Honkai Impact 3: Saving the former civilization by rubbing the black technology

In the yard, there was a slender figure in a nun's uniform, diligently cleaning the yard.

Ai Yue quietly took two steps closer and finally saw the other person's face clearly: "Aponia?"

Although the face was still very young, Ai Yue was still able to recognize the other person's identity at a glance.

This explained his previous doubts - if Aponiya was only this big at this point in time, then the nun just now was probably the church manager before Aponiya.

"First, sir, where are you from?"

A hint of fear was evident on Aponya's face when a strange man suddenly said her name. She held the broom in her hand in front of her and tried to appear calm. "No outsiders are allowed here. Please go back quickly."

She doesn't recognize me? Is Aponya's consciousness not here?

Ai Yue scratched his head, feeling a little strange.

He originally thought that finding Aponya would solve the problem, but now it seems that his idea was a bit too simple.

If Aponya's consciousness wasn't within her body, where was it?

"Sorry, I didn't mean to. I just wanted to use the bathroom and got lost."

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile softly, "Excuse me, Miss Sister, do you know how to get there?"

No matter what, it would definitely be a good idea to first establish a good relationship with the current Aponiya.

120

Chapter 120 What a strange play.

Although the Aponiya in front of him was much younger than when Ai Yue knew her, her personality was almost the same, which made Ai Yue feel a little dazed during the conversation with her.

However, the church was not big, so Aponya quickly brought him to his destination and also kindly said that she would wait outside to prevent Ai Yue from getting lost again.

This made Ai Yue feel a little embarrassed, but he could take advantage of this time to sort out the current situation.

The first question is, what exactly is this place?

What Ai Yue was thinking about was not whether there was anything wrong with this Dusk Street, but rather which level of the illusion itself was in the confinement that Aponya had set for herself.

He clearly remembered that he had used the power of the Herrscher to break through the blockade outside. In theory, this would allow him to access Aponya's consciousness and awaken it, but now this was the situation.

Although the girl version of Aponia looked no different from the real Aponia, Ai Yue was sure that she was not the person he was looking for.

Could it be that only by breaking through this illusion can we see the real Aponya? Does that guy really need to be so cautious? Is there another illusion after breaking through this one?

Ai Yue closed his eyes and tried to use the power of the Herrscher to locate the position of Aponya's consciousness, but unfortunately he failed in the end - he could not locate it as accurately as a real psychic, and could only make a vague search by sensing the fluctuations of mental power.

But there are fluctuations of Aponia's spiritual power everywhere here, so we can't say that she is actually everywhere, right?

Ai Yue opened his eyes again, sighed, and walked out of the bathroom.

At this point, we can only take it one step at a time - anyway, the clue should be in this young version of Aponia.

"Mr. Ai Yue, I'm here."

Aponiya was standing at the end of the corridor outside the bathroom door. When he saw Ai Yue appear, he gestured to him, "Please follow me. I'll take you out."

"I see."

Ai Yue nodded, then followed the other party, "Miss Aponya, I want to ask, why are people not allowed to enter the backyard?"

Relying on his understanding of Aponya, Ai Yue had already dispelled Aponya's doubts with just a few words. At this moment, Ai Yue's image in the other party's eyes was that of a curious and kind person, so such questions would not make the girl wary of him.

"That's where the nuns rest, Mr. Ai Yue,"

Aponya didn't hesitate too much and told the truth, "Such a private place shouldn't be allowed to be entered by strangers."

"I see, I was the one who was abrupt."

Ai Yue was stunned for a moment, then scratched his head, "I'm sorry, Miss Aponya."

Is it just a place for the nuns to rest? Could it be that the church hadn't started taking in children and the sick at this time?

Ai Yue was thinking, and Aponya did not continue speaking, and the two of them fell into silence.

At this moment, Ai Yue suddenly noticed a hint of confusion on Aponya's face. He seemed to have thought of something, and then pretended to be casual and said, "But I never thought there were so many nuns living here."

"Eh?"

Aponya was confused by this and subconsciously said, "But there are only three nuns in the church?"

"Eh, is that so?"

Ai Yue also pretended to be stunned and said, "I'm sorry, I saw a lot of rooms in the backyard, and I thought there were many people living there. So, are all the houses there empty?"

“Yeah, there are a lot of empty houses there.”

Aponya nodded, then continued, "It's such a waste to leave them there empty, isn't it?"

After saying this, she came back to her senses and covered her mouth embarrassedly: "Ah, I'm not complaining..."

"Nothing, Miss Aponya."

The two of them had returned to the church. Ai Yue looked at her with a smile and said, "If you have any troubles in your heart, maybe you can find a solution by speaking them out."

Perhaps Ai Yue's words had an effect, or perhaps it was because Aponiya couldn't continue to hide it in front of the statue. She hesitated for a moment, and finally said: "Mr. Ai Yue, do you know that there are actually many homeless children wandering the streets at dusk?"

Once the thoughts flowed out of her mouth, it was hard to stop. Aponya paused for a moment and continued, "They have no place to live, but we have so many empty houses here. Isn't this an opportunity for our church to do something?"

Apparently, it was Aponya who actually offered to take in the homeless orphans.

"It seems that something should be done,"

Ai Yue nodded in agreement, then added, "However, in such an environment, kindness alone cannot save so many people - even if you can provide them with shelter, what about the rest?"

In this era, housing is not even the most important thing to worry about. After all, the population is far smaller than the empty rooms, and food is the most important resource.

There is not enough food to feed more people, and even if Aponya opens all the rooms in the church to the public, it will not solve the fundamental problem.

"Mother Maria said the same thing. She said the church was struggling to support the three of us and didn't have enough money to take care of anyone else."

Aponia lowered her head and sighed, somewhat unwillingly saying, "Even though I pray to the gods day and night, begging them to perform a miracle, I still haven't received a response."

Although Aponiya was a child who grew up in the church, she began to doubt the teachings she had always received.

If the gods are unwilling to show mercy in such difficult times, then what is the meaning of their existence?

“This is indeed a very troublesome problem.”

Ai Yue smiled and said, "But if we can't rely on the gods, why not try another method?"

He guessed right—the core of this illusion was the confusion in Aponya's heart.

Then, the way to break through this illusion seemed to be right in front of him.

Aponya looked up in confusion, not knowing what Ai Yue was saying, but at this moment Ai Yue had already taken something out of his pocket and gently placed it in her hand.

Aponya stared blankly at her hands, feeling the heavy weight coming from them.

She had once seen something similar from afar by chance, and Mother Maria told her that it was very valuable and that only a little bit could be exchanged for a lot of food - something called gold.

"Mr. Ai Yue?"

Aponiya looked up and saw that Ai Yue had already walked to the church door.

“I will come again.”

Ai Yue turned sideways and waved towards Aponya, "Next time you come, maybe we'll have more topics to talk about?"

He walked out of the church and closed the door behind him.

Although this solution is a bit too simple and crude, this is an illusion after all, so it shouldn't matter, right?

Ai Yue was still thinking when he suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet begin to shake - no, not just his feet, even the surrounding buildings began to tremble and twist, as if they were about to collapse.

Could it be that this illusion has been resolved?

This thought emerged in Ai Yue's mind, and then he closed his eyes, waiting for the turmoil to end.

Soon, the surroundings gradually returned to calm, but when Ai Yue opened his eyes, he found that he still had not left Dusk Street.

He was even still standing there, with the church door in front of him.

Ai Yue scratched his head, as if he had thought of something, and then pushed the door open again.

This time he clearly felt something different - he had only been away for a few minutes, but it felt like several years had passed here. The surroundings seemed more ancient, and even the lights became dim.

Faintly, Ai Yue seemed to hear some music.

He followed the direction of the sound and soon arrived in the backyard.

In addition to Aponia and another younger nun, there were several children standing here, both boys and girls. The oldest was perhaps twelve or thirteen years old, while the youngest looked only four or five years old.

Everyone gathered in the corner of the yard, surrounding something. Ai Yue quietly approached and found that it was a simple stone tablet.

To be precise, it should be a tombstone, and it is obvious who the owner of the tombstone is.

"Mr. Ai Yue is here?"

The first two children to notice Ai Yue's presence were actually two children. They quietly tugged at Aponya's sleeve, and she then noticed there was another person in the yard: "Please wait a moment."

Under her arrangement, another little nun quickly brought the children back to the room, and there were only two people left in the yard.

The current Aponia has also changed a little from before the turmoil in the illusion. Apart from the difference in appearance and height, the biggest difference is that although Aponia still maintains a gentle smile, her eyes have become more determined.

It was this difference that made Aponia in front of him more and more similar to the nun Ai Yue was familiar with.

"I'm very sorry,"

Facing Aponya who was walking slowly, Ai Yue took the initiative to say, "I'm late."

These words were not only spoken to Aponiya in front of him, but also the words in Ai Yue's heart that he had never said out loud.

He always felt that if he could have traveled through time earlier, even half a year earlier, he would have been able to do more things and change the fate of more people.

However, he arrived a little late and missed too many things.

"Please don't say that. Mr. Ai Yue has done enough."

Aponya shook her head slightly. “Without your help, how could we take in so many children?”

I just gave a small gold bar, I didn't do anything, right?

Ai Yue was stunned for a moment, feeling that things seemed to be different from what he expected.

Just when he was stunned, Aponiya spoke again: "Can you please walk with me for a while, Mr. Ai Yue?"

After saying this, the nun looked into his eyes until Ai Yue nodded, then she turned and walked outside.

"Before she died, Mother Maria told me thank you for your persistence."

The two of them strolled along the quiet street. After a moment, Aponya slowly spoke, "She said that she had held on to her faith her entire life, but it was only in her last few years that she truly did something for it."

"This ending gave her a sense of satisfaction."

"She is already great to have raised you to adulthood."

Ai Yue nodded slightly, "In today's world, even close relatives cannot do this."

"So I want to pass on this 'belief'."

Aponya continued, "I have been blessed by a miracle, and this miracle should be given to more people."

"What are you going to do?"

Although Ai Yue had a vague guess in his mind, he still pretended to be puzzled and asked, "Adopt more children?"

"Not only that,"

Aponia looked towards the corner of the street and said, "I want to show my care to more people."

At the end of her sight, there was a blurry human figure lying in the corner. Two people slowly approached, only to find that it was just the remains of a person who had been dead for a long time.

"This doesn't seem like a normal death..."

Ai Yue frowned, noticing the purple lines appearing on the corpse's arm. "Aponya, you should have heard of it, right?"

"It's called 'Honkai Disease'... right?"

Aponya murmured, taking off his coat and covering the body with it. "I want him to rest in peace. Mr. Ai Yue, can you please help me?"

With Aponya borrowed a simple straw mat from somewhere, the two of them carried it to the wilderness outside Dusk Street and held a simple funeral.

After completing the final ceremony, Aponiya stood up and said, "Let's go back, Mr. Ai Yue. There is still a lot to do."

"Are you really going to take in patients?"