Honkai Impact 3rd experience, starting with a thousand Herrschers

[The longer you spend interacting with the protagonist, the higher the chance that the next simulation will capture that information, and the richer the rewards will be. Who knows, the next simulation might even be your chance to go home!]

Upon hearing the word "home," Cheng Xing hesitated for a moment before withdrawing his hand.

[Hehehe! That's more like it, finally some new comedy to watch! These past few years have been so boring! Why did I have to come to China... cough cough!]

Cheng Xing didn't hear what the system said behind him. He just sat quietly to the side, watching the rain outside the window, without any thoughts or emotions. He just stared blankly like a piece of wood.

Kiana braved the rain to buy some groceries and returned home. When she opened the door, she saw a lonely figure shrouded in darkness, gazing at the rain outside the window. For some reason, she felt a pang of sadness in her heart.

"Let me show you my culinary skills! I'm sure it will bring emotion back to your expressionless face!"

Kiana smiled brightly, then went into the kitchen and fiddled around for a while before finally bringing out a pot of brightly colored noodles that looked extremely strange.

Cheng Xing ignored the obviously poisonous noodles, served himself a bowl, picked up his chopsticks, and calmly ate the noodles, fish, and apple inside.

Kiana also ate the food she had made. Although it wasn't as good as the food she had prepared, she was already looking forward to seeing the person in front of her. She made a strange expression because of the hard-to-swallow food. When she looked up, she saw that the man was eating as if he had no sense of taste, just like her.

"You! Don't you think it tastes awful?!"

Kiana said in utter shock.

She had cooked before when she was in school, to surprise Mei and the others and show off her culinary skills. Bronya, who had always maintained a calm and collected demeanor, suddenly showed a nauseous expression because of the smell of the food. To comfort herself, Mei mustered up her courage and took a bite of the dish she had made, and then immediately fainted.

The dish that Himeko-sensei and Auntie called a biological weapon was eaten by this guy in front of him without changing his expression!

"Yeah, the taste is indeed very stimulating, but that's about it for me. I've long since stopped caring about food."

"Stop giving me that 'it doesn't matter' attitude!"

"Actually, what you made wasn't that bad. It's just that you tried to present too much beauty, which resulted in conflicting flavors, making it hard to swallow and irritating."

"…………Yeah?"

"You put apples, fish, and all sorts of other things into the noodles. These things are sweet and salty, all of which you think can bring people a sense of satisfaction."

Cheng Xing continued to drink all the soup in the bowl without changing his expression, and said, "Not bad. I haven't eaten in a long time. This kind of pungent taste is indeed a good experience."

Kiana watched Cheng Xing devour the strange-looking food from his pot, and for some reason, she felt a strange sense of emotion welling up inside her.

"...Seriously, has your sense of taste really gone bad?"

Kiana laughed again.

"Alright, you don't need to force a smile anymore. My abilities allow me to see into the hearts of many people. A dark cloud has always hung over your heart, and you've been constantly hating and cursing yourself. If you're so sad, why force a smile to approach me?"

“…Maybe it’s because I was too scared,” Kiana’s smile faded, and her eyes, once as bright as the sky, were now clouded with shadows, like the weather outside. “Since I woke up, I’ve been walking alone in this world. I really want to die, I really want to commit suicide, but I can’t just end my life like that. I carry the weight of my teacher’s life, the weight of everyone’s expectations. I can’t let their hopes be shattered because of my own desires… But I’m so tired, I’m so scared. I’m afraid that when I wake up, I won’t be here, that it will be me. I’m afraid I’ll let them down again…”

"Cheng Xing... I'm sorry, I just wanted to ease my loneliness from you... I'm sorry, I just... I simply wanted to take advantage of you..."

"Whatever, do whatever you want."

"...Seriously, don't be so nonchalant now. I'm using you, you know. I'm a bad guy!"

"Kiana, even so, you were once my friend, right? As far as I know, friends don't care about these things. If you're tired or sleepy, I can save you a room here. If you're scared or cry, I can give you a hug. To me, you'll always be you. If you need anything, you can come to me anytime... Anyway, it won't affect me in any way."

"...Really, you're a bit silly."

Kiana wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and a smile returned to her face as she said, "So, do you still need me to cook for you tonight?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Couldn't you have said something different?!"

"Okay, you cook. No matter how it turns out, I can eat it."

"…………Um."

Children's Day Extra IF Route 3: Happy Children's Day

At night, the table is filled with a dazzling array of bizarre dishes, including some so charred black that you have no idea what they are made of.

The presentation of those items was so bad that even Kiana herself wouldn't want to take them out of the kitchen, let alone a normal person; she even had the urge to throw them all away.

But when Kiana thought of Cheng Xing's expressionless face, she felt a strange sense of resentment and wanted to provoke him with her terrible cooking, so she finally put those terrible dishes on the table.

Finally, Cheng Xing ate all the food without any expression, and even said that Kiana did a good job, and that the food tasted very stimulating.

Kiana watched as the charred, burnt-black food was devoured by the guy in front of her. She knew that even Mei and her own wretched father rarely ate her cooking…

"Cheng Xing, why are you so good to me?"

Kiana asked somewhat awkwardly.

"Being nice to you? Ah, you mean I can accept your cooking. It's just that I've lost interest in many things, and I haven't eaten for a long time, so I basically have no requirements for the taste of food. And since you, a friend from the past, can eat the food you make, then I'll eat it."

There was something Cheng Xing didn't say: in this world, only Kiana and a few others can be called old friends; the rest cannot be called old friends.

Because they carry with them memories of the past.

"Today is Children's Day. I originally wanted to take this opportunity to work at an amusement park to earn some living expenses, but I didn't expect it to rain so heavily today... I used to think how great it would be if I could also celebrate Children's Day."

Kiana had only continued talking to change the subject, but in the end, she couldn't help but recall the past.

Even after leaving the lab, all I remember is my stinky dad taking me around and then going into seclusion. As for holidays, I have absolutely no recollection of them.

By the time I finally learned what Children's Day was, I was already wandering the world all alone, with no one to celebrate with me.

Cheng Xing looked at Kiana, who seemed somewhat dejected, and then asked, "Have you thought about Children's Day?"

"Well, a little bit."

"Okay, wait for me for a while."

Cheng Xing immediately stood up and walked out of the house, leaving Kiana bewildered, wondering what he was going to do.

After some time, the guy Kiana saw returned carrying a huge pile of stuff: cola, fried chicken, cake, and all sorts of snacks.

There were even some clothes and some toys.

Cheng Xing placed the large pile of things on the table, then calmly looked at Kiana and explained, "I wasn't quite sure what you liked, so I bought everything that a child would probably like, based on the standards for Children's Day."

"...Pfft! Aren't you saying I'm a little kid?"

Kiana couldn't help but laugh.

"Those who want to celebrate Children's Day are either children or adults who haven't lost their childlike spirit. Children want to receive their favorite gifts and have a happy and wonderful time during the holiday, while adults just want the holiday to bring them time to reminisce about the past and relax a little."

Cheng Xing picked up the still-steaming fried chicken from the box and placed it in front of Kiana. Then, looking at the latter, he said, "You seem to be under a lot of pressure. Since you want to celebrate this holiday, then forget about your troubles and enjoy it. This can be a holiday for adults too. Happy Children's Day."

"…………Yes! Happy Children's Day!"

Kiana smiled brightly, then opened her mouth and bit into the chicken leg that was still in Cheng Xing's hand. Suddenly, a familiar taste appeared in her mouth.

That smells like fried chicken!

Why did my sense of taste return at this time?

"Since it's a holiday, wouldn't eating these things be like torture if we didn't have a sense of taste? So I'm temporarily giving you my sense of taste, so enjoy it."

"……Thanks……"

Kiana sniffed, her eyes red as she looked at Cheng Xing, then opened her mouth and said, "Feed me!"

"it is good."

Cheng Xing showed no sign of refusing or forcing her. He kept picking up the food, cakes, or snacks he had bought from the table, dividing them into portions, and feeding them to Kiana.

Kiana chewed the food in her mouth, savoring the taste she hadn't experienced in so long. Tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her face, blurring her vision of the person in front of her.

Just then, a hand suddenly reached out, holding a wet wipe, and gently wiped away the girl's tears. Cheng Xing maintained an indifferent expression, but her movements were very gentle as she wiped away the girl's tears.

"As expected, spiciness is still too much for you guys to handle."

Cheng Xing shook the other spicy snack he was holding. Based on his past experience, most foreigners really couldn't handle spicy food.

"...Cheng Xing, can I stay here for a while?"

"Haven't you said many times that you wanted to stay here?"

"That was something I did on my own initiative. Now I'd like to ask you seriously, is that alright?"

"none……"

"I don't want to hear 'whatever,' just give me a definite answer."

"can."

Kiana suddenly lunged forward and hugged the man in front of her, then pressed her face against his chest, feeling the warmth of his chest and experiencing a strange sense of security.

I think... I might like you.

"The feeling of love? Even I, in the past, never had that experience. But I may have to disappoint you, because I am now very indifferent to all feelings and cannot reciprocate your feelings."

"So, I will definitely make you smile again! You're just temporarily lost right now. You led me to the way before, so this time I'll lead you out of the maze!"

"...I don't quite understand."

"Hehe! I am Kiana Kaslana! K423! Also the Herrscher of the Void... Did you know all this about me?"

"know."

So what kind of person am I in your eyes?

"This kind of question is completely meaningless. You are who you are, what other kind of person could you be? If you are fixated on so-called identity and name, those things can actually be changed and discarded. Some people are born into nobility and can live a life of luxury, but for the sake of others, they are willing to abandon all prosperity and go to the countryside, just to seek the happiness and well-being of others."

"But some people don't even have names. They just create legends through their own will and personal actions, and then the world gives them names and casts statues for them."

"So you can completely disregard those meaningless identities and names, and prove who you really are through your own thoughts and actions."

"In my eyes, you are just a girl who still wants to celebrate Children's Day and is burdened with a lot of pressure."

"...I really didn't understand some of those grand principles you were giving me, but I understood the last sentence. You must be calling me a child! In that case, you deserve to celebrate Children's Day too! Come eat some fried chicken with me, then you'll be a child too! Open your mouth!"

Cheng Xing looked at the fried chicken wings placed in front of him, then at the smile on Kiana's face, and finally opened his mouth.

Happy Children's Day, little boy!

The girl smiled happily.

"...Yes, Happy Children's Day."

Children's Day Extra IF Route Completed: End

After that day, their lives became increasingly strange. Cheng Xing, who was a member of the organization, should have reported to the Herrscher of the Void, but he kept it a secret because of the system's advice. He lived at home like a shut-in all day long. Even so, no shut-in would just sit there staring at a black screen all day long, right?