Bizarre Honkai, a Wife-Chasing Crematorium

"Don't work yourself to death. Get some rest." Li Mo noticed a document titled "Wish Granting Test Plan" on MEI's laptop.

MEI closed the laptop, stretching. She hadn't slept. The news of Mei's Wish Granting ability had kept her up all night, devising plans, seeing a glimmer of hope in their endless fight against the Bizarre.

"MEI, I'm taking the Notebook and the Head Bizarre with me." He was worried about the dream. The Notebook's second page, even with its manipulative tendencies, was a lifeline. And the Head Bizarre, currently dormant, could be a useful tool, its relentless pursuit of bodies a potential weapon against stronger Bizarre entities.

"Get a coin from Pardofelis. It's in her mouth. You'll have to… pry it open," MEI said.

Didn't she say it takes time to create those coins?

"Capital is bold when there's profit to be made. Ten percent, and it's used everywhere. Twenty percent, it becomes active. Fifty percent, it takes risks. One hundred percent, it tramples all laws. Three hundred percent, it defies even death."

Li Mo understood. MEI had conducted experiments, letting Pardofelis tap into her Honkai powers, creating the coins. A risky move. If Pardofelis lost control…

"Pardo, wake up. Time to make some money." He nudged the sleeping Pardofelis. She was curled up on the bed, hugging Can, purring softly.

"Mo-bro… don't…" she mumbled in her sleep. Bizarre entities dreamt too, their dreams often a reflection of their nature, their origins.

Is she having a wet dream? He shuddered, glancing at the fabricated Mei, asleep in the corner. No one saw anything. It didn't happen.

He reached into Pardofelis's mouth, searching for the coin, but found only her warm, wet tongue.

"Mo-bro, I'll lick you! Don't hit me! I give up! I give up!"

He blushed, then realized something. "She swallowed it?"

He considered using his usurpation power, but that required three deaths. He couldn't afford the delay.

"Maybe I'm not reaching far enough…" He pushed his fingers further down her throat, encountering something hard, round. The coin. Covered in saliva, but still precious.

He retrieved it, pocketing it quickly, leaving Pardofelis to her dreams.

He was prepared. The Head Bizarre, the dormant Misfortune Ghost, his left hand, the coin, the thermometer, his gun… everything he might need.

He paused at Elysia's door, looking at the sleeping Pardofelis, Mei, and Can, then at MEI's closed door. He'd promised to take MEI to an amusement park. He hadn't even had time to help Mei adjust to her new surroundings. He was always running, always fighting.

Would there ever be someone to take his place? Someone with the talent, the resilience, the will to face the Bizarre?

"I won't disturb her. She must be tired." He turned away, walking towards the front door.

A crimson butterfly fluttered past the window.

Behind her closed door, MEI sat on the floor, hugging her knees, her eyes downcast, listening to his footsteps fading away. She'd waited for him to say goodbye, but he hadn't. Exhaustion pulled at her, the caffeine wearing off.

She stumbled to her bed, falling into a deep sleep.

A nightmare.

A dark, silent forest, the wind rustling through the trees. She looked up. Not leaves, but flayed human skin, hanging from the branches, their faces gaunt and lifeless.

She walked deeper into the forest, the number of flayed corpses increasing.

At the center, hanging from the highest branch, was Li Mo, his skin pale and dry, his eyes gouged out, his empty face swaying in the wind.

She knew he would die someday. But not like this.

"Bizarre entities dream. Their dreams are the source of their Rules, their powers."

"None of the Bizarre entities we've encountered recently are powerful enough to pull me into their dreams. Only S-rank Bizarre entities can forge such connections." She understood the Bizarre better than Li Mo, despite her lack of field experience.

Her analytical mind, unclouded by emotion, allowed her to see patterns, to deduce their rules.

An S-rank Bizarre: a Bizarre entity that could dream.

"The Bizzare Kiana's power is undeniable. The moonlight is her connection."

"Bizarre Mei is weaker, but she used the transplanted heart to pull Li Mo into her fabricated world."

"What connection did you use to pull me into your dream?"

She shouted, her voice echoing through the silent forest.

The flayed corpses turned, their empty sockets fixated on her.

She walked towards Li Mo's remains, unafraid. This wasn't the work of any Bizarre entity she'd encountered. This was something… more personal.

"You're hiding, afraid to reveal yourself. A Bizarre entity with human consciousness. You know me. You're studying me."

A flicker of movement among the hanging corpses.

"I was right."

"The game's over."

She removed her glasses, pulling out her hair tie, her long purple hair cascading down her back. She tossed the hair tie onto the ground.

"He gave me this. Want it? It's yours. His name, by the way, is Li Mo. A foolish little boy."

The flayed corpses grinned, their bodies twisting, falling from the trees, advancing towards her.

But as they approached, they collapsed, their power nullified by Elysia's lingering aura.

MEI wasn't afraid. She was elated. She'd found the connection: Li Mo.

But she couldn't afford to be distracted. Knowing the truth was useless if she couldn't escape.

The corpses parted, revealing a woman in a red bridal gown, her face hidden by a veil.

MEI felt a chill, the air growing cold, the corpses frozen in place a meter away. But the woman continued her approach, her movements slow, deliberate.

MEI saw her face.

A blank canvas.

"He looked at you. He didn't look at me."

"I waited so long…"

"If he can't see you, he'll see me." Her voice was filled with resentment. She reached out, her hand passing through Elysia's weakening barrier, touching MEI.

MEI woke up, a sharp pain on her forehead. She checked her reflection. A deep cut, bleeding freely.

"I was right. Conflicting rules create instability. A Bizarre entity's Rule can be disrupted, but only by another Rule."

She quickly documented her findings, then analyzed the dream.

A forest of flayed corpses hanging from Sophora japonica trees… Sophora japonica trees, known in China as "ghost trees."