"It's impossible for one person to stand against the entire system."
Arga's words were harsh, but every sentence accurately reflected the tragic destiny of a Herrscher.
Li Wu stood frozen in place.
He suddenly felt incredibly small.
So small that he felt like the dust scattered everywhere in this abandoned building—insignificant and utterly laughable.
He had thought that by knowing the plot of the crises, he could hold everything firmly in his hands. But reality was thousands, tens of thousands of times crueler than he had imagined, and the enemies were equally so.
The true enemy wasn't a Herrscher, a Honkai Eruption, or even a Crisis Event... It was the entire system. This entire twisted world.
Anyone on the street—a Valkyrie, a cyborg, even a classmate, teacher, or passerby—could become his enemy in the future.
Save.
That word now felt so heavy that Li Wu could barely breathe.
Should I...
Keep going?
"..."
"Hey, hey. Why aren't you saying anything? Hello? Can you hear me?"
Arga waved a hand in front of Li Wu's face. Li Wu didn't react. His soul seemed to have been stripped away, thread by thread, leaving him standing there blankly with hollow eyes.
After a long time, Li Wu finally spoke slowly: "Give me time to think. What was your original plan?"
Arga tapped his mechanical arm gently, thought for a brief second, and pointed to his head. "Do we even need to think about it? Look... why should a wage slave make things hard for another wage slave? I didn't actually want to take this mission. Even though I'm a cyborg, if I get hit in a vital spot, I still die instantly. So my original plan was to contact you first, have a nice chat, and see if we could just put on a show."
"After all, my boss, Raiden Ryoma, monitors a lot of things. But if the mission fails due to 'unforeseen circumstances,' there's nothing I can do about it, right?"
"This afternoon, when you and Raiden Mei get out of school, I'll purposely make a big scene and pretend I'm going to kill her. All you have to do is throw a light punch when I get close. I'll buy a blood pack in advance. The moment you hit me, I'll 'bleed from my seven orifices' and run for my life."
"How about it? Good plan, right?"
"You get to play the hero in front of Raiden Mei, I get to pull the surveillance footage to show Raiden Ryoma, and I can reasonably withdraw from the mission. Two birds, one stone."
Arga was highly satisfied with his plan. As he described it, he even pantomimed a painful reaction to being hit.
It seemed like an excellent, risk-free plan.
But Li Wu's heart was filled with boundless hesitation.
A few days ago, he would have agreed immediately. Now, he just stood there numbly, his eyes swirling with complex emotions.
The weight of the mission far exceeded his expectations.
He had thought dying over two thousand times was his limit, but he hadn't realized it was only the beginning. Compared to a behemoth like Schicksal, the Blood Wolf Mercenary Group was almost cute.
A double-digit number of S-Rank Valkyries, plus countless armored weapons, A-Ranks, B-Ranks...
No wonder Kiana had called his promise laughable and told him to act within his means.
Looking back, the fact that she hadn't called him crazy to his face was giving him face. If it were him, knowing the true state of this world, he definitely would have cursed his past self for daydreaming.
Even with infinite "Returns by Death," how could he possibly save everyone with just the strength of an ordinary person? At best, he could only complete the simplest tasks.
Saving someone was never just a matter of shouting slogans. Even if he fought with everything he had until he was covered in wounds, he might not even reach the starting line.
And even if he could save everyone, the number of resets required would be enough to drive him utterly insane.
So, should I give up?
The thought of giving up surfaced in Li Wu's mind for the second time.
As long as he abandoned the idea of saving them, he could live a very good life in this world. Wealth, women, status... even if he couldn't reach the absolute top, he could at least hit the ceiling of what an ordinary person could achieve.
He had saved Raiden Mei on the third night because the goal was actually feasible. It was just a few dozen mercenaries; if bullets hit their vitals, they still died.
But a Valkyrie ranked A or higher was practically beyond the realm of a normal human. There was no way he could take one down alone with just a handgun...
"Looks like you're still conflicted. I don't know why you're hesitating. The fate of every Herrscher is decided by the big shots long in advance. Grunts like us just need to sit back and watch."
Arga shook his head and waved at the indecisive Li Wu. "Anyway, I'm taking off. The plan is on hold for now. If nothing changes, I'll be back here at the same time tomorrow. Let me know when you've made up your mind. But remember, you don't have much time to think. I'm not the only enemy. If I delay my plan, the Plasma Kagehide will end up in someone else's hands."
Li Wu didn't know how much time passed. Long after Arga's figure had disappeared without a trace, he was still standing there blankly, staring at the lowly dust on the ground that was no different from himself.
"System. Do I have a 'one-quarter' I can trade?"
[...]
[I understand your reference, but unfortunately, I am not a little devil, and you are not Lu Mingfei. The 'Something for Nothing' cheat code does not exist between us. Even if you are willing to sacrifice a quarter of your 'life,' it won't change anything.]
"Then what should I do? Did you bring me to this world just to watch me make a fool of myself? I have nothing. I am nothing. What am I supposed to use to save the Valkyries? Do you expect me to have a will of steel like the protagonist of a manga? I don't! How could I possibly have something like that?!"
[That is why the characters are now permitted to die. You have always had a choice.]
[If you truly wish to give up, just tell Arga when you meet him tomorrow. Tell him you've thought it through and will no longer protect Raiden Mei. Armed with the Plasma Kagehide, Arga can easily kill her and ensure the Great Honkai Eruption never occurs.]
"..."
[Whenever you face a difficult question, you seem to prefer remaining silent—neither accepting nor refusing.]
[Everyone has their own trials to face. Raiden Mei faces her biological father manipulating others to kill her. Kiana faces the tragic destiny of the Herrschers... Compared to them, you have always had a choice. You can give up at any time.]
"..."
"Don't make giving up sound so easy," Li Wu said in a low voice. He finally took a step, his legs stiff. "Holding on is just as hard."
The "Transfer Student Crisis" was mostly resolved.
But Li Wu couldn't feel happy about it at all. After learning the truth, his emotions were indescribably complex.
He arrived back at the classroom just as the bell rang.
Seeing Li Wu return right as class ended, the homeroom teacher assumed he had done it on purpose. He shook his head in disappointment. "Some students really need to practice self-discipline. Perseverance and hard work are the only ways out in your life."