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

"Hua, I used to live only for myself, because living itself was already difficult for me, and it is still the same now. The existence of artificial holy marks constantly reminds me that my days are numbered, so naturally I have no time to think about other things."

"But now, watching all this with you, I don't know why, but I really want this scene to last forever, for all the people who have nothing to do with me..."

The boy began to read out one name after another earnestly:

"Whether it's Kiana, Principal Theresa, Himeko, Yuno, Bronya, Mei, Sara-sensei, or even people I haven't known for long like Uncle Kanbara, Yuu-san, Rin, Leonid-san, and finally, you, Hua."

"I hope you can all live in this world and keep living with all your might. Even when faced with despair and hopelessness, there will always be light to open the way forward. And if I can, I want to help you."

I want to help you, I want to stand by your side and fight alongside you.

This was an obsession that Su Qing'an had for some time, and at this moment he was subtly expressing his feelings.

Su Qing'an's usually composed expression was now completely gone. He gazed at the distant scenery, deliberately shifting his gaze away from the girl's face. Then, without waiting for her reply, he smiled and lightly changed the subject, saying:

"Isn't it a bit ominous to say that, as if you're destined to encounter a crisis?"

Fu Hua softly uttered the boy's name:

"Su Qing'an."

The boy gazed at the setting sun, its radiance illuminating Fu Hua while simultaneously coating him with a layer of ethereal beauty. His delicate face glowed with a serene elegance in the afterglow. He said:

"What's wrong, Hua?"

Fu Hua chuckled and patted his head, ruffling his hair and turning him to face her directly. She said:

"Weren't you enjoying it before? Why are you afraid to watch it now?"

The boy felt a little uncomfortable, but he still spoke earnestly:

"I was admiring the scenery earlier."

Su Qing'an wasn't lying; he was simply seeing things through the eyes of a young girl.

The girl sighed helplessly, clearly not intending to pursue the matter further, because she felt that if she continued to delve into it, she would be dragged into a forbidden vortex.

Fu Hua's expression turned somewhat desolate, and she said to Su Qing'an:

"For me, protecting China is both a mission and a promise to someone."

"Fighting against the Honkai is something I must do; it's my destiny. But Su Qing'an, you're different. If I could, I would prefer you to be like these people."

Her tone shifted to the boy beside her, and her voice gradually changed from the quiet narration of the past to one tinged with sadness.

Even if you know nothing and understand nothing, you can still avoid facing so many heavy things.

"Sometimes I think you're a really strange person, but I can also understand that you're not fearless, you're just braver than most people."

"But even with this courage alone, how long can it last? The belief in protecting others may make you stronger, but it will also make it harder for you to break free from this path."

"You weren't without a choice before, so why did you choose to stay at St. Freya, Su Qing'an?"

"If you had left that day, you wouldn't have been forced to have an artificial stigmata implanted, you wouldn't have suffered such torment, you wouldn't have lost most of your life, and naturally you wouldn't have been noticed by the higher-ups of Destiny. You could have simply left without a trace."

"Don't you like running a coffee shop?"

"Wouldn't it be great to open a coffee shop in a completely new place, meet new friends, build a new lifestyle, enjoy this peace, and finally... find someone to fall in love with, get married, and have children?"

She paused for a moment when talking about her relationship before, instinctively feeling a subtle unease, but why did she feel uneasy?

At this moment, Fu Hua didn't have much time to think about the problem. She fell into regret again. Why... why couldn't she have persuaded him again back then?

After learning that Su Qing'an had undergone artificial stigmata transplantation, this thought appeared more and more frequently as the two grew closer.

If it were the person in front of her, the girl would very much like him to live in the peace she had created and spend the rest of his life in peace and happiness.

Su Qing'an paused for a moment, then said softly:

"That would be too far from Himeko-nee."

"Too far from Kiana, too far from Yuno."

The boy gazed at her lowered eyelashes and said in a more serious tone:

"I'm too far away from you."

"And I happen to dislike being too far away from you."

"Then there's no other way but to stay."

"As for the consequences of staying, I didn't expect it to turn out this way, but if you really want to ask me if I regret it."

My answer is no regrets.

Su Qing'an gripped the wooden plaque engraved with the word "iris" tightly in her hand and said with a smile:

"Hua, the past cannot be traced, but the future can still be changed."

"Didn't you promise to help me?"

"Then I won't be afraid."

That day, time spent in the Ferris wheel felt both long and short.

Images frozen in memory are destined to fade and wither over the long years, no longer as vibrant as they once were.

But the boy's final response remains unforgettable, and the girl will never forget it, even after a very long time.

Then I won't be afraid.

He said this with such firmness, his eyes gentle and his tone resolute.

138. How do you feel? Not bad.

As dusk settled back to its starting point on the Ferris wheel, it gradually faded into a desolate, dim light. Most of the facilities were shut down. The tourists who had ridden the roller coaster earlier were the last to experience it. Now, the tourists were scattered like quicksand into the crowd, leaving the area deserted.

As night gradually enveloped their vision like a thin veil, the two silently stepped off the Ferris wheel, and dazzling neon lights illuminated every corner of the night.

The exterior of all the Ferris wheel cabins shimmered with dazzling fluorescent light. The entire massive machine stood silently in the night, its flashing lights constantly changing colors, making it look like a living behemoth breathing rhythmically.

Amidst the quiet breathing, Su Qing'an stared blankly at the neon lights reflected in the girl's eyes.

He left the wooden sign in that carriage and didn't take it out.

All flowers eventually wither, whether it's an iris or a hibiscus, in the height of summer or the depths of winter; it's just a matter of when they fade.

And assuming the outcome is inevitable, then at least... he hopes to see the light in her eyes a little longer.

Su Qing'an likes Fu Hua.

But before this matter becomes widely known, he must bury it somewhere unknown and quietly wait for the day it might sprout.

That place might be Siberia, where the seeds are buried under the permafrost, never to see the light of day.

Or perhaps that seed fell into a frozen lake, rolled into scorching lava, and its future was obscured by hopeless darkness.

Su Qing'an had no way of knowing the outcome, but this was enough.

Just as he told Fu Hua, he wasn't afraid.

But only he himself knew how much comfort and solace was contained in those words for the young girl.

With the Taixu Sword Qi only one step away from reaching the Mingjing Realm, the young man had an increasingly bad feeling.

Iris, iris.

The name of the flower, along with this ominous premonition, lingered in my mind, impossible to shake off.

It was clearly supposed to be a pleasant and relaxing holiday, but my intuition seemed to have foreseen everything.

"Su Qing'an, what are you spacing out for?"

A pair of pale white hands gently waved in front of his eyes, bringing him back to his senses.

It's Fu Hua.

Su Qing'an replied:

"nothing."

The boy looked at the neon lights in the distance and couldn't help but smile. He continued:

"Let's go somewhere else, Hua."

Fu Hua followed his gaze to the bustling scene ahead and said:

"it is good."

She didn't ask why she wasn't going back, nor did she ask where she was going.

Sometimes, a single word in response is far more effective than a thousand words.

Ten minutes later.

The two arrived at the most crowded part of the amusement park.

It was a huge tree.

However, unlike naturally growing ancient trees, these trees rely on the accumulation of time and the catalysis of nutrients.

The tree in front of us is entirely man-made and is about 100 meters tall.

The sprawling, encircling metal branches and fake emerald leaves gather into clusters, mimicking a style that blends reality and fantasy with excellent textures and colors.

During the day, it is a lush, evergreen artificial tree with a huge canopy that does not sway in the wind, like a silent and lifeless exquisite stone statue.

But when night falls, in the fleeting darkness amidst the flickering neon lights, it becomes a beautiful lighthouse.

From the canopy and intertwined branches, the lights burned with an extremely brilliant golden hue. The warm light cast the shadows of tourists into various shapes, attracting all the wandering eyes and aimless figures to the ever-green branches and leaves, and they would then linger there without realizing it.

The shadows cast on the ground by the light shining through the gaps in the branches and leaves form various Houmu patterns.

Wooden benches are scattered in front of these patterns. The layout may seem ordinary during the day, but at this moment it makes people marvel at the designer's imagination.

Compared to the crowds they encounter during the day, this place is practically a sea of ​​people.

That's natural; if people were to be evacuated from such a scenic spot, it would inevitably feel a bit deserted.

The atmosphere created by countless couples is the result the team behind the scenes needs.

Although this tactic wasn't very effective on the two, Theresa's financial offensive still motivated them to do their best in every detail.

For example, mobile shops that offer double ice cream on the street, jewelry shops that offer red ribbons as a gift, and food stores that offer free drinks to couples whenever they come in.

The drink, of course, is the kind that only uses one straw.