After leaving the takoyaki vendor with a blessing, Li Wu headed straight home.
There was nothing left outside for him to linger over, but was there anything waiting for him inside the apartment?
Looking at the unadorned, completely ordinary furniture that felt simultaneously familiar yet alien, Li Wu couldn't help but ponder this seemingly casual question.
It was true that [Future Loan] could instantly buy him countless things, yet Li Wu felt that the walk to Nene Books had been far more interesting. He couldn't pinpoint exactly why it was meaningful, but it somehow made his heart feel slightly less hollow.
Was it because...
He actually had something to do?
Browsing the internet at home used to be his favorite pastime. Why did it suddenly feel entirely uninteresting now that he actually had the time to do it?
"So boring. How did the 'me' from the past survive like this? Playing on my phone? Watching anime? I tried those last night and got bored after a few minutes... It feels like I'm trapped in some sort of cognitive limitation. Is it a 'grand narrative' problem?"
Li Wu recalled a lesson a teacher had once taught in class.
Right as he was deep in thought, a continuous knocking echoed from his front door.
At the entrance, the Sato sisters stood anxiously. Sato Haruko clutched the hem of her white dress with both hands, keeping her head bowed nervously like a touched Mimosa pudica.
Sato Yuno lamented her younger sister's extreme social anxiety. She gently patted Haruko's back, her smile warm and considerate.
"Haruko, don't be nervous. We're just here to properly apologize to Li Wu. Even if he doesn't forgive us, at least our feelings will reach him, right?"
"Mhm!"
Haruko nodded forcefully. She rubbed her fingers together anxiously, her eyes darting everywhere. When she spoke, she stuttered terribly. "L-Li Wu... must have been s-so sad... We left him... in front of s-so many people... even though he... he was just trying to h-help..."
"I know. That's exactly why we need to apologize. After all, Li Wu didn't do anything wrong. When he opens the door, we'll just—"
"Just what?" Li Wu pulled the door open and asked calmly, his face devoid of any visible emotion.
"Eek!" Haruko jolted in fright, immediately darting behind Yuno like a terrified kitten.
Yuno smiled wryly. She proactively bowed deeply toward Li Wu, expressing her profound apology.
"I am incredibly sorry! Li Wu... back in the cafeteria, Haruko and I had no other choice. You didn't do anything wrong, but we were terrified that if the inner circle thought we were close to you, we would be targeted. So we took the initiative to leave..."
Before she could even finish her sentence, Haruko copied her sister. She bowed so forcefully that her bend was even deeper than Yuno's. Her entire body was practically bent into a "U" shape.
What incredible flexibility.
Li Wu noted internally.
Realizing what he was thinking, he quickly shook his head, forcefully tossing the inappropriate thought out of his mind.
"It's fine. I didn't take it to heart. You two are victims too, I completely understand."
"Really? That's wonderful! Since you've forgiven us, please accept our apology gift! Haruko and I bought the ingredients with our pocket money and made this white chocolate ourselves. We hope you like it!"
Yuno shot a glance over her shoulder at her sister.
Haruko frantically pulled a simply packaged box out of her bag. Trembling from head to toe, she stumbled up to Li Wu and presented the 'apology gift' with both hands.
However, because she was so incredibly nervous, Haruko kept her head bowed the entire time, not daring to look Li Wu in the eyes. The hands holding the gift shook like branches in the wind.
"Thank you. I have a sweet tooth, so I'll gladly accept this. As for the inner circle... if nothing unexpected happens, it will be completely dissolved by next week. You can go back to living your lives normally. If anyone still tries to make things difficult for you, come find me. I'll take care of it."
Noticing Haruko's paralyzing anxiety, Li Wu immediately accepted the gift.
Only by doing so could he offer the greatest salvation to a socially anxious person.
Seeing Li Wu accept the gift, Haruko's trembling body finally eased up. The violent shaking gradually subsided to zero.
Li Wu noticed something else.
Yuno was smiling incredibly warmly. But the smile wasn't directed at him; it was directed entirely at Haruko.
Simply seeing her sister relax was enough to fill Yuno with immense joy.
Definitely a sis-con.
"Is there anything else?" Li Wu asked curiously, seeing that the sisters still hadn't left.
"N-no! Nothing else! Wishing Li Wu a happy weekend, and... and a happy every day!" Haruko blurted out, her face completely flushed. She grabbed Yuno's hand and practically sprinted down the stairs.
They disappeared from Li Wu's line of sight in seconds.
How strange.
Li Wu silently closed the door, locking himself back in his isolated room to repeat meaningless actions.
He placed the box of white chocolate in the refrigerator.
He didn't really want to eat it; he had only accepted it to make the Sato sisters feel better.
Li Wu lay on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
His superhuman senses uncontrollably captured all the information from his surroundings.
A few car horns honking downstairs. The cheerful laughter of adults agreeing to go out and have fun. Various sounds drifted in from afar, feeling as if they were separated by an impenetrable layer of fog.
Li Wu stared at the ceiling for a while longer. Then, he sat up, walked out of the bedroom, and went into the living room. He picked up the remote and turned on the cheap, old-fashioned TV that came with the apartment.
An image popped up. It was a rerun of some variety show. The host was laughing exaggeratedly at the camera, accompanied by pre-recorded, canned audience laughter. It was incredibly forced and entirely devoid of joy.
He flipped through a few channels. News. Dramas. Commercials. Anime. Finally, Li Wu just turned the TV off entirely.
Boring.
His phone buzzed.
Li Wu picked it up and glanced at it. It was a spam text message. He deleted it.
It buzzed again.
This time, it was a message from Ruslan. A line of text accompanied by a photo.
[I bought a necklace for my wife, and a super famous limited-edition HOMU plushie for my kid! What are you up to?]
Li Wu stared at the photo of the beautiful gemstone and the pink, rabbit-like plushie for a few seconds. He typed out a random reply, tossed the phone onto the sofa, and walked over to the window.
The Morning Glories basked in the sunlight, radiating a warm, vibrant glow, brimming with vitality.
On the street below, the takoyaki cart was still parked in the same spot. The owner was enthusiastically pitching his "new product" to a few youngsters, his expressions and gestures completely over-the-top.
Li Wu watched for a while, then turned around and walked back into his bedroom.
He lay down on the bed, tossing and turning, before sitting up again. Finally, he walked into the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror, staring at the completely expressionless face staring back at him.
Li Wu stared into his own eyes and tried to force a smile.
The corners of his mouth twitched, and the face in the mirror twitched along with it. But it looked incredibly awkward. It was like watching a terrible actor trying to imitate a vibrant expression, only for the desperate effort to become a complete joke.
"System."
[I am here.]
"Pull up all the storylines I am currently involved in."
Since entertainment felt completely meaningless, Li Wu decided to abandon it entirely and throw all his focus into the plotline.
[Act I: "Their Unknown Other Side".]
[Main Quest:
[Location: Nagazora City.]
[Target: Raiden Mei.]
[Objective 1: Help Raiden Mei's human persona triumph over the Herrscher persona, and ensure she survives the Third Honkai Eruption.]
[Objective 2: Raiden Mei dies.]
[Acts II and III: Critical plot points have not yet been triggered. Cannot be unlocked.]
[Act IV: "Elegy of the Holy Maiden".]
** [Main Quest: What Do You Do When the Honkai Arrives? Are You Busy? Will You Save Us?]**
** [Location: Medieval Europe]**
** [Quest Target: Kallen Kaslana]**
** [Objective: Guide Kallen Kaslana onto the path of the Savior; OR, become the Savior yourself and rescue this doomed civilization.]**
They're running simultaneously?
Act IV says I can either have Kallen become the Savior, or I can become the Savior myself to save a doomed civilization. That means it's fundamentally different from both the game and the manga.
Five hundred years ago... the Honkai truly did almost wipe out human civilization.
Li Wu recalled the furious, despairing expression on Kallen's face when the word 'Savior' was mentioned.
I will fulfill my promise. I will help you avoid the fate of becoming the Savior.
Kallen had helped him neutralize the Divine Blood. In the future, she would also help him keep Otto in check, allowing Kiana and the other salvageable Herrschers to avoid the tragic fate of becoming lab rats.
Since the quest objective wasn't restrictive, it didn't matter if Kallen saved the world, or if he did it himself.
Act IV's priority can be pushed back for now. I'll be transmigrated to 15th Century Europe after I die once. It won't be too late to figure it out then. What I need to focus on right now is Act I. The vast majority of the crises have already been neutralized. All that's left is for Raiden Mei to completely conquer the Herrscher persona.
However...
Li Wu meticulously read the System's prompt.
Objective 1: Help Raiden Mei's human persona triumph over the Herrscher persona, and ensure she survives the Third Honkai Eruption.
This sentence bothered him immensely. He hadn't thought much of it before, but after experiencing so much, Li Wu suddenly realized that these two clauses were completely contradictory.
If I help Raiden Mei defeat the Herrscher persona, the Third Eruption naturally won't happen. So why does Objective 1 explicitly state that I need to ensure she survives the Third Eruption?!
Li Wu pondered it for a long time, but he simply couldn't figure it out.
Just then, his phone buzzed again with another notification.
It was another message from Ruslan: [Let me introduce you to a friend. She's extremely interested in you.]
Li Wu frowned. Before he could even type a reply, a second message arrived.
[Have you ever heard of the Silver Wolf of the Urals?]
The Silver Wolf of the Urals?!
Li Wu remembered perfectly. That was Bronya's alias back when she was a mercenary in Siberia.
In the original game's lore, Bronya was a ruthless, cold-blooded mercenary who killed without blinking. In Nagazora, to save Seele Vollerei, she voluntarily became Cocolia's accomplice, indirectly causing the deaths of countless innocent people in the city.
The manga had significantly altered this setting. She was still a mercenary, but because she met Ruslan early on, she was guided down a relatively righteous path. The assassination contracts she accepted were almost exclusively targeting heinous serial killers and criminals the law couldn't touch.
Sometimes, she even acted as a detective, helping employers unravel the mysterious, tragic murders of their family members.
As for becoming Cocolia's accomplice...
In the manga's storyline, Bronya was indeed adopted by Cocolia, but during the Third Eruption, her role was largely limited to observation and surveillance.
Not only did she avoid putting any pressure on Raiden Mei, she actually acted as a sort of life mentor, helping Mei navigate and relieve her negative emotions.
"System. Care to pop out and explain this? If I make contact with Bronya right now, will it trigger the storyline for Act III?"
[It is possible.]
"What do you mean, 'possible'?"
[Every Act requires a specific event to be completed in order to unlock. For example, when you used [Future Loan] on Kallen Kaslana, you triggered Act IV. When you accepted Raiden Mei's black card, you altered the trajectory of Act I.]
[As for Bronya Zaychik, you cannot unlock Act II through normal daily interactions. It can only be unlocked when 'certain conditions' are met.]
"What conditions?"
[You must figure that out on your own.]
"...There are far too many possible variables. I have absolutely no way of guessing what that condition could be. You really left me a hell of a puzzle."
Li Wu shifted his gaze back to his phone.
So... should I go meet her? It might trigger Act III and let me clear the storyline faster...
I should go. I can't place absolute trust in the plotline from my memories. I need to confirm with my own eyes that she doesn't pose a threat to Raiden Mei.
Li Wu stood up and typed a reply to Ruslan. [I'm interested. Send me the address.]
---||---
At the same time. On a commercial street in Nagazora.
A young girl, completely dominating the attention of every passerby, strutted down the street with an aura of absolute, unbothered arrogance.
She sported a gray, drill-shaped twin-tail hairstyle. A few strands of neon blue were dyed into the tips of her hair, reflecting a cold, sharp light under the sun. Beneath her black shorts, her fair, pale thigh was bound by a silver tactical garter adorned with spikes.
Her reflective bomber jacket was plastered in chaotic, abstract, colorful graffiti. The words "FXXK THE WORLD" were emblazoned across the back. The jacket was completely unzipped, deliberately slung off one shoulder to reveal the white crop-top underneath.
A pair of incredibly sleek, futuristic headphones rested around her neck, the circuit-like patterns on them constantly pulsing with neon lights.
Her entire aesthetic looked like she had just walked straight out of a Cyberpunk world. Her outfit screamed sheer, aggressive individuality.
Pop.
The bubblegum popped. Bronya sucked it all back into her mouth, chewed a few times, and blew another pink bubble.
She wandered absentmindedly through the city, occasionally glancing down at her phone to make sure she was going the right way.
Having just arrived, Bronya was quite interested in Nagazora City. Although she was here on a mission, the task itself didn't seem particularly difficult to her: Retrieve Raiden Mei after she loses control.
"You've got to be kidding me. I have absolutely no idea what Mama Cocolia is thinking. Has it been so long since she had a man that menopause is making her completely crazy?"
Bronya's mouth was incredibly toxic. She didn't care in the slightest how the people around her looked at her, casually spouting profanities to herself.
Bronya walked briskly into a deserted alleyway. She tilted her head up, looking at the towering, luxurious skyscrapers outside, and muttered,
"If things really go according to her plan, who knows how many people will die? If saving Seele requires Raiden Mei, why doesn't she just help Mei master the Herrscher Authority before she loses control, and then ask for her help? Since Mama helped her, she obviously wouldn't refuse such a simple request!"
"Trying to retrieve her right as she loses control is incredibly high-risk in itself, and there's zero guarantee she'd even be willing to help after that. You'd literally have to get kicked in the head by a donkey to come up with such a brain-dead operation."