Chapter 280

Ai Yue sighed, then looked at Dr. Mei beside him. "Mei, could you translate for her?"

"I?"

Dr. Mei paused for a moment, then said hesitantly, "Uh, if I understand correctly, if the timeline changes and causes the future to begin to collapse, then Kiana and the others' current timeline should be the last to encounter problems?"

"Yes, if we really compare the timeline to a river, then when the upstream flow is cut off, the water at the end of the river will be the last to dry up."

With a casual stroke, Ai Yue sketched the shape of a river in front of everyone. "So, if this really is a change caused by the timeline—"

"Then you would just crumble away without anyone noticing, instead of disappearing from the ground up like you are now."

"In other words, because this collapse started locally and spread locally, it doesn't conform to the logic of timeline changes?"

Kiana finally fell into thought, "Could it be that the source of this collapse wasn't the changes on your side?"

Then she saw Ai Yue shake his head. "No, the root cause is indeed the change in the timeline."

Kiana's expression turned blank again. "Huh?"

So what were you doing saying all that just now?

"However, because you became the Herrscher of the End, this collapse has undergone a new change."

Ai Yue snapped his fingers, and the dried-up river in front of everyone suddenly gushed forth a clear spring at its end. "Like this."

"You mean, the future, which should have collapsed, gained a stable foothold because of the appearance of the Herrscher of the End?"

Kiana looked at the small lake that had sprung from the end of the river and finally realized, "It is my power that has sustained the future I am in, which is why it hasn't disappeared all at once?"

She suddenly understood what Ai Yue meant by "anchor point".

"Correct answer. After all, the Solar System is a domain dominated by the Cocoon of Finality, and its power in this world is extremely exaggerated."

Ai Yue zoomed in on the lake, "However, because the power to maintain this future is lacking, the collapse is still proceeding slowly."

In the magnified image provided by Ai Yue, everyone could see that although the spring was constantly gushing water, the water level of the small lake was gradually decreasing.

"So, it's because my strength isn't enough?"

Kiana's expression turned bitter. "If only I were a little stronger..."

"Then you're mistaken. I'm not talking about your power, but the power of the Cocoon of Finality."

Ai Yue shook his head. "The Cocoon of Finality does have great power within the Solar System, but it can't reverse the fixed timeline. So maintaining this situation is already the result of your efforts."

Seeing Kiana's somewhat surprised expression, Ai Yue smiled and said, "You did very well, Kiana."

Kiana parted her lips slightly, then suddenly blinked hard, feeling as if tears would well up if she didn't.

What's wrong? Why do I suddenly feel like crying?

She didn't cry when she found out the class monitor was in trouble, nor when she knew that civilization might collapse, and she even held back when Yae Sakura was maintaining the timeline for her. So why is she suddenly unable to hold back now?

Yes, back then I was the god of the earth, someone everyone relied on. If I cried, what would everyone else do?

But now, it seems like we don't have to force ourselves anymore.

Kiana lowered her head, trying to hide her slightly disheveled appearance.

Elysia quietly peeked over and then turned her head away to look silently at Ai Yue.

Even without looking at her lip movements, Ai Yue could guess what she was going to say.

"What do you mean I made her cry?"

Ai Yue's voice went directly into Elysia's mind, "Don't talk nonsense, okay? This just means that her tense nerves have finally relaxed!"

"But the fact is, she cried right after you finished speaking, okay?"

Elysia feigned ignorance, then added, "You'll solve this problem perfectly, won't you?"

Who do you take me for?

Ai Yue adjusted his glasses and replied calmly, "Don't worry, I guarantee there will be an absolutely perfect ending."

Chapter 41 If we're going to play, let's play big.

In fact, after identifying the source of the problem, Ai Yue had been thinking about how to solve it.

But he soon realized that there was something else he wanted to do more than "solve this problem".

For outsiders, simply repairing the collapsing timeline would be an incredibly difficult task, but in Ai Yue's eyes, there was still room for improvement.

To be fair, was the original storyline of Honkai Impact 3rd really that wonderful?

Anyone who has experienced this story would find it hard to say from the bottom of their heart, "This is a heartwarming story"—because in this unequal war, far too many people made sacrifices.

Kiana's eventual attainment of becoming the Herrscher of the End can be described as a miracle, but behind this miracle lies not luck, but the sacrifices and hardships endured by countless people.

Ai Yue once thought that he would never have another chance to change everything, but the problem in front of him gave him an excellent opportunity.

"Mr. Ai Yue!"

Just as he was engrossed in his own thoughts, Kiana's energetic voice interrupted him.

The girl, who had somehow regained her composure, looked up at him and gave him a bright smile, "Thank you for your guidance!"

Then she stood up and walked to Ai Yue, bowing deeply to him.

Ai Yue simply sat in the chair, calmly watching the other person, as if he knew her next plan.

As expected, after performing the bow, Kiana asked very directly, "Can you teach me how to save my future?"

"It's possible, but..."

Ai Yue leaned back in his chair, looking quite casual. "What benefit would it bring me to help you?"

"Huh?"

Kiana was stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting the man in front of her to respond like that, "Benefits, benefits..."

After a brief moment of thought, Kiana awkwardly realized that she had no worthwhile reward to offer.

What a joke! The person in front of her not only possesses power surpassing that of the Cocoon of Finality, but is also incredibly familiar with Cocoon of Finality. This means that the other party is a god who surpasses her in every aspect. Faced with such an existence, what can she possibly offer?

Rather, is there really something on this earth that the other person wants but doesn't have?

Just as Kiana was feeling a bit lost, Ai suddenly appeared out of nowhere, carrying a cup of tea, and stood beside Kiana.

Then, as if she had figured something out, Kiana picked up the teacup and respectfully offered it to Ai Yue: "Ai Yue... teacher, please allow me to learn from you!"

Ai Yue then smiled, took the teacup, and drank it all in one gulp. "Very good, from today onwards, you are my student."

As Pardofelis watched this scene unfold, the dog exchanged a furtive glance with Elysia: "Brother Yue is at it again."

Elysia smiled in response, "He can be like that sometimes, but it's kind of cute, isn't it?"

Their communication didn't happen in reality, but rather flowed within the mental chatroom that Aponia had created, which is why they remained so quiet.

"There's nothing wrong with having a little sense of ritual,"

At this moment, Cosmo's voice also chimed in, "It just feels a little strange... Just how many generations apart are Kiana and us?"

"Is this what you're really worried about?"

Kevin's voice rang out, "What I'm more curious about is, isn't this Ai Yue's first time taking on a student?"

No, that's not it.

Ai Yue turned his gaze to the crowd and then said, "Actually, Hua Cai was my first student."

The expressions on everyone's faces froze instantly, and then Kevin couldn't help but give an awkward smile, "Um, can you hear me?"

"Put aside the fact that Aponia definitely wouldn't hide it from me,"

Ai Yue gave Kevin a strange look. "Even if she really is hiding it from me, you don't think I can't sense the mental fluctuations right under your noses, do you?"

After saying that, he turned his gaze back to Kiana: "Alright, things here are temporarily over. You can take a break now, for example, go travel around Earth and experience the local customs and culture of this generation."

"Huh?"

Kiana had already started thinking about how to work harder next, but she didn't expect this arrangement. "Um, I'm actually not tired. It's okay to start now!"

Aren't you tired?

Ai Yue asked meaningfully, while pointing his index finger at Kiana's forehead.

A white light shone from his fingers, clearly indicating that it was not just a simple physical touch.

Kiana instinctively tried to dodge, but found that she couldn't escape the opponent's lock-on at all. Helpless, she had no choice but to use her power to resist, only to feel pitifully empty and unable to muster any strength at all.

This wasn't because the power of the Herrscher of the End had backed down when facing Ai Yue, but because at some point, all the power within her body had been drained away!

If Kiana hadn't been certain that she was the Herrscher of Finality, she would have doubted whether she had reverted to being an ordinary person.

In just a moment of hesitation, Ai Yue's finger touched Kiana's brow, and a strange, warm power surged into Kiana's body along the point of contact, making her complexion look much better.

But this did not dispel the confusion in her heart.

"You don't think that going back in time, especially a broken timeline, is an easy thing, do you?"

Looking at the confusion on Kiana's face, Ai Yue couldn't help but shake his head. "The fact that you're standing here safe and sound is already a blessing from the Cocoon of Finality."

"You'll probably have to get used to this feeling over the next while."

"Isn't there a solution?"

Kiana was getting anxious. "If I don't have the power, I—"

"What's the rush?"

Ai Yue flicked her forehead again, silencing Kiana from saying the rest of her sentence. "You just do as I say now, and I'll naturally find a way to solve it later."

So Kiana could only obediently lower her head and say, "I... I understand, Teacher Ai Yue."

"That's right."

Ai Yue nodded in satisfaction, then turned his gaze to his eldest disciple, "Hua, I'll trouble you to stay with Kiana during this time."

Hua nodded, then looked at Kiana on the other side.

"Me, me, me too!"

Elysia raised her right hand high, like a primary school student vying for a chance to answer a question, "Teacher Ai Yue, look at me!"

"You can't do it, you have to stay and work."

Ai Yue ruthlessly rebuked the other party, then looked at the others and said, "Alright, let's adjourn for now. We'll wait for further notice."

"Etc,"

Dr. Mei suddenly said at this moment, "I still have many things I want to ask Kiana."

Vill-V, who was standing next to her, nodded in agreement. Clearly, it wasn't just Dr. Mei; everyone was quite curious about the next civilization.

After all, a civilization that defeated the Cocoon of Finality without the intervention of an entity like Ai Yue has considerable research value.

"If you want to ask for advice, just go and talk to Kiana yourself. As long as she's willing to talk, I won't interfere."

Ai Yue shrugged. "Of course, correspondingly, the task of taking care of her is up to you to discuss."

"Speaking of which, should we inform the United Earth Government about this?"

Kevin was standing nearby, suddenly thought of something and asked, "But it seems like we can just not tell them?"

"If I wanted to tell them, would it be necessary to call you all over here?"

Ai Yue shook his head. "Before this matter is resolved, the fewer people who know about it, the better. Anyway, the Terran Alliance is busy with the Great Harmony Plan and can't spare any time for it."

So the matter was temporarily put to rest. Those who were interested in Kiana gathered together and began to discuss how to arrange the consultation. Hua walked up to Kiana and extended her hand. "Hello, Kiana, nice to meet you. I am Hua."

Looking at the girl who seemed familiar yet also somewhat unfamiliar, Kiana paused for a moment before extending her hand in return. "Hello, Hua... Can I call you class monitor?"

Faced with this somewhat strange form of address, Hua was not too surprised and nodded. "Of course."

Although Hua hasn't said much since Kiana appeared, her cautious and meticulous nature has made her clearly notice that Kiana always focuses her gaze on her, and her eyes occasionally reveal a hint of warmth and closeness, clearly indicating that Kiana recognizes her.

Combining this with the information in the other party's words, Hua naturally realized that in that timeline without Ai Yue, he not only lived to see the emergence of the next generation of civilization, but also became a close friend of the other party.

Perhaps because she realized this possibility, Hua also vaguely felt that the other party was much more friendly.

"Really?!"

Hearing the response, Kiana couldn't help but smile brightly and excitedly hugged her, "Thank you, class monitor!"

Although Kiana knew very well that the Hua in front of her was probably a different person from the Fu Hua she knew, encountering a familiar face in another generation more than 50,000 years apart still made it difficult for her to control her emotions.