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

Su Qing'an pulled Sato Yuno and the suitcase forward.

Inside the suitcase were the equipment and facilities assigned by Theresa, and inside the instrument case on his back was the [Calming the Storm], which was clearly a controlled knife.

If you were to search through their luggage, you would find that it was practically a complete set of tools used by terrorists.

Eavesdropping devices, jammers, small electromagnetic bombs, spare alloy daggers and short swords, Destiny-specific bulletproof vests and Sato Yuno's armor, medical supplies, interconnected miniature earpieces, two modified Colt Pythons, an anonymous bank card, and a fixed amount of cash.

There was also a bunch of strange items that made Su Qing'an suspect they were on a spy mission.

When the two looked at Theresa with strange eyes after hearing the introduction and usage of the equipment, the headmaster solemnly stated that this was the standard equipment for Schicksal missions.

Unexpectedly, in various senses, the impression that St. Freya Academy in the game left on Su Qing'an was that it was a leisurely and peaceful normal school.

He had complained about this before when playing games.

Is it really okay to train Valkyries who will take on the responsibility of protecting the world in a place like this?

But in reality, even St. Freya Academy, which is called a utopia, has its beginnings of great potential.

The Valkyries trained in the academy are the fangs of the Far East branch, and how could fangs not have sharp edges?

Those girls with slim waists, long legs, and smiling faces usually seem harmless and unassuming.

But imagine this: during a mission, she expressionlessly smashes an enemy's teeth with a Colt Python, shoves a gun into his mouth, and interrogates him for mission clues.

The dagger tucked into her fair thigh was still stained with the blood of the assassin.

Behind her was a battlefield shrouded in smoke, yet she remained unmoved, her beautiful face framed by icy eyes radiating murderous intent.

They're all urban elite soldiers and top-tier assassins.

Therefore, even though he was the only male student at St. Freya Academy, the Valkyries were only curious about him until he demonstrated his abnormal learning ability.

The reason he became the center of attention was entirely because Su Qing'an displayed astonishing combat and learning abilities in Nishikujo Sara's spear-fighting class and regular sparring sessions, which were completely unlike those of someone who had just enrolled.

Currently, there are very few people who can spar with Su Qing'an in close combat classes. In the time since he started practicing with Fu Hua, the original Tai Xuan style has been completely changed by him.

Su Qing'an's personality is very similar to Fu Hua's; she's the type who won't tell you unless you ask her.

So to this day, Fu Hua, Theresa, and Himeko are unaware of the fact that he can control Honkai energy.

The fundamental reason is that Su Qing'an's secret is insignificant compared to the Herrscher's den in Himeko's family, so he has never intended to mention it.

The boy thought that even if the headmaster found out, he wouldn't react much.

Because he realized that the Valkyrie's training course included a part of the Void Sword Qi and Sword Heart.

This proves that Destiny itself does include the Taixu Sword Qi, but because the Taixu Sword Qi has too high requirements for talent, only a simplified version was released for the Valkyries to learn.

Su Qing'an's ability to learn the Taixu Sword Qi was purely due to his exceptional talent. Compared to the Third Herrscher, the Herrscher of the Void, and the pseudo-Herrscher, this matter caused no ripples at St. Freya Academy.

Su Qing'an and Sato Yuno are now using a special passage. The flight attendants who were on the plane got off with them and are leading the way.

Clearly, these are indeed personnel from the Chosen Ones, whose duty is to handle the mundane tasks of the Valkyries who receive missions in the normal world.

Such personnel are an indispensable part of Valkyrie's missions; otherwise, simply getting through security checks would be a troublesome matter.

In fact, this can be considered a type of logistics unit. However, Valkyries with a certain degree of Honkai energy resistance would not be put in this position, which would be a waste of their talents. Otherwise, Himeko would probably be happy for him to take this position after graduation.

"You must be the Valkyries of the Far East Branch. I was sent by the head of the family to meet you."

At the end of the road stood an elderly man, motionless, exuding solemnity and elegance. His iron-gray hair was meticulously combed, and he wore a gentle smile. His black tailcoat complemented his upright posture.

This is a butler with a distinctly British style.

At this moment, he bowed slightly, his demeanor polite and standard.

Even after Su Qing'an realized that he had used some inappropriate words, the butler only gave the boy an apologetic smile that did not evoke any ill will.

“They’re from the client’s side, and they look like the butler from the Kanbara family.” Sato Yuno, now back to normal, took her heavy suitcase back from Su Qing’an and said seriously.

"So theoretically I should be called a male martial god? That's a really strange title." Noticing what the butler said, Su Qing'an realized an angle she had never paid attention to before.

Theoretically, my rating after the exam is B.

But if she wants to be officially called a B-rank Valkyrie, she can only do so by dressing as a woman.

Hearing the boy's self-talk, Sato Yuno, who was standing nearby, found it a little funny and couldn't help but smile slightly.

After silently eliminating that option, Su Qing'an handed the suitcase full of dangerous items to the bodyguard in a suit standing next to the butler without any hesitation.

After gesturing for Sato Yuno to do the same, the two entered the car through the door that the butler had bent down to open and got into the car.

With Sato Yuno's cooperation, he was not afraid of any harm from the other party. He had already repeated the operation of slashing the car door and bursting the tires with a single sword in the combat simulation trial at St. Freya Academy.

Even without armor, at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour, he can slice through high-strength metal like cutting a cake, easily overcoming obstacles and landing unharmed.

Simply put, Su Qing'an's judgment was that there wasn't much to worry about.

Moreover, the possibility of the client being detrimental to them is really small. This country can be said to be the territory of the Far East Branch. The prestige of the Mandate of Heaven is second to none in the world. It is just a local family in a country, and they are in a situation where they need something from the client. The possibility of them being detrimental to them is almost zero.

However, the two still maintained basic caution, based on the headmaster's words that "better safe than sorry."

The butler got into the driver's seat and turned to the two of them, saying:

"Please fasten your seatbelts and wait a moment. The Kambara family mansion is still some distance from here."

As the old man spoke, he slowly drove onto the main road and pressed the accelerator. The car's appearance matched the butler's elegant temperament perfectly. Its streamlined body was brand new and shiny, gleaming in the sunlight. It had beautiful lines but also a muscular feel, making it neat and imposing.

Su Qing'an and Sato Yuno naturally couldn't recognize what brand of car it was, but they could roughly understand that it must be very expensive.

This model, which was just discontinued in 2013, is the last vestige of glory emanating from the fading light of Maybach.

Just like the ancient nobles, they were conservative, strict, and noble, but they were eventually eliminated by the times.

The engine roared like a lion, as if it were shouting that it was not yet finished.

The elegant butler displayed excellent driving skills at this moment, calmly increasing the car's speed with steady and composed hands on the steering wheel.

The vehicle sped towards its destination.

The intense backward lurch caused by the car's speed made Su Qing'an and Sato Yuno exchange bewildered glances. They realized then that the old man's reminder to fasten their seatbelts was not without reason.

16. There is a lion in his eyes.

Su Qing'an had already learned about the client's identity before coming.

The Kambara family is a powerful local force in Kanagawa, wielding absolute authority in both local politics and business.

Its origins are ancient and long-standing. It is said that this family can be traced back to 500 years ago, but its reputation and status in Kanagawa have only risen in recent decades. Before that, the Kanbara family was almost unknown.

The client was Shuichi Kanbara, the head of the Kanbara family.

As the current leader of the Kambara Zaibatsu family, he now controls a vast conglomerate centered on information technology and machinery manufacturing.

The Kambara family has no collateral branches, and the main line has dwindled to the point that only Kambara Shuichi and his young only daughter remain.

It is truly unbelievable that such a powerful and influential family in the local area has only two members left.

This is an old house with a long history. As the head of a conglomerate, the decoration here is undoubtedly not very eye-catching. The old Western style is the main theme of the house.

Meanwhile, Shuichi Kanbara knelt on the tatami mat, which had a completely different style, with a solemn expression.

This man is 39 years old, in his prime, a time when a man's energy is at its peak and he is ready to make great strides.

However, at only 39 years old, Shuichi Kanbara appeared excessively old. His hair, which should have been black, was now covered in silver, and wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes. It seemed as if most of his life force had been prematurely drained from his body.

Judging by his appearance alone, he is already approaching fifty years old.

But his back was straight, like a pine tree standing firm in the cold winter.

When Su Qing'an met his gaze, it seemed as if a lion was hiding in his eyes.

Shuichi Kanbara hadn't aged; simply by looking into this man's eyes, he overturned Su Qing'an's initial impression of his appearance.

After bowing to Shinbara Shuu, the butler closed the door and left the room.

The man immediately raised his hand to gesture for the two to sit down, and said:

"I am Shuichi Kanbara."

"Let me be blunt here. I know the true identity of the perpetrator. It wasn't a simple case of a monster transformed from a human committing a crime, but rather something related to the sacrificial rituals that our village holds regularly."

Shuichi Kanbara's words contained a lot of information.

Contrary to the mission information that the true identity was suspected to be a suicide soldier, this man immediately refuted the possibility given by the Science Department.

"May I ask what your names are?" the man asked after a pause.

“Su Qing’an, the girl next to me is named Sato Yuno,” Su Qing’an replied.

He knew that Shuichi Kanbara hadn't finished speaking, and that this mission might not be as simple as they had initially thought; the situation was clearly much more complicated.

If the original difficulty lay in finding the culprit, now that Shuichi Kanbara knows the culprit's true identity, that difficulty has shifted.

The target of the shift is clearly in what the man is about to say.

"Su Qing'an, are you from Shenzhou? I'll call you Su Jun then." After repeating Su Qing'an's name in Shenzhou dialect, Shenyuan Shuichi looked at the two and said:

"Do Su-kun and Ms. Sato know what a ritual means?"

"Offering sacrifices to gods, Buddhas, or ancestors to express reverence and seek blessings is a common practice in China," Su Qing'an gave a rather official answer.

Sato Yuno nodded. This kind of thing is not uncommon in Japan; in fact, it was a common practice in ancient times.

“You’re right. The usual offerings are livestock, fruit, or wine, but in ancient, ignorant villages, there was a bad custom of sacrificing living people to the gods.”

Sato Yuno and Su Qing'an frowned; just hearing about such a thing was unpleasant.

“Our village used to be like that. According to the remaining history, five hundred years ago, the villagers would regularly sacrifice living people to pray for rain.”

"The ancients firmly believed that killing a pure maiden in front of the gods would cause a torrential downpour, but this bad custom has naturally been changed five hundred years later."

"It has been integrated into the village's customs in a seemingly gentle way. Every ten years, the village will perform the Kagura dance in front of exquisitely crafted, lifelike dolls of young girls in order to pray for peace."

For some reason, both of them felt a chill when they heard about the deeds of the living doll. It was undoubtedly a ritual that could be considered a ghost story. However, Su Qing'an felt something more than that. A deeper sense of strangeness made him uncomfortable.

That was the keen intuition brought about by the power of the soul's essence.

Shuichi Kanbara continued to narrate:

"The Kambara family was a family that specialized in making mechanical dolls at that time. The girl doll that was like a living thing was the Kambara family heirloom. The villagers regarded it as the incarnation of a god on earth because of its strangeness and immortality."

"Therefore, the heavy responsibility of making offerings to it on a daily basis naturally fell on our shoulders."

"But maintaining the immortality of the living doll comes at a price. The villagers exchanged acknowledging the clan status of the Kambara family for the Kambara family bearing the curse."