Mei: An Encounter That Never Began

Will the ones who come back be the same ones they were before?

"So, now..."

The light from Mei's glasses obscured her pupils as she turned to look at the now empty classroom.

"If my deduction is correct, as long as I convey key information through words or text, it will be retrieved by some kind of 'rule' similar to a system scan," Mei muttered to herself, then rested her chin on her hand and pondered for a few minutes.

Finally, she did something inexplicable.

The girl leaned against the window and said coldly to the empty classroom, "'The Eleventh Honkai War'."

"..."

"Splash."

Half a second after the words were spoken, the back door of the classroom was pushed open.

But what appeared behind the door was... Kevin, who should have already left with Lin.

"This time, have you become someone outside of 'Lin'?" Mei was not surprised to see "Kevin" with a big smile. She pushed up her glasses that had slipped down her nose, seemingly unaccustomed to the weight of the glasses.

Kevin approached Mei with a bright smile that was so cheerful it sent chills down your spine, extending his hand as he walked. "What are you talking about, Mei? By the way, let's go home together."

"MSA-079, Lin, what are they?"

"..."

Mei's icy words made "Kevin," who had a warm smile on his face, stop in his tracks. He narrowed his eyes when he was less than a meter away from Mei.

"MSA-079? What's that?"

"MSA-079 and Lin are different periods of the same person. In short, they are both 'Lin'." Mei ignored the feigning ignorance of "Kevin" and explained in a very fast voice, "You probably didn't expect that Lin's consciousness could be divided into different parts, and that it could be repeated again, right?"

What are you saying?

"You don't understand? That's okay, I can explain it to you."

Unlike her usual serene smile, Mei exuded a chilling, icy aura at this moment, making even Kevin sense that she was extremely... "dangerous".

"This is not the real world." Mei looked out the window at the twilight. "The sunrise and sunset times every day are accurate to the second. This is the evidence I found myself. There are other things besides that... I'll talk about them later."

"If it's not the real world, where could it be?" Kevin's smile took on a different meaning.

"The world of consciousness, and not just the world of one person's consciousness."

Mei pointed to the top of her head.

"The ability to monitor the entire city like searching for keywords is something that can only be done in a completely virtual world, unless the city is filled with nanomachines that listen 24 hours a day and there are so many of them that they can appear in front of you in half a second. If it's not the network world, then it can only be the world of consciousness."

"Hmm...that seems to make sense." Kevin pretended to think deeply, then chuckled easily. "But there's a problem. If this is a world of consciousness, wouldn't the owner of that consciousness be able to do whatever they want? Why bother with something as troublesome as 'searching for keywords'?"

"Therefore, I say, this is not a person's world of consciousness."

"..."

"Besides the two people who dominate the entire world of consciousness, there are two other people whose consciousness did not originally exist in this world of consciousness, so their behavior is special and also required by the 'ending'."

Mei stared expressionlessly at "Kevin," whose face was gradually darkening, and said indifferently, "This is Lin, and your world of consciousness."

Kevin fell completely silent, staring at the eloquent Mei without uttering a word. She, however, seemed oblivious to his feelings and continued speaking—

"If this is the world of consciousness that two people use to clash, then it can explain why there are behaviors that are both abstract and concrete. Because neither side can directly interfere with the world of consciousness. Only by increasing their control over the world of consciousness can they do more. And the concrete manifestation of your and Lin's manipulation of consciousness in the world of consciousness is some behaviors that seem reasonable but are not reasonable."

"For example... using a syringe to inject memories into other people."

Kevin's expression relaxed again. He seemed to completely disregard what Mei was saying. He asked with a smile, "Then... who are you? Shouldn't you just be a decoration in the world of consciousness? Like an NPC."

"Don't rush, it's not too late to tell you after I finish speaking." Mei changed the subject, her sharp gaze sweeping across "Kevin's " neck. "Anyway, you just plan to kill me after I finish speaking."

"Let's go back to the beginning. MSA-079 and Lin are the consciousness of the same person, but they are different consciousnesses split off from the main consciousness of 'Lin' in order to deal with your erosion."

"You must be having a headache. Originally, it would have been enough to devour one person's consciousness, but now you have to do it all over again. Fortunately, you have gained more control over the world of consciousness, such as 'gazing'."

"But this time, there are more variables, such as... the memories that MSA-079 injected into Lin, Elysia, and Qianqi, and also... my appearance."

"You know very well that the clash of consciousness between you and Lin is actually a 'stage play' performed according to a script. In the end, this world of consciousness will be destroyed by 'disaster', which is also a kind of abstract and concrete expression. Your 'gaze' itself is not to kill all the people who say the keywords, but to prevent them from getting the truth. After all, the script being broken means your failure. So killing MSA-079 and... Elysia is just part of this, because they are no longer the main consciousness, but existences that are irrelevant to the ending."

Upon hearing Mei say "Elysia," Kevin's lips curled into a sinister grin.

"How much else do you know? And how do you know it?"

"Yes, how much more do I know?"

Mei coldly observed Kevin's menacing expression, remaining calm and unhurried.

Kevin slowly approached. "Anyway, you can't tell them the truth. As long as they know everything through words and writing, I can take action against them. And you yourself..."

"Isn't it also something that has no bearing on the ending?"

"Laugh--"

Kevin's hand pierced Mei's chest.

"Clatter".

The glasses fell to the ground.

The girl coughed up two mouthfuls of blood, which landed on the rugged-looking boy's face.

Everything before my eyes was blurry.

But she weakly raised her head, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, and coldly asked the boy, tilting her head to the side:

"Really? Then have you forgotten something too?"

"..."

After saying that, the girl's head drooped, and she breathed her last.

Only a bewildered "Kevin" remained standing there, staring at the motionless corpse.

Chapter 53 Plum Blossoms: An Encounter That Never Began

As dawn broke, Elysia stood in a not-so-dazzling light, her precious eyes slowly lighting up like beacons in the night sky.

The scene from last night still lingered in her mind, and she had no intention of running away.

She was seriously considering the related issues.

He killed Lin himself... Impossible.

Elysia was certain that it wasn't herself. Elysia had one, and there would only be one. She was the only one.

The psychotic Fregoli Delusion Syndrome appeared in Elysia's mind, and she understood why Sue could not fully convey her meaning in the end and could only say Fregeli.

Be wary of everyone, even yourself...

Outside this city lies nothingness. Her memory must have been flawed at some point, or perhaps from the moment she entered this city, she had already entered a world that seemed real yet was not.

MSA-079 conveyed the message "Kill Lin" to her because of what happened last night?

So, should we kill Lin? According to Su and MSA-079, it's not hard to conclude that Lin is the key to everything, and his death should end it all.

... How could that be?

Elysia smiled.

She would never do such a thing, and... she would protect Lin. For whatever reason, Elysia believed in the emotions within her heart, the greatest gift humanity had given her.

Elysia spent the whole night sorting out her thoughts and made up her mind.

"Okay, then I'll go to work first, and then..."

"Knock knock knock".

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Elysia was slightly puzzled because she hadn't told anyone where she lived, so no one should be looking for her. It was also too early to collect rent...

"No need to open the door."

A cold female voice ended her suspicions, but it also increased her concerns.

"I'll leave after I finish speaking. Don't ask any questions."

"MSA-079 died last night."

The other person's two short sentences made Elysia's eyes widen.

Just as Elysia was about to blurt out, "Who are you?", she realized that the other person had said, "Don't ask questions."

Suppress your restlessness; no matter what, it might be better to listen quietly now.

"In the not-too-distant future, this world will come to an end, and at that time, the people you cherish will die, just like MSA-079."

"The main reason for the current situation lies with Lin himself. He could have willingly accepted death to save you, but you chose to seek another way to save him. It was because you didn't want him to die that the current situation occurred. You are the secondary reason."

Have you been dreaming lately?

The other person's abrupt change of topic startled Elysia, who stammered, "Yes..."

Do you want to know what happened next in the dream?

"..."

The dream, the sequel...

She didn't know whether it was Lin or MSA-079 who had been shot; she stared blankly at the blood-soaked ground.

What happened next?

"If you want to know, use this." The person outside threw a bulging envelope through the mailbox. "The red one is for you, and the blue one is for Lin. Use them when appropriate."

Elysia picked up the envelope, opened it, and two syringes fell out, one red and one blue.

A syringe? Is it filled with pepper spray and plum juice?

"What is the right time?" Elysia put away the syringe and envelope with some skepticism.

"... after losing his memory in the forest."

After leaving behind his last words, the person outside vanished like melting snow, and Elysia hurriedly opened the door and chased after him.

"The next time you lose your memory? Wait, you..."

But outside, there was no one, as if no one had ever existed in the first place.

People always love to talk about how the brave eventually become the evil dragon.

But the hero doesn't want to become a dragon. The holy sword in his hand is a weapon to slay dragons, but sooner or later it will also become a weapon to pierce the hero's throat.

"How much longer... three days?"

A girl wearing glasses sat on a bench on campus, holding a can of hot coffee. Her glasses were covered by the steam from the coffee, so she took them off, wiped them, and put them back on, looking a little confused.

Finally, there's... him.

"Chienyu Academy is really great."

The man, who had been keeping his eyes closed, emerged from the shadows and stood in the sunlight, seemingly surprised by the vibrant energy of the campus.

"Haven't you been here before?" The girl patted the seat next to her, and the man quietly walked over and sat down.

"I only heard Kevin describe it. Most of the time we just went to our own homes to play. When I wanted to find him after the Third Honkai War Outbreak, Chienyu Academy had already been Honkai by the Honkai. After that, Changkong City was rebuilt, Chienyu Academy was no longer the way Kevin described it."

Sue sighed. At that time, he knew nothing about the world or the Moth of Fire soldier who had stopped him.

"..."

The girl took a sip of coffee and quietly watched the scene before her replay yesterday's events, which would then transform into tomorrow's.

The monotonous and unchanging scenery that Qianqi finds dull and boring is now just a memory they can only cherish in their past.

Looking back now, it's like turning the pages of an old book and getting your fingers cut by the sharp edges, the pain stinging your brain.

"No regrets?" The man was just like an ordinary student; he also had a memorable period in his student life. He leaned back in his chair and looked at the silent girl beside him.

"...When I saw MSA-079 and Elysia meet, I think I understood what it means to have mixed feelings." The girl didn't answer, but took another sip of coffee. The rich liquid went down her throat and into her stomach. She looked calmly at the teaching building not far away and said, "Even though our first real meeting wasn't there, it always makes people recall the past. Humans just like to reminisce."

"Even in that situation, would you still fire a gun?"

The girl took another sip of coffee, this time a big gulp.

At that time...

Elysia arrived in Changkong City, raised her pistol, pointed it at the back of the girl's head, and pulled the trigger.

If MSA-079 hadn't saved Elysia, she probably would have killed Elysia.