The bottom of the two pizza boxes had been reached.
Kiana leaned back on the sofa, rubbing her slightly bulging lower abdomen, and let out a sigh of satisfaction.
The afternoon sun was no longer so dazzling; filtering through the gaps in the curtains, it turned soft and golden, pooling into a patch of warm light on the wooden floor.
That patch of light seemed alive, crawling up the edge of the sofa bit by bit along the texture of the carpet fabric, finally stopping at Kiana's feet.
Just then, a white shadow slowly squeezed out from the crack of the bedroom door.
Chongchong strode out with that arrogant, owner-disowning strut. First, it let out a huge yawn at the sunlight on the floor, revealing a small pink tongue, and then it leaped onto the sofa like a small cannonball.
It didn't need navigation at all, heading straight for the most comfortable spot in the whole house.
Kiana's knees.
Then it flopped down right there, coiling itself into a perfect white plush donut.
"Meow~"
It nuzzled Kiana's hand, its throat emitting that "purr-purr" sound that came with its own hypnotic effect.
Kiana looked down at the white ball of fur, extending a finger to gently scratch its chin.
Chongchong narrowed its eyes into two slits comfortably, the purring becoming even louder, like a broken small motor.
The sunlight was just right, neither cold nor hot.
Her stomach was full, no longer suffering from that hollow emptiness.
And there was a natural heating pad on her knees.
Although she had barely managed to fall asleep last night under Su Yu's assurance of "I'm watching you," those nightmares, like shattered glass, had intermittently tormented her all night.
It was only now that the sense of security called "being well-fed and warm" truly soaked that tightly wound nerve until it went soft.
Drowsiness surged up like a tide, wave after wave, and her eyelids felt as heavy as if lead weights were hanging from them.
Kiana propped up her head, trying to maintain her last bit of wakefulness, but that white head grew heavier and heavier, sinking little by little like a toy out of batteries.
"If you're sleepy, sleep for a while," Su Yu's voice came from the side. "It won't rain tonight. We'll go out to buy things after you wake up."
"...Mn."
Kiana responded groggily, then asked, "What about you?"
"Me..." Su Yu fished out a laptop from under the sofa and patted the dust off it. "I'm starting work."
He opened the computer, and the screen lit up.
"The project proposal for Honkai Impact 3rd won't fall from the sky by itself," he said. "While you sleep, I'll set up the framework first."
Kiana struggled to open her heavy eyelids, looking at him.
That game.
That game that was going to record her past, her pain, and her sins entirely.
"...Will it go smoothly?"
"Don't worry." Su Yu made an OK gesture at her. "Leave professional matters to professional people. You just be my muse, and I'll handle the rest."
Kiana stared at him for two seconds, looking like she wanted to say something, but in the end, she just gave a soft "Mn."
The moment that sound left her mouth, her last bit of clarity was thoroughly defeated.
Her head tilted, leaning softly against the back of the sofa, and her breathing became steady and long almost instantly.
Chongchong moved slightly on her lap in dissatisfaction, found a more comfortable position, buried its head in its paws, and continued to soundly sleep together with Kiana.
One person and one cat turned into a still painting in the afternoon sunlight.
Su Yu glanced at the sleeping Kiana. After confirming she hadn't been woken up, he dimmed the computer screen a little.
He took a deep breath, as if he were about to do something illegal, and summoned that accursed System panel.
[Ding! Detected that the Host is proceeding with the Main Mission!]
[Thoughtfully unlocked for you: Newbie Gift Pack - Game Production Basic Set (Lv.1)]
[Gift Pack contents include: Script Construction Logic, Concept Design Templates, Basic Programming Modules, Idiot-Proof Engine User Guide...]
[Special Reminder: Current skill level is low, only supporting basic framework construction. If advanced functions are needed (such as special effects that make players cry), please strive to increase relevant attributes or whale to purchase advanced skill packs, dear~]
Su Yu raised an eyebrow.
Although the way this System spoke still made one want to punch it, it had to be said, this wave of items was actually quite practical.
If this were his previous life, this set of skill packs alone would have saved him ten years of struggle.
He opened a document, his fingers typing rapidly on the keyboard.
Project: Honkai Project Proposal (First Draft)
Genre: 3D Action RPG
Core Selling Points: Next-generation graphics, ultimate impact feedback, immersive storyline
World View Setting: The Honkai Era, a disaster born alongside civilization, the millennial war between the chosen girls and the Honkai Beasts...
He wanted to transport all those memories about Honkai Impact 3rd in his mind over here—the settings of the Trio, the structure of the Hyperion, the level design of every chapter, and even that gacha system that countless people both loved and hated...
A transmigrator's greatest cheat code was never the System, but "Omniscience."
He knew what kind of plot made a masterpiece, what kind of character became a "waifu," and what kind of lines could be remembered for a lifetime.
The sound of the keyboard clacking rang out for half an hour, then came to an abrupt halt.
Su Yu stared at the screen.
There were only a few dry pages of text in the document, like a mummy that had been drained of all moisture.
What happened?
He clearly remembered every detail of those plots; his mind was filled with countless images and lines.
But when he tried to convert them into text, those things seemed to be blocked by something, only able to trickle out a little bit.
What he wrote were just some dry frameworks—"Kiana enrolls in St. Freya Academy," "The Third Eruption breaks out," "Herrscher of the Void awakens"...
It was like there was an invisible film blocking the way.
The things written down had only bones, no flesh and blood, and certainly no soul.
This was a pile of setting collections, not that story that could make people cry and shout "miHoYo."
[Ding! Detected that the Host has hit a creative bottleneck~]
That red pop-up window jumped out again at just the right time, carrying a punchable cheerfulness.
[Warm Reminder: This System's core mechanism is [Emotional Resonance]~]
[The plot content of the game Honkai Impact 3rd must be created based on the bound Valkyrie's [True Memories] and [Emotional Experiences]. Only real pain can exchange for real tears, and only real love can exchange for real Emotion Points.]
[Simply put—]
[Only when the Host reviews and retells these memories together with the binding target will the inspiration for plot creation erupt like a fountain! Efficiency skyrockets!]
[Current Solo Creation Efficiency: 5%]
[Joint Creation Efficiency with Binding Target: 75%~95%]
Su Yu's fingers froze on the keyboard.
He stared at those red words for a full five seconds.
Then, he roared a sentence in his heart at maximum volume—
Are you a devil?!
Make Kiana retell those memories?
Let her personally tear open those bloody scars and show him the rotting flesh inside?
"Come, Kiana, tell big brother how you turned into a Herrscher and killed people? Tell me how Mei almost died trying to save you? Then tell me how Teacher Himeko fell into Imaginary Space to save you?"
Is that something a human does?!
To make a girl who had just barely decided to live on, who had just eaten a full meal, jump back into that hell again?
Su Yu's temples throbbed violently.
Get lost!
He shouted fiercely in his heart.
Take back what was said earlier.
This System isn't cute at all; it's a heartless bastard capitalist!
After greeting the System's eighteen generations of ancestors in his mind, Su Yu took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
Although it was shitty, he also knew very well.
If some wounds are always covered up, not only will they not heal, but they will also rot inside, eventually taking one's life.
Isn't so-called PTSD precisely because those memories cannot be faced squarely and processed?
Moreover, for that damned "Anchor," to let Kiana truly obtain freedom in this world, the Main Mission had to be done.
But the problem was, how to broach the subject?
Ask directly?
He estimated that the remaining furniture in this room wouldn't be saved, and even his head might not be saved.
Su Yu closed the laptop, making a soft snap. He leaned back against the sofa and let out a long breath, feeling more tired than if he had moved bricks all day.
Beside him came the sound of even, long breathing.
He turned his head and looked at Kiana.
She was sleeping soundly; that defensive posture had finally been unloaded a bit in her dreams.
The afternoon sun biasedly fell on her messy white hair, plating every strand with a warm golden edge, making her look like an angel fallen to the mortal world.
Although her brows were still slightly furrowed, as if she were worrying about something even in her dreams, at least she was finally willing to close her eyes and sleep peacefully beside a stranger.
Chongchong was still coiled on her knees; the two white creatures were stacked together, the scene so beautiful one couldn't bear to disrupt it.
Su Yu didn't make a sound, just quietly watching this picture.
There has to be a way.
He couldn't really do as the System said and simply, crudely make her recall the pain, right? That would be secondary trauma.
[Warm Reminder: You can start with lighthearted topics~]
The System seemed to sense his internal conflict and popped out another line of text, accompanied by a cute smiley face emoji.
[For example, first chat about the daily life at St. Freya Academy? Those beautiful memories without knives~]
[Advance gradually, boiling the frog in warm water... ah no, like a fine stream flowing long~]
Su Yu looked at that emoji, the corners of his mouth twitching.
Just pretending the previous sentence was never seen because you withdrew it, huh? You're really good at withdrawing.
Beautiful memories?
Su Yu stared at the progress bar on the screen that hadn't moved a notch in ages, like someone constipated, and finally sighed in resignation, snapping the laptop shut with a "bam."
Without Kiana herself acting as a "living material library," this project proposal wouldn't squeeze out two words even if he wrote until Honkai Impact 4 came out.
He casually set the computer on the carpet, leaned back, and sank his whole body into the soft sofa.
The afternoon sun was just right—not intense, warmly toasting his eyelids.
Outside the window, birds from who knows where were chirping. The sound, heard through the glass, sounded a bit distorted, actually resembling a lullaby.
Su Yu's consciousness quickly became blurry, like a melting pat of butter.
...
He didn't know how long he slept.
Su Yu was woken up by a numbing sensation.
His shoulder felt heavy, as if a hot water bottle was pressing on it, and it carried a faint scent.
A bit familiar.
Like that lemon-scented shampoo often on discount in the supermarket, mixed with the smell of grass after rain.
That was the smell from his bathroom, yet smelling it right now inexplicably made one's mind wander.
His consciousness slowly turned like rusty gears, and his gaze glanced downward—
His heart abruptly skipped a beat.
Kiana's head was resting right on his shoulder.
That messy yet soft long white hair scattered over his arm like a waterfall; a few strands mischievously drilled into his collar, making his neck a bit itchy.
With her steady breathing, those hair strands gently rose and fell on his skin.
Too close.
Close enough to count her long eyelashes, casting a small fan-shaped shadow under her eyelids.
While asleep, that aura of hostility and melancholy that always lingered between her brows finally dissipated.
Her brows were relaxed, her lips slightly parted; she looked just like an ordinary young girl without any suffering.
Su Yu instantly stiffened into a fossil.
Although he had lived two lives, this didn't prevent him from remaining a single dog with a purity as high as 99%.
In his past life, he was busy with the blessings of 996 culture; in this life, the closest contact with the opposite sex was probably Himeko's alcohol-fueled "Death Kabedon."
And now, a living, breathing beautiful girl who had let down all defenses was leaning on him, sleeping like an unguarded little piglet.
As a veteran Captain, he hadn't shouted "Wife!" at the screen any less than others in the past, but back then, the wife was a 2D paper cutout.
Now the wife... cough, now this girl had body temperature, weight, and breath.
That warm tactile sensation burned all the way from his shoulder to the roots of his ears.
Su Yu felt his cheeks starting to heat up, his brain's CPU frantically testing the edge of overload.
Just as he was at a loss, not even daring to breathe forcefully, Kiana's eyelashes trembled twice like the wings of a startled butterfly.
Then, those heterochromatic eyes slowly opened.
The left eye was a deep azure, the right eye a brilliant amber.
Eyes met.
Time seemed to have pressed the pause button at this moment.
Su Yu's brain began to frantically preview the upcoming plot directions—
Script A: She screams "Pervert," then sends him to see his great-grandma with a standard Kaslana Kick.
Script B: She pulls out the Subspace Lance with a cold face, interrogating him on his ill intentions.
Script C: She dies of shame and indignation, then chops another non-existent solid wood dining table.
He subconsciously tensed all his muscles, ready to welcome this strike from the Valkyrie.
But the anticipated storm did not come.
Kiana just blinked, her gaze gradually focusing from confusion, fixing on his face that was close at hand.
Then, like red ink dripping into water, a blush quickly dyed her entire cheek red.
She remained leaning on his shoulder, not moving.
After about three seconds—these three seconds felt as long as three centuries to Su Yu.
"...I'm hungry."
Kiana spoke in a tone so flat it was nearly monotone, as if the blush just now was merely Su Yu's hallucination.
Su Yu froze for a second.
Then, as if electrocuted, he instantly catapulted off the sofa, opening a distance of two meters at light speed... oh wait, one meter.
"Cough, cough!" He pressed his fist to his mouth and cleared his throat vigorously, trying to suppress that cracking voice.
"That... perfect, I'm hungry too."
"Let's go out to eat together, and stop by the mall to buy some daily necessities and clothes... You can't just wander around wearing my old T-shirt every day. Although I don't mind, it affects the city's image."
He spoke, but his eyes seemed intent on finding a flower on the ceiling, refusing to glance at Kiana to save his life.
Kiana sat up straight, looking at the man who was usually invincible with his words but was now flustered and clumsy.
She pressed her hand to her chest, where a heartbeat slightly faster than usual was transmitting.
Actually, the moment she woke up, she was indeed startled.
That breathing close at hand, that body temperature belonging to the opposite sex—if it were before, she would have long since screamed pervert and kicked him.
But...
Looking at Su Yu's face flushed red from shyness, looking at his embarrassed appearance like a primary school student who had done something wrong.
Surprisingly, she couldn't generate any repulsion.
She even felt... it was a little funny.
"...Got it."
She stood up, casually scooping up Chongchong, who was still trying to stay in bed, and placed it on the floor.
The kitten let out a dissatisfied "Meow" and rubbed against her leg.
"Let's go."
...
Clothes changed, packed and ready.
Although Kiana was still wearing that somewhat large T-shirt, Su Yu found a pair of sports shorts for her to wear underneath. It looked like that "missing-bottom" fashion trend, so it didn't seem abrupt.
Su Yu stood in the entryway, shoving his keys and wallet into his pocket, changing his shoes.
The breathing behind him was slightly heavier.
He turned back and saw Kiana staring at the security door leading to the outside world, her body slightly tense, like a fully drawn bow.
Outside the door was the world.
It was a strange, peaceful world where, reportedly, people could already see her.
But in her memory, that world only had cold rain, indifferent crowds passing through her body, and that suffocating feeling of being abandoned by the entire universe.
Although Su Yu said it was fine.
That fear, deep in her marrow, still coiled at the bottom of her heart.
Su Yu straightened up, looking at her expression.
That tense little face was written full of unease that she wanted to hide but couldn't.
He didn't say pretty words like "Don't be afraid" or "I'm here."
He just extended his hand.
Palm facing up, fingers slightly curled—a waiting posture.
Kiana froze.
She stared at that hand for two seconds.
It was a very nice-looking hand, with long fingers and distinct joints, the palm bearing thin calluses left from years of typing.
It looked... very warm.
"..."
She bit her lower lip and finally moved.
But she didn't go to hold that hand.
She extended two fingers, carefully, as if afraid of startling something, and pinched a corner of Su Yu's cuff.
Just that tiny piece of fabric.
Su Yu watched her action.
This was very Kiana.
Wanting to rely on someone, yet retaining her final reserve and stubbornness.
"Okay," he said. "Then let's do this."
He pulled the door open.
The evening sunlight instantly surged in, like a golden tide.
It was no longer the blinding white of noon, but carried a warm orange-red, dyeing the entire hallway with a soft filter.
From downstairs came the faint noise of traffic, and the aroma of someone stir-frying.
"Hold on tight."
Su Yu turned his head back as he walked out.
"Make sure you don't let go. You don't want to be posted on a missing person's notice by the police uncle at this age, do you? I've already thought of the title—'Shocking! Why did a young girl mysteriously get lost?'"
"Who... who would get lost!"
Kiana retorted subconsciously, and that bit of tension instantly dissipated by more than half.
Su Yu laughed and stepped over the threshold.
Kiana followed closely behind him, her fingers still deathly gripping that corner of his cuff, as if grasping her life-saving straw.
The moment she walked out of the apartment building.
The evening breeze blew against her face.
It carried the unique, vibrant scent of this city.
The smell of car exhaust, the smell of cumin from roadside barbecue stalls, the fragrance of unknown flowers from the distant park, and the steam of oden drifting out from the convenience store entrance.
Noisy, clamorous, alive.
No longer a dead silence of ruins, no longer a cold battlefield.
This was the first time Kiana truly walked into this world as a "human" since arriving here.
She could feel the gazes of passersby.
Some looked curiously at her conspicuous white hair, others turned their heads attracted by her heterochromatic pupils, but those gazes held only simple curiosity and appreciation—no fear, no disgust, and certainly no one treating her as a monster.
In this peaceful world, strange hair colors and pupils were just symbols of individuality.
She was just an ordinary girl being led out for a stroll.
Kiana's fingers pinching Su Yu's cuff unconsciously tightened a little more.
Her palm was slightly sweating.
This was the first step she took in this world.
It was also—
The first step of a new life named Kiana Kaslana.
No heavy mission, and no reason she had to fight.
She took a deep breath of the air filled with the smoke and fire of daily life.
It's so nice.
________________________________________
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