Honkai Impact 3rd, what should an ordinary player do at the start?

"Freedom... so you have to take him to do such dangerous things? Is freedom the reason he's unsafe?"

"To call something this awful freedom, to use such high-sounding words... just how disgusting do you have to be?!"

“Jiang Cheng clearly didn’t want to ride the roller coaster in the first place, but you dragged him on. I saw it.”

……

Chapter 62 Mei, It's Time to Say Goodbye

The face of the white-haired girl in front of me seemed to become blurry, similar to the teachers in my memory who always stood on the moral high ground, looking down at me with their heads down, pointing and scolding me.

I was the one who was hurt, the one who was splashed with water and then photographed and mocked.

You need to think about the school's interests.

Why do they only bully you and not others?

It takes two to tango, and flies don't land on eggs without cracks.

If it's always the same, no matter how much evidence is presented, no matter how much harm is done, those seemingly high-ranking, seemingly impartial teachers will only do the same thing. Even if you call the police for help, you'll only get the response: "Just handle this little thing yourself, don't waste public resources."

Solve it yourself... If every act of resistance hadn't been stopped immediately, the girl might have actually believed those seemingly high-sounding words.

Despite appearing righteous and noble, spouting one false concern after another, he never... never truly protects his injured self.

The exchanges became increasingly heated.

Do not……

It's almost beyond just communication.

Instead, a heated argument ensued, centered around the safety of Jiangcheng who was forced/invited to ride a roller coaster.

Kiana hopes they can live a good life together as friends, as peacefully as family.

Raiden Mei, however, finds it hard to tolerate the fact that her share and territory have been taken away from her younger self.

I hope for happiness, I hope for peace of mind.

I hope it's my own wish and that no one else will interfere.

It wasn't because of the same sex that she didn't, and wouldn't, initially deceive herself into believing it was friendship because of her past upbringing as a Yamato Nadeshiko. Jiang Cheng's existence was undoubtedly of the opposite sex, and therefore she could never tolerate him, who was of the opposite sex, being with other girls of the same sex.

She wants friends, she wants a reassuring relationship like that of family/father, she enjoys being cared for, and she wants to reciprocate that feeling to Jiang Cheng in the same way. That's why she can't tolerate other people's excessive control over Jiang Cheng.

Kiana Kaslana...

"Raiden Mei!"

They've reached the point where they're unwilling to even use the abbreviation, instead calling out the full name in a cold or dissatisfied tone.

Contradiction—this is an inevitable outcome.

It is absolutely inevitable.

It is a contradiction that inevitably arises in humanity when resources are scarce, especially when the needs are the same, and even the personality, the nature beneath the surface of whether it is gentle and considerate or carefree—the core derived from childhood experiences are the same.

The boy's judgment was indeed very accurate; he analyzed both girls very thoroughly, setting aside his own perspective.

Judgment as an observer

The judgment of a time traveler.

Because of their past experiences, they know what happened, the hardships they faced, and the similar situations they encountered. Therefore, the conclusions drawn between the two people are very accurate, more so than those drawn by someone who is in the thick of the story and cannot see the whole picture. Even Otto probably could not have made such a precise judgment.

What Jiang Cheng hadn't expected was that this world was no longer just a game, and he wasn't analyzing the plot from a player's perspective, but rather living it deeply and participating in the story.

The person who saved Mei was not Kiana, and Mei was not the one who initially made Kiana feel the care of family.

The girl, sitting alone by the lake, looked up and saw his outstretched hand reflected in her silent, dim eyes.

Kiana, who cries because she sees the happiness of others like a child looking at a cake or a toy through a shop window, has never felt cared for since the day her father, Siegfried, left without saying goodbye. All the girl who feels loved receives are his silent admonitions.

Similarity is not necessarily a good thing.

The similarity of the core is not surprising; the father will definitely choose empathy.

They also yearn for peace of mind and stability. Having lost everyone around them and fallen into a desperate situation where they were all alone, these lonely girls also cannot allow what belongs to them to be taken away.

Conflict is inevitable and will not disappear because of mutual empathy and understanding. On the contrary, it is precisely because of similar nature that this conflict becomes more and more unstoppable, because both sides want exactly the same thing and not just one part of it, to the point that there is no possibility of reconciliation. It is the most thorough and cruel dispute.

People with similar experiences often share similar inner natures, which is why they compete with each other.

They both wanted stability and peace of mind, but the tranquility they needed couldn't be with each other.

Because despite being essentially the same, their logic of action and preferences are completely different. They can tolerate each other and be friends, but they cannot want the same thing.

Imagine one person wants to eat sukiyaki, while another person likes fried hamburger patties. In everyday life, you can eat sukiyaki today and fried hamburger patties tomorrow. But if you could only make one choice in your life, choosing what others like would mean you could never have what you like, and what you want would never come to you.

Can this humility born of similarity, this tolerance born of mutual understanding and acceptance, truly continue?

Can this pursuit of peace of mind, which is inherently not allowed to be destroyed and inherently yearns to no longer be lonely, really be so easily given up?

At least until now, the two girls, who should have become best friends, are still extremely dissatisfied with each other.

The sense of encroachment she felt in her daily life, which should have been like a jigsaw puzzle, connecting her life closely together, was instead pieced together onto another all-purpose puzzle piece.

Therefore, the other party's existence becomes an eyesore, the only contradiction in one's perfect puzzle—the contradiction that can only be perfectly pieced together by kicking the other party out.

And so, something was reflected in those disgruntled eyes that looked away.

That was exactly what she wanted to reject.

Unhealthy/unacceptable lifestyle.

……

引貳陵厁栮冷VII咝VIII————咔哒.

Hearing the handle being pulled down forcefully, like the sound of steel screeching under emergency braking, Raiden Mei turned her head.

The roller coaster had arrived at its destination once again, and she noticed him standing beside it, bathed in the red glow of the setting sun.

"------"

They all froze in place for a moment.

My body was completely immobile, as if I were dead.

Perhaps he realized that his embarrassing state had been seen without any cover by the most important person in his life.

I wasn't rude. I simply couldn't say something like that; my mouth was open, but my body was so stiff I couldn't move an inch.

"You're here, Jiangcheng. Are you going to ride the roller coaster again? Or would you like to try something else?"

Kiana, on the other hand, remains the same—

Lotte.

vitality.

Cheerful.

In those deep blue eyes, it seemed that every positive word associated with youth could be perfectly used to describe the girl at this moment, to describe something that shone brighter than the sunlight between her eyelashes and the tips of her hair—because as a close friend, she didn't need to hide herself too much, and thus could more truly show her puppy-like vitality.

Even if you're feeling really down, you'd inevitably cheer up when faced with such a lively girl.

Therefore, Jiang Cheng could now laugh as he recounted everything that followed.

"Thank you, but I have something else to attend to right now."

"Mei, can you give me some time?"

……

Facing the boy's outstretched fingertips, fingers bathed in the twilight that seemed to be tinged with the glow of roses.

The girl's answer was naturally—

"of course."

……

……

……

Unbeknownst to Kiana herself, under a gaze tinged with a hint of jealousy, the person she disliked and her considered best friend departed together.

After nearly a month of loneliness and isolation, the girl named Raiden Mei finally has the opportunity to be with the boy again.

It's time for the two of them again.

What should we do together next?

Want to ride the Ferris wheel together? Or should we go on the carousel?

A haunted house sounds good too; that way I can pretend to be scared and hug Jiang Cheng.

The girl, envisioning the blissful moments to come, was so absorbed in her own fantasy that she didn't even realize that the boy's steps had already come to a halt.

With another step forward, it touched the back of her head, and a blush instantly spread across her fair and delicate forehead.

What's wrong? Why did you stop? — The question was interrupted by the boy's actions before it could even be asked.

He turned around.

They looked directly at him.

Face to face with the girl.

They stood there without reservation, looking directly at each other, able to see everything about each other.

In those clear, deep purple eyes, the boy's voice, as always calm, seemed to hesitate for the first time in his memory—the smile vanished the moment the first word was uttered, and he opened his mouth three more times in succession, his tongue seemingly fighting with his teeth, unable to make a sound, until finally uttering that cold word on the last attempt.

"I……"

"—It's time to leave Changkong City."

……

……

It's like an O. Henry ending, where the happy and sweet trip to Houmu Amusement Park suddenly turns into a cruel disaster like the past—like a bucket of water in the toilet, cold and piercing, inescapable yet forcing you to accept reality, unable to escape, and indulging in fantasy.

Even a young girl who has experienced a lot doesn't immediately realize what's happening in front of her.

occur……

what……

matter?!

……

……

"I know this is sudden, but... I do have some things that I can't help, after all, life is always a mess."

"You have your life, and I have mine. Although I didn't expect it to be this fast before today, I thought it would take at least a few days or weeks..."

He was still talking.

Nagging.

It should be a very clear sound.

Because he always speaks very clearly, even in very noisy environments, he always manages to grab everyone's attention the moment he opens his mouth.

The girl couldn't hear it.

Not a single word could be heard.

It was as if the sound had been pulled away countless times in an instant. The sounds that were clear before, such as the rushing sound of a roller coaster and the rustling of the wind through the treetops, all became distant in an instant—as indistinct as the chirping of insects.

It's as if a person is experiencing some major change, or seeing something so beautiful that it takes their breath away. At this moment, the body's senses become dulled for a moment to prevent the nerves from actually being damaged, or the brain from being overwhelmed by the emotional surge.

All those deep purple eyes could see was a white shirt and black trousers, and a long sword at her waist, with a crimson relief engraved with the promise made on their first day of meeting—it was so dazzling that she couldn't even lift her head. Even with the stinging pain that made her eyes water, she forced herself to lift her head and open her eyes, but all she could see was the boy's face, blurred and indistinct in the blinding light.

too bright.

It was sunset, yet it was still very bright.

The light was so bright that my eyes were already watering involuntarily.

On the boy's face, which was as chaotic as Van Gogh's Starry Night, blurred and indistinguishable by the golden halo of light, the only emotion that could be discerned at this moment was not completely obscured by the light, but rather an unwavering determination that made the heart ache even more.

Just like those tightly clenched fingers, and that hesitant yet unwavering voice after speaking—all of this proves that the boy will absolutely, positively not regret what he said.