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

“Seele Voller, that’s my name.”

As expected, that's the name.

The fact that there was no language barrier suggests that the laboratory likely belongs to a faction aligned with this country. However, just like the complex situation in Canghai City, it would be too hasty to judge the answer based on this detail alone.

It at least means that the chances of the other party finding this place have become greater.

As Su Qing'an's thoughts raced, she also keenly noticed the girl's subtle movements.

You must be hungry.

The boy stood up and walked to the round table. As Seele subconsciously took a few steps back, he nonchalantly pulled out a chair and said:

"You haven't eaten in a long time."

"Sit here for a while, I'll go inside and bring the dishes out."

As she spoke, Su Qing'an turned and stepped into the kitchen, seemingly unafraid that Xi'er would run away.

The girl watched his retreating figure, then glanced at the tightly closed door and the pitch-black night outside the window. After hesitating for a moment, she moved her slippers and sat nervously on the chair.

Is this strange person going to feed me?

Is it one of those foods that has a strange taste like toothpaste? Or...?

She glanced discreetly at her wrist, her pure eyes appearing even deeper and darker.

Thirty minutes later.

Seele suddenly realized that the little cake the older sister had given her before actually tasted just so-so.

Compared to the numerous dishes such as braised pork ribs, braised eggs, green pepper beef, and shredded pork with garlic sauce, which she couldn't remember all at once, as well as the plump, snow-white rice, all of them paled in comparison.

Although the girl didn't yet have the concept of desserts and main courses, making such a cross-regional comparison seem unfair, the small piece of poria cocos cake and a cup of warm sweet milk presented on the porcelain plate after the meal completely balanced the competition.

The soft texture and the delicate fragrance of dried osmanthus on the lips and teeth are the initial notes. The filling of roasted white sesame seeds adds layers of flavor, and the milk helps to cleanse the mouth caused by the pastry absorbing moisture, making the whole experience very pleasant.

Although she kept warning herself not to be corrupted by these external temptations, the girl's firm will still wavered slightly at a certain moment when her lips and teeth burst with fragrance.

The lack of a proper diet led to Seele being easily dealt a critical hit.

When she saw the table full of delicious-looking dishes, her instinct was to refuse them.

Because that's how Seele entered the incubation chamber for the last time; under the influence of sleeping drugs, she entered without any resistance.

As the saying goes, lessons from the past are lessons for the future, let alone one's own personal experience.

But the constant protests from her stomach and her physical weakness indicated that she had no right to refuse.

No matter what the other party wants to do, it is impossible for me to resist them due to my physical condition.

It wasn't that Xi'er knew how strong Su Qing'an was, but rather that she understood how weak she was. Even putting on dinosaur pajamas was a bit of a struggle for her, and even if she successfully escaped, she wouldn't be able to walk very far in the outside world before she was out of breath, let alone in the cold winter outside.

Having broken free from that state, I could no longer wander in this unfamiliar territory.

Quantum state, that is, its previous state.

On paper, this concept has always remained an unverified hypothesis, a term that researchers need to verify through brutal experiments before they can be definitively confirmed.

The reason I can go for more than ten days without sleep, food, or water, and still not be seen or touched, is because of this.

The reason Seele would know these things is simple: the experimenters had never hidden from her what kind of experiments they were conducting.

So the girl understood the initial reason for the experiment and some fragmented information.

For example, they are using the Herrscher Core of the Second Herrscher to try to connect to another strange world called the Quantum Sea.

Once this technology is fully mastered, even if humanity one day suffers an unexpected defeat under the collapse, the Quantum Sea can still be used as a never-fading backyard for the preservation of civilization and the storage of vast amounts of resources.

At that time, human heritage will not be completely lost due to the passage of time. This is a plan whose grandeur can be felt even from hearing about it.

Seele and her companions were the necessary sacrifices for the possible continuation of human civilization in the future.

The girl stared at the large amount of food still left in the bowl and plate, her pupils gradually losing focus.

She was no longer hungry, but in a moment of sudden relaxation amidst her mental and physical daze, she remembered something.

That was a one-sided conversation that took place in Seele's incubation chamber on the eve of the experiment's commencement.

Standing before her was an elderly man with gray hair. Through the goggles attached to the respirator and the Honkai energy suppressant liquid she had prepared in advance, her face was already indistinct when it came into view. Seele could only tell that he was looking directly into her eyes.

The sound, passing through the reinforced glass, traveled through the still liquid and into my ears.

Your efforts are meaningful, Seele.

The old man pronounced the girl's name accurately, his gaze filled with both pity and resolve:

This is for the sake of humanity.

For that more distant future, even if the path to that outcome is strewn with countless acts of blood and sin, the sanctity of that future remains unquestionable.

【You are all orphans adopted by the state. Without the state, you wouldn't be alive today. But even with that assumption, your lives should not be so trampled upon and exploited without any choice.】

I acknowledge that, to you, our actions are an unforgivable crime, and I have no intention of defending whether our actions were justified or righteous.

The old man's words were so deep and powerful, a tone and spirit that only someone who understood he had embarked on the path of Asura yet remained unwavering could display.

But in Seele's eyes, it was like a priest covered in blood holding a Bible with faded and worn words, claiming to be a devout saint.

It's meaningless and ridiculous.

He read the girl's name again and said softly:

The reason I'm saying all this to you is simple: I want you to know that your sacrifices are meaningful, and that you haven't lost your freedom or even your lives for the sake of personal desires and power struggles.

If you understand this, at least...

The old man stopped abruptly, choosing not to continue speaking, as if he himself understood that these words were essentially more about self-satisfaction.

How can you expect a 14-year-old child who has never received a good education to be deeply affected by these words?

This is simply making things difficult for someone.

This behavior did not deny his own crimes, but it seemed like a form of atonement. He was silent for a moment before saying:

[Before each child begins the experiment, I repeat similar words, "Shee-o-Floree."]

Try your best to live, both for the sake of the experiment's outcome and for your own sake.

After saying that, his figure slowly disappeared from sight.

The layers of transparent cage closed silently once more, leaving Seele with only profound silence.

The memory ended there. The girl continued to grip the chopsticks awkwardly, a dark emotion surging in her mind, dispelling the fleeting pleasure brought by the food.

I... survived.

But I will never go back, and one day I will destroy it.

The grand principles about humanity were utter nonsense that Seele couldn't comprehend at all. She only knew that she was different from the outside world, and that her friends were different from the outside world as well.

Why are we born only to die for this?

It shouldn't be like this.

Images flashed through my mind: children snuggling up to their parents on the street; high school girls strolling hand in hand, laughing and chatting; colorful balloons outside a shop; a girl lazily blowing in the night breeze, a happy expression on her face as she talked on the phone…

It shouldn't be like this...

Seele slowly loosened her grip on the chopsticks, her eyes growing increasingly dull and gray.

Su Qing'an noticed the little girl's changing expression, but knowing her condition, he knew that asking too many questions would only become a burden that could have been avoided.

So the boy, seemingly oblivious to the other person's odd behavior, casually asked:

Are you still hungry?

Seele simply lowered her eyes, trying to conceal the turmoil in her heart, and silently shook her head.

Even when faced with such delicious food she had never tasted before, she still maintained a certain degree of restraint, because these things that she had never seen in the orphanage were causing Seele's guilt to swell and grow.

Why did Seele choose to wander like a ghost all these days instead of taking the time to appreciate the outside world and see these sights she had never seen before?

The reason is this inescapable sense of guilt.

Even though she thought about showing everyone the beauty of the outside world and experiencing the happiness that others had never felt, she felt that only in this way could she live up to this hard-won good fortune.

But deep down, the girl believed it was a naive thought, just an excuse to numb herself and make herself feel at ease enjoying herself.

The more magnificent and unforgettable the colors she had witnessed these past few days, the more desperate she felt about the past, which caused the innocence in Seele's bones to be gradually worn away.

From the very beginning, she could no longer convince herself with this initial idea.

The girl looked up at Su Qing'an and said softly:

Why are you being so nice to me? Is it because you want to draw my blood?

It sounded like a question, like a doubt, yet it also seemed like a simple soliloquy.

Every word struck Su Qing'an's heart, leaving him unsure how to cope with this deep-seated sorrow.

She continued murmuring:

"Just like that older sister in the orphanage, they always liked to give Xier a piece of candy before they planned to do anything too cruel to her."

"In the end, everyone died because of a piece of candy."

"Do adults all believe that the sweetness of sugar is enough to compensate for the bitterness brought by death and all suffering?"

"But when it came to Seele, she felt that the candy was no longer sweet at all."

"So it's all a lie."

"It can't make up for it at all...not even a little bit."

The girl gazed at the boy's face, a sad expression on her face. She seemed to recall the smiles those people had given her when they had stuffed candy into her palm, and her heart ached even more.

She wouldn't allow herself to cry, yet she couldn't help but sob as she spoke.

The girl's deep blue eyes welled up with a misty haze. Stubbornly swallowing her sorrow, she gritted her teeth and cried out:

"If that's the case, then don't give me candy in the first place!"

The words reached the boy's ears. He watched her crystal-clear tears flow uncontrollably, speechless.

She still cried.

The girl rolled up her sleeve, stared at the exposed veins, and murmured blankly: