False Hope

"Void Sword Qi?!" His father's relic was actually this?

The martial art said to have been passed down by the legendary Shenzhou immortal, Red Kite, was in essence a method developed by the Previous Civilization to transform the human body. It could subtly turn the body into a container and conduit for Honkai Energy, increasing an ordinary person's ability to accommodate and use Honkai Energy while avoiding the corresponding risks.

Su Qing'an himself knew nothing about such a complicated backstory. He only knew that this was the skill of a Valkyrie he had really liked in the game.

Hua, the immortal who had protected Shenzhou for five thousand years, was also a Fusion Warrior from the Previous Civilization.

This was precisely what Su Qing'an needed most at the moment, and it was also the most suitable thing for him. Only by cultivating this martial art and increasing his resistance to Honkai Energy would he have any chance of avoiding becoming a pitiful, zombie-like monster in the not-too-distant future.

However, apart from joy, Su Qing'an, who had obtained this lifeline, felt even more confused. Were his parents really dead? Were they truly nothing more than ordinary archaeologists? If not, what were their real identities?

And then there was the fact that this was just too coincidental.

Even if he explained it using his parents' unknown identities, it was still far too coincidental.

It felt as though he had started playing a game, and the game designers had arranged a guide NPC to help him survive the opening death flag. After he truly entered the game, they had thrown him a beginner's gift pack wrapped in sugar-coated explosives to keep him from quitting.

If he drew a parallel, Kiana was the guide NPC who had brought him to the game's starting point, while the Void Sword Qi was the beginner's gift pack meant to keep him from quitting.

In less than two hours since crossing over, every step he had taken seemed to have been arranged perfectly.

Su Qing'an could already imagine the general route ahead. If he mastered the Void Sword Qi and survived the Honkai, he would probably use his relationship with Kiana to join the protagonist trio, then escape Changkong City.

If he could not learn it, then everything was over.

In theory, he had already been trapped inside an invisible prison. Shackles no one could see had confined him to Changkong City.

Wait, why was he trapped in Changkong City?

Because of this world's Su Qing'an's fate?

Why did he think there had to be something called the World Consciousness? Such a fantastical setting was not strange in the world of Honkai Impact 3rd, but what was strange was why he firmly believed in the existence of the World Consciousness.

Even if the World Consciousness truly existed, why did he think it would definitely discover him? Would humans notice an extra speck of dust on their bodies?

There were too many uncertainties and too many possibilities. Yet why did he feel as if he had signed a contract forbidding him from deviating from this world's Su Qing'an's future path?

His keen intuition and faint sense of incongruity allowed him to detect the truth closest to reality.

That unknown existence had tampered with the fragment of his soul. While granting him a stronger Soul Essence than before and the memories of this world's self, it had also made him subconsciously believe that he could not leave Changkong City.

For now, let's call that existence Lord God. What a malicious Lord God.

Once the sugar-coated shell was stripped away, the explosive inside left his heart icy cold.

Even though he had not yet opened the Void Sword Qi, Su Qing'an had already begun to question its authenticity.

He gradually realized that, in this isolated and helpless world, he needed to face every choice with even greater care. If he chose incorrectly, death was very likely what awaited him.

He had understood this before his previous death, but the peaceful scene in Changkong City had caused him to relax his vigilance subconsciously.

He took several deep breaths, trying to disperse the tangled emotions lodged in his chest. Stay calm. He had to stay calm. Su Qing'an, you had nothing. If you could not even maintain basic composure, there was no point talking about anything else.

He carefully photographed every page of the Void Sword Qi with his phone, then uploaded them to this world's Su Qing'an's social media account and cloud storage.

Even without confirming whether it was genuine, this was one of the few cards in his hand. He had to prevent the possibility of losing it first.

"I'll go downstairs to find Kiana first. It's already been... ten minutes." He glanced at the time on his phone. In those short ten minutes, Su Qing'an had gone through an eventful and complicated journey, leaving him with the illusion that a lifetime had passed.

He slipped his phone into his pocket, took the ancient book, opened the door, and walked downstairs.

"Boss, were you hiding in your room grinding a dungeon?!" Kiana, sitting in a chair, shook her braids. Her white hair gleamed brightly in the sunlight, yet compared with her exquisite face, it seemed dull by comparison.

In a sense, being good-looking really was an incredible advantage. Even in this situation, the instant Su Qing'an saw Kiana, he felt a trace of happiness deep inside.

It was created by the combination of her astonishing appearance and the strange atmosphere surrounding Kiana—a unique personal charm.

As long as one stayed beside her, one would feel at ease without even realizing it.

"Kiana, I suspect that practicing the peerless martial art my dad left behind made me mentally delirious. I've recovered now," Su Qing'an said with a solemn expression.

"Do you take me for an idiot, Boss?! Only a moron would believe that nonsense! Besides, why would you practice something like that?"

"You were complaining before that your dad was a chuunibyou! Even if you're brushing me off, hurry up and come up with a more reliable excuse!"

"It would've been more believable if you said you sold your house in Canghai City and spent all the money on Hoomsland, then went mentally delirious because you still didn't get the item!"

Kiana angrily ranted as she vigorously messed up Su Qing'an's soft hair.

Su Qing'an did not resist in the slightest, allowing Kiana to rub his head with all her strength. It definitely was not because he feared Kiana's monstrous strength; it was merely the magnanimity of an elder.

"Actually, I'm a chuunibyou too. I was just practicing for fun. Who would've thought I'd lose my memory? From the memories I recovered, it seems you recently took two months' salary in advance, broke three limited-edition Hooms Coffee Cups, and were late for work five times."

"Hah, I guess I'm still a little mentally delirious. How could Kiana have done those things? They must be side effects from practicing."

With an expressionless face, he conducted an exchange of information and applied both threats and inducements. Su Qing'an, whose hair had already become a mess, revealed a kindly smile.

"(*｀･з･)ﾑｯ Boss, don't practice such strange things anymore. You chuunibyou need to change. Look at how serious these side effects are—you're even throwing mud at me." Kiana silently withdrew her little hand and nodded solemnly, her face filled with complete trust.

Heh, women. She had said that only an idiot would believe him, yet she had still fallen to the power of salary.

"Hahaha, all right, I'm not joking anymore. The ancient book my dad left behind was full of mystical nonsense—things about the world being a dantian and controlling Honkai Energy. I thought I'd practice it for fun and didn't take it seriously, but it turned out like this." As he spoke, Su Qing'an handed the Void Sword Qi in his hand to Kiana.

Honkai Energy?! How could the boss's father have something related to Honkai? Kiana accepted the ancient book suspiciously, but after flipping through a few pages, she silently handed it back.

"Boss, it's all in traditional characters. I can't read it. (*￣m￣)"

"I knew you couldn't read it. I just wanted to show it to you." In his view, for sixteen-year-old Kiana, merely being able to speak Shenzhou language and recognize some simplified characters was already pretty good.

"I tugged at the corner of a page earlier, but it didn't tear. That means the thing your dad left behind is at least made of unusual material. (*｀･з･)ﾑｯ" Kiana proudly lifted her chin as she spoke.

Su Qing'an nodded in agreement. Given Kiana's strength, it was plausible if she could not tear through an iron block. But if she could not tear through a sheet of paper, that could only mean the paper was made from truly extraordinary material.