[Of course you can't, but before, you were always dragged by Alicia to listen to Eden's performance. After observing closely, you can imitate it to some extent.]
[Just observe, remember, and then reproduce, that's all. With your excellent memory, you can do this easily.]
[Many people sighed - it was like Eden was playing on it]
[Eden herself also agreed with this view and praised you generously, but... you just copied her performance exactly without adding your own emotions, which made her feel a little regretful.]
[It's like playing according to the score and perfectly matching the beat, but without any emphasis or speed in the notes. Although it is indeed beautiful to listen to, this kind of music lacking its own emotions cannot be considered a kind of art in Eden's opinion. It's even barely a performance.]
[She seemed to have just looked in the mirror once, which allowed her to see a scene from one of her performances, that's all]
[However, this perfect reproduction is also a form of expression, just like the "realism" in painting, it has a different kind of interest, so Eden did not care, but instead admired you for being able to do so well.]
[You don’t really care about this. If Alicia didn’t like Eden’s songs, if Sakura wasn’t also keen on listening to her songs, and if Ling didn’t see Eden as her idol, you wouldn’t deliberately “learn” this kind of thing… Even though you appear to be very talented, you don’t really need it.]
[…Forget it. If I say too much, it will just become an excuse. Let’s stop here.]
[All in all, although it was a little awkward at the beginning, Eden’s welcome party was a complete success in the end and everyone was very happy]
[Even Alicia and Sakura, who returned later, were quite surprised when they heard about this. Alicia even begged you to perform in front of her once, and Sakura did the same... Is this not unexpected? ]
[After a brief moment of joy, it’s back to normal life. For you, this is not a big deal.]
[It’s just that today, Poison Pupa gave you a somewhat strange task...]
[The mission location is "Dusk Street", a place that is recognized as chaotic]
[This mission is classified - this is normal, many missions you perform are classified, and even no files are left.]
[But this time the mission requires... "Clearance"]
[It is not directed at a certain person, a certain group or a certain organization, but it is very simple, "clearing" all people in that area, regardless of gender, age or status]
[“That day, He fell from the sky. People on earth looked up and saw the starry sky”... just to stop this song from being sung, that’s all]
[…Heh, this is really disgusting]
Chapter 29 [Dusk Street] Clearance Mission
pat-
The crisp and faint sound is the familiar sound of opening a candy box.
At this time, Xi Wang had already entered [Dusk Street] and arrived at the location designated by the poisonous pupa.
Logically speaking, the weapons provided by the poison pupa should be kept here. Although Xi Wang has no need for weapons due to his own special nature, considering the importance of this mission to the [Fire Moth] and the need to "clear" a place that is generally recognized as chaotic, the poison pupa still provided Xi Wang with weapons and equipment that far exceed conventional individual combat capabilities.
but now……
"........."
Xi Wang looked at the hidden place where there was only a pile of debris, rolled his eyes, and stuffed a candy into his mouth expressionlessly, using the sweetness to suppress the irritability rising in his heart.
After his inspection, he was able to confirm that there should have been a lot of things piled up here, and they were definitely not these sundries. They were most likely weapons and equipment deployed here, but someone came later and took all these things away, leaving nothing for him.
Moreover, the person who took the things did not leave many traces, as if he was very familiar with how to eliminate the traces he left behind, but he still left some traces "accidentally", as if to tell Xi Wang who came later that these things had been taken away in advance.
But this is what annoyed Xi Wang even more... You had already put the things here, but then you took them away? And you didn't leave any equipment for him?
Although he did say that he didn't need any weapons, wasn't it a bit too much to not have all the equipment that was agreed to be provided? Even if he was greedy, he wouldn't be so greedy, right?
Or did someone steal all the things hidden here? Are you kidding me? Is there really such a person in [Twilight Street]?
"Tsk..."
The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became. Xi Wang couldn't help but smack his lips, wanting to feed himself another candy, but he quickly restrained himself.
"Forget it... it doesn't matter if I don't have the equipment."
Xiwang retracted his gaze and turned to look at the sky. The sun was blocked by thick clouds and looked gloomy.
Apparently, it's going to rain here soon.
As a fusion warrior who controls "water", he will have an absolute advantage in "water-rich" weather such as rainy days, and his skills can be perfectly displayed. Even without the aid of other weapons and equipment, Xiwang can complete the "clearance" of this area.
...Wait, could it be that those guys discovered that it was going to rain today and therefore took away those weapons and equipment?
"Tsk, that's disgusting."
Xi Wang frowned again, as if he had discovered the truth, unconsciously expressing his disgust for those guys. After a brief pause, he sighed slightly.
"…I always feel like my emotions are fluctuating more than before."
Is it because I have been with Alicia for too long and have been influenced by her?
To be honest, this change is not very good for me and it may easily affect the completion of the task...but Xiwang is not very disgusted with it.
"… Let's finish the matter at hand first."
He shook his head, suppressed those complicated thoughts, straightened his clothes, closed his eyes, and carefully sensed his surroundings.
"It will probably start in the evening... Then let's survey the surrounding area before that."
Relying on his keen perception of "water", Xi Wang figured out the time of rain. He opened his eyes again, glanced around, and after confirming that there was no one else around, he slowly left this hidden place.
Xi Wang began to stroll along the road of [Dusk Street], and gradually visited this small town-like place in a somewhat random route. Even some hidden alleys were found by him. If there was a chance, he would use the physical fitness of a fusion warrior to jump onto the roof of a building to observe the environment.
There were some people who wanted to cause trouble for him, but he solved them all... Of course, he didn't kill them, as there was no need to do so now.
Finally, Xiwang rested and prepared in an abandoned church... Although Xiwang himself was somewhat resistant and disgusted with buildings like churches, if he stayed in a similar place, he always felt that the bad memories from the past would come flooding back to his mind again.
However, after adjusting his breathing a few times and giving himself a candy, Xiwang adjusted his mentality temporarily and looked around the empty church.
The church yard was overgrown with weeds and filled with all kinds of garbage. The iron fence was rusted beyond recognition. When you walked into the church, you could see broken wooden chairs and windows with few panes of glass left. The ground was covered with dust and all kinds of garbage, broken wooden boards were everywhere, and the broken walls were covered with bullet holes and even a lot of dark red marks left by dried blood.
Inside this abandoned church, there is a stone statue that is in such tatters that it is unrecognizable. It is the only thing that is relatively well preserved here. At least the body and lower half of the body are still preserved. As for the head and hands, as well as the part that should have been wings on its back, they are missing. I don't know if it was stolen or simply broken.
Hmm... Based on these features, the statue placed here should have originally been an angel?
Some thoughts flashed through Xiwang's mind. Perhaps he had been influenced too much by Eden recently. He unconsciously imagined the original appearance of the statue in his mind.
Then he shook his head, lamenting that he had been led astray by Alicia again, and that Eden's influence on him had also increased... But it wasn't a bad thing.
Continue walking back and you can see a small house that seems to be used for living and a warehouse for storing supplies. Further back is the cemetery.
…Damn it.
Xi Wang frowned and knocked his head, suppressing his surging emotions and calming his increasingly rapid breathing.
This similar layout really gave Xiwang a headache, but fortunately, Xiwang had already anticipated this. He walked around the obviously abandoned huts and warehouses, gently crossed the not-so-high wall, and came to the cemetery.
There aren't many tombstones here, and it seems that not many people come here to bury their dead. However, considering the atmosphere of [Twilight Street], there probably aren't many people coming here, and even if someone is buried there wouldn't be any tombstones erected.
But it doesn't matter. At least we just need to make sure that the cemetery here is big enough.
By the way... I seem to have seen a building that looked like a church before... According to other people here, it was a [sanatorium] with many children in it.
And according to what other people here said and Xiwang's own observations, the children there are doing pretty well... It seems that it really is a [sanatorium] with the nature of a welfare home, and nothing bad about it.
Xiwang gave himself another candy, thinking about a certain building he had discovered before, and took out the [Simple Honkai Energy Detection Device] that he was asked to carry when he went on the mission, and retrieved the previously detected values.
"It is indeed there..."
After confirming it several times, Xi Wang whispered to himself, as if reminding himself. In the end, he could only sigh and put the device away.
Perhaps the people of Poison Pupa had anticipated this, because they had shown a tolerant attitude towards children like Grayshu. In order to prevent themselves from being soft-hearted when performing the "clearance" mission, they deliberately carried this detection device...so that they would know that the people and children here are infected with the [Honkai Disease] and are carriers of [Honkai Energy]. If they are allowed to exist, [Honkai] will definitely break out here, causing greater damage and more casualties.
And now, in order to complete the mission, to prevent the outbreak of [Honkai] and a greater disaster from occurring, Xi Wang must suppress his tolerance for the children and kill them.
It's really...disgusting.
"........."
Xiwang leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, feeling the sweetness in his mouth while adjusting his breathing.
The sun gradually sets, contributing its last rays of light to a world that is about to fall into darkness, and the humidity in the air is gradually becoming thicker.
“…It’s raining.”
Xi Wang whispered softly, and at the same time opened his eyes which had returned to calm.
tick-
The gentle sound is the sound of water dripping onto the ground.
It started out as scattered raindrops, but soon turned into a heavy downpour.
The rainstorm came as expected.
…………
………………
slam-la-
The heavy rain hit the glass, making a loud noise. Even though the windows and doors were closed tightly, it couldn't block out the sound of the torrential rain. Under the cover of darkness and heavy rain, everything outside the window seemed so unreal, even the scattered lights not far away seemed blurry, as if there was another world outside.
But fortunately, the doors and windows keep all of this out, and inside the room is a stable home and warm lights...even if only temporarily.
"It's raining too hard..."
The woman at home was washing dishes while complaining about the heavy rain outside the window.
"I hope it can stop tomorrow morning, otherwise I will have to rush back to work in the rain tomorrow."
Her husband was resting on the sofa, responding casually to his wife.
"Can't you just give it a try? If it rains like this again tomorrow, you won't be able to work, right?"
"You know that those guys are not easy to get along with, and I put in a lot of effort to get this [job]. I don't want them to catch me and shoot me because of this reason."
"…I'm sorry dear, that's not what I meant."
"I know that they are the ones with the problem, not us...and in order to survive here, we all have to work hard."
"Ah."
The woman nodded slightly and said no more. She just silently put the washed dishes into the cupboard, and then habitually glanced out the window at the neighbor's house.
"...Hmm? Those two brothers next to you...didn't they come back today? The lights are off."
"They probably went to bed early. After all, it was raining so hard today and they didn't have much to do... I heard that they went to cause trouble for an outsider this afternoon, but they were taught a lesson by him. As a result, they didn't make any money today. I'm afraid they are still planning how to find a place on the other side."
The man stood up from the couch, yawning and relaxing himself.
"foreigner?"
"Yes, it's a man, and he's quite handsome. But the people in the organization said that he's not a good person and is probably here to cause trouble. Tomorrow the organization plans to join forces with others to deal with him, or at least get him out."
"Well... just remember to bring back more money."
"Don't worry, I will... I'm going to take a shower first."
The man nodded and walked towards the bathroom... Although their home was small, it was warm enough for them.
He took off his clothes, revealing his upper body covered with bruises and scars. The man seemed to have often fought with others, but considering that this was [Twilight Street], it was not surprising.
He casually threw the clothes into the bucket, preparing to leave them for his wife to wash later, while he stood in the shower room, lowered his head, and turned the water valve.
"……Um?"
Almost at the moment when the water splashed on him, a pungent fishy smell rushed into his nostrils. The man realized something was wrong and opened his eyes instantly, and found that the water flowing in his body seemed to be mixed with a large amount of blood.
what……
While the man was still confused, his thoughts were rapidly fading, and his control over his body disappeared in an instant, and he fell limply to the ground in a weird posture.
The shower head above the head was still faithfully spraying warm water, but the water on the ground was not transparent. Instead, it was stained with bright red blood, and the entire shower room was gradually filled with the smell of blood.
slam-la-
The sound of the shower echoed in the house. At some point, the woman outside the bathroom had also lost her voice. The home that should have been warm was now eerily quiet.
Click——
There was a crisp sound coming from the door, accompanied by the sound of the door hinges, and the sound of heavy rain outside poured into the house at this moment.
pat-
He skillfully opened the candy box and fed himself a candy. Xi Wang glanced at the woman lying on the sink and waved his hand slightly. A ball of water slowly wrapped her body. The flowing blood slowly dissipated in the water, dyeing it light red.
Then his fingers moved slightly again, and the body of the man in the bathroom was also wrapped in water, and then slowly came to Xiwang's side.
