I'm playing Honkai Impact 3

Page 626

“A hobby is just a hobby; it can’t make a living, kid. You need to see reality.”

"Can you support yourself by making music? Don't dream about it!"

Each cold, stern admonition crushed the tender budding hope in the young girl's heart.

Her teachers who appreciated her, and her friends who understood her and shared her dreams, ultimately could not overcome the heavy and pragmatic will of her parents.

Kokona had no choice but to compromise.

Faced with countless similar words, Kokona had no choice but to compromise.

In order to completely cure their daughter's unrealistic illness, her parents came up with a good solution.

They purchased property and vehicles in Kokona's name, taking on heavy loans.

"Pressure is the source of motivation!"

As my parents said, "If you pay the loan on time every month, you won't have time to think about those useless things, and you can focus on your work!"

Of course, the house and car will be temporarily kept and used by your parents, "and will be given to you when you get married."

So, Kokona became a saleswoman at a luxury store in Golden Moments.

The salary plus tips is indeed quite substantial, enough to cover the enormous monthly mortgage payment imposed on me.

But behind this dignity, the price to pay is to smooth out all your edges and brilliance.

Kokona learned to be restrained and calm. She tried her best to smile and be accommodating, which won her the favor of many customers.

However, this success aroused jealousy and exclusion from colleagues.

Malicious speculation is like a maggot clinging to a bone.

"What makes her perform so well?"

"They must have used some underhanded methods!"

"Maybe she's using her body to seduce clients!"

Under the heavy pressure of life, a glimmer of light briefly shone into her life: a boyfriend who promised to face the storms with her and start anew after leaving Pinocchio.

This became almost the only pillar in her bleak life.

However, this fragile hope was utterly shattered in a crazy motorball betting contest.

Her boyfriend lost everything, including Cocona's hard-earned meager savings and some of the money she had borrowed.

Her boyfriend's departure, the shattering of her dreams, the cruelty of reality... Kokona's heart, like a pearl repeatedly trampled upon, shattered into pieces in silence, eventually turning into dust.

So miserable!

After listening to Kokona's calm, almost numb, narration, even Qiong fell silent.

This experience is truly heartbreaking!

No wonder he wanted to commit suicide...

"Imagine a rose of the future?"

Qiong looked at the silent Kokona and uttered the poetic name of the mission.

"That was the last song I wrote..."

A faint ripple seemed to flicker in Kokona's empty eyes, but then they returned to deathly silence.

"It's not finished yet... The record with the demo... I threw it away, did you find it?"

"Oh, I see..."

Qiong paused thoughtfully for a moment, then asked, "Where did you leave it?"

"The flowerbeds in Sunset Park on Martin Avenue."

"I didn't find your record."

"How did you know that... never mind, it's irrelevant."

Kokona was only slightly surprised, but then stopped caring.

"Miss Kokona."

Liu Ying held Keke Na's cold hand tightly, her voice warm and firm.

"As long as there is life, there is still hope, and everything can be salvaged! No matter what happens, please never give up on yourself!"

"You are such an optimistic person, I admire you."

Kokona forced a bitter smile, her gaze lingering briefly between Liuying and Qiong:

"Your boyfriend must have brought you a lot of laughter and unforgettable moments, right? That's why you're so positive and cheerful."

Her voice trailed off, filled with endless exhaustion.

“But I’ve tried too many times. Sometimes I begged, sometimes I fought, sometimes I let the black tide engulf me. No matter how I try, the result will never change… I can’t win, Miss Firefly… I really… can’t win…”

"I……"

When Kokona mistakenly thought that she and Qiong were a couple, Liuying's heart should have been filled with sweet ripples. In an instant, her mind flashed back to the heart-pounding roller coaster, the tacit understanding and laughter during the high-speed car chase.

However, at this moment, this joy of recognition was frozen by the bottomless despair in Kokona's words.

Liu Ying remained silent for a long time, her long eyelashes casting a faint shadow under her eyes.

She slowly turned her head, gazing deeply into Qiong's golden eyes, which shone like stars.

In that golden ocean, she seemed to draw upon some indescribable power.

Taking a deep breath, as if making a certain decision, Liu Ying's eyes showed a hint of sternness.

"Miss Kokona, would you like to hear my story?"

"..."

Kokona lowered her head: "If you think I'm of any value to you."

Have you ever heard of 'entropy syndrome'?

Liu Ying slowly opened her mouth, her voice echoing clearly in the silent air.

PS:

Volume 1: Chapter 567 Saving, or Not Saving?

"Entropy syndrome?"

"what is that?"

Both Kokona and Sora looked puzzled.

Qiong's limited information about Pinocchio came almost entirely from fan-created content. He only knew that the Fireflies seemed to be the Iron Cavalry of the Grammer Empire, but he knew nothing else.

"That's a very rare and strange phenomenon."

The fireflies' voices were very soft:

“People suffering from this disease experience an irreversible, chronic disintegration of their physical structure, like sandcastles silently dissipating in the wind. You are disappearing little by little, and this disappearance... is even difficult for others to perceive.”

She paused, her gaze seemingly piercing through the neon lights before her, looking into a deeper void:

"You can still run, jump, and communicate with others, and life seems to be going on as usual, except... you're always a little bit slower than others."

"Then it gets slower and slower, heavier and heavier, until the outlines of yourself and the whole world become blurred, and you can't distinguish between reality and dreams because they become equally broken."

Liu Ying's fingertips unconsciously curled up slightly:

"In reality, I have to spend most of my day lying in a cold medical pod."

"Only in this dream can I temporarily forget the doctor's advice and the shackles of my body."

"Here, I can use my own body to truly hear, see, touch, think, and feel. Even if this world is an illusion, this feeling is invaluable."

"There's actually such a disease..."

Cocona murmured, a subtle and complex change occurring in her gaze as she looked at the firefly.

His gaze was a mixture of shock, admiration, deep pity, and a hint of...envy.

and many more?

envious?

Although Firefly couldn't discern the exact composition of Cocona's gaze, she could sense something amiss.

"I'm so sorry to hear this, Miss Firefly... You are truly very strong."

Kokona's voice trembled slightly:

"This world is always so absurd! Suffering seems to have eyes, only targeting those who can endure hardship, while wealth only flows to those who are already rich! Even disease... even disease..."

"If I could, I really would... I really would want to get this disease in place of Miss Liuying."

To ordinary people, entropy loss is undoubtedly a bizarre and hopeless terminal illness.

But in Kokona's eyes, this was the ending she most wanted.

She will slowly disappear.

Silently, without being noticed by anyone—colleagues, superiors, or even parents—without facing any blame or attempts to retain them, quietly dissolving into the world, it's simply...

Very good!

"Eh?!"

Kokona's voice was soft, yet it struck Liuying like a thunderclap.

This reaction completely exceeded her expectations; no, it completely overturned her understanding.

According to classic storylines, shouldn't those characters who are in despair be touched and inspired after hearing about the more tragic stories of others who still persevere, thus finding a glimmer of light in the darkness and rekindling their courage to live on?

In the movies she watched and the games she played with Silver Wolf, the main characters always faced people like that.

Why...why would Miss Kokona say something like that?

This time, Firefly saw it all clearly: Miss Cocona's eyes held no desire to draw power, only a hidden envy and longing.

Miss Kokona is actually thinking about entropy disorder!?

"Ah, this..."

Liu Ying opened her mouth, but felt as if something was blocking her throat. All the words of comfort, encouragement, and attempts to convey hope that she had prepared seemed so pale and powerless at this moment.

She had nothing more to say.

Her beautiful eyes, filled with confusion and incomprehension, subconsciously looked towards the figure that could give her a sense of support.

Qiong was resting his chin on his hand, nodding slightly as if deep in thought, muttering to himself.

"Oh, I see."

He said that when analyzing the information he obtained from fan fiction and piecing together the character of Liu Ying, he always felt that a special anchor point was needed to support that resilience and alienation... It turns out it was entropy disorder.

She noticed the firefly's gaze.

Snapped!

A warm hand, with a soothing power, gently pressed against her head.

"Don't worry, nothing will happen."

The boy in front of her winked his left eye at her, ruffled her long hair in a rather unsportsmanlike manner, and then pulled her into his arms.

At this moment, the sky before her seemed to overlap with the star that had 'saved' her during a mission with the Star Core Hunters.

The reason it's in quotes is that, given Sam's strength, Xing didn't need to save her at all; she could have handled it herself. Yet, Xing still reached out her hand.

It was a very light hug, but it gave Liu Ying an unusually strong feeling.

Even though she was in a dream world, the touch, the temperature, and even the steady heartbeat that seemed to penetrate her chest felt so real that her heart trembled.

An unprecedented sense of security gently enveloped her.

Before coming to Pinocchio, she had read some romance comics and novels that Silver Wolf had recently bought. In them, when the male and female protagonists hugged, it was always accompanied by a racing heart and flushed cheeks.

At this moment, Liu Ying truly felt that it was not a fictional literary device, but a real throbbing that flowed in her blood.

Fighting is an instinct etched into her very bones.