It was a scorching summer, and Ming Yu, an ordinary student, was spending his vacation holed up at home. In the fiery heat of July, staying indoors with the air conditioning on and playing games was the good life.
A new promotional video for a game was playing on Ming Yu's phone—*Angel Reborn*. As Bronya tightly embraced the Herrscher of Reason, a radiant light enveloped Project Bunny and Bronya's small frame. A blue dress replaced her original tattered Silver Wolf outfit, and Project Bunny was also clad in new blue armor. A Honkai Beast appeared, and Project Bunny transformed into a motorcycle, with floating cannons materializing along its trajectory. Finally, with a command from Bronya, the sky full of floating cannons fired a barrage of lasers, and the Honkai Beast was annihilated in a screen-filling light show.
Ming Yu let out a breath, calming his racing heart, his thoughts drifting back to when he first became the Captain of the Hyperion.
From Valkyrie Chariot to the Herrscher of Reason, Bronya had been through so much. She had once been controlled by a bio-chip and hurt her dearest friend. When faced with being controlled again, she chose to burn out the bio-chip, preferring death to harming her big sister Mei again. In a dream of choices, she confronted her past loneliness, indifference, and killing, ultimately choosing to accept it all and then reject her mistakes. In the bubble universes of the Sea of Quanta, faced with one bizarre world after another, she held fast to her principles, searching for the beautiful light of humanity to confront the world's distortions.
And it wasn't just Bronya. Mei had lost the Gem of Conquest, Kiana's whereabouts were unknown after she became a Herrscher, Himeko's fate was uncertain after using Vermilion Knight, and Fu Hua had broken with Otto, her own fate unknown...
Initially, what attracted Ming Yu to *Honkai Impact 3rd* was its smooth controls and exquisite art. But as the story deepened, Ming Yu had truly come to see himself as the Captain, earnestly learning the stories behind each Valkyrie. From their battlesuits to the interactions in the St. Freya High School dorms, Ming Yu cherished every moment with the Valkyries, moved by the stories behind them.
His first encounter above Nagazora introduced him to the trio of Kiana, Mei, and Bronya. Bronya's determination to burn her bio-chip at ME Corp showed him her resolve to protect her companions. Kiana's protectiveness and attachment to Cecilia in the data space gave him a glimpse of the sorrow beneath her cheerful exterior. Fu Hua's memories from five thousand years ago in *The Forgotten* let him see the millennia of loneliness she had endured as the Celestial Phoenix...
As a student, Ming Yu didn't have much money for microtransactions. He earned the title of a "hardcore grinder," collecting one Valkyrie after another, along with precious weapons, stigmata, and outfits. Seeing his Valkyries dressed in beautiful clothes and equipped with fine weapons filled him with a joy unique to being the Captain of the Hyperion.
As the Captain of the Hyperion, he fought to protect all that was beautiful in the world.
For Ming Yu, everything at St. Freya was beautiful. In the daily life of the dorms, there was the world's cutest forty-something loli, Principal Theresa; the older, single teacher Himeko; the calm and reliable "Immortal," Fu Hua; the gentle, culinary-expert Mei; the gamer girl and "Metal Gear Bronya," Bronya; and the clumsy foodie, Kiana. This was the beauty Ming Yu wanted to protect.
But the world of Honkai was, in the end, an apocalyptic one. Schicksal Overseer Otto would stop at nothing to revive Kallen, plotting some unknown scheme and placing innocent people on the operating table. Anti-Entropy's Cocolia had created the Third Herrscher and seized the Gem of Conquest, seeming to have her own plans. And then there was the enemy of civilization—the Honkai—still watching menacingly, always scheming to use the Herrschers to destroy human civilization.
Ming Yu sighed, reining in his wandering thoughts, and tapped open the game again. With the sound of "the bridge" playing, Ming Yu's gaze returned to his phone screen. Looking at his saved-up Crystals, he opened the Expansion Supply interface, feeling a little nervous.
Thinking about his past gacha experiences, Ming Yu still felt uneasy. After a moment's hesitation, he went to the bathroom, splashed his face with water, and then carefully washed every inch of his hands. Only then did he feel a little better.
Looking at the phone screen, Ming Yu closed his eyes and prayed for three seconds, then steeled himself, snapped his eyes open, and his finger quickly tapped the ten-pull button. The familiar containers dropped, flashing with blue and purple lights. Ming Yu counted silently in his head, one, two, three... nine. Finally, the last one. Ming Yu's heart skipped a beat. Suddenly, a brilliant purple light flashed—it was the Herrscher of Reason character card. He was overjoyed, thinking his preparations had paid off. He was no longer an unlucky one.
Before Ming Yu could calm down, an even more brilliant light erupted from his phone. It was so bright that his vision went black, and he lost consciousness.
An unknown amount of time passed. Ming Yu groggily opened his eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling and room. He struggled to sit up but felt completely weak, his mind a chaotic mess, unable to think clearly. It felt as if he had slept for a very long time, yet also as if he hadn't closed his eyes in days.
Faintly, a voice seemed to echo in his mind, "Ding. Rising Honkai Energy concentration detected. Strengthening the body to prevent zombification..."
For some reason, hearing this voice put Ming Yu's mind at ease. He rolled over and fell back into a deep sleep.
When Ming Yu opened his eyes again, it was already evening. He sat up in a daze, staring at the unfamiliar room decor for a long time before realizing this wasn't his room. Recalling the voice he'd heard before falling asleep, an idea struck him. He cautiously thought to himself, "System?"
"Host?"
Hearing the response, Ming Yu's anxious heart finally settled. It seemed he had really transmigrated, but as a transmigrator's golden ticket, the System was still here. At least he wouldn't be completely in the dark. With this thought, he calmed his anxious heart and asked the System, "What world is this? Where am I? What time is it?"
"This is the world of Honkai, in Nagazora. It is currently the Third Honkai Eruption."
World of Honkai, Third Honkai Eruption, Nagazora. Ming Yu could almost hear the sound of his soul turning to stone and shattering. This was a rather dangerous start. No matter how you looked at it, the world of Honkai was an apocalyptic one, and a particularly dangerous one at that, especially in Nagazora, the epicenter of the current eruption.
Even though Ming Yu had been the Captain of the Hyperion for over a year, in this world, he was just an ordinary person. Against those Honkai Zombies and Honkai Beasts, even the trio of Kiana, Mei, and Bronya could barely protect themselves. And among them, Kiana was from the Kaslana family and had studied Gun Kata; Mei was the Third Herrscher and a Menkyo Kaiden of the North Star Blade style; Bronya had grown up on the battlefield and had Project Bunny 19C. If a group like that could barely manage, what could an ordinary person like Ming Yu do?
Ming Yu tried his best to suppress the despair in his heart and cautiously asked, "System, do you offer return tickets?"
"...? Host need not worry. This system will not endanger the Host and will not give the Host a guaranteed-death starting scenario. The Host's body has already been strengthened. You not only don't have to worry about Honkai Energy corrosion, but you also exceed the average human level." The system in his mind seemed to sense his worry and responded.
Although the system didn't directly answer his question, Ming Yu felt much more at ease. It seemed he wouldn't be going back anytime soon, but the good news was that he had a chance to survive. After all, the system had no reason to deceive him.
Ming Yu got out of bed, jumped a few times, and clenched his fists, feeling a strength he had never had before, which calmed him down a bit. Although this power wasn't great, for his current self, it was incredibly precious. It was what he would have to rely on to survive.
Looking around the house, it was just a simple one-bedroom apartment, seemingly occupied by only one person. A quick search revealed only some simple food and nothing that could prove his identity. Ming Yu had a guess. He went to the mirror and, as expected, saw his own face, but looking about sixteen years old. It seemed he wasn't a native of this world. For some reason, Ming Yu felt a little empty inside, as if his life had no meaning.
Shaking his head, Ming Yu forced himself to cheer up. In this dangerous world, if you didn't have the will to live, you could really die. Thinking of this, he suddenly asked, "System, is there a starter pack?"
The system was silent for a moment, as if it hadn't processed the question. "Ding, one Newbie Pack detected. Open?"
"Open." Whether he could survive in this world depended on what this Newbie Pack contained.
"Ding, obtained Tachi: Seishuu Muramasa (1-star) x1, Stigmata: Shirlena (2-star) (10-day limit) x1."
A gleaming tachi suddenly appeared in Ming Yu's hand. A pain shot through his back, and a warm current spread from his back throughout his body, filling it with power. This must be the Stigmata, he thought.
"Ding, items detected. Opening attribute panel."
Host: Ming Yu
Honkai Energy Points: 0
Weapon: Tachi: Seishuu Muramasa (1-star)
Stigmata: Shirlena (2-star) (10-day limit)
Skills: None
Evaluation: D (In this dangerous world, you're just a scrub with 5 battle power. Work hard to get stronger, young man.)
...Looking at this panel, ten thousand curses immediately surfaced in Ming Yu's mind. A one-star weapon, a two-star stigmata that was freaking temporary, and that final evaluation... this system was a bit of a troll.
Suppressing the urge to uninstall the system, Ming Yu asked irritably, "What's the deal with these Honkai Energy Points?"
"Honkai Energy Points can be obtained by defeating Honkai Zombies and Honkai Beasts. They can be used to upgrade skills or enhance equipment."
"Then how do I acquire skills?"
"When one of the Host's abilities reaches a certain level, that ability will manifest as a skill. The Host can then spend Honkai Energy Points to strengthen it."
Ming Yu processed the information, calmed his restless heart, and looked out the window. Outside was a deep darkness. The city in the throes of a Honkai Eruption had almost no surviving humans. Dangerous beasts seemed to lurk in the shadows, and wandering Honkai Zombies—humans eroded by the Honkai—could be vaguely seen on the streets.
Tomorrow, will I have to fight them?
With a sense of unease about the future, Ming Yu ate some food haphazardly and quickly went to bed.