HI3: Starting from the Previous Civilization

[General POV]

The taxi pulled up in front of the villa's gate. Fan flung the door open and stumbled out, dry-heaving into a nearby flower bed.

Leaning against his car, the driver lit a cigarette, chuckling:

"Exciting ride, huh, kid? If you ever want to do it again, just let me know. I'll gladly oblige."

Fan wiped his mouth with a sleeve, then turned to face the driver. 

"Alright, enough with the roundabout stuff. If you've got something to say, say it. No need to pretend."

His eyes narrowed. 

'Their acting is terrible,' Fan thought.

He had sensed something off ever since climbing into the taxi. The research institute was located near a busy area—driving that fast without a single police officer stepping in was fishy enough. Moreover, few people could drift around city streets without endangering bystanders, not to mention the calluses on the driver's hands, clearly from handling firearms. Fan had only ever seen those on his parents' security detail.

Truth be told, the moment he got in, Fan was on alert. He'd inherited a huge fortune—someone was bound to covet it. The only reason he hadn't reacted violently was because his "Adaptive Evolution" told him the driver meant no harm. Otherwise, the poor man would've had his skull cracked open mid-ride.

Fan also suspected the café staff, including the manager. During his meeting with Mobius, everyone in that café—waiters and customers alike—kept glancing over, as though keenly interested in every move they made. Adding to that, Fan had previously dug up info that indicated the café was supposed to be run by a woman; yet in person, the manager was a man. It was suspicious. 

The driver said nothing at first, quietly taking a drag of his cigarette. Eventually, he spoke in a heavy tone:

"We want an answer."

"An answer? About what exactly?" 

Fan stood up straight, locking eyes with the driver. He recognized that look—he'd worn it himself before. This taxi driver likely lost loved ones the same way Fan's parents died: at the hands of the Honkai.

The man pulled out a pendant from under his shirt. Sealed inside was a recent photo of a happy family of three: a beautiful woman hugging a little girl in a princess dress, while the man—clearly the driver in younger days—grinned with shining white teeth, arms wrapped around them.

Seeing that, Fan gave a resigned sigh. 

"Alright. Come on in. This isn't the place to talk. And get your people together, too. Their disguises aren't fooling anyone."

The driver nodded in silence.

[General POV]

They both climbed back into the taxi and rolled into the villa grounds. Chatting a bit on the way, Fan learned the driver's name was Yan—a recently discharged veteran.

When they arrived at Fan's garage, Fan got out, rubbing the back of his head. He realized a piece of his hair was missing near the scalp. 

'Probably got yanked out when Mobius was grabbing me during that wild ride,' he thought. 

But for now, he shrugged it off—there were more pressing matters.

Stepping into the villa's spacious living room, Fan found over a dozen people already waiting inside—men and women he recognized from the café. Among them stood the supposed "manager," various servers, and those who had posed as customers. All eyes locked on Fan, waiting for him to speak. Yan positioned himself by the wall, arms crossed, quietly observing.

Fan clapped his hands. 

"So, you want the truth. Fine. Let's keep it short. You probably already eavesdropped on my conversation with Dr. Mobius at the café, right?" 

He noticed them exchanging tense glances. 

"Whatever I said there—take it as real. That's the truth you're seeking."

A young woman dressed in older-style clothing rushed forward, grabbing Fan by the collar. 

"Stop joking around! We want to know what's really going on, not the nonsense you spouted in that café!"

Fan calmly grasped her wrist and gave a quick, firm squeeze. The girl yelped in pain and staggered back, clutching her hand.

Everyone leapt to their feet, glaring at him. Fan ignored their hostility and strode toward the kitchen to fetch a bottle of oolong tea from the fridge. Then he plopped onto the living room sofa, sipping while the others surrounded him warily.

Yan applied a makeshift bandage to the girl's hand. She scowled at Fan with furious eyes, though she half-hid behind Yan's tall frame. When Fan made a mock pinch in the air, she shrank back further, sticking out her tongue in defiance.

With a brief flick to her forehead, Yan signaled her to stay put. Meanwhile, Fan waved them off. 

"I've given you the truth. It's exactly what I said before. If you don't believe me, that's your problem. Feel free to leave through the back door. If the patrol spots you, I can't help you."

"Hey! We're not finished. What's the real story? You can't expect us to buy that sci-fi explanation!" 

The group glowered, clearly unconvinced.

Fan snorted. 

"Tch. Don't look at me like that; I owe you nothing. Truth is what I told you. If you're dissatisfied, go ask the government. Why hound a sixteen-year-old kid?"

They tensed, almost ready to charge him. But the café manager—named Mu—shouted:

"Stop it! Calm down! Don't let anger cloud your judgment."

"But Mu, that brat's—"

"He wants you to attack him. If you try anything, he'll just pull out that thing on his back and knock you flat."

Hearing that, they glanced cautiously at the black device behind Fan, vaguely shaped like a firearm. Sweat beaded on their foreheads.

Fan coolly drew the makeshift "grenade launcher" from behind him, pointing it their way. He had used Projection Magecraft to conjure a smaller-scale version—its firepower enough to stun, not kill. They might be misguided, but these people had only lost loved ones to the Honkai. They didn't deserve a death sentence.

"Don't move," Fan warned. "I'll shoot if I have to. And while we're at it—why did you target me?"

[General POV / Yan speaking]

Yan laid a broad hand on the girl's head to keep her from acting out again. He took a slow breath. 

"Before coming after you, we... kidnapped a few government officials. They claimed ignorance. All we learned was that some higher-ups formed a special department to deal with these... incidents. The rest was classified."

He glanced around at his companions. 

"Other than Old Mu and me—both former military—the rest here are just regular folks. We've tried many ways to uncover the truth. We reached out to wealthy people with ties to the government, but all they knew was that some mutated monsters were involved. At one point, we even considered abducting high-ranking personnel, but we decided against it. We'd probably have been gunned down halfway through."

The group looked visibly defeated. 

"Then you showed up," Yan continued. "We dug around and found your parents had connections to the higher-ups. They died the same way our families did. We figured you'd know more. In desperation, we staged all this. Never expected it to actually work. Clearly, you noticed our poor setup. Yet you didn't expose us. You even brought us to your villa. So you must want something, too."

[Fan's POV]

Fan exhaled, sipping his tea. 

'They've lost so much, and all they want is an explanation. That's natural. Still, what do you do once you know how bleak it is?' 

He set the cup aside, shifting his gaze over them.

"You really want the truth?" 

Each pair of eyes held a determined spark—men, women, young, old—nodding in unison.

Fan laced his fingers under his chin, adopting a cryptic posture. 

"Fine. I'll tell you. But brace yourselves: it's beyond anything you can imagine." 

He then recounted everything: the nature of Honkai, the cyclical destruction of civilizations, and the horrifying reality behind "Honkai Beasts" and "Herrschers."

[General POV]

When Fan finished, the room fell into a stunned hush. Several people wore vacant stares; some burst into tears, while others stared at the ceiling with seething hatred. A few even collapsed to the floor, shouting,

"No way... that's impossible... You're lying! Nothing like that can happen in reality!"

In truth, quite a few had suspected government conspiracies or shady experiments on human subjects. After all, all they'd ever received were their loved ones' personal effects—no remains, no ashes. Some still clung to the hope their relatives might be alive somewhere.

But the genuine truth was far harsher than any of them had imagined. After all, as Fan mentally remarked, "If they truly were rounding people up for experiments, would they bother returning anyone's personal mementos? They'd likely have taken you all, too."

And so, in that moment, these ordinary people realized the scope of the horror—and how small they were in the face of it.

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Idiom Note: 

"Clouded by anger" – similar to the expression "anger clouds the mind," meaning one can't think clearly in the heat of rage.

I tried different way of narrating the story, should i keep it like this or go back?