"Interested in watching me perform a magic trick?"
Magician? Con Artist
Surviving in the Flame-Chaser was easy. All one had to do was stay at the back.
But standing out in the Flame-Chaser required displaying talent beyond the reach of ordinary people.
That was what Vill-V had come to realize after spending some time in the Flame-Chaser.
She was someone with an overwhelming desire to perform. It could be said that this desire came from making a living, or from wanting to draw the crowd's attention.
But more than that, she wanted praise—and the astonished looks in her audience's eyes.
The Flame-Chaser was an organization that gathered geniuses.
If she could astonish those geniuses, that feeling would be incredible!
For now, though, she could not astonish everyone. So she would start with these two, who seemed relatively ordinary in terms of intelligence.
Kevin and Chen Ran exchanged a glance, neither refusing Vill-V's invitation to watch her magic.
After all, life within the Flame-Chaser was boring most of the time.
"Here we go! Although there are rather few audience members present, that can't dampen my passionate desire to perform."
Though Vill-V had yet to split her consciousness, she was already afflicted with a disorder resembling dissociative identity disorder. She was a genius of the mind and possessed an intense desire to perform.
For instance, Vill-V's current personality already showed the beginnings of the Conductor.
Kevin seemed somewhat distracted.
Half-jokingly, Chen Ran said to Vill-V, "Ordinary magic tricks can't really catch our attention. If you can make his beloved appear, his reaction will be the one that leaves you dumbfounded."
"Oh, an audience member has already made a request."
Chen Ran's words did not stump Vill-V. She smiled. "In that case, what reason would I, as a magician, have to refuse?"
The girl gave a mysterious smile, removed the hat from her head, and a small paper figure shifted shape beneath the refracted sunlight.
Kevin was slightly dazed. He seemed to see MEI's silhouette.
Just then, a familiar voice rang out. "What are you doing?"
MEI had arrived at some point.
Chen Ran and Kevin both stared wide-eyed.
Vill-V winked playfully beside them.
Clearly, she had thoroughly investigated the two of them over this period. MEI's arrival had obviously been arranged by her.
Even if Chen Ran had not said that, she would have done the same thing. His words had simply happened to elevate the effect of the trick to another level.
If she had not genuinely failed to find an accomplice, she would have suspected Chen Ran was one.
At the sight of MEI, Kevin could not help stammering.
This should have been training time. Would MEI think he was slacking off?
Boys in love were always anxious over gains and losses. Chen Ran, on the other hand, greeted her openly. "We're watching a magic show. Want to join us?"
"Forget it. I'm not interested in entertainment that takes up too much time. At most, I only listen to music."
She shook her head. "However..."
She looked at Vill-V. "You sent me that message, didn't you?"
MEI took out her phone. There was a text from an unknown number, telling her to come here.
"Isn't it interesting?"
A teasing glint filled Vill-V's eyes as she said, "That wide-eyed, disbelieving expression just now was simply the greatest praise a magician could receive."
Kevin sighed. "Wouldn't that count as cheating?"
MEI merely raised a brow. "Magic uses every ability within logic to create a surprise beyond logic, which is why it becomes boring after the trick is revealed. But it naturally does not count as cheating. So long as the audience reacts, it is a success."
Vill-V could not help applauding. "Well said. You said everything I wanted to say."
She put her hat back on. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Vill-V, a magician aspiring to become the greatest performer in the world."
Chen Ran casually said, "Then you'll have to make the entire Mu Continent disappear."
"Oh? How did you know about my plan?" Vill-V smiled. "When that time comes, it will surely be recorded in history as the greatest close-up magic trick."
Chen Ran believed Vill-V truly had the ability to do it.
Deceiving satellites was probably no difficult task for her.
"Just don't cause too much of a commotion when the time comes. Dr. Mobius isn't that kindhearted," Chen Ran said casually.
Vill-V had been brought out of the thirteenth prison and into the Flame-Chaser by Mobius. Since Chen Ran had already gone through the story, he naturally knew that.
Mei, however, ignored all that and looked at Kevin. "If you have nothing to do, walk with me. I need to clear my head."
Kevin immediately trotted after her.
Chen Ran could not help clicking his tongue in amazement.
Why was Kevin's personality so much like Kiana's? He was completely wrapped around her finger.
Vill-V sighed as well.
She had overlooked something: Kevin was easy to fool, but MEI was not.
So now, she only had one target left.
"Hey, want to watch another magic trick?"
In the end, Chen Ran was dragged away by Vill-V to do manual labor.
By the time he returned to the First Research Institute, he was utterly listless.
"Big Brother Chen Ran, you're here."
Little Griseo, who had been brought to the institute by Blanca, cheerfully greeted him.
This girl, who would later become the beloved mascot of the Flame-Chaser's heroes, was only six years old this year—an age when she should have been receiving an education. Yet because of the Flame-Chaser's unusual nature, her parents worked within the organization, and she naturally could not live like an ordinary child.
However, Griseo was simply too adorable. Even Mobius would soften her expression whenever she saw her.
Thus, Mobius had taken it upon herself to become Griseo's biology teacher.
Even though a six-year-old did not need biology lessons at all.
Blanca rarely brought her daughter here, but Heng had gone out on a mission recently, so she had no choice but to bring Griseo with her.
"Yeah, little Griseo." Chen Ran said, "Is it fun staying in the lab?"
"Teacher Mobius read me picture-book stories. It was lots of fun," Griseo answered sweetly. "She also taught me how to paint with colors."
Chen Ran noticed traces of paint already staining Griseo's hands.
For someone who rarely had peers around her, painting and picture books were indeed the best ways to dispel loneliness.
Griseo was often lonely. Otherwise, she would not have become so dependent on Cosmo, who was closer to her age.
He smiled. "I have a little magic trick here. Would little Griseo like to see it?"
He paused, casually picking up a sheet of paper from the laboratory.
Then, the boy controlled the flowing wind and blew the paper into the air.
"Wow."
Little Griseo's eyes widened. "That's amazing."
"Is there more? Is there more?"
"Of course." Chen Ran skillfully controlled the wind in his hand, then lifted her long hair.
Like a mother's hand brushing against her cheek, little Griseo's eyes immediately narrowed as she melted into the sensation.
PS: Recommending a book
"Living in Honkai, Starting with the Gentleman Simulator"
1
The beginning of this book might feel a little unfamiliar, but it only gets better as it goes on.
You won't regret checking it out.
The Second Simulation Scenario Opens
Ding. The system has successfully inspected and repaired the simulation scenario. The simulation scenario will continue to remain available.
The second simulation scenario has opened.
Current scenario: Thunderclap Changkong.
After Chen Ran spent a period of time being treated like a lab rat by Mobius and forced into labor by Vill-V, the system finally made its long-awaited sound again.
The simulation scenario had opened once more.
However, when he selected a scenario with his consciousness, he found that [Wind Painting Scroll] was marked as inaccessible.
Fine. The system had cut off the possibility of him continuing to court death at its source.
Unless he lived another fifty thousand years, that was...
Chen Ran pushed those thoughts aside and asked, "System, I want to know whether the timelines of each simulation scenario are parallel or inherited?"
Thunderclap Changkong was clearly connected to Changkong City.
He said, "If the time of one scenario comes before the previous scenario, will it affect the previous one?"
The system responded coldly.
The timelines of each scenario possessed a special inheritance relationship, but they did not interfere with one another. The system could only adjust the path of fate at a future point in time through certain key nodes in the simulation scenarios.
Clearly, although the system could interfere with the future through simulation scenarios, its capabilities were limited.
The logic was simple. If the system could directly interfere with the future, why would people need to fight Honkai at all?
Although the time nodes of every simulation had an inherited relationship, what happened in the simulation did not necessarily happen exactly the same way in reality.
The span of time was too great.
After realizing this, Chen Ran began the simulation.
He had already gained a basic grasp of fluid dynamics and had temporarily set aside thoughts related to Wendy.
Now was not the time for him to reminisce about the past. His goal was clear: he had to face the disaster brought by the Finality.
Even if the system could not help him endure the Finality, he at least had to successfully survive into the world after it.
"I hope this scenario will offer some clues."
Welcome to the simulation scenario: Thunderclap Changkong.
Current time: 2013.
Scenario objective: Recover the Herrscher of Thunder, or prevent the Third Honkai War from occurring.
Your corresponding identity has been generated.
When Chen Ran regained consciousness once more, he found himself in a school.
"Changkong City hasn't been destroyed... Speaking of which, isn't Changkong City a little too plagued by disasters?"
Before you continue