With a hiss, the bus doors closed slowly in front of Fuli.
Watching the bus depart, Fuli glanced at the bus stop sign beside him, tightened his backpack, and headed southwest according to his memory.
"Presence Concealment is really useful, but almost missing my stop is a bit embarrassing."
Why did he almost miss his stop?
His presence was too low; the driver hadn't noticed there was still a person in the vehicle.
Fuli complained in a boastful tone, but after a while, he didn't receive a reply from the little AI.
"Prometheus?"
[...Yes, I'm here.]
Prometheus snapped out of her immersion in fantasy.
Fuli had described it simply just now, but in her mind, whether it was the dark and sunless Theater of Domination, Kiana suspended in mid-air by invisible threads, Fuli transforming into a beast and slaughtering madly, or finally, standing before a tearful Kiana, suppressing his killing intent with a hoarse voice to let her pierce his chest with the Greatsword of Flamescion—
Simulated by the top-tier Soulium chip from the Previous Era, every scene was vividly lifelike.
[Host, do you not blame Miss Kiana?]
Ultimately, she couldn't resist asking this question.
"Huh? Blame her?" Fuli was stunned. "Oh, you mean the part where I was happily running forward and suddenly got grabbed as a hostage?"
Under the night sky, Prometheus nodded gently.
"It's not a question of blaming her or not."
Fuli crouched down, took out some snacks from his pocket, and fed them to a stray kitten bold enough to approach him.
"In the end, both Kiana and I were victims in this incident. If there's blame to be assigned, it only lies with the Herrscher of Domination, the culprit."
[But she was the one who dragged you into this.]
"Only the weak draw their swords against the weaker, Prometheus."
After watching the mother cat leave with her four kittens, full and content, he said with satisfaction, "I never deny the legitimacy and legality of revenge. 'He who kills shall be killed' is a principle passed down from our ancestors. But the ancestors also said 'every grievance has a debtor.' You can't just righteously retaliate against everyone because you suffered a heavy blow, right?"
He didn't want to sit at the same table as Israel, nor did he want to become a Cyber-Jew.
"But aside from that, complaints are still due where they are due."
[?]
Then the girl heard her Host say in a very speechless tone, "I just didn't expect that guy, at her age, to lack even that little bit of resolve."
[...The Host is dissatisfied that Miss Kiana actually wavered and hesitated in battle?]
"Remember what I told you? The probability of someone surviving alone in the Honkai world for three years is less than one in ten." Under the streetlight, Fuli said softly, "And I insisted on stepping into the Honkai side even after being explicitly told this."
The sages of Shenzhou said: If you crave stability, you cannot gain freedom; if you want freedom, you must experience danger. There are only these two paths.
The same applies to power.
Stepping into the Honkai side, Fuli was ready to die at any time.
No matter the manner of death, he could accept it.
Even if he continued to grow stronger in the future, he wouldn't become as cherish-life-above-all as those high-ranking big shots.
He hadn't forgotten his original intention.
[The Host's statement just now scored very high with Prometheus. Prometheus's favorability towards the Host has decreased slightly.]
"Why only a slight in—wait, decreased?"
[The Host is soul-bound to the Finality Coordinator System. If the Host takes risks and dies, the system will disappear too.] The little AI paused and said, [But from a personal perspective, the Host just made a very admirable statement, so Prometheus chooses to respect the Host's opinion.]
This girl had initially said, "Let's put aside the danger of the Host seizing a Divine Key in his current state for now." In fact, her purpose in asking Fuli about his intelligence source was to indirectly persuade him not to be so radical.
Wealth and honor are sought in danger, but also lost in danger.
Of those who seek, perhaps one succeeds; of those who lose, nine out of ten perish.
Starting the game by plotting for a Divine Key was indeed too dangerous. As a regressor, Fuli could totally play it safe with the help of the Finality Coordinator System and climb steadily.
But thinking carefully, after two years of steady progress, could Fuli really reach the S-rank (Rule Breaker) level equivalent to the Herrscher of Domination?
People say hard work can change destiny, but for an ordinary person with a monthly salary of 3k yuan (400–450 USD), working hard for a lifetime might barely save up a few hundred thousand, only to be mocked by pigs flying on the wind (opportunists) for not being able to afford a 79-yuan eyebrow pencil. Cognition, method, opportunity, background... which of these isn't more important than just burying your head in work?
"I understand your thoughts, Prometheus."
How could Fuli, who had just given a long speech, not see through the little AI's mind?
"Humans have two hearts: one is greed, the other is unwillingness. I'm not greedy, but I am unwilling." He said seriously, "To be honest, if the Herrscher of Domination had just killed me back then, I wouldn't hate her. I was less skilled than others, nothing to say about dying."
So what if she was born S-rank? The Herrscher of Domination's talent was her resource; losing to her in that aspect was fair game.
"The problem is those Baraba bastards captured me as a tool to threaten others, and on top of that, they wouldn't stop yapping in my ear the whole way!" Every time he thought of this, Fuli felt so angry he could explode. "Those twisted logics of theirs made me want to laugh just listening. Who am I? I am the trash-talking expert with unknown quality, who gets stronger when meeting the strong, guaranteed to reach the heavens, with no upper limit! Since childhood, I haven't been afraid of anyone in this aspect!"
"But when I opened my mouth to curse back, those bitches, those bitches actually stole stockings from Theresa's room, crumpled them into a ball, and gagged me! They even talked nonsense like 'Theresa's jade feet (beautiful feet), isn't this a kind of De-foot (Dove chocolate pun)?'"
[Pfft! Hahahahaha!!!] Hearing this, Prometheus really couldn't hold it back. Her usually emotionless, calm cybernetic milky voice rarely trembled.
"The whole way! The whole entire way! I listened to their bombardment of twisted logic the whole way, but couldn't curse back because my mouth was sealed!" Fuli was still grumbling there. "Anyway, my eagerness to get Jizo Mitama is also based on this reason. If I don't avenge this, I f**king won't take the surname Fu!"
There are two kinds of battles: one to protect life, and one to protect dignity.
Fuli could lose his life, but he couldn't lose face! Even today, whenever he recalled that humiliating past, Fuli's blood pressure would skyrocket!
Case solved. The fundamental reason for plotting for the 12th Divine Key was simply that a certain Mr. Fu holds a grudge.
Of course, that was just one of the reasons. He didn't know why (lol), but ever since the Far East Branch rebelled against Schicksal in 2016, Herrschers had been popping up one after another like dumplings in boiling water. Super-large factions like World Serpent, capable of rivaling Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, also surfaced, stirring up the winds and clouds alongside numerous non-human monsters.
His experience before regression told Fuli that even if you sit at home, disaster might fall from the sky.
He wasn't a Touhou player who could dodge raindrops (Graze). Even just to ensure he wouldn't die so humiliatingly in the upcoming chaotic world, he absolutely could not sit still and wait for death again!
Moreover, this time, his initial ten-pull luckily landed him a safety net.
[Name: Flying Raijin Kunai]
[Rank: B]
[Category: Item/Consumable]
[Effect: A one-time consumable, a pair of uniquely shaped hidden weapons.
Place one somewhere, and the holder of the other (limited to one person) can teleport to the location of the first kunai. Teleportation radius is 50 kilometers. The teleportation effect of this item ignores interference from skills and items below A-rank.]
[Note: Smooth sailing is a lullaby for the weak; overcoming thorns and thistles is the theme song of the strong.]
With a precious one-time spatial item like the Flying Thunder God Kunai, even if he really failed, Fuli could save his life.
If he didn't take a gamble with this, he would be letting himself down!
...
Compared to the convenience of leaving Nagazora City, returning consumed most of Fuli's night.
This was mainly because he took a detour to the underground black market in a nearby district to buy a hilt, mountings, scabbard, and many other accessories to equip Mikazuki Munechika, nicknamed "Little March."
The Future Foundation had taken the sword directly from the Tokyo Museum. Mikazuki in its exhibition state had no scabbard or mountings, just a bare blade.
A sword isn't a woman; using it naked definitely isn't comfortable. Even if it were a woman, using it with interesting props like stockings is often more comfortable.
And what Fuli chose was a set styled after the Yamato from a popular action game in recent years.
White handle wrap with black ray skin, handle wrap crossed.
Real ray skin patches, fine grain, antique copper fittings, black gold-flecked scabbard, with dark cyan thick sageo.
There was a currency exchange between the Honkai side and the Reality side. Ability users weren't non-biological entities; they also needed to eat, drink, and sleep.
It was just that the exchange rate between Crystals, the universal currency of the Honkai side issued by Schicksal, and real-world currency was quite touching. Just buying this set of fittings cost Fuli nearly two-thirds of his small treasury.
Of course, expensive things have their benefits. For example, the scabbard in his hand was made of special iron birch, a Honkai derivative, treated with the craftsman's unique Tiangong-XII nano-coating. In terms of hardness alone, it could even rival D-rank blades.
With Fuli's ambidexterity, he could totally use techniques like "Er Ren Duo" (Two-Man Snatch).
"Er Ren Duo": Scabbard like a cane, blade stored within. When someone tries to snatch it, the scabbard comes off and the blade comes out for self-defense, hence the name.
Also known today as cane swords or sword sticks.
Leaving the black market, Fuli found a secluded park to deactivate Presence Concealment, took off the fox mask used to cover his face, and destroyed it along with his old clothes.
He then took out the backpack he had hidden there earlier, used a towel to wash up with park water, and changed into clean, trendy new clothes.
After changing quickly, Fuli looked at the little girl who had been watching the whole time. "How is it? By your standards, what's the score?"
He had absolutely no shame about walking around naked in front of her.
Prometheus said venomously, [I don't know about the score. I only know that the Little Great-Aunt will definitely cry when she learns the truth.]
Case solved. Whether it was the sword accessories or these new clothes, they were all bought with the money Fuli embezzled from the plane ticket and concert ticket funds.
As for the score...
Spending time with her Host until now, Prometheus discovered a strange phenomenon. Putting aside the impression points from his temperament, Fuli's facial features were just at the "delicate" level. After cleaning up, he could be rated as "handsome," but that was it.
However, as time passed, this face that should have become boring to look at gradually filled with a harmonious beauty that even an AI like her could feel.
This had absolutely nothing to do with favorability points. Some people are just born with this characteristic.
At first glance, they look ordinary and get completely overshadowed when in the same frame as various "fresh meat" idols.
But the longer you look, the harder it is to extricate yourself. Simply put, he was super pleasant to look at.
Thinking of this, Prometheus glanced at Fuli, who was talking eloquently.
"Little Great-Aunt will cry? She won't. That account of hers called Pink uh—Pink-haired Goblin? Miss Elf? Or something, has millions of followers just on Bilibili. This little money is a drop in the bucket for her."
[The bad Host who embezzles public funds and acts self-righteous is scum!]
She would die before telling this bad guy about him being the "pleasant to look at" type!
"Besides, although I embezzled public funds, I saved her life! Compared to a few million yen versus the happiness of the rest of her life, the latter is obviously a better deal, right?"
Fuli, with his back to the sunlight, opened his arms. In that moment, it seemed as if the silhouette of a certain nameless Grand Overseer overlapped with his.
Prometheus didn't retort this time.
Mainly because, to be honest, that was true.
Seeing the cute way the little AI bobbed her head, Fuli wanted to reach out and pet her.
After his hand passed through air, amidst the girl's wary gaze, he took out Mikazuki Munechika from the Galactic Baseball Bat and installed the purchased fittings one by one.
Thus, Famous Object Mikazuki Munechika officially iterated into Mikazuki · Yamato.
Unfortunately, it couldn't cut space or separate two worlds, nor could it let Fuli soar upwards and spatial-slash the strongest of the era.
Still need to work harder, Little March. Go do a 10km cardio run first!
After dealing with his equipment, he put Mikazuki back into the baseball bat.
The Galactic Baseball Bat's mechanism was quite user-friendly. Even if the stored blade was taken out, as long as that long-charged strike wasn't unleashed, it would at most pause the charging.
Not only would the previous time not be wasted, but it could continue charging after being put back.
The site of the Key of Corruption, the Yae Village ruins, was located at the Phase II site of the ME Corp Science Park in the southern suburbs of Nagazora City. Raiden Ryoma, the head of Massive Electric which initiated the project, was involved in an embezzlement scandal and happily went to reflect on his mistakes (prison), and the company itself fell into stagnation. The half-built science park at the foot of the mountain became deserted.
This was undoubtedly beneficial for Fuli's next move. However, to be safe, he still planned to rest until evening before going over.
Needing to recharge after a sleepless night was one reason; avoiding potential construction workers and rights activists (protesters) was another.
The Third Honkai Eruption hadn't happened yet. Fighting in broad daylight until the sky turned dark—did he think the locals were blind?
...