chsdbacks Page 59
Page 59
There wasn't even a corpse, because the power of erosion transformed the data in front of it into even more complete data the instant it made contact.
Information junk, useless viruses... even the first thing the gray snake that came over to congratulate you from afar did was delete it.
"Is this what you want?"
"As your brand new right hand."
He looked at his brand-new right hand—a prosthetic body that, even from this perspective, still carelessly exposed a large number of connecting parts and a rotating structure like gears.
"Very good, as expected of Vilvie."
"Beauty...power, only she can have both."
Velvet's creation is indeed extremely powerful, reaching the pinnacle of combat strength. Even an ordinary person wearing it would probably be able to kill a Temple-level Honkai Beast in terms of single combat power.
Don't be fooled by the fact that the lower-level Honkai warriors of the Temple class aren't considered strong. In this real world, even the Tank class is as tall as a building and virtually indestructible. No matter how much conventional gunpowder is used, it can't kill them or break through their outermost shell. The true combat power of the Temple class is enough to annihilate most of the armed forces in the original world before the transmigration. Perhaps only nuclear bombs can deal with this level of existence.
Moreover, this is essentially just a prosthetic limb, used in conjunction with the main body rather than as a standalone weapon.
Almost a month later, Jiang Cheng once again experienced the feeling of being able to wield a sword with his right hand.
Moreover, this prosthetic limb is also equipped with a portion of swordsmanship, at a level equivalent to the complete mastery of swordsmanship.
Nowadays, Jiang Cheng is no longer a useless person with top-tier equipment but no skill, holding a top-tier account with great potential but unable to play it. He has learned some combat skills through external factors and can barely be considered a warrior.
As for the other features that are almost always present in anything from Velvet, those are purely for the sake of looking cool...
Gazing at those gears, which were of various shapes and highly suspicious, Jiang Cheng decisively made an attempt.
As soon as the leftmost finger was pressed, it instantly began a very cool transformation. Countless gears twisted until a toothbrush emerged. After twisting another segment, it linked with the middle finger, and a cable-like object flew out from the fingertip, connecting the two fingers together. The final object, if I'm not mistaken, should be a slingshot.
Jiang Cheng chose to retract his previous statement—if you were looking for something similar to this prosthetic limb, it would probably be the mechanical hand from the game "Devil May Cry".
Their robotic arms are stylish and cool, with all sorts of fancy operations and ingenious linkages.
What he's using now can only be described as ridiculous, like a tool specifically made for comedy films.
"Is this the best product you can offer?"
No one responded to the inquiry.
Because it is.
Even if Gray Snake didn't say it, Jiang Cheng knew that in this era where technological development relies entirely on archaeology, even toilets from the previous era—toilets made by Velvi—are high-end technology that is unattainable in this era.
There was nothing he could do; Otto had killed so many scholars.
The magistrate is allowed to set fires, but the common people are forbidden to light lamps.
I'm too lazy to keep searching for the gray snake and cause it any more trouble. This prosthetic limb is indeed well-made, but it has similar problems to the Seven Thunders of Purification—it has a lot of ridiculous features.
The fact that it occasionally turns into a slingshot doesn't mean that the Divine Key is some kind of common equipment, just as this right hand is still a high-end weapon that is difficult to reach in this era.
Although the emptiness can still be felt—especially with the changes in the right hand.
It's like drinking the northwest wind when you're starving.
have you eaten?
ate.
Did you really eat it?
ate.
I'm still very hungry.
The sense of satisfaction Jiang Cheng felt at this moment was equivalent to this ethereal tentacle; his right hand existed, but in reality, it was as if it did not exist.
It's unclear whether it's due to later repair issues, but Vilvie's creations couldn't achieve perfect realism.
It cannot be like a real physical body.
The gap is still noticeable.
If anyone had a choice, they would probably choose their original body; not many people would give up this feeling of perfection that belongs to them.
However, there is no longer any room for such luxury. Having set the goal of killing Otto, the task is to achieve this goal as quickly as possible.
He's the kind of person who likes to eliminate problems completely and take revenge without delay. He can't even sleep at night when he thinks about someone causing him trouble.
To tolerate Otto's life, even for a second, would be a sin.
The next step after changing equipment is to go into seclusion.
With a prosthetic limb, you can now attempt the Yae Village dungeon.
In reality, although Raiden Mei's Herrscher-level strength and the Key of Corruption would be enough to kill Otto—assuming she remains completely unknown—since developing the Stigmata doesn't require much time, and Gray Serpent needs to organize manpower to accept its destiny, it's extremely necessary to temporarily strengthen it and avoid any possibility of it becoming a weakness—a weakness that could be exploited.
Although he doesn't care about whether or not he's a kept man, and he's not particularly chauvinistic, strictly speaking, it would be best if he could be a kept man, and the best outcome would be if he could just stay put and do nothing.
But the question is, can Raiden Mei's love really last so long for a useless person?
Can this unwavering patience, this willingness to ask any question, truly withstand the test of time?
Perhaps Jiangcheng doesn't understand romance.
It's hard to believe, it's just hard to believe.
Even if they are willing to believe it, the experiences they have had—or rather, the lack thereof—of dating, and the fact that they have only seen a lot of news stories that make them afraid of marriage, make it difficult for young people to fully believe it. No matter how much they want to believe it, they will still have some hesitation.
Many people experience this; many people harbor various doubts. The only difference is that they won't deliberately test someone just because of this slight disbelief.
This is the most foolish behavior.
Just ridiculous.
Because when you decide to test the hardness of a piece of glass, that piece of glass is destined to shatter.
In reality, when faced with such a situation, Jiang Cheng's most common course of action is to run away, because while running away is shameful, it is always useful.
If you don't face it, you'll never experience it. And not everything in life is unavoidable. Things like feelings can be escaped if you're willing to—at least that's what I thought before Raiden Mei caught up with me.
But ah...
There is no escape.
There's no escaping it anymore.
……
"Sigh... I guess I am indeed someone who is not suited to loneliness, but is best suited to it."
It's clear that living alone is unbearable.
But they will be suspicious when others extend their hands.
Worried that if someone only reaches out halfway, all her efforts to please them might suddenly be in vain, making her a laughingstock like a clown?
Anyway, there's a high chance that reaching out will make me a laughing stock, since I know I don't have anything special or unique that makes me worth saving. So to avoid being ridiculed, I might as well just stay where I am.
—That's all there is to it.
It's not a big deal.
It will just take time and wear it down.
Following this, a gray snake, its mask now predominantly white, suddenly appeared and headed towards a completely quiet room where no one would disturb them.
Just like all the stereotypical images of sinister underground forces that I had witnessed before, the room I visited this time was also full of stereotypes.
The messy wiring and the suspicious-looking hibernation pod standing upright in the middle.
Jiang Cheng skillfully planted the weapon in a corner of the room, then lay down in the bed that, according to the earlier introduction, was supposedly—
It can ensure that your physical condition and state do not fall to the lowest level, monitor your physiological condition at all times, and provide emergency rescue when necessary, while providing energy when needed... Other places simply cannot bear it, so you have decided to develop the Honkai energy overflow of the Stigmata to a deeper level. Please forgive the fact that the main base structure of the World Serpent is not strong enough.
I've already used the power of erosion to silently probe the thoughts of this mechanical creation. In fact, the red-eyed gray snake had already probed it once before.
This was something he dared to do only after he had made his presumptuous request and, instead of being immediately met with a cold shoulder from Rin, at least managed to show some dissatisfaction.
This means that the other party has not yet reached their limit of patience.
We can still borrow their strength again.
With the utmost caution—even if the prediction reveals the importance of Raiden Mei, the Herrscher of Lightning of this era, and also demonstrates the precognitive power that Aponia possessed in the previous era—Jiang Cheng could only sleep peacefully after eliminating the last vestige of possibility, even though it was theoretically impossible to tamper with things at this time.
……
……
……
【Your turn, Yae Sakura. Don't you want to guess what methods Jiang Cheng will use to clear the Yae Village dungeon?】
Compared to the ancient people of 500 years ago, Ling, who lived 50,000 years ago, actually understands some professional terminology better.
Those eerie pink eyes watched with great interest the girl who was about to be transported to the nightmare of five hundred years ago. They carefully observed the pink-haired witch's face, taking in every single emotion, every subtle change, and every nuance of expression, leaving no stone unturned.
I'm not interested—saying something like that is definitely a lie.
very interested.
Even knowing that it would be unpleasant for Jiang Cheng to face the same things she had faced, Yae Sakura still couldn't help but think that if the situation had been changed to that of a prophet with precognitive abilities, or Jiang Cheng, who was so sincere and resolute, he could have done better than her.
Compared to incompetence and stupidity, who are unable to see clearly what is happening and are simply led by emotions that can only exist for a moment and guided by the words of others, Jiang Cheng's will and actions have never faded. Even when faced with unexpected events, he will not hesitate to accept them and set a new future for this unpredictable outcome.
There was no confusion.
No worries.
Furthermore, there is no reason why accepting something would lead to future mistakes, and even the most perfect outcome that one can foresee can be rejected for the sake of the important people around them.
It was because she had experienced disaster and regret that the girl realized how much perseverance it takes to deny happiness that can be easily obtained.
Perhaps some people who have no understanding at all can choose to discard it, just as for a child, no amount of wealth can compare to the toys in front of them.
This is essentially because of a lack of awareness.
But Jiang Cheng would never understand, would never be unaware, and this is definitely not something he would just watch without doing.
The girl, who witnessed firsthand how the boy's body was ravaged and turned into rotten flesh during that crisis, knew this clearly. She knew that he was definitely not someone who abandoned happiness because he had never experienced hardship, had no understanding of suffering, and regarded happiness as an easy toy.
People like this.
I definitely can do things that I can't do myself.
It was precisely because this emotion was seen through that his nemesis, with whom he had fought for hundreds of years, saw through him.
The Herrscher of Corruption—Rin—deliberately stirred up emotions at this crucial moment, just as the person before her was about to fall into memories.
There is no such thing as letting go. Even after five hundred years, the girl has no intention of ignoring the tragedy that happened. The wound hidden in her heart has not healed at all, not even a scab has formed. The occasional wind will still blow directly over the bloodstains and wounds.
Not only the second and third stages, but even from the very first stage, there has been no recovery whatsoever.
The reason I don't dwell on the past now is simply because no matter how much I regret it, it's impossible to reverse the tragedy.
Excessively high emotions can actually make the body more susceptible to erosion, unleashing a true catastrophe.
That's why she fills herself with other things, showing that she is no longer affected by the past. In reality, even so, she—Yae Sakura—still presents herself as a sorrowful young girl.
How much longer can you endure this?
Now that I realize I was never chosen.
You've never, ever been truly chosen by anyone, not even that girl named Karen! While you still remember her, she should have long forgotten you.
Don't forget, she has a fiancé. Even that Divine Key was a gift from him... She talks about hunting you down, but have you ever seen someone willingly give weapons and supplies to someone they're hunting? She'd probably run straight to her fiancé the moment she left your side.
……
……
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Chapter 69, The Cherry Blossom Reincarnation Arc, Opening
In the end, all the seduction was just like what had been happening every day for the past five hundred years.
The pink-clad, rebellious priestess remained kneeling there motionless, her eyes, hidden by her long hair that bloomed like cherry blossoms in spring, held a mysterious color that no one could witness.
Even the bright sunlight could not pierce through this barrier built from what appeared to be beauty, let alone the eerie and sinister colors that were merely equivalent to it.
silence.
silence.
There is only silence.