Honkai Impact 3rd, a simulator of lifelong regret!

Raiden Mei gently bit her lip, having caused a blunder on her own. Her face, which shouldn't have been flushed with shame, was almost devoid of any color. Instead, it was pale, as if a gust of cold wind had swept away some of her body heat in the cold winter.

The long nails added to the pain in her delicate palms. The once intense sensation seemed to be ignored at this moment. Her fingers drew closer and closer until they became entangled without her even realizing it.

It's better to think of that place...

At least that way, I should get more attention.

……

'Coward...does he only dare to talk to himself here?'

'I don't even dare to fantasize about it too much.'

The voice that exists deep within the heart, in a place even the self cannot reach, becomes a stepping stone for thought, buried in the countless ideas that arise every moment, making it difficult to even look up.

Raiden Mei's disheveled state was not something that no one else in the world had seen, nor was it something that no one else knew about.

Although it was still too weak, too nascent, those deep purple, thunderous pupils could only take in everything, including falsehood and inattentiveness.

-

At the same time, in different places, the person who is thinking about the boy is not Raiden Mei. The source of this absent-mindedness is the girl who has fallen into a deep sleep after being tormented a thousand times. Snow White is protected by the seven dwarfs, but Sleeping Beauty is still asleep. A princess who has lost her prince will never wake up.

Despite the best efforts of another equally innocent girl, whose only defining quality is beauty, the princess could not open her eyes even for a moment.

Only occasionally, a ripple is stirred, like throwing a pebble into stagnant water with all one's might, causing the atmosphere of despair and death to ripple.

Ultimately, there was nothing that could be done.

—The behavior is meaningless.

Before even pushing open the door, or bending down to look through the tiny crack at everything inside, the mere glimpse of a breath was enough to make Su, a healer and an enlightened being, and Aponia, who had never run away, never been afraid, and had always fought against fate and calamity in her own way, feel almost desperate.

It doesn't come from an invisible oppression from fate, but from something more concrete, like the difference between an online cyber policeman and a lion in front of you in real life.

As a top-tier mental fusion warrior, his observation of Alicia could only be limited to the most peripheral and insignificant corner.

Whether it's the past, memories, or distorted emotions like love and hate, the level of understanding and exploration is almost laughable.

If the girl's heart is a vast ocean, then what she sees now is merely a tiny stream, so small it cannot be divided into any more branches. If we were to describe it as a room, then she hasn't even entered the door yet; the only difference between her and others is that she may have opened the door a crack.

It's not just because they lack the ability; mortals cannot touch gods, and the power gained from the Honkai is simply ineffective against the Honkai goddess.

As heroes of a previous civilization, even the most impossible things are possible if one exerts all their strength; many factors are simply...

--fear.

……

155. Alicia: My other self... please listen to me, okay?

"what……"

"Is it still the same?"

Alicia's "memory" bit her lip lightly. The emotions she had been infected by were inevitably affected, even if she tried to resist. Her once bright and lively smile, which seemed to be filled with beauty and hope at all times, had disappeared. She was even powerless to respond to anything and could only look at another version of herself.

And so she gazed quietly with her eyes, now tinged with a dreamy pink. Words that she once thought could communicate everything and resolve all disputes now seemed utterly powerless.

What exactly happened to the lovely girl?

"My other self... please listen to me, okay?"

……

Repeated attempts to comfort her were futile. Even flipping through books to find psychological symptoms couldn't solve Alicia's problem. The endless voices made Pado, who was trying to take a nap for the twenty-seventh time, raise her head once again.

Because of the need to provide absolute protection and restrictions, everyone, even those who are merely there to make up the numbers, must stay by the girl's side.

Although she doesn't mind taking opportunities to slack off, no one would expect a young girl to be fully committed to her duties when most people are around.

As a free cat, it cannot be restrained by anything even in the twilight streets, but now it has to stay in one place for a long time and cannot even take a nap. The nightmare is caused by the fearless emotions it always has.

"Sister Aili, please stop for a moment. Judging from the other Sister Aili's expression, this is clearly a problem we can't solve. Considering the time, it's been more than half a month now. Sister Wilvi should have received it by now, right?"

……

The room is absolutely self-contained and independent, as if it were outside this paradise that does not belong to the world. It cannot be found in normal space, and even time has almost stopped. The pocket watch, which seems to have completely malfunctioned, ticks a little bit from time to time, proving that time is still moving forward.

In a place beyond the comprehension of common sense, a girl with long khaki hair stood there, conducting the same experiment that defied human reason.

With delicate, white fingertips, she precisely selects the necessary materials, and the artificial assistant she creates handles and places everything in its proper place.

Even the lab coat couldn't conceal his figure; the loose fabric still billowed out in an arrogant arc. Perhaps it was from concentrating for too long or conducting experiments for too long, but glistening beads of sweat had soaked his clothes, which clung tightly to his body, and beneath the white fabric, someone's face was faintly visible.

Due to the special nature of the experiment, no cooling equipment could be turned on. Her delicate earlobes turned red from the stuffiness. She casually lifted her hair to dissipate heat, and the rising steam, along with her hot body fragrance, seemed to fill the entire room.

He should be as light as coffee or as green bamboo, a great inventor hiding in the shadows, yet his hurried mood also revealed a touch of passion.

She was undoubtedly a beautiful young woman, although it might be a little inappropriate to still call her a young woman, but considering the time of her death, she was still of a certain age.

Those were people who should have died, spirits who should not be alive in this world, and certainly did not belong to this point in time, nor to this world.

—Vellwe.

As Jiangcheng's first lover, the top authority of the Moth of Fire, and the most outstanding genius in this world, unmatched by anyone, even if only a peerless supreme being, unlike the other possibility, he did not continue to fall into darkness as a lonely genius, unable to bear it any longer, until the degree of self-loathing reached the point where he wanted to kill himself.

Before she truly rotted away in the filthy sewers like a cockroach in the shadows, she was fortunate enough to find redemption in her life, meeting someone far more important than life itself, far more important than anything else she could ask for.

—Jiangcheng.

Even arrogance and greed were permitted, even mistakes were forgiven. No wisdom, no talent, no anything else was needed; the love from that boy was truly unconditional.

"The essence of a relationship is the mutual exchange of love. This exchange is always equal for both parties, and there is no need to add anything superfluous."

"—My dearest Velvi, don't worry about making any mistakes unintentionally. Isn't my love for you the greatest forgiveness?"

"The world is indeed cruel and ruthless, like gears that fit together tightly, but the capacity for emotion between people can form a protective membrane between the gears. It transcends the cold reality and is a privilege belonging to human beings."

"—You don't need to worry about other people's indifference towards you. The fact that I hate you because of your mistakes only proves that they don't like you. If feelings can be eliminated so easily, then the only possibility is that the feelings were just a verbal lie from the beginning."

what……

Is it just that I unconsciously start reminiscing again?

I couldn't help but think of Jiang Cheng's words and voice again, and I longed for that warm embrace, hoping to reach out and touch his face again. Even my soul was looking up, hoping for the light in the sky.

Every day after being separated from Jiang Cheng, I yearned to find him from every corner of my body, from top to bottom, and even deep in my heart, hoping to lean on him and replenish what I called the Jiang Cheng factor.

This feeling of emptiness and loneliness is so unbearable; I really don't know how I managed to endure it back then.

Perhaps it's withdrawal symptoms.

Like a ○ product.

Those who have never seen the light will not find the night unbearable, and those who have never felt hope will not be affected by the despair that happens around them.

Do not……

wrong!

absolute!

Absolutely wrong!

Without hesitation, Vilvi shook her head and slapped her face with her palms, showing no mercy out of fear or pain, not caring even if her fair skin was stained with a few blushes.

This is the one thought that absolutely must not be allowed to arise.

Jiangcheng is not some kind of ○ product.

How can Jiangcheng compare to that kind of garbage that only brings harm, spreads widely through its vicious addictive properties, and damages both the body and mind?

Let alone placing it alongside, or using it as a metaphor or reference, simply mentioning it in the same sentence is the greatest desecration of Jiangcheng.

That voice of unique love far surpasses mere wisdom, more precious than anything in the world—at least, under that gentle warmth that shines like the sun yet is willing to share its light with the rats in the gutter, the insecure genius has clearly realized it.

Despite the extremely long learning process, and the fact that Jiang Cheng spent a great deal of effort to etch this sense of worthlessness and incompetence into her heart, it only meant that the girl herself was a complete and utter waste.

It seems like it's been forgotten again.

She really is a complete good-for-nothing and a wicked woman.

We must find Jiang Cheng as soon as possible and make him reaffirm this bottom line that we must never forget through his brutal and excessive behavior.

……

In her heart, Velvi secretly devised a plan to punish herself. She patiently pondered the matter without interfering with her actions. She put on special gloves on her bony fingertips, and the actions of her hands alone were to surpass countless instruments.

While this does not mean that industrial instruments are unnecessary, necessary manual work is also of paramount importance in order to ensure absolute precision.

Unlike before, when hands had more important things to do than experiments and work, they absolutely could not be used carelessly to ensure they were smooth and soft.

Now, even Jiangcheng can't be found. Forget about the delicacy of the fingers; even if the medicine is easy to manufacture and prepare, there will be no opportunity to use it.

Although the most advanced technology she created before coming to this world was still limited to physics, and at most she had created a miniature black hole emitter while thinking about making a massage machine for Jiang Cheng, it was difficult to explore something that was mostly in the realm of fantasy from scratch. However, it was not something that was absolutely impossible.

At least the Land of the Dead has many things to utilize, including all the technology up to the birth of the last Herrscher, and the essential knowledge gained before the deaths of his incomplete self and several other geniuses.

Even those studies on the Herrscher of the Void that don't involve time are far more complex and require more elaborate testing.

Those heroes can be relied upon; they may not be of much help intellectually, but their special powers and wondrous characteristics can accomplish certain things.

Vilvi still remembers when she first transmigrated here, she thought she was completely dead and would never see Jiangcheng again.

I closed my eyes in resentment, only to find myself in an unfamiliar place, where Honkai Beasts that did not belong to the database were roaming around.

At first, due to the information gap, I was almost killed by several assault-class monsters. Fortunately, I found some scrap nearby and temporarily assembled a weapon.

Driven by the desire to save her life and understand her surroundings, she used the available resources and the environment—more like data than physical matter—to find weaknesses and create a vulnerability, thus hacking into the entire paradise.

All the information she saw at that time even made her pause for a second. It was because of this brief moment that she was found by the person who called himself Aponia, and the war with Paradise as the battlefield began.

The heroes of this world called her a fake, and that fiery, obviously irritable person started fighting without even exchanging a word.

Whether it's Kevin, Sue, Sakura, or Eden, they are all heroes who walked to the very end, reaching the limits of what humans can achieve in some aspect.

Combat prowess, assassination skills, artistic creativity, or perhaps mindless, pure destruction, and an almost superhuman level of luck that defies easy categorization by mere literal talent.

Even though there was enough room and leeway compared to when it first landed, and the prepared plan was sufficient to cover all aspects of all known information, they still stumbled under their combined efforts.