The apartment's layout leaned towards minimalism, yet the quality of its decorations and daily necessities spoke of their considerable value.
A black-haired youth sat cross-legged on a soft, comfortable kapok-cushioned sofa.
With intense focus, he gripped a controller, fingers flying as he played on his computer.
Strewn around him were puffed snacks from unidentifiable brands and bottles of soda—the kind of happy water that is a staple for any otaku.
Bai Luo gnashed his teeth at the monochrome screen before him, where four blood-red characters gradually sent his blood pressure soaring.
[Body Disintegration (4x Damage)]
His hands tightened around the black controller, fighting the urge to smash it.
A connection drop at the critical moment!
It seemed fate had decided to spare the Collector's life today.
If he hadn't been using the quadruple-damage Cursed Blade, there was no way a single mistake would have ended the game. After all, it was an exceptionally special piece of equipment; with it, a no-damage run was practically guaranteed!
Tossing the controller aside, Bai Luo slowly stood up, rubbing his legs, which had gone numb from sitting for too long.
Once the tingling subsided, Bai Luo glanced out the window.
Even though the high-end PC he had paid a premium for was nearly silent, its faint hum was still audible in the quiet room. Bai Luo didn't turn it off, instead walking lazily to the window.
He pushed it open, breathing in the cool, fresh air, and let out a deep sigh.
Even at night, the entire city was as bright as day.
Dazzling neon lights adorned the streets, stretching like a flowing river to the end of the long avenue. A single glance down revealed brilliantly lit skyscrapers. The lake in the city center shimmered with the reflection of the bustling world, equally resplendent.
It was nearly midnight, yet crowds of people could still be seen along the streets, their diverse figures illuminated by the red lights and green wine of the city's nightlife.
None of this, however, had anything to do with Bai Luo.
A night as dark as ink blanketed the sky. The moonlight was hazy and the starlight faint, their silvery glow intermingling with the city's five-colored lights.
"What a beautiful world..." he murmured to himself, the pale moonlight illuminating his face, which was as desolate as a blank sheet of paper.
"It's a pity..."
Watching the stars twinkle brightly, Bai Luo shook his head in regret, let out another long sigh, and pulled the curtains shut before heading to the bathroom.
He turned on the tap and splashed his face with water. The cold sensation helped to rouse his spirits.
After washing up, he looked up. The mirror above the sink reflected a slightly slender figure, with short, messy, ink-black hair and clear, bright eyes. His fair skin and handsome features gave him the complete look of a beautiful young man.
Bai Luo stared at his reflection, overcome with emotion.
Three years!
It had been a full three years since he arrived in this world!
Perhaps thanks to his otaku nature, Bai Luo had accepted the frankly absurd event of transmigration with unusual speed. Aside from the initial headache of getting used to this new identity, the event hadn't dealt him too great of a shock.
As a believer in science, Bai Luo was convinced that anything that truly happens must be part of the universe's natural laws of change. All people could do was gather facts, discover patterns, and draw conclusions.
However, transmigration was clearly not a repeatable event—at least, not by him. Discovering any patterns within it was out of the question.
His identity in this life was the standard package for a transmigrator.
Parents deceased, no sister, but owned a house.
His parents had died in a car accident. The original owner of the body, overwhelmed with grief, had fainted after crying for a day and a night. When he awoke, it was the 'Bai Luo' from another world in control.
That's right, his name in this life was the same as his last. Not only that, but his appearance was at least ninety percent similar.
Such a coincidence made Bai Luo suspect that the person he had transmigrated into might have some connection to him.
There was a term for it... something like an otherworldly counterpart.
But this was just a guess. Without enough cases to analyze, it was a truth Bai Luo might never uncover, even in death.
Bai Luo didn't receive the original owner's memories, but with the help of a diary, he was able to infer his personality: a shy, introverted, but very kind-hearted kid.
Bai Luo truly regretted taking over his body.
But it was only regret.
It wasn't something he could control. The cruel fact had already occurred, and all he could do was take the large sum of insurance money and settle down in this world.
In his original world, there was a phrase people often said.
Since I'm already here...
What else could he do?
A gentle breeze lifted the curtains, making them ripple like waves.
Walking languidly back to his room, he threw himself onto the soft bed, his eyes staring blankly at the now-familiar ceiling.
Bai Luo had dropped out of school after transmigrating. It wasn't that he disrespected knowledge, but the simple concepts of middle and high school were not worth wasting his time to learn all over again.
He didn't have to worry about the future either. He used his parents' compensation money to open a coffee shop, and business was quite good. On top of that, he would occasionally "borrow" a song from his previous life. He never had to worry about money in this life, which was a huge improvement over his last.
Of course, there was another major reason for his unease. The name of this city felt a little too familiar.
Nagazora City.
He believed this name would be all too familiar to any janitor who could do the splits in mid-air.
Upon hearing the name, Bai Luo had admittedly frozen for a moment, but he hadn't given up hope.
What if it was just a coincidence?
Were there no other cities named Nagazora in the countless other worlds?
With that thought, the moment he realized this, Bai Luo rushed to his computer.
He opened a search engine, typed the keyword "Honkai," and hit enter.
The good news was, the search yielded none of the results he was looking for.
The bad news was, he remembered that in the game, ordinary people seemed to be unaware of Honkai's existence before a massive outbreak.
That's right. In the game, even after the Second Honkai Eruption in Siberia and the Third in Nagazora City, even after the Pufferfish Herrscher had thrown several meteorites at Earth, the general public basically knew nothing about it.
All information related to Honkai was suppressed by the two major organizations and the world's governments.
The two organizations dedicated to fighting Honkai—Schicksal and Anti-Entropy—held unparalleled power in this world. With the cooperation of various nations, shielding this knowledge from the common person was laughably easy.
Bai Luo vaguely recalled Theresa saying that information about Schicksal and Anti-Entropy was classified and kept from the public.
However, when Bai Luo changed his keyword to "ME Corp," a very detailed introduction appeared, making his heart sink.
Even so, until a few days ago, Bai Luo had clung to a sliver of hope. Based on the available information, he couldn't be one hundred percent certain this was the Honkai world.
That hope was shattered two days ago when he was idling at his coffee shop. The sweet-voiced report from the manager he had carefully selected confirmed the absurd but very real truth.
Thanks to Bai Luo's ample funds, the employee benefits at his coffee shop far surpassed those of his competitors. Moreover, from the regular servers to the management, all his employees were beautiful, sweet-voiced young women.
The manager was well aware of Bai Luo's lecherous heart. During the last round of hiring, she had specifically chosen a beautiful girl with exquisite long white hair and azure eyes.
The manager's voice was filled with confidence, like an ancient military strategist in his tent, effortlessly seizing the fruits of victory through careful planning.
There's no way the boss can resist such a beautiful girl. If she manages to win his favor and become the proprietress, won't I, the matchmaker, soar to success?
Therefore, the manager's attitude toward this white-haired beauty, whose looks crushed the chances of all other applicants in a dimension-rending fashion, was exceptionally good.
By all rational logic, her line of thinking was flawless.
Bai Luo's expression did not disappoint the manager's expectations when he saw the photo of the girl named Kiana Kaslana.
His mouth fell slightly agape, his face blank, as if he'd been kicked awake from a deep sleep and then clubbed over the head a few times. He looked like he was fundamentally questioning his own existence.
This scene, in the eyes of the manager, was exceptionally satisfying.
The boss must be completely stunned. Even I, a woman, felt my heart skip a beat when I saw this girl, let alone a little perv like him.
With a satisfied smile, the manager turned and went back to work, leaving Bai Luo to sit quietly, staring at Kiana's application photo in his hand.
In the photo, the exquisite white-haired girl's smile was as radiant as a blooming flower.
But a faint, bug-like aura emanating from it reminded Bai Luo that this was Honkai Impact 3rd, not Honkai Gakuen.
"...Sigh."
It's over. I'm doomed. Just have to wait for death.
Lying on his bed, Bai Luo covered his face, having completely given up. He flopped onto the mattress like a salted fish.
Ultimately, the Honkai world was just too unfriendly towards men.
Shivering, my hands are cold, and I'm filled with rage! When will men finally be able to stand up for themselves!
Bai Luo sarcastically threw a few mental punches, but unfortunately, it was completely useless.
Fine, whatever.
He had seen plenty of anime with gender-discriminatory power systems, like mechs that only women could pilot.
There was only one reason he hadn't completely "lain flat" and given up.
Usually, the birth of a transmigrator is accompanied by a golden finger. It was practically a universal law. This was probably because transmigrators without one would have a hard time surviving to the end of the story.
If he could choose, Bai Luo would have preferred a system from one of those web novel platforms, something that would let him steamroll everything, destroying heaven, earth, and the very air he breathed.
But obviously, he didn't get to choose.
Bai Luo suspected his golden finger had been wholesaled from some factory that mass-produces defective goods.
Bai Luo closed his eyes, concentrating on the depths of his mind, where an entity that had arrived with him in this world resided.
[Myriad Worlds Chat Group] Loading... Current Progress: 99%...
What the hell!
He'd never heard of a chat group that could get stuck while loading.
Ever since Bai Luo had become aware of the chat group's existence, it had been stuck at 99%.
Bai Luo glanced at the clock on the pure white wall. The ticking of the second hand was unnervingly clear in the deathly silent room.
11:59 PM... Only one minute remained until his third anniversary in this world.
Every night before sleeping, Bai Luo would stare blankly at the progress bar. The constantly spinning circle had a rather good hypnotic effect.
...100%...
Bai Luo closed his eyes, slowly drifting into sleep.
Huh?!!
Wait a minute, did something just happen?!
His dark eyes snapped open. In that instant, a pure white light bloomed from the depths of his soul!
[Myriad Worlds Chat Group] Activating!