Honkai Impact 3rd, what should an ordinary player do at the start?

Page 70

How can a place with such strict rules be considered superior to other places?

The girl, who had been constantly filled with the ideas of resistance, confrontation, and not standing idly by, and most importantly, not tolerating the encroachment on her things, was somewhat sluggish. She didn't know what to do or what to say to keep up with the boy's seemingly unrestrained and whimsical thoughts.

"From your perspective, my changes are indeed a bit too fast, so you don't need to worry about it. I'm just saying this as a simple observation."

"Excellent craftsmanship does not mean that the people inside are also excellent, just as a skilled craftsman is not necessarily a 100% good person."

"I'm too lazy to talk about things like human sacrifice or original sin, I don't really care about that."

sigh.

Jiang Cheng only sighed.

Unlike what you see in the game, the models in the game are already excellent compared to real villages. What you see in front of you now is even better than the scenes built by the modelers in the game.

This thing is real, as is the reality of their choice to use human sacrifices. Although the boy does not easily feel any ill will towards any behavior that does not concern him, this is indeed a disaster for Rin and Yae Sakura.

I'm just saying this now because I want to share my thoughts, and I don't want to unilaterally instill a particular idea in young girls.

A truly human being is one who learns to think independently and can see things from different perspectives, even if the outcome remains the same.

"In fact, the traditions that we hate now may be remnants of the past. For example, I once saw a tradition in a place where houses were only built on half of their roofs. At the time, I couldn't understand why people did this. It wasn't until later that I found out it was because water was so scarce there. So if the houses were only built on half of their roofs, the water would automatically flow into the yard whenever it rained."

"Because normal houses are higher in the middle and lower on both sides, rain and snow will flow to both sides. But this is too wasteful for water-scarce areas, so they have passed down the tradition of only building half of the house from generation to generation."

……

……

Did they do nothing wrong?

There wasn't even a chance to say such things.

The doubts that were aroused by just a few words were not enough to dispel everything the boy had left behind.

Because the person named Jiangcheng is the one who teaches me what it means to refuse and directs me to resist.

She is a gentle girl who never easily gives up on others, even if she is inevitably disappointed, and even if she encounters difficulties. She simply looks at others with eyes that want to explore everything and know the truth—especially after she really managed to repel her father yesterday.

The best outcome would be if Jiang Cheng, after speaking at length, didn't pause for a moment or leave any room for suspicion, and immediately followed up with the next sentence, which was also a definitive statement.

I don't intend to cause any misunderstandings.

No drama is needed.

Looking up at the sky, he also pointed into the distance—

"But killing will cause hatred. Killing outsiders will invite the hatred of outsiders, while killing one's own people will lead to internal strife and infighting. Villages that continue in this way must be transformed, otherwise they will eventually fall apart and break down on their own, even if left unattended."

"The war machine that is propelled by war will eventually fall apart. This is not some kind of retribution, but simply because their structure means that they cannot win forever. Even if they win forever, the structure of the machine will gradually collapse, people will die, people will get tired, and the time to wait for the next generation to grow up is too long. That machine simply cannot support it."

"Knowing and understanding does not mean acceptance. After all, humans are beings that cannot even pass the first hurdle of mutual understanding. Even if they do pass, they are destined not to choose to agree because of understanding."

Because even if we don't talk about anything else...

No other reason is needed.

In fact, even he—Jiang Cheng himself—had experienced things that he could completely understand but could never accept or agree with.

Many different works explore the idea that the world will definitely become a better place if people can understand each other. This is possible, but not absolute.

Because there are always some things, some actions, that we know are wrong, that we know there might be other options, but we still want to do them. After all, humans are beings that can never live entirely using reason, just like how I couldn't choose to push Mei away completely back then.

I was still feeling lost and uneasy at the time.

There are clearly better choices, happier choices.

There are no difficulties in life if you just push them away.

When faced with the girl's purple eyes, he couldn't utter a word no matter what he wanted to say. It wasn't just that he found it hard to speak, or that he felt terrible if he said "no"—it was that if he did say "no," he would absolutely break down on the spot.

Just thinking about the extent of sadness in Mei's eyes after being rejected, and how heartbroken she would be, fills me with endless heartache. This intense empathy is endlessly connected to that grief.

Regardless of what happens in the future, we can't even overcome the difficulties in front of us now. Let alone regret or remorse, we can't even leave in a physical sense.

Because a fragile heart will absolutely collapse the moment it is rejected, leaving no chance to drag itself away and then regret it someday.

"After all, humans are fragile creatures that become easily swayed by the difference between what they like and what they do."

"Never, ever let yourself regret it."

"Miss Yae, this is my advice to you."

Recalling how the story of Sakura Cycle would have unfolded if he hadn't participated, and having already spent a considerable amount of time with the girl, Jiang Cheng couldn't bear it even knowing it was all fake. That's why he couldn't help but reach out—and at this moment, he was pointing to her heart.

"Is this so..."

"I see……"

The usually obedient and earnest girl seemed somewhat detached at this moment.

The wandering of the soul, the wandering of the heart, manifests in the external world as a wandering gaze, like a drunk person who even sees the sky hanging upside down and falling to the ground.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't focus her gaze on the fingertips pressing against her chest. Her determination to prove herself was shattered, and she couldn't muster the willpower to do so. Instead, her gaze would always drift upwards, fixed on the boy's face at that moment—so earnest, yet she couldn't see any trace of the earnestness she displayed when they first met.

The color in his eyes was like a mixture of the bitterness and desolation of autumn, as if he were wearing only a thin shirt and being blown by the autumn wind, feeling cold from head to toe.

Falling into the night sky, into the abyss, or sinking into the endless deep sea, your lungs are compressed, your whole body is compressed, and even when you open your eyes you can only see endless darkness.

Is there a blurry light?

Can you see a blurry light?

In that endless, abyss-like darkness created by flowing water, where even light cannot escape, penetrate, or pierce even a fraction of the darkness, and even looking up from below, one cannot see through even five meters into the endless darkness... Is there really anything in this world that can pass through?

Even if you open your mouth and withstand the pressure, you probably won't be able to expel anything from your lungs, nor will you be able to utter a single indistinct character from your throat. You can only expel a few bubbles from your mouth—that is the final source of life.

What exactly happened in Jiangcheng in the past that led to such a profound and ingrained feeling?

Feelings of regret, feelings of loss, feelings of not being able to keep trying...

Why do we feel such empathy?

Why is the understanding of the 麇/拔Ⅲ球诌龄泣韭巫 so clear?

Even the elderly, the respected elders, and even those who have personally experienced it cannot clearly understand what it means to stay inside for a long time and be immersed in it for so long before one can experience it so clearly... How long must one grope in the dark to be able to discern the essence of darkness through mere groping, and to judge its distance and size?

Just thinking about it makes my heart ache.

However, there's no time to feel heartache now.

Then, they dared not bring up this pain again.

Faced with this earnest young woman, he dared not be even the slightest bit careless in his declaration—

"I will definitely remember this matter carefully. Whether it is what happened to Rin this time, or what I may experience in the future, I will never let myself have any regrets."

"I can feel that if someone as vulnerable as me were to experience this kind of emotion, my life would surely be shrouded in that shadow every day."

……

……

……

Not false.

Not a lie.

The words spoken at this moment are absolutely not lies fabricated to appease the boy—at least not solely for that reason.

What beats in my heart right now is an undeniable truth.

Yes……

If one truly falls into such a state, then living itself might only be a matter of being forced not to die. In the despair of being allowed to commit suicide without hesitation, one would be worse off than dead. Living wouldn't even qualify as being a walking corpse; it would only be described as rotting flesh and blood.

Just as the boy said, no matter how indestructible steel or how hard alloy may seem, it will eventually tire, break down, and stop rusting. It will eventually turn to dust and completely break down, let alone a human being made of flesh and blood.

Human will, human awareness, human spirit, and even the structure of the human body... are all far less indestructible and indestructible than steel.

……

……

Gazing at the boy in the wind, I wanted to keep watching, just like countless times I had lay on the grass looking at the unchanging sky and the clouds that seemed to have moved and changed.

The tasks at hand are not so easily solved. Even finding a path or exploring a route is not simply a matter of walking through it once. Obstacles must be properly cleared away.

He swung his knife at the trees, and at the stones.

Strictly speaking, what he was wielding was a manuscript and an axe.

These are all tools that can be found at home. Even though she is a high-ranking shrine maiden, she theoretically does not need to do these crude and lowly jobs. In the past, the girl would use this method to find a way to go out and thus alleviate her inner sadness. By working, she could also see more of the outside world and tell Rin more stories.

Nevertheless, this is indeed the first time something like this has happened.

They are doing this level of work.

The girl, who had undergone rigorous samurai training, probably never imagined that one day her martial arts skills would be used for something like this—to cut a passage through the bushes in front of her without causing any harm.

Although the real main force was not himself, but the boy beside him, the one who listened to his introduction and instructions and wholeheartedly cleared away all obstacles.

They pay more attention to it than to themselves.

They are even more diligent than I am.

Therefore, we absolutely cannot let Jiangcheng be so exhausted.

The so-called dignity of a samurai and the refinement of a lady from a noble family could all be thrown aside. At this moment, there was only one thought in her mind—to help the castle lord share more of the work.

Words that seem unimaginably shallow can lead one to abandon everything for something so insignificant.

Yae Sakura is essentially someone who excels at working hard on ordinary little things rather than grand things.

Swing a knife.

For Jiangcheng.

In order to prevent him from expending more effort.

In order to let him rest earlier—even though he knew he was much stronger than himself.

The desire to prevent him from getting hurt or suffering, and to help him feel better, had nothing to do with those things or the differences between the two of them. It stemmed from a simple desire to avoid seeing Jiang Cheng possibly tired, and this simple thought motivated her to make an effort.

Before we knew it, dusk had silently taken over a corner of our vision, even adorning the withered branches with a touch of golden afterglow.

The day's splendor faded away with the falling leaves, carried by the twilight scooped up by the curved leaves.

Even the tiny puddles where dew occasionally gathers underfoot reflect the crimson roses.

Because of this competitive mindset, I even forgot about the passage of time, and my body seemed to have lost the concept of fatigue.

The girl's breathing gradually faded until her delicate lips exhaled the last breath. The intense trembling in her chest, which had made one suspect that a burst of milk fat was about to tear through the fabric, was no longer so severe, and the fierce shaking subsided.

With everything within sight opened up, you can even see glimpses of the scenery on the other side from one side.

At least on this single path, all the work and preparations have been completed.

Finally, I had time to look at the boy.

She turned her head to the side, her head turned away.

That gentle warmth, like a radiant lake or a flowing stream, seemed to be reflected in burning pupils—it was the boy who had been by my side all this time, belonging to me alone, my only friend.

That familiar profile, it seems, shows skin that is not very healthy due to a pampered lifestyle and prolonged lack of sun exposure.

Her already slender body seemed even thinner, and her hair had grown quite long, obscuring most of her eyes.

Under the shade of the treetops, a few rays of warm twilight still pierced through. The boy seemed to block out all the light with his profile, everything had to conform to his face, even the fading sunlight had to follow his direction and shine down on his face.

It was clearly an ink-black color, like a shadow under the lamplight at night, a dark and gloomy color, the deepest even in the forest, the dimness near the inner side, only in the deepest part of the woodland, this lightless dark hair, yet each strand seemed to be shining, dyed and separated into the color of dusk, even the figure became soft, the whole person seemed to radiate light, in harmony with the gentleness of the world.

The girl watched and watched.

Until she got up again, letting her stray hairs flutter in the air.

It was as if I suddenly saw the loneliness of that person who always considered himself ordinary in the past, or as if a bird was startled, flapping its wings and disturbing the melancholy and desolate forest.

Her tousled hair flew about in a chaotic manner, like treetops being whipped up by a gale, with branches and leaves swaying erratically.

Finally unable to resist any longer, and unable to kill time with her gaze, the girl broke the silence.

"Lord Cheng..."

"Could you stay a little longer... and chat with me a bit more?"

"I'm sorry, my request is presumptuous, but I really want to talk to someone."