chsdbacks Page 15
Page 15
—Life is being taken into someone else's hands.
Mei was struck by lightning.
The girl beside him was asking him questions.
The girl was looking at him with concern.
"Are you alright? Is there any other hidden danger over there?"
"Go back to bed and lie down first."
"It's better not to get out of bed and move around so soon."
……
……
The eyes that hadn't shed a tear even when enduring such intense pain were now slightly shimmering, the pupils gently swirling within their sockets.
They tried so hard just to live, they endured such intense pain, they gave it their all, all they wanted was to survive in this world...
In the end, they still couldn't even control their own freedom, and their lives hung by a thread.
In Changkong City, a place where Walter was unaware, Cocolia actively promoted it, Gray Serpent served as the source of the technology behind it, and Otto tacitly accepted and observed it, one wrong step would plunge one into an abyss.
Any way to die is acceptable.
The shrimp, aged and covered in mud, can die in any way imaginable.
He would die at the hands of the Honkai, at the hands of humans, and even if Raiden Mei had a problem, he would perish along with her.
Joining forces with someone who is about to become a Herrscher seems like the perfect thing, like finding the ultimate patron.
Ahhh...
A powerful figure who can't even protect himself, someone who is essentially just a pawn on the chessboard, someone difficult to negotiate with, difficult to communicate with, difficult to exchange ideas with... The best outcome would be to just run away, but there is absolutely no way to run away, and not even a sliver of an opportunity to do so.
There is no hope.
There is no hope.
hopeless!
Unable to struggle, with no way out and no one to rely on, even from the perspective of a time traveler with God's eye, there was no chance to survive.
The entire Changkong City has almost no usable resources, and the amount that can be used is negligible. On the contrary, the danger level is extremely high, and any action will lead to death.
Cocolia would keep an eye on everything he did. She had an absolute grasp on Changkong City, and her informants were everywhere in the entire city.
After betting his life on the gambling table and becoming a foolish clown, all he can gain now is the mere fact that he is no longer afraid of collapse. The freedom he lost is enough to compensate for this gain.
You can't grasp freedom in a place like this.
That's equivalent to being able to die at any moment.
Because now even the one in ten thousand chance of being allowed to live by choosing to side with Otto and Cocolia has disappeared.
To regain their freedom, the only way is probably for Mei, who has fully become a Herrscher, to deal with the issue of the Stigmata.
Ahhh...
Is there really any way out now?
A caged bird, a meal on a plate—is there any hope for its survival?
Is life really precious? No... isn't it just cheap expendable material in the hands of those guys?
……
……
—But he will never give up!
No matter what, Jiang Cheng would clench his fists. No matter how angry he was, even if he wanted to smash the world to pieces, he would only clench his fists tightly.
There is no hope of an outbreak now. If we can't seize the opportunity to survive, the only way to survive is to be flexible and adaptable.
Ultimately, there's no point in being angry with those around you now. Raiden Mei isn't the mastermind; she's just a victim too.
If he hadn't been so useless and incompetent, if he had been qualified to bear the Stigmata, and if he hadn't been corrupted by Honkai energy in the first instant, the Thunder Queen wouldn't have taken special measures to save his life, barely managing to sew him and the Stigmata together by controlling the Honkai.
Moreover, Raiden Mei doesn't know how to handle stigmata, let alone the Raiden Queen. If it weren't for the fact that she also has stigmata on her body, she probably wouldn't even be able to stitch them up right now. It's already amazing that she's survived.
Wanting to escape the game and reclaim one's life is definitely not something that victims can achieve by blaming each other and shifting responsibility.
Moreover, Raiden Mei is not someone you can afford to offend, nor is she qualified to offend. Only a crazy person would offend someone who could save them at such a critical moment, turning all three starter families into their enemies after knowing the information.
Even though she has almost never interacted with the opposite sex since childhood, her social skills and conversations are all at an average level. She has no guile and doesn't know how to use any sophisticated language—Mei's importance is obvious.
I must regain my senses, I absolutely must regain my senses... In the end, even my clenched fist must be loosened little by little, and my stiff knuckles must be pried open little by little by willpower. Just like before, as I turn around, I pretend nothing has happened and gently, very gently, place my hand on the table.
Hoo... Ha...
call……
She tried her best to regulate her breathing and maintain a semblance of normalcy in front of Raiden Mei.
There was no anger, no resentment... The ordinary man named Jiang Cheng simply suppressed all of this and stared at the girl he absolutely could not provoke.
"what happened?"
A young girl's concern is something you absolutely cannot refuse.
"What……"
"Nothing happened."
He forced himself to forget the pressure he was under, leaving only the simple expectations he once had as a player, and smiled gently in his eyes as he looked away.
"thanks for your reminder."
"Now it's time to move on to the next step."
“I just discovered something bad. We should have been discovered by Cocolia by now.”
"Miss Raiden Mei...please allow me to ask you something."
"you……"
"Can you accept killing everyone in Changkong City?"
……
……
……
Behind that smile, which seemed gentler than anyone else's, came words from Jiang Cheng's mouth that were enough to terrify anyone.
Since others treat life as cheap consumables, in order to survive, he can only be more ruthless, cruel, shameless, dirty, and despicable than others... just like Otto, using despicable means to cover up his lack of ability.
Yes.
They've already come to their senses.
Eradicate all compassionate awareness.
To transform into the kind of dog-donkey mentality that Otto had.
……
……
……
PS: This is actually to give Jiangcheng a reason to survive, because I said I wouldn't use any cheat codes.
After all, as the article says, Jiang Cheng, as an ordinary person, is really useless. He has no resistance to anything, just like AIDS in its later stages—he will die if he gets even a little bit of Honkai energy.
Mei caused a small-to-medium-sized collapse and fought with Sakura. If Jiang Cheng hadn't been protected by Mei, he really wouldn't have survived.
Chapter 21 Then I'll help you kill them, Mei.
The simplest way is to directly trigger the Great Collapse. Mei, who has become a complete Herrscher, is probably able to solve her problem. At least it's better than being a headless fly now. Although even Jiang Cheng himself didn't think his request would be granted when he said this.
The final conversation didn't go very well, because even after enduring so much bullying, Raiden Mei's response was still rejection; she didn't want to unleash the Great Collapse.
Is it because you can tolerate being bullied yourself, but can't accept others being bullied, or...?
Feeling Raiden Mei's gaze directed at him.
Jiang Cheng erased his inner thoughts.
……
—Because I'm worried about someone who can't even withstand the slightest bit of collapse.
……
……
"What are you planning to do next?"
“I don’t want to and can’t make decisions unilaterally, so I will take your opinion into consideration, since you are the one in charge.”
Forced to sit back on the bed, Jiang Cheng tapped on the bedside table beside him, his once again dimmed gaze being gently concealed.
"That……"
"Go to school?"
"Why?" Jiang Cheng's voice paused for a moment. "Don't you know you'll still be bullied if you go there now?"
The direct questioning left no room for tact—the gaze that had been able to meet hers instantly fled like a mouse afraid of the sun. The girl bit her lip, almost unable to respond to the question.
"Didn't you say someone was watching me? If I don't go to school today, it might arouse their suspicion."
"..."
This wasn't originally intended to ask Raiden Mei for advice, but rather to show the Raiden Queen that he listened to Raiden Mei's opinions and was very loyal.
Even so, I never expected to receive such a response, to choose this response after witnessing him beat several students to death yesterday.
"go to school?"
"Why did you abandon Lingba so that my father could go to school?"
"But……"
"I don't need to say more, you should have already witnessed the existence of supernatural forces."
Yes.
In Raiden Mei's unwavering nod, in her eyes that clearly said "I know," I saw nothing but affirmation itself.
Jiang Cheng tapped the table with almost the same frequency as he tapped it with his left hand, his gaze becoming increasingly scrutinizing. "What you possess is many times greater than this power, enough to completely destroy Changkong City, a city-level entity, in an instant simply because of its creation. Why do you still have to force yourself to go to school?"
"But……"
The second one is...
Even Raiden Mei herself didn't know why she was so dismissive of Jiang Cheng.
Just hearing the words "don't go to school" triggered some kind of instinctive reaction, leading to an unconscious denial and rejection.
The girl even wanted to say that Jiang Cheng didn't understand everything she had experienced, which was why he could so condescendingly and casually comment on her.
Even the somewhat unruly, angry voice that had just been uttered was temporarily stopped... temporarily swallowed back down.
If I hadn't gone through so much in the past, I might actually have spoken up now.
To deny someone who wants to care about you, and in the cruelest way—that is, to accuse the other person of not understanding you, not being able to empathize with you, and to think that the other person is just standing on high and being self-righteous.
"I understand." Jiang Cheng nodded, his gaze still lowered, unwilling and rejecting all contact. "Please relax. I can understand your thoughts, so I won't blame you. This problem isn't yours."
Although I am not qualified to blame you.
If I were to say anything to you, I'd probably get half-cooked by the Queen of Thunder.
Things like this are things that don't need to be said, nor should they be said—the boy simply kept his voice gentle.
Even though the girl, who had suddenly lifted her head from the mire of her shame, could not see the earnest gaze she once had, she could still hear the gentleness in her voice.
“It’s not just limited to your experiences and past; I can also empathize with and understand your psychology. You can trust me in most cases—such as the mental health issues you are currently experiencing.”
"I know the source of your fear, because humans are essentially animals and can be domesticated. Long-term discipline can distort a person's mind, just like a watermelon can grow into a square shape."
"Watermelons are naturally round, and they should grow into round shapes. But if you force a square shell onto them while they are still growing, then no matter how unwilling the watermelon is, it can only grow according to that square shell, making its exterior and interior become square to adapt to the world."