Honkai Impact 3rd, what should an ordinary player do at the start?

"The real battle of wits, the battle of minds, is never about you designing a bunch of steps, me designing a bunch of steps, and then you seeing through me, me seeing through you, and finally I conjure up a foreshadowing that was never mentioned before. The real battle of wits is about finding your position and then sending a missile at it."

"Who with a brain would get involved in so many complicated steps that are of uncertain success, with no guarantee of success? Even the wind blowing through the grass can cause countless tremors. Who can calculate every possibility? The world doesn't follow logic; it's not a novel."

"The strategies that are truly effective are the simplest, easiest to use, most convenient, and have the highest success rate. Just like the nuclear bomb codes, there are only a few, as long as they work."

“A person who always likes to gamble is not a wise man, he is a gambler.”

—It's just a clever trick.

【ah……】

Yes……

is it?

Is it like this?

But in my memory, didn't they enjoy this kind of high-IQ battle, where you take one step at a time?

In the end, I too was trapped in a series of interconnected schemes and locked inside a black box; otherwise, how could I have...?

"Playing to one's strengths and avoiding one's weaknesses, bullying others with one's power... even the essence of the weak overcoming the strong is the same." Jiang Cheng continued to swing his sword with disdain, continued to move forward, and continued to kill.

Stepping over chunks of mangled, bloody corpses, his feet sinking into sticky, slippery pulp, the foul-smelling liquid amplified by the mud clinging to his feet, he listened to the girl's foolish folly—

【But……】

Isn't this too simple?

Shouldn't a wise person overcome the strong with the weak? Wouldn't that be too reckless?

"When fewer people fight against more people, it means dividing up the larger group and turning it into a situation where more people fight against fewer people in a localized area."

"There has never been a true case of the weak defeating the strong; there has only been a localized situation where the strong bully the weak due to a lack of intelligence. I have always believed that playing to one's strengths and avoiding one's weaknesses is the first step to being a smart person."

Jiang Cheng knew his weaknesses, so he didn't give Otto a chance to compete with him in those areas, and instead focused on making the most of his strengths.

Without clever tricks, one cannot calculate those intricately linked yet flawed plans; there is no absolute lack of scruples.

Now that I have someone I love, I can no longer gamble pointlessly again and again like I used to.

——It doesn’t matter.

He has great power.

He possesses the intelligence to deliver missiles/Jizo Mitama directly to Otto's head, and the ability to execute that intelligence effectively. Just like when he decided to maintain the plot, he focused entirely on its development. Now that he's decided to disrupt the plot, he won't give his enemy even the slightest chance to breathe. If he hadn't had World Serpent secretly and safely transported to the floating island to prepare supplies and equipment, he would have already attacked the moment the Stigmata awakened.

Anyway, he doesn't have those cheat codes, nor the composure of the protagonists in the fanfiction I've read before, so every second Otto lives is a potential danger.

To deal with someone with a high IQ, you have to prevent them from using their intelligence.

To deal with someone who is powerful, use stratagems to harm them.

When faced with an immoral person, one can only become more immoral; when faced with someone who is well-prepared, one can only win by surprise.

"Most people's understanding of intelligence is limited to reading scripts, knowing everything, making predictions, and designing dozens or even hundreds of steps in one go, without a single variable appearing," Jiang Cheng said, almost laughing as he spoke.

"But how is that possible?"

"That's just wishful thinking."

This world is a ragtag bunch. Even the eldest son of the world's richest man can undergo gender reassignment surgery and engage in borderline activities. Back when representatives from various countries signed an agreement in Japan, such an important event, some countries misspelled their names, resulting in a whole bunch of major countries having the wrong names. That erroneous document is still being kept in circulation today.

If even professionals, who seem to be surrounded by endless authority and filters, can turn out like this, then ordinary people are even more likely to do so.

Moreover, Otto's plan itself was full of flaws; if it weren't for external factors, he would have been blown up five hundred years ago.

Just like those lab personnel who are being hacked to death now.

There wasn't even time to wail.

It was cut in two, and the eyeballs rolled out of their sockets, rolling around on the ground before being crushed under his foot. The remaining one rolled forward until it crashed into the delicate boots that were moving forward. The girl, who had been running towards it while listening to the wailing, had just arrived when she bumped into the eyeballs, smearing filthy blood on her toes.

"How...how do I get back..."

The moment Jiang Cheng saw the girl emerge from the side corridor, his body compressed like a spring.

My vigilance was instantly heightened to its maximum, leaving no room for complacency.

Ahhh...

The Valkyrie has arrived.

Although the sealing effect of Jizo Mitama wasn't made too tight to begin with, as the intention was to first feign weakness to draw attention to Mei and hide the strongest fighting force, the first slightly troublesome enemy didn't expect to appear so quickly.

The good news is that the first thing this Valkyrie did upon arriving was to look down at her shoes.

The better news is that Jiang Cheng believes he has reached the limit of human cruelty.

……

……

……

"Aieeeeeeeeeeeee!!!"

Before she could even ask why there were screams, the girl looked down, following her senses, and saw what her foot had touched.

The Valkyrie's education provided the answer immediately...

--eyeball.

The horrific scene caused even the Valkyrie to involuntarily take a step back, her armor trembling slightly. Her fully covered body, visible from her toes, was shaking. Having fought against Honkai Beasts and Anti-Entropy mechs for years, she found it hard to accept such a gruesome sight.

The thrill was amplified to its limit the moment they met – what I saw through the goggles was a blood-soaked mess that filled almost the entire corridor, organs that were almost ground into a paste, and countless pieces of bone that had fallen to the ground, their original white color indistinguishable, and a mushy mess made up of various viscous liquids.

I no longer know what to call everything in front of me. Even calling it purgatory seems to be an exaggeration of purgatory.

The distorted flesh and blood woven together is so disgusting that just looking at it makes you want to vomit, and the smell is so nauseating that it's as if you're looking through a gas mask.

It is beyond words.

It cannot be explained.

Faced with this overwhelming sea of ​​blood, the young woman who had come here could only angrily raise the longsword in her hand—

He looked toward the only boy standing there, carrying a knife.

"you……"

"What on earth did you do?!"

If the sword had been raised at the beginning, it might have had some deterrent effect.

A Valkyrie who can exist on a floating island for an extended period. Even if not the absolute elite, she is certainly no less formidable.

With their elite tactics, as long as they can buy more than fifteen seconds, the other squad members will arrive.

The team's coordinated attacks were enough to temporarily halt Jiang Cheng's lack of combat experience, which consisted only of bullying weaker opponents and mowing down weaker ones, giving Otto time to react.

Even if Raiden Mei is still in hiding, and the only known power is Jiang Cheng, Otto, who has been arrogant for too long, is unlikely to be too vigilant, which is enough to disrupt the originally foolproof plan to some extent.

But after pausing for a moment because of the mountain of corpses and sea of ​​blood, Jiang Cheng had already half-grabbed the blade in his hand, with the last three fingers of his right hand resting on the hilt, and his thumb and fingertips pushing and pinching the guard respectively. The muscles that had been accumulating since he was injected with the drug instantly contracted, and he was ready to have enough strength. In just a moment, Jiang Cheng strode forward and swung his sword in a slashing motion.

--kill!

……

……

……

There's no such thing—they were actually just deceived by Otto. They were also heroes who sacrificed themselves for humanity. They worked so hard to make the world a better place, so there was no need to kill them.

If she wasn't killed, the Valkyrie's vitality would definitely have alerted the police immediately. Even if it was a waste of time, destroying all her communication facilities could very well cause some trouble, or there might be something she didn't know about.

I didn't intend to completely hide myself, nor could I completely hide myself, but that doesn't mean I should expose myself to everyone and kill my way through like a berserker. That would only make me seem unprofessional and easily arouse Otto's suspicion.

Jiang Cheng never wanted to occupy the moral high ground, nor did he consider himself a good person; he was just an ordinary person trying to survive.

Let the heroes handle the rescue work.

An ordinary person's abilities are only enough to protect the surrounding area.

To protect more people, you need greater strength; otherwise, you'll only bring trouble upon yourself. Even Aponia, who has the ability to foresee the future, lives such a painful life because every time she tries to protect those around her, she only invites the backlash of fate, and the ending predetermined by fate cannot be rewritten.

In order to achieve the goal of surviving and living well, no matter who is in front of you, you must kill them immediately, unless it is Mei.

—Therefore, one more body was added.

The Valkyrie's body could not withstand the Divine Key.

The Jizo-sama pierced through her slender body in an instant, the blade cutting into her body while simultaneously exerting its corrosive power.

The moment the crimson line connected from her right shoulder to her left waist, the girl's life ended along with the communication device on her body, her youthful life was snatched away.

"Feel sorry……"

"But I have very, very important people in my life."

He didn't turn his head, and he didn't look any further.

It wasn't because the other person's clothes were also shredded—although he is still quite innocent these days.

She simply didn't want to clearly realize the price she had paid to survive and prevent Otto from having the opportunity to manipulate her.

Don't be sad. Since she was able to come here, she must have known that Schicksal would use the Valkyrie for human experiments.

Since she can choose to ignore the fact that others are being deceived into participating in human experiments, it would be quite reasonable for her to die one day.

[It would be best if as many of these black-gloved individuals as possible died. It is precisely because of their existence that those high-ranking officials can conduct disgusting experiments with impunity.]

Ling offered comfort immediately.

It also reflects the awkwardness of Yae Sakura wanting to speak but not daring to.

As a notorious villain who has killed billions of people, he is very adept at getting rid of his moral burden.

"I know, but there are always some things in this world that others can do but I can't. It's not because of morality or mercy; I'm not qualified to think about those things yet... It's just that some things, once done, will inevitably erode one's bottom line and humanity, making humans dehumanized, less like living beings."

"I find it hard to imagine that one day I would be as cruel as Otto. If I can kill without any emotional reaction or psychological burden, then sooner or later I will continue to degenerate in pursuit of more exciting things. Human nature is always declining."

It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality

no……

What am I thinking?

Jiang Cheng slapped his forehead and continued forward. The Jizo Soul was inserted into the wall next to him once again, and with each step forward, it cleaved open the wall. In this way, he forced his will to rise to a higher level once again. With the control connected to his right hand, a potion that could enhance his energy and focus was also inserted from behind.

The daze of personally killing a Valkyrie who might have once saved countless lives, a lovely young girl still in the prime of her youth, vanished in an instant. What reappeared in those cherry-colored pupils was an eerie intensity so intense that even pink seemed to blush crimson.

really...

I have no right to be sentimental right now.

Before one's own safety is ensured, even compassion is an extreme luxury.

For someone who is about to die, even things with severe side effects must be used, just to prolong their life a little longer; every extra minute is a victory.

……

……

……

The fierce battle continued. In a very short time, Jiang Cheng wiped out all three corridors, while using the Earthly Treasury Soul to gradually erode the floating island.

And it wasn't until the time on the antique clock hanging on the roadside wall fluctuated once again that seventeen minutes had passed since we stepped in. The endless corridors that we could see finally came to a completely different point. The cold, high-tech style came to an end, replaced by a luxurious style behind that carpet, as if we had stepped into the Middle Ages.

Classic churches and extravagant buildings, once crafted from stone and the marvels of human ingenuity created by countless top craftsmen over hundreds of years, are perfectly replicated here with the latest technology, and even enhanced and elevated.

If you walk past here, you'll be close to Otto's office. Even disregarding the information about the World Serpent traitor, Jizo Mitama can vaguely sense the most important location.

of course.

It involves the most people.

The moment Jiang Cheng kicked open the door and walked in, at least several hundred people looked up at the same time and turned to look at him.

With different eye colors and different hair colors, it's as if they've entered a two-dimensional world. The only difference is that although their clothes are different colors, they are all basically the same style.

Standing on the far right, at the very front of the church, were the few people in red robes who were the last to turn around, pointing at Jiang Cheng who had burst through the door.

"Who are you? Why are you here?"

"This is not a place for researchers."