Time in a collapsing world

After some time.

Alicia (Memory Entity) lay beneath a pink flowering tree whose petals would forever fall and never touch the ground, holding a cup of perfectly warm fruit tea that would never get cold. She squinted, her expression as content as a cat basking in the sun.

Until Sakura (Memory) appeared at the edge of the flower forest.

"Oh~ Sakura's here!?" Alicia (Memory Entity) immediately sat up, patted the grass beside her, and smiled brightly. "Sit down, sit down! Shall we have some tea together during our leisure time today?"

Sakura (memory) did not sit down immediately.

She walked to Alicia (the memory entity)'s side, stood quietly for a moment, her gaze falling on the eternally falling petals, as if she were arranging her words.

“Alice,” she began, her voice as cool and calm as ever, “I want to talk to you about those five children.”

Alicia (Memory) blinked, her smile unchanged.

"What happened? Did they cause trouble? Or did Qianjie finally lose his temper and attack them?" She put the fruit tea aside. "Although I think the latter is more likely..."

“Neither.” Sakura (Memory) sat down beside her, a cup of tea now in her hand—handed over by Alicia (Memory) with a speed that seemed like magic. “It’s their growth rate.”

Alicia (Memory Entity) tilted her head: "Isn't rapid growth a good thing? It means they've put all their effort into training. Especially that kid named Sirin, she was prickly when she first arrived, but now at least she's willing to cooperate well in team battles~ Isn't that a testament to our Paradise Special Training!?"

She smiled broadly, her tone filled with pride that "my child is so promising."

Sakura (memory) was silent for a moment.

"Come and look at this."

She raised her hand and lightly tapped the air with her fingertips. A screen of light unfolded in front of the two of them—it was a live replay of the training area.

In the scene, Kiana, Mei, Sirin, Bronya, and Seele are fighting against a horde of Honkai Beasts generated by the Paradise simulation system. The number and strength of the beasts are exactly the same as those used in their initial test two weeks ago when they first entered Paradise.

But the results were completely different.

The battle depicted on screen was almost overwhelming. Kiana's gun-fu was as fierce as ever, but the power of each strike was significantly increased, turning Honkai Beasts into data fragments with a single blow; Mei's katana trajectory was even more deadly, annihilating three Honkai Beasts simultaneously with her rapid slashes; Sirin's speed and strength were enhanced, taking down any Honkai Beast with a single charge and punch; Bronya's Heavy Bunny's firepower coverage remained unchanged, but the destructive power of a single shell was noticeably increased; Seele's figure darted across the battlefield like a butterfly, taking down a Honkai Beast with each appearance, her efficiency astonishingly high.

Battle end time: 47 seconds.

Two weeks ago, they took three minutes and twenty-eight seconds in the same test.

Alicia (Memory) stared at the light screen, her smile freezing for a moment before blooming again: "Isn't this wonderful? Such rapid progress!?"

“Look again more closely,” Sakura (memory) said.

Alicia (Memory) obediently looked at the light screen again, this time with even more focused attention.

Gradually, the smile on her face faded a little.

In the video, the five fighters are very efficient, but if you look closely, you will find a strange detail - their "fighting style" is almost unchanged.

The same starting stance, the same dodging habits, the same combo sequence, and even the same strategies for dealing with different Honkai Beasts—all were exactly the same as two weeks ago.

The only change is:

Kiana's dual pistols have become more powerful.

Mei's katana slash became even more powerful.

Xilin's physical fitness has improved.

Bronya's shelling intensified.

Seele's attacks were even more lethal.

In other words, they did not learn any new skills, develop any new tactics, or make any targeted strategic adjustments.

They were just using the same tactics they had used two weeks ago, relying on pure power and speed to overwhelm them.

“You noticed,” Sakura (memory) said.

Alicia (the memory) was silent for a moment, then picked up the cup of fruit tea that had long since gone cold (although theoretically it shouldn't), and took a small sip.

“…Something does seem a bit off.” Her voice was still light, but the carefree joy from before was gone. “The rate at which her strength is increasing is exceeding the reasonable curve for skill development. It’s like…”

“It’s like someone is ‘recharging’ them,” Sakura (Memory Entity) finished speaking for her.

The two exchanged a glance.

"Could it be that Velvet added some hidden buff to the training system?" Alicia (Memory Entity) asked tentatively. "She sometimes plays these kinds of pranks..."

“I asked her. No.” Sakura (Memory) shook her head. “Besides, Velvey is currently debugging a new large device and doesn’t have time to pay attention to the training system.”

"Could it be that they found some kind of... rapid improvement method themselves? Like Bronya optimizing the combat data chain or something?"

“If that were the case, their combat style should have been adjusted accordingly to match the new data,” Sakura (Memory) pointed out. “But you haven’t seen any adjustments. They’re just using the same tactics from two weeks ago and achieving three times the effect they did two weeks ago.”

Alicia (Memory) fell silent.

Sakura (Memory) looked at her: "Alice, I suspect something is influencing them—in a way that we can't directly observe."

"You mean..." Alicia (Memory)'s voice softened, "...the thing Aponia and Sue mentioned before?"

Sakura (Memory) nodded.

A few days ago, Aponia (Memory) and Sue (Memory) discovered some anomalous data traces in Paradise, suspected to be "foreign objects" that entered Paradise with the five children. It did not show any aggression, but rather seemed to be "observing" and "adapting." Aponia (Memory) conveyed a warning to all Memory, urging them to remain vigilant.

But so far, no one has discovered the actual object of that "thing".

It seemed to have completely disappeared.

Or rather, it was hidden too well.

“If that thing is affecting them…” Alicia (Memory Entity) stood up and patted non-existent dust off her skirt, “then we need to go and check it out.”

Sakura (Memory Entity) also stood up: "What do you want to do?"

Alicia (the memory) tilted her head and thought for a moment, then flashed her signature bright smile:

"Go find them and play!"

then--

Half an hour later, we arrived at the Paradise on Earth Leisure and Entertainment Area.

The Ferris wheel slowly rotates, the carousel sings cheerful songs, several cute versions of Velvet chase each other in the bumper car area, and the air is filled with a sweet and lingering fragrance.

Alicia (Memory) and Sakura (Memory) appeared at the amusement park entrance.

"Ah, found it, found it~?" Alicia (Memory Entity) stood on tiptoe and waved to the distance, where the group of five was sitting on a bench next to an open-air ice cream stand, each holding a brightly colored ice cream.

Kiana was the first to notice them and immediately waved back, "Sister Alicia! Sister Sakura! Over here!"

Sirin glanced at them, remaining silent but not showing her usual disdain. Mei nodded politely. Bronya's gaze lingered on them for half a second before returning to her ice cream—chocolate flavor. Seele smiled sweetly at them.

Everything seems normal.

Alicia (Memory) and Sakura (Memory) walked over and naturally joined them, starting a casual chat. They talked about everything from today's training to what activities they planned to do in the afternoon, from which ice cream flavor was the best to whether it was possible to make the exact same food as outside in Paradise.

Sakura (the memory) didn't speak, but simply observed quietly.

One minute.

Two minutes.

five minutes.

Everything seemed normal. Kiana was complaining about how ugly the design of a certain simulated Honkai Beast was, and Sirin, unusually, chimed in. Mei tried to smooth things over, Bronya occasionally teased Sirin and Kiana, and Seele quietly shared what she thought was the best flavor.

There appears to be nothing unusual.

until--

Sakura (the memory) caught a detail in her gaze.

During a break in the conversation, when Alicia (Memory) turned to Kiana to ask if she wanted to go on the roller coaster together that afternoon, Kiana's gaze shifted slightly for a moment—towards the empty seat to her left.

There was no one in that empty seat.

But Kiana's lips curled up in a barely perceptible smile.

It looks like it's smiling at someone.

Then she turned back and answered Alicia (memory): "Yes, yes! I love roller coasters!"

Sakura (the memory) remained silent. She continued to observe.

In the next ten minutes, she saw more:

When Mei was drinking her juice, her eyes would occasionally drift to the empty space on her right, and her lips would move almost imperceptibly—as if she were saying a silent word.

When Sirin refuted one of Kiana's points, her gaze briefly swept behind her shoulder before returning to her side, her expression as natural as if she had simply turned her head casually.

Bronya tilted her head slightly for a moment, as if listening to someone speak—but there was no one in that direction.

Seele… Seele is the most obvious. When Sakura (the memory) looked at her, she happened to catch her nodding slightly to the air to her left, and then, as if suddenly realizing something, she quickly lowered her head and pretended to eat ice cream.

Sakura (Memory) withdrew her gaze.

She and Alicia (the memory) exchanged a glance.

In that instant, they both saw the same judgment in each other's eyes:

The five children were talking to something they couldn't see.

Alicia (Memory)'s smile remained bright, her tone still light, but the words she spoke changed to:

"By the way, has training been tiring lately? Have you encountered anything... strange?"

The group of five were stunned for a moment.

Kiana was the first to react, waving her hand dismissively: "Strange things? No! I just fight monsters, eat, and sleep every day, it's pretty regular!"

Mei nodded in agreement: "Miss Alicia's training plan is very reasonable. Although it's tiring, it's very rewarding."

Xilin snorted: "What strange things could there be? It's just that your lousy paradise is keeping people locked up and not letting them out."

Bronya didn't speak, but a quick glint flashed in her gray eyes—she was observing Alicia (Memory) and Sakura (Memory)'s expressions, analyzing why they suddenly asked that question.

Seele simply lowered her head and continued eating her ice cream.

Alicia (the memory) took in each of their reactions, then smiled and said, "That's good~ If you encounter anything strange, be sure to tell us! Paradise is safe, but sometimes there are always little bugs~?"

"I know, I know!" Kiana waved her hand, clearly not taking it seriously.

Sakura (Memory Entity) stood up: "We still need to find Velvi, so we're leaving now. You guys have fun."

"Leaving so soon?" Kiana was a little disappointed. "There's a roller coaster ride this afternoon!"

“Next time,” Sakura (Memory Entity) said.

The two turned and left.

After walking a distance from the amusement park and making sure the five children couldn't hear her, Sakura (Memory) stopped.

“You saw it all,” she said.

Alicia (Memory Entity) stood beside her, gazing at the Ferris wheel in the distance with a troubled expression.

"I saw it."

“They themselves may not be aware of that ‘existence,’” Sakura (the memory) said. “Or they may be aware of it, but are influenced by some force and think it is normal.”

“Or…” Alicia (Memory) continued softly, “they realized it, and chose not to tell us.”

Sakura (Memory Entity)'s gaze darkened slightly: "We must tell Aponia and Sue. And Vervie. We need to focus more attention on them."

Alicia nodded. "I'll keep an eye out for them too. Those mischievous kids who try to seduce others must be punished properly when we find them!"