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

After all, what right do people with no future have to have any expectations?

Wraith sighed inwardly.

Only by burning brightly... and doing what you want to do before dying an ugly death, will you not have any regrets.

But... if one's heart truly flutters, how could one bear to see her destined to feel sad?

Ten minutes later, dozens of vehicles of all kinds parked around the building.

The black RV slowly followed the flow of traffic and parked on the desolate roadside. Su Qing'an, who had already changed into her butler's uniform, looked at the vehicles outside that had tacitly avoided entering the building's underground parking lot and understood their attitude towards the auction.

Obviously, even if they are treated like fools, very few people who actually go in are complete idiots. The outcome of rushing in is unknown. No one knows whether they will be greeted with polite and thoughtful service or with all sorts of open and hidden attacks.

What if this so-called auction is actually a large-scale kidnapping disguised as an auction?

If you want money, you can do it this way without paying any price.

Furthermore, the other party chose such a remote location, and those who are willing to come even so have reasons that they have no choice but to come.

Perhaps they coveted the power that weapons could bring, or perhaps they had a seriously ill family member in bed, or perhaps they were simply seeking greater profits.

In any case, the current situation is clearly one where everyone is in a wait-and-see mode.

If no one shows up to break the deadlock, this gathering will become a joke.

But this is clearly not the outcome the other party wants.

"Su Qing'an, take a look."

Fu Hua drew back the curtain, clearly indicating that she was now dressed in the gown.

This garment, designed to fully showcase feminine charm, is completely different from the more androgynous clothes she usually wears. It unleashes the feminine charm that was previously neutralized by her clothing choices.

The information in the purse indicates that the dress has a very romantic-sounding name.

The moonlight in fairy tales symbolizes that beauty is everywhere.

The girl's dress is made primarily of soft tulle.

The silver-gray tulle skirt is decorated with delicate patterns of stars, moons, and pegasus, with translucent rhinestone beads peeking out from under the layers of tulle.

The intricate textures on the fabric give a sense of tranquility and gentleness.

To create the visual effect of moonlight cascading down the skirt, the designer also made extensive use of slightly pearlescent silver-gray fabric, which is very romantic.

Her shoulders were like those of a sculpted figure, and her waist as slender as a silken thread.

The young woman's ethereal beauty and otherworldly charm perfectly complemented the gown.

But this was completely different from her usual attire, making it difficult for Su Qing'an to express her amazement at her true appearance.

"very nice."

After offering her dry praise, before the young man could even feel annoyed, Fu Hua continued:

I was referring to the invitation.

After handing over the invitation, she leaned closer and placed her slender hand on the paper.

The pale fingertips lingered on the sentence above.

【We are delighted that you accepted our invitation. However, this is not the proper place for us to meet; this is to prevent any minor accidents. We ask for your understanding, Miss Anastasia.】

Su Qing'an frowned and asked:

When did this sentence appear?

The girl responded softly:

"Just now, this must be some kind of instant-on technology that will display this message at a fixed time."

Her alluring fragrance as she approached, the clear lines of her collarbone, her slender and supple waist, and the subtle, taut curves of her dress clinging to her hips and back—all these should have been deadly poisons. Yet, when one looked directly into the girl's limpid eyes beneath her drooping eyelashes, all desire naturally vanished.

For Su Qing'an, this mission was just beginning, and he seemed to be gradually seeing a side of Fu Hua that had never been shown before.

This made him feel very happy; the things that had sprouted in his heart were gradually growing and branching out, but what would the final result be...?

No one can understand whether it will be bitter, sweet, or the loneliest emptiness.

Su Qing'an nodded to indicate that she understood, but a smile appeared on her face.

The girl didn't see the smile on his face. She glanced at the extra square pattern on the invitation and continued:

"And this is the QR code that indicates the actual address of the auction."

"In a sense, we really were tricked, but it's understandable that this would happen after the results of our previous reconnaissance came out."

"The lax defenses and security here, as well as the emptiness outside the auction hall, all seem reasonable now."

"This is still a cautious approach; we'll just have to deal with whatever comes our way from here on out."

The girl scanned the QR code, looked at the resulting address, and murmured:

"Downtown, huh? That's really daring."

"Wraith, go to this address."

"This mission is probably not as simple as we thought."

118. My name is Anastasia.

This is a famous tourist shopping street in Singapore, and a hub for fashion trends.

The renowned Orchard Road is a showcase of modern Singapore and a beautiful product of capitalism, much like Ginza, which is the country's central shopping district.

This area is lined with all sorts of shopping centers, selling a variety of goods, from Japanese small appliances to oriental antiques—almost everything imaginable.

You can find most of the international hotels, nightlife spots, and countless restaurants, bars, and leisure centers here.

Before independence, the colonial chiefs' mansions were built on this site, and now they are all assets of the country. Many stateless people also live in these elegant old buildings.

What's interesting is that, unlike other streets in Singapore, Orchard Road wasn't named after any particular person.

Instead, its name comes from nutmeg and chili peppers that were planted along the street in the 1840s.

Leonid loved to sit on the top floor of the International Hotel building as the sun set and night fell, looking down through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows at the approaching hour of Omaha. He watched the neon lights of the streets gradually gleam as the sun set and night fell.

His deep blue eyes no longer held the happiness and gentleness of more than a decade ago; now they were filled with only a murky and lifeless blue. But as this tall man intently watched the sun set, the sunlight reflected into his pupils seemed to ignite into a sudden and intense flame.

It was the fire of hatred, but so cold it had lost its warmth; even the sunlight could only make it seem intense for a short time.

More than a decade ago.

In Siberia, Russia, Leonid, his wife, and daughter faced a calamity beyond human control, embracing each other tightly as they awaited death.

He stroked his wife and daughter's soft blonde hair and said softly:

"The gods will protect us, don't be afraid. As long as we rely on each other, even death is nothing to be afraid of."

The daughter's smile was as gentle as an angel's. She struggled to move her petite body from the wheelchair and finally, under the man's careful watchful care, she hugged the two of them tightly.

She said she wasn't afraid.

His wife laughed and said, "Our little angel isn't afraid, so what is she afraid of?"

The man thought that if this was a calamity sent down by the gods, then perhaps praying would be a pointless act, but this last bit of tenderness gave him a sense of redemption.

Even though the greater sorrow and helplessness of reality made him so desperate that he could hardly muster any anger, looking at the faces of his family, Leonid felt that perhaps this outcome was not so lonely.

He was no longer afraid of death in its simplest form.

But the missile, or rather something even more terrifying, was blocked. The man was overjoyed. He felt it was divine revelation, divine salvation. He believed this calamity was not a trial given by God, but a conspiracy of the devil.

Now that the demons have been defeated, the light bestowed by the gods is so beautiful.

The biting cold wind couldn't shake the man's heart. He and his family could start their lives anew. He used to worry about his daughter's leg problems, but now he felt that none of that mattered. After witnessing even more cruel despair, the flaws and regrets of the past seemed like a different kind of beauty.

He, Leonid, is strong enough to fight a brown bear, and no bad boy can bully his daughter. In the future, he and his wife can take their daughter out to play more often. In the past, he was always concerned about the family business and rarely spent time playing with his daughter.

Now he feels that nothing compares to the time spent with his family, and to hell with the family business.

The man smiled and said to his silent wife beside him:

“Marisa? Are you too happy? I know, I understand. After all, there’s probably nothing more terrifying in life than this.”

no respond.

He was almost incoherent, but he still tried his best to speak in the softest tone possible:

"It's alright, my beloved ones. The darkness has passed. We don't need to dwell on the past. Now let's find a place to shelter us from this damn snow."

no respond.

The man's smile froze. He looked at his wife's lifeless eyes and his daughter's emotionless smile, utterly overwhelmed by something far greater.

His voice trembled with fear, and his tall body shuddered involuntarily. The name Leonid means lion in Russian, and now this man, as strong and proud as a lion, was afraid and retreated.

His pupils contracted, and his mouth opened wide, but he remained silent.

He slowly and quietly touched the skin of his daughter and wife in his arms; it had already lost its warmth...

That day, the Siberian wind was exceptionally cold.

That was the day the man named Leonid lost everything.

More than a decade later, he may have finally come to understand some of the details of what happened back then.

His wife and daughter were killed directly by the radiation from the Honkai Impact Strike. Theoretically, their deaths should have been even more brutal. However, it seems that they were able to leave this world peacefully because of the mysterious power that the Valkyrie who blocked the missile was able to do so. Perhaps he survived because of this as well.

Leonid understood that he, as a man, was already incredibly lucky to have survived, and theoretically he shouldn't ask for anything more.

But over the past decade or so, he has been accumulating wealth through petty schemes and climbing the social ladder bit by bit. Perhaps something inside him had already broken down by then. He had nowhere to vent his emotions, no one to share his sorrows with, and his hatred entwined his heart like vines.

The heart? Perhaps only the heart remains.

Even though he survived, the man's body was still corroded by Honkai energy in a short period of time. He then underwent a series of expensive surgeries, removing most of his body and replacing it with cold machinery in order to survive.

The flesh and blood that once belonged to this body has almost completely disappeared.

He explored aimlessly, but only became more and more aware of his own powerlessness.

What is the meaning of life?

This pent-up hatred, with nowhere to be vented, must finally be unleashed in its grandest form at the very last moment of life.

Like fireworks.