They All Said This Wasn't the Life Simulation Game! Section 39

Elysia herself agreed with this viewpoint, praising without reservation, but... you had merely replicated one of her performances verbatim, without infusing it with your own emotions, which left her feeling a bit regretful.

It was like playing according to sheet music, hitting every note perfectly on beat, but without any variation in emphasis or tempo. While it was certainly pleasant to listen to, Elysia didn't consider music lacking personal emotion to be art, or even a proper performance.

It was as if she had merely looked into a mirror, seeing a scene from one of her own performances. That was all.

However, such perfect replication was also a form of expression, much like the "realism" in painting, possessing a unique charm. Therefore, Elysia didn't mind; instead, she marveled at your ability to achieve such a feat.

You, on the other hand, didn't seem to care much about it. If Elysia hadn't enjoyed Eden's songs, Sakura hadn't been enthusiastic about listening to music, and Ling hadn't even considered Eden an idol, you wouldn't have bothered to "learn" such things. Even though you displayed considerable talent, you didn't really need it.

...Forget it, saying more would just sound like an excuse. Let's stop here.

All in all, despite a somewhat awkward start, Elysia's welcome party ended successfully, and everyone was happy.

Even Elysia and Sakura, upon their return, expressed considerable surprise when they learned about it. Elysia even begged you to perform for her, and Sakura did the same... Was it to be expected?

After a brief period of joy, it was back to the usual routine. For you, this was no big deal.

It was just that today, Poison Chrysalis had given you a rather strange mission...

The mission location was "Twilight Street," a place universally acknowledged as chaotic.

This mission was classified—which was normal. Many of the missions you undertook were classified, with no records left behind.

But the requirement for this mission was... "clearing."

Not targeting any specific person, group, or organization, but a simple, straightforward "clearing" of everyone in that area, regardless of gender or age.

"On that day, He fell from the sky. The people on the ground looked up, and saw the starry sky"... All just to ensure that this ballad would no longer be sung.

...Heh, truly disgusting.

Chapter 29: Twilight Street - Clearing Mission

Click—

A crisp, faint sound, the familiar opening of a candy box.

Xi Wang had already entered Twilight Street and arrived at the location designated by Poison Chrysalis.

Logically, the weapons provided by Poison Chrysalis should have been stored here. Although Xi Wang, due to his unique nature, didn't really need weapons, considering the importance of this mission to Moth to Fire, and the need to "clear" a place universally acknowledged as chaotic, Poison Chrysalis had still provided Xi Wang with weapons and equipment far exceeding standard individual combat capabilities.

But now...

"..."

Xi Wang looked at the hidden location, which contained only a pile of miscellaneous items, his eyes narrowed. He expressionlessly popped a candy into his mouth, using the sweetness to suppress the rising irritation within him.

After his inspection, he could confirm that this place should have originally contained many items, and definitely not these miscellaneous goods. It was highly likely the weapons and equipment arranged here, but someone else had come later and taken everything, leaving him nothing.

Moreover, the person who took the items hadn't left many traces, appearing to be quite skilled at erasing their own tracks. However, they had "accidentally" left a few traces, as if to inform the arriving Xi Wang that these items had been taken beforehand.

But this was what made Xi Wang even more annoyed... You had already placed the items here, so what was the meaning of taking them away later? And not leaving him a single piece of equipment?

Even though he had stated that he didn't really need weapons, wasn't it too much to take away all the promised equipment? Even greed wouldn't be this blatant, right?

Or perhaps everything hidden here was stolen by some guy? Was he kidding? Was there really someone like that in Twilight Street?

"Tsk..."

The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became. Xi Wang couldn't help but smack his lips, wanting to pop another candy into his mouth, but quickly restrained himself.

"Forget it... It doesn't matter if there's no equipment."

He withdrew his gaze, turned to look at the sky. The sun was obscured by heavy clouds, making the sky look gloomy.

Clearly, it was about to rain.

And as a Fusion Warrior who controlled "water," in rainy weather with "abundant moisture," he would have an absolute advantage. His skills could be perfectly utilized. Even without the aid of other weapons and equipment, Xi Wang could complete the "clearing" of this area.

...Wait, could those guys have taken the weapons and equipment because they discovered it would rain today?

"Tsk, truly disgusting."

Xi Wang frowned again, as if he had discovered the truth, involuntarily expressing his disgust towards those people. After a brief pause, he sighed slightly.

"...I feel like my emotions are fluctuating more than before."

Was it because he had spent too much time with Elysia and was influenced by her?

Honestly, this change wasn't very good for him; it could easily affect mission completion... However, Xi Wang didn't particularly dislike it.

"...I should deal with the matter at hand first."

Shaking his head, he pushed aside those complex thoughts, tidied his clothes, closed his eyes, and carefully sensed his surroundings.

"It should start around evening... So, I'll scout the surroundings before then."

Relying on his keen perception of "water," Xi Wang determined the time of the rainfall. He reopened his eyes, scanned his surroundings, confirmed that no one else was around, and then slowly left the hidden spot.

Xi Wang ambled along the streets of Twilight Street, gradually exploring the entire small town-like area in a somewhat casual route. Even hidden alleys were found by him. If the opportunity arose, he would even leap onto rooftops using his Fusion Warrior physique to observe the environment.

Midway, some people tried to cause trouble for him, but they were all dealt with... Of course, he didn't kill them; there was no need for that yet.

Finally, Xi Wang rested and prepared in an abandoned church... Although Xi Wang himself felt some resistance and aversion towards buildings like churches, staying in similar places always made him feel as if those terrible memories from the past would resurface.

However, after adjusting his breathing a few times and popping another candy, Xi Wang managed to stabilize his mindset for the time being. He surveyed the empty church.

The churchyard was overgrown with weeds, mixed with various types of garbage. The iron fence was rusted beyond recognition. Walking into the church, one could see dilapidated wooden chairs and windows with only a few remaining panes of glass. The ground was covered in dust and various debris, with shattered wooden planks scattered everywhere. The broken walls were riddled with bullet holes, and there were even dark red marks left by dried blood.

Inside this abandoned church, there was also a dilapidated stone statue, which could be considered the only thing that was still "intact" here. At least the body and lower half were preserved, while the head, hands, and the parts that should have been wings on its back were missing. It was unclear if they were stolen or simply broken.

Hmm... Judging by these features, the statue here was originally supposed to be an [Angel]?

A thought flashed through Xi Wang's mind. Perhaps he had been influenced by Eden too much recently, as he unconsciously pictured the statue's original appearance.

Then he shook his head again, lamenting that Elysia had corrupted him, and even the influence from Eden had increased... but it wasn't necessarily bad.

Continuing forward, one could see a small house that seemed to be for living and a warehouse for storing supplies. Further beyond that was the cemetery.

...Damn it.

Xi Wang frowned, tapped his head, suppressing the emotions that were beginning to surge, and calmed his increasingly rapid breathing.

The similar layout was giving Xi Wang a headache, but fortunately, he had anticipated this. He bypassed the obviously abandoned house and warehouse, lightly crossed the not-so-high wall, and arrived at the cemetery.

There weren't many tombstones here, and it seemed like not many people were buried here. However, considering the atmosphere of [Twilight Street], not many people would come here, and even if someone was buried, they probably wouldn't erect a tombstone.

But it didn't matter. At least confirming that the cemetery here was large enough was sufficient.

Speaking of which... he seemed to have seen a building resembling a church earlier... According to others here, it was a [Sanatorium] and there were many children inside.

And according to others here and Xi Wang's own observations, the children there were doing well... It seemed like it was truly a [Sanatorium] with the nature of a welfare home, and without any other terrible things attached.

Xi Wang popped another candy into his mouth, recalling a building he had discovered earlier, and took out the [Simple Honkai Energy Detector] that he was required to carry on missions, retrieving the previously detected values.

"It's definitely there..."

After confirming several times, Xi Wang muttered to himself, as if reminding himself, and finally, he could only sigh and put the device away.

Perhaps the people of Poison Chrysalis had anticipated this. Because he had shown leniency towards children like Griseo, they had deliberately made him carry this detector to prevent him from softening his heart during the "clearing" mission. The purpose was to make him realize that the people here, the children here, were infected with [Honkai Sickness] and were carriers of [Honkai Energy]. If they were allowed to exist, a [Honkai] outbreak would surely occur here, causing greater destruction and more casualties.

And now, to complete the mission, to prevent the outbreak of [Honkai] and the occurrence of a greater disaster, Xi Wang had to suppress this leniency towards children and kill them.

It was truly... disgusting.

"..."

Xi Wang leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, felt the sweetness filling his mouth, and adjusted his breathing.

The sun was gradually setting in the west, contributing its last rays of light to the world that was about to plunge into darkness, and the humidity in the air was also thickening.

"...It's raining."

Xi Wang murmured softly, opening his eyes, which had returned to a state of calm.

Drip—

A soft sound, the sound of water droplets falling to the ground.

At first, it was just scattered raindrops, but soon it turned into a torrential downpour.

The heavy rain arrived as expected.

Whoosh—

The heavy rain beat against the glass, making a noisy sound. Even with the windows and doors tightly shut, the raging sound of the rain could not be blocked. Under the cover of darkness and the storm, everything outside appeared so unreal. Even the scattered lights in the distance seemed blurry, as if outside was another world.

But fortunately, the doors and windows kept all of that out. Inside the room was a safe home, warm lights... even if only temporarily.

"This rain is really heavy..."

The woman in the house complained about the downpour outside while washing dishes.

"I hope it stops by morning. Otherwise, I'll have to rush back to work in the rain tomorrow."

Her husband lay on the sofa resting, casually responding to his wife.

"Can't you just push it off? If it's still raining like this tomorrow, you won't be able to work, right?"

"You know how those guys are. They're not easy to deal with, and I went through a lot to get this [job]. I don't want to give them an excuse to catch me and shoot me."

"...Sorry, dear. I didn't mean it like that."

"I know. They're the problem, not us... And to survive here, we all have to work hard."

"Mhm."

The woman nodded gently and stopped talking, silently placing the washed bowls and chopsticks into the cabinet. Then, as usual, she glanced out the window towards the neighbor's house.

"...Hmm? The two brothers next door... they didn't come back today? The lights are off."

"They probably went to bed early. After all, with this much rain today, they don't have anything to do... I heard they caused trouble for an outsider this afternoon and got taught a lesson, so they didn't earn much today. They're probably still figuring out how to get back at the people across the way."

The man stood up from the sofa, yawning and stretching his body.

"Outsider?"

"Yeah, a guy. He's quite handsome, but the people in the organization say he's not a good person and is probably here to cause trouble. Tomorrow, the organization plans to team up with others to deal with him, at least drive him out."

"I see... Just remember to bring back more money."

"Don't worry, I will... I'm going to take a shower now."