The Kidnapper, Su Qing'an

The light, which seemed like a hallucination, vanished into the darkness, replaced by the increasingly clear sound of footsteps heading in my direction.

Seele couldn't see the person's face, but the resolute sound approaching this dead-end corner of the alley made her choose to press herself tightly against the cold wall in fear.

Even though, given the previous situation, the girl knew that the other person might not be able to see her, she still couldn't help but show a wary and timid expression.

Sleepiness made her eyelids grow heavier and heavier, but the approaching voice made Seele tense up, barely suppressing the overwhelming fatigue and maintaining her already shaky consciousness.

The little girl subconsciously pursed her lips, afraid to repeat those encouraging words to herself again, lest she attract the attention of strangers.

The person who took those footsteps stopped in front of her, staring at the empty wall, lost in thought.

Su Qing'an couldn't see Seele either.

The reason the boy would appear in such a place is simple: he has been deliberately seeking extra money in these dark corners.

After finding only a dozen or so extra banknotes in his trench coat pocket, Su Qing'an, relying on his increasingly keen intuition and the Soul Essence, sensed something was amiss and something was wrong with this place.

To put it simply, it was as if a certain area of this alley was separated from the normal world. Even though it looked exactly the same to the naked eye, there was a sense of incongruity in his senses.

Su Qing'an, who has come this far, has a very clear confidence in the outcome predicted by her intuition and intuition.

If Su Qing'an was able to perceive this abnormality because of the special Soul Essence, then the only way to make him know the truth would undoubtedly be to exploit the Soul Essence.

Let's test the waters then.

Thus, the Martial Intent that had been held back was unleashed for the first time like a storm in this confined space.

A terrifying spiritual will expanded unchecked, and the Martial Intent that enveloped the Soul Essence helped the boy tear apart the power that shielded everything.

In the instant that this vast and boundless tide of emotion manifested itself in the world, the boy's downcast gaze and the girl's unmistakable bewilderment as she looked up completely met.

What appeared before Su Qing'an was a young girl. He looked at her innocent face and saw the fleeting confusion and fear that crossed it, and fell silent.

Her slender, almost bony body was hidden beneath the loose white dress, her bare toes twitching slightly in fear.

The dense needle marks beneath her snow-white skin, along with the pungent smell of chemicals mixed with disinfectant, allowed Su Qing'an to conjecture many possibilities in that brief moment.

The little girl quickly snapped out of her daze from the lingering aftertaste of the Martial Intent. She glanced discreetly at the stranger's face, which she couldn't see clearly, and then immediately looked away.

She seemed to stubbornly believe that the other person couldn't see her, and silently prayed that he would leave soon.

At the same time, her slightly trembling body and the sharp, wary glint in her eyes meant that Seele had realized she had been discovered.

In that ocean of genuine emotions she had experienced before, the girl briefly held the thought that the person who could share those feelings couldn't be a bad person.

But her deep-seated distrust quickly rejected this possibility, making Seele only wish for the stranger in front of her to disappear as soon as possible.

Looking at the little girl who remained silent, Su Qing'an murmured to himself:

Is it too dark?

He snapped his fingers, and a tiny Honkai Energy bloomed into a miniature firework at his fingertip.

Scattered light fragments fell into the air, illuminating the dark alley and also brightening the girl's blue eyes.

The boy's gentle, handsome face flashed into her mind, making Seele pause for a moment.

The girl knew she couldn't deceive herself into thinking she wasn't seen, and she said timidly yet firmly:

"Don't... go near Seele."

A voice, barely audible, whispered in Su Qing'an's ear, giving her a headache. The girl's lovely face, illuminated by the dim light, suddenly became indistinct again due to the dimming of the light.

Strangeness?

It shouldn't have disappeared so quickly.

It wasn't until Su Qing'an sensed a familiar scent amidst the pervasive medicinal aroma emanating from her that she understood the answer.

It is Honkai Energy Inhibitor.

During the transplantation of Artificial Stigmata, Su Qing'an had personally experienced the unforgettable feeling of evaporating three tons of Honkai Energy Inhibitor, so the scent of that potion remained fresh in his memory.

This also explains why Honkai Energy disappears so quickly.

Only after soaking in a large amount of Honkai Energy Inhibitor will the skin have this aura that instantly dims the Honkai Energy flakes.

This reinforced the boy's initial judgment and ruled out the possibility that the girl had run away from a regular hospital.

The girl in front of me probably escaped from some cruel laboratory; the strange powers she possessed before must have been the result of those experiments.

In that kind of living environment, distrusting strangers is a perfectly normal choice.

But if she is left unattended, the girl's future is obvious.

Su Qing'an has always considered herself not to be a pushover.

Yes, that's how Raiden Mei, Bronya, and Kiana all see him.

In short, the boy believes that as long as it doesn't exceed his capabilities, he will generally choose to take action depending on the situation.

Even if the person in front of her is just a complete stranger, Su Qing'an will still choose to help.

Moreover, this person and I share a certain connection in some way.

Whether it was the little information he gleaned from that horrible pay-to-win mobile game, or the judgment he made from the photos Bronya had shown him before.

Su Qing'an could understand one thing.

The name of the person in front of me is --- Seele Fulei.

The fact that this girl can still be seen in this day and age can only mean that it is another suspected reincarnation phenomenon, just like Lin Xinchán.

It's almost unbelievable, like an alternate dimension.

Therefore, whether it stemmed from simple sympathy or from the goodwill that arose from this connection, Su Qing'an had silently ruled out the option of leaving it alone.

Using his swordsmanship, he sensed the opponent's physical state after the world had fully manifested.

Her tiny, candle-like spirit and increasingly frail body made Su Qing'an abandon the idea of directly persuading her with words.

The boy looked at the adorable girl before him and sighed softly:

"Go to sleep."

Thus, the Soul Essence amplified the persuasiveness of words, becoming the final straw that caused Seele's sleep demon to overwhelm her consciousness.

The Irresistible Force fatigue shattered any sense of vigilance that should have existed. In a daze, the girl closed her eyes and leaned against the cold wall, falling into a deep sleep.

Her navy blue hair fell over her shoulders, its gradient resembling a deep sea blue with hints of black—a rare natural hair color.

And with that innocent face that still showed unease even after falling asleep, the girl was like a pearl lost in the vast ocean, forced to be stained by the unpleasant dust of the world.

Su Qing'an silently took off her trench coat, using it to block the biting cold wind from seeping into the girl's overly thin white clothes.

The boy carefully wrapped Seele up tightly before carrying her out of the dark corner.

The boy gazed at the sun hanging high in the sky.

The clear sunlight seemed to tell a story of the world's gentleness and beauty. He felt the girl in his arms was too light in weight, and felt a little ironic.

Assuming everything is as I think, Seele really was subjected to long-term research in some unknown laboratory and then successfully escaped to Canghai City for some reason.

The laboratory's purpose is to combat the Honkai. In their minds, are the needle marks on the child's wrist and the deep-seated wariness and fear all justified, necessary sacrifices?

Su Qing'an herself couldn't find the answer.

The boy never seriously considered whether sacrificing human lives and abandoning moral principles to fight against the Honkai was a wrong choice.

Before truly experiencing the brutality of the Honkai of Previous Civilization, Su Qing'an felt that she had no right or qualification to question others.

The assumption is that both are for the continuation of human civilization, and both aim to destroy the Honkai.

They are just like Su Qing'an, simply walking the same path in their own way.

However, Su Qing'an could not agree with this approach because of her own beliefs and the stubbornness inherent in her personality.

But that's all I can say; I simply can't agree with it.

Su Qing'an had no right to break the cycle of other possibilities, even if it might trample on basic human morality and bottom lines, and violate taboos that only devils would dare to tread. But with the entire human civilization on the verge of destruction and facing imminent collapse, Su Qing'an had no other means to help humanity better resist the Honkai and could only choose to remain silent.

Was it the right decision to take Seele in?

Have no idea.

However, assuming that someone comes knocking on his door later because of this, Su Qing'an will not choose to hand over Seele based on whether the matter is right or wrong.

Before he could understand everything, the boy was determined to follow his own heart.

Even now, the way he drives his [Tibetan] car back to the teachers' dormitory with a girl in his arms makes him look like a kidnapper to people who don't know the background.

Four o'clock in the afternoon.

The teachers' dormitory was larger than Su Qing'an had originally expected; compared to his dormitory at St. Freya, it was more like an apartment.

The interior design follows the overall style of the academy, but it still has a strong modern feel. The two-bedroom, one-living-room layout is more than enough for him to live alone. All kinds of furniture and tableware in the kitchen are complete, and even the refrigerator is stocked with fresh eggs and vegetables.

These weren't originally there; they're a standard perk for teachers. When Su Qing'an went to ask the dormitory manager for the key, she also brought these groceries back to her apartment.

After tidying himself up hastily, he put on his trench coat and went out to commit robbery.

However, when Su Qing'an returned, besides the banknotes in his pocket, he also had a thin, frail little girl in his arms.

On the way Su Qing'an took the opportunity to use his sword heart to carefully sense Seele's physical condition. He found that apart from malnutrition and thirst, which were suspected to be caused by long-term blood draws, the girl was otherwise normal and had no major problems that required a visit to the hospital.

Judging from her appearance, which consisted of only a white dress, she probably didn't have any identification and was likely Undocumented Resident like he had been before. That's why the need to go to the hospital was causing him a headache.

Su Qing'an glanced at Seele's slightly furrowed brows as she slept, and murmured:

"Let the child get some sleep first."

Ignoring the unwashed medicine on her body, Su Qing'an gently placed Xi'er on the bed like Seele brother. He carefully tucked her in and turned on the indoor heating system.

Unlike herself, who didn't care about the cold temperatures, Seele's body couldn't force the young boy to be more cautious.

Su Qing'an secretly thought that she should find some time to have Hua come over and help take care of the child. Perhaps Hua would be more likely to help Seele let go of her wariness and fear that were hard to erase in a short time than she would herself.

Indeed, this is true; Seele's friends and partners are all women because the experimental personnel need to have excellent Honkai Energy literacy.

The allocation of researchers was also affected by the failure of an experiment due to the emotional behavior of a female experimenter. As a result, researchers were only allowed to remain after passing psychological testing.

These researchers were almost entirely male, which further reinforced the children's subconscious instinct to judge others as good or bad.

Su Qing'an himself had not thought that far ahead.

However, the boy also had his own judgment regarding the fact that he had taken a girl home and was living with her. He felt that the sooner he said it, the better, otherwise it would be difficult to explain later.

[HGIA713]

Silently reciting the number-like characters reflected on Seele's clothes, Su Qing'an's gaze gradually deepened.

Judging from Seele's near-unharmed state and the strange power she possessed, even if Su Qing'an didn't know the purpose of the experiment, he could roughly understand that the experiment's results were at least not a failure.

So... assuming the girl has tactile cues that can be tracked, it's highly likely the other party will choose to come to her door.

After all, no laboratory would choose to abandon a live sample that is suspected to be successful.

Su Qing'an was not without ways to eliminate future troubles.

If he were to use [Thousand Stars] to amplify [Momentum], disrupting the frequency of information about these technologies would be a simple matter for him. However, considering that the methods of Previous Civilization might exceed his imagination, this method might not be very safe.

But if someone actually comes knocking, they can take the opportunity to see just how advanced the technology of this era has become.

Since that's the case...

Su Qing'an stopped his advance, which was about to sweep over Seele's entire body, and abandoned the plan.

The boy was confident that he wouldn't let Seele suffer any harm because of her willfulness.

The level of danger Su Qing'an faces in confronting the Honkai and the level of danger he faces in confronting humanity have always been completely different levels.

And perhaps...

More than the level of technology, what the boy cared about most was the philosophy behind the laboratory.

Honkai.

Depending on his beliefs regarding these two words, he will make his own corresponding choices.