I'm on the Ark, and I start out as Gretchen.

"??? What did I just hear?!"

"That's outrageous! Why is little Gretsch listening to him?!"

Clearly, Gretchen's honest answer was like a drop of water splashed into a pan of oil, causing an uproar among the surrounding yetis.

Even Yelena, who was holding the little girl, tightened her grip...

“Kosmo is Kosmo, he’s my family, but… I can’t find him now.” Gretchen lowered her head, her expression turning slightly saddened.

Whether they were transmigrators or the original "Gresh," they all knew very well that in the Honkai world... Kosmo was already dead.

"It's okay, we're here with you..." Looking down at the dejected little girl in her arms, Yelena reached out and gently patted her back to comfort her.

"Yes, yes, don't be sad, we're here with you~"

"I shouldn't have asked! You're such a chatterbox!"

"And who exactly is Kosmo? I'm so envious... I hate it!"

"Um... I'm fine now."

Hearing the sounds of playful banter around her and seeing the warm yellow hues all around her, Gretchen, who had initially felt a little down, quickly recovered.

--------------

Another campfire—

"I... came here today to... know... something."

Looking across the campfire at Talulah and Alina sitting opposite him, Patriot lowered his voice and spoke.

His voice was still hoarse and he stuttered, but there was nothing that could be done about it; his Oripathy was getting worse and damaging his vocal cords...

"What is it? Tell me."

Talulah already knew Patriot's purpose, so she wasn't surprised by his sudden outburst.

“That…girl, what…is…her…origin? She…can imitate…us…and…it…wasn’t…a clumsy…imitation. I…feel…danger, so…please give me…a reasonable…explanation.”

Without any hesitation, Patriot asked the question that had been bothering him for a long time, while also controlling his volume so that no unrelated people could hear.

"Let me explain, since I'm the one who brought that child back. Talulah can also listen in." Before Talulah could even speak in response to Patriot's question, Alina spoke first.

After Alina spoke, both Talulah and Patriot turned their attention to her, waiting for her to continue.

"First of all, I don't know little Gretchen's origins either. In this respect, the little one is very mysterious. Even now, I haven't been able to figure out her race."

"However, I know what you mean by imitation."

At this point, Alina thought for a moment, then continued, "It was certainly not a poor imitation. If I had to make a comparison, it would be that Gretsch was a complete blank slate."

“Once she spends a lot of time with someone, she will become influenced by that person. However, this usually doesn’t last long. As long as you keep your distance and leave her alone, she will recover quickly.”

"So that's how it is."

"But this...power...and mysterious origins, this...child...how...do you...plan to deal with her? You must know...she is not...an infected..."

After listening to Alina's account, Patriot, with a serious expression, pointed out the core issue of the incident.

P.S.: I'm making the same declaration as last night: I'll write early and go to bed early tomorrow, I'm so sleepy. And the quality of what I write while staying up all night isn't very good... If you see any problems with this chapter, please let me know.

Chapter 17 Urgency and Transformation

Tonight was much the same for Gretchen as yesterday... After dinner, she stayed in Yelena's arms, listening to the Yetis tell stories.

During this time, the little girl also got Yelena's color once due to close contact, but it didn't last long before it came off.

However, Gretchen had already memorized the colors. She planned to find some time later to paint a picture with those colors and then give it to Yelena as a gift.

"Well……"

Suddenly remembering something, Gretchen snuggled closer to Yelena, trying to transfer as much of her body heat as possible to warm her.

"what happened?"

Yelena looked down at the little one who had snuggled even closer to her and asked in a gentle tone.

“Sister Yelena’s body…and everyone else…Gresh can fight too, and I want to protect you.”

Upon hearing Yelena's gentle voice, Gretchen's little ahoge (cowlick) trembled slightly, and after a moment she raised her head, her eyes filled with seriousness.

Although Gretchen didn't know what the Yeti Squad had been up to that day, after spending a long time in contact with Yelena's body, she noticed that the person in front of her seemed to have become weaker compared to yesterday...

This inevitably led Gretchen to overthink things... In the end, she came to what she considered the most reasonable explanation.

She guessed that the Yeti team must have encountered some enemy today.

Then Yelena made her move, using her Origin Stone Technique to aggravate the weakness caused by her Origin Stone Disease.

This conjecture caused Gretsch's mood, which had been lifted by the Yeti Squad's comfort and the warm yellow surroundings, to plummet once more.

A sense of powerlessness washed over her, and at that moment, Gretchen truly realized... that this continent was man-eating, and that it particularly enjoyed eating white-haired people.

And for the first time, she felt the urgency of time...

Even though Gretchen is not ranked high among the heroes, she is still very strong to the people of this world.

However, this powerful force is now of no use...

Because of her overwhelming power, there was simply no way to snatch those she wanted to protect back from Oripathy...

"..."

Yelena and the surrounding yetis were slightly taken aback by Gretsch's sudden words. The atmosphere in the area instantly quieted down.

"I didn't expect you to notice... But don't worry, I'm fine." After realizing what had happened, Yelena reached out and gently stroked Gretsch's head to comfort her.

Having discovered Gretchen's special qualities, Yelena no longer treated her as an ordinary child. So she wasn't surprised when the little one discovered her weakness.

However, even if she was extraordinary, she didn't think she was so weak that she needed to be protected by a child.

"Haha, we appreciate little Gretchen's kindness, but our older brothers and sisters haven't fallen yet, how can we let a child like you stand in front of us?"

"Yes, yes, little Greta doesn't need to worry, we're perfectly healthy!"

"That's right, we can continue fighting for a long time. We will protect our eldest sister, after all, she is our Yeti princess!"

……

"..."

Listening to the comforting words in her ear, and seeing the atmosphere become lively again and the warm yellow light surging around her, Gretchen was not happy at all this time.

She knew that the people around her were a bunch of big liars who fooled children... they only knew how to say things they couldn't actually do.

but……

That's precisely why Gretchen wanted all these words to come true...

--------------

After finishing her discussion with Patriot at Talulah's place, Alina came over to pick up Gretchen.

Although her conversation with Patriot left Xiaolu with mixed feelings, she didn't forget another thing she needed to do that night.

However, when she picked up Gretchen, the observant Alina immediately noticed that the little one was unhappy, but she did not rush to ask.

……

It wasn't until they left the crowded area and were almost back in their tent that Alina asked, "What's wrong? You seem so unhappy tonight."

"I was just thinking about how I could protect everyone..."

In response to Alina's question, Gretchen raised her head and answered calmly.

"Hmm? Why did Gretsch suddenly think of this?" Clearly, Alina was somewhat surprised by this answer.

"...Because I'm not a child anymore."

After a moment of silence, Gretchen ultimately decided against revealing the real reason. She knew it wouldn't change anything and would only upset others.

At this moment, Gretchen was more eager than ever to unlock new characters. If she had been somewhat laissez-faire before, now, after witnessing Yelena's deteriorating physical condition, she was anxious... truly anxious!

Although she knew that everyone in the Reunion Movement was infected, she never thought it would happen so quickly!

As Gretchen approached, she seemed to see Death holding its scythe to their necks, awaiting their demise...

So now the order of Gretchen's preferred characters has changed. Mebius is now number one, and characters like Xiaoshi and Aponia have to be relegated to the back of the list...

After all, no matter how you look at it, saving lives is more important than dealing with a black snake.

"I see... If you want to protect your sisters, Gretchen should grow up quickly."

Listening to Gretchen's childlike remarks, Alina didn't realize anything was wrong, and just helplessly rubbed her head again.

"Ah."

Upon hearing this, Greta nodded her head slightly.

However, even though she nodded in agreement, Gretchen knew very well that her body could not grow any bigger. From the moment she became a fusion warrior, her body had been fixed.

"So don't overthink it, children should smile more."

……

Not long after the two returned to the tent, Talulah also rushed over from outside.

"So, Alina, is there something else you wanted to tell me?" Talulah asked, looking at the two people in front of her, one big and one small.

Before Alina could speak, Gretchen looked at Talulah with her big eyes and said, "It's not that Alina has something to do, it's that I..."

"I painted a picture using your colors, and I wanted to give it to you..."

As soon as she finished speaking, Gretchen retrieved the painting that had been hidden by the canvas from her system space.

After the painting was taken out, she turned her gaze to Alina, who was standing to the side.

Alina instantly understood Gretsch's meaning. After nodding slightly, she walked out of the tent, leaving the two of them alone.

"?"

Talulah, not quite understanding why Alina was avoiding her, looked at the little one in front of her with a puzzled expression, wanting an explanation.

"Let...Tarua open it and take a look."

P.S.: It shouldn't happen tonight.

You must have stayed up all night. Chapter 2 should be posted before midnight. Also, do you guys think the protagonist's transformation in this chapter is a bit off? Sigh, I've revised this chapter several times already.