Su Qing'an Faced a Choice

What was bound to happen has happened.

The [Stigmata] on his back sensed the dramatic change in Honkai Energy before Su Qing'an did.

It was as if the surrounding environment was filled with damp mist, which seemed to be clawing at the skin's pores and nasal cavities, trying to drag all humans into a dark sea.

The mighty storm had already swept past silently, and in that moment of stillness, All living beings were plunged into a sea of suffering, never seeing the light of day.

The boy, holding Seele's hand, trembled slightly. He was the first to realize that the calamity had occurred and looked around at the scene around him.

The entire mall resembles an edited version of an old movie from a bygone era.

A glance that lasts a lifetime.

A mother shopping with her child, girls laughing and chatting happily, high school students with their arms around each other telling dirty jokes, a smiling man carrying bags for his partner, a woman kneeling on the ground wiping away a child's tears...

These countless scenes, like melting snow, were indifferently and relentlessly eroded away by the immense power in the blink of an eye.

It's as if time has passed and everything has decayed.

The wind blew by at an inopportune moment, carrying endless black dust high into the sky, and then silently falling like a torrential downpour.

The deafening roars echoed across the land as the population dwindled by more than half in an instant.

The monsters, reduced to inhuman forms, were like those painted with pale white paint. They brandished their scythes and, along with the Honkai Beast that appeared alongside them, slaughtered their former brethren.

As this absurd and ridiculous reality stared bloodily into the boy's eyes...

Even though he was a seasoned veteran and mentally prepared, he couldn't quite describe the feeling that was burning within him.

The boy glanced at the two of them in a daze.

For Fu Hua, everything at this moment is unbelievable, a scene that defies common sense.

Because of her own interference, she was unable to learn about the concept of Honkai beforehand, and those urban legends that have been making headlines recently are ultimately just casual conversation after dinner.

Fu Hua knew nothing, so the impact she suffered was naturally the greatest among the three.

Her pupils trembled and contracted slightly, her expression blank, and she unconsciously tightened her grip on the little girl's hand.

Will my father, who lives so far away, be alright?

What about those kind neighbors and adults on the street back home?

Has the entire Canghai City become like this?

Does that mean my friends at school are all dead?

Countless questions remained unanswered due to the immense shock her mind was facing. The girl simply gazed silently at the sky, her azure eyes reflecting the bizarre reality.

Even though Seele knew that Honkai was about to break out, she was still stunned by the scene before her.

It is precisely because I knew this that I understand how incredible the scene is today.

Never before in history has there been such a Honkai event, wiping out human lives in an instant and turning them into vast swaths of black ash and Zombie.

Prior to this, all Honkai outbreaks had maintained a contagious pattern, with a countdown of carnage.

Even if death is the inevitable outcome and becoming a monster is the inevitable end, there is always a buffer period to help people understand reality.

Seele had imagined the despair and sorrow that everyone would face after the Honkai erupted, so she had been deliberately trying to keep her distance from the older sisters in Su Qing'an's class.

Once she remembered their faces and names, she couldn't help but feel sad.

She imagined everyone huddled together in underground shelters, struggling to survive on meager food and water, clinging to a sliver of hope that might never come, waiting for the Moth to Fire to their rescue.

Even if the older brother is very strong, it's impossible for him to save all the survivors.

But things are different now. In the blink of an eye, the life that we had gradually become accustomed to has been shattered. All humans who were not suited to the Honkai environment have been put on fast-forward, creating this sky full of corpses.

The little girl pursed her lips; she understood that the countdown to the withering of everything was already hanging over the entire city.

How many more people will ever see such a cold and gentle rain?

There were very few survivors; apart from the three people, there were no other survivors left on the street.

The roars of the Zombie and Honkai Beast were so noisy and annoying, but the little girl paid no attention to them. She stretched out her palm, and distinct black dust particles silently fell into her hand, like petals that had withered and lost their beauty.

Su Qing'an sighed as she understood the answer.

Compared to the emotions of sadness, pain, guilt, and resentment that have been repeated hundreds or thousands of times, I can only feel anger now.

The crisscrossing patterns on his back glowed slightly, and sword energy as thick as ink appeared out of thin air. Like agile fish swimming in the deep sea, they began to circle and intertwine around the boy with a radius of one meter.

In such an environment of Honkai Energy, the ability of the Void Sword Qi to control Honkai Energy is amplified. There is no need to deliberately release the constraints on the Artificial Stigmata. The [circle] formed by this sword qi easily lands.

But this was still not the end. All the Honkai Energy in the world was aided by the Void Sword Qi. The Soul Essence was stronger than before and qualitatively changed, no longer felt any pressure in controlling this level of Honkai Energy.

As a result, more and more sword energies with concrete forms appeared one after another, swimming through this ocean full of Honkai Energy, revealing sharp killing intent as they moved.

The newly Honkai Energy Zombie were swallowed up by the indistinguishable blackness, and the few lone Honkai Beast in the shop were reduced to thousands of eerie purple light fragments by dozens of sword energies.

In just a few seconds, the filth in front of them vanished.

The empty streets were eerily quiet, the deserted shops and public facilities appearing desolate and eerie in contrast to the bustling atmosphere of just a few minutes earlier.

Even though Su Qing'an deliberately amplified the power of his sword energy to the point that it would only turn the enemy's corpses into dust in order to take care of their feelings, the absurd reality was perhaps more impactful in such a baptism.

The boy selfishly refused to let Fu Hua know those things early on, so that she could peacefully enjoy those everyday moments that would later become precious and cherished.

But now, the moment has finally arrived when she has no choice but to face this reality.

Even though she knew it was impossible to hide it anymore, Su Qing'an still found it hard to blurt out the truth.

"The Honkai out, Hua." He said it anyway, even though it was hard to say.

The girl gazed at the boy's face, lost in thought.

What is Honkai?

Did Master Su already know these things?

If you already knew, why didn't you tell me?

Su Qing'an grabbed her hand and walked towards the underground parking garage; things had progressed to a point where they could no longer afford to be leisurely.

[Thousand Stars] cannot be used for travel when carrying two people, so he must quickly find a usable means of transportation before thinking about his next plan.

The boy continued:

"You once asked me what the Qi controlled by the Void Sword Qi was, and I didn't answer you then, but now I have to."

"Qi is Honkai Energy, and Honkai Energy is a deadly poison for humans who do not have the corresponding resistance."

"The reason why everyone in the mall turned into black ash and monsters is due to the massive amount of Honkai Energy that suddenly burst into the air."

"This will unleash a massive Honkai Energy, leading to the birth of numerous monsters and the immediate death of humanity—a calamity."

"It's Honkai."

Fu Hua suddenly understood why Master Su had said before that he was special.

The Void Sword Qi is a martial art that is extremely difficult to master, even among millions of people. The reason for this is that the Void Sword Qi is a martial art that manipulates Honkai Energy.

For humans without Honkai Energy resistance, learning this is tantamount to courting death.

But she can learn.

So she survived, but the others didn't.

The reason why he felt an unusually familiar aura when he saw the black ash spreading all over the land was because the Honkai Energy vibrate at an inexplicable frequency when he was honing his sword heart.

Over time, he became intimately familiar with the aura of Honkai Energy.

Yes, this information is very important.

This means that you are special.

This is powerful evidence that they can survive in such a terrifying environment and even protect themselves from monsters.

But why?

Why... do I not feel happy at all?

The girl suddenly stopped in her tracks, Su Qing'an paused for her sake.

She knelt down and hugged the bewildered Seele, as if to confirm that something still remained there.

The little girl touched Fu Hua's gray hair and whispered in her ear:

"Seele didn't leave. Sister Hua doesn't need to be sad."

Su Qing'an looked at Fu Hua, who was nestled in Seele's arms and whose expression was obscured, and explained softly:

"Seele is special, just like Hua, so she won't be infected by Honkai Energy or become Zombie. You don't need to worry."

"Let's find a means of transportation first. I've figured out a way to unlock the energy vehicle's fingerprint password recently. Let's find a safe enough place first before thinking about the rest of the plan."

The ink-like sword energy silently pierced through the body of the Zombie and annihilated it. The nearby crowd meant that unless the young man was willing to continue expending unnecessary energy, he was determined to eliminate this number of Zombie.

Upon hearing this, Fu Hua looked up at the boy's concerned yet melancholic face. His eyes, once clear and bright, now seemed lifeless, as if stained with ink. She asked in a trembling voice:

"How extensive is the Honkai outbreak? Is it limited to Longnan District, or the entire Canghai City?"

Su Qing'an closed his eyes, as if he didn't want to see the girl's sad expression:

"It's the whole world, China."

"Most of the world has likely been engulfed in the calamity of the Honkai outbreak. Your hometown, where your uncle used to live, had already seen monsters Honkai Infection and turned into Zombie."

"Judging from their current situation, they are most likely in the same predicament as us."

"But you should also know that shortly after we arrived in Canghai City, your uncle went on a world tour. He's currently sightseeing in a city somewhere in Australia, and it's uncertain whether something will happen to him."

"I'll try to contact some of my friends in the car later to check if Honkai has also occurred there, so I can confirm his safety."

Su Qing'an is a gentle yet strong person.

Beyond the fragility and fragility she had witnessed before, the inner strength the boy displayed at this moment left Fu Hua stunned.

Even in such a dangerous situation, he remained incredibly patient with himself.

She thought that if she were in Su Qing'an's shoes, she would definitely think that the person in front of her, holding a girl younger than herself and looking completely lost, was utterly useless.

But Su Qing'an did not.

In the few seconds it took him to manipulate the sword energy formed from Honkai Energy as she impulsively hugged Seele to vent her emotions, he killed countless monsters of various shapes and sizes.

Even in such a dangerous process, the boy did not rush him in the slightest; his words were clear and logical.

While being straightforward and leaving no room for lies, it also strives to find hope that can be earnestly anticipated for this insecure self.

There was a powerful force in those unhurried and calm words that could dispel all unease.

Fu Hua was unable to process such a massive amount of information in a short period of time, and she found it even more difficult to accept her current situation.

Fear, anxiety, sadness, and confusion—these emotions intertwine, causing the Mind Lake to rise and fall in turmoil.

Even when faced with the worried gaze of the boy, and despite still feeling anxious about her father's safety, confused about her future, and saddened by the passing of familiar people in the academy, Fu Hua strangely calmed down.

In that instant, that's what she thought.

If it's for this person, she must strive for it, even if it means enduring things beyond her limits.

The girl made up her mind and firmly grasped Su Qing'an's hand.

At this moment, Kenshin became even more pure and innocent.

The threshold of the State of Still Water, leading towards a state of dustlessness, was quietly and silently shattered, with most of it crumbling away.

For Fu Hua, who possesses such natural talent, the threshold of the Void Sword Qi is not something that can be overcome through long-term effort.

Sensing the change in the other party's sword heart, Su Qing'an thought that perhaps at some point, she might be able to reach the fourth level of the Void Realm before her.

Ten minutes later, Su Qing'an used [Thousand Stars] to amplify the frequency of [Momentum] and forcibly opened the combination lock of another energy vehicle.

This was the seventh energy vehicle he found in the garage, but like the previous ones, it was completely frozen and unable to start.

It's strange that the inability to use communication could be understood as a device failure caused by massive damage resulting from Honkai.

However, there's no reason why these undamaged energy vehicles should be rendered unusable, and contacting Himeko is currently impossible in the short term.

Even if [Thousand Stars] were used to force the two of them to other cities, the equipment there would probably still be out of service.

If this bustling Canghai City is unable to communicate, then there's no reason why nearby cities should be able to connect to the internet.

Su Qing'an vaguely sensed a growing unease.

His intuition told him that the best option was to leave while he could sense the impending crisis.