Chapter 116
A startling thought suddenly struck him—the protagonist of this dream seemed to have been... Elysia from the very beginning.
"Then what am I?"
Was he a bad guy who intruded into my older sister's dream?
[If Elysia is the protagonist of the dream, then An Yu, who always complains that others are the boss, suddenly realizes that the boss seems to be herself.]
[And what exactly does the Herrscher represent?]
Is it a necessary trial for the advancement of civilization? Is it a sacred yet cruel judgment? Or simply a calamity that has befallen us?
Having finally managed to use the Herrscher of Sentience, An Yu felt it necessary to thoroughly examine what she was now.
[If the birth of each Herrscher reflects and amplifies some profound calamity and obsession in the world.]
[So, now that Noah's Ark has set sail, and social conflicts have been forcibly suppressed, or even replaced to some extent by lofty goals, can these disasters still give birth to Herrscher as usual? Or rather, will the core of the Herrscher born still be the same as before?]
[If, after the birth of the Herrscher, all of them, like Elysia, traveled the world and overcame their own calamities in their initial, naive stages, would the world be different?]
[Of course, these philosophical thoughts didn't trouble An Yu for long.]
A sharp emotion, filled with intense resentment and bitterness, suddenly entered his thoughts.
On what grounds?
Why should I, after suffering so much, have to acknowledge my own sins?
Why should we coexist peacefully with these guys? They deserve to die. Although I don't know whose sentiment this is, it's easy to guess.
If the object were to give An Yu the experiences of the Herrscher —Void, Thunder, Wind, and so on—he would have the same thought, and it would never change in the slightest.
"Are you alright?"
Dystopia's voice pulled An Yu back from exploring the Herrscher Core.
When she returned to her residence and couldn't find anyone, she followed the scent to the emergency exit and found the boy sitting alone on the stairs, gazing at the setting sun outside the window, his profile exuding an indescribable loneliness.
"It's nothing," An Yu turned her head, her smile harmless and gentle. "I was just thinking that this world is so beautiful that even those who have suffered in the past subconsciously let go of their pain."
Don't worry about how you put it down.
Even in the first few levels, Elysia was just as gentle and bright. It's just that there were too many things she couldn't control. Later on, in the darkness, even gentleness can hurt.
"Sometimes, being in such an environment can indeed make you have that kind of thought."
Dystopia sat down beside him, deliberately taking an extra step so that the height difference between them wouldn't be so noticeable when she straightened up.
She spoke softly, "But those Honkai deserve to die."
An Yu nodded. "Indeed, for those who have suffered, no one but those involved is qualified to utter the word 'forgiveness'."
In the darkness, every act of kindness is like salt rubbed into a wound.
You have to stitch up your own wounds, otherwise you'll spill blood on others, but sometimes the wounds are so big that you wish everyone could experience that pain.
An Yu gently touched his forehead. This shouldn't be his emotion. The power of the Herrscher of Sentience seemed to have made him more immersed in the game, even experiencing emotions that shouldn't exist in a dream.
An Yu had a vague idea of where this emotion came from.
But this level didn't even have a cutscene, and An Yu had no idea what kind of suffering and obsession the originally intended Herrscher of Sentience had endured.
Okay~
Dystopia deliberately drew out her words, trying to dispel the somber atmosphere.
"Guess which department I ran into was recruiting?"
She turned her head, her little face beaming with a smile.
"The Engineering Department?" An Yu guessed, following the other person's meaning.
"Answer 7 correctly. Actually, the First Laboratory was also there, but it was that zero edge..." (Seven ※→"≌′])
Dystopia didn't continue, but she thought An Yu should be able to understand what she meant: a boy shouldn't go to such a place.
"I'll take you to the job interview later."
She was full of expectations for the future. "Maybe you can go from an apprentice to a doctor in three years, who knows? After all, I don't understand any of the books you've been reading these past few days, even though your grades seem to be very good."
"Perhaps the weapons you create in the future will become the sharpest spear against Honkai."
"After all, the Engineering Department's Vill-V has transformed the department to a point that I don't quite understand anymore."
"I will surpass her," An Yu said softly.
Why? Because of his authority, and... how could I be inferior to Vill-V?
Then, he would fulfill his duty Herrscher and vent his inner emotions, even if those emotions were most likely not his own. But since he had borrowed the other party's identity in this era, An Yu should repay his debt, both morally and logically.
"Surpass whom? Vill-V?"
Dystopia pursed her lips. "Hmm, maybe you really can do it."
Maybe.
"But for now, go home. You can only move into the staff dormitory after you get the job."
She stood up and dusted off her clothes.
As for now, she's going all the way and seeing things through to the end.
"I bought a lot of groceries when I got home from get off work today. By the way, can you cook?"
As she walked upstairs, she casually asked, her tone warm and familiar.
Unfortunately, Amo wasn't there; he had gone on a mission. Dystopia stood up.
As An Yu watched her retreating figure, another item was added to her list of impressions of Dystopia: a powerful but kind-hearted woman with a soft personality who is easy to bully.
It feels like the breakthrough point for future levels can be found in the girl.
Kosma can be added to the list of options, along with Hua; these three are really easy to bully.
Volume 1: Chapter 174, Section 172: Your name is arrogance! An Yu: So?
A few days later, downstairs in the staff dormitory building.
"Thanks!"
An Yu accepted the heavy bag of daily necessities, his tone sincere. Dystopia had practically used her own salary to buy him everything from head to toe.
"No need," Dystopia said with a smile.
She was determined to see things through to the end, and seeing that An Yu had finally settled down in the city, she felt a great sense of accomplishment.
She secretly clenched her fist at her side. Nice! Another lost boy saved, merit +1!
"Um, Miss Dystopia?"
An Yu hesitated before calling out to her.
Dystopia raised her head and said what she had prepared beforehand, "I'm sorry, you're a good person, but I already have someone I like."
An Yu:... Zhong÷n: Asa si~ˉYi‖: Liu@;>↑Pa
He was once again caught off guard by her bizarre thought process. How did she jump to this conclusion so quickly?
"Um, what I mean is, you've helped me so much, and now that I've received my salary card, do you need me to treat you to a meal?"
Whether or not they eat doesn't really matter, because in the past few days, An Yu has already left her mark on the girl. This is the charm of the Heart Cocoon. The so-called thank you is more like a reasonable ritualistic ending.
Dystopia hesitated for a moment, then shook her head, her tone like that of a caring older sister:
"Forget it! Use your salary from the past few months to take care of yourself and stabilize your life. That's the most important thing."
After saying that, she waved vigorously at An Yu, turned around and skipped away, her ponytail swinging behind her, radiating simple joy.
Elysia is having a headache right now.
Logically speaking, now that Noah's Ark has set sail, the breeding ground for Herrscher should be greatly suppressed.
But this is not reality. Dreams have given her too many conveniences and illusions, but this will not be reality.
Resentment in reality is anchored in history; it will not disappear into thin air, much less vanish because of a dream.
"Ah!" Elysia wailed, "Where did all this resentment come from?!"
Why must her Noah's Ark not only face modern calamities, but also deal with the disasters accumulated in history? ×{
Click, the door was pushed open.
Elysia immediately adopted a serious expression until she realized that the person who came was Aponia, at which point she slumped back onto the table, her eyes vacant.
"I have lost... the ability to manipulate other people's destinies."
Aponia's voice remained ethereal and gentle, but the content made Elysia's heart tighten.
Aponia can still see the trajectory of everyone's fate, but she can no longer touch the threads of destiny, like a flower in water or the moon in a mirror.
Elysia clutched her head. "As expected, the nuns don't speak the same language."
No bad news, no bad news!
Aponia sat to the side, showing no sign of panic.
"Elysia, that's over for playing house."
She looked out the window.
"Although the root cause of this change is unclear, since dreams can be influenced by reality... does this also mean that we can, in turn, exert a slight influence on reality through dreams?"
Where's Kevin?
Elysia was dejected. The events of the day had dealt her a heavy blow, so much so that she was listless even in her dreams.
"Kevin ..."
Aponia hesitated for a moment, then adjusted the monitor, just in time to see Kevin's long-suppressed laughter.
"Ah ha ha search~ˇ search N:℃△·Ha! An Yu! Your name is Arrogance!"
"He discovered An Yu?" Elysia was startled.
"To be precise, it was a daytime dinner gathering," Dystopia revealed.
Aponia sighed in exasperation.
Kevin hadn't really thought that far ahead. He'd been stuck in An Yu's city for almost a week, and he still hadn't appeased Mei. Tormented by both reality and dreams, he just wanted to win this once.
Elysia hesitated for a moment. "Dystopia?"
Her face turned slightly pale. Given An Yu's habits, she couldn't possibly lie to Dystopia, who was currently in a sweet relationship with Kosma.
Elysia felt she had already lowered her standards considerably, but her younger brother absolutely could not become a minotaur! That was a matter of principle!
"No, I wouldn't feel comfortable with that!"
However, she is now quite confident in Kevin's abilities.
So the surveillance footage followed Kevin until the other person kicked open the door, clearly showing Kevin's shocked expression.
The person is gone.
An Yu has gone missing.
[This caused Elysia to panic instantly, but she quickly realized there was no need to panic; after all, the real issue at this stage seemed to be that she couldn't find An Yu.]
[I only failed to beat the previous level because of special circumstances. If there hadn't been so many unexpected events, she would have cleared it long ago!]
[The frequency of Honkai outbreaks has increased slightly.]
[The frequency of Dystopia's missions is also increasing slightly.] ↓∧÷∠∈
[After returning from his mission, Kosma, on Dystopia's recommendation, met with An Yu, a meeting that surprised no one.]
[Hua became a Fusion Warrior, and as she began to go to the battlefield, the frequency of Honkai outbreaks increased slightly again.]
[However, no one noticed these things, since the frequency of Honkai outbreaks had been steadily increasing; it's just that the frequency had indeed increased recently.]
[But the approaching Flame Herrscher seems like a perfectly normal thing.]
[Elysia is also doing something big; she wants to try to turn Himeko into a like-minded ally, rather than a destined enemy!]
Even if Noah's Ark encountered calamities from the past, at least in the dream world, she had the courage to try.
One month later, at the small restaurant Fire Moth.