Honkai Impact 3rd, a simulator of lifelong regret!

……

Go home.

Entering the dormitory and changing his shoes, the boy yawned as he pushed open the bedroom door—since he didn't have the habit of making his bed and was too lazy to do the hassle every morning, the bed was still the way it was when he woke up.

Messy, chaotic... it's essentially a room that's never been tidied up, with items scattered haphazardly and blankets that have never been folded.

While it's not exactly filthy, it's certainly not at the level of a pigsty, and it's definitely not a place to set foot in the realm of cleanliness.

Perhaps because of Wilvi's excessive favoritism, he was always rushed to do everything and his every request was fulfilled to the best of his ability. As a result, after the simulation, the boy's problem with diligence not only did not improve, but he became increasingly indifferent to the tidiness of his bed.

Anyway, Wilvi will definitely get up earlier than her. Even if she tries her best to clean up and hopes the girl can relax, she will have no way to fight for even the right to clean up this piece of land without staying up all night.

If it's late, it only means that waking up in the morning is just a continuation of yesterday, and the real day won't begin until noon or even evening.

At least in terms of work, there is absolutely no time. Jiang Cheng and Wei Erwei will continue to expend their energy until they run out of energy and enter a state of complete sagehood.

A situation like this—not dirty, not bad, but messy...

what……

It's been so long since we last met.

How long ago did this situation begin?

ten years……

Twenty years...

Or will it be even longer, much longer?

It seems that it can only be found at the very end of memory, in that somewhat blurry place.

Compared to the time in the simulation, even the length of a person's life seems short, utterly meaningless, and utterly useless.

There's no need to remember such trash. A life that's utterly devoid of anything worth preserving, a life that's lonely and monotonous from beginning to end, has no reason to exist in our hearts. All the empty spaces should simply be made up for Virvi and Alicia.

If I didn't remember that this was a simulation, I would probably be deeply immersed in this cruelty and despair that is unimaginable for ordinary people. It reveals the perverse taste of a third-rate tragedy writer from beginning to end, yet it is as beautiful as a fairy tale.

No matter how bad the ending or the final outcome was, it could never outweigh the time spent with those two lovely girls day and night along the way.

Or rather, the fact that one can reach such a level of emotional engagement and remember it to such a depth, even knowing it's a simulation, is proof enough.

For a moment, I felt a strange sense of disorientation—perhaps because in my memory, when I came home, the bed was either neatly folded and perfectly arranged, or the blankets were spread out and a lovely girl was lying quietly on the bed, usually accompanied by a bunch of pixelated things that children shouldn't see on the table.

If neither of these two exists, then even the bed and blankets themselves will disappear, leaving only petals scattered in a heart shape and moon-like stars hanging in an unknown sky.

As long as you reach out or are recognized as having arrived, a shooting star will fall from the sky, and a lovely girl as beautiful as a flower will emerge.

In short, there are dozens or even hundreds of similar situations, which are definitely not as ordinary, normal, or even feel abnormal as they are now.

Regardless of the specific development, whether it's the memory of the word "bed" that triggers a chain of recollections, it's all the etched past.

Shedding the school uniform that almost restricted his body, Jiang Cheng collapsed onto the bed and unhesitatingly threw himself into the soft blankets.

He felt as if he were sinking into it; the exquisite velvet massaged his skin even through his clothes, and the sandalwood cabinet with its rich lavender scent almost made him lose focus, his thoughts drifting into loose sand, gradually becoming weary.

I haven't fallen asleep yet.

Today's events are not over yet.

There is still much to think about in the future.

There are just too many things to consider.

After transmigrating to this world, I can no longer afford to be as carefree as I was in my old days, when I could lie in bed and fall asleep peacefully without thinking about anything.

You can't do that once you've chosen to come into contact with Raiden Mei.

There is no room or right for us to feel at ease anymore.

The gift itself is unimportant; just give something according to the birthday party and Mei's preferences. If all else fails, you can imitate Wilvi's style and give her a shirt, then casually imply that the shirt was a gift she mistakenly took and that she has already worn it.

Since they have a fairly similar personality, it should be useful for Raiden Mei as well—although what is often given to Velvet are more private clothes.

It might seem like she's not taking it seriously, but the real gift is actually the drone that can protect her and solve her problems.

Not only must we ensure that Mei is not discovered by people like Cocolia, but we must also anticipate who might pose a threat to her and eliminate them.

This is quite a lot of work.

To obtain the materials, they even had to scavenge for scraps on their own.

Although it's ultimately just a minor inconvenience, with the knowledge inherited from Velvi and ample materials, it's even possible to replicate the Divine Key. The only problem now is the lack of materials and tools.

What we really need to consider are the enemies we'll face once we're deeply involved in the main storyline and can't extricate ourselves, such as the one person we can't persuade.

—Otto.

……

If I had to say that Otto was very strong...

Not necessarily.

All of this power and talent is focused on backstabbing. The more deeply connected a person is with the world, the more easily they are interfered with. Consequently, as long as there are no lives to protect, Otto's abilities will be cut in half.

For a long time, the lack of information, and the fact that even the World Serpent was unaware of it, led the archbishop to frequently do things that seemed quite clownish.

Cecilia, the strongest Valkyrie, has always been one of Otto's most loyal subordinates. Even after being subjected to human experiments and losing a large number of her senses, she had no complaints. Siegfried even chose to continue fighting as a knight of destiny after his wife died at the hands of Otto's missiles, until he discovered that even his own daughter would not be spared, and that countless clones were created.

……

195. The side effects of the simulation were a bit too severe.

The world has long been divided into three parts, and this planet, now unified by the Moth of Fire, is simultaneously home to three organizations that supersede national systems.

The World Serpent had never been discovered in hundreds of years, and the comic book plot shows that Otto didn't even know that the World Serpent organization existed.

Before Durandal grew up, Destiny's strength was not even enough to defeat Anti-Entropy. Rita, an S-class Valkyrie who was more inclined towards assassination, was not as good as the torrent of mechs in terms of pure combat power and physical strength. Hua, who had long been the strongest on paper, was already severely crippled and would not make a move against Anti-Entropy.

It seems incomprehensible, but the world is just that absurd, because before the second collapse, Otto wasn't even sure if Joyce was truly dead.

She was defeated by the First Herrscher through sheer strength, and even her strongest S-class Valkyrie was about to be captivated by his charm. Yet, because of her kindness, which could even be described as somewhat foolish, she used her own life and everything she had to block the Honkai fusion missile that was heading towards the city.

Although she usually appears as a hindrance or a boss when facing external enemies, she has transformed the originally simple Eleventh Herrscher, who could be easily defeated by following a strategy guide and breaking the barrier using the Divine Key left over from the previous civilization, into a false god who can only be shaken by the authority of the Herrscher of the Void.

With his own life completely controlled by the higher-ups, the only thing Otto could possibly do to show leniency was through some intelligence exchanges.

Ironically, when it comes to internal destruction and the destruction inflicted on humanity itself, even all the Herrschers combined are no match for Otto's strength in the slightest.

There is almost no possibility of redemption; he only cares about his own plans. If necessary, he can easily sacrifice even Theresa. In the end, he left behind an uncontrollable and uncontrollable false god, turning the constraint that could have been defeated by breaking the barrier into a guy that even the remaining countermeasure card—the Oath of Judah—was powerless against.

Even Otto himself couldn't control it, and only after everyone joined forces to kill him did he regain a little room to maneuver.

If even the slightest mistake were to occur, even if the false god were ultimately defeated, the main characters would likely lose several lives in the process.

If one cannot disregard the lives of ordinary people, if one still has a shred of kindness in one's heart, then that will become the sharp blade that Otto uses to stab oneself. Even if one has power, there is nowhere to use it, and one can only be forced to die a miserable death.

It would be utterly ridiculous to feel any sense of relief, as the former Acting Herrscher has already proven that Otto can exploit even the slightest weakness.

Although these are not things that need to be thought about in the short term, staying in Changkong City is a fairly safe zone, at least for a long time.

There's no need to be overly wary; rather, it's through integration with the people of this world and gradual contact that Otto's threat level will surge even more dramatically.

The threat level of that ultimate civil war god hasn't reached its peak yet, and there aren't many important people around him who could pose a threat.

Compared to those heroes.

My own bonds are still too weak.

There was basically nothing that Otto could use to blackmail him.

Being born an orphan also prevented any relatives or fellow villagers from being abducted.

After looking around, the only person in the world who could threaten her was actually Mei, whom she had known for more than half a month.

Everyone I know in this world is long dead, and besides, the people in the simulation cannot be fully considered existing, real individuals.

During the past few months I've been here, aside from getting to know Mei recently, there's absolutely no need to delve into the backgrounds of those bullying students, since they'll all be dead soon anyway.

Mei... in many situations, she could become a ticking time bomb. If you try to attack her, you might just turn into a Herrscher on the spot.

There was actually no need to worry about Otto, even if he was a guy who was always plotting against people and had almost completely lost his humanity.

As long as one can suppress so-called kindness and empathy, then one is invincible. The level of technology left over from previous civilizations is, in a sense, completely restrained by oneself. Even if one cannot win, one can at least run away, and it is almost impossible to be caught.

……

Jiang Cheng took a deep breath, throwing aside all the messy worries and panic. He grabbed the pillow with both hands, smoothing out the velvet that had been pushed to the sides by his own impact through the cover, and placing it high in the center.

Raiden Mei will probably invite me again tomorrow, so I should get some rest and prepare for tomorrow's trip/date.

He couldn't very well have that radiant young woman waiting for him while he stood there looking half-asleep and on the verge of death.

If others saw this, they would definitely condemn it as a waste of talent, even though Raiden Mei might be considered trash more now.

Get some sleep.

I've already imagined sheep in my mind, hoping to spend every night after the simulation, in this way, in the way that inevitably comes with the past fantasy.

That comes at the cost of decades of time, a side effect of becoming stronger, and is also the reason why a second simulation has not been conducted until now.

It's as if you can hear Velvi and Alicia arguing. Even with your eyes closed, you can vaguely see the two most important people to you blaming each other. Sometimes you can even see Velvi reaching out to slap the fairy.

That's so strange. Even when Velvi was at her most valiant, she never did anything like that. Alicia wouldn't be so nonchalant.

Even if you are kind, it doesn't mean you will accept everything others give you. At the very least, not returning something malicious as it is is a form of kindness.

Moreover, compared to all this nonsense, it's even less likely that this situation would occur—if one were to experience hallucinations due to the aftereffects of the simulation, recalling memories of over a decade of close companionship, they should at least be some normal, warm, and beautiful memories of the past.

The argument and even physical fight between Alicia and Velvi never happened before. Even if it's just a fantasy, it shouldn't be this outrageous, right?

He tugged at the lovely fairy's soft face, and even left clear red handprints on her flawless skin without hesitation.

It was as if he had lost a fight, or was a petty thug who was furious after arguing with someone, kicking their body, pulling their hair, lifting them up and then letting go.

These are things that Velvi would never do, nor are they things that Alicia wouldn't take responsibility for; her character has completely collapsed.

You can even faintly hear voices, like—'In the end, it's all because of you that things turned out this way. Give my Jiangcheng back.'

"You've done so many wrong things, and you just think you can close your eyes and pretend everything's fine? There's no such thing as a free lunch!"