Relics Within Canghai City

Canghai City.

Even after half a year, the aftereffects of the Honkai Fission Bomb still linger.

Intense radiation mixed with Honkai Energy created an even more bizarre power field.

As the boy arrived carrying the coffin, the extremely harsh environment caused the Honkai Energy barrier to become somewhat unstable in an instant.

But his previous experience and encounter gave him a deep understanding and provided him with relevant lessons.

This fluctuation disappeared completely in an instant as the Honkai Energy barrier surrounding Su Qing'an flowed and swirled irregularly like ripples on water.

Six months ago, Honkai Energy chain reaction, ten thousand times more powerful than this aftershock, created a gap in the Third Herrscher's defenses. The resulting burst of radiation surged into her body in that instant, causing her vital signs to disappear completely shortly afterward.

When he finally returned here, Su Qing'an, at his peak, easily pieced together the details of Satou Yunona's death.

He thought to himself indifferently.

This is perhaps indeed the most likely solution for humanity to kill Herrscher when facing one. From a civilized perspective, sacrificing some human lives to make such a choice for the survival of the race is understandable.

From Su Qing'an's own perspective, the measures taken by the higher-ups were foolish.

The Honkai Fission Bomb is indeed very powerful, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a trump card.

But it was used precisely when it was least needed.

Satou Yunona severed 90% of her connection with the Honkai Consciousness at that time, and the remaining connection could not last much longer.

If it weren't for the launch of the Honkai Fission Bomb, the human side would have had an additional living Herrscher as combat power.

A trump card like the Honkai Fission Bomb wouldn't appear on the battlefield against the Herrscher so early, and this is crucial.

A so-called "killer weapon" is a weapon that, once used, will no longer have the same effect on the same enemy.

If the next Herrscher is fully conscious and has all her abilities, the Honkai Fission Bomb's effect will become negligible.

To put it another way, assuming Su Qing'an didn't exist, even if the Third Herrscher could still use her powers, simply using the electromagnetic barrier would be enough for her to survive and continue to pose a threat to civilization.

After understanding that the essence of the Honkai Fission Bomb is a chain reaction...

The effect that previously disrupted the Herrscher's surface Honkai Energy barrier will be completely nullified.

Beyond that, no one can imagine what kind of actions the Honkai Consciousness could take advantage of by utilizing human scientific research results.

But these details and trivialities that I should have carefully considered and thought about how to defeat the Honkai, could not stir up the slightest ripple in my heart at this moment.

Was it disappointment? Or weariness?

The boy stood amidst the ruins.

He chose to stop thinking about these things and simply stayed where he was, remaining silent for a long time.

All that remains is desolation. After being infiltrated by radiation, this area is no longer suitable for low-level Honkai Beast to roam. It is clear that this strange area is a wasteland that even the Honkai do not need to bless again.

Humans are far less likely to survive in such an environment than Honkai Beast. Currently, the only being capable of coming here alone without any external aids is oneself.

The place was so desolate that even the Mechanical Force of human civilization did not choose to station and monitor it.

The boy's long, snow-white hair, reaching his back, swayed in the wind. His plain-colored ancient robes looked rather thin, and his crimson eyes seemed somewhat lifeless.

In this otherwise gloomy environment, his presence was like a drop of ink in water, calmly enhancing the surrounding atmosphere.

Su Qing'an was lost in thought, believing that Fu Hua and Seele should be safe and sound under Himeko's protection.

Even so, the desire to see for oneself that the other person was alright remained.

But he didn't want to see them in his current state.

If you don't adjust your emotions and choose to face them in a normal state after the aftereffects of the soul have been resolved, even if you meet them... it's easy to make the other person even more upset.

The boy looked up at the boundless blue sky. The filthy black and gray had vanished like dark clouds after a rainstorm. But on the earth, which was full of debris, fine black dust could be seen everywhere, just like an oil painting that had been violently torn apart, where the meaning of the colors and the structure had all disappeared.

Why come to Canghai City?

If we were to give the other a true resting place, then the Changkong City, far away in the extreme winter, would perhaps be the most suitable place, rather than this wasteland that has been ravaged by both civilization and Honkai and is now devoid of everything.

But for some reason, Su Qing'an really wanted to come and see.

And perhaps he himself understood that the remains in the coffin... were just remains.

After her death, Su Qing'an could no longer sense Satou Yunona's soul.

Her soul has gone nowhere, perhaps vanished, or perhaps embarked on an unknown path to the afterlife, but either way, it represents the so-called burying and consideration for the other person, which is essentially nothing more than simple self-comfort.

The idea that the soul returns to its homeland stems from the uncertainty and unknowability of the soul.

Therefore, this explanation can offer some comfort.

For Su Qing'an, who understood that the other person's soul was no longer there, where to bury it had become a matter that no longer needed to be considered.

The journey from Australia to Canghai City is exceptionally long, and the purpose of activating [Udu-dust •Critical Point] is to shorten this process.

During this period, Su Qing'an deliberately chose to slow down her pace.

What should have been a few hours' journey took him a whole day.

[Finally... I have no intention of interfering with your choices, but please, after you Awakened, go and witness the world for yourself.]

The reason is Himeko's statement.

Su Qing'an had considered whether Himeko would try to persuade him, and considering the perspective of the captain of the Moth to Fire and Himeko's personality, this was a perfectly normal choice.

However, she did not advise Su Qing'an on how detrimental it would be to the situation and the consequences of breaking with the higher-ups, which would only exacerbate the already slow decline of humanity and cause those she cared about to gradually lose all means of survival.

She did not elaborate on the possibilities surrounding all of this.

And these are words that the boy cannot refute, even if spoken aloud.

Assuming Himeko is willing, even if it involves moral blackmail, given Su Qing'an's personality, he would most likely choose to accept it even if it meant enduring long-term soul aftereffects.

This was a life-saving favor beyond the agreement, and he had to repay it.

But she didn't choose to do that; she simply uttered those words with a profound meaning.

The boy understood the meaning behind Himeko's words.

Himeko wanted to witness firsthand what the world had become after the Third Honkai Outbreak and six months of fermentation.

Only after witnessing everything will Su Qing'an be able to make a choice in the end without regret.

So the boy traveled from Cairns, Australia, to India, setting foot on the island of Irian Jaya along the way, gazing at Malaysia and Singapore from high above, then proceeding to the Philippines, passing the Northern Macedonian Islands, and finally landing on the vast ocean, silently walking step by step into Canghai City.

There's no need to deliberately observe with the naked eye; the things represented by just this small part of the world are heavy enough.

In those vast, unconnected lands, the presence of human souls had become so scarce that he was speechless.

This is Previous Civilization.

It was the first powerful era to fight the Honkai to the very end, leaving behind countless treasures and contingency plans for future generations.

Even so, under the onslaught of the Third Honkai Outbreak, it still looked like a butterfly with its wings wet from the rain, on the verge of collapse.

The original history left behind very little information in the Schicksal's database, and Su Qing'an's courses at St. Freya were only at the first-year level.

Without knowing in advance that the reboot would directly transport him to this era, the boy himself had absolutely no interest in the history of Previous Civilization of class.

He prefers to learn practical skills and knowledge rather than these.

The boy who learned about Seele's past from Himeko understood a detail: the development of the Herrscher Core's function had always remained at a rather unsophisticated level.

Under these circumstances, the emergence of a mature technology that can make such a high use of the Herrscher Core as the Divine Key is a very distant prospect.

Whether the Immortal Project is underway can be glimpsed from the fact that Himeko herself does not control Honkai Energy.

As a result, Su Qing'an cannot understand how civilization at this stage could quickly develop technologies related to immortality and methods for generating Divine Key.

He even suspected that his appearance might have caused a shift in the timeline, resulting in the deaths of the developers involved in the early stages of the Great Honkai, which in turn left the current civilization's technology against the Honkai in a relatively immature stage.

From a common-sense perspective, Su Qing'an's concerns are quite reasonable.

Mei's existence is ultimately too extraordinary; even with normal logical reasoning, one wouldn't think of her in such an extreme form of individual heroism.

It just goes to show that reality is always more surreal than fiction.

While passing through New Zealand, Su Qing'an made the corresponding judgment.

It is highly likely that Orank produced a Herrscher, prompting the official use of the Honkai Fission Bomb once again.

The boy wasn't sure if the Herrscher had been successfully eliminated, but judging from the Honkai Energy reactions in the region and country around New Zealand, it was highly likely that the Herrscher was dead.

Su Qing'an hadn't received much information from the outside world, so six months was enough time for several Herrscher to emerge, which he still didn't know.

But if that Herrscher was indeed killed by the Honkai Fission Bomb in New Zealand, it was most likely the Fourth Herrscher.

The most likely way for the current civilization to deal with Herrscher is through Honkai Fission Bomb, and the boy doesn't believe that the Honkai Consciousness would cause its Apostles to die three times in a row using the same method, so this judgment is reasonable.

Su Qing'an had heard about the Fourth Herrscher's abilities from Schicksal's database.

That was a terrifying ability called [Ideal Fluid].

Even though both are at the rudimentary stage of only being able to utilize their powers, the Fourth Herrscher possesses this ability, will still be much faster than the Third Herrscher, who can control electromagnetic fields.

The nature of Ideal Fluid implies extreme speed; the absence of friction means it is not affected by gravity, and even the speed of light would be sucked into a black hole due to immense gravity.

It's easy to imagine how terrifying it would be if the Fourth Herrscher possessed this power.

However, in actual combat, there is no need to exaggerate the opponent's limits. Although Su Qing'an did not know why the Herrscher could not do those things in theory, the fact that they could not do it meant that the theory was just theory.

The use of powers by Herrscher must be subject to certain limitations that they are unaware of, and the Honkai Consciousness is certainly not capable of directly elevating these factors.

The reason is simple: if it were possible, humanity would have perished long ago, before the First Herrscher appeared.

Therefore, this also mysteriously gives these seemingly invincible Herrscher an invisible upper limit.

From this perspective, the most likely form of power that the Fourth Herrscher can utilize is to cause a storm.

Humanity failed to give the Fourth Herrscher a chance to demonstrate her power this time, but the Honkai Consciousness will not repeat similar foolish mistakes.

His decision might be to speed up the Herrscher creation process, make the Herrscher creation phase more covert, find a corner without Honkai Energy detectors, or even take a three-pronged approach.

Regardless of what abilities the Fifth Herrscher possesses, she will never again find herself in a situation where she makes a lot of noise but accomplishes little.

It would be extremely difficult to kill an opponent with Honkai Fission Bomb without any setbacks, just like this time.

Moreover... the Herrscher will only get stronger; this is an accurate judgment history has given Su Qing'an.

Using himself as an example, he could briefly hold back the Third Herrscher with all his might, but it was a completely different story for the Herrscher of the other sequences afterwards.

The Fourth Herrscher died too quickly; expecting the Moth to Fire to leave behind any relevant data is nothing short of wishful thinking.

My mind was racing with conflicting thoughts, but ultimately I couldn't come to any useful conclusions.

The boy carried the coffin through the deserted city ruins. He had just Awakened from a six-month-long slumber, and even after a day had passed, his thoughts were still in a chaotic mess.

However, from an objective point of view, the reason why Su Qing'an was in a state of Clear Mirror, Still Water, fell into chaotic analysis devoid of emotion was due to the existence of the aftereffects of the soul.

As it turns out, making a whim to go to Canghai City was not a very good decision.

Su Qing'an found nothing worth coming to this city filled with ruins.

But during his subsequent walk, a familiar yet unusual fluctuation emanated from an environment teeming with radiation and Honkai Energy, abruptly pulling the boy out of his aimless thoughts.

His body moved instinctively, almost faster than he could think. The spontaneously generated [Thousand Stars] amplified his abilities, allowing Su Qing'an to arrive at the not-so-distant place in an instant.

As the boy stepped into the area, the terrain outline reflected in his crimson eyes vaguely revealed a familiar shape. Without a word, he raised his eyebrows slightly, and an invisible sword aura completely severed the ruins that were pressing down on the source of the fluctuations.

Su Qing'an, carrying the coffin, stepped into the swirling dust.

Then.

The boy stared at the slowly dissipating electromagnetic barrier and the pink backpack beneath it, remaining silent for a very long time.