Chapter 437: Jiaoqiu's trap! He's Seeing His Whole Life Flash Before His Eyes!
"Guys! I'm seriously done!"
"This Hoolay actually has a five-hit combo of doom! I almost got my entire team wiped out by this move!"
"Thank goodness Doctor Luo opened his healing field just in time…"
Guinaifen's expression gradually grew solemn!
At first, she thought it was an easy fight.
Luocha could totally tank the damage.
But ever since Hoolay entered his [ Moon Rage ] state…
This guy's speed and attack power had risen to an absurd level!
Even the all-powerful Doctor Luo could barely keep up with the healing!
"Why hasn't Feixiao arrived yet? These little pups are truly boring!"
Hoolay taunted at just the right moment!
"If this continues, I'm going to slaughter them all!"
Guinaifen was both shocked and angry!
She was completely immersed in the story!
Even her emotions matched the characters' exactly!
Finally.
Just before Hoolay's next turn, she activated Acheron's Ultimate once again.
Bringing his health down to 1%!
Yet, Guinaifen couldn't bring herself to feel happy at all.
This was only Phase One!
And the pressure was already this immense!
How was she supposed to fight the phases after this?
It felt like she absolutely had to bring both an Abundance and a Preservation character to survive!
"Not bad! But far from enough!"
"My body cannot be slain by a hundred deaths, while your blades are as weak as miscanthus!"
As his voice fell.
The cutscene triggered!
Hoolay suddenly burst with power!
He easily blocked the joint attack of Yunli and March 7th.
Then, with a single kick, he sent Yanqing crashing to the ground!
"I'm bored… Let's end the game here!"
As if pinching a bug.
Hoolay grabbed Yanqing in his hand.
Yanqing swung his sword in vain, but he couldn't budge Hoolay's sharp claws.
…
"YANQING!!!"
"Noooo, PLEASE DON'T!!!"
"Ugh, why is it always my boy Yanqing who gets hurt…"
"Xueyi: I know this scene all too well."
"Xueyi can just change her body if she's broken, but if Yanqing is broken, he's actually done for!"
"Is it… really over?"
"Someone save him, PLEASE!!!"
…
Just as Hoolay clenched his fist.
Preparing to cripple Yanqing just like he had done to others before.
His vision suddenly blurred!
A wave of dizziness washed over him!
Hoolay was in disbelief: "…What's happening?"
In front of the screen.
Guinaifen's eyes widened!
This sudden turn of events…
Was truly unexpected!
Could it be that Hoolay was getting old and his stamina was failing?
Or maybe being imprisoned for 700 years had left him in a state of sub-health?
Right then.
The screen transitioned.
[ Not long ago… ]
What entered the eyes of all players.
Was Jiaoqiu, collapsed in a corner.
Looking incredibly battered and disheveled.
His eyes were lifeless.
And there were several horrific wounds across his chest!
…
"Battle-damaged Jiaoqiu!! [ Tragic yet beautiful ]"
"Jiaoqiu mains' world is collapsing!"
"Jiaoqiu! MY GOOD BROTHER!!!"
"Dammit! Didn't you guys all say before that you weren't interested in Jiaoqiu? Didn't you say he had no highlights in the story? Now every single one of you is a Jiaoqiu main?"
"I didn't feel much at first, but the more I play through the story, the more I feel this healer has a compassionate, tragic aura. I've completely fallen in love with him."
"I'm a medical student myself, and Jiaoqiu has already become the gold standard of a healer in my heart."
"Sob sob sob, quick, he can still be saved!"
…
"For the hunt, secrets are indispensable weapons. A person without secrets is merely prey with torn flesh, waiting miserably to die."
Hoolay's cold voice rang out.
"So, in your eyes, I am already prey with no secrets left, just waiting to die at any moment?" Jiaoqiu's breath was weak, but he still strained to ask.
"Do you have any other path of escape? Jiaoqiu, I have stripped away your disguises and defenses layer by layer. You, the general you serve, and the secrets you both hide deep down—I know them all like the back of my hand."
"But the Pack-Leader has also revealed his own secrets to me. I, too, know them like the back of my hand."
Hoolay sneered, "You will never get to use them. You will be buried here along with them. However, you are a lucky fellow after all…"
"At least you won't have to live to witness the tragic future your general is about to face."
"I believe she understands her own end better than you do—one day, she will be overwhelmed in battle by Moon Rage, each time more violent than the last, until she finally tears herself apart in mutation and fury."
"Even the God you worship [ Lan, the Reignbow Arbiter ] cannot save her from this fate… on the contrary, He can only bring her release."
"And the only cure is in my hands."
Jiaoqiu panted as he tried to refute, "Are you the healer, or am I? Are you really that confident in your own judgment?"
Hoolay didn't reply.
He seemed to have grown weary.
Coldly, he left his final words.
"I must go, Foxian. Before I leave, you know what I must do, right?"
"Drinking blood wine… I've heard of the Borisin war custom. Before going into battle, you slaughter captives to drink their blood, triggering your feral rage…"
"You really did spend a lot of effort researching us… But your path ends here."
Immediately following that.
Was Jiaoqiu's agonizing scream.
…
"AHHHHHHH!!!! [ Screaming heart-wrenchingly in front of the screen ]"
"Goodbye, Jiaoqiu…"
"No way? It can't be, right? It wouldn't go that far, right?"
"It's over…"
"Why did it have to be him!"
"HOOLAY!!! What the hell did you do! KILLING YOU A THOUSAND TIMES WOULDN'T BE ENOUGH!!!"
"Another Jiaoqiu main on the roof…"
"Quick, call emergency services, there are so many people standing on the roofs, it's an emergency!"
…
In the Shackling Prison.
Jiaoqiu, who was watching the story unfold, was momentarily stunned…
His Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.
No one could remain completely indifferent when facing their own death.
Even Jiaoqiu was no exception.
"In Honkai: Star Rail, my final end… is actually like this…"
"Or perhaps, this was my original destiny all along?"
Whether it was good or bad.
Jiaoqiu couldn't tell anymore.
At this moment.
A new scene appeared on the screen.
It was a flashback.
The scene inside the operating room.
It was also the first time he and Feixiao had met.
"If you're a healer, can you cure my Moon Rage?" a young Feixiao asked.
"What if I cure it? Just to watch you march back onto the battlefield to die? Take my advice, child. Your physical condition is not suited for the battlefield anymore."
Feixiao fell silent for a moment.
Then she asked, "Then, can you cure war?"
"What did you say? I'm just a healer! All I can do is—"
Before he could finish.
Feixiao interrupted, "So, what you can do is cure us, and let us go cure the war."
"What bold words, little girl. This war has lasted for thousands of years and will continue to be fought! To speak of curing war… you are all just throwing your lives away!" Jiaoqiu's voice carried a hint of sorrow.
"Just like how you healers desperately try to save lives, yet disease and death still exist in this world. We will also keep fighting."
"I cannot speak on behalf of those who are no longer here. But I know that General Yueyu… and all the soldiers who never returned did not die in vain."
"They died so that more people could return home alive, just like what you are doing."
Jiaoqiu fell silent.
And in the next moment.
Feixiao's tone suddenly changed.
It became firm and unquestionable!
"Jiaoqiu, I command you! Cure me!"
…
"The life-flashing-before-one's-eyes trope ahh."
"It's over!"
"This is truly beyond saving…"
"The hand holding the blade is trembling slightly."
"Even when she was young, Feixiao already had such deep resolve!"
"I return for the sake of those who cannot return."
"Damn it! JUST KILL ME WITH THESE EMOTIONAL BLADES ALREADY!!!"
"I've been grilling bird skewers in Aurum Alley for ten years, my heart is already as cold as ice. Unless you keep stabbing me with emotional blades, I won't shed a single tear!"
…
Just then.
A line of text appeared on the black screen.
[ How do you get a picky child to eat bell peppers? ]
Many players watching were stunned!
Wasn't this the question Jiaoqiu had asked before?
Why would it reappear at this moment!
Tissues were already pulled out.
Clutched tightly in their hands.
Waiting to see how this foreshadowing would finally be revealed…