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

She sat in the leather seat, nestled in the corner, and the room lights automatically turned on, casting a warm glow, while the heating adjusted to a comfortable temperature.

The familiar piano music lingered in my ears once again; it seemed to be the exclusive music of this amusement park.

An LCD screen is embedded in a corner of the wall, and it can play different music as a little embellishment during the sightseeing period to satisfy tourists' interests.

The massive machinery emitted a metallic scraping sound as the doors closed automatically.

As if awakening, the tour cars inside the Ferris wheel began to turn along the track, and the lighting decorations covering the exterior walls also started, turning the building into a colorful halo.

From a distance, the hollow Ferris wheel remains perfectly still, clearly indicating that its internal rotation does not affect the outside world.

The amusement park's smart technology has clearly not been updated, and may even be using inferior products from before the founding of the United Nations. This is why the first few smart devices are really clumsy, but the rest of its internal equipment is not too old.

From inside, one can see the outside world, almost as if only a layer of clean glass is visible, allowing Seele to clearly see the specific view of the ground and sky as the cabin slowly rises.

It was 3:15 PM.

The heavy snow arrived as promised, gently swirling down from the sky like fallen petals.

She stared blankly as the crystal-clear snowflakes fell softly, her fingertips involuntarily touching the glass, feeling the cool touch.

Seele murmured softly:

"It's snowing."

"They should have arrived by now, right?"

The little girl noticed the clumsy smart car, which was slowly driving along the road. The brown coat was still sitting there, but the red balloon was nowhere to be seen.

Extending the view from that road to the rest of the area, amidst the stillness of everything, only this Ferris wheel is in motion.

Seele felt as if she had stumbled into a quiet and desolate garden, long abandoned, where the gardeners had long since left, leaving only the remaining plants to grow wildly and recklessly according to the rules of nature.

Even when the melodious piano music is not cheerful, it sounds so distant and tranquil, as if it is telling the story of the vicissitudes and loneliness of ancient times.

Seele gazed silently at the scenery, which was completely different from what the boy had described, yet equally beautiful, her lips slightly pursed.

Although it looks beautiful, I don't feel particularly happy.

She thought it might be because she was too lonely; it would be different if she came with her brother and sister Xiaohua.

Even the actions of the welcoming robot and the smart car could be attributed to humor and cuteness, and she would still be happy even if she got the balloon that wasn't blue.

It turns out that getting used to loneliness is much harder than I imagined. The more I know how much I cherish the warmth by the fireplace, the less I want to go outside and face the harsh winter snow.

Even if you don't want to, you can't be willful.

Just as Seele was pondering these trivial matters, the barcode reappeared on the fair skin behind her neck.

The next second, the pitch-black color gradually changed into a vibrant crimson like a rose.

A much more intense electric current than the previous two times spread through her limbs and bones, and Seele's mournful cry in the sealed room sounded like a wounded animal whimpering pitifully.

Her already pale face lost all color at this moment, and her frail body collapsed uncontrollably onto the cold ground.

The little girl gritted her teeth, and an expression of pain inevitably showed on her face.

Despite enduring torture that was far more agonizing than the previous ones, Seele managed to retain her sanity.

Less than half an hour had passed since the last attack. If the safety of the experimental subjects were the sole concern, increasing the frequency of electric shocks would only seriously endanger their lives. This is putting the cart before the horse.

Starting with the transmitter's original function, she quickly understood why the device inside her body had activated so rapidly.

The lab personnel have arrived nearby.

Perhaps the transmitter's location wasn't accurate enough to immediately pinpoint one's location, necessitating further restrictions on movement, or perhaps it was simply to avoid trouble.

In short, the other party has the ability to control the activation of the devices inside their body, and it would not be surprising if they used them for whatever reason.

The power of the current and the harm it causes to one's body should be within the other party's expected calculations. As long as it does not cause irreversible sequelae, these should all be within the other party's authority.

Seele struggled to suppress the trembling that gripped her body; she needed to sit back in her original spot.

Observing the other party's arrival in advance is part of the plan.

If you remain collapsed on the ground, you won't have much time left.

To avoid increasing the possibility of failure, she sensed the spasms in her muscles and carefully comprehended every sting.

stand up.

However, it is unrealistic to expect to achieve this through sheer willpower alone; her already frail body is unlikely to meet Seele's expectations.

She could only passively understand that time was passing by second by second, but she was completely powerless to control her uncontrollable body.

Leave.

As events unfolded, a sense of dread inevitably arose, and fear transformed into icy chains binding the heart, warning of the consequences of the choices made.

This time, entering the laboratory will not give them the luck to enter the Sea of ​​Quanta and escape control, and they will be the only experimental subject to survive at this stage.

The little girl could guarantee that her life would not be in danger for a short time, but that was all.

There are ways of living that are far more cruel and tragic than simple death. Even without recklessly imagining the outcome, she already felt an involuntary chill throughout her body, as if she were in an ice cellar.

Run!

Quickly enter the quantum state.

Seele's so-called "base" is to actively throw herself into the Sea of ​​Quanta, plunging into that other endless world.

She was faced with only two dark worlds as her choices.

The only freedom for Seele Voller is to choose which fate is more tragic and intolerable, and thus accept it.

Clearly, even if being trapped in the Sea of ​​Quanta means facing endless wandering and loneliness, Seele Volleriane would not allow herself to return to the laboratory.

This was the result of her inner fears, and also the result of her resolute hatred and anger.

But Seele has absolutely a reason why she can't use that method right now.

She can't leave now.

If you don't let the person see you enter the quantum state in their field of vision, they might not give up.

At that time, the most likely scenario is that no clues she left behind in the city will be overlooked.

And once that happens, Seele's real reason for leaving becomes meaningless.

We can't let it affect my brother and sister Xiaohua's future lives.

Based on this, even if it means taking on unnecessary risks.

Even though she was forced to step into a future she least wanted to accept because of this, Seele Volleriane was prepared to take responsibility.

Waiting for the other person to arrive on the Ferris wheel is to get a wider view.

At the same time, being inside the constantly moving cockpit is far safer than other facilities.

Even if she had virtually no combat power, she wouldn't be caught instantly by the newcomer, which would give her enough time to enter a quantum state.

But now these plans have stalled due to the body's inability to move.

Without being able to confirm through the window that the other person has seen her, entering the quantum state will only drag down those important to her.

Therefore, the little girl could only endure the fear that was constantly eroding her reason, suppress the pain that was continuing to wear down her will, and try her best to overcome the instinct of her body trembling.

We cannot run away because we are afraid, we cannot give up because we feel pain, and we cannot give in because there is no possibility.

Even with such efforts, her limits will not be broken by sheer willpower.

A biting wind rushed into the cabin, and the rustling of clothes echoed in my ears.

Heavy footsteps, carrying pale snow, shattered reality. The tall figure stopped the Ferris wheel's rotation by some unknown means, easily obliterating external obstacles, and stood before the little girl who had collapsed to the ground.

The man said indifferently:

"Experimental specimen number VJKA13809, Xier o Fulei."

"Captured successfully."

53. Because it snowed.

This is a small aircraft specifically designed for solo missions, prioritizing speed, and possessing unrestricted access and stealth capabilities within the United Nations aviation domain.

Therefore, after receiving the signal from experimental subject VJKA13809, the aircraft carrying the mission personnel arrived at the target's location silently, ignoring the airspace defense system of Canghai City, in less than two hours.

For the sake of humanity.

The four heavy words, like the resounding toll of a bell, gradually awakened the naked man inside the warehouse. His entire body was almost entirely constructed of metal, while the rest was made of healthy-colored muscles and blood-red fascia. Even the back of his head showed signs of artificial stitching.

Xing Chen opened his eyes. The color of his pupils was strange and unnatural, as cold and lifeless as inorganic matter.

The man looked around at his surroundings, silently repeating the four words that the AI ​​assistant had spoken to him earlier.

For the sake of humanity.

After confirming the real existence of the self within consciousness once again, the red indicator light on the instrument outside the cabin slowly turned green.

Only then did the Honkai energy suppression fluid inside and the various pipes inserted into that body recede away. The man's non-human prosthetic feet landed on the ground, and the warehouse door opened on its own. He slowly walked out and put on the clothes displayed on the table.

For the sake of humanity.

Only by silently repeating these four words can a man achieve self-awareness.

The AI ​​kept speaking in his mind, and Xing Chen kept repeating it silently.

This was his own request, and in fact, it was thanks to this that he was able to retain his own will even 546 days after being corrupted by the Honkai.

Body modification is the only way for an ordinary soldier to survive the Honkai infection.

The more profound the human body modification, the more intense the questioning of will, the self-doubt, and the fear of sensory loss become.

Until the day one's personality collapses, perhaps this way of living is the greatest purgatory in the world.

Xing Chen chose to walk this path himself. In fact, at least the current UN authorities are not so corrupt as to disregard the soldiers' wishes and forcibly reform them, continuing to use them as tools for recycling.

Modification itself requires high costs, and if breakthroughs cannot be achieved in this field by simply repeating human modification, such an approach is merely a waste of resources.

The reason is that even with specialized combat modifications, such soldiers are no more valuable than a few artillery shells in terms of combat effectiveness on the battlefield against the collapse.

Indeed, this is true. Xing Chen is already considered a successful case, and the fact that he has survived to this day is the best proof of that.

Generally, after experiencing Honkai infection or even evolving into erosion, no human can survive for more than a month in such a situation, and human modification is, frankly speaking, just a way to prolong death.

A survival period of nearly two years is already considered very high.