Honkai Impact 3rd experience, starting with a thousand Herrschers

"Don't worry, a young man like you who's like an old man is unlikely to do anything outrageous."

"...Although what you said makes sense, I feel like I've been discriminated against in some way."

"Okay, okay, stop lecturing me. I'm really sleepy. Take me to your house right away. I want to sleep."

Cheng Xing led Mebius toward his home, but before they had gone far, Mebius claimed that he had various aches and pains in his back and legs and could not walk any further.

When Cheng Xing saw Mebius say he wanted to rest for the tenth time, he finally sighed helplessly, then squatted down and said, "If you really don't mind, I'll carry you on my back."

"Hehe, I'm just waiting for you to say it."

Mebius climbed up directly, and Cheng Xing grabbed her thigh and carried her on his back. She wrapped her arms around Cheng Xing's neck and rested her head on his shoulder.

"How is it? Does my body arouse a boy like you?"

The whispered words, the breath so close to his ear, the softness against his back, and the touch of his hands—Cheng Xing felt absolutely nothing.

He felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at the group of researchers standing on both sides of the road, their white coats stained with blood and grime, smiling at him. In particular, one of them, a burly man with a bizarrely shaped head, was grinning at him.

In such a horror movie-like scene, how could I possibly have the mind to think about what kind of charm the woman on my back possessed?

"Hey, you really don't have any reaction at all, do you? Are you really impotent?"

For some reason, Mebius suddenly began to seriously doubt her own feminine charm. She couldn't see anything strange about the boy beneath her; in fact, his face was rather pale!

"...Doctor...is it possible that you're too heavy? I have no mind to feel anything?"

"Cheng Xing! Do you believe I'll strangle you right now, immediately!"

No woman who cares about her appearance would tolerate being told she's fat.

The two bickered like this for a long time, and for some reason, anyone else would have felt tired after such a long journey, but Cheng Xing didn't feel tired at all.

His deliberate bickering along the way was merely a way to alleviate some kind of fear within himself.

A fear that one is unwilling to acknowledge.

Chapter Sixty-Six: Companions

When he got home, the phantoms had disappeared without him noticing. Cheng Xing looked at the brightly lit street illuminated by the streetlights at night and had a strange feeling that made him want to take something out of his pocket, but when he touched his pocket, he only found his cell phone.

"As the Honkai event worsens, my mental state is deteriorating... Am I truly myself, or am I merely a part of some other being?"

Cheng Xing wasn't thinking about any profound philosophical questions when he heard Möbius's voice.

"Cheng Xing! Bring me some pajamas! I want to take a shower!"

Cheng Xing snapped out of his reverie about the complicated issues, then sighed helplessly. While pulling a large wardrobe from his room, he complained, "Doctor, I don't think a normal woman would insist on taking a shower immediately upon arriving at a strange man's house. What you should be doing is immediately checking the house's layout and escape routes, ensuring there are suitable weapons and whether there are any hidden cameras or drugs in the assigned rooms, and also..."

"Okay, okay, shut up. As an adult, I'm definitely better at judging people than you. I know what kind of person you are, so you don't need to be so wary. Hurry up!"

Mebius's voice sounded impatient, and judging from the direction she was coming from, she seemed to have already gone into the bathroom.

Cheng Xing took a brand new set of pajamas from the closet, placed it at the bathroom door, and left. After walking a distance, he said, "I've left the clothes at the door. I'm already far away. If you trust me, just open the door and take it."

After saying that, Cheng Xing went to the kitchen to prepare food. By the way, his house is a detached villa with separate toilets and bathrooms on the first and second floors.

The first floor has a large living room and kitchen, as well as one or two guest rooms and a storage room.

Cheng Xing felt that no one had eaten much at the previous banquet, so he decided to eat more, and the late-night snack didn't need to be too complicated.

Just put the noodles in the refrigerator before using them, and cook two bowls of noodles.

"Let me see what vegetables are left: eggs, greens, bamboo shoots, and some meat filling that I used to make dumplings... With these ingredients, I should be able to make a pot of soup noodles. The leftover meat filling is perfect for making the soup base."

Cheng Xing began to busy himself in the kitchen. As a child who lost both parents at a young age, he wandered the world alone without the care of relatives, and he also learned a lot of cooking skills.

Having traveled the world since childhood, he not only sought knowledge from learned scholars in various places but also learned about local cuisines.

I don't know if it's some kind of grudge from a past life, but he seems particularly interested in traveling the world.

Amidst the sighs and reflections on the past, Cheng Xing prepared two bowls of noodles and placed them on the table.

Shortly after Cheng Xing finished making the noodles, Dr. Mebius came out of the bathroom, wearing pajamas that were a bit too big for her and drying her wet hair.

Cheng Xing glanced at the clock hanging to the side. Hmm, it only took 40 minutes? It seems the doctor isn't one of those people who takes hours to shower.

"Cheng Xing, help me dry my hair."

Mebius sat down at the table, picked up his chopsticks to eat noodles, and then placed his wet hair in front of Cheng Xing.

Cheng Xing raised an eyebrow and asked in a questioning tone, "Doctor, normally, isn't it a very intimate thing for a girl to ask a boy to dry her hair? Is it appropriate for us to do this?"

"Hey, just do what I tell you. Stop with the nonsense. I'm hungry and want some noodles. You'll have to do the hair-drying stuff. It's an order from the boss."

“…………彳亍口巴”

Cheng Xing took out a hairdryer that he seemed to have bought but barely used, and began to style Mebius's hair.

Mebius's hair is green, and it looks shiny and bright, not like it was intentionally dyed. However, there are many people in this world with naturally colorful hair.

As for whether you care about the smell and feel of a girl's hair when you blow-dry it, you're probably overthinking it. After washing it, you'll only smell the shampoo, and your hands will be wet when you blow-dry her hair. Basically, it's a troublesome job.

Cheng Xing didn't have any other thoughts at all; she just wanted to dry her hair quickly because she was hungry and wanted to eat noodles.

Even though he thought that, his movements were very gentle, as if he were in a laboratory handling test tubes containing dangerous reagents.

Although Mebius appeared to be eating his noodles seriously, he was actually paying most of his attention to the actions of the person behind him.

"This little guy is quite serious, and his skills are pretty good. It wasn't too hot for me, and it felt quite comfortable. Although he's had the image of an old-fashioned person since we met, at least he's not like those really old-fashioned people who hold onto outdated attitudes towards everything."

"His understanding of the world follows his own set of rules. He has a certain understanding of all theories, and he will not reject them as long as they are logical and have a set of evidence to prove them... He is simply a perfect experimental talent."

From a young age, Möbius deeply understood one thing: humans are incredibly fragile. She longed for infinity, for the legendary ability to live forever, for the ability to evolve infinitely... just like a snake shedding its skin and being reborn, that was the creature that best suited her ideals.

But this path is filled with loneliness, because his overly radical ideas are always denied and rejected from all sides. Even in the most complex organization, Moth Chaser, no one agrees with him.

She was alone; even Klein was merely a witness, not a companion.

But will this little guy who has fallen from the sky become a companion on his journey?

Möbius didn't want to speculate, because the truth would always emerge slowly with time.

As for now...

"Doctor, you've been shoveling soup into a bowl for a full two minutes. What are you doing?"

"Ahem! I'm full, I'm going to sleep."

"No, don't run! Exercising immediately after eating, especially indoors, is very unreasonable! And sleeping right after eating is also harmful to your body. Hey! Don't run so fast, be careful not to fall!"

"I won't listen, I won't listen!"

Chapter 67: We Are All Losers

After Möbius left the living room, Cheng Xing breathed a sigh of relief and then turned his gaze to the other side of the dining table, where Möbius sat diagonally opposite.

At that moment, a middle-aged man who looked extremely decadent was sitting there smoking. Cheng Xing could even smell that familiar tobacco scent, which was different from any tobacco he had ever smelled before. It seemed to contain some kind of addictive substance, which made him frown involuntarily, but why did he have a strange sense of familiarity?

Who exactly are you?

"Didn't you already answer this question from the very beginning? We are you, but you are definitely not us."

After saying that, the previously listless middle-aged man who was smoking suddenly transformed into a young man who exuded a literary air, giving off a sunny and positive vibe.

“We are part of your personality. We are just a bunch of scum who should have been tortured in hell. Unfortunately, there is no heaven or hell in this world. We, the wicked and destructive people, have become unconscious spirits just like those innocent people, floating in this world, and may disappear at any time.”

Then this person transformed into a middle-aged woman wearing glasses and exuding a certain air of a corporate slave.

"Yes, I originally thought it would just be a bath in lava, and I'd get a feel for what it's like to be torn to pieces. But it turns out to be just a meaningless punishment of unconsciously floating in the world."

Then this person transformed into a burly man.

"Fortunately, just as we were about to dissipate and lose our full consciousness, we heard your call."

"You need not endorse our actions, feel no sympathy for our plight, forgive our sins, or join us in becoming numb puppets who have given up on themselves."

Cheng Xing didn't know how many people he saw; he just felt that his kitchen and the hall outside were filled with people wearing white coats stained with blood.

Although everyone was speaking in hushed tones, these layers of whispers seemed to penetrate Cheng Xing's brain like some kind of will, reaching the deepest part of his consciousness.

"We think we're on the path to saving the world, but in reality we're just heading deeper into the abyss. We're tightly bound by threads called righteousness, becoming numb puppets, moving towards irreversible destruction, while the other end of those threads is ourselves."

"We are all losers, but you are not. Do what you believe is right. If it is you, you can definitely change this imperfect world."

Cheng Xing felt a strong emotion erupting from his heart. He wanted to yell at those guys, to laugh at them, but he couldn't bring himself to speak.

When he struggled out of that strange emotion, the phantoms had long since disappeared. Their appearance was without warning and without logic. Did these phantoms appear more and more frequently after the birth of that so-called strange individual?

"...Who exactly are you? And who am I?"

Cheng Xing felt a strong sense of unreality surrounding him, as if everything he had experienced in the past was fabricated by something behind the scenes, and that his current identity, body, and even his emotions were all created.

He clutched his head and stood up shakily, but his chaotic mind was not in complete control of his body. Before he could take a step, he stumbled, knocked over the chair, and fell to the ground.

"Cheng Xing!"

In the hazy state of consciousness, Cheng Xing seemed to see a green-haired figure anxiously calling out to him and even pushing him, but the intense sense of illusion and blurriness prevented him from reacting at all.

In the darkness, Cheng Xing seemed to see something. He continued walking forward and saw a black crow perched on a branch, silently watching him.

Then he saw his reflection in the crow's scarlet pupils.

That person seemed to be several years older than me.

Just like my future self.

Cheng Xing opened his eyes and looked at the familiar ceiling above him, then looked at the figure lying next to him, holding his arm.

It seems like I slept in the same bed with someone for one night... Well, normally, shouldn't I jump up in surprise or embarrassment at this point?

Cheng Xing tried to pull his hand away, but found that his arm seemed to be tightly pressed against something, and he felt a subtle sensation with every movement.

So logically, he should silently close his eyes again, pretend nothing happened, and wait for the woman to wake up first.

However, Cheng Xing did not do that. Instead, he used his other hand to shake the woman lying next to him.

"Doctor, it's already 9:00 AM. It's time to get up. If we don't go back soon, Klein and the others will worry."

After being nudged a few times, Möbius groggily opened his eyes, glanced at Cheng Xing beside him, then at the clock, stretched lazily, and continued, "Did I really sleep too late last night? If someone hadn't suddenly fainted and kept me busy, I wouldn't have slept so late."

"……Feel sorry."

"It's nothing, but I'm quite curious. I've had your body checked, and there are no abnormal symptoms, but I have this feeling that you're disappearing. What's going on? Can you tell me about it?"