Honkai Impact 3rd, a simulator of lifelong regret!

Most people are in a state of just getting by, and as long as there is room for self-deception, they will never think about pursuing truth and reality.

They might even fear, hate, or dread that this truth could shatter their worldview and the life they've built with falsehood and prejudice.

Mebius understood this very well, and perhaps few in the world understood the ease of manipulating people's minds better than this scholar.

The slogans and declarations shouted by those so-called politicians and statesmen are essentially just additional effects resulting from the asymmetry of perspectives.

If they lose their innate title, if they don't become the first person to pick up a napkin, everything they have will vanish in an instant.

Their essence is simply that they rose to prominence by taking advantage of the situation; they were pushed to the forefront by the tide of the times, rather than relying entirely on their own efforts.

Without suppressed anger, without an impending surge of unrest, without a chance to rise up, and without room for incitement.

They will most likely live the same life as ordinary people, just like all their friends.

They might even be viewed differently by others because they are special.

Ultimately, this is a matter of human limitations, human leeway, human limits, and the conceivable talents and abilities of human beings.

But for true geniuses, everything else can be ignored; they don't need any major trends to create a massive wave on their own.

No effort is needed, no attention is required, just one glance is enough to know everything you want, just one thought is enough to surpass that small step that countless people strive for their whole lives but cannot cross.

Most people will not be able to make any progress in the subject they have been learning since birth, even if they spend their entire lives studying it; it is unlikely that they will even be able to learn it completely.

A genius like Vervier can spend a week or two in his spare time and become a top expert almost from scratch.

With just a little more effort, not only would taking a small step forward be easy, but even advancing to unimaginable levels would be effortless.

With its own strength, it can surpass the accumulation of thousands of years of humankind, and even create the most advanced weapons on a mere deserted island.

The gap in talent is more brutal than anything else in the world.

Not doing it isn't impossible, it's just that I can't do it.

It's simply that I don't want to, I'm unwilling, and I'm too lazy to do it.

……

104. Alicia, do you prefer the stars or the ocean?

In the past, Mebius would never incite public opinion or exploit the stupidity and incompetence of most people in the world for his own benefit.

This is basic morality and the bottom line, the minimum requirement that cannot be crossed. It is also a shackle that we put on ourselves and a fetter on our talents.

This is also a deep-seated arrogance, a disdain for engaging in unnecessary conversation with those useless people who can't even understand a single word.

As for now...

This method works really well.

Anyway, nobody will care.

The only person who might have been dissatisfied with such an extremely strict approach that left no room for concealment is now...

call.

There's no need to think about it any further.

The time is almost here. Human conflicts are insignificant in the face of true calamity, and no one is responsible for the individual anymore.

Mebius gently picked up the flat-framed glasses that were lying on the table, tilted them slightly, and a pink light reflected off the transparent lenses.

"Are you here again to negotiate control of Jiangcheng?"

"—Alicia."

……

Her long, soft pink hair cascaded down her back, and her blue eyes, seemingly imbued with the fragrance of flowers for many years, held a pure beauty reminiscent of cherry blossoms.

Snow-white cherry red, with a rosy hue, the lips are full and plump like roses. No makeup is needed; the pure color comes from nature and is already infinitely close to perfect red.

Her lips parted, revealing a captivating allure that could bring ruin to a nation. Her pink and white off-shoulder dress was adorned with delicate flower petals, and beneath her smooth, rounded shoulders, her unabashedly voluptuous breasts pushed the silk gown into an arrogant curve.

Her slender waist was barely a handful, and the short skirt that barely reached her knees made one wonder what kind of protection it could possibly provide. The perfectly sheer light white stockings completely outlined the curves of her calves.

—She was a beautiful girl, as lovely as a flower, who attracted swarms of bees.

—Excessively beautiful, like the authority of a god.

She is no longer as innocent as before; her body has long been fully developed in the hands of a young man, and can even be described as alluring.

The perfect blend of girlish purity and a touch of allure creates a beauty that captivates everyone in the world.

I'm afraid that even if those soft, rosy lips asked for everything, people would offer up all of their possessions without hesitation.

The premise is that the person who saw the fairy of the paradise saw the girl in front of him.

—It refers to an individual who can still be addressed using the word "person".

Mebius merely stared coldly at the girl before him, his dark pupils reflecting nothing. The scientist, now a ruthless and venomous demon, showed no reaction to this beauty.

Even the girl who still had a sliver of beauty left wouldn't do, let alone Alicia in front of her who was already bursting with suppressed desire.

Nowadays, young girls no longer have the strength to save others; the little self they have left is so weak that even maintaining themselves is exhausting.

……

"Jiang Cheng is too weak to go out. Now we can free up some time to solve the problem of the next Herrscher."

"Given the trend of the Eighth Herald and the Herald of Flame appearing, the Ninth Herald will likely be born in about a month."

"—Should we still use the same targeted shooting method as before?"

This is the annual exchange with Mebius, used to discuss the next steps for the world and how to confront the next Herrscher.

As two of only two people in the world who can determine the course and future of the world, and who also cherish Jiangcheng, it is your duty to discuss how to end this disaster.

No matter how successful you are in a relationship, if you can't resolve the underlying issues, this happiness and joy will ultimately be precarious.

[You haven't forgotten the story of Velvi, who, by any measure, had reached the end of her life and was already perfect.]

She and Jiang Cheng had gone to the extreme, leaving no possibility of intrusion, yet she died in a mysterious and devastating catastrophe.

[Ever since that experiment to revive Jiang Cheng, you and Möbius have developed a cooperative relationship that can hardly be called friendship, and in some ways even mutual dislike, yet neither of you can easily abandon the other.]

Mebius didn't like your smile; he loathed its purity and flawlessness, and was disgusted by the ugliness hidden beneath that beauty.

That seemingly beautiful demeanor could lead to cruel, filthy, and shameless acts, completely possessing the young man and refusing to let go even for a moment.

[—So filthy it disgusted her.]

Mebius is also the only person in the world who truly knows what you've done.

[—Deceiving a young man with clever words and flattery.]

Your actions may conceal the truth from Jiang Cheng, the person involved, and may even deceive your own heart, but they cannot deceive Möbius.

She was also a viewer of Jiang Cheng and Wei Erwei's story, and as a friend of both of them, she could clearly feel the heavy and lingering emotions between them.

Although it's not like you constantly spying on them, turning their love into a sharp blade, endlessly piercing your own heart.

[For a world-class genius, aloof and cold, averse to meaningless social interactions, and only communicating with those he deems worthy of respect, the public displays of affection between Vervi and Jiang Cheng have long been considered excessive.]

Compared to you, a meaningless individual, someone who evoked complete aversion from the moment she appeared, someone whose attributes clashed with hers.

How could someone who yearns for eternity, yearns for evolution, and accepts and even revels in this ugliness possibly like a Herrscher who is outwardly beautiful and alluring, like a poisonous mushroom?

[Vilvie, Jiangcheng...]

They are the individuals that Möbius would truly cherish.

They were Möbius's truly important friends.

[As almost the only genius in the world who could have an equal conversation, as the only friend in Möbius's life who didn't require her to consider whether the other person could understand her, as the only person in the world who gave her a birthday cake, and as the only person in the world who cared about her inner feelings.]

No matter how much they verbally deny it, no matter how stubborn they are, they suppress their true feelings and arrogantly believe they don't need help or warmth from others.

The essence of life called human will still be like ice in winter, melting at the speed of light the moment it feels warmth.

If possible, she wouldn't want to see you for even a second; just being in her sight would make her feel utterly disgusted.

[If given the chance, you have no doubt that Möbius would try to save Jiangcheng, try to salvage the gentle boy from your memories, and help him regain his love for Velvi and the memories he should have.]

The doctor had no recollection of Jiangcheng from his childhood; Möbius's only memory of him was of the boy who appeared after he arrived at the Firemoth.

To her, as an observer, this is nothing more than blatant self-indulgence.

[Unintelligible.]

I don't want to understand either.

[The professor has never been someone who, when faced with psychological trauma or disaster, would simply collapse and cry, choosing to escape.]

Even losing her most important friend, and even her only assistant, couldn't completely break her down psychologically.

When faced with something unacceptable, she will make it acceptable without wearing herself down in the slightest, allowing even the slightest inner strain to adapt to other things.

Just like the legendary butcher Ding carving up an ox, that classic text never described skill through practice; it was about raw technique.

An incompetent chef's knife usually breaks quickly because they only use brute force to roughly chop at the ingredients.

Even the sharpest blade, capable of cutting through iron like mud, will inevitably encounter setbacks when it touches bone.

Wear and tear is almost an inescapable part of life.

A chef with even a little skill can use a single knife for years, processing countless ingredients before it finally breaks.

Because they have learned to find the gaps between bones, they can cut and slice ingredients at the weak points of the joints with relatively little force.

[For more experienced and skilled chefs, a single knife can last a very long time. Their search for weak points extends beyond joints; they can cut at many more points.]

This represents cutting-edge technology, capable of processing ingredients with virtually no loss while maintaining a pleasing visual appeal.

Ultimately, for them, for those with almost the most advanced skills, even a knife will eventually wear down to the point of needing to be discarded.

【—What if we take it a step further?】