Honkai Impact 3rd experience, starting with a thousand Herrschers

On the World Serpent's side, they swallowed up a large portion of the original Anti-Entropy radicals' pie and reached a cooperation agreement with the conservatives.

As for destiny... Otto noticed the potential Kiana unleashed in this battle and was very satisfied with his work.

Then there's that mysterious mercenary. All we can find out is that he was a member of a Russian military assassin organization a long time ago, and there's been no news about him for the past few years.

And Old Yang...

He slept very soundly that night for no apparent reason, and even dreamed of his memories of living with Joyce.

By the time he woke up, everything had already settled down.

Chapter 42: The Second Immersive Simulation

Cheng Xing sat on his sofa, looking at the gray snake sitting in front of him, and asked, "So, another new mission? I just got back, and you've already given me a mission?"

"This mission is rather troublesome. My intelligence network tells me that some news about the Nine Netherworlds has emerged in Shenzhou. Right now, you're the only one in the organization who's available."

"Nine Netherworlds..."

Cheng Xing looked thoughtful.

"It's the place where Ji Xuanyuan sealed Chiyou in mythology. Although the information I obtained from my intelligence network is rather vague, it does prove some traces of the existence of the Nine Netherworld. Therefore, I plan to send you to Shenzhou to be stationed there to assist in the investigation."

"So what about the others in the organization?"

"Raven has been a bit upset about the money you made recently, so she's taken on some tough jobs to earn more money. Jackal, on the other hand, had her research records and instrument precision tampered with by someone a few days ago, so she's still working on reorganizing them. And I have to deal with a large amount of wealth and intelligence left behind by the anti-entropy radicals. As for the others, they're not as reliable as you. So how about this, I'll double your original pay as compensation."

"And this matter isn't particularly urgent. You can treat it as a vacation and enjoy yourself for half a year without any objection from us."

When Cheng Xing heard that this job involved paid leave, his eyes lit up. He knew what the plot would be like later on; Jiu You would definitely be dealt with by Theresa and the others if Anti-Entropy didn't cause trouble. All he had to do was take advantage of the chaos.

Anyway, it will happen naturally when the time comes, and when something goes wrong, I can make a sum of money by reporting it.

That would definitely qualify as a paid vacation!

"Alright then, I'll take the job. When do we leave?"

"Whatever you want, just report back to me when you get there."

Gray Snake seemed completely unconcerned about the completion of the mission, and even the timing of his departure was left to Cheng Xing's discretion. In short, he left after giving his instructions.

Cheng Xing was thinking about whether he should visit Bronya while traveling when he heard a voice in his mind.

"Charging complete, simulation ready to begin at any time."

"Okay, so this time, should we go for an immersive simulation or a non-immersive one?"

Cheng Xing was conflicted. He was worried that if he restarted the immersive simulation, he would get entangled in some unclear relationships with certain people again. But it was true that the immersive simulation was better for obtaining good rewards... But wait, all his strongest abilities were obtained through non-immersive simulation.

On the contrary, the rewards for immersive simulations are not very good.

"System, are you kidding me? You say immersive simulation is better, but non-immersive simulation actually brings higher rewards."

"The system has no comment."

"Let me think about it..." Cheng Xing said after thinking for a long time, "Let's go with immersive."

"Immersive simulation in progress, selecting a world... Imaginary Tree, selecting a time point... three years before the Second Honkai Impact. Character selection in progress... experimental personnel in the Babylonian Laboratory."

"Detected the gaze of a Honkai god at this time point, freezing initiated... Encountering strong resistance, physical means are being employed... The opponent has fallen asleep."

"Simulation begins."

"The weather outside is still as cold as ever. I really don't know how long we'll have to see this snow-white hellish scene."

A young man in a white coat stood by the window, looking out at the world covered in ice and snow and sighing.

"Cheng Xing, stop lamenting about this. What we're doing now is for the future of humanity. And if you really want to see other scenery, why don't you just try virtual reality in VR?"

Another man dressed in the same attire spoke to his companion.

"Jerak, virtual things ultimately give people an unreal feeling; they can't compare to the touch of real sunlight on human skin. And isn't it too pathetic that the fate of humanity is supposedly in the hands of a bunch of crazy scientists who use children as experimental subjects?"

Cheng Xing's tone was full of mockery.

When Gerald heard this, he knew that his companion's compassion had kicked in again, but he himself felt the same way.

But over the years, he has become numb to it.

"There's no other way. Reality is just that cruel. If they don't sacrifice themselves, then many more people will. At least the experimental results we obtained here have indeed helped people outside and fought against the Honkai, haven't they? Cheng Xing, we must abandon that pointless pity. Those children's sacrifices were also out of helplessness."

"I know, I know, I shouldn't... I shouldn't be so sentimental... But, but every time I stand beside the equipment, beside the operating table, I feel like I'm a disgusting butcher. Do you remember subject 131 from a couple of days ago? I still remember him lying in front of the operating table, looking at me with those innocent eyes. I still can't forget the image of him staring at me with fear and pain in his eyes as he was on the verge of death... I used to not smoke, because cigarettes only made me feel addicted, but after working here for so long, I've started smoking without even realizing it."

Cheng Xing trembled as he took out a pack of cigarettes from his clothes, pulled one out, and put it in his mouth.

Gerald also took a cigarette out of his pocket and then lit it for the two of them with a lighter.

Neither of them said anything, they just smoked and exhaled.

Their free time didn't last long before the loudspeaker above them started playing.

"Please have Mr. Cheng Xing and Mr. Gerald Farent proceed to Laboratory 23 immediately to conduct the experiment."

Cheng Xing took a deep drag on his cigarette, inhaling the last bit of flavor, then threw the cigarette butt on the ground, stomped his feet a few times, and cursed, "Fuck him!"

"Cheng, that's just how the world is... Fuck!"

The two arrived at the laboratory, and their previously slightly emotional expressions vanished, replaced by cold, mechanical demeanor.

Many people here shared the same expression, each focused on their own task and calmly watching the child being injected with Honkai energy in the incubation tank, screaming pitifully.

She was a girl who looked only 9 years old.

What an incredibly damn reality.

Chapter 43: First Encounter

Cheng Xing ran straight out of the laboratory, rushed into the toilet, and vomited into the sink.

He was retching violently, as if he had seen something extremely horrific in the laboratory that made his stomach churn and want to vomit everything inside.

Gerald slowly approached Cheng Xing from behind, patted him on the shoulder and said, "You're still as uncomfortable as ever. This time it's not so bad, it's just that your body has become silicon-based, not deformed or mutated like before."

"Ugh! But the thought of a young child dying in front of me is disgusting no matter what."

Exhausted, Cheng Xing sat down on the ground and looked at his hands. In his blurry vision, he seemed to see that they were covered in blood.

"Have one."

Jerac took out a cigarette and placed it in front of Cheng Xing. The latter immediately took it, put the cigarette butt in his mouth, and then took out a lighter. His hands trembled as he pressed the button several times, but no flame appeared.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

Cheng Xing slammed the lighter to the ground, slumped down with a dejected expression, and clutched his messy hair that hadn't been styled for months.

“Cheng, we didn’t participate in the experiment; we were just the record keepers. We didn’t do anything ourselves; we were just observers. Relax, relax.”

Jerac patted Cheng Xing on the back. He understood Cheng Xing's feelings very well, after all, he had been through the same thing back then.

You get used to this kind of thing after a while. Humans are very adaptable. In a few more months, I believe he will adapt completely. After all, it's normal for a newcomer to not adapt.

"The bystander's innocence theory? It's certainly a good way to comfort yourself... Gerald, what made you join Destiny in the first place?"

"Back then, I was young and full of vigor. I never imagined that there was such a great organization that could save the world. So I joined without thinking. But I never expected that I would be sent here not long after joining."

Jerack took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and then took out a lighter to light the cigarettes in his and Cheng Xing's mouths.

Cheng Xing took a deep breath, inhaling the various substances in the cigarette into his lungs. The burning sensation was so intense that it gave him a sense of liberation and redemption.

It's hard to imagine that just a few weeks ago I was someone who felt nauseous at the smell of smoke.

"Phew! I was pretty much the same as you back then, thinking that this organization was responsible for saving humanity... In fact, it wasn't wrong, it just meant sacrificing some people to protect more people."

Jerac patted Cheng Xing on the shoulder, then took out a travel permit from his pocket and handed it over. Under Cheng Xing's questioning gaze, he said, "Recently, some small-scale collapses have occurred nearby, resulting in some orphans in the village. I was originally one of the accompanying personnel, but now I'm giving this opportunity to you. Although you'll only be able to see that unchanging snowscape, at least you can breathe some fresh air outside the base."

"...Do we have to sacrifice those orphans just to go out and feel some fresh air?"

Cheng Xing gripped the pass tightly in his hand, making one wonder if he would crush the magnetic card.

"Alright kid, if you don't want to go out, give it back to me. I still want to get out."

After hesitating for a moment, Cheng Xing put the magnetic card in his pocket, then looked at the European man in his thirties or forties beside him and said, "Thank you."

"No need to be polite. Next time cigarettes are distributed, just give me a portion of your share."

Cheng Xing nodded in agreement, figuring he could just mooch off the guy next to him whenever he ran out of cigarettes.

"Alright, there will be an announcement when the convoy sets off. Just go to the lobby to report and join the convoy. I've made plans to meet up with some old friends; we're going to have a good drink together today."

Gerald patted the young Asian man on the shoulder in encouragement, then stood up and left.

After his cigarette burned out, Cheng Xing got up from the ground. Looking at his disheveled appearance, messy hair, and stubble in the mirror, he felt like a complete stranger to himself.

After waiting for an hour or two, the announcement that the convoy was about to depart came over the loudspeaker, and Cheng Xing used the access card to board the convoy.

When the gate opened, Cheng Xing, sitting in the jeep, looked at the snow scene outside. There was no wind or snow at the moment; it was a rare sunny day. The sunlight shining on the white snow-covered world gave people a dazzling sense of light.

Cheng Xing just stared blankly at the desolate, snowy landscape, at that pale, lifeless world, without saying a word.

It wasn't until his eyes started to sting for quite some time that he closed them, collapsing into the chair as if he had lost his spine.

You can tell at a glance that he has a sense of dejection.

The convoy didn't know how long it had been traveling, but in the time when Cheng Xing was dozing off, they arrived at a village.

Large sections of the village had collapsed, and only a small number of people survived this small-scale collapse.

The Valkyrie squad had already dealt with the Honkai Beasts or zombies here. The current convoy is just here to bring the surviving children or adults who clearly have Honkai resistance or adaptability into the laboratory.

For them, it would have been better to die in the Honkai event, at least they wouldn't have had to suffer the torment of experiments.

As an experimentalist accompanying the team, Cheng Xing was responsible for checking the physical condition of these rear experimental subjects. The first one he checked was a little girl with purple hair who looked soft and sweet, and whose eyes seemed to be constantly filled with tears.

"Child, tell me your name?"

Cheng Xing took a deep breath and forced out what he thought was a gentle smile, trying to exchange a few words with the child. However, his obviously lewd uncle-like appearance startled the child, and the poor girl burst into tears.

"Wow! There's a creepy uncle here! Mommy, where are you? Celine is so scared! Mommy!"

The people around Cheng Xing looked at him with strange eyes.

Cheng Xing immediately felt incredibly overwhelmed. After struggling to comfort the crying girl, he took a portable preliminary testing device from the accompanying convoy.

The girl almost cried again during the blood draw.