Chapter 68 First step over me, then run towards the machine's...

You rush towards the deepest part of the machine—or rather, towards the place where the [Iron Tomb] is being conceived at this moment.

Lai Gushi is trying to stop you. Although his administrator privileges have been significantly reduced due to the sacrifice of the Golden Blood, he still retains most of his authority and is quite troublesome.

You sidestepped his attack, your body sliding backward from the impact, your heels scraping the ground with a teeth-grinding "crunch," even sparking a few flecks.

"I don't think I did anything wrong."

Lai Gushi's tone was strangely calm:

"I regret creating the Venerable One, which confines the knowledge of this universe within a predetermined framework. Knowledge should be boundless, whether it be the so-called righteous path or the forbidden. I have strayed far from the Path of Knowledge, yet I still return, wanting to awaken ignorant souls. Isn't that great enough?"

You take a deep breath. "What are you judging from your superior position?"

Lai Gushi chuckled lightly, "Your bat is like scratching an itch through your boot:"

“Without me, they would never know what the outside world or knowledge is like,” he said. “And I created them. To Onphalus, I am the creator; to the entire universe, I possess the most advanced knowledge, I am the brain of the universe, the core of truth…”

“But I think you’ve got one thing wrong from the start,” you said, switching to your flame spear and stabbing him hard in the arm, ignoring his fierce attack. “The boundary between genius and mortal shouldn’t be defined by you—or rather, there isn’t a boundary at all.”

"You see yourself as a god, as the creator, forgetting that you are originally just a mortal. I once had a teacher who often warned me not to interfere too much in other people's choices, because ignorance cannot be eradicated, only healed." You said, "You mock others' perspectives and despise their ignorance, which in itself means that you will never reach the level of that wise man who returned to the source of enlightenment. Because what you think about is not healing, but self-righteous, condescending pity. You haven't even asked for other people's opinions!"

You took a step forward, and a shard of gravel kicked up by the attack sliced ​​your cheek. You casually wiped it away with the back of your hand, removing the crimson blood, but your eyes remained fixed on Laigushi.

"...[Exploration] has given me the mission to participate in the stories of others, but I am only a listener and an observer. Don't you understand? The barriers you rely on to maintain are now being broken down by those you look down on, 'data' and 'mortals'... Even when faced with a force a hundred times stronger, mortals never lack courage and determination."

“Laigushi, you may be a noble scholar, but you are also a prisoner trapped in a cage, and what confines you is your ‘self’. I’m telling you, watch closely, even ordinary people, even mortals who live their lives in a daze—have things they love, food they like to eat, and lovers they want to spend their lives with…and all of these are things you cannot possess, seemingly weak but actually powerful forces!”

Lai Gushi did not speak.

You could feel a chilling anger emanating from him.

He no longer tries to persuade you or win you over to his side. Instead, he calmly and silently gets angry because he realized that the layer of secrecy he had been exposed had been broken.

There was no breakdown, no roar. As if to prove that he was completely different from that hysterical prisoner, he didn't speak again, but his posture as he struck again was filled with overwhelming killing intent...!

“…Ridiculous.” He laughed sarcastically. “Ridiculous resolve. Ridiculous [pioneering]. It sounds nice, though.”

...There's no escaping it now. Hopefully it won't hurt too much.

You grit your teeth, raise the Flame Spear, and gather all your power there, trying to activate [Protection] to block that furious blow.

But how easy is that?

"boom--!!!"

The expected explosion came, the sound almost shattering your eardrums.

However, the punishment never came.

You close your eyes, your ears ache, but your body is still perfectly fine. Only the airflow from the sound waves brushes against your tattered coat, making it billow slightly on your back.

What happened?

You paused for a few seconds, then slowly opened your eyes.

A pair of long, slender legs stepped out from the firelight.

High heels, a white dress, a chic coat draped over her shoulders, and a head of fiery red curly hair.

Himeko smiled, a slight curve to her lips. "I hope I'm not too late."

...

Your eyes widened.

"Himeko...!"

"Sorry, it took a while to adjust the light cannon."

Himeko smiled at you, walked up to you, and gently wiped the wounds on your face with a tissue, her gaze softening with tenderness and heartache.

"How did you get so badly injured? ...Your dark circles are so bad, it must have been very tough for you."

“He bullied our youngest member of the train crew like this; he has to be taught a lesson.”

A deep, steady male voice came from behind you, and then a cool cane pressed against your waist, supporting your trembling and limp body, allowing you to regain your balance.

Tears welled up in your eyes, "Uncle Yang...!"

With the reliable senior members of the train crew arriving, your restless heart finally calmed down.

The aftershocks of the explosion gradually subsided.

Lai Gushi's body swayed in the air, and his eyes flashed with a sharp, cold light again.

Himeko, however, seemed completely oblivious to the danger, raising an eyebrow at Walter. "Are you angry? Didn't you hear Black Tower and the others say that this Zandal is not easy to fight?"

Walter adjusted his glasses, and the lenses flashed:

"...I'm getting old, but it's time to stretch my muscles. I have some experience dealing with guys who don't see 'humans' as equal beings."

After all, he wasn't just a simple, weak animation producer before.

*

You continue to venture deeper into the world.

Lai Gushi never expected that these two people, especially the seemingly unremarkable man with zongzi hair, would possess such terrifying power... His brain, which was constantly working at high speed, told him that the best decision at this moment was to turn around and run away. Although it was very undignified, it was obviously enough to assess the situation.

He tried to use his privileges to defeat them, but countless red warnings flashed before his eyes, constantly seizing his permissions. He simply couldn't control the restless code and buttons. The normally compliant computer system was acting like a madman, relentlessly devouring the rest of the logical architecture and even attempting to turn against him.

The most frequently appearing name here is [PhiLia093]...Xi Lian. The control interface is no longer a pure blue light, but has faintly turned pink, and the pink even seems to be expanding.

Raygus acted decisively, ignoring the severed arm lying on the ground, being relentlessly sucked into the black hole. A flash of electricity crackled across his body as he tried to catch up with you, or simply return to the core nexus. Those two madmen shouldn't be able to reach there anytime soon—

"Stop him!"

Himeko saw through his intentions and quickly flew the drone in front of him to block him, but he slapped it away hard.

Walter's eyes sharpened.

However, before he could even raise his hand, a beam of fire suddenly descended upon him like a falling meteor.

The mecha's head was opened slightly, revealing the sweet face of the young girl inside.

“Leave this to us, Mr. Walter.” Firefly blinked. “You can go and support her for now—the Iron Tomb, though not yet born, is still a formidable threat.”

"A Star Core Hunter?" Walter paused, genuinely surprised this time. "I didn't see one on the train earlier..."

“It’s [the script].” Liu Ying didn’t explain further.

Beside her, alluring red flowers bloomed, and a man as thin as a shadow slowly emerged from the darkness.

"My sword... has been waiting for this moment for a long time."

He turned his head stiffly, but his red eyes revealed excitement.

"Finally... I can drink to my heart's content...!"

Walter and Himeko exchanged a glance and nodded.

"Then I'll leave it to you. Be careful, this guy is still tough to deal with even though he's injured," Himeko said with concern.

Firefly nodded obediently, "Don't worry, Ms. Himeko, we've been preparing for this for a long time."

...

Even as he continued to flee forward, Lai Gushi kept an eye on what was happening behind him.

He was surprised to see Liuying and Ren for a moment, but when he saw that they had stopped to chat, he felt a bit contemptuous for a few seconds.

Isn't this just creating an opportunity for him to escape?

Almost there, almost there, the emergency entrance to the hub is just ahead—

He rushed into the dark passage, which strangely glowed with a blue light, and everything went black.

—But suddenly he found himself back in the position he had just been in when he fled, right in front of the fireflies and the blade.

"Hey, sir, has your brain gotten rusty from not using it for so long?"

A slightly sarcastic girl's voice came through, followed by the crisp "pop" of bubble gum as it swelled to its maximum size in the air.

The silver-haired girl and the purple-haired woman suddenly appeared from a teleportation hole and came to stand directly opposite him.

Silver Wolf put one hand on his hip. "Is the boss battle finally coming? I've been holding back for so long. I accidentally lost to the genius last time, but this time it might be different. Speaking of which, you founded the Genius Club, right? So, it's not unreasonable for me to ask you for my poor lost game accounts back, is it?"

"Don't go too far, Silver Wolf."

Kaffa's voice was gentle and indulgent.

"Oh." Silver Wolf gave a vague reply, clearly not taking her words to heart. "Hey, old man, you made this large-scale immersive RPG called Onpharos?... How about we have a competition to see who has more talent in editing universes?"

...Tsk, it's a hacker.

Since the roads ahead are blocked and we can't get to the Nexus, I might as well come find you and use the Iron Tomb...

A supple whip blocked his path.

Lai Gu Shi found himself surrounded. Behind him were mechs and men wielding black swords, while in front of him stood a silver-haired hacker and a woman with a terrifying smile.

"You want to go find her?"

Kafka's tone remained gentle, yet it inexplicably sent a shiver down Silver Wolf's spine.

"Sure."

She smiled, her eyes narrowed, and the color of her red lips was breathtaking.

"...But you must first step over me."

"[listen to me]."

-----------------------

Author's Note: I don't play Honkai Impact 3, but I specifically consulted with my Captain friends about Old Yang's past for a long time just to write this part, hahaha, it was so enjoyable to write!