ill-fitting tool. Now, that impression was shattered.
Bai Ming moved with a new, terrifying grace. The baseball bat became a blur in her hands, striking one crystalline creature, then whipping around to shatter another in a single, fluid motion. The theatrical kicks were gone, replaced by precise, economical footwork and agile pivots. The change in her posture, the angle of her strikes…
It felt like…
A katana!
She was wielding the baseball bat exactly like a katana!
How is she even doing that?! March's mind reeled.
But she didn't forget Bai Ming's request. Her hand went to the camera at her waist. Cool shots, right? Though, as she raised the viewfinder, a flush crept up her neck. There do seem to be... a lot of good angles…
---
In the midst of the swirling ice and flashing "blade," Bai Ming felt a thrilling, long-missing exhilaration. [Valkyrie Bladestrike]'s rhythm was intoxicating. The rapid click-click-click of successive hits felt like playing a perfect rhythm game, and against a horde of enemies, the satisfaction of chaining combos was infinitely superior to fighting a few lonely Antimatter Legion grunts on the space station.
And now—time for the main course!
[Special Attack - Void Edge]
Perform a chain of successive slashes. Final strike deals increased damage.
Now she was testing her blade!
Bai Ming shattered two Shadewalkers into glittering dust, then licked her lips, her eyes sharp.
Leap. Shift.
"Ahhhhh—!"
With a cry that was half-battle shout, half-exultation, Bai Ming swung the bat. It moved at a speed that defied the eye, creating a web of afterimages in the air.
This was [Void Cleave]!
Countless phantom blades sliced through the snow-choked air, each one erasing a hovering ice-creature. In terms of raw, single-strike power, it couldn't match the cataclysmic force of [Vermilion Knight], but in sheer combo fluidity and visceral satisfaction, it was unmatched!
"Go down!"
As Bai Ming roared, she unleashed the finisher—a powerful, straight-line thrust completely unlike the previous crescent slashes. It pierced through and launched the frostspawn monsters into the air, where they dissolved into motes of light.
Click. Click. Click-click-click.
The sound of March's camera shutter was rapid-fire, a staccato accompaniment to the battle. Each frame captured Bai Ming in motion—a leap, a spin, the determined set of her jaw. March's perception of her companion was undergoing a rapid revision. From "loveable fool" to A loveable fool who is also terrifyingly competent in a fight!
"Not bad at all." Bai Ming landed lightly, a sheen of sweat on her brow despite the cold. "Bladestrike really is strong and unbeatable! But..." Her triumphant expression faltered as she scanned the area. "...why does it feel like there are more now?"
She was right. Despite carving through a significant number with [Gokiketsu] and [Void Edge], the shimmering, icy swarm seemed denser, the oppressive chill more pronounced.
What's going on?!
As Bai Ming puzzled over this, Dan Heng arrived at her side, his spear already in hand. "Why did you engage alone? And..." His gaze shifted to March, who was dutifully snapping photos from a safe distance. "...why is Bai Ming fighting while you are compiling a photographic record?"
"Eh—?!" March lowered her camera, suddenly self-conscious. "Bai Ming asked me to! She said to capture her 'cool fighting moments'!"
"But..." Dan Heng's eyes were locked on the regenerating swarm and Frozen looking Warriors. "These are [Everwinter Shadewalkers]. Crystalline elemental beings born of the Fragmentum. In this Stellaron-affected environment, each one can act as a catalyst, drawing on ambient energy to reconstitute others."
The color drained from March's face as understanding dawned. "Dan Heng, you mean..."
"Yes." Dan Heng gave a single, grim nod. "Precisely what you're thinking. Unless they are all eliminated in a single, overwhelming strike. This engagement may have no end."
"This is bad!" March's earlier excitement vanished, replaced by alarm. "Then we have to help her right now!"
"That was my intention." Dan Heng readied his spear, his stance shifting into something lethal.
However, Bai Ming, who had been listening, raised a hand without looking back, halting them both. "No need to come! You said wipe them all out at once, right?! I can do that!"
This wasn't pure bravado for March's benefit. A familiar, exhilarating prompt had just surged through her connection to [Valkyrie Bladestrike]—the same full, resonant charge she'd felt with [White Comet].
The Ultimate Skill, [Susano'o], was ready.
Feeling the Valkyrie energy coalesce within her, Bai Ming focused. Her body hummed with power.
Humm—
Instantly, the baseball bat in her hand began to gather a dazzling, condensed golden light. The light didn't just coat the bat; it extended from it, warping the air, forming the outline of a colossal, shimmering energy blade.
It was as if she now held a weapon forty meters long.
Swoosh—!
With a roar of effort, Bai Ming swung. The massive blade of light swept horizontally across the snowy plain. It didn't just cut through the Shadewalkers and Frostspawn; it carved a deep trench in the snow itself, sending up great plumes of white. Every crystalline creature in its path simply disintegrated into harmless sparkles.
Before new forms could even begin to shimmer into existence, Bai Ming pivoted, bringing the gigantic blade around in another devastating arc, clearing another swath.
Yes! This was the power only [Valkyrie Bladestrike]'s ultimate, fueled by Bai Ming's own formidable strength, could manifest.
Spotting the last cluster of Shadewalkers trying to coalesce, Bai Ming grinned, shouting the iconic line that felt just right: "I'm way faster than you think!"
A final, concentrated beam of golden energy shot from the tip of the massive blade, lancing forward to obliterate the last remnants of the swarm.
She had done it. She'd met Dan Heng's condition for victory.
However.
In her fervor, the final blast of energy, fueled by excess force, didn't dissipate immediately. It continued onward, cutting a deep, smoking gorge through the snowfield.
And where it finally sputtered out, a new, very human, and very aggrieved voice cried out from a previously undisturbed snowdrift.
"AH—! Seriously?! I get cut even when I'm hiding in the snow? What kind of luck is this?!"
-------
A/n: Hey over on my patreon there are currently two for the time being exclusive books which are
Zenless Zone Zero: Loving Daily Life Starting in New Eridu
Honkai Impact 3rd, I Can Transform into a Valkyrie!
patreon.com/deadlygoober