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

"Click." A soft sound came from some of the old metal parts.

Leonid opened the pendant, revealing an old but still brightly colored family portrait.

The clear portrait recorded above vividly captures the passage of time; the man's cold, hard face and solemn eyes softened in an instant, and he revealed a smile.

Leonid had long since lost everything.

But perhaps, just nibbling away at the few remaining fragments of the good old days is enough to give him a little warmth.

Even with this false and empty warmth, Leonid was able to endure the long years on these trivial things.

The fact that he did not choose suicide early on is clear proof of this.

Are those your family members?

Su Qing'an was wearing a jet-black suit, and the snow-white shirt underneath made his tie and coat look even more somber.

He had been silently grinding coffee beans; the sound of the beans being crushed bit by bit and the two of them breathing were the only noises at that moment.

The wooden clock hanging on the wall witnessed the passing of time for the two silent men.

At that moment, the boy's words broke the silence.

Leonid said:

"This is my daughter, and this is my wife."

The man generously pointed to two faces in the photos at Su Qing'an, his beaming smile clearly tinged with pride.

He seemed to be showing off his beautiful wife and lovely daughter to strangers in a small Russian pub.

The sadness that should have been present in Leonid's words was washed away by something.

And what remains after the washing is only this bright and cheerful feeling.

The boy responded with a smile, as if it were perfectly natural, and said:

"Yes, Mr. Leonid."

"Your wife and daughter both have beautiful smiles."

Su Qing'an continued to ask:

"I'm curious, what were your sensory experiences at this academy today?"

Leonid recalled what he had seen and heard during the day. This academy was completely different from what he had imagined before he came. Before this, the Valkyries he thought could shoulder the mission of expelling the Honkai and protecting the world should be perfect warriors with a strong will and good fighting skills.

But after touring the academy, all he saw were young children. They walked together like quiet students carrying books in an ordinary academy. The curious gazes they cast were mixed with a sense of bewilderment. Their long hair blowing in the sea breeze and their swaying skirts were the most beautiful things.

Leonid's first reaction was not disappointment or anything else; the first thought that came to the man's mind was that they should not have to bear such heavy responsibilities and missions.

These gifted girls are destined for a fate drastically different from that of ordinary people; they will take up swords and guns to fight against the most terrifying calamities in human history.

On the path of carnage, paved with blood and fire, these girls, barely old enough to be his daughters, must shed countless drops of blood to reach the final destination. Some will inevitably fall halfway, but reality forces the rest to keep going. But where exactly is the end?

The more Leonid knew, the more desperate he became.

These Valkyries studying at this academy must know more than he does. They understand more tragic examples and histories, they have experienced the true power of the enemy and the endless despair like the sea, and they understand the future they will face.

And yet, we continue to forge ahead.

Therefore, the man was not disappointed by the true nature of the academy.

Or rather, compared to these girls who knew everything yet still fearlessly chose to move forward, Leonid felt an unprecedented sense of shame.

During the day, he had spoken with a white-haired girl who must have lived in Russia; her fluent Russian made Leonid feel at ease.

Kiana Kaslana.

Leonid remembered the name.

Perhaps it was a strange twist of fate that brought these two people, whose relationship was complex in some ways, together and they had a friendly conversation.

"Uncle, just focus on getting better. This has nothing to do with you. Leave all that stuff to me."

"What they owe you, I will get back to you one day."

This episode may be unknown to anyone, but for Leonid, Kiana's smiling expression when she said those words, and the burning will in her blue eyes, were profound moments that allowed him to see the flame of humanity's future.

Whether or not the Valkyrie can actually achieve it, this determination and the hidden comfort are a remedy that brings Leonid some relief.

He answered Su Qing'an's question with a smile, saying:

“Very good. I see the future here, Mr. Su.”

"I am so glad I met you. If it weren't for you, I would never have had the chance to see these things in my life."

"But time always flies, it's almost 4:15, isn't it?"

Su Qing'an glanced at the clock in silence. With a soft ticking sound, the hour hand reached exactly four o'clock in the morning.

As he said, time really flies.

And this has always been the case throughout history.

The boy took a bottle of vodka from under the counter, and then he said softly:

“Let’s go, Mr. Leonid.”

"I've said it before, the sea is beautiful."

"Please try your best to hold on until then, so you won't have any regrets."

They came to see the sunrise.

The sunrise at St. Freya Beach usually occurs between 4:15 and 5:00 AM, but occasionally a thin mist in the early morning obscures the sunrise, making it difficult to see the first rays of sunlight.

In truth, Leonid always felt that dying before the sea at dusk wouldn't be so bad, but this body, which had been barely clinging to life, displayed a stubborn resilience in the embers of its last breath, which kept him there.

Leonid had planned his time carefully before going to the auction; even if he didn't suffer any harm along the way, he could only live for three days at most after the auction.

As for whether the third day was an hour or four or five hours after midnight, neither of them knew.

Now, perhaps it's time to see what fate has in store.

The sea breeze gently dampened a strand of hair, and the sight of the surging waves was obscure in the night, but the sound of the waves, sometimes long and sometimes short, like the breath of the sea, told the whole story.

Leonid took a deep breath. In fact, walking was already very difficult for him at this point, but the man stubbornly refused to use a cane and refused anyone to help him.

Perhaps in his heart, on his deathbed, he preferred to be closer to the brave man who once fought bears in the snow, rather than the frail middle-aged man whose back was almost hunched over.

Even if the facts do not change according to his wishes, stubbornness itself is an unavoidable behavior.

Su Qing'an and the man sat on the ground, not caring that their clothes might get wet from the spreading tide. They stared ahead, their eyes gazing at the darkness stretching to the unseen horizon.

Leonid said with a smile:

"The sun hasn't risen yet."

His voice was actually a bit strained, and the tone had been hoarse and unpleasant for a while, but Su Qing'an's good hearing and lip-reading skills allowed her to maintain normal communication with the man.

The boy didn't respond to that statement; instead, he handed over a bottle of wine and said:

"The thing I promised you."

Leonid took the bottle and slowly drank a sip of the water of life, which he hadn't drunk for almost ten years. His originally pale face gradually turned rosy.

Drinking 96°C water of life so casually would be enough to burn one's throat and stomach, yet Leonid continued to laugh as if nothing had happened, saying:

"I haven't had this in a very, very long time."

"Mr. Su, if my daughter were still alive, she would be about your age."

"If my daughter were alive today, I would be happy to be your father-in-law."

"Ten brown bears wouldn't be a match for you, and there's no warrior in all of Siberia who can rival you."

The man patted the boy's shoulder, the force so light it was almost imperceptible.

Su Qing'an shook his head and casually chatted and laughed with Leonid. What was the reason for him to witness this life-or-death situation?

It seems unnecessary for Su Qing'an to go to such lengths for a stranger; she has never been kind enough to lend a helping hand to just anyone.

But now he not only made the unreasonable request to Himeko and Theresa to allow outsiders to observe the academy, but he even had Nishikujo Sara specifically test how long Leonid could survive.

After calculating that there might be enough time to see the sunrise, he stayed in the coffee shop all night and asked Himeko to apply for special equipment to manually clear the fog if it obscured the sunrise.

Su Qing'an's rare request was naturally granted by both of them.

If we must ask Su Qing'an why he did this, then perhaps he was conducting a rehearsal.

The fate that Leonid faced would also be his fate.

It may be dusk, or sunrise, or perhaps a clear afternoon or a deep, dark night, when the boy's body will be eroded into ashes.

It would be good to check the sunrise time now. Let's say we can see the sunrise at 4:15 today, then that would be a good time to die.

At least, die now.

He won't be too sad.

Time passed slowly, and it was now 4:20, but darkness still shrouded the sea like a veil.

Leonid sighed and said:

"Looks like... I won't be able to wait that long."

The man's only remaining right arm was gradually turning gray, not a sign of becoming a dead soldier, but the last rays of light before he was eroded into ashes.

He stopped drinking vodka because, in fact, Leonid's sense of taste had been unable to discern the specific flavor of the liquor from the very beginning. That's why Su Qing'an deliberately chose the most difficult-to-drink yet most stimulating "water of life."

But now, even a spirit as potent as the water of life is no different from plain water to Leonid.

Su Qing'an paused for a moment. He knew he shouldn't be silent at this time, but the sense of loss that the boy felt was so deeply felt that he was speechless.

He didn't know what to say, because any words of comfort would be meaningless.

But in the next second of the silence, the sunlight broke through the clouds, shining brightly from the edges.

The two remained silent, but their inner feelings had already diverged.

The sea was free of fog, as if fate itself had chosen the gentlest way for Leonid to die.

On the gradually shimmering sea, the arc of light refracts and changes colors in the rippling waves.

Leonid stared blankly at the scene, and said softly:

"The sea is beautiful, sir."