Starting with the Herrschers, I Cut Down All

If it really existed, it definitely wasn't something she could afford to provoke... After all, at the scale of an entire continent, there'd be no need to do something like this.

"It's fine. The British Young Master will foot the bill for the whole world."

Markets could regulate themselves, but that self-regulation was limited. If all of Eden's wealth flooded into the market at once, that ability to regulate itself would collapse in an instant.

But it was fine. Just like how, in the original timeline where Eden joined Fire Moth, Himeko's great blaze settled the world's debts.

"British Young Master?"

Eden froze for a moment. She'd never heard that name before.

Oh, right. There was no Britain here, only Europe.

Stupid dream. So much background lore.

"Oh my, Eden probably doesn't know yet. Great Britain Island in Europe has already been wiped off the map."

Eden held her forehead. Had she not woken up yet, or was the girl in front of her having some kind of episode?

Her obsessive stalker fan couldn't be a lunatic, could she?

Well, there weren't many obsessive stalker fans with functioning brains.

Seeing that her sweet, naive best friend still knew nothing, Elysia sighed in disappointment.

"Oh! Even though it's supposedly made out of love, and they're so cheap they can't even afford voice actors, the details are really well done."

"It even filled in plenty of plot points that the story only glossed over."

An Yu walked through Great Britain's highest-level laboratory. Imaginary Hands kept extending from the hard, pristine steel walls, turning every troublesome person into dropped experience points.

By the time he reached the central hub, only one or two people remained alive in the enormous laboratory.

He couldn't make out their faces, but An Yu easily pulled up the experiment logs. Then, facing the password screen, he casually dragged an elite monster over and pressed it against the interface.

After all, it was a game mechanic. Even though the lazy developers hadn't bothered making character models, the highest authority was still unlocked the instant he stuck it there.

"Who uses faces instead of passwords in real life?"

It was way too fake.

After finishing, he casually tossed the man behind him. The elite monster's body instantly dissolved into the Imaginary Realm upon hitting the wall, leaving behind only a single experience point that rushed into An Yu's body.

"Let's see... Siberian Snowfield."

It wasn't difficult to find.

Logically speaking, the system logs in a game should've been arranged chronologically.

But those stupid dog developers hadn't done that.

The newest record was from a day ago:

[March 17: Test subject ** survived once again. Curses, resentment... and friendship became the hope supporting her.]

Skipping a large number of meaningless records, An Yu quickly scrolled upward.

[March 16: The test subject seems like she's about to die. Useless trash.]

Finally, An Yu's gaze stopped on an entry from a month ago:

[February 14: Test subject ** escaped. Due to the continuous injections of Honkai energy, she broke apart the bars and fled with several other test subjects.]

Fortunately, we'd captured quite a few Honkai Beasts beforehand. Although all the Honkai Beasts died during this pursuit, the test subject was captured once more. She displayed extraordinary strength.

But her companions seemed quite ordinary. Still, the power of friendship appeared capable of letting the test subject endure the experiments for longer.

An Yu: ...

"I take that back. They copied Sirin's plot wholesale, only adding the protagonist's role—the survivor's scenes."

By the way, was that girl in the tower?

He had no impression of her. She'd probably become part of his experience points.

"By the way, if a plot character gets killed by a player, can the main storyline still continue?"

Belial!

An Yu didn't know, but he'd had a great time mowing them down today. He'd save the game and try to clear it within the next couple of days.

He slept well that night.

Elysia could barely be said to have slept well too.

In a rather cozy room somewhere in Europe.

Sirin, the villainous little young lady, held her forehead.

Dreams had originally been pretty enjoyable for her. After all, she seemed to be some world-destroying demon king. But this time, the companions she was supposed to revive later had replaced her.

And then—

The first sword swung after coming ashore cut down the beloved first!

It hurt. It hurt so much. For the first time, she experienced betrayal.

It really hurt. This scar really hurt.

Holding her chest, she casually flung the comic beside her pillow away. But the moment she saw the cover, she obediently got out of bed, picked it back up, and shoved it beneath her pillow.

She'd be dead if her mom found her banned comics.

"Kiana!"

No one answered. Only then did she remember that her easy-to-bully little sister had run away from home.

Did she think running away meant she couldn't be bullied anymore? Wishful thinking.

Just as stupid as that An Yu!

"Kalpas? Are you okay?"

The photographer beside him asked with unconscious concern.

Kalpas was pretty fierce, but as a photographer, how could he not know that one of the magazine's models had a sharp tongue but a soft heart?

"If you really can't keep going, we can shoot tomorrow. It is getting rather late."

The photographer suggested it. Everyone got along fairly well with Kalpas. Though he was blunt, he was truly warmhearted.

"No need."

Kalpas's voice was low, but he quickly adjusted himself.

"My spirits have long since recovered. I don't need you worrying about me. You should be thinking about how to finish shooting quickly and get home."

The next day, An Yu opened the window as usual to enjoy the early morning breeze, then gathered immense courage and pulled open his door.

Thankfully, his older sister wasn't curled up outside his door this time.

Just as he sighed in relief, the door directly opposite his opened with a soft click.

Elysia rubbed her sleepy eyes and leaned lazily against the doorframe. The thin strap of her silk nightgown slipped from her smooth shoulder, outlining the delicate curve of her collarbone.

She didn't seem to notice, merely looking at him with sleepy eyes.

"Will breakfast have a surprise?"

Her voice carried the huskiness of someone who had just woken up, making her sound even softer than usual.

The dream had exhausted her. She'd run from Asia to Europe, only for the dream to end just after she'd signed a contract with Eden. Hopefully, the next dream could continue from there.

"You can guess. Once you guess fried dough sticks and soy milk, bread and milk, or ** and porridge, your surprise will come true."

An Yu's gaze inadvertently swept over the exposed skin before he awkwardly looked away and cleared his throat.

"Why can every other boy cook, but you can't?!"

Elysia puffed out her cheeks like an unhappy hamster. Barefoot, she took several steps forward, her slender finger nearly poking An Yu in the chest.

It was always the same few things. She wanted something sour, spicy, sweet, bitter... No, bitter was out. She wanted something that would make her tongue happy.

An Yu quietly watched her, then chuckled after a moment.

"Elysia, if we cut open your stomach right now, we might find several garlic crayfish inside."

There was no way he wanted to cook first thing in the morning.

Though he was in a good mood today. He'd mowed through plenty yesterday and even killed the boss. The next few days should be more satisfying grinding.

Elysia went back to change out of her nightgown, her voice carrying through the door. "You didn't peel the shells for me yesterday, either."

And Eden hadn't recognized her in the dream. She'd even been wary of her. Kalpas had also died at An Yu's hands. Damn little brother, always stripping her friends away from her side.

And it only happened in dreams. If she tried to accuse him of anything, everyone would definitely take An Yu's side. Thinking of that, she secretly gritted her teeth. An Yu was so cunning.

An Yu ignored her.

They went out for breakfast. Elysia was lost in melancholy, and the girl, delicate as a lilac, was indeed rather eye-catching in the breakfast shop.

Especially when she lightly gathered up her slightly messy hair, then naturally reached out, wrapped her arm around An Yu's, and pressed half her body against him.

"You made me angry again last night."

She'd wanted to lean against the cold wall, but her little brother's arm was softer.

"Why am I always the bad guy in your dreams?"

An Yu didn't push her away. He was used to it anyway. If four years of university had calmed him down, he might've really thought Elysia was his wife-like older sister.

"You killed my friends."

Elysia's voice was low.

An Yu: ...

I don't even know who your friends are.

Su?

I only met Su yesterday. Did he die in your dream today already? Elysia, your dreams are terrifying.

"In your dreams, you're always so heartless. Every friend and companion I have seems unable to escape your clutches."

And this was only the beginning. Normally, it wouldn't happen until the finale, but in that strange dream this time, Kalpas had died so early on.

What about everyone else? Would An Yu show mercy?

"Come on, sis, don't make it sound like I'm some deranged serial killer. That's just what happened in your dream!"

An Yu hesitated, then helplessly rubbed Elysia's head.

Perhaps noticing the surrounding gazes, Elysia raised her lashes and wiped at tears that didn't exist from the corners of her eyes.

She demanded, "An Yu, if my life only had you left in it, would you be happy?"

An Yu: ...

That was a little scary. An Yu was afraid of the kind of love-starved person who couldn't live without you, whose entire life had only one person left. In the words of older otaku, that was called a yandere.

Elysia sniffled along with the emotion, and a snot bubble emerged from her fair little nose, scattering all the feelings An Yu had painstakingly built up.

"Is there any chance..."

An Yu reached out and popped the snot bubble, then took out a tissue and wiped her face.

"That my life already only has you left?"

He held Elysia's cheeks, his fingertips gently caressing them, his eyes full of tenderness.

Elysia sniffled again. This time, no snot bubble appeared.

"Really?"

She asked instinctively, unconsciously anticipating it because of human selfishness.

"Nope. I was just humoring you."

The wontons had already arrived. Under the owner's gossiping gaze, An Yu decisively let go and began dealing with his empty stomach.

"Stop watching the show, boss. It's not like this is the first time us siblings have eaten here."

He said that to the owner watching the spectacle beside them.