When Su Yu walked out of Danzhu's high-end apartment — that paradise for shut-in otaku — the sky of Arc City had already been dyed an ambiguous shade of purplish-red.
Su Yu stood by the roadside, casually tossing the empty can of Happy Water in his hand. It traced a perfect parabola through the air.
"Clang!" — it landed precisely in the trash can five meters away.
"Three-pointer."
Su Yu snapped his fingers. Pity Kevin wasn't around — otherwise he'd definitely have to show off properly.
With Danzhu locked in, that meant the art and animation production of Honkai Impact 3rd now had the most rock-solid guarantee possible.
Just as he was about to step toward the subway station, his field of vision suddenly shattered without warning.
It was as if someone had taken a red paintbrush and savagely smeared a streak across his retinas.
Immediately after, countless black fragments exploded outward like glass, and the bass intro of "Life Will Change" — that DNA-shaking opening — seemed to reverberate in his ears.
[COOP RANK UP!]
A line of high-tension white text, scribbled in what looked like American comic-book graffiti style with red shadows, sprawled dominantly across the center of Su Yu's view.
Following that, a brand-new tarot card spun and flipped in the red-and-black backdrop, finally locking into place.
On the card face, a girl surrounded by countless chibi figurines was winking playfully.
[Arcana: Temperance]
[Character: Danzhu (Nuwa)]
"Temperance, huh?"
Su Yu raised an eyebrow, looking at the card.
In Persona 5, "Temperance" corresponded to Ms. Kawakami — the teacher who could massage the protagonist, do his laundry, make items, and save him precious time.
Applied to Danzhu...
Su Yu glanced at the skill description below the card.
[Ability: The Grinding Emperor's Compensation]
Description: As long as sufficient Happy Water and limited-edition figurines are provided, this Confidant will enter "Quantum Superposition" working mode.
Effect: Project animation rendering speed +200%, art asset output efficiency +150%. Under special circumstances, the "All-Nighter" Buff can be triggered, but afterwards double hairline maintenance fees must be paid.
"This skill... is way too real."
Su Yu couldn't help but groan.
How does this have anything to do with [Temperance] — this is straight-up [Liver-Grinding]!
But for the current production team, this was practically a divine skill.
As Danzhu's card slotted into place, the void interface in front of Su Yu unfolded into an even grander tableau.
It was a classic Persona 5-style Confidant list.
Against a red-and-black silhouette-style background, seven tarot cards were arranged in a row, emitting a faint golden glow only Su Yu could see.
Don't ask — even if you do, we don't have Astra's copyright.
Su Yu, like a king surveying his territory... or rather, like a Phantom Thief leader inspecting his accomplices, swept his gaze over the cards.
[0. The Fool] —— Kiana Kaslana
Status: ??? (Bond Locked)
Comment: The initial persona mask, and the starting point of everything. Although "The Fool" doesn't sound very smart (and very much matches the IQ of a certain Paramecium), in tarot, it represents "infinite possibility" and "the journey starting from zero."
["After all, she's the idiot who'd pin a Herrscher to the ground and beat her up for my sake."]
[VIII. Justice] —— Fu Hua (Fenghuang?)
Status: Rank 4
Comment: That squad monitor who works part-time at the convenience store, sticks to her martial virtue, and bows for just a few yuan. Her sense of justice is overflowing — though sometimes overly rigid, that's her own brand of conviction.
["With Tai Xu Sword Qi plus Justice Execution, anyone who dares cause trouble at the studio from now on gets an Inch Force: Open Heaven straight to the face."]
[XVII. The Star] —— Griseo
Status: Rank 3 (Drawing Workhorse)
Comment: The guiding star, the painter who depicts the world in colors. Although she's still an elementary schooler being threatened with "BL manga" by her own works, her paintbrush truly possesses the power to heal hearts.
["Hope this little star doesn't paint any weird doujinshi in the future..."]
[VII. The Chariot] —— Kevin
Status: Rank MAX (Bros for life, walking together — whoever escapes singlehood first is a dog; Kevin is a Samoyed!)
Comment: The Chariot — charging forward unimpeded, crushing every obstacle. Although in this world, his charging mainly manifests in "grabbing food at the cafeteria" and "helping Su Yu cover his lies."
["The most reliable brother in the world, no contest, even if he's turned into a noodle-eating sage."]
[IX. The Hermit] —— Mei
Status: Rank 3 (Technical Advisor)
Comment: The recluse, the sage who seeks truth in solitude. Dr. Mei's wisdom is Su Yu's biggest trump card — that electric shock collar being the best proof.
["As long as you don't let her into the kitchen, she's invincible — just kidding, she'd just hand-craft a fully automatic cooking robot and be done with it."]
[VI. The Lovers] —— Elysia
Status: Rank 2? (Unfathomable)
Comment: Representing choice, union, and temptation. Miss Pink Elf's very existence is a form of enchantment. Her assist in the livestream room that one time was a textbook example of 'Lovers' card effect.
["Even though it's [The Lovers], I always feel like I'm the one being toyed with in her palm..."]
Finally, his gaze fell back on the newly lit [XIV. Temperance] —— Danzhu.
"The Fool, Justice, The Star, The Chariot, The Hermit, The Lovers, Temperance..."
Su Yu rubbed his chin, looking at this absurdly luxurious lineup.
How is this making a game?
With this configuration, whether going out to steal hearts, save the world, or even pin the God of Honkai down on the ground and grind her face into it — it'd all be more than enough, right?
Good lord, the System's interface is looking more and more proper. Did it go off to take some advanced classes somewhere?
At this rate, I feel like I'm about to become the Phantom Thief Boss!
"This Phantom Thief group of mine... no wait, friend group, isn't the gold content a bit too high?"
Su Yu chuckled and closed the System interface.
The red-and-black fragments dissipated in the air, and the world returned to the bustling Arc City of streets full of traffic.
But Su Yu knew — something had already become different.
These bonds, these connections, were weaving into an enormous web, tying him and this world, tying Kiana and this world, firmly together.
"Take Your Heart, huh..."
Su Yu stuck his hands in his pockets, humming the tune of "Last Surprise," and walked toward the subway station with light steps.
"Then let every player in the world prepare to have their hearts stolen."
Half an hour later.
Happiness Community, Unit 302.
When Su Yu pushed open the front door, he keenly sensed a hint of something off.
As a qualified game producer, he had an almost OCD-level sensitivity to environmental details.
Well, okay.
Actually, it was probably related to his recent cultivation of Tai Xu Sword Qi.
Although Kiana didn't know it, Su Yu had actually begun training in Tai Xu Sword Qi with Fenghuang every night during his sleep.
With the guidance of this golden-finger old grandpa, Su Yu's rate of progress could only be described as a meteoric rise.
He already possessed excellent physical fitness to begin with. Add to that the fact that a certain pufferfish — who'd been alternately beaten by him and Kiana — hadn't made a peep these past two days, as if vanishing without a trace...
Previously in that dream realm, she had killed him in every way imaginable a full 1,024 times. Fenghuang's evaluation was that his spirit hadn't shattered — rather, it had been forged by blood and fire into something indestructible.
He wasn't sure exactly how indestructible "indestructible" was — consciousness was a mysterious thing. For instance, before being dragged into that space, even Sirin had thought he was just an ordinary otaku, only to discover she'd dragged in a mental patient instead.
But Su Yu felt that mental patient or not, it didn't really matter. Modern society had immense pressure — pick any random person on the street and you could diagnose them with some mental illness.
Besides, when a mental patient isn't having an episode, aren't they just a normal person? Whatever.
His gaze first dropped downward.
Kiana's exclusive pair of slippers in the entryway, which were originally placed neatly, were still in their spot — but the angle was off by about 15 degrees. This indicated she'd just put them on and taken them off in a rush.
Next, there was a sweet smell floating in the air that didn't belong to this home.
Not the cheap lemon shampoo smell Kiana usually used, but something... a bubblegum scent mixing tropical fruit and industrial saccharin?
Finally, the most obvious clue.
That Homu plush toy, which usually monopolized the center seat of the couch, was right now stuffed into the corner of the sofa in an extremely contorted position, with its ears flattened on top — as if it had just been brutally manhandled by someone.
"I'm home."
Su Yu changed his shoes while casually scanning the living room.
Kiana was sitting cross-legged on the carpet, holding a Switch controller. The screen showed the results screen of Mario Kart.
Hearing the door open, her back visibly stiffened for a moment before she slowly turned her head around.
"Oh, you're back."
Her tone was bland, even forced.
Her eyes wandered, not daring to meet Su Yu's directly — instead staring at the plastic bag in his hand.
"Did we have a guest today?"
Su Yu pointed at the glass cup on the coffee table that still had a few droplets of water on it — that was a backup cup rarely used.
The controller in Kiana's hand nearly dropped to the floor.
She blinked her eyes rapidly twice, the CPU in her brain spinning at full speed.
Can't say it was Bronie.
Absolutely can't.
If Su Yu found out she'd known someone for less than two hours and already brought a hacker home — plus was planning a "black-on-black" operation against a gang...
This guy would definitely activate "Mother Hen Mode" and nag until her ears developed calluses.
Besides... a surprise stops being a surprise once you tell it.
"Ah... it, it was Carole!"
Kiana's wit kicked in under pressure, dragging out the strong-armed girl with whom she'd just established a revolutionary friendship to take the fall.
"She was passing by and stopped up here for a bit. Said... uh... said there were some vigilante documents from the police station that needed signing!"
"And she brought me some... uh... police-exclusive donuts! Yeah, donuts!"
To bolster credibility, she even deliberately drew a circle shape with her hands, wearing a face that screamed "I'm being totally honest."
"Carole, huh..."
Su Yu raised an eyebrow.
The excuse was plausible enough.
After all, last time Kiana saved Carole, the two of them now had a bond as tight as if they were sisters with different parents.
As for that bubblegum scent... probably some weird perfume trending among high school girls these days?
"Alright then. She didn't crush our door handle, did she?"
Su Yu joked, putting the Happy Water in the fridge.
"Of course not! Carole is super gentle, okay?!"
Kiana let out a breath of relief and turned back to stare at the game screen, but the corners of her mouth turned uncontrollably wildly upward.
Heh heh, idiot Su Yu, you bought it that easily?
You hid the enhancement injection thing from me, going off and toughing it out alone.
This time it's my turn to hide things from you!
She silently calculated in her heart.
Bronie said re-infiltrating the Tiger Claw Gang's network would take two weeks.
Two weeks.
During this time, she had to accumulate as many "Absolute Freedom Time" hours as possible.
The one hour the System gives daily — over half a month, she should be able to save up over ten hours.
By then, coordinating with Bronie's intel, she'd storm straight into the Tiger Claw Gang's vault.
That hacker girl said the Tiger Claw Gang had piled up a lot of dirty money these past few years from protection fees and smuggling. If she could really wipe out their den, the bounty payout would be sky-high.
Just pulling off this one job, the cut she'd get would be enough to buy ten top-tier graphics cards — and she'd even be able to swap Su Yu out for a better ergonomic chair.
He'd been rubbing his lower back a lot lately, looking pitiful in a way that made her heart ache — though Kiana didn't know that Su Yu wasn't rubbing his back because he sat too long.
Thinking of this, Kiana stole a glance at Su Yu's back.
That figure bustling about in the kitchen — though not particularly broad-shouldered, was unexpectedly comforting.
Just you wait, stinky Su Yu.
When this young lady slaps that pile of graphics cards on your desk, let's see if you still dare to treat me like a child.
By then I'll say — "Here, this young lady will take care of you!"
Heh heh heh...
The girl let out a laugh in her heart that sounded like a villain's triumph. But because of her distraction, her Mario Kart vehicle veered off the course and plunged straight into the lava.
After confirming Kiana "hadn't actually torn the house down," Su Yu didn't ask further.
After all, the kid was growing up — she had to have her own social circle.
As long as she wasn't being deceived by some bad woman, it was fine.
He poured himself a glass of ice water and sat back down in front of the computer.
With Danzhu — that art powerhouse — secured, the next main attraction was music.
In this field, there was an unavoidable mountain — Eden.
Eden of the Golden Courtyard. In this world, she was still the woman standing at the very peak of the entertainment industry.
A world-class opera diva, the leading figure of retro jazz, a muse of the fashion world, and... a super-rich woman whose wealth could rival a nation's.
Strictly speaking, Su Yu's friendship with her began through Elysia.
That was at a charity gala a few years ago — before Su Yu had been forcibly dragged in by Elysia to become the "downstairs Little Blackie" of the Golden Courtyard.
Egged on by Elysia, Kevin and Mei had arrested Su Yu — who was at the time hunkered down in the dorm playing games — and like a pair of left-and-right door gods, the two of them flanked him and brought him to the charity gala venue.
At the time he was thinking, fine, since I'm already here, at least the food's pretty good — I can pack some up and take it back as a late-night snack.
Then he almost got dragged on stage by Elysia for a self-introduction.
Eden seemed to be in a poor mood that day and had a few extra drinks. While catching some air on the terrace, she ran into Su Yu, who was hiding from Elysia's pursuit.
The two of them inexplicably struck up a conversation.
From Chopin to rock music, from the death of art to the alienation of capital.
Then the topic drifted to Elysia.
Eden said Elysia was beautiful and kind-hearted. Su Yu said that girl's personality was a handful to deal with. Eden then said her passion was unwavering, and listened to Su Yu "complain" about how Elysia was so pestering.
Obviously, for the head bishop of the world's number-one Elysia-worshipping religion, talking about Elysia was tantamount to grinding affinity points.
If this world were a galgame, Su Yu's series of maneuvers would have raised Eden's affinity to at least seventy or eighty.
Reaching the height of her interest, the tipsy Eden waved her hand grandly, pointing at a commercial high-rise across the street that had just been topped off, and said heroically:
"Su Yu, I've heard from Ellie that you're a man with great ideas. How about this building... I'll give it to you as your studio? I can't live in it anyway."
Su Yu at the time nearly dropped to his knees.
That was a building right in the CBD of Arc City! Worth at least several billion!
Although in the end, with Eden's agent desperately blocking it, the matter turned into a "future opportunity to cooperate," Eden's personality of "treating money like dirt, bowing only for art" left Su Yu with a deep impression — and psychological shadow.
This sister really was the type to throw money at problems the moment a disagreement arose.
As for afterward, as the "downstairs Little Blackie" — no wait, "downstairs Little Su" — Su Yu had become an unofficial member of the Golden Courtyard, and nearly got stuffed with all sorts of priceless gifts by her several more times.
Though Elysia was always complaining that Ah Hua never told them — his friends — about anything, often shouldering things alone — but as Kevin put it, this problem child Su Yu wasn't any better than Ah Hua.
If Kevin knew that this guy had not only picked up a ticking time bomb at his side, but had also nearly lost his life on the rooftop, and had been killed by someone over a thousand times...
He'd probably awaken his Martial Soul Heavenly Fire Sacred Judgment on the spot — except the object drawn from the sheath wouldn't be some Herrscher, but Su Yu's salted-fish face.
As for the reason — probably, "my dear son doesn't really treat me like his godfather."
But all that was nonsense. What Su Yu was considering now wasn't how to explain those random matters to his godson.
What he was considering was how to move Eden.
Money definitely wouldn't work.
In this world, any problem that could be solved with money wasn't a problem at all for Eden.
She could even, if you so much as asked, pull out a checkbook, sign it, and let you fill in the amount yourself.
But that didn't mean Eden took an indifferent attitude toward everything — there were two things Eden was determined to protect in this world. One was her identity as the High Bishop of Eleison.
The other was her uncompromising pursuit of art.
On a casual basis, she was laid-back and easy-going — but if you wanted to talk art with Eden, talk soul, discuss philosophy and life, then it wasn't something you could just bluff your way through.
If he wanted Eden to collaborate with him, he had to bring something that could move her heart.
Ultimate art and a resonance of souls.
Su Yu opened up his composition software.
The audio tracks on the screen were completely empty, as if awaiting the arrival of a storm.
He needed a piece of music.
A piece that could match Honkai Impact 3rd's epic narrative, that could display the oppressive coexistence of destruction and rebirth embodied by a Herrscher, and at the same time strike at Eden's obsession with "the pursuit of ultimate aesthetics."
His fingers hovered over the keyboard for a moment.
Countless classic BGMs flashed through his mind.
"Nightglow"? No good — that's Himeko's requiem. Bringing it out now would be too early; that's a nuke, and has to be saved for the end.
"Rubia"? Too gentle — suited for Fu Hua or the later, more grown-up Kiana. Not appropriate for blowing the roof off right now.
"Cyberangel"? That's Bronya's highlight moment — still have to wait.
Finally, his eyes turned sharp.
If you're going to do it, do it big.
As a massive turning point in Honkai Impact 3rd's storyline, with the significance of a watershed — that song could only be——
"Befall."
In Su Yu's past life, this song was the execution anthem for the Herrscher of the Void's first appearance.
It had no complex lyrics — most of it was something like a "chant" in a made-up language.
But that intensely oppressive melody, paired with the tearing sensation of electric pipe organ and heavy metal rock, perfectly conveyed what it meant to be a god's arrogance.
That lofty disdain, that coldness of viewing all things as ants, and the twisted tragic aesthetic hidden behind the destruction.
If it had to be just one song...
Su Yu closed his eyes and rehearsed the melody in his mind.
That oppressive pressure, as if pouring down from the heavens, that tremor that made even the soul quake.
Eden would absolutely love it.
"Tap."
Su Yu struck the first note.
Since the decision was made, time to get to work.
He would use this piece as the warhammer to bash open Eden's door, and as the first deafening roar Honkai Impact 3rd would let out in this world.
Meanwhile, behind him.
Kiana was sprawled on the carpet, maneuvering Mario through drifts on the track while secretly stealing glances at Su Yu's focused side profile.
Watching that man working seriously for their future, the corners of the girl's lips curved up into a tender arc almost imperceptible to the eye.
Idiot Su Yu.
You work hard making games, I'll work hard saving up graphics cards.
Does this... count as fighting side by side?
The lingering sunset glow streamed in through the window, stretching their two shadows long, until at last they overlapped into one.
In this peaceful afternoon untouched by Honkai.
A secret operation about a surprise, and a descent-song about destruction.
Were quietly brewing under the same roof.
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