"Is this part of the plan? The 'big thing' Yun Mengxi talked about?" someone in the crowd guessed excitedly.
"It has to be! She said she wanted to touch the stars! This is... this is humanity touching the stars!" another voice trembled with excitement.
"I have to record this! This will definitely make the headlines! No, this is history!"
Those young eyes reflected the ascending light.
For a generation accustomed to virtual spectacles on screens, this was their first time witnessing such a "real" grand narrative unfolding right before their eyes.
Pride... Awe... A warmth stemming from being a participant in history washed away the chill of the night.
Their conversations grew heated. Dreams, the future, the universe... these words became increasingly searing in their lives.
On the balcony of a residential building, a middle-aged man who had just finished working overtime and was trapped at home due to the mandatory "holiday" held a cup of cold coffee, numbly watching the sparse traffic downstairs.
Day after day of routine had all but ground away his spark, leaving behind a human-shaped shell and those "instincts" that had long been tamed.
Today was an unexpected day, yet he seemed stuck in the mediocre yesterday, holding the same familiar coffee.
Until that beam of light broke into his weary field of vision.
He froze.
A ripple suddenly appeared in the still surface of his coffee, spilling over the brim of the cup, but he was completely unaware.
He just stared blankly at that beam of light, watching it go higher and higher, smaller and smaller, leaving a trail that seemed branded deep into his pupils.
That trail felt like a knife mark carved into a long-cold, hardened corner of his heart, emitting an almost inaudible cracking sound.
What did he remember?
Perhaps the cover of a sci-fi magazine secretly hidden under his desk during middle school;
Perhaps that summer night in college when he argued all night with his roommates about the meaning of space exploration;
Perhaps when his child was just born, and he held that soft little life, whispering foolishly to the night sky, "I'll take you to see all the stars"...
Mortgages, performance reviews, parent group chats had long buried his "youthful spirit."
But in this moment, borrowed from that reverse-flying light, those "useless things" struggled to poke their heads out just a little bit.
No excited words, no heated discussion. He just stood there quietly, watching.
The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes seemed to soften slightly under the reflection of distant lights. After a long time, he let out a very soft sigh.
In that sigh was wistfulness, relief, and a trace of... "envy" that even he hadn't noticed.
Too many people's dreams were buried in this world called society.
Yun Feng stood on the top floor of his company building, watching through the glass curtain wall as the light trail belonging to his sister's "plan" cut through the night sky.
His clenched fists slowly unclenched, and a complicated, indescribable smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.
There was relief and worry, but mostly heartfelt pride.
Mengxi, you flew higher and farther than your brother ever imagined.
In the distant aerospace command center, Ryusuke Murata watched the trajectory of the "Cicada Molt" via satellite feed.
Data streams rolled steadily on the screen in front of him. Everything was normal.
This man, who had staked his entire life on this moment, simply took off his glasses, rubbed his sore eyes, and whispered to himself.
"Fly... go see it for me..."
Joachim leaned against the observation window of the suppression chamber deep within Future City, his pale face reflecting the speck of rocket light on the distant screen.
He coughed wearily a few times, but the corners of his mouth held an arc of relief.
"Send the nutrients of the 'branch' back to the 'main trunk'... even if it's just a little bit." He looked at the speck of light, as if seeing something deeper through it.
"The 'possibilities' of this world... Bless you, the 'us' of the main world. I hope your path will have less of the bitterness of these loops."
The Herrscher of Evolution wasn't the only one who sensed the truth... As the next leader of Future City, Joachim's speculation about the "truth" had long been close to the core.
But at this moment, he chose to turn this realization into a silent blessing.
Kallen hid in the shadows of a rooftop somewhere, her mecha's optical sensors locked onto the light trail in the sky.
The official pursuit orders, sounding "exasperated," came through the public channel, which she ignored with some shame.
Inside the cockpit, she let out a soft breath. It was a brief relaxation after shedding the burden of being the "villain."
At least this step of hers had succeeded.
Himeko and Natasha stood side by side at the edge of the launch platform, watching the rocket gradually merge into the sea of stars.
Himeko wiped the sweat and frost that had unknowingly settled on her face, her shoulders slumping slightly—the physiological fatigue after continuous high-pressure work.
"Brother..." Natasha murmured silently. Finally, she closed her eyes.
The most dangerous step had been taken, but the battle was far from over.
In the designated interception zone on the outskirts of the city, Fu Hua stood at the edge of a high-rise rooftop, her clothes fluttering in the wind.
Behind her, the Seven Swords of Taixuan were in position, their auras steady as mountains.
The rocket's light trail flashed across her clear pupils.
While everyone else breathed a sigh of relief at this moment, she was the only one who showed no sign of relaxation. Instead, her gaze grew heavier.
She could sense that as the rocket ascended, the Honkai energy at a certain point in the upper atmosphere was being violently disturbed.
Like a magnet thrown into the sky, scattered iron filings began to rush madly toward it.
"Prepare."
She said only one word, the brilliance of the Blade God flickering in her palm.
Honkai Beasts.
They were about to descend prematurely along with the vortex of Honkai energy being guided high into the sky. And their landing point...
Had long been surrounded by official military forces due to Arahato's activities.
Perhaps their original targets weren't these monsters slaughtering the human world, but at this moment, if these monsters truly descended, the first thing they would face would be humanity's artillery fire.
The hardest hurdle had been passed with the ascension of that meteor. What remained were just some minor troubles...
...
Below the Pearl of Sapphire, in the center of a pre-deployed, nearly transparent nano-buffer net, Yun Mengxi lay quietly.
The impact of her fall had been perfectly absorbed by the net. Now, she lay there as if on a water bed, gently swaying with the breeze.
Her gorgeous gown spread out like a star-flower blooming in the night.
She didn't get up immediately, nor did she check if anyone was around to meet her.
She just lay there, ignoring the rushing crowds and surging lights below, and reached out her hand toward the starry sky for the third time.
This time, she raised her hand very slowly, very steadily.
Her fingers spread, palm facing up, as if to catch the entire firmament.
Her first raising of her hand represented humanity's yearning for the stars. Her second raising of her hand confirmed humanity's insignificance beneath the stars.
But this third raising of her hand was merely a little girl's unwillingness to let go.
Today was a stolen day... a day belonging to herself.
For the people ignorant of the Honkai, this day was happy and blissful because it led to tomorrow.
For Himeko and the others, today was fulfilling because they were about to head toward tomorrow...
But for her...
There was no tomorrow.