Honkai Impact 3rd, a simulator of lifelong regret!

—Even if you use your mouth, you still need to rinse it properly.

Otherwise, it's not very hygienic either. Even if you can accept it, it doesn't mean others can, at least not for teenagers.

It feels like there's not much difference.

It doesn't really matter, does it?

[Anyway, every day goes by the same way, the same life, the same time. Aside from slight differences in what you do each day, within the larger framework, you do the same things every day.]

[Every day, I would wander around the small town, trying to relive my memories, with you deliberately exaggerating the beauty of the past, and then it was all about exploiting the young man.]

[Anything else, no matter how messy or chaotic, can be dumped on Qian Jie. After all, he's the one who's learned the most skills in the town right now.]

All you need to do is dedicate all your time to the boy.

Although this dedication sometimes left him feeling physically and mentally exhausted, he even volunteered to leave the town and Qianjie to explore the outside world.

【well……】

【Really. 】

Could he possibly have other thoughts?

[We really need to squeeze them even more thoroughly.]

For lovers, and for childhood sweethearts with whom they have developed a deep bond, their demands on each other shouldn't be considered excessive.

Only by keeping Jiang Cheng completely exhausted every day, leaving him no time to think about anything else and no energy to overthink, can this beautiful situation be maintained for a long time.

[You've already woven the boy into a tight net using your ability to lie; all you need to do now is render Jiang Cheng powerless to resist.]

[Relying on the strategies, recipes, costume designs, and backup plans left behind by Velvi, you have gradually replaced Velvi, making the boy believe that you are the princess, that his past memories have been altered, and that you and he have always lived happily together.]

[While the calamities of Honkai continue to grow stronger, so too do you. The Honkai Beasts will never be able to touch you in the slightest.]

[Those Herrschers are no match for you in terms of actual combat strength; in terms of authority alone, they are several levels below you.]

The paradise is eternal; the ideal you pursued since childhood can now be realized.

Compared to childhood dreams and the beauty of this moment, any flaws or instabilities are absolutely unacceptable and intolerable.

【Well……】

I wonder if Jiang Cheng would like brown stockings?

If the quality were better, there would be no need to tear it apart like that.

96. Alicia, why do you have to do this?

Eh……

Aren't you going to tear it up?

Isn't this behavior a bit too much?

Even a Herrscher's body shouldn't be damaged like this, right?

If Jiangcheng were to do this, it would actually be acceptable, right?

……

The smile on her lips was a broken gesture, stiff like a puppet or a machine, merely a gentle, subtle savoring of the sadness of the moment.

Alicia had recovered from her disheveled state of kneeling on the ground, soaked in her own tears, and was once again sitting quietly in the private room where she was all alone, just like before.

The fingers that had been pressing against her skin were now placed flat on the table, yet they were still trembling slightly, causing her entire body to tremble as well.

A hint of sorrow could still be seen in her cherry-colored starry eyes, a pain that was like water, held deep within her soul, an unforgettable and inescapable ache.

The girl did not fully accept all of this, nor did she fully accept that she was wearing a mask and bearing the pain, gradually replacing Wilvi, nor did she accept experiencing the anxiety and guilt of every moment.

—It's meaningless now.

If this seemingly false beauty can continue, then even becoming a monster, truly becoming a monster, would be acceptable.

There is no other choice.

There was no other choice left, and I had long been completely swallowed up by this emotion, with only a lingering sense of resentment.

There's no need to mention these minor emotions; just let the resentment fester in your heart until it disappears completely.

Since you've already decided to copy the answers from successful people, and since you already know you can't do it, why bother with wishful thinking?

The questions that can truly move a young girl now, those that can truly stir ripples in her stagnant emotions, are actually quite unique.

Stockings without tearing...

Is it really usable?

perhaps……

perhaps……

should……

Maybe.

Even if a Herrscher's body wouldn't suffer serious injuries from this kind of thing, wouldn't they feel any pain from this behavior?

what……

Although for me now, inflicting pain on Jiang Cheng not only doesn't have any negative psychological impact, I'm actually addicted to it.

Looks like I really am completely broken from beginning to end~?

That's not bad either.

If I were not broken, if I were a healthy, well-adjusted version of myself, I would definitely become like the person I was before I made that first choice—arrogant and conceited, wanting to save everyone.

They completely ignored the limits of their own abilities and the existence of human life as a whole, which is inherently impossible to be perfect in every aspect.

The girl remembered a novel that said: weakness and stupidity are not the cause of death; only arrogance is the cause of destruction.

This statement is not comprehensive; it is more about highlighting a certain principle. Under the Great Collapse, regardless of arrogance, life will be easily harvested like wheat fields, with a single gust of wind blowing down a large area.

However, this statement is absolutely correct in its emphasis on the flawed nature of arrogance: the greatest pain in life is wanting to do what you cannot do.

The greatest pain is not never having seen the light, but having seen the light and then having to return to eternal, cruel darkness.

The more you think, the more you ponder, the more you try to change, the more you do, the more things you will be unable to do due to your own limitations.

When you fail to do what you want to do, your emotions will be affected, you will feel sad, and you will question whether you are incompetent.

In many cases, we try to greedily grasp more things, and in the instant we let go, we even lose the little bit we have left.

Alicia will not make the same mistake again, and will not repeat the same error. If all that is left is just a little bit, why should she arrogantly try to tolerate more, save more, and try to change more things?

……

All you need to do is seize this moment, and find a way to prolong it, and prolong it again and again, until it becomes eternity and forever.

This is the only thing you need to do, the only right thing for you, and the only truly right thing to do.

The progress of the collapse has now stalled, perhaps because the civilization constructed by humanity is too weak, yet too advanced in self-preservation, reaching astonishing heights in both biology and physics.

[Relying on the defense system left over from Jiangcheng, and a portion of the backup plan from Velvi that you deliberately leaked to Mebius.]

The current multi-layered defenses are no longer something that can be easily penetrated by Honkai energy; even a Great Honkai could not cause such a catastrophe.

The culmination of the efforts of two geniuses has been given unprecedented vitality in the hands of Möbius, who has now completely turned to Honkai energy.

Humanity has established cities as its primary base, abandoning most unnecessary defensive lines and radiating life outwards solely through the radiating circles of mandalas.

Multiple layers of defensive barriers surround everything, even the air has achieved perfect self-circulation, absolutely rejecting the slightest bit of the outside world; not even a gust of wind can reach the city.

In this day and age, there is no such thing as natural wind; only calamities imbued with Honkai energy, whose slightest breeze is enough to make the world weep.

The success rate of the fusion warrior experiments has increased once again, and they have fully entered the mass production stage. A simple heart injection and one activation experiment are all it takes to guarantee at least Emperor-level combat power.

Perhaps this power isn't enough to survive in today's world, but if one simply hides in a safe zone within the city, it's sufficient for ordinary people to live as peacefully as they used to.

[Up to now, the core combat capability has been integrated into the warrior experiment, while simultaneously developing multiple branches.]

This includes, but is not limited to, modifications to quantum mechanics.

[It can undergo complete collapse-state modification.]

[The transformation aims to maintain the anchor of self-awareness as much as possible.]

The Chimera Project aims to create an ultimate warrior that surpasses even the Emperor and Judgment classes by stitching together different Honkai Beasts.

[Although currently only one person named Kevin has volunteered as a test subject for this project, and it has only progressed to the point of creating new folders.]

Nowadays, with the ability to obtain experimental materials far more precious than before simply by firing a couple of shots, collecting all the materials needed for Project Chimera probably wouldn't come at a great cost.

Everything here represents humanity's efforts to combat disaster, and is the culmination of Möbius's complete realization of his ideals.

Perhaps she also hopes to suppress the cataclysmic collapse, lead humanity to overcome this suffering, and allow Jiangcheng to experience beauty once again.

[May the person who, on their birthday—a day they themselves might not even know—deliver a fresh cake, a beautiful gift, and heartfelt blessings to her while she's eating instant noodles and working late into the night performing surgery, truly experience the beauty of life.]

That was the first time she felt that a few simple, meaningless words could be more appealing than a gift.

[Even though the gift used royal-grade ingredients, it seemed completely incomparable in terms of rarity to a cake made with dairy products and carbohydrates.]

That was probably the first time in Möbius's life that he received a birthday present.

That doctor was far too cold and arrogant; no one seemed to find it strange when he was labeled a "devil scientist."

[So much so that even her assistants and friends mistakenly thought she was some kind of strong, emotionless great person, forgetting that her heart was still soft, that she was a human being who could also experience pain and joy.]

No matter how talented Möbius was, he was still a human being at heart and in essence, experiencing sadness, despair, exhilaration, and excitement at times.

[Wasn't the torment and anger I inflicted on you during the creation of the Divine Key the greatest proof that Möbius is still human?]

People seem to always assume that those who are good at enduring certain things are enthusiasts of that field, making those who can endure hardship suffer even more.

With the wholehearted efforts of this world-class genius, maintaining a stalemate under the threat of collapse shouldn't be too difficult.

[The Eighth Herrscher, who was born earlier and possessed a temperature even higher than the sun's, did not pose as great a threat as before.]

[After only burning down 80% of a city's defenses and depleting its shield energy, you arrived and easily shot him down with a single arrow.]