Chapter 70 - Mei: I Accomplish Nothing (3K)

Mobius said a few simple words and turned her attention back to Honkai Impact 3rd.

On screen, the story continued.

For Durandal, enemies of the 'Quantum Shadow' caliber were hardly considered enemies at all.

She had performed this kind of experiment, testing the performance of the Second Divine Key, many times before.

She knew the entire procedure like the back of her hand.

Beneath this city, ten 'Hyperion-class' Honkai energy reactors were operating at full capacity. Using the energy supplied by these reactors, the continuously operating Second Divine Key would 'shatter' space, opening a tunnel connecting to the Sea of Quanta.

At this level, due to the instability caused by the quantum layer's immersion, Quantum Shadows would begin to manifest.

And to ensure the experiment's operation, Durandal needed to guard the Second Divine Key here.

—But the Sea of Quanta was by no means the goal of this experiment.

As the energy levels increased, the Divine Key's power would reach its functional threshold, causing the experiment to enter its second phase. The tunnel would then break through the Sea of Quanta layer and leap into a deeper, unknown space. The laws governing the universe, the mysteries of life's cycle, the place where all essence and origins are formed—the Imaginary Tree!

Seeing the purpose of this experiment.

Especially the new term, 'Imaginary Tree.'

It left the players somewhat bewildered. This worldview... had it expanded yet again?

And those industry insiders, who were routinely observing what new tricks Honkai Impact 3rd had come up with, had only one thought left: "Doesn't miHoYo ever hit a creative bottleneck?"

You see, many ambitious major game companies, aspiring to create a blockbuster, had been biding their time, waiting for Honkai Impact 3rd to enter a stable period of content lull before launching their new games.

After all... the game content was updated so quickly, the worldview expanded so vastly, and new gameplay mechanics emerged endlessly.

They believed that miHoYo's head creative must be running out of inspiration.

As it turned out, this main story update undoubtedly served them a rude awakening.

Introducing a new term or concept in the story wasn't as simple as just throwing out a few words.

Especially when introduced with such solemnity.

It inevitably meant that a large amount of related plot development would follow.

This indicated that Honkai Impact 3rd's high-intensity updates would continue for a long time.

For those major companies wanting to enter the 2D mobile game market, they either had to continue waiting or step up and compete head-on with Honkai Impact 3rd.

But... if they were confident of winning, would they have waited in the first place?

miHoYo! Just you try and keep updating like this for a few more years!

Setting aside the numerous major game companies' resentment towards miHoYo.

The story continued.

Schicksal Headquarters.

Overseer Otto, in his laboratory, was using the most advanced Soulium computers to analyze the data transmitted from the Second Divine Key experiment. However, Schicksal's current technology and resource reserves could only support the Second Divine Key's connection to the 「Imaginary Tree」 for a few tens of seconds.

Supporting an experiment of such enormous consumption was solely because Otto wanted to obtain a string of numbers he was still searching for.

Although the final result observed one hundred eighty-six million, nine hundred forty-thousand nodes, there was still a deviation value of 54 from the target node, meaning progress was minimal.

According to Otto's calculations, with the current observation methods, the channel would need to be maintained for at least eighty thousand-plus hours to find the answer he sought.

A goal completely different from other World Bubbles, which were like "counterfeits." He had to achieve his long-cherished wish before the Honkai destroyed human civilization.

This part of the plot could be described as quite mysterious.

Especially the term 'long-cherished wish,' which sparked endless speculation.

What 'long-cherished wish' could make that Otto pour everything into it, even willing to race against time itself to complete it?

The players were incredibly curious.

[Based on this plot, plus the fact that miHoYo's head once said Otto will never be whitewashed, it's reasonable to assume Otto's long-cherished wish is definitely not to defeat the Honkai and save the world.]

[I think Otto's long-cherished wish is probably something extremely selfish? So selfish that only he would strive with all his might to achieve it?]

[If that's really the case, I'd like to see just how selfish Otto can be. And to what extent miHoYo can develop Otto's character.]

[Seeing you all discuss so seriously, I almost feel embarrassed to spam 'Otto must die! Pop the champagne!']

...

On the other side, after the experiment concluded.

Durandal, in the rest area, received a report from Rita.

After reading the report, she muttered Rita's name with concern, and despite having just finished a battle and not yet rested, she immediately got up and headed for Skyfall City.

At this point, the story connected with the previous chapter's plot.

Durandal caught and treated Kiana, simultaneously confronting Mei, who had rushed over desperately.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Raiden Mei."

"You are... Valkyrie Durandal!"

The wielder of the Divine Key, Abyss Flower, Schicksal's strongest S-rank Valkyrie. As a Valkyrie herself, Mei was perfectly clear about Durandal's reputation and achievements. Her stories were passed down by word of mouth within Schicksal. But even against such an opponent, Mei had to fight.

"I am under orders to take Kiana Kaslana into custody," Durandal stated her purpose calmly.

Mei took a deep breath and tightened her grip on her weapon.

"Don't even think about it!"

Battle was inevitable!

Entering combat, players could control Mei to fight against Durandal.

Mobius, who had been watching the story intently, narrowed her eyes.

Although she 'very much wanted' to see Mei's disgraceful defeat, she disliked losing in games even more.

So, this time, she would reluctantly help Mei defeat...

"Durandal has plot armor? miHoYo, are you even trying to... oh, right, of course... Hmph, miHoYo only resorts to such scripted losses."

Mobius would never admit that she had gotten too immersed in the plot just now, to the point of forgetting that in games, such story moments often result in a plot-mandated defeat.

[This scripted loss, even Miss Fairy can't stand it!]

[Are you incapable of playing fair! Don't use plot armor if you have guts!]

[I don't know why, but I feel like today's Miss Fairy is a bit sarcastic/passive-aggressive.]

...

The story continued. On screen, Raiden Mei was defeated by Durandal.

"This is as far as you go, Raiden Mei. You have no chance of winning."

"It's not... over... I won't hand Kiana over to you...!"

Even though her body could barely stand.

Mei still gritted her teeth, using her MagTornado to support her body, wanting to fight Durandal again.

It was just that...

The power gap between them was too vast.

Her strength was simply no match.

"Impressive gaze. However, the current you does not yet possess strength befitting that will."

As her words fell.

Durandal, carrying Kiana, leaped up, shooting towards the sky like a flash of light.

Before Mei could react, the flash of light in her vision had already disappeared into the distance, leaving her alone on the empty street.

Mei desperately chased, exhausting all her strength in the hazy night, yet no matter how hard she tried, she could never grasp the trajectory of that light.

After running for an unknown amount of time, Mei finally collapsed from exhaustion.

She clutched the jacket Kiana had left behind and wept bitterly, her body trembling uncontrollably. Regret, unwillingness, self-blame—all her emotions erupted at this moment.

"I accomplish nothing..."

Durandal's casual actions and words were like a blade hanging over her heart, leaving her unable to breathe.

Every recollection made her heart heavier—she had watched with her own eyes as the most important person to her was so easily snatched away.

But Mei couldn't stop thinking about Kiana.

The peaceful days at St. Freya Academy felt like only yesterday, yet in the blink of an eye, Kiana had become the Queen of the Honkai, revealing a ferocious smile.

Now, after finally seeing her again, she had to watch her being taken away by Durandal. Everything had changed, yet the only thing that remained the same was her weak self, left behind.

She understood that the current Kiana was drifting further and further away from her...

The screen froze.

Countless players still stared at the image of Mei clutching Kiana's jacket in agony. Mei's sobs, her every monologue, pierced straight into their hearts.

They hadn't expected the story to start with such a 'knife' right away.

They dared not even imagine what else awaited them.

What would become of Mei and Kiana?

[In her arms... is Kiana's jacket...]

[This kind of plot is heartbreaking, yet you can't cry. It's like a dull knife slowly cutting flesh (Damn it, what a good knife).]

[Actually, Mei is the most tragic. Kiana became a Herrscher, the Far East Branch rebelled, Himeko died in battle, and she could only watch helplessly... No wonder she'd say, she accomplishes nothing.]

"Everyone, no need to sigh in despair. According to my analysis..."

Mobius saw the atmosphere in the live chat suddenly become so gloomy. To prevent Elysia from saying she wasn't taking the stream seriously, she decided to 'reluctantly' console this group of viewers.

Yes, purely to prevent Elysia from finding fault. That's right.

"The titles of the next two chapters: Chapter Sixteen is called 'The Coming Storm,' and Chapter Seventeen is 'When Thunder Cracks the Night Sky.' Storm, thunder – this already gives us enough information."

"What's more, Mei even said 'I accomplish nothing' now. The last person from the Main Trio who said something like that already broke through the Sea of Quanta. If she doesn't rise up soon, it would hardly be appropriate."

"I believe even the most foolish person should..."

Mobius, who almost let her true nature slip, quickly coughed lightly, feigning Elysia's voice, "Ahem, everyone~ You're all so smart, you can surely guess what will happen next, right?"

"Undoubtedly, our Big Sister Mei~~ is about to transform into the Herrscher of Thunder."

"Big Sister Mei's~~ performance next will definitely not disappoint us~~"

However, Mobius might have overdone her act.

[Big Sister Mei?]

[Is Miss Fairy playing some special kind of game today? Like role-playing?]

[You know, even though Miss Fairy was a bit sarcastic and sharp-tongued today, it actually felt... pretty good?]

Sharp-tongued? Sarcastic?

Mobius: (＃￣︿￣)