Honkai Impact 3rd, a simulator of lifelong regret!

I don't have any strange emotions anymore.

But only after meeting Jiang Cheng, only after meeting someone who cared about her and worried about her, did everything gray and white gain color, and things that she could once ignore became tinged with shame.

Yes.

I can't stand it anymore.

He couldn't bear to see Jiang Cheng looking so disheveled, couldn't bear to see his clothes soaked, couldn't bear to see Jiang Cheng seeing his table covered in graffiti and his shoes with nails stuck in them.

Ah... Rather than saying I can't tolerate the things that were acceptable in the past, it's more accurate to say I can't accept that the real problem is that Jiang Cheng saw all of this.

It wasn't just a strange sense of shame; he also probably felt that if the boy saw it, he would definitely be unable to resist stopping him.

That way...

It would be because I had a bad relationship with them.

Even if she gets home a little late and runs into those classmates who always like to bully her, even if she could avoid them by suggesting that she separate from Jiang Cheng a little earlier or later, the girl chooses to bury all of this deep in her heart.

We absolutely cannot let Jiangcheng find out about all this.

We absolutely cannot cause any trouble for Jiangcheng.

……

153. Raiden Mei: Jiang Cheng...who are you looking at? [7k6]

As the boy said, everything the girl experienced was indeed suspicious from the very beginning. She didn't even need anyone else to say anything; she only needed to think in that direction to figure out the problem herself.

The bullying we receive is unjustified, unacceptable, and wrong. Fighting back and confronting them is what we should do.

Even if she knew, so what? No matter what, the girl had no courage whatsoever; she couldn't even raise her hand or refuse.

Hearing the correct methods from Jiang Cheng, but unable to try them no matter what, the girl only felt increasingly inferior and unworthy.

The more you are bullied, the less courage you have; the less courage you have, the less you can fight back; and the less you can fight back, the more likely you are to be bullied for your weakness.

Any inner collapse, or near-total destruction, is not an accidental event. It requires a persistent and unchangeable vicious cycle, leaving the person involved in an endless loop even when they are aware of it.

Those who are bullied from the very beginning will never learn to fight back. Just like a baby elephant chained up, even when it grows up and becomes a big elephant, it will never step out of the circle that bound it since childhood. Because all the spikes have been shattered, only the remaining fragments remain, hurting itself in its heart. Even if it has the ability to break free, it will never have the determination to break free.

If Jiang Cheng saw me like this, he would definitely be very disappointed.

I was told what to do, but I still couldn't do anything.

and so……

Raiden Mei chose to conceal the truth, choosing to be like a cowardly turtle that only knows how to fight among its own kind, deceiving the only person who cared about her.

I am a complete and utter scoundrel.

Maybe someone like me deserves to be bullied.

At least until the falsehood is exposed, I can shamelessly enjoy this warmth a little longer and stay by Jiangcheng's side a little longer.

……

"The first three campus buildings most commonly used by Qianyu Academy have been introduced. Now, only the two more complicated buildings remain to be completed."

"what……"

“So fast…”

The girl gently bit her lip, only realizing how quickly time had passed when she was about to speak. Her eyes dimmed slightly, as if the cold wind had extinguished some of her overflowing emotions.

Unknowingly...

Has a week already passed?

Time flies so fast; I never felt this way before.

Today I only walked through a few floors, avoiding strange looks in a quiet environment, and introduced a few places that are usually considered less popular—places I was forced to find because of the times I was ostracized in the past.

Having done these insignificant things, I didn't even realize how much time had passed. It felt as if I had just met the boy a second ago, and the next second the bell had already rung, announcing the end of this happy time.

The time spent being judged by others with accusatory eyes, harsh words, and undisguised malicious acts—putting nails in shoes, smearing paint on desks, and dumping trash in cabinets—always seemed to drag on endlessly. No matter how much one longed for the bell to ring, it seemed as if someone deliberately slowed down the pace, until the prisoner was on the verge of a mental breakdown and emotionally suppressed to the extreme, before finally making the merciful decision to ring the bell and give the prisoner a glimmer of hope.

Ironically, at moments of happiness and bliss, dusk always arrives so quickly. We are so immersed in the beauty that we cannot extricate ourselves until a touch of the setting sun's red imprint is left on our arms, and only then do we belatedly realize that time has passed.

in case……

It would be good to stay in Jiangcheng a little longer.

Providing even the slightest bit of companionship is already an experience like a daydream; no other thoughts should or should arise.

"That's the forest attached to the school. It's said that some small animals are indeed kept there, some of which were originally special products of Changkong City."

Even though her inner resolve sounds good, the girl has unconsciously included things related to school in her explanations.

……

Chiba Academy...

So many things were hidden all along?

So many interesting details were overlooked.

I used to live a very routine life, going only between my dorm and the school cafeteria, and I was completely unaware of the noble academy's painstaking efforts in cultivating my demeanor. I'm truly sorry about that.

Stepping across the soft, damp lawn, leaving your own footprints in the soil, the breeze bends the flowers, causing a petal to sway in the air, replacing the still-sleeping butterflies and displaying a lively beauty.

Jiang Cheng gazed at the magnificent teaching building, and under Raiden Mei's guidance, explored the campus he had never once stepped into.

Judging solely from the infrastructure, this place truly deserves the title of a prestigious academy, far surpassing the uniform block buildings and endless sounds of reading that he remembered.

The most prominent teaching building is quite majestic and towering. It is made of smooth marble, pure white and flawless. Its design is so good that anyone can see its solemnity and magnificence at a glance. The reliefs on the facade and the exquisite patterns and decorative designs carved on the columns have at least achieved a high level of aesthetic appeal.

The choice of wood, which is unique to Far Eastern architecture, is also good. After decades of supporting the rise and fall of a large number of people, it still does not show any obvious defects. Imperfections and mistakes have been left in advance, and people who do not know much about it may not even notice any problems at a glance.

The buildings inside the school are mostly very stylish, just like this building. In fact, a large part of the buildings, which can be described as well-constructed, are left abandoned, with only a lot of money spent on daily maintenance.

A week has passed since the simulation ended, and before we knew it, Raiden Mei and I had been exploring this academy for quite some time.

Although the adventures were much smaller than those experienced in the simulation, the mundane daily life was just right for school life.

To be honest, this is nothing at all.

The quality of their teaching staff is nowhere near comparable to that of moths drawn to a flame.

No matter how noble they are, they are ultimately limited to just a school. Whether it's buildings or resources, they can't even carry the shoes of the organization they remember.

But unlike the moth chasing the flame in the simulator, this is real. Everything you see, hear, step on, touch, and even the girl next to you is real.

After having a grand dream, a drunken experience, and a realistic simulation that transcends reality, only real things can suppress the influence of dreams and prevent one from being trapped by those illusory things for a lifetime.

At least don't let yourself become the one who regrets it for the rest of your life. As a time traveler, it's too embarrassing to admit that you can't handle just one simulation and can't help but become overly obsessed with the simulated world and people.

Before the boy was brutally turned into ketchup, he had read about simulators. The protagonists in those works were unaffected after a large-scale simulation and lived their lives completely, just like they had only played a game. In fact, it was even worse than playing a game, because some games also leave you with aftereffects after you finish them.

Not only did their mood, personality, and hobbies remain completely unchanged, but they were also not troubled by the lovers they encountered in the simulation.

In the simulation, it doesn't matter what you experience or go through; the simulation, which seems to lack any sense of realism, is just a disguise.

Jiang Cheng really wanted to know how those people did it, how they could remain so calm and composed after experiencing such a tumultuous life.

If he could do that, he wouldn't be having trouble sleeping at night.

Because of two people who have been dead for 50,000 years.

Because he doesn't actually know anyone.

……

Jiang Cheng took a deep breath, forcibly trying to suppress this emotion that he had suppressed countless times, an emotion that would only churn again and again, and that would only create a whirlpool and stir up even bigger waves if it were to sink into the deep sea.

This is bad.

Very bad.

If you can't let go of this emotion, then the simulation itself becomes a burden that outweighs the benefits. The threshold for surviving in the broken world is very high, but once you cross that threshold, the road ahead will be wide open.

In theory, once you get through the first simulation and obtain the items you need for your first development, you can simply let the story unfold and do nothing.

There are actually many ways to become stronger in this world. As long as you don't pursue being the strongest, and you're not an ordinary person who has absolutely no talent, you won't be too desperate.

There are many ways to extend lifespan, and most dangers are actually only for ordinary people. People with some strength can easily survive.

The collapse will inevitably be overcome, and in the end, it points to hope. The so-called Stigmata Project is nothing but a lot of noise and little action. The last wave of global destruction will also be crushed. The existence of Qi Tian Da Sheng will make this world extremely safe. After Otto's death, Destiny will not have to worry about being ambushed because of its special nature and then being used as a cheap experimental subject. At least in the plot that Jiang Cheng saw, Destiny's appearances were basically all about conducting human experiments.

Her current strength is more than enough. Even without the Divine Key, as long as she's willing to run away, her talent, though not quite genius, is enough to get her a good position in Anti-Entropy, or even become part of the protagonist group's logistics team.

Even if you're not willing to be alone, you can still join the main cast in the second part and use your hard-earned combat skills to fight in the beginner village. You might not make it to the end, but in most cases you can at least save your life.

However, given another chance, Jiang Cheng was not entirely willing to simply survive until the end of the main storyline and watch everything happen again.

I've already read these stories when I was a player and a captain, so reading them over and over again would seem rather incompetent.

Anyway, now that I'm friends with Raiden Mei, it's impossible for me to just kick away this withdrawn girl who's starting to resemble Velvet.

Jiang Cheng stretched, yawning with his hands behind his back, letting his body, which had been strengthened without him even realizing it, loosen up and bask in the spring sunshine.

"I have to admit that apart from most of the students not being very good, Qianyu Academy is not bad. Although the essence of a school is to impart knowledge and teach people how to be good people, I suggest that it should not be opened if it can't even get the core right."

"Jiangcheng..."

Raiden Mei bit her lip, her head almost buried in her chest, which was beyond her years, but she still couldn't bear to lift her head and engrave everything about the boy who was gently bending down to straighten his muscles into her eyes.

It was getting late, and the sun was about to set. The clouds in the west were painted a fiery red, as if they were on fire. Looking around, Jiang Cheng was the only one walking forward, facing the flame-like light.

The black school uniforms are all designed by top designers, and the perfectly fitted clothes flutter in the occasional gust of wind.

Just like Sakura in that book, he would appear inexplicably at crucial moments, right now in the heroine's sight.

……

"if not?"