Regarding the question of whether one thousand lives are enough to beat Honkai Impact 3rd.

With the aid of [momentum], the boy strolled through the building as if it were empty, taking in almost every corner.

The presence of the "momentum" prevented him from using electronic devices to record the terrain and various details here, so he came in carrying a drawing board and a pencil in his hand, looking at him at first glance like an art student sketching in a park looking for materials to copy.

The map-drawing skills she learned on her own at St. Freya Academy and the sketching foundation she learned on the train played a significant role, allowing her to control the perfect fluidity of every stroke.

His exceptional physical condition ensured the speed at which he could draw.

Its terrifying spatial sensing and computing power ensured measurement-like precision.

The boy's steps barely paused for long. The frequency of his movements changed as he approached the surveillance equipment, and his figure disappeared in the brief moment when the surveillance screen went blank.

In fact, if possible, finding the large number of weapons lost by Destiny and defeating the enemy in advance would be enough to complete the mission. There is no need to follow the proper practice of honestly obtaining the invitation to attend the auction.

After Fu Hua and Su Qing'an reunited at their agreed-upon locations and exchanged information, they discovered that neither of them had seen any weapons.

The number of weapons lost by Destiny cannot be easily concealed, so there is only one answer.

That means the weapon isn't here.

Su Qing'an also noticed something strange: although the security personnel inside were densely packed, their quality was not even as good as that of ordinary soldiers, and they even seemed somewhat lax.

Even after searching through all the rooms, he could only conclude that apart from security personnel and some unrelated staff, the mastermind behind the scenes was not in this building.

As things stand, attending an auction is the fastest way to find weapons.

Unless the other party's method of accumulating wealth is a complete scheme of getting something for nothing, the whereabouts of the weapon will inevitably appear at the auction, and the elixir, which is probably 100% fake, will also arrive as promised and reveal its true form.

Both of them were very curious about what the other's unique "advertisement" would be.

What kind of "advertisement" could make them so certain that these wealthy elites would eagerly become suckers?

If it were just a regular magic trick that made everyone look like fools, then this mission would be very easy.

Fu Hua carefully examined the drawing the boy handed her, then looked up and said:

"I found other people's surveillance cameras inside. It seems there aren't many idiots in this world after all."

Su Qing'an was not surprised. He said:

"One of the items that attracted people to the auction was the weapon of destiny, and those who dared to covet these weapons were rarely good people. Unlike these people who came for the so-called medicine, I wouldn't be surprised if these people did something. Rather than honestly buying with money, I think some of them prefer a more direct approach."

Fu Hua smiled and said:

"It's possible that a dogfight will break out before we even make a move, but that's fine too. Someone will take action to test the other party's identity. Regardless of their success or failure, it's a good thing for us."

The girl's expression turned serious, and she spoke in a tone that Su Qing'an had never heard before:

"Su Qing'an, the battles ahead may be the first time you've faced a situation where you're targeted by firearms. I know this will be difficult for you, but I hope you can protect yourself without using artificial stigmata."

"May I?"

Su Qing'an fell silent. He rarely showed such childish awkwardness in front of Fu Hua. The boy naturally understood that the other party meant well and was worried, but his stubborn pride and sense of powerlessness were still fighting against these factors, making it difficult for him to answer for a moment.

Even now, without artificial holy marks, Su Qing'an is not weak, but a sudden stray bullet or other factors can still easily take his life.

Without Valkyrie armor, without a clear view of the battlefield, and without the use of artificial stigmata, the requirement was essentially to let Su Qing'an stay out of the way and let Fu Hua deal with all the enemies on her own.

More than stubbornness or pride, perhaps the inability to fight alongside the other party is the reason that Su Qing'an finds it hard to accept.

Fu Hua chuckled and gently rubbed the boy's head with her slender hand. The emerald green in her eyes softened, like a lake of spring water ruffled by a breeze, the ripples creating a slow and gentle sensation.

She gazed intently into the boy's somewhat evasive eyes, and asked softly again:

"May I?"

Su Qing'an helplessly let the other person's hand touch her hair; this was too much of a violation.

He simply couldn't bring himself to say any words of refusal.

Finally, the boy could only nod and say:

"I understand. I won't use artificial stigmata. I know I should cherish my body, Hua."

"It's not that I'm not afraid of death."

The moment the word "death" escaped his lips, a cool fingertip gently touched Su Qing'an's forehead. He stared blankly at the beautiful face so close to his.

The girl smiled and said:

"Don't think you don't have much time left to live and then act recklessly. Only children have that kind of self-destructive thinking, right?"

“Su Qing’an, you’re very mature now. You should understand that nothing in this world is absolute. Actually, before I taught you that day, I also thought you would never be able to learn [Thousand Stars].

"Even with artificial stigmata, you only barely reached the very lowest standard, but you still succeeded, right?"

"So nothing is impossible? Does being corrupted by artificial holy marks necessarily mean death?"

"Maybe, but I will help you, so until you find that method, cherishing yourself is something you should always do."

Su Qing'an was speechless for a moment. He wondered if Hua was the kind of person who would say such naive things.

Impossible is impossible, and unachievable is unachievable. He learned [Thousand Stars] simply because his soul essence is beyond that of ordinary people, which is not a miracle in itself.

The matter of being corrupted by artificial holy marks is completely different; his extraordinary factors cannot play any role in this regard.

But perhaps unlike what Nishikujo Sara and Theresa imagined, she might not be able to live for ten years.

Ever since he first overdrawn his life force using artificial stigmata, his back would gradually become hot in the dead of night. The burning pain in his nerves would spread to his spine, permeate his skin, and eventually spread throughout his body, subjecting his consciousness to immense torment that would destroy his sleep.

again and again.

again and again.

As the frequency of artificial stigmata increased, the frequency of this symptom also gradually increased, from appearing randomly at times during the month to now appearing once a week.

This made Su Qing'an realize that her situation could not be judged based on Saint Freya's past experience.

The hope for a cure is even slimmer.

To put it bluntly, the reason for transplanting artificial holy marks is that the larger Honkai energy cycle created after the Taixu Sword Qi's realm was improved caused the body to be unable to withstand the erosion of Honkai energy, and the existence of artificial holy marks transferred this contradiction to the body being eroded by artificial holy marks.

This is essentially a delayed death sentence.

The only way to truly save him is to strengthen his Honkai energy resistance.

Even within the limited plot information Su Qing'an knew, he had no idea what could possibly enhance humanity's resistance to Honkai energy.

This is enough to explain a lot.

Moreover, the realm of Taixu Sword Qi is still accumulating and advancing. Once he enters the realm of Mingjing, the even larger cycle of Honkai energy will completely kill him.

There were simply too many unfortunate realities that made it difficult for him to live much longer.

But... but even though he knew it was impossible, he had clearly become accustomed to the principle that if he didn't have expectations, he wouldn't be disappointed or sad.

But when the girl in front of him said that, Su Qing'an was very happy, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel a slight expectation.

He wasn't usually someone who was easily moved, but if you had to ask why, the reason was that the girl in front of him was too special to him.

He was so special that even if it was just a false, illusory, casually uttered lie, he would gladly accept it.

If it were you, I wouldn't be sad even if my expectations were not met.

Su Qing'an looked at her fair face and said softly:

"I will."

Even if it's just for you, I'll try harder, try to live in this world, try to find a way to redeem myself, and try to fulfill this expectation of mine.

I'll try my best... so you won't feel sad.

117. Fu Hua's formal attire (top, middle, bottom).

It was exactly 3 p.m.

A black RV drove silently on an empty street. The afternoon sun shone into the back seat. The girl looked out the window, her profile bathed in soft light, her fair skin appearing almost transparent for a moment.

Her pupils, beneath her eyelashes, were the color of the deep blue sea, like a Presius opal gradually sinking into clear lake water, shifting with strange and beautiful brilliance.

Fu Hua had just put on colored contact lenses, and they looked surprisingly good on her. She glanced at her reflection in the car window, turned her head, and asked the person next to her with a slight smile:

Is this appropriate?

Su Qing'an looked up and carefully observed the shimmering light in her pupils, and said:

"very nice."

The girl nodded without reacting to the comment, but the upward curve of her pale pink lips deepened slightly.

She continued to look out the window at the road conditions, and Su Qing'an could hardly guess what she was thinking.

Wraith skillfully steered the wheel, while secretly glancing at the interaction between the two through the rearview mirror out of the corner of his eye.

Normally, this kind of driving job wouldn't be hers, an A-rank Valkyrie. There were some of her colleagues at the base who were in charge of these odd jobs, but out of her curiosity, Wraith took the initiative to do all the work.

This vehicle is a product of destiny; aside from some design features that make it feel safe and reliable, various thoughtful weapons appear along with some strange buttons.

Wraith used it on many missions, and after almost every mission she would spray-paint it with a different shell as a trivial cover-up. In fact, it was more like using the guise of cover-up to get reimbursed funds to paint it with her favorite designs.

Simply put, this is Wraith's beloved car.

But compared to its former days of charging into battle, this car can now only serve as a tool for Wraith to read gossip.

After calculating the distance, Wraith slowed down and said:

"We're almost there. You can start changing your clothes now."

Upon hearing this, the two tacitly took out clothing from their bags, which were part of the mission's props.

They are a butler's outfit and a formal dress that exudes the air of a young lady.

Theoretically, the two were not attending a very formal banquet. As an auction that was full of eeriness, it would be strange to dress so formally. They only chose to dress this way to fit their personas as much as possible.

Furthermore, the trench coats and school uniforms they are currently wearing are rather out of place. Changing into the clothes prepared by fate would naturally be interpreted as the reserve of nobles.

Su Qing'an took the clothes and walked to the front seat. Then, he thoughtfully pulled the curtain that came with the car, covering the figure of the girl in the back seat.

Wraith looked at the boy's figure in the rearview mirror. The body revealed after taking off his clothes had smooth, angular muscles. His overall full body was lean, and his excellent proportions were very pleasing to the eye. But what was most eye-catching was the incredibly eerie, mysterious vermilion pattern on his straight back, which was as tall as bamboo.

Artificial stigmata...?

With Su Qing'an's information flashing through her mind, Wraith silently lowered the rearview mirror, her peripheral vision snapping back without a second glance, and looked straight ahead.

Perhaps we all share the same fate.

This may also be the barrier between those two people.