Honkai, why do you only throw me into high-level battles? (Chapter 473-474)

Chapter 473: A Small Interlude

After Cocolia and her forces retreated, the conflict that was on the verge of erupting ended in a way that surpassed many people's expectations.

"That was too reckless."

Schrödinger materialized from the void, catching the suddenly collapsing Lin Wei under the astonished gazes of Seele and the others. She criticized him without holding back.

"Your body was soaked in the Sea of Quanta for too long, and too much entropy was taken from you. Although you can still maintain your physical existence, your bodily functions have hit an absolute low. You simply can't support the consumption of using a Divine Key."

Because of that sudden, unexpected encounter, Lin Wei had been exposed to the Sea of Quanta for far too long.

Even Durandal could only walk through it unscathed for a short time with the protection of her golden battlesuit, a gift from the world itself. Not to mention Lin Wei, who was far weaker than her. He had unknowingly pushed himself into an extremely dangerous situation.

Forcing himself to use a Divine Key under these circumstances was no different from drinking poison to quench thirst. Compared to that, Lin Wei's act of walking into the snow without any protection seemed utterly trivial.

And yet, even this "trivial" little burden was too much for the nearly exhausted Lin Wei to bear.

"In this situation, I'm the only one who could have scared off Cocolia. I'm the only one who could have impersonated Welt and mimicked his authority..."

Lin Wei, of course, understood his own condition. He shook his head. "Every loop, I'm dropped into a snowy plain like this, with no chance to fully recover. So with each loop, the burden on me grows heavier. I don't have many chances..."

In this world bubble, with this Galaxy Runner as the "story prototype," the woman Cocolia was an unavoidable obstacle. To back down would mean failure in this loop, and in the next, he would still have to face her obstruction.

"Hehe, this is really interesting. Back then, I didn't even care about Otto, but now I have to be so careful with Cocolia..."

Lin Wei chuckled softly. "Dr. Schrödinger, would you say that I'm paying a heavy price for my own arrogance and stubbornness?"

He was always right, always successful.

Under Lin Wei's will, neither Herrschers, nor the Honkai, nor the World Serpent, nor even Otto with all of Schicksal at his command, could stop his advance. The entire world had become his stage, and he had rampaged through it with impunity.

From being as insignificant as an ant at the beginning, to finally trampling all of Schicksal underfoot, mocking Otto's foolishness and depravity, and then swaggering away; Lin Wei always won, was always winning.

Winning, winning, winning, until finally, he suddenly discovered that it was all just a farce, that he was only a hair's breadth away from "utter defeat."

Or rather, from the very beginning, from the day he started scheming against Bronya and Fu Hua at the crucial academy, every battle, every step of progress, was actually just a hair's breadth away from "utter defeat." And this time, Lin Wei had finally crossed to the other side...

"Every time, I bet everything I have, to fight with all my might for that one-in-ten-thousand chance, winning gloriously, winning disastrously..."

Lin Wei evaluated himself in a low voice. "Hehe... in the end, I really am an unreasonable gambler..."

Perhaps Yae Sakura had seen the hidden danger in him, but she didn't know how to advise him. After all, he could always find all sorts of reasons to argue her down. And he always won, was always winning...

At this point, Lin Wei suddenly, with a bit of self-pity, discovered a ridiculous fact: he was always talking about others being blind to their own prejudices, unable to see the forest for the trees, yet he hadn't realized that he himself had fallen into the same strange loop—blinded by his own arrogance and self-importance, thinking he had seen through everything, that the entire world could be manipulated at his will...

"In the end, Otto and I are really the same kind..." Lin Wei sneered, his voice barely audible. "Hehe... even our pathetic states are so similar..."

Schrödinger felt the arm she was supporting grow heavy. Lin Wei had lost consciousness, fainting.

"Excuse me, who are you...?"

After Cocolia and her forces retreated, Seele regained control of her body. She was extremely surprised by the sudden appearance of Schrödinger and her unusual appearance.

"Like you, Miss Seele, I am a traveler in the Sea of Quanta, and also this Mr. Lin Wei's temporary travel companion," Schrödinger said coolly. "We can get to know each other later. If this gentleman continues to suffer from hypothermia, there could be serious problems."

As she spoke, she once again took off her cloak and wrapped it around Lin Wei's thin body.

"What?"

Seele was still pondering the meaning of "traveler in the Sea of Quanta." Hearing the last part of the sentence, she panicked. "Then what should we do?"

"We need a temporary shelter. Let's take him there together."

As soon as Schrödinger finished speaking, Bronya had already come over and taken hold of Lin Wei's other arm, giving the strange, half-faced person a meaningful look. "Lead the way."

"Okay."

Schrödinger liked this kind of simple and efficient communication. She nodded and, together with Bronya, carried Lin Wei back to the narrow and cramped cave.

They relit the bonfire and wrapped Lin Wei back in the thick leather.

"Sin, where are you going?" Seele asked softly, only to be met with a gruff "None of your business!" She was instantly embarrassed, unsure if she should follow, especially since Lin Wei's condition didn't look good.

"The conditions here are too primitive. There's nothing."

Bronya's wilderness survival experience was extremely rich, but even she couldn't help but frown at the state of the cave.

It was hard to imagine anyone living in a place like this. Were they filming some kind of survival show?

"Is it because of... the loop?" Seele asked, her voice trembling. She had never imagined that this gentleman's life was even harder than her own.

"Yes. Every loop, he returns to the starting point, the snowy plain. His stamina and body heat are constantly being depleted, but it's hard to replenish them. This cave is a rare shelter nearby that can retain some heat."

Schrödinger explained everything in a few short sentences.

"...A loop?"

Bronya murmured to herself, then asked, "Seele, is he the one you were looking for?"

"...Yes."

Seele nodded weakly. "In the last loop, it was Bronya Oneechan who found him first and brought him to the orphanage..."

"Is that so... Did I trust him that much?" Bronya said to herself.

She found it hard to imagine herself bringing a stranger back to the orphanage, which was like a home to her. But she trusted Seele, so she believed what she said was true—even if she had no memory of it.

"This is... a terrible feeling..."

Bronya bit her lip in frustration, then shook her head, pushing the inexplicably complex emotions to the back of her mind.

She said calmly, "His actions just now were too risky. His hypothermia is severe now. It's hard to provide proper insulation and recovery in such a crude environment. If this continues, it could be dangerous..."

Hearing this, Seele became anxious. "Bronya Oneechan, what should we do?"

She knew that Bronya had a wealth of wilderness survival experience. At a time like this, only she could come up with a solution.

"It's okay. The situation isn't that bad yet."

Bronya gave her worried little sister a reassuring smile. "Can you go and collect some more firewood? The fire here is too small. It needs to be warmer."

There wasn't much firewood stored here. It was clear that Lin Wei hadn't had time to collect much.

"Okay, I'll go right away!"

Seele immediately turned and left, her steps light and swift as she disappeared into the snowy forest. She knew that dry firewood wasn't as easy to find as one might think in this season.

Watching Seele's retreating back, Bronya sighed, then looked down at Lin Wei's pale face and chapped lips, falling into a silent and conflicted state.

"..."

She wasn't a talkative person. Although there was another person standing beside her, she had no intention of talking to Schrödinger.

Schrödinger seemed to sense her awkwardness. After a glance at Lin Wei, she silently turned and walked out of the cave.

She turned a corner and disappeared into thin air in a place where no one could see her. In any case, her anchor point was on Lin Wei. Whether she disappeared or not, her gaze was always on him.

"Hah..."

The stranger's departure made Bronya feel a little relieved.

After a moment of silent conflict, she turned and walked back into the cave, scooped up a large handful of snow, and packed it into a ball.

She glanced around guiltily, and after confirming that no one was there, she brought the snowball to her mouth and took a big bite, then walked back into the cave.

Crunch, crunch...

The bonfire was still burning at a lukewarm pace. Bronya poked the burning wood a few times to make it burn more brightly. Then she carefully moved the still-unconscious Lin Wei, bringing him closer to the fire.

He's so heavy...

Bronya carefully moved his upper body, complaining to herself.

This feeling was different from the killing she was more familiar with. To strangle an adult, you only needed a little bit of explosive force and a trivial bit of technique, and you didn't have to care if the other person got hurt. But now...

Bronya looked around, but she couldn't find anything suitable to use as a pillow.

Forget it, I'll just make a sacrifice...

Bronya mumbled to herself, took off her blue-purple wool coat, folded it neatly, and carefully placed it under Lin Wei's neck.

"Hmm, that should do it."

Bronya glanced behind her at the empty space, then leaned down, gently pried open Lin Wei's chapped lips, and brought her own mouth close to his, so close that she could feel the warm air he exhaled on her cheeks.

Suppressing the strange, awkward feeling rising in her heart, she gently opened her mouth and let the melted snow water drip, bit by bit, into Lin Wei's mouth.

Drip, drip.

The snow was loose and melted quickly in her mouth, and the melted water flowed quickly.

Cough, cough, cough...

The water went down the wrong pipe, and Lin Wei's face instantly turned red from choking.

Seeing this, Bronya quickly lifted Lin Wei's upper body and helped him catch his breath. Then she took another bite of the snowball in her hand, held her breath for a moment, and once again carefully transferred the melted, warm snow water into his mouth.

Perhaps her technique had improved, or perhaps her intentions had been conveyed. In any case, it went much more smoothly this time.

The unconscious Lin Wei subconsciously moved his throat, swallowing the precious life-giving spring.

I'm really... crazy!

After successfully transferring the second mouthful of snow water, Bronya, whose mouth was numb from the ice and snow, thought frantically.

She didn't even understand why she was doing this. She had only met this guy named Lin Wei once!

"...Sigh, forget it. I'll just do it for Seele..."

Bronya comforted herself, then couldn't help but look down at the man whose face was filled with weakness and exhaustion.

She still remembered how dashing Lin Wei had looked when he was chasing Cocolia in his thin clothes and bare feet. At that time, although she was surprised, she didn't feel much, just that this mysterious guy was dangerous and that she should warn Seele to be careful.

But then, he had collapsed.

This ending was even more unexpected, and it turned all her previous wariness into a kind of indescribable admiration—admiration for his courage and sacrifice.

She knew that to save her and Seele, this stubborn guy had paid a very painful price, even risking his own life.

Seeing Lin Wei's face up close, Bronya had a strange feeling that if this guy were awake, they would get along very well...

It was no wonder that her other self would become friends with him, even if she didn't remember it.

My other self, that sounds strange...

"Sigh, forget it. I'll just assume Seele would be worried."

And what else could I do?

Just as Bronya was seriously considering how to help Lin Wei recover his body temperature, Sin burst back in, throwing several small, still-struggling animals at Bronya's feet.

"Alive and warm. Wring their necks, stuff them into that leather blanket. It'll be warmer than anything. After they've served as warmers, you can roast and eat them..."

Sin, covered in snow, said proudly, as if she were showing off something incredible. Then she suddenly stopped. "What are you doing?"

Did I just see something I wasn't supposed to?

Chapter 474: The Anchor

In reality, nothing happened.

Before Sin burst in, Bronya had already finished what she needed to do.

Sin didn't actually see anything incriminating, just a faint, lingering scent in the air that made her subconsciously feel something was off.

Bronya didn't offer any explanation either. She simply bent down, broke a rabbit's neck, and stuffed the small, warm animal into Lin Wei's "bearskin blanket." Then she picked up another and did the same.

Seeing her unyielding demeanor, Sin shot her a displeased look, snatched a rabbit from her, broke its neck, and then went to roast it over the fire.

It's a good thing Seele isn't here, or she wouldn't be able to bear it, Bronya thought to herself, then continued her slaughter of the small creatures...

A while later, Seele returned, out of breath and carrying a large pile of firewood. After a moment's thought, she turned around to find more.

Sin played by the fire for a bit, found it boring, and ran off. Not long after, she returned carrying a deer. She didn't bother to stay long, just dropped the prey and left. A little while later, she dragged a bear back. It was a mystery how her small frame had managed to take it down.

Bronya took out the short knife from her boot and carefully skinned the large animals. She either placed the hides under Lin Wei, covered him with them, or simply hung them at the cave entrance as a curtain.

In short, her insulation measures were becoming more and more professional.

Then, she took the firewood Seele had carefully collected, split the fire into several piles, found some sticks, sharpened them, and skewered small pieces of deer, bear, wolf, and rabbit meat, roasting them over the fire.

"It's been a long time since I've done this," she thought, a strange sense of nostalgia washing over her.

A little while later, Schrödinger returned from outside, carrying several metal objects of various sizes: a large, thin iron plate, a small container that could be used as a bowl, and a small cylinder for boiling water.

Though they didn't look like proper utensils, they were at least... usable.

"Where did you find these?" Bronya was surprised. How could you find these things in a place like this?

"Oh, there were a few scrapped mecha scattered around where you were fighting earlier. I went over there to see if I could find anything useful," Schrödinger shrugged. "The creations of human technology, even when damaged, can always find different uses in other ways."

"..."

Bronya didn't share her sentiment. She just silently picked up the small cylinder, went outside, and slowly filled it with snow. She placed it in one of the bonfires and watched the white snow melt under the flickering orange flames, suddenly feeling that she had been a bit stupid just now...

Schrödinger had made this trip specifically for that. Finding useful things was just an excuse. The real reason was to prove that she had really gone out, to avoid making Bronya suspicious and awkward.

A little while later, Seele and Sin returned with their respective firewood and prey, and they didn't go out again.

Sin proudly showed off her cleverness and sharpness to Bronya. The wildlife in the surrounding area had been truly unlucky to cross her path.

Seele cautiously went to check on Lin Wei, who was sleeping by the corner bonfire. She worriedly asked Schrödinger why he had suddenly become like this, when he had seemed fine in the last loop.

Schrödinger explained briefly. Though she tried her best to use simple words, Seele, who hadn't even finished elementary school, could only half-understand, only knowing that Lin Wei's condition was not optimistic.

"Don't worry, Miss Seele, there shouldn't be any major problems. His main issue now, as you've seen, is that he's constantly consuming energy without getting effective rest. It's like a pool that's constantly draining water without being refilled. It's naturally unsustainable."

Schrödinger comforted her. "But it's different now. You both know each other's 'starting points' in the loop. Even if Mr. Lin Wei is still unable to act on his own in the next loop, you can find this place on your own, and even bring the supplies he urgently needs, just like now."

Schrödinger gestured behind Seele. Seele looked back and saw the bonfire, the food, the door curtain, the utensils...

The once cramped and dark cave now looked quite lively, with a rare sense of human presence.

"When the water being added is greater than the water being drained, he'll recover quickly," Schrödinger said. "Or, you could try taking him away now?"

"Is... is that so?"

After Schrödinger's reassurance, Seele let out a long sigh of relief. "Dr. Schrödinger, what is your relationship with Mr. Lin Wei? Did you bring him here? This world bubble that's so similar to our original world..."

This question had been on her mind for a long time.

"No, I am just this gentleman's temporary travel companion, an emergency guide, if you will. His real 'guide' is probably you, Miss Seele," Schrödinger shook her head. "As for why he came to this world bubble... besides a very small probability of coincidence, the main reason is probably you yourself, Miss Seele. After all, this is the first world bubble this gentleman has experienced."

"Me?"

"It could be a pure coincidence. After all, from a mathematical point of view, even the smallest probability has a chance of occurring," Schrödinger said.

"But there is another possibility. From a quantum perspective, you and this gentleman may have established some kind of weak quantum-scale connection at some point in the past. It is this connection that has increased the probability of you becoming entangled with each other in the Sea of Quanta."

Seele listened very carefully and only understood part of it. She shook her head. "Mr. Lin Wei and I had never met before this world bubble..."

How could I have any connection with him?

"Is that so? Then there might be other reasons."

Schrödinger didn't press the matter of Seele's denial and brought the topic back to the main point. "We currently don't have a complete understanding of the time loop mechanism of this world bubble, or the reasons for its formation. To prevent an accident like the last loop, I suggest you try now to see if you can take him away from this world bubble and to your next destination."

"Now?"

Seele looked at the still-sleeping Lin Wei with concern. Veliona also reminded her in the depths of her consciousness, "Let's wait. Like this woman just said, going through a few more loops will just be a matter of delaying some time. But if we leave now, who knows if the next stop will be smooth sailing or if there will be other accidents?"

Lin Wei is in no condition to be moved around!

Seele strongly agreed with this and explained it to Schrödinger.

"Don't worry, Miss Seele. I just want you to try. Things may not be as simple as you think."

As a 'veteran' who had been drifting in the Sea of Quanta for more than half a century, Schrödinger's insight was obviously much more profound than the novice Seele's.

"You are both outsiders, but you, Miss Seele, seem to be completely different from Mr. Lin Wei. Simply put, Mr. Lin Wei's body has a 'timeline' that is independent of this world bubble, so his state cannot be 'reset' in the loop. Each loop, for him, is the 'next stage' on a linear ladder, both mentally and physically. But for you, Miss Seele, the situation seems to be different."

Schrödinger said, "At the end of the last loop, you seemed to be seriously injured. Theoretically, you should have been completely immobile. But after just one day—not even 24 hours if we were to time it with an hourglass—the Miss Seele who appeared before me again was perfectly healthy. This is the biggest difference between you and Mr. Lin Wei."

"What do you mean?"

Her words had attracted the attention of Bronya and Sin as well.

"To put it simply, you, Miss Seele, at least on a physical level, are still part of this world bubble's cycle. Each time the loop restarts, your body 'restarts' just like this ever-repeating world."

Schrödinger's voice was calmly, almost annoyingly, logical. "If I were to summarize... Miss Seele, you have already integrated into this world's cycle to a considerable extent. I don't think you can leave this world as easily as you thought."

"!"

Seele was startled.

She quickly grabbed Lin Wei's hand, which had regained some warmth, and tried to take him away from the world bubble. But she found that her consciousness was as if stuck in a quagmire. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't pull it out. She was stuck, and her efforts were futile.

Veliona was shocked. Even when she tried, the result was the same.

"Damn it... how could this be?"

Veliona was frustrated. The finish line that had seemed so close was just a mirage. She had thought she could just leave, but now she found that even getting out was a problem. How could she not be angry?

"Dr. Schrödinger, what should we do now?"

In contrast, although White Seele was also panicked, she calmed down much faster than Veliona. "I was already in that hospital when I woke up. Bronya Oneechan and Sin were always with me... no, with the Seele of this world. I knew from the beginning that I was just borrowing this world's Seele's body..."

"Don't talk nonsense! I don't have the patience to take care of a patient by the bedside!" Sin shouted threateningly. "Say that again and I'll beat you up!"

"Quiet down, Sin. There's a patient here," the professional nurse, Bronya, whispered, gesturing with her eyes at the unconscious person who was serving as a "background character."

"Perhaps when Lin Wei wakes up, the two of you can work together and leave this world bubble, entering the next adjacent membrane," Schrödinger said. "If that attempt also fails, you'll need to change your approach. Perhaps, breaking the time loop of this world bubble and letting the flow of time here return to linear development would be a suitable approach."

"..."

Seele was silent. Bronya and Sin were both intrigued.

Or rather, only Seele and Lin Wei, who could perceive these things, could be called the "culprits." As for themselves, who knew nothing, they were at best puppets.

"...Is it... really possible?" Seele asked, bewildered. If she could break this loop, she would certainly be willing to do so. But how could a mere mortal interfere with the laws of the world?

"From a mathematical point of view, in a closed system, a time loop is possible. After all, when the number of participants in the statistics is infinite, it is possible for all the particles in the universe to return to their initial state at the moment of the Big Bang at some point in time. It's just a mathematical thought experiment and shouldn't be applied to reality. But it's really happening in the physical world we're in now."

Schrödinger couldn't possibly explain "Poincaré recurrence" in detail to these three young children, so she just said vaguely, "So the most reasonable explanation is that an unknown external force has interfered with the operation of this world, anchoring a specific moment as the starting point of time in some unknown, strange way, and locking the probability of the loop to 'certain to happen.' When a certain switch is triggered, the 'return command' will definitely be initiated."

She explained it very seriously. Seele and Bronya also listened very seriously, trying their best to understand even if they were confused.

But the ever-impatient Sin was already on the verge of exploding. "What is all this nonsense? Speak human!"

The fact that she hadn't directly slapped Schrödinger on the neck was already a sign of great politeness on her part.

"..."

Even the serious and rigid Schrödinger was at a loss for words. "To put it in the simplest terms, we need to find the specific location of this 'anchor point' and decipher the specific mechanism that forms this loop. Then, perhaps all the problems can be solved."

It sounded like a problem so complex that they wouldn't even know where to begin, but the three girls all had complicated expressions on their faces.

They all looked at the sleeping Lin Wei, and then the other two looked at the bewildered Seele.

If they were talking about an "anchor point"...

Wasn't it right here?