Li Wu fixed his gaze on the girl cosplaying as Raiden Mei, constantly pondering the meaning behind the passengers' words.
The daughter of a criminal? Holy crap, did they even recreate the backstory?
Cosplayers these days are way too dedicated...
Li Wu sighed in admiration, looking the JK girl up and down.
Compared to when she first got on, she had lowered her head even further, almost perpendicular to her body, completely hiding her expression.
She stood quietly in the increasingly noisy bus. The streetlights outside the window flashed across her face like flowing streams of light, flickering bright and dark.
The bus kept moving forward.
Her figure looked as out of place as a black crow stumbling into a flock of white swans—fragile, easily broken, stained, and filthy... separated from everyone else by a deafening, terrifying distance.
Li Wu couldn't see her expression; he could only see her body swaying and trembling continuously as the bus drove on.
Was it the bus shaking, or was she shaking?
Or maybe both.
Just as Li Wu was about to find a random person to ask what was going on, a familiar rumble came from beneath his feet. In the next instant, the bus was engulfed in a sea of flames.
Once again, Li Wu saw his own body blown to pieces, and... he experienced true "heart-tearing agony" while fully conscious. In his rapidly blurring vision, the flying chunks of flesh and blood were exceptionally horrifying.
...
...
"Ugh!!"
Jolting awake in his seat for the second time, Li Wu covered his mouth, desperately holding back the stomach acid rushing up his throat.
Not only had he seen how he died, but he had also clearly seen how everyone else died. The tissues and structures of the human body were laid bare, displayed before him in their ugliest forms—even if only for a split second.
"Return... by Death."
Trying his hardest to control his body, Li Wu muttered softly in a voice only he could hear.
The first time could be explained away as a dream, but what about the second time?
He was absolutely certain he had been wide awake right before he died. Add to that the incredibly accurate purple-haired girl, the sudden explosion, and key phrases like "daughter of a criminal," "failed investment," and "lost savings"... even the densest person would have figured it out by now.
"I... transmigrated into the world of the doujinshi I drew?"
You've gotta be kidding me!?
He just went to sleep and transmigrated? He didn't even get hit by Truck-kun!
None of the standard procedures were followed. This transmigration was totally non-compliant!
Also, why did he transmigrate into the doujinshi he drew? Excuse me, but does this world full of sick fetishes actually exist?!
When he got on the bus, it was clearly a bus in his original world. Why did it lead to the comic world?
Li Wu looked up and realized he didn't recognize the name of the next stop at all, and it had a strong Far East flavor to it.
Could it be...
Li Wu suddenly remembered the 'Invincible Keyboard Warrior' he had been arguing with earlier.
"...Empty words and inflated numbers are meaningless. I hope you can still laugh when you become the protagonist."
"..."
Phew, calm down. Accept reality first. I'll figure out how I transmigrated after the crisis is resolved. The most urgent task is to figure out how to avoid dying. I don't want to be trapped getting blown up on a bus forever.
If this is the world I created, then this plotline should be the one where Raiden Ryoma is imprisoned for financial crimes. The elite scions of the Far East deliberately ostracized Raiden Mei, hiring mercenaries to plant a bomb on her daily commute. Because this is the Honkai world, from Otto at the top to Cocolia at the bottom, no one cares about the lives of ordinary people—hell, the Third Honkai Eruption destroyed all of Nagazora City.
If I get off the bus now, I can survive. But Raiden Mei is going to get on, and if she dies, I'll still regress back to this point in time.
"..."
F**k, my own setting really bit me in the ass.
However, after realizing he had transmigrated, Li Wu actually felt a sense of relief.
As the God of Creation (the author), he was the one who spent countless sleepless nights coming up with the plot. Clearing the game would be a piece of cake.
But before that, it was time for the "Essential Transmigrator Ritual."
Li Wu coughed lightly twice and turned toward the corner. Since he didn't scream this time, no one paid him any attention.
"Hey, System, are you there?" Li Wu muttered, his voice as soft as a mosquito.
[I am.]
Hearing the system's voice suddenly echo in his mind, Li Wu was overjoyed.
Great, it's a System. I'm saved, guys.
Clearing the game would be a breeze now.
The comic was still serializing and had a total of seven acts. As long as he cleared all seven acts, he could completely escape this damn, twisted plotline!
In the comic, the MC died thirteen times before realizing he might have a system. Li Wu remembered it clearly. When the system appeared, the comment section was filled with things like, "Holy shit, there's a system! The MC is saved!" and "Thank God, the MC finally won't get tortured anymore." But when it turned out the system was completely useless, everyone lost their minds and raged, hehe.
Wait, what about me?
Li Wu realized a very serious problem.
Other than the passive "Return by Death," he only had "Narration," which wouldn't help him at all.
The smile that had just bloomed on Li Wu's face abruptly vanished, slowly freezing into a mask of bitterness.
Is it too late to regret this?
"...What functions do you have?"
[Lord "God of Creation," are you really not aware of what functions I have?]
Li Wu: ???
Why is this System so snarky? This isn't how I set it up at all. Li Wu remembered the system in the comic being very rigid and robotic.
Before Li Wu could ask, the system rattled off its functions in a brisk, cheerful tone:
[「Probability Vision」: Right before you do something stupid... ahem, correction—before making a decision, a line of small text will float in front of your eyes. For example: 'Success rate of disarming the enemy barehanded: 0.03%.' Friendly reminder: Your original intention for this setting was to increase the pathetic nature of the protagonist's actions.]
[「Bond Meter」: Allows you to see the current bond level each heroine has with you. Ranging from "Couldn't Care Less" to "Wants to Kill You With Her Own Hands," it has everything you need.]
[「System Shop」: A must-have for transmigrators. You can buy any item or ability to solve your current crisis. You know, the most cliché features are often the most useful...]
For the next minute, the system continuously listed out all sorts of abilities, all of which were cheats he had once considered giving the protagonist.
Li Wu's smile grew brighter and brighter, right up until the system added—
[None of the above functions exist, because you axed them yourself, Lord God of Creation~]
[Only 「Return by Death」 and 「Narration」 are left~]
[Oh, and the save points are automatically updated to the nearest key narrative node. As you said, the protagonist must face difficulties head-on, so save points cannot be freely selected. What a pity~]
[But rest assured, your identity has already been established. You have replaced the protagonist you penned to complete the main quest. You can do it! I'm rooting for you!]
╭∩╮(ಠ_ಠ)╭∩╮!
Adding insult to injury!
Whatever, it's exactly what I expected.
Li Wu wasn't too dejected. After all, compared to those cheats, he had the most crucial cheat of all—an information gap!
No one knew his work better than the author himself!
[Are you there? Lord God of Creation, a few days ago you commented on a Dragon Raja short video: "What does Jiang Nan know about Dragon Raja anyway?"]
"???"
"Wait, you even know about that?!"
[Of course! I also know that three days ago at 1:47 AM, you opened your browser and searched for iwa...]
"Holy shit, I'm being doxxed!"
"Bro! Sis! Trisolarans! I'm begging you on my knees, don't expose my search history! If I've sinned, just kill me, but don't strip me of my innocence in this world..."
Li Wu frantically begged for mercy in his mind. This time, the system didn't respond.
Following that, the bus came to a halt once again.
Just like the last loop, after Raiden Mei boarded and was recognized, the passengers began verbally attacking her.
It perfectly matched his comic's setting. Raiden Mei would suffer all kinds of malice—some justified, some completely unprovoked. Either way, before Act 1 ended, there was barely a moment where she wasn't being attacked.
Goddamn it...
If I had known, I wouldn't have thought up such a retarded plot...
A little while after Raiden Mei got on the bus, the system proactively initiated a narration.
[Act 1: 「The Hidden Side They Don't Want Anyone to See」.]
[Main Quest: "Save Her".]
[Location: Nagazora City.]
[Quest Target: Raiden Mei.]
[Quest Objective: Prevent Raiden Mei's death and help her find the meaning of her existence.]
[Hint: Once the truth is revealed, who will be the one having a breakdown? So hard to guess...]
"...Can you be serious? I'm going to die in less than three minutes, so skip the hints, since you don't actually have any anyway." Li Wu glanced at his phone, estimating that the bomb would go off in about three minutes.
This "hint" was obviously just mocking him.
So his transmigration definitely had something to do with that Invincible Keyboard Warrior!
In his setting, there were no hints. The protagonist was tortured millions of times in utter confusion, eventually saving the Valkyrie, and then the romance and feelings would naturally fall into place.
So when the hint popped up, Li Wu knew it was just sarcasm.
[Actually, there is a hint. After all, a comic is a comic, and reality is reality. The two are similar, but not identical. A hint is necessary.]
[Listen well, here is the real hint:]
[Day after day, without end. I smile and ask you for money, ask you for your health, ask you for your dignity. You kneel before me, your face full of flattery, offering everything I demand without reservation, telling me how much you like me. I feel joy, I feel hesitation, I feel pity... Is this salvation, or is this conquest? I can't tell anymore. When will this end...]
"What does that mean?"
"Text like that never appeared in my plot. Trying to play the Riddler with me, huh?"
Li Wu retorted, annoyed.
But right now wasn't the time to obsess over this. With less than a minute left, he had to get Raiden Mei off the bus.
As long as they got off, nothing else mattered.
Thinking of this, Li Wu recalled the events of Act 1 in the comic: the bus incident, the girls' bathroom incident, the rooftop incident...
They were all surreal, extreme bullying incidents. But as long as he prepared in advance, they could easily be avoided.
Excellent. From here on out, I'm going to clear this game without dying a single time!
Who cares about true or false hints? Nothing is more efficient than knowing the plot inside out! Everything is under my control. I know the story, the advantage is mine, and I will absolutely never get my ass kicked!