Three million. As an abstract number, it doesn't carry much weight.
It's just a few words, just seven digits.
But if expressed in another way, the term 'three million' is enough to unleash its shocking power.
If a standard soccer stadium holds 10,000 people, you would need 300 of them to hold three million.
In other words, you'd need an area of over 2 square kilometers, with people packed shoulder-to-shoulder, to barely fit that many.
If you just looked from a slightly elevated position, all you'd see is a dense, black mass of heads.
Thinking of it that way, isn't 'three million' extremely shocking?
Unfortunately, Cocolia wasn't moved by this.
That woman knew full well what the consequences would be, yet she was still iron-willed about triggering a Honkai Eruption in Nagazora.
She called it—for the "noble" cause—an 'experiment,' a 'sacrifice' for the sake of fighting the Honkai.
In reality, it was a massacre.
—A one-time massacre of three million people.
In terms of achievements in this area, even Lord Wu'an would have to concede defeat.
But...
"Host, you're overlooking one thing. Nagazora is located within the world's largest metropolitan area."
Well, that settles it. Lord Wu'an can get on his knees and call her 'master' now.
As the most densely populated region on the planet, the Tokyo metropolitan area holds the largest population in the smallest area—nearly forty million people packed into an extremely narrow space.
As part of this metropolitan area, if a Honkai Eruption breaks out in Nagazora, the entire region will inevitably be affected.
In the original timeline, Raiden Mei, after awakening as a Herrscher, created an electromagnetic barrier that covered all of Nagazora, which barely managed to prevent the disaster from spreading to the entire metro area.
The 'three million' mentioned here is only the population of Nagazora itself.
Outside, there are many more people completely unaware of the impending disaster.
If the Great Honkai Eruption is successfully triggered, and Raiden Mei *doesn't* create that super-wide-area electromagnetic barrier...
Then the Nagazora Great Honkai Eruption will become a catastrophe on par with the Second Honkai.
One must be clear about one fact.
Never mind the zombies converted from ordinary people; the Honkai Beasts in reality aren't the little things from the game, no bigger than two people, that any Valkyrie can beat up.
Assault-class and Knight-class low-level Honkai Beasts are one thing; their size is still within an acceptable range, roughly similar to large predators.
But Chariot-class, Crusher-class, Emperor-class, and even Templar-class are different. Which of these high-level Honkai Beasts isn't a behemoth, dozens or even hundreds of meters tall and weighing tens of tons at minimum?
Faced with such things, unless an ordinary person happens to stumble upon a Gundam with a dead pilot *and* instantly masters all Gundam piloting skills, including programming, they wouldn't even have a chance to escape.
And how many of these things are there?
The answer is: as long as there's Honkai energy, there's an unlimited supply.
Imaginary Space is full of them.
So, there's no redeeming Cocolia.
Kill her. No discussion.
...
Honestly, as a 'middle-aged' man, Aaron really disliked this kind of violent, fight-heavy activity.
Given his personality, knowing a disaster was about to strike, while he might save a few people if he could, he would absolutely not risk his life to solve the crisis.
He wasn't a saint, nor was he a hero.
Just a mere mortal.
But, unfortunately, the price the system offered was too high. So high he couldn't refuse.
"Save three million people, and the reward this time is an ultimate divine weapon."
[Cocolia's Star of Death is shining.]
[Description: As a Captain, how can you not be on the front lines fighting the Honkai? Crush Cocolia, and you can get several wives, 'kay (^_−)☆]
[Reward] A Divine Key
A Long Aotian System, a Hero-Training System...
Call it whatever.
According to the system, it didn't care what he called it. Names were completely meaningless to its kind.
Human social definitions couldn't be applied to them.
It had only one purpose.
—To *assist* (read: *force*) the Host to become stronger.
Regarding this, Aaron had ten thousand 'civilized' words he wanted to say to the system.
"Your way of 'urging' me to get stronger is to throw me, a total weakling, in front of a powerhouse who can wipe the planet's surface with a basic attack???"
System: ...
"It was just a small mistake, Host. Don't worry about it."
Right, just a mistake.
A tiny, little mistake in cross-world teleportation.
It wasn't this useless system's fault, really.
Putting that aside, this system was... barely qualified in assisting its Host to become stronger.
Of course, it would be even better if it were a one-stop-shop, pampering, Long-Aotian-training system that guaranteed him a spot at the 'multiversal' level.
*Sigh*.
It issues missions. Based on the mission's impact on the worldline, it gives rewards.
Killing that old bug-grandpa might give him a summoning ticket. Saving the world gets him a divine weapon plus a martial arts manual. And, naturally, running away from a powerhouse like Artosh gets him nothing.
So, of course, with a reward this tantalizing, the difficulty of this mission couldn't be low.
On my side: One transmigrator cub with a power level of '?'
On the enemy side: Cocolia, the leader of the radical faction of one of the three great shadow organizations, Anti-Entropy. Under her command: several Gundams, one Stand user with the script of some urban-novel protagonist from ten years ago, one natural Stigmata bearer, and several copies of the First Herrscher.
The combat power... is a little lopsided.
After some comparison, faced with this disparity in strength, Aaron fell into deep thought.
Although he considered himself a 'hacker,' and only Saint Durandal with her 'Cosmos' could compete with him in terms of 'hax,' he was still a little chick who hadn't finished developing. This time... he'd probably still have to play it safe.
It's decided! I'll go pay my respects to a certain lonely 'Herrscher of Cooking.'
Clapping his hands together, Aaron made his decision.
"Host, kidnapping a minor is illegal."
Right on cue, the system's voice chimed in, reminding Aaron to be a law-abiding citizen.
But Aaron wasn't having it.
"I'm clearly going to comfort a young girl's wounded heart and save her from the fiery depths."
"How can you use a word like 'kidnapping' to describe that? Please watch your wording."
Can saving the world be called kidnapping?
Of course not.
Besides, according to the laws of the Far East, 16 is old enough to get married.
Can that even be called a minor?
Of course not.
Aaron: a law-abiding citizen.
He would never do anything illegal.
"..."
The system had so many retorts, it didn't know where to begin.