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

Although the boy's recent email responses seemed much more cheerful, Himeko still needed to see Su Qing'an's life in person to feel a little more at ease.

Hmm, she looked at her face with some satisfaction. Now she could be considered a gentle older sister figure.

Although she has a gentle side to her personality, Himeko Murata rarely shows it, giving the impression of being a character who is sometimes frivolous and sometimes aloof and reliable.

Should I bring that little guy a gift? But the child seems uninterested in anything, which is really giving me a headache.

Himeko was troubled.

"Major Himeko! Headquarters urgently issues a notification that a large-scale collapse has occurred in Changkong City."

The emergency communicator issued by Destiny beeped, and the news it brought instantly wiped the smile off Himeko Murata's face.

Long...empty city?

Has a large-scale collapse occurred in Changkong City? If so, then.

"...Changkong City, a collapse has occurred?" Himeko Murata confirmed to the other end of the communicator.

If it's true.

"Yes, Major Himeko. It is expected that there will be few survivors in Changkong City. Currently, Destiny has blocked all transportation routes to Changkong City and controlled the situation in the Far East with the propaganda of the infectious disease BH. Please prepare for action. According to your GPS location, the Hyperion will arrive above you in ten minutes."

Su Qing'an is dead. Himeko Murata used her years of experience and rationality in fighting against the Honkai to arrive at the answer.

This strong and eternally optimistic woman seemed to be crushed by immense sorrow at some point.

Himeko Murata, it was you who sent him to Changkong City.

If he really died, you caused his death without even seeing him one last time.

You've breached the contract.

You failed to take good care of him, and even caused his death.

I must see it with my own eyes. I will not give up until I see that child's body. She told herself this, but it sounded like a powerless attempt at self-comfort and prayer.

Himeko unconsciously clenched her fists, the uncontrollable force turning her knuckles white. If it weren't for her warrior's discipline which prevented her from growing long nails, it would be normal for her nails to be embedded in her flesh now.

With the will of a warrior, Himeko Murata suppressed all her pain and tied her long, loose hair into a ponytail with a rubber band.

"Ten minutes is too slow. I want the Hyperion to appear before me within five minutes." Himeko gave the order expressionlessly, wiping the light-colored lipstick from her lips with a tissue.

"Yes, Major Himeko." The communicator connection was lost.

Himeko stared blankly at her disheveled reflection in the mirror, speechless for a moment.

It's collapsing.

Himeko Murata suddenly laughed, her smile as cold as a blade, a certain determination burning in her amber eyes.

35. Journey

2013年12月26日上午10时05分。

Changkong City.

The number of assassins they encountered along the way was countless. In the cramped streets, Su Qing'an could no longer use the speed and horsepower of the Kawasaki H2R to leave them behind. Most of the other routes were destroyed and impassable by Honkai Beasts of the Temple Class and the Chariot Class, which were huge in size and destructive power.

Therefore, he had no choice but to hide the Kawasaki H2R and get off the train to walk.

In areas with a high concentration of assassins and a low number of Honkai Beasts, Su Qing'an is currently able to advance without taking any damage and is not far from Qianyu Academy. However, the increasingly dangerous enemies are making it increasingly difficult for him to move forward.

The sword, encased in Honkai energy, easily severed the approaching assassin. The creature, which could no longer be called flesh and blood, emitted an unpleasant odor. With the accumulation of the Still Water Realm and the sheer number of kills, Su Qing'an was no longer swayed by the assassins.

He didn't have time to dwell on such trivial matters as whether it constituted the destruction of someone else's remains.

For Su Qing'an, dealing with the assassins was much simpler than dealing with the Honkai Beasts. The Tai Xuan Flow could exert most of its power on these humanoid monsters.

Even so, without the ability to control Honkai energy to cover the sword's blade, even a good sword like the [Calming Wave], which is made of excellent materials, will chip after cutting through bones that are harder than the human body dozens of times.

Su Qing'an found that manipulating Honkai energy would make him feel mentally exhausted, and theoretically, it was quite normal for the Honkai energy cycle established through the essence of the soul to consume such a price.

So when he realized this, he began to consciously conserve Honkai energy and stopped using his sword to emit Honkai energy like sword aura.

That is the essence of the Taixu Sword Qi, which consists of four elements: Guard, Transform, Activate, and Open, totaling twenty-one forms.

Because there were no reference samples, the speed at which he learned martial arts was not as abnormal as that of normal martial arts.

For now, the only way to attack is by emitting Honkai energy similar to sword aura through the blade.

Since controlling only the Honkai energy on the blade would not affect his combat, he always kept the Honkai energy wrapped around the surface of the sword to avoid the weapon from chipping.

Although he had memorized most of the routes in Changkong City, routes that had not been included in the memorized list had already appeared before him.

The city has become a veritable steel jungle, with dangerous assassins and terrifying Honkai beasts roaming within, destroying city buildings and preying on the few humans who have survived due to their Honkai resistance.

Even Su Qing'an himself was only in the middle of the food chain. Compared to some Honkai Beasts that liked to act in groups, he was undoubtedly much weaker.

He only needs to be hit in a part that affects his movement or in an artery that causes heavy bleeding to die from severe weakening of his combat ability.

In this atmosphere, adrenaline is secreted at an accelerated rate, and the force and speed of his sword swings remain unchanged even after he has slashed nearly a hundred times.

He was expressionless as he hid at the corner of the alley. He had already wiped out the assassins in the vicinity. He chewed his food to replenish his energy. The supplies in his bag were probably only enough for two days' worth of food and water.

According to the plot, the events in Changkong City were very brief, lasting only about ten hours before everything was over.

Therefore, his preparations were quite thorough.

However, given that the collapse occurred three months earlier than expected, the so-called plot has become unbelievable information.

Blindly believing the plot is no longer advisable.

Therefore, it is always wise to replenish food and water at supply points like supermarkets when necessary.

Putting the half-empty water bottle back into her bag, Su Qing'an's short break was over, but she never put down her "Calming the Storm" book.

He opened the manhole cover at his feet. The cover was decorated with images of the Seigetsuji Temple and cherry blossoms, which seemed to be a common feature of manhole cover culture in this country.

The route he memorized included a map of the city's sewers, which he repeatedly memorized every night to maintain accuracy so he could use it in an escape.

The location of this manhole cover leads to the sewer line near Qianyu Academy. The Honkai Beasts seem to have an innate desire for destruction. The Honkai outbreak lasted less than two hours. Su Qing'an had already changed routes several times, but all of them were blocked by the destruction and collapse caused by the Honkai Beasts.

According to calculations, the previously collapsed sewers and this route leading to Chiba Academy do not conflict.

Theoretically, it was only a few thousand meters away, but the hordes of Rush-class Honkai Beasts near the academy became an insurmountable obstacle for him.

Su Qing'an discovered a possible habit, or rather, a biological instinct, that Honkai Beasts might possess?

The weaker the Honkai Beast, the more it prefers to travel in groups; the stronger the Honkai Beast, the more it prefers to roam alone.

Therefore, for Su Qing'an, the Knight-class and Chariot-class, which are larger and stronger, are not as dangerous as the Rush-class Honkai Beasts, which prefer to act in groups.

Theoretically, there is no fixed rule for where Honkai Beasts will appear; no one can guarantee that Honkai Beasts will not appear in the sewers.

Even so, it's not a low-probability event that many Rush-class Honkai Beasts are roaming around.

But rather than facing an insurmountable danger, he was willing to gamble that the sewers were safer.

At least, the large Honkai Beasts could be quickly spotted and escaped by him in the quiet environment of the sewers.

More than an hour had already passed, and there was no time to waste any more. Su Qing'an understood that the only possibility for Sato Yuno to survive was if she had Honkai energy resistance to avoid the first encounter and was protected by Kiana to leave Chiba Academy.

However, according to the available storylines, Kiana and Raiden Mei (Herrscher personality) have a love-hate relationship, and in the end, Kiana successfully awakens Raiden Mei's own personality, resulting in a happy ending for everyone.

However, even if Sato Yuno survives, she could still die at any moment from a casual AOE attack by Raiden Mei.

The power of a Herrscher is terrifying; theoretically, she could destroy an entire city if she wanted to.

The closer he got to Senba Academy, the stronger his fear became—a panic stemming from the feeling that life was not in his own hands and a deep-seated despair.

So weak that even the Holy Temple couldn't kill him, how much of a role could he possibly play even if he joined that level of combat?

Even if Kiana was destined to awaken Raiden Mei, it remains to be seen whether she could actually accomplish such an outrageous feat in reality.

Ultimately, this is reality. Even Kiana Kaslana, the protagonist, only has a high survival rate; the risk of death still exists.

Having understood all of this, Su Qing'an entered the sewers and headed towards Qianyu Academy without hesitation.

He forcibly suppressed emotions such as fear, despair, and cowardice by silently reciting the Sword Heart Mantra, and his extreme self-control made him appear calm and decisive.

Ice-blue floating ice slowly forms in the lake of my heart.

When the lake in the heart completely melts, that is when the Sword Heart realm reaches the state of perfection.

The risk of them turning into suicide soldiers will also arrive at that time.

"I'll talk about this later," he murmured to himself.

He's just an ordinary person.

But ordinary people also have ordinary awareness and ordinary people also have ordinary courage.

The hymn to humanity is the hymn to courage; the greatness of humanity is the greatness of courage.

The boy who understands everything and comprehends all yet still chooses to carry on is no longer the same person he was when he first came into this world.

For Sato Yuno, who might have survived and was hiding somewhere, Su Qing'an was undoubtedly her hero.

36. Struggle in a desperate situation

There were no traces of assassins in the sewers, just as he had expected. Apart from a few scattered Honkai Beasts of the Rush Class, there were no other enemies along the way.

After attempting a sneak attack, Su Qing'an successfully determined the visual system of the Advance-class Honkai Beast. If the limit of human vision is approximately 150 degrees vertically and 230 degrees horizontally.

The field of vision of the rushing-level Honkai Beasts is about 360 degrees, similar to that of insects, but their reaction speed is not at the level of insects.

Even so, a sneak attack is not meaningless against a rush-class Honkai Beast.

The reason is that although the advance-class Honkai Beasts can see almost everything around them, they prioritize reacting to Honkai energy over reacting to living beings.

To give an analogy, theoretically, a Valkyrie with Honkai energy within her body and an ordinary human would likely concentrate all their energy on the Valkyrie. This is similar to the automatic AI set by the Honkai consciousness, whose actions follow predictable patterns.

The Honkai energy controlled by the Taixu Sword Qi is all within the space between heaven and earth, which is the so-called using heaven and earth as the dantian. Therefore, in fact, there is no Honkai energy in Su Qing'an's body.

By exploiting this pattern and their own unique characteristics, they can launch a feint attack.

He ambushed and killed most of the rushing-class Honkai Beasts on the road with almost no damage.

He was getting closer and closer to his destination. His physical condition was still in good shape. Even though he had encountered many dangers along the way, Su Qing'an, who was fighting a life-or-death battle for the first time, used his wisdom and strength to get to where he was now.

If he proceeds cautiously for another ten minutes, he will reach Chiba Academy.

But the next second, an accident happened.