Honkai Impact 3rd experience, starting with a thousand Herrschers

[Wow, it's only been a day, and you've already won over the protagonist of this world! Cheng Xing, you've really surprised and delighted me.]

"System? How's it going on your end?"

Cheng Xing didn't care about the system's teasing; he was just surprised that it could actually spare some attention to communicate with him.

[It can only be said that a delicate balance is currently being maintained. As long as you don't excessively display the omnipotence of a Herrscher, and the aura of the one sealed within your body doesn't leak out, the collapse of this world will only treat you as a variable in this cycle, and won't pay much attention to you. But if you are noticed, I can only say that I can only withstand the full force of this universe's attack for one minute.]

[We could have run away countless times in that minute, so don't worry, there's no danger to your life, unless... ha... are you crazy?]

The system originally wanted to show off how powerful it was, but at this moment it noticed something strange, something that this guy was planning.

"...I didn't expect you to find out."

[That's obvious! I'm your system. How could I not know what changes have occurred to my own host? I advise you to immediately abandon those ideas and not pursue them, unless you want to die here!]

"I was actually prepared to accept death a long time ago."

[Your loved one still exists in that world!]

"But it exists in this world too."

As Cheng Xing finished speaking, he looked helplessly at Kiana Kaslana's back, who was standing in front leading everyone forward.

Kiana seemed to notice Cheng Xing's gaze. She turned around and looked at his slightly doting eyes, her face flushing slightly. Then, she continued to lead everyone to the suitable temporary accommodation they had just found, as if nothing had happened.

[Do you think three people are less important than one?!]

“This is not something that can be compared, and besides, I also want to try to see if I can make a difference. And don’t you want to see a bigger drama? I think my performance will be very exciting.”

[...I never expected to encounter such a freak as you on my first time as a system. At the very beginning, you were determined not to die, and your will to survive even prompted me to activate backup measures for you. Now, you're courting death... Listen carefully: if an absolutely uncontrollable situation arises, I might abandon you. I won't stay and die with you, understand?]

"That would be the best."

[...You...tsk...ah!]

The system was completely unable to utter another word.

[Think about it carefully yourself.]

The system fell silent again after leaving behind this sentence. Cheng Xing, still wearing a peaceful smile, took out a notebook and a pen and began writing something.

After it got completely dark, everyone was already sitting at the table waiting for dinner.

Cheng Xing, wearing thick heat-resistant gloves, came up carrying a huge iron pot, and said with a happy smile on his face.

"I never expected to find enough tools here to make a hot pot! But according to this place, these should be ingredients for sukiyaki. Anyway, the most important thing is the broth, but thankfully, they can still make hot pot broth here."

Kiana stared at the reddish-brown broth in the pot, feeling beads of sweat forming on her forehead, and said, "Cheng Xing... isn't this too spicy?"

"Ah, you guys really can't handle spicy food, so these are all mildly spicy, really mildly spicy, not the kind that says mildly spicy but is actually super spicy. I've also prepared milk, lemon water, cola, Sprite, and if you think it's too spicy, oh, there's also a clear broth hot pot on the side."

Cheng Xing pointed to a clear soup pot made with ingredients such as cucumber and enoki mushrooms.

Finally, everyone looked at each other. Kiana believed Cheng Xing's words and was the first to pick up her chopsticks, take a slice of meat, and put it into the slightly spicy broth. After waiting a few seconds until the meat was fully cooked, she put it into her bowl.

The moment you eat the slice of meat, although the spiciness is still quite stimulating, it is indeed only mildly spicy. And this mild spiciness makes the meat taste even more delicious and... refreshing?

Kiana thought to herself after taking a sip of her chilled soda.

Cheng Xing propped his chin on his hand and watched Kiana happily eating hot pot. Then, a thin piece of paper seemed to appear in his hand, which he stuffed into his little notebook.

"Cheng Xing, you should eat too!"

"okay."

After stuffing the notebook somewhere, Cheng Xing picked up his chopsticks and smiled at everyone.

Chapter 175: Awakening

[How are you thinking now? Have you calmed down? Young man, I don't think you've been affected by anything strange this time, so why are you starting to act a bit obsessed again?]

Cheng Xing was cleaning up the used dishes and chopsticks in the kitchen. Although no one would use these things anymore, and nothing would happen even if they were left unattended since everyone was leaving tomorrow, it was just a habit.

Upon hearing the system's voice again, Cheng Xing thought to himself.

"I want to gamble on a possibility."

[Are you really willing to risk your life for such a slim chance? Do you know how much time and effort it takes to be reborn? Don't think that leaving your seed in your original world will allow you to revive so quickly. Do you understand the price of resurrection?]

"But someone will definitely pay that price for me, you know?"

[…Holy crap!]

The system was somewhat bewildered upon hearing this, but after continuously filtering through its records, it finally understood why this guy dared to take this gamble.

[When did you plan this? You even perfectly deceived me; if it weren't for your reminder, I would never have imagined this would happen... So that's how it was; this was their real plan?]

[You guys really took a huge gamble, but since you already have a way to win, why did you take another one?]

"...But if I don't take this gamble, won't this world remain trapped in an eternal cycle? And since I now have the ability to do this, the ability to transform this world into the beautiful place I desire, why shouldn't I do it?"

Cheng Xing shook his hands, took out a towel, wiped the water off his hands, and then looked at the moon outside the window and said, "This is my arrogance and greed, and also one of the anchors that keep me in my humanity."

[Okay, since you're confident you can take this bet, how about I add some chips?]

"Thank you for helping me even though it was so dangerous."

[You're welcome. After all, you're my first host. Like a first love, the first always gets special treatment. One minute isn't enough for your plan, but with me involved—no, in that situation—I should be able to buy you another five minutes. Remember to keep it under six minutes as much as possible. If it exceeds this safe time limit, I might not be able to get you out of this world safely… then it will truly be a complete loss.]

"Thank you for being willing to indulge myself like this."

[Hmph, not really, after all, you do have a chance of winning. If I hadn't known this beforehand, I definitely would have left you; I wouldn't participate in a bet with zero chance of winning.]

So what is my win rate now?

[A conservative estimate is 3%.]

"Wow, the probability is really high, much higher than gacha pulls."

[Alright, since you've made your decision, I won't try to persuade you anymore. Now I need to go prepare my backup plan... By the way, if you want to gain more combat power, I suggest you take a stroll on the beach... But you'd better be fully prepared! Hehehe!]

In its final words, the system laughed wickedly, and the Soul Palace voice pack reappeared, laughing so wildly for no apparent reason.

"seaside…………"

Cheng Xing stroked his chin, wondering why the system was reminding him to go to the beach. Was there something strange at the beach? And why was he smiling so strangely?

However, the system did not respond to him afterward.

In the distance, beneath the ocean, an exceptionally beautiful woman opened her eyes. She wore a long robe, predominantly white with blue stripes and gold trim. Her blue eyes seemed to reflect emotions deeper than the sea, as profound as the starry sky.

The woman gazed at the familiar presence in the distance, as if it were calling out to her.

“...Qi...Yana…”

The woman called out that name, then seemed to sense a strange figure beside that person... that figure seemed very dangerous, very dangerous...

Kiana!

The woman became somewhat excited and headed in that direction.

The moment the woman moved, the entire seabed was stirred up. The already dark and murky water became completely chaotic. You didn't know what was happening. It was as if a gigantic creature, whose size was immeasurable, had appeared on the seabed. It stirred up the entire area of ​​water and slowly moved towards a certain location.

Kiana lay in Cheng Xing's arms, enjoying her first night sleeping in his arms. Although he was initially a little reluctant, under her strong insistence, the two eventually embraced and enjoyed the peaceful night. However, if she didn't say anything, he would probably stay in that stiff position forever.

Kiana looked at the hand resting on her shoulder. That hand hadn't moved a finger for almost half an hour. This guy was being far too respectful to her.

Just as Kiana was mentally complaining, an unprecedented drowsiness suddenly swept over her eyelids and brain. Her once clear consciousness became murky at this moment, as if she had fallen into the sea and was finding it hard to breathe.

"What...what's wrong with me?"

Kiana had already fallen asleep before she even understood what was happening.

Cheng Xing breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at Kiana, who had finally fallen asleep in his arms. He then laid the girl flat on the bed, covered her with a blanket, and went to the desk on one side of the room to continue writing something in the notebook.

Kiana opened her slightly blurry eyes, rubbed her temples, and was still wondering what had just happened when she found herself on a beach. The moon, which should have belonged to the night, had now turned into the sun.

"what's the situation?"

Kiana frowned. This situation was beyond her previous understanding. Although she had never encountered this situation before, she knew that hesitating would only lead to a more troublesome situation. She had to explore the island to see if there were any clues.

"What on earth is going on? Why did I end up here out of nowhere? I remember suddenly feeling extremely sleepy and then falling asleep. Could this be a dream world?"

As Kiana was thinking this, she suddenly heard a melodious and profound singing voice. The voice was like that of a whale in the deep sea, singing with its unique sound waves in the ocean depths.

But it's also like a giant beast wandering in the starry sky, echoing from afar towards some unknown being.

It was spacious and long.

Kiana approached the direction of the singing and then saw an exceptionally beautiful woman sitting on a rock by the sea, singing softly.

"who are you?"

Kiana looked at the woman in confusion. For some reason, this woman, whom she had never seen before, gave her a strange sense of déjà vu, as if she had seen her in the distant past.

The woman stopped singing, turned around, and looked at Kiana with her deep blue eyes before speaking.

"I love you, Kiana."

Chapter 176: Heading to the Seaside

"Really? I never expected a complete stranger to suddenly confess her feelings to me."

Kiana was not disturbed by those words. She frowned as she looked at the woman in front of her. Although she had a vague sense of familiarity, no matter how she searched through her past memories, she could not find anyone who looked similar to this woman.

She gazed calmly at Kiana, not responding to her question, but continuing to speak.

“Leave him, leave his side. He is too dangerous. He is the enemy of this world, the variable of reincarnation. You should not get close to him. Trust me, Kiana, I will never lie to you.”

"Him? Are you talking about Cheng Xing? What exactly do you know?"

Kiana seemed to sense something at that moment and anxiously questioned the person in front of her, but the long and deep singing voice rang in her ears again, and finally her consciousness returned to darkness.

Kiana opened her eyes again and found herself lying alone in bed. She turned her head and saw Cheng Xing leaning against a chair with his head down, as if he were asleep.

"Honestly, you really have a lot of respect for others. You already promised me that it wouldn't matter if you were a little presumptuous."

Kiana sighed helplessly, then got out of bed. She frowned as she recalled the person who seemed to be in her dream.

"Who exactly is that woman? Why does she give me a feeling of being both strange and strangely familiar? And why did she tell me to stay away from Cheng Xing?"

Kiana didn't understand what was going on. She thought about it over and over but still couldn't figure out what secret it contained. But to leave her boyfriend based on just one sentence would be too much of a delusion.

Kiana stopped thinking about those strange questions and came to Cheng Xing's side. Looking at him sleeping soundly with his head down, she felt a little sorry for him. Wouldn't he be in a lot of pain when he woke up if he slept like this?