Changkong City, Qianyu Academy.
The early spring breeze blew in from the window, ruffling the white gauze like curtains. The afternoon sun shone through the curtains, leaving some mottled light on the table.
The boys dormitory of the academy faces the playground. You can vaguely hear the cheers of boys and girls coming one after another, and the youthful and energetic figures of the football club are reflected in the gray eyes of the young man in front of the window.
The young man has black hair and delicate features. His straight white shirt is wrinkle free. His hands are resting on the laptop on the table, and he is staring at the playground in the distance in a trance, as if appreciating the vibrant early spring when everything is blooming.
After a while, he put on his frameless glasses and tapped on the keyboard with his fingertips.
"It has been nineteen years since I came to this world. The 'Herrscher' has come twice, but the world is still peaceful and tranquil. It always gives me a sense of unreality, as if the inevitable destruction in my memory is just a dream."
"But destruction is bound to come. In the tide of Era's destruction, those energetic young people and those lovers snuggling together will be swept away like sand. But I know that escaping is useless..."
After writing two paragraphs on the document, the young man fingertips paused for a moment, as if he felt the words were a little bit childish, but he moved his hands and continued to stare out the window.
He vaguely remembered the ecstasy he felt when he saw the magnificent delivery room when he regained his will nineteen years ago, and thought that God had finally opened his eyes.
Not only did this poor office worker get reborn, but he also became a second generation rich man. He secretly vowed to stop being arrogant and act like a real playboy.
But as he got older, he gradually encountered some things. He found that the good news was that he, the second generation rich man, was really valuable, but the bad news was….
"It's fine if the world is destroyed, but it's also the Previous Era..."
The young man rubbed his brows. Every time he thought about it, he didn't know what expression to show. As a "skipper", he also roughly knew how fucked up this world was.
A natural disaster called "Honkai" will wash the world, bringing monsters and even more terrible Herrscher. However, the Current Era can just watch the Valkyries stick around and survive until the end, but the previous Era will be miserable, just like what he wrote in the novel:
The world was destroyed, Era ended, and there were only a few survivors. There was a 100% chance that a rich second generation would not live to see the Valkyrie. This blow made him depressed for several years, but fortunately he figured it out later.
"If you don't want to die, you have to find a way to live. Fortunately, I came early and had plenty of time to prepare, and I also found a glimmer of hope." The confusion in the young man eyes dissipated, and he became determined again.
The logic is very simple. If you can't get away with it, just fight hard and survive with all your strength.
Coming back to the present, he was just about to make some minor revisions to the manuscript when he heard the dormitory door lock turn and a panting voice soon appeared behind him.
"Ryan, are you writing a novel again? The weather is so nice today, why don't you go and participate in club activities?" A white haired young man came over. He was wearing a basketball uniform and was covered in sweat. With his handsome face, he looked sunny and handsome.
"Because I'm too lazy to take a shower, and I don't want to be surrounded by a bunch of girls screaming like you." The young man named Ryan turned his chair, adjusted his glasses, looked at the other person helplessly, and muttered softly: "I came to Changkong City specifically, thinking I could find a big partner, but I only saw a live person."
This helplessness comes from the heart. The sunny boy is named Kevin. Even as a skipper, Ryan knows that this guy is a big shot throughout the world of "Honkai Impact". After two years of contact, he found that Kevin is not what he thought.
Apart from being a very good basketball player, he is neither crazy nor very powerful, which makes him a perfect protagonist for a youth comic. He can also star in Slam Dunk, since he doesn't look like a savior anyway.
"No way, I'm devoted to Mei." Kevin smiled naively. He and Ryan had been roommates for two years, from high school to college. He knew that the other had no ill intentions, so he simply bent down and looked at the screen.
"Hey, you're writing something weird like this again, an Herrscher of the destruction of Era? How on earth did you come up with that?"
Pop.
The notebook was closed instantly, and Ryan stood aside with an expressionless face. Like all authors, it was quite embarrassing to have his writing read by people around him.
He glanced at Kevin, who looked curious, and coughed lightly: "Combine your own personal experience, add some fantasy and adaptation."
Can you experience this yourself?
Kevin took a look at the rebirth, the Herrscher, and the third New Tokyo City, stretched out his fingers and scratched his face: "Ryan, you are really a weirdo. Do you make a lot of money writing these things?"
"Not bad grades, but you know I don't care about money."
"So what do you spend all that time doing?"
"One is interest." Ryan paused and smiled meaningfully: "The other is to find friends."
This serialized novel uses the setting of a certain work, deliberately replacing the Second Herrscher with the Second Herrscher. If there are other Herrscher who traveled through time together, they will definitely be able to recognize them. The reason for doing this is very simple:
How could I, a social animal who was playing the public beta version of "Star Rail" after work , come to this shitty Era for no apparent reason?
Kevin treated his friend as a pen pal and didn't take it too seriously. Seeing that the sweat on his body had dried, he changed into a T-shirt, took out the key to his motorcycle from the cabinet, and turned to look at his roommate who was still in a daze in front of the window.
"Ahem, Mei is coming back from Mu Continent, would you like to accompany me to pick her up?"
"What physics conference ended so quickly?" Ryan turned around and slowly wiped his glasses.
"Well, I have a flight in the evening. I heard from Mei that you also have a place in this discussion meeting. Why didn't you go?" Kevin suddenly remembered something. Ryan was also one of the best students in the school.
Every time I hear him and Mei discussing quantum entanglement and the law of imaginary numbers, I feel as stupid as a paramecium.
"What a waste of time. I only provided some information about the paper on 'negative entropy'. And if you really want people to eat your dog food, why don't you go find Su?"
"Medical school has a lot of workload. Su is not as lazy as you two. Do you think anyone can complete all the courses in the first year?" Kevin snorted unhappily and glanced at the clock on the table. "Are you going or not? If you are, let's go to the ramen restaurant tonight."
Slurping noodles again?
Ryan felt a little nauseous and thought about it for a moment.
Two years ago, when the First Herrscher appeared and snuffed out his last glimmer of hope, Ryan motives for approaching Kevin and May were certainly not pure.
But after all these years of getting along, there is some genuine affection between them, or maybe he would have gone crazy if he kept thinking about the ending of the previous Era.
The result of survival is important, but the process of living is equally important. I don't want to become a crazy person whose only instinct is survival.
Just like the vitality outside the window and the sunny young people in front of you, they are not illusions.
"Okay, I'll go with you..." Ryan was about to get up, but his hand that was wiping his glasses suddenly stopped, and his expression changed slightly.
"Huh?" Kevin blinked, not understanding what the other party was doing.
"Forget it, I won't go. I suddenly found something to do." Ryan looked out the window, his eyes narrowed slightly behind the lenses, and he lowered his voice: "They appeared again, these haunting and random guys are really."
Kevin was puzzled, but luckily he was used to Ryan mysterious personality, so he simply put on his jacket and left without looking back.
"Then I'll go."
Huwu——
The sound of a motorcycle starting came from outside the window, then gradually faded away. Ryan, who was sitting in front of the window like a wooden sculpture, raised his head slightly, glanced at Kevin who was rushing to eat noodles, sighed softly, and stood up with the help of the table.
"You guys are fine, still enjoying your daily youth, but I have entered another dimension. I can't help it, who told me that I know too much and dare not lie to myself."
Ryan talked to himself, but he didn't feel much sadness or excitement. He had gotten used to it since the first time he encountered the "Honkai" ten years ago.
He opened the locked wardrobe, pushed aside the few scattered clothes, and fumbled around for a while. He took out a heavy black cloth bag from the innermost part, then carried it on his back, opened the door, and walked straight downstairs.
The football game was over, and the streets were filled with people carrying lunch boxes. Ryan didn't like going out, so no one greeted him, and a young man carrying a bag quickly disappeared in the crowd.
As one of the world leading private schools, Senba Academy curriculum ranges from elementary school to university. Its various facilities and buildings occupy a large area, divided into independent areas, just like a small town.
The university park is on the north side. As it is too far from Changkong City, except for the South Gate Commercial Street, the surrounding area is a bit deserted. Most of the areas are dilapidated houses waiting to be demolished. In a few years, a new campus will be built here.
Ryan stood on a mound of earth, looking at the lights in the dilapidated apartment buildings in the distance. The original owners had already received compensation and moved away, and the place was now occupied by a group of homeless people or thugs.
The towering wall behind him was like a dividing line, separating the ivory tower from poverty and chaos. Ryan certainly didn't have the mind to think about class, he just moved his nose.
"It's indeed the stench of Honkai. Do you like this inconspicuous place so much?" Ryan grinned, revealing a few grim teeth.
Natural disasters like Honkai appear randomly, but for some reason, they mostly appear in inconspicuous places at this stage, so the "Fire Moth" that specifically fights Honkai can often conceal it, just like a wall behind, isolating the terror from the human world.
But since the second Herrscher, this phenomenon has been occurring more and more frequently.
Ryan took out his cell phone, unlocked it, and sent a message to a contact. Without waiting for a reply, he picked up the cloth bag and walked towards the dilapidated apartment building.
These apartment buildings were about four to five stories high, with walls covered in stains and moss. The early spring wind had become dejected, blowing against a few broken wires, causing them to rub against the ground and make a rustling sound. Apart from that, there was no one in sight, and everything was so quiet that it made people uneasy.
A student from Qianyu Academy walked outside the crooked stone wall. There were no vagrants begging, and no thugs robbing. It was as if these things that gave the Changkong City police a headache had collectively moved away.
Boom.
The black cloth bag was stuck on the ground, splashing some dust. Ryan waited for a moment until the sound of messy footsteps appeared in his ears. He was very familiar with this sound, just like the students rushing to the cafeteria hungry after class at noon.
Here they come, the lowest level of assassins.
Ryan expression didn't change much. He just slowly unzipped the cloth bag, revealing a dark cylindrical object inside. He reached out and pulled it out, then threw it away.
Click, click, click.
Along with the sound of metal biting, a two meter long spear was already in his hand, emitting a dark metallic luster.
Ryan glanced at the sharp tip of the gun, and for some reason the content that he had not finished coding this afternoon flashed through his mind:
"I know it's useless to escape, and there's no one I can cling to..."
Swish!
The spear thrust out, and the sharp tip was wrapped in a layer of mysterious red energy. Under the influence of this energy, the wall was pierced through like tofu.
puff.
Through the basin sized hole, you can see a homeless man's weird head smashed into pieces, like a rotten watermelon.
The bloody scene was reflected on the lens, and beneath it were a pair of gray eyes without much emotion. Ryan also grasped the gun handle with his left hand, holding the gun with both hands, and exerting force on his waist and abdomen.
Crash——
The red energy left an arc in the evening, like a sickle, smashing the wall and dozens of dead men.
The originally crooked wall collapse completely. Ryan stepped onto the ruins and looked at the humans who had been mutated by Honkai energy in the corridors and sheds, as well as the strange creatures that poked their heads out from the roof.
"The only way to survive is to kill the Honkai, understand the Honkai, and finally find a way to survive, because—"
He took off his glasses and put them in the chest pocket of his shirt. The orbit of the stars seemed to flash past his eyes, and he raised the gun with one hand.
"I am a destiny walker."