Honkai Impact 3rd, a simulator of lifelong regret!

Because of me?

Cheng-kun didn't want me to continue being so颓废 (颓废 is a difficult word to translate directly, but it implies a state of being listless or demoralized), so he specifically asked to go to a haunted house?

The boy's words were completely connected. Everything he said from the moment he stepped into the park was now linked together. All the things he did, thought, and decided were found to have their reasons.

In order to take care of himself.

Out of concern for me.

This is more than just concern between friends.

--why?

The directness with which he revealed his emotions was even more surprising and unacceptable than his previous performance. Even his previous dazedness was completely shattered and frozen. Time seemed to stand still, freezing everything completely, as if even color had been removed, and everything had become blurry.

The fingertips covering her mouth froze in mid-air before they could be lowered. The boy's dark pupils clearly reflected the girl's expression—a look that went far beyond bewilderment, almost as if she were terrified.

It's similar to waking up one day to find the sun rising in the west, and then the goddess who you've tried so hard to win over, but never received a response, suddenly confesses her love to you.

In this situation, rather than being surprised, one is more likely to feel incomprehensible and doubt that they are dreaming, believing that such a situation only occurs in dreams.

The fisherman, who had tried countless times to catch fish in the wild without any results, easily caught a super-sized fish weighing tens of kilograms just by putting down his hook and without even feeding it.

Even such a metaphor cannot fully capture the emotions at this moment, because no matter how crazy one's love-struck mind is, or how much one's simp is driven by a combination of emotions, no one has ever fallen to this level—from being the Thunder Queen, admired by thousands and looked up to by everyone, to becoming a down-on-his-luck student hated by the entire city and the entire world, bullied and hurt by countless people.

She was saved by someone from the gap between heaven and earth, and a ray of sunshine came from the utter darkness. Although he was as distant as a star, he was willing to cast his light on the girl who thought she was not even as good as a mouse.

They are within reach, you can even hold their hands, they are so close you can even smell their scent, they are a perfect person like a dream.

Just as saints always sacrifice themselves, and foolish people cannot understand this sacrifice, the girl also raised her head and looked at the warm light.

There was once a famous saying in this world: "When light shines into a tower, it illuminates the shadows and sins, and thus light is sinful." Similarly, the tenderness given by the boy awakened the sleeping girl's greed.

No need for embellishment, this is what that despicable person named Raiden Mei does, and this is the only reason she's still here.

They crave more contact, more attention, and absolute security and peace of mind, to be spared from abandonment and neglect.

But all this progress should not be like this, should not be in this process, and should not be this simple.

Why……

Is this wrong?

To gain even a glimmer of light, one must exert a million times the effort, willing to sacrifice everything for it—that's the normal outcome, isn't it?

In order to get more attention, they do things that even they find shameless, and it is normal to get even the slightest bit of attention in return.

Even if he receives praise and help, and occupies a larger place in the boy's heart, it should be after delivering the gift at the designated location, that he opens the box on his way home, takes out the kaleidoscope, and sees the photo he placed in advance that will reveal him to be a pervert.

By indulging in vulgarity and displaying a lewd side, and by using gifts that are somewhat excessive and suggestive, one can awaken memories buried deep within, and fix this first date in one's mind, so that one can be watched, right?

Being helped for no reason like this.

Something's definitely not right. It shouldn't be like this.

A girl who longed to be noticed more, even willing to trample her past underfoot and abandon all her dignity and modesty, was unable to understand the boy's gentleness after receiving it.

Unprovoked progress always inspires fear. Just like climbing a mountain step by step, it's hard for someone using traversing tools to move slowly to understand why they suddenly seem to be flying to the summit as if they were on a cable car.

Until no illusory element could be found in that gaze, it was neither false nor a dream, but an undeniable truth.

Faced with the boy's kindness, no matter how strange her inner emotions were, Raiden Mei gently nodded her head in response, her voice trembling.

"I……"

"I can……"

"I'll be careful."

……

The doubts in my heart were buried deep in the trash heap, suppressed as much as possible. These emotions should not interfere with Jiangcheng's affairs under any circumstances.

This is an absolute, unacceptable bottom line.

This is the only thing that absolutely cannot be done.

Perhaps it's just that buried emotions suddenly pop up when you're trying to sleep at night—even seeds in the trash can can sprout, giving a wonderful growth to a sleepless night and gifting you with heavy dark circles under your eyes. This is something you have to think about at night.

After deciding to visit the haunted house, Raiden Mei had to hurry up and finish the ice cream she had been patiently savoring. Although Raiden Mei didn't want to use up the first gift Jiang Cheng had given her so quickly, if possible, the girl even wanted to freeze it and put it in a box as a specimen she could see every day to prove that she had received a gift.

Although the ice cream brand wasn't cheap, to the former rich girl, it was nothing more than junk food that didn't even qualify as a dessert.

Desserts that aren't meticulously crafted by the most outstanding masters and whose preparation and consumption take no more than three minutes will be sent to Africa along with their servants.

As one of the important sources of funding for Anti-Entropy, and a world-class technology giant, ME Corporation has achieved a level that even commercial groups in the surface world cannot reach, all while operating as a family business. Under the indifference of Destiny, it has almost complete control over all funds in the Far East.

As one of the implementers of anti-entropy, he has voting rights and a voice throughout the organization. All the advanced technologies of the conservative faction will be mastered by Lei Dian Long Ma at the first opportunity. At the same time, he has commercial channels throughout the Americas.

As the only daughter and the one who will inevitably inherit the family business in the future, Raiden Mei could enjoy a life ten thousand times more luxurious than any princess of any empire in history if she wished.

But compared to those things that have passed, those things that are ethereal and can only be grasped at in a fleeting memory, even if one tries to imagine them, the ice cream in front of me is infinitely sweeter than any dessert I have ever tasted before.

There was no other reason, no other justification, and no unique secret recipe; the stall owner just randomly bought the goods.

If I absolutely must find a reason...

— Jiang Cheng bought this for me himself.

I bought this to make me less dizzy.

That's all that's needed. Any further explanation is meaningless. So-called commemoration has always been such a vague thing.

Despite the fact that, compared to the boy's request, this was the first time he had taken the initiative to suggest going somewhere, and even the cold drinks he had personally bought had to be eaten as soon as possible.

If eating ice cream while visiting a haunted house makes the experience less enjoyable, I might regret it for the rest of my life.

She picked up the complimentary spoon again and again, placing the frozen dairy products on her tongue, even swallowing the ice cream with a forced, icy posture, deliberately using the warmth of her own mouth to melt it, to ensure that she wouldn't squander the gift the boy had prepared for her for the first time, like a cow chewing on a peony.

Although not eating wouldn't cause any problems, the girl felt no fear whatsoever when faced with the frightening scenes at the haunted house.

……

"Be careful, it's quite dark here. Watch out for bones or toy-made organs that might fall off at any time. Don't get scared."

The boy stepped in front of him, alert to everything around him, his voice serious, and the hand he was holding wrapped around his fingertips in the opposite direction—unlike his previous mere response, this time the power shifted, and the other party became the leader of this journey.

It's not about male chauvinism, nor is it about arrogantly believing that men are superior to women and therefore should bear more responsibility.

Anyone in the world might have the idea that others are trash because of their own excellence, or that there is a difference in superiority or inferiority between genders. If one's thinking is feudal or old-fashioned, it is as easy as going with the flow. Only a young man, the young man who is holding the girl's fingertips right now, would not do so.

The boy, who had been a freeloader in the simulation and whose fighting power could be easily defeated by Virvi with one hand, would never have such thoughts.

Because that would be too foolish and too arrogant.

Ignoring the so-called feminism, gender equality is indeed a very necessary thing, even in the ordinary world before the transmigration.

Moreover, this world has never been a normal, scientific, or ordinary world, but a broken world that is inherently discriminatory against men.

Women are naturally stronger than men, not just in terms of strength, which is the most obvious thing, but in all aspects they seem to be a little bit stronger.

At least before the time travel, the boy, who was a meticulous researcher and a lover of the plot, could only spread his hands and say that Otto was almost useless after watching Paradise. All the credit that had been assigned to him before had been taken by others.

……

182. There are no ghosts in this world... probably?

All the so-called achievements and advanced technologies of the past no longer exist. Even the so-called internal strife seems to be less intense than the civil wars between organizations in the current civilization. Even the bell, which is considered to be an influence of the civil war and a testament to internal disunity, died because of the commandments of Aponia.

The wisdom left behind by Velvet, Mebius, and Mei... even during the Second Herrscher era, when Otto betrayed Welt and created a Second Herrscher that was almost unmatched at the time, could be defeated at a great cost.

With the help of divine sound, the key of the gods, and even more so, the existence of the stigmata, Kaslana's stigmata temporarily possessed her, allowing her to unleash a crucial attack.

It was an achievement that belonged to a timeless era, accomplished through a combination of miracles, possibilities, and the discovery of medicine on the moon.

After witnessing them firsthand, my understanding of their wisdom deepened, it was as if they were possessing extraordinary abilities.

Despite possessing such unimaginable abilities, one can still maintain one's humanity and kindness. Even if one appears eccentric and like a demon, one is essentially just bad at expressing oneself.

Although the male counterparts are not much worse, aside from those who specialize in combat, Otto, who is responsible for wisdom, only puts all his talents and wisdom into backstabbing, infighting, and persecuting humans. Intrigue and civil war are the true manifestations of the archbishop's strength.

In fact, looking at the overall picture, just by looking at the number of heroes and human warriors who died at Otto's hands, you can tell how powerful he was.

He killed the First Herrscher, launched missiles at his two loyal subordinates, used Siegfried's daughter as a test subject, and forced Siegfried to defect.

He didn't care whether his subordinates were loyal or not, because they could be easily killed for his own purposes. He was a complete and utter demon.

Emotions are almost entirely superficial; if necessary, even his seemingly beloved granddaughter Theresa can be easily used as nourishment to be sent to her death.

If Durandal stands in his way, then Miss Bianca will likely suffer the same fate as her mother.

The more someone cares about something, the more familiar they are with the world, the easier it is for their weaknesses to be exploited. Even someone as strong as Kevin couldn't kill Otto immediately; he could only exploit his weaknesses and choose to make a deal with him.

He was just an ordinary person. Whether he was kind or evil, he was within the ordinary range. He was neither as great as a saint nor as shameless as a villain. He was neither extreme nor could he reach the limit.

Whether it's intelligence, charm, or sheer strength, even with all the other attributes, she's undoubtedly at the level of an ordinary person. Even if she could imitate others, it would require long-term, close interaction. The reason she has such a remarkable life can be entirely attributed to her behavior of living off a woman.

Yes.

He's living off a woman, and he's been living off a woman all along. The early parts of the simulation are basically about how to best live off a woman.

The boy had a fairly clear self-assessment: he was nothing more than a mass-produced artifact of modern society, an ordinary person who would be unremarkable even if thrown onto the street, and in games, anime, or light novels, he would be an ordinary passerby who wouldn't even be worthy of being a supporting character.

If you were to travel to a world in ruins, without prior knowledge of the plot and the right timing, location, and circumstances, you might find it difficult to even survive.

It is precisely because they were given the opportunity to have close contact with geniuses that they were able to learn something through long-term exposure to the vocabulary.

Although for that girl it should be the other way around, that he himself had given her the opportunity to be in contact with him, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to kneel on the ground to receive it.

Personal interests and hobbies cannot change established facts. Although the power may seem to be changing, the real core has always been Vervier.

The absolute crushing power of intelligence and strength meant that even when trying to put on a show during a date, if Mebius, after his intensive training, displayed his transformed physical abilities, he would be easily overwhelmed by the girl. As for entertaining himself by popping balloons, he wasn't even worthy of being an audience member.