56. A Fateful Meeting, Has Gao Qi Become a Child?
[Simulation Time: 50,000 years ago, Previous Era Civilization.]
[Simulation Location: Sundown Alley]
[Simulation Name: Breaking Free From Fate.]
"Sundown Alley, this place is truly a breeding ground for talent. I remember I came here before, died in front of Aponia... so this is a revisit to an old Simulation?"
This simulation was already Gao Qi's fifth long-term simulation. Although his brain wasn't as sharp as those geniuses, he had managed to figure out some tricks regarding the simulations.
He knew that not every simulation was an independent world line. In terms of the Honkai world, Gao Qi might have entered the same branch of the Imaginary Tree or the same World Bubble in the Sea of Quanta across several simulations.
Similarly, Gao Qi's existence would also provoke rejection from both. The greater his impact on the original storyline, the stronger the rejection would be, manifested specifically as the emergence of Honkai, and the turmoil of Imaginary and Quantum energies.
Currently, Gao Qi couldn't be sure whether the simulator was truly powerful enough to simulate the Imaginary Tree, the Sea of Quanta, and the Will of Honkai, or if it was simply transporting him to other Imaginary branches or Quantum World Bubbles.
But Gao Qi could be sure that the simulator itself was probably in an antagonistic relationship with these two forces. One desperately tried to change the course of the story, while the other struggled to keep the story progressing according to its original sequence.
It was like... a player trying to change the original game's plot versus a writer desperately trying to shove knives down the player's throat?
That was truly a mortal feud.
The analogy was quite apt. Regardless of anything else, at least the Will of Honkai's frantic attempts to retcon things every time Gao Qi made a major change looked truly pitiful.
But, no matter what, Gao Qi still had self-awareness. Right now, he was just an ordinary, weak little rookie. If he didn't burn his life force to power up, he only had the standard combat power of an A-rank Valkyrie, not even comparable to the main cast.
For him to get involved in conflicts involving such high-level powers was indeed a bit too ambitious.
You have to understand, this stuff about the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta was MiHoYo's ambitious setting to connect all their game universes! Otto had even observed Dvalin, the Stormterror from Teyvat!
But, not being overly ambitious doesn't mean one can't prepare in advance. Gao Qi had no intention of being toyed with by the so-called butterfly effect forever.
He planned to progress step by step, striving to become stronger until—he transcended the rules!
Otto could exploit bugs, creating new branches on the Imaginary Tree. There was no reason Gao Qi couldn't pull off some tricks too!
And right now, what he needed most was to improve himself!
With the system's help, Gao Qi's rate of power growth was already faster than an average person's. Most importantly, he didn't need to abandon certain principles to gain power.
This time, seeing that he had returned to the Previous Era civilization again, Gao Qi felt his chance to grow stronger had arrived.
As an experimental MANTIS, Gao Qi could hardly unleash the combat power a normal MANTIS should possess. Forget about Kevin, the Savior; even compared to those ordinary MANTIS soldiers who left no names in history, Gao Qi's power was hard to match. At most, he could only be responsible for logistics and healing.
This time, returning to the Previous Era civilization once more, Gao Qi felt he absolutely had to find an opportunity to undergo the MANTIS surgery again!
"No, there's the most important thing. This time, I must ask Little Hua and Mobius first, in case they still remember me—heh."
Thinking this, Gao Qi silently watched his brand-new life flash rapidly before his eyes.
[You are an orphan. Due to a "disaster" that broke out in your hometown, your parents died infected by a strange "Honkai disease" that causes purple stripes to appear on people's bodies. You left your hometown with the tide of refugees, seeking a livelihood elsewhere.]
[Your body is very weak. You were on the brink of death several times on the road. Fortunately, you practiced martial arts since childhood and are adept at surviving in the wilderness, which allowed you to struggle back from the edge of death.]
[Note: Your age is too young. Your incomplete MANTIS abilities and the Authority of Death will greatly shorten your lifespan, so they are temporarily in a dormant state. Your other abilities are retained. If activated, you may die quickly.]
[The refugee convoy constantly suffered attacks from Honkai Beasts and zombies. Along the way, you saw countless Fire Moth soldiers clad in high-tech equipment, but they were only responsible for eliminating the Honkai, not evacuating civilians. The crossfire instead swept many refugees into it.]
[In the end, you were not spared either. The high Honkai energy concentration infected you with Honkai disease. Purple patterns began to appear on your arm.]
[Fortunately, your Honkai energy resistance and adaptability still worked. The spread of the Honkai disease wasn't fast, but the locust-like refugee tide made it difficult for you to obtain food. Hunger and exhaustion overwhelmed you. You could only survive on insects and roots.]
[In despair, you and a small group of refugees prepared to head to the place recognized worldwide as the most chaotic, most sinful lawless land—Sundown Alley.]
[You were tired and hungry, completely devoid of strength. Then, you were targeted by a group of human traffickers. You used all your strength to escape the gangsters, then had no energy left to run, collapsing in a dark alley.]
Finally, the background deduction concluded. Gao Qi, who had felt fine just moments before, was instantly filled with a familiar sense of weakness and illness, making him grit his teeth and frown in pain.
Honkai infection—Gao Qi hadn't felt this kind of pain in a long time. Of course, burning his life force was also very painful.
"Hah, wouldn't it be funny if this simulation ended, lasting only a few minutes before I died—this is my first time turning into a kid, after all."
In the stagnant water of the dark alley, Gao Qi saw his current appearance.
Neither a young man nor some fatherly middle-aged man, but... a child?
Thin and small, sallow and emaciated, not quite haggard, but you could say he barely had a human shape. Gao Qi almost couldn't recognize himself.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it."
Gao Qi curled his lip, unable to hold back a light sigh. This was also unavoidable. Previously, when he realized his age changed with each simulation, Gao Qi guessed that situations like turning into a child might occur. Now it had indeed happened.
Although there were children like Griseo who could withstand MANTIS surgery, Gao Qi's half-baked modified surgery was something his current small frame definitely couldn't handle.
As for the Herrscher Authority, forget it. Given Gao Qi's current physical state, if he dared to use it, he'd probably instantly become the Herrscher of Death.
That way, although he might live a bit longer, Gao Qi certainly didn't want to cause such calamity.
Feeling the weakness, hunger, and the pain of Honkai energy erosion, Gao Qi silently sat down in a corner of the alley.
He accepted that this simulation might fail. He'd just have to simulate again tomorrow night. In the terrible world of Honkai, children always had a hard time surviving.
"I feel... this place looks a bit familiar?"
Suddenly, Gao Qi felt a sense of déjà vu. He looked at the surroundings and suddenly recalled that in the simulation before the one with Fu Hua, the one where he died after holding on for a few days, his place of death was this very alley in Sundown Alley.
"Was it a subconscious choice? Really..."
Thinking this, Gao Qi curled up, silently closed his eyes, and in a half-dream, half-awake state, began thinking about what to cook for the Valkyrie girls after the simulation ended—Shenzhou cuisine had plenty of delicious dishes.
However, at the same time, a pair of light, unhurried footsteps quietly passed by the alley entrance and stopped there.
"Aponia, what are you thinking? You've been checking for days; there can't possibly be anyone there..."
Wearing a traditional black nun's habit, a nun with light brown long hair, pulling a small cart filled with cheap vegetables and dry bread, muttered to herself while peering into the alley.
Aponia, a caregiver at the Sundown Alley Sanatorium, born and raised here.
Although Sundown Alley was a lawless land, it didn't mean there were no good people here. The Sundown Alley Sanatorium took in many patients and orphans.
Every day, Aponia would pass by a small alley while buying groceries.
And every time, she would peer into the alley, searching for a person who wouldn't appear, who had never appeared.
Aponia always felt that there was someone there, that there should be someone there. She seemed to have once watched him walk towards death, but... if she tried to recall seriously, she couldn't remember clearly, as if it were just a fleeting dream.
"Huh? There really is someone!"
But this time, Aponia saw a thread extending from a corner of the alley. She immediately walked over quickly.
This was Aponia's innate ability. No one could believe in this blessing, but Aponia knew the meaning of these threads.
Soon, following the transparent thread, Aponia saw a boy in tattered clothes, extremely thin and emaciated.
"Changed?"
Then, Aponia saw that the transparent thread, accompanied by a distortion, actually connected to her. She had never seen the threads change before; this was the first time.
In an instant, Aponia felt that a certain memory void in her thoughts, one that felt extremely discordant, was being filled.
Without hesitation, she bent down, not minding the dirty little boy, picked him up, and carried him towards the sanatorium.
"Poor child, don't worry, I'll take you to a new home. You... will be alright."
Aponia could feel it. Her fate... had arrived.Note: I'm new to translating so please be kind and tell me any mistakes you all find, I will try to release a chapter a day but don't expect much
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Raw: 崩坏模拟器,你找的人是我么?