In a high-rise apartment in Changkong City, Fu Li sat on the sofa, staring at the phone in his hand and sighing uncontrollably.
Why! Why did things have to turn out this way?
Fu Li tossed the phone aside and collapsed limply onto the sofa, running a hand through his black hair, which was streaked with faint hints of gold. A look of helplessness flickered in his crimson eyes.
Transmigrating into his favorite game world for the first time. Getting his first chance to meet the characters he loved. Two happy events, when combined, should have brought even greater joy.
But why... why did it turn out like this?
Dejectedly, he set down his phone. Fu Li's gaze fell on a knife nearby, then drifted down toward his own lap.
Generally speaking, girls have a higher resistance to Honkai energy. But he was a boy. If he were to... neuter himself, could he possibly fool the Honkai?
Shaking his head, Fu Li decisively abandoned the utterly unreliable hypothesis.
As a highly adaptable transmigrator from China, he quickly adjusted his mindset and picked up the student ID card he had just found on the bedside table.
"Fu Li... a transfer student from China... a second-year at Senba Academy's high school division... As expected of me, just as handsome as in my previous life."
Fu Li stroked his chin, looking at the photo of the refined young man on the ID.
Just as he was about to book a plane ticket to flee two months before the start of the Honkai Eruption, a synthesized electronic voice echoed in his ear.
[Beep. Host consciousness detected. "Flame-Chaser Simulator" has been activated.]
[This simulator will send the host to the side of the Previous Era's Flame-Chasers, allowing you to interact with them in various identities and experience different lives.]
[After each simulation concludes, the host can receive rewards based on performance.]
[Friendly Reminder: Due to the world transmigration, your body only has ten days of life remaining.]
[The simulations can help you obtain rewards that not only strengthen your body but also extend your lifespan.]
[So, Host, you don't want your life to end just as it's begun, do you?]
[Note: Based on Article 3 of the "Host Protection Act", death within a simulation will not result in the host's actual death.]
[Do you wish to accept this system's assistance?]
"Fine, I agree."
Fu Li nodded. Since he wouldn't actually die, he could rest easy.
[A wise choice. The simulator is now officially active.]
Staring at the spinning wheel that had appeared before him, Fu Li hesitated for a moment. After confirming it wasn't a hallucination, he resolutely pulled the lever.
'Bodhisattva, bless me. Nyarlathotep, bless me. Great Cthulhu, bless me. Holy Father, bless me. Pardofelis, bless me. Please, let me roll a high-tier talent.'
With this wish in his heart, Fu Li closed his eyes, clasped his hands together, and prayed frantically in his mind.
Although he had never won the grand prize of 999 signets in the Elysian Realm, he believed that this time, he could finally break his unlucky streak and strike gold.
Just then, the slot machine made a 'ding' sound, signaling the end.
Fu Li took a deep breath. With the mentality that death would come for him sooner or later anyway, he slowly opened his eyes.
First Talent: Lucky Scholar (During simulations, you possess a knowledge reserve that surpasses ordinary people. The success rate of experiments you participate in will be slightly increased.)
Fu Li blinked, looking at the screen of light that had suddenly materialized before him.
He didn't know if the system considered this talent good or bad, but being a scholar meant he probably wasn't a bad person, right?
With that thought, Fu Li took another deep breath and chose to begin the simulation.
Before he could react, the environment around him shattered like a mirror. The fragmented reality scattered, and from the void, dark, inky tentacles emerged, dragging him into the darkness.
[Congratulations, Host, for taking the first step to change your life. As this is your first experience, this simulation will not involve any Flame-Chasers.]
[Notice: This simulation will not affect the host's current life in any way.]
[Current Simulation Scenario: Babylon Tower, Before the Second Honkai Eruption]
[You are a young doctor who graduated from a prestigious university in the Eagle Union. Talented and promising, you received an invitation from a senior to intern at the Babylon Tower.]
[On your way there, you are required to participate in several high-level research conferences. There, you learn of a sliver of this world's dark secret... the Honkai.]
[They tell you that the Honkai is the origin of all disasters. To fight it, you must be willing to pay any price, all for the sake of saving humanity.]
[After several conferences, you are profoundly shaken and dedicate yourself to contributing your strength to the fight against the Honkai, taking great pride in this mission.]
[However, upon stepping into the research facility with this conviction, you are stunned by the laboratory's dark side.]
[Time and again, you witness the desperate screams of the young girls brought into the labs. A chill runs down your spine, and you begin to doubt whether you've made the right choice.]
[The sanctimonious researchers take them away in the name of 'hope,' only to push them into a hell, where a fate worse than death awaits.]
[Sirin, Bella, Avrora, Agata... Countless innocent names claw at your heart, tearing it to shreds.]
[A voice in your mind tells you, 'Are you angry? Do you despair? Accept my power, crush those hypocritical scumbags, and then offer your own heart to welcome the birth of God's herald.']
['Lucky Scholar's' hidden trait has activated. You have resisted the whispers of the Honkai.]
[Although you have avoided the Honkai's corruption, the seeds of rebellion have already sprouted in your heart.]
[You know you cannot rescue the children from this place with your strength alone, so you must endure and bide your time.]
[You begin to focus on your research, doing everything in your power to reduce the children's suffering and the number of experiments.]
[You start to frequent the holding cells, personally cooking nutritious and delicious food and telling them fantastical stories.]
[The children reject you. Your colleagues scoff at your actions. Your superiors become increasingly dissatisfied with you.]
[But your exceptional abilities force them to tolerate your behavior.]
[Every night, when you see that refined face in the mirror, you can't help but sigh that you are truly a monster in fine clothing.]
[You stay up all night sewing dolls in the likeness of each child and give them to their respective owners the next day.]
[You sew them again and again, only for them to be thrown away again and again.]
[You persist, and finally, one day, a child named 'Sirin' accepts your doll and asks for your name.]
[You hesitate, then give a false name: Elpis, meaning 'Hope.']
[This is the first time you have lied for your own selfish reasons, because the name 'Fu Li' is not worthy of their memory.]
[Days pass, one by one. The Honkai energy density in the lab grows ever higher, and your preparations become more complete.]
[However, plans can never keep up with reality. The Second Honkai Eruption breaks out.]
[Sirin becomes a Herrscher. Bella, Avrora, and Agata become Pseudo-Herrschers.]
[Screams... pleas... cries for mercy...]
[On that day, the laboratory is slaughtered by the very despair it cultivated, leaving only you.]
[They tell you they hope you can lead them, so they can live on.]
[But you have contracted the Honkai sickness and know you don't have long to live. You open the main gate of Babylon Tower.]
[On the verge of turning into a Honkai zombie, you embrace Sirin and tell her not to fight humanity. You tell her to take the children and leave, to hide somewhere no one can ever find them.]
[You are not trying to persuade them to let go of their hatred, but because you know that if they continue, they will be killed by the Valkyries.]
[They agree.]
[And you, looking at them, reveal a long-lost, genuine smile before pulling the trigger on yourself.]
[Survival Time: 241 Days. Ending Achieved: "Atonement"]
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the rewards: 'Honkai Adaptability,' Tarot Card - The Fool (Usable only in simulations), and Lifespan Extension: 3 Days.]