Chapter 81: Little Senti: Old Timer, Getting a Breast Augmentation is Consumer Fraud!
"Hmph, Nuwa really knows how to talk herself up. 'Mother Earth who created all things'? With a title that heavy, isn't she afraid of tripping and falling the moment she steps outside?"
Senti looked at the screen with a face full of disdain.
"If Nuwa is the Mother Earth of creation, then what does that make me? I'd have to be even more magnificent! Hehe!"
Fu Hua explained calmly, "Nuwa didn't write the script herself..."
Senti said indignantly, "Hmph, I bet Fuxi gave Su Mu money! Using cash to open doors that won't budge—that's her classic move! Anything that can be solved with money isn't a problem for her!"
Whether Nuwa actually bribed Su Mu was something Fu Hua couldn't confirm, but it wasn't impossible that she had invested in the game. After all, that girl was incredibly sensitive to money; it was perfectly possible she saw the potential in Su Mu's project and bought in early to make a massive profit.
Fu Hua didn't reply further; sometimes, silence is a virtue.
In the game, Fu Hua successfully entered even deeper memories, but because they were from so long ago, even Otto couldn't track the exact year. After clearing the monsters blocking the path, Fu Hua finally met Nuwa—a beautiful girl with black hair and red eyes, dressed in Shenzhou-style clothing, floating in the air. A small red snake was coiled around her, flicking its tongue.
This was undoubtedly Nuwa.
["You've finally arrived. Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting here? Jingwei?"]
Seeing Fu Hua, Nuwa was clearly a bit annoyed; it seemed she had indeed been waiting for quite a while.
"Pfft, does this girl really think she has a great body? Intentionally crossing her legs like that—is she trying to show off her legs? How narcissistic!"
Senti mocked Nuwa's outfit and posture, but when she compared Nuwa to the in-game Jingwei, her expression suddenly turned strange.
"Hmm, actually... she really... can?"
Without comparison, there is no harm.
[Nuwa was a bit annoyed by Fu Hua's lateness, but also surprised. In her eyes, Fu Hua was an exceptionally punctual person; her being late was as rare as Mars colliding with Earth. As for why Fu Hua could converse with Nuwa during the memory diving, Otto explained that they were viewing the memory through Fu Hua's perspective, acting as spectators who could not change the past.
Fu Hua followed Nuwa, carrying items into a cave as instructed.
"Nuwa-shiki, the Goddess of Creation from ancient times. She is a beautiful and powerful girl... ugh, is writing the description like this a bit too generic?"
Looking at Nuwa's actions, Fu Hua felt helpless.
"Don't interrupt my train of thought! Can't you see I'm creating mythology!"
Facing a stunned Fu Hua, Nuwa explained that according to her research, people of this civilization era seemed to believe they were created by a special existence. Therefore, people of this era were prone to believing mysterious stories, allowing them to be passed down. People of this age had a special faith in myth and legend.
Nuwa hoped that by spreading their likenesses and names through myths, their knowledge of fighting the Honkai could continue to be passed down in this era. Otto was surprised—he hadn't expected the myths of Shenzhou to have come from the hands of Previous Era survivors. Not just in Shenzhou, but the origins of civilizations worldwide were rooted in myths; were they all created in this manner?]
"Creating myths? Spreading names and likenesses widely... that sounds exactly like something Nuwa would do."
Fu Hua was also a bit surprised; she didn't expect Nuwa's personality to be recreated so accurately in the game.
"Does Su Mu actually know Nuwa?" Senti was also puzzled. Sometimes she truly wondered where Su Mu got all this knowledge. He couldn't possibly be a protagonist with a 'System' like those in web novels, right? No, no, no! That's impossible! If anyone was going to be the 'Chosen One,' it should definitely be her, Senti!
[Fu Hua followed Nuwa deep into the cave, where Nuwa finally found her treasure—a deposit of clay. Her goal was to use this clay to make figurines!
"To help the stories spread better, the next step is naturally to create character images! Manga, anime, figures... weren't these the most popular things in our world before it was destroyed?"
"Figures? You mean those strange models you like?"
"Strange models? Don't look down on figures!"
Otto chimed in at that moment: "Exactly, do not look down on figures!"]
"That's right! Don't look down on figures, Old Timer!" Senti jumped out to offer her opinion.
"I truly cannot understand why you and Nuwa like those little dolls so much." Fu Hua felt helpless; she gave Senti quite a bit of allowance, and a large portion of it went toward buying figures.
"Old Timer, the charm of a figure lies in nostalgia, in art, and in emotional value! They aren't toys—they are art! Yes, art pieces!" Senti talked endlessly about the charm of figures.
Fu Hua was surprised. "You and Nuwa are quite in sync on that, so why is your relationship so bad?"
Senti huffed. "That girl is just too annoying... hmph, forget I mentioned her!"
How was she supposed to say it? It was embarrassing! Nuwa had actually gotten along with her at first, but she immediately stepped on Senti's landmine... That girl wanted to make a figure of Senti, but the first step was to add a "breast enhancement package" to the figure to make her "mediocre" figure more attractive! She even had the nerve to say, with a smug face, "Be grateful for the earth-shattering wisdom of the Great Nuwa!"
Who could stand that? It was war!
[Fu Hua let out a helpless sigh at their words: "I don't think this kind of thing helps spread knowledge."
Nuwa pouted, her annoyed expression looking incredibly cute.
"Why are you such a killjoy? Being so boring... if I write you like that, the legend won't even be popular! Ugh, I don't want such an uninteresting person appearing in my stories! Watch me change you into a more popular image!"
Nuwa used her power to create a brand-new clay figurine—one clearly modeled after Fu Hua, but with "large-cup" improvements, resulting in a gentle, kind, and beautiful young woman.
—Phoenix.
The very same Phoenix from the Honkai Impact 3rd Stigma art.]
Now it was Senti's turn to be stunned. "Wait, is that really the Old Timer? Hey! Old Timer, this kind of plastic surgery is fraud! It's deceiving the consumers!"
[".....Who is this figurine?"
Faced with Fu Hua's dazed expression, Nuwa was triumphant.
"Hmph, be grateful! This is your beautified image!"
"This setting—innocent and cute on the outside, yet unintentionally revealing a mature side—will definitely be popular in the future!"
"I'll paint the hair a passionate fire-red. Just imagining it makes me swoon!"
Seeing Nuwa immersed in her own world, Fu Hua said, "Please don't force your personal interests onto others."
Nuwa tilted her chin up as if seeking credit: "Given your pitiful figure, I also took the liberty of making it a bit more charming."
Fu Hua replied, "I believe your previous statement was a complete personal attack."]
"Pfft..." Senti felt that despite her professional training, no matter how funny something was, she wouldn't laugh. Unless she couldn't help it. "Hahahaha!!! Old Timer, she called your figure 'pitiful'! Pfft-hahaha—"
Even though the scene felt familiar, seeing the same plot happen to the in-game Fu Hua made Senti find it hilarious.
"Ahem, wait! No!" She activated her "Evasion System" before danger arrived, immediately switching the topic. "Old Timer, this girl is looking down on you! She's mocking you for being a 'Flat Chest of Shenzhou'! Can you stand for this? Even if you can, I can't! I'm going to find her and start a fight!!"
Fu Hua looked at the kid who was laughing one second and "standing in solidarity" the next, thinking that Senti really was a natural actor. Her face-changing speed was worthy of a professional.
[The scene made even Otto laugh: "Hahaha, how interesting." Fu Hua's mood was anything but pleasant: "Shut up."
Nuwa was satisfied with her work. She believed this image of Phoenix would surely spread far and wide, and told Fu Hua to try developing in that direction. The problem wasn't whether she wanted to develop in that direction; it was that it was physically impossible...
Later, Otto reminded Fu Hua that their goal was to find information about the spheres and not to waste time on these things. However, no matter how much she asked Nuwa, the girl only repeated the same words. It seemed they had to follow the memory's events, or they wouldn't be able to proceed deeper. Thus, Fu Hua had to act as Nuwa's manual labor, helping her dig for clay.
But when Fu Hua finished the task and returned, Nuwa told her that a strange creature was occupying the depths of the cave. After Fu Hua defeated it, the cave began to shake violently. She escaped the cave with Nuwa. Once outside, Nuwa discovered with shock that the Phoenix figurine was gone.
"Waaaah! The figurine I just made is gone! Did I accidentally drop it while running?! Nooo, I really loved that figurine!"
Fortunately, Fu Hua had picked it up during the chaos and handed it back to her. "...Thank you! That's great..." Seeing Nuwa hold the figurine as if it were a priceless treasure, Fu Hua was curious.
"Do you like that figurine that much?"
Nuwa's cheeks turned slightly red. "Mhm... because it's a figurine of Jingwei."
Fu Hua was stunned. "?"
Nuwa explained, "Jingwei is reliable and cool. Although she looks hard to approach, she's actually gentler to me and my sister than anyone else. You're a truly good person. I want to pass your story down; I hope everyone will love you."]
"....." Senti stared at the in-game Nuwa as if she had seen a ghost. "Old Timer, do you really hold such a high position in Nuwa's heart? That shouldn't be... with your personality as stubborn and hard as a rock, Nuwa likes you that much? I don't get it!"
Fu Hua rolled her eyes. "So that's the image you have of me?"
Senti scrambled to explain: "No, no! I meant the Old Timer in the game! After all, the in-game Old Timer always has a stiff face and looks hard to approach!"
Fu Hua sighed. "Who was it that said earlier the in-game characters are based on reality?"
Senti remained stubborn. "There's... there's bound to be some differences! Games are games, reality is reality! Old Timer, you can't take the game out on me!"
Fu Hua had been moved by the plot, but Senti's interference ruined the mood. Her heart was moved, but her fist was getting hard.
[Through the dialogue with Nuwa, Fu Hua triggered the keyword "Fuxi," allowing her to enter an even deeper memory. Fuxi—the God of Insight, of equal fame to the God of Creation. Nuwa's older sister. She was responsible for the "Pioneer" project and was the administrator of those quantum Soulium computer spheres.
Her true form was a girl who looked similar to Nuwa, also dressed in Shenzhou style, but primarily in white. She had blue eyes and a scroll floating behind her. Similarly, she had a white snake with her. Unlike the lively Nuwa, Fuxi appeared more composed and calm.
The moment they met, she made Fu Hua act as a porter, the cargo being a large bag of shells. Shells were the currency used by people of this era. According to Fuxi's projections, the value of this primitive currency would only go up. To facilitate the economic system of this era, these shells had to be circulated.
Fu Hua finally remembered that Fuxi was exceptionally sensitive to money—one might even call her greedy. Fuxi told Fu Hua solemnly: "You clearly haven't entered society, so you don't understand what a happy thing it is to have money."
Later, Fuxi revealed her purpose: to investigate the local geology and soil. Her goal... in places with abundant water and a pleasant climate, before these lands had owners... she was going to buy them all.]
Fu Hua: "..." Senti: "..."
The sisters were simultaneously speechless. They knew—knew very well—that this was absolutely, definitely something that girl Fuxi would do!
[Nuwa explained it to Fu Hua like this. "Jingwei, Nuwa and I will grow old one day, but you are special. Your unique constitution allows you to stay young forever; you may have to guard this world alone for a very long time." "I know. I am not afraid." "No, that's not what I mean. Do you know how much money it costs to live for several centuries? Considering inflation, currency devaluation, and other factors... if we don't plan now, how do you expect to survive?"
It turned out that everything Fuxi did was her way of paving the path for Fu Hua's future.]
Senti offered a rare word of praise: "Well, that girl does have a conscience... she really put a lot of thought into your future living expenses, Old Timer."
Fu Hua looked at the in-game Fuxi. For a moment, it felt as if this scene had truly happened, and she felt a sting in her nose. A girl destined to drift alone in a strange new world... The companions who knew they couldn't walk with her until the end used their own ways to help her...
The girl shouldered her mission and drifted alone to the present day, but even her memories had become fragmented and incomplete. Even the voices and smiles of those important people had been entirely forgotten...
END OF CHAPTER
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