Why was March 7th the only one whose sanity had not been eroded?
Lin Chen no longer had time to give it any thought.
After that dark halo flashed into existence and spread outward,
through the black tide that had already engulfed the entire central plaza of the B4 Load Zone,
a thick, chilling mist began to spread.
It reduced Lin Chen's visibility to no more than ten meters ahead.
Arlan, Asta, and March 7th
also began to disappear from sight.
March 7th's cries seemed to come from somewhere close by.
But with his head swimming and throbbing, he could not tell which direction they came from.
"Is this... sea fog?"
"The sailor's story and its ending..."
Catching a cold, briny stench, Lin Chen felt a chill creep down his back.
The part conspicuously missing from the fable in Room 0018-
was it about to play out before his eyes?
Herta Space Station was now a solitary island in a sea of stars.
It bore an uncanny resemblance to the ship in the story.
The sea fog spreading before him and the boundless black tide
might well have been what the sailors aboard that ship had seen that night.
Faintly, Lin Chen heard the roaring surge of ocean waves.
A cold, briny wind stung his cheeks.
"La la la... la la..."
A lilting, ethereal song drifted from the distant fog.
Within Lin Chen's field of vision,
he could faintly make out a blonde, blue-eyed maiden emerging from the black tide.
Moonlight spilled over her voluptuous body, glistening with moisture.
"The storm is coming... come to me."
"I will guide you out of these fogbound waters."
Unfamiliar syllables rang in Lin Chen's ears.
Though the language was utterly incomprehensible, he understood its meaning.
"No... I can't go..."
Lin Chen shook his head hard, trying his best to clear his mind.
Yet he still took two steps toward the black tide ahead.
"Good... come to me."
"I will lead you to the treasure of the kings of the Northern Islands."
"Brave sailors shall receive supreme glory and wealth."
The haunting voice continued its gentle entreaties.
Dizzy and disoriented, Lin Chen
felt his body refuse to obey him, his footsteps driven by some unknown force.
They carried him toward that endless fog.
Rat-tat-tat-tat...
Suddenly, a rapid barrage of gunfire brought Lin Chen's steps to a halt.
A burly warrior in dark blue powered armor charged out from beside him.
He planted himself directly in front of Lin Chen.
As hundreds of spent casings flew,
a dense stream of metal shot toward the far reaches of the fog.
"Commander! Stay alert!"
"Get out of here as quickly as you can! Don't look back!"
"I've marked an escape route for you on the tactical map, Commander."
"Now... let Jim Raynor be your last bulwark!"
The curved faceplate bearing a demonic design opened.
The middle-aged man turned his head, his weathered face filled with resolve.
After those few words,
Reynolds gripped his electromagnetic Gauss rifle in both hands and strode resolutely toward the fog.
"Come on, you ugly monster!"
"If you want the Commander, you'll have to step over my corpse first!"
The enormous weapon in his hands spat furious tongues of flame.
Within the endless sea fog, amid the sounds of metal streams tearing through flesh and limbs,
piercing shrieks faintly rang out.
The once-lilting song also cut off abruptly.
Lin Chen shook his head hard, his vision clearing again.
Looking at Reynolds's towering back, he felt a tumult of emotions.
Though the soldiers of the Conqueror Legion were all tools of war summoned by the system,
they were also human beings of flesh and blood.
At that moment, Reynolds's courage in the face of death shook him to his core.
"Roar!"
As the howling black tide surged, a frenzied roar
made Lin Chen's eardrums sting.
The next moment, an enormous dark shape
brandished its sharp claws within the endless fog.
It charged straight at him with terrifying speed.
[System! Activate the Myriad Nan armor's active defense mechanism!]
Confronted with this sudden turn of events, Lin Chen, who had only just regained his senses,
immediately issued the command.
The Myriad Nan armor could form a defensive shell covering one hundred percent of his body.
It could also activate its limit mode.
At the predicted point of impact, it would concentrate all its armor material to defend him.
His nerves were stretched taut, his adrenaline surging.
Facing the uncanny monster's claws, which he could no longer dodge,
Lin Chen had no idea whether his final trump card would work.
If the [Myriad Nan armor] could not withstand the monster's physical attack,
his journey would likely end here.
Fleeting images flashed through his mind as he recalled everything he had experienced along the way.
To his surprise, Lin Chen felt little fear.
He simply felt a little regret.
In this world called Honkai: Star Rail,
there seemed to be so many people and things he was reluctant to leave behind.
The journey into the endless stars was filled with romance and the unknown.
He, too, wanted to set foot on alien worlds and explore a future that was far from beautiful.
At that critical instant,
a blue arc of light moved at high speed, and a burly, muscular figure
stepped in front of Lin Chen.
Screeeech!
Shhk!
With the grating sound of metal twisting,
dazzling sparks scattered in every direction.
Though it met considerable resistance, the sharp, enormous claw
ultimately pierced Jim Raynor's powered armor.
The tip of the claw, stained crimson with blood, protruded from Reynolds's back.
"Commander... farewell..."
A trembling voice came from in front of him.
It sounded like a cry Reynolds had mustered with the last of his strength.
The next moment, a hand clad in an alloy-armored glove clamped firmly around the uncanny beast's tentacle.
On the back of the CMC400 Powered Armor Reynolds wore, the mounted fusion thruster
lit up with a dazzling glow.
In a fraction of a second, it shifted from deep blue to blinding white.
A frenzied hum rang out as the fusion thruster pushed beyond its maximum output.
Under Reynolds's control, it drove the uncanny beast's building-sized body backward.
Amid the rising black waves, Reynolds's figure vanished into the far reaches of the fog...
Lin Chen's pupils contracted sharply, his hands clenching into fists.
Watching Reynolds go willingly to his death, he felt fierce anger surge within him.
If only he had been stronger, or had possessed a more powerful Conqueror Legion,
perhaps Reynolds... would not have had to sacrifice himself before his eyes like this.
Lin Chen, who had always preferred taking it easy and looking after his health,
now felt an intense desire to grow stronger well up within him.
The system had been right from the start: the world of Honkai: Star Rail was filled with indescribable threats.
He had to make sensible use of every resource if he wanted to stay alive.
Ideals and the future were both difficult to foresee.
Survival alone was humanity's most instinctive desire.
Having witnessed Reynolds's sacrifice and glory firsthand,
Lin Chen's mindset began to change, no longer as hesitant and directionless as before.
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