With a hiss, the bus doors slowly closed in front of Fuli.
Fuli watched the bus depart, then looked out over the land and had a sudden thought. "Prometheus."
[I am here, Host.]
"Our Finality Coordinator System, what are the requirements for items sacrificed for the gacha?"
[Determined by the System's discretion.]
"Can't you reveal any details? That would make it easier for me to collect them."
[Determined by the System's discretion.]
"You're playing dirty!"
[If the System didn't play dirty, the Host would be performing handstands grabbing the earth in the next second.]
The little girl implied: Host, your abacus beads are popping right into my face (your schemes are too obvious), give it a rest.
"Tsk, so wordy!"
[Yes, yes, I am wordy.] Prometheus shrugged. [So, for the next period of time, the Host won't be able to see me.]
Fuli stopped walking. "What do you mean?"
[System upgrade. Temporary hibernation.]
The Finality Coordinator System was a growth-type armament that evolved alongside its Host. After acquiring the Human Immortal Dao, Fuli's strength was approaching C-rank. With the boost from the Demon Blade Shiranui, his power could briefly reach the B-rank Break level.
Correspondingly, the System naturally needed to evolve as well.
"I see."
Fuli felt relieved.
[The Host's expression just now was very interesting.]
Floating in mid-air, the little AI raised her eyebrows, teasing him with her unique, emotionless cyber-milky voice. [Could it be... you can't bear to see Prometheus leave?]
Prometheus, bad!
"Impossible."
Teased like this, the trace of sadness in Fuli's heart vanished into thin air.
He grumbled, "By the way, Prometheus, for this update, you absolutely must remember to load the recording function. Although you've washed away the shameful title of 'System Basement' through the exchange/gacha functions, not even being able to display the Host's abilities is truly lame. Of course, it would be even better if you could add some detection abilities, like knowing an item's attributes just by scanning it. And the store, too—the gacha is too random; it's safer to save up money and buy things directly... Prometheus? Prometheus?"
The boy, who had been talking to himself for a long time, froze. He realized belatedly:
After teasing him, the chatty AI—the only one who knew his identity as a regressor—had already fallen into a deep sleep.
Confirming this, Fuli stood in a daze for a long while, his gaze gradually becoming calm.
Calm to the point of being dead silent.
---||---
A new day! Corporate slave, launch...
Makino, tie fixed and suit on, dragged his body to look at the "beast in human clothing" in the mirror. He pushed up his glasses, put on his shoes, and walked out the door.
He had slept well because this morning, that damn landlady didn't bang on everyone's doors.
Waking up late ruins the morning; getting up early ruins the day.
Makino didn't know how others felt, but for him, that half-hour snooze before getting up was crucial.
The discomfort of being forcibly dragged up was like some kind of withdrawal symptom, enough to make Makino distracted all day.
Fortunately, similar things wouldn't happen in the future.
Last night, the subletting landlord who rented the third floor brought beer and barbecue to chat with the tenants.
According to him, Fuli in Room BK202 would be moving out in a few days.
Once he moved out and the landlady's brother moved in, she wouldn't need to bang on the doors early in the morning.
"Tch!"
Recalling this, Makino clicked his tongue in annoyance.
He certainly wasn't indignant about the unfair treatment Fuli received, but rather directed his annoyance at the anorexic younger brother who would get to be neighbors with the beautiful Nordic girl.
Who hasn't fantasized about developing a moving and tear-jerking romance with a white-haired beauty falling from the sky?
Of course, fantasy is fantasy; in reality, one must still be submissive.
He couldn't be like Fuli, chanting all day that she was his fiancée and trying to force his way in, right? Makino couldn't lower himself to do that, and besides, it wouldn't succeed.
Speaking of Fuli, that kid finally wised up and took a good look at himself in the mirror.
Stalking has no future! Women are creatures with hearts harder than men's; if they don't like you, they really don't like you!
Makino, who had a lot of experience in this area, sneered as he walked to the first floor. He suddenly froze when he caught a glimpse of Fuli standing in the courtyard in a daze.
Didn't he pack up and leave? Why is he still here?
The object of his internal mockery appearing right before his eyes made even Makino feel a faint heat on his face.
Fortunately, his experience in society allowed him to easily suppress this shame, and schadenfreude quickly took the upper hand.
Perhaps even Makino himself didn't realize it, but the existence of Fuli—someone who traveled alone to a foreign country just for a girl, working part-time while studying, and never giving up despite the landlady's difficulties—actually made him jealous.
Despicable people always like to destroy beautiful things and love to witness the hysterical ugly state of others after they fail.
And now, such a person was right in front of him.
Let's go "comfort" him.
Makino unconsciously smiled.
He walked up quickly and reached out to pat Fuli on the shoulder.
"Fuli-kun, I heard you—"
The regressor, who had just bid farewell to Prometheus, turned his head and swept a calm glance over him.
No signaling with his eyes, just a calm sweep.
Almost expressionless.
But precisely because there was no fluctuation in that look, it was the most silent, most terrifying look.
That single glance made Makino terrified and uneasy, as if falling into an ice cave.
But immediately, as if realizing who was in front of him, Fuli switched back to a slightly shy, clean smile.
He raised his hand harmlessly to say hello. "Ah, Mr. Makino. Going to work so early today as well?"
Unfortunately, it was a step too late.
"You! Don't come over! Murder! Murder!!!"
The man fell to the ground, kicking his legs frantically to back away. A spreading wet stain on his crotch made Fuli, who was closest to him, frown.
The tenants of the apartment building were out of luck. They thought they could get a peaceful sleep without the door banging today, but they were still woken up by this mournful screaming.
Everyone opened their windows and poked their heads out to see what was happening. The originally quiet morning suddenly became bustling.
However, the excitement didn't last long and returned to silence amidst the landlady's shrill roaring.
With a face mask still on, she walked over cursing, glanced at Fuli—who had a "Bro, seriously? I'm embarrassed for you!" expression—and then grabbed Makino by the collar to drag him back.
"Goodbye."
Fuli waved at their retreating backs, turned around, and returned to his room on the second floor via the stairs on the other side.
Fuli checked the time and found it was just past eight in the morning.
He took off his clothes to cover himself, lay down on the floor, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.
While he was recharging, Room BK201, separated by only a wall, was not peaceful.
The white-haired dumpling sitting cross-legged on the bed narrowed her eyes, grumbling like a big cat that had discovered a mouse.
"Suspicious..."
Kiana was in a terrible mood right now. This wasn't just because a certain author surnamed Fu only posted a stingy 2,000-word update yesterday, but also because of what she saw through the window this morning.
Among the apartment tenants, Kiana undoubtedly had the best popularity.
If an ordinary corporate slave like Makino could hear the news that Fuli was leaving, she naturally could too.
When she first heard the news, Kiana was stunned. Her emotions were as complex as Lu Tixia overturning a condiment jar after punching Zhen Guanxi—salty, sour, spicy, all spilling out at once. (a reference to a famous scene in the classic novel Water Margin, search yourself)
People are like this; often, what's scary isn't liking someone, but getting used to them.
It's like a crazy suitor you have; you are very sure you don't like them, maybe even look down on them. But the day you hear they are getting married, you might actually feel terrible inside.
Kiana didn't look down on Fuli, but the girl admitted that in the four months since last year, she had gotten used to the feeling of having someone following her around.
Hearing suddenly that he was leaving, she actually felt a bit reluctant to let go.
Fortunately, Kiana was a good girl. She wouldn't hold back someone else's future just because of her own slight reluctance.
She quickly sorted out her emotions and pondered whether to give Fuli a parting gift.
But in less than a second, the girl cut off that thought.
He finally faced reality and is going back to his country. If I give him a gift, what if it rekindles his feelings?
The Honkai Side and the Reality Side—people from different worlds shouldn't be entangled.
Instead of dilly-dallying, better to cut it clean with one stroke!
However, just now, Kiana changed her mind.
No, saying she changed her mind is ambiguous; more accurately, she discovered a problem.
Makino's crying just now woke up Kiana-cat, who hadn't slept well anyway. With her ahoge (fool's hair) sticking up, she woke up in a daze and looked out the window like the other tenants.
Thump!
Fuli smiled brightly and harmlessly, but Kiana's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Don't misunderstand, this wasn't some melodramatic love at first sight, nor was it her heart fluttering upon seeing the transformed sunny boy—okay, maybe a little bit, but that's not important!
People who have killed, when greeting others, will subconsciously look at the other person's shoulders. Because any movement starts from the shoulders. When meeting someone, they immediately assess the person's risk and whether they will hunt them as prey. When they look at people, their eyes subconsciously narrow, revealing a fierce glint.
People who have killed look at others the way one looks at prey.
This was exactly the look Fuli gave Makino, and the reason Kiana's heart skipped a beat.
Even though it appeared for only a fleeting moment before being completely concealed, the girl dared to be certain that it was a killer's gaze.
In her four years of wandering, she had seen similar gazes from too many people.
But absolutely none of them were more ferocious than Fuli's just now!
"What on earth happened to him?"
Kiana frowned in thought.
According to her memory, the last time she saw Fuli was two nights ago when he came to confess to her as usual.
Then yesterday morning she went to subdue a Honkai Beast, came back and had a nice sleep, went out for food in the evening and heard from a neighbor that he was moving, thought about random things all night, and didn't sleep much.
All in all, that was less than twenty-four hours! Could twenty-four hours change a person so much?
Or perhaps—
"Ah-Li... could he have been possessed by some wandering ghost from who knows where?!!"
Miss Kiana, well-read in Shenzhou web novels, subtly arrived at a wrong answer that fit the actual situation quite well.
---||---
March 26, 2014, P.M. 4:50—
Dusk, the sun setting in the west.
The soft afterglow of the setting sun poured in through the half-open window, adding a hazy quality to the empty room.
Fuli, lying on the floor, opened his eyes and looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar ceiling in a quantum superposition state.
"Prometheus? P-Pro? Baby?"
He called out tentatively, and as expected, received no answer.
He propped himself up, organized the items in his backpack, placed the combat gear in positions where they could be quickly retrieved, and walked out the door carrying the baseball bat.
In the hallway, Fuli turned back for a deep look. After all, it was a place he had lived in for several months. Thinking that it would fall to the Third Honkai Eruption next, he felt—
Well, not really reluctant.
Out with the old, in with the new.
The boy tightened his backpack and turned to walk downstairs.
"Hey!"
A familiar shout rang out behind him.
Fuli turned around and looked at the slender figure that had stopped him.
Her azure eyes were as clear as water, like a pure corner plucked from a cloudless sky; her smooth skin was rosy-white, radiating a playful and lively youthful aura.
Her white shirt displayed the young girl's fine
Her curves were fully accentuated, her legs under the short pants tightly wrapped in black stockings, perfectly revealing the young girl's youthfulness and just the right amount of sexiness.
"Too close."
Fuli took a half-step back, dodging the ahoge (cowlick) that swayed like a radar, and said helplessly, "Also, isn't your ahoge a bit too active?"
"Shut up! This is this Miss's trademark!"
Kiana huffed lightly but didn't press closer. She looked Fuli up and down, seeming to want to spot any flaws in his new getup.
But Fuli's disguise was impeccable.
He perfectly concealed that heart-palpitating killing intent beneath a facade of seeming laziness, replacing it with the relaxed vibe of someone about to return home—at least on the surface.
"Fine, seeing as your taste in clothes isn't too bad, this Miss will believe you for now."
Kiana withdrew her gaze, crossed her arms, and put on a nonchalant air. "Since you're going back to your country, be careful on the road. Although this Miss doesn't want to nag like an old mother, it's really not peaceful outside lately. Don't go losing your little life before you even get home; I'd have to come and collect your corpse, and that would be a huge hassle."
A textbook tsundere statement.
Clearly, she was worried to death inside, but her mouth insisted on using the word "hassle."
Fuli knew perfectly well that if he really encountered danger, this girl who said one thing but meant another would absolutely be the first to rush over and save him.
And that was exactly why he had to leave.
To prevent her from dying to save him, and to possess the power to stand in front of her rather than behind her.
"Don't worry."
Fuli adjusted the backpack on his shoulder, the corners of his mouth curving into a genuine smile. "I have a tough life; even the King of Hell wouldn't dare to take me. As for you, Kiana."
"Me? What about me?" Kiana raised an eyebrow.
"Don't always just charge forward. Occasionally, look behind you."
Fuli said this cryptic sentence with a hidden meaning, and then, before Kiana could react, he waved his hand, turned around, and walked down the stairs.
"I'm off. I'll send the photo. See you around."
"Hey! What do you mean look behind me? Make yourself clear—"
Kiana subconsciously chased after him a couple of steps, but she only saw the back of the boy carrying the baseball bat disappear around the corner of the stairwell.
For some reason, looking at the empty stairwell, a strong sense of unease suddenly surged in Kiana's heart.
It was as if... with this parting, some things would change forever.
"Tch, so mysterious..."
The girl scratched her hair in annoyance, and the ahoge on top of her head drooped listlessly along with her mood.
"Stupid Ah-Li, who wants your photo anyway..."