The Truth Sketched Out, Resolve

Strangely, compared to the high-end technology in the research institute, the city's roads seemed outdated and backward. The signs were covered in mottled rust, and the dusty cameras were the kind of models that Su Qing'an used to look down on in the world.

Although he habitually used [Position], Su Qingan did not think that this camera had any practical functions.

The roadside weeds grew wildly, as if no one had taken care of them, stretching along the edge of the road like decorations in a garden.

Clumps of snow-white wildflowers crowded in a corner of the field of vision, aimlessly and languidly.

The boy picked up his luggage.

That was a leather shoulder bag that had been abandoned in the research institute; now it was filled with bottled water and compressed biscuits.

This weight was nothing to him, so Su Qing'an chose to abandon the energy vehicle.

Su Qing'an walked along this desolate highway, having already memorized all the maps in the car within ten minutes.

Even though he is currently in a strange mental state, his inherent vigilance and habits still make him appear to be a very normal person with cautious judgment.

He abandoned the new energy vehicle because he realized that the technology in the research institute was likely not on the same level as the civilian technology that was becoming more widespread in the city.

This energy vehicle might represent backwardness and unsightly behavior among researchers, but for the ordinary residents of this city, it might be too conspicuous.

As Undocumented Resident, I need to integrate into this world quietly, which would make the existence of the energy vehicle too conspicuous.

Out of caution, he chose to abandon the electric vehicle in the wilderness outside the highway, not far from the city.

After memorizing the location, I began my hiking trip.

To outsiders, Su Qing'an's appearance at this moment was quite strange.

He wore a tattered white robe stained with blood, and walked barefoot on the ground. His handsome face had changed after three days and three nights of sleepless nights; dust and bloodstains obscured most of his features, making him no longer handsome.

Only those eyes, indifferent and lifeless, left a deep impression, like snow piled up in the dark night, unable to melt or dissipate.

Previously, the boy had maintained an extremely fast pace across the desolate plains, but when he arrived in the city of the restarted timeline, he strangely became in no hurry at all.

Su Qing'an walked at a leisurely pace into the populated urban area.

The familiar crowds came into view again. The boy lowered his eyes, not paying attention to the faces of any passersby. He slowly sketched out the true appearance of this city in his mind.

Billboard.

Car.

High-rise buildings.

These were all familiar scenes, clearly presented before my eyes, yet I couldn't muster a single trace of joy.

Su Qing'an stepped into the crowd, drifting along with the flow of people, wandering aimlessly in rhythm with the rhythm of the city's inhabitants.

The boy was like a ghost; he refused any communication and left no trace of his back or face in anyone's sight.

That's strange.

After subconsciously withdrawing from the other person's subconscious, Su Qing'an sensed a strange sense of unease, as if some familiar feeling was repeatedly clamoring in her brain.

The ability to achieve latent goals by taking advantage of others' subconscious neglect is indeed powerful.

However, to use this ability to deceive others, one needs to maintain an even higher level of concentration. And since he is also being deceived by his subconscious self, he will naturally notice something is wrong in this state.

"Click."

It was a subtle sound, almost imperceptible, like the cracking of the glaze caused by the thermal expansion of the body and glaze during the firing of porcelain, yet it was also incredibly powerful.

Dark cracks spread across the ice, creating magnificent patterns that resembled gradually blooming flowers, each petal slowly unfolding and giving rise to breathtaking beauty.

Countless flaws began to appear all over the already clear and bright Clear Mirror Sword Heart, the deep black flowing along the cracks, so intense that it seemed to be engraved into the bone marrow.

The subconscious fear and the boy's unwavering will began to clash, and he gradually peeled away the layers of information that had been blocked in his subconscious, as if unraveling a fog.

[The place mentioned in that notebook is the Mu Continent.]

"Click."

[That technologically advanced energy vehicle didn't bear any symbols of Schicksal or Anti-Entropy; instead, it featured a moth pattern with flames drawn in the center.]

"Click."

[The city that passersby were talking about earlier was... Canghai City.]

"Click."

The subtle yet deafening chain of shattering fragments continued uninterrupted, their clear sound reaching my ears as if mocking me with a low murmur.

The pitch-black flowers and branches silently bloomed on the ice of the heart, where cracks had accumulated to countless layers.

The boy stood expressionless in the middle of the crowd, glanced at the billboards on the roadside, and said softly:

"Previous Civilization."

"I've arrived here."

Su Qing'an glanced at the blood-stained cuff; the real crimson pierced his pupils like a sharp sword. He said softly:

"The clothes... were already dirty."

Previous Civilization.

The implications of this result are self-evident.

A series of crisp crackling sounds swept away the previous fragments; the cracks were interacting and overlapping.

Once the Heart Ice is ravaged by countless cracks, the Clear Mirror Sword Heart that Su Qing'an painstakingly cultivated will shatter into a lifeless void, and from then on, the Honkai Energy completely diverge from his own.

Su Qing'an, who will completely sever the Honkai Energy cycle, will survive, but will also lose the ability to face powerful enemies.

In such a world, this outcome is tantamount to death.

The boy said softly:

"It can't break yet."

Thus, the spread of the crack came to an abrupt halt.

He repeated softly again:

"It can't break yet."

Then the dark lines gradually disappeared on the surface of the heart ice, just like the veins of blood. These dark things and cracks appeared faintly in the depths of the Mind Lake, like maggots clinging to the bone.

However, the previous collapse was completely slowed down. A kind of terrifying willpower suppressed all emotions and pain, and forcibly reversed the sudden crisis.

The cruel truth, the despairing reality, the dashed hopes, the shattered expectations.

These are all true, and it's also true that I was almost at my breaking point.

But we cannot admit defeat.

Su Qing'an stood in front of a clothing store in a shopping mall, looking at his reflection in the glass, and said:

"We can't give up yet."

"Unless, no matter what, we change that outcome..."

The boy gazed at the face reflected in the glass, flickering in and out of sight with the light, as if muttering in a dream, or as if confirming some undeniable truth. His murmured tone was like stepping into a soft snowdrift, yet also carried an eerie certainty:

"Anyway..."

"Su Qing'an, you can't admit defeat."