45. Two Jealous People? The Sea of Quanta Opens!
[Cocolia's transformation is so immense it's hard to imagine.]
[The very woman who caused countless disasters and tragedies in the Honkai world with her radical and mad actions truly abandoned her series of delusional behaviors simply upon the persuasion of a man she had known for just over a year.]
[Now, Cocolia has even reduced her work as an Anti-Entropy Executor, devoting herself wholeheartedly to accompanying the children in the orphanage.]
[For the children who died due to Honkai contamination, Cocolia is also earnestly searching for ways to save them. Until then, she will spend each child's final moments with them.]
[Whenever you see her with the children, you can always feel her terrifyingly powerful maternal love—a tenderness you could never sense in the original story, no matter what.]
[You've never caused such a drastic change in someone before, which left you puzzled for quite a while until you finally understood why it happened.]
[You can't make a good person turn evil, but it's just as hard to make an evil person do good. However, you did find Cocolia at her most fragile and conflicted moment, gently pulling her back just before she slipped into the abyss of madness.]
[You didn't do much, but the effect was strikingly clear—akin to making a small mark on the art school application of a certain mustachioed art lover, ensuring his admission. A tiny action, yet its impact on the world was profound.]
[In any case, you know the children have noticed the change in Mama Cocolia. She has truly begun to care about their mental and physical growth, just like you. These days, everyone has been very happy.]
[Of course, Bronya isn't so happy. Now, Cocolia has also become one of the people keeping her in check. Even as a gentle and good mother, her "gentleness" is still military-grade.]
[Her computer and gaming consoles were moved to another room. The smile tactics that worked on you are useless against Cocolia. Bronya, ordered to play with her sisters or go exercise, is completely draining.]
[Seele's stigma didn't pique Cocolia's interest much. She knows another presence resides in her daughter's body but immediately determined it was harmless and had no intention of investigating further.]
[You think that, at least in this simulation, Cocolia will become a good mother. She is earnestly doing what a mother should.]
[Peaceful days pass swiftly, as if they could slip away at any moment.]
[As agreed, you and the children come to the seaside. For some reason, a familiar sense of unease begins to stir in your heart.]
[You know... the "big event" you foresaw might be about to happen.]
Sea of Okhotsk, the sea area bordering the Pacific Ocean and Siberia. Though located in the northern latitudes, during the height of summer, it's just right—pleasantly cool.
"Bronya Sis, wait for me—I want to ride the jet ski too!"
"This thing's really fast—alright, hold on tight. Father, we're off."
"Dad! Let's play watermelon splitting! I can control mercury to make throwing knives!"
"Dad, come play with us! Liliya's here too!"
"Silly Rozaliya, Dad has his own tasks. Shh, shh, look at Mom and Raven Sis—"
"Be careful in the water, don't swim too deep. If you drown, I'll have to fish you out."
Wearing classic black swim trunks, Gao Qi lay on a deck chair under a beach umbrella, watching the sea and the children running around in swimsuits, unable to hold back a sigh.
Though his simulated life hadn't been short, Gao Qi had never actually been to the beach for fun—though he had once fought the Herrscher of the Void and shoved her into the Arctic Ocean.
As a steady and mature adult, especially looking over thirty now, Gao Qi naturally wouldn't join the children's games—though he really wanted to play in the sand, it was better to maintain some dignity in front of the kids.
Besides, while this might be an exciting swimsuit episode, a bunch of flat-chested little kids in one-piece swimsuits hardly caught Gao Qi's attention.
"Sigh, in ten years, they'll all be grown women."
Gao Qi sipped his juice, imagining the future: a curvaceous, beautifully proportioned "Big Bronya" over a decade later, filling him with anticipation.
Maybe in this simulated timeline, after Gao Qi leaves, Bronya and the other children can grow up healthily. Given Seele's development, she'll likely become an impressive "Big Seele" too.
The others are less certain: Sin Mal is definitely staying flat, and as for Liliya and Rozaliya, forget bust size—it's uncertain how tall they'll even get.
But that's all in the future. For now, Gao Qi only holds hopes for the children's growth and...
"Here, a drink for you, Zero."
Suddenly, a cocktail was handed to Gao Qi. He took it casually and looked at the person beside him—Raven.
Natasha was wearing a simple gray bikini that covered her chest modestly. Though her figure wasn't as full as it would be in the future, it was already taking shape.
"Thanks. What's this drink called, my mixologist Miss Raven?"
After taking a sip, Gao Qi nodded in satisfaction.
"No name, just mixing for fun. Maybe if I retire from mercenary work in the future, I could become a bartender."
Casually sitting next to Gao Qi, Raven leaned against him out of habit. After over a year together, she had grown used to treating this man as her elder brother—no, perhaps more than that.
"In a while, I'll probably have to take on other missions. But maybe I could learn from Cocolia and start an orphanage somewhere else too? There are many children in this world who need help."
Though she still felt irritated by Cocolia, Raven had seen her change firsthand. At least in their love for children, she, Cocolia, and Gao Qi were quite alike.
This past year had been fulfilling and happy for Raven—the most relaxed and joyful period since she began her mercenary career.
"I've saved up quite a bit now. I'm thinking of buying an uninhabited island in the Pacific and turning it into a home for me and the children..."
Skillfully linking arms with Gao Qi, Raven had to admit: as a mercenary who found it hard to trust others, she felt a sense of reliability in "Zero."
"When the time comes, I'll ask you, a professional, to be the teacher—how about it? Will you agree?"
Meeting Gao Qi's gaze, her wine-red eyes as intoxicating as the drink in her hand, Raven seriously extended the invitation.
"If you ask me to go, of course I will. But I'd advise you not to believe those real estate developers' false advertising. Ocean-view houses look nice but are actually damp and chilly. Uninhabited islands lack infrastructure and have poor disaster resilience. With sea levels rising year after year, it might get flooded in a few years... It's better to buy somewhere in the mountains."
Hearing Raven still dreaming of her private island villa, Gao Qi couldn't help but sigh and dissuade her repeatedly.
In the past, he could treat this as an inside joke, but after spending so much time with Raven, Gao Qi couldn't bear to see her hard work over the years go to waste.
"Really? The ads made it sound so good... But the mountains aren't bad either. The most important thing is that you'll come."
Resting her head on Gao Qi's shoulder, Raven's smile was especially bright.
She was a mercenary living on the edge, with her life constantly at risk, yet she also longed for a simple, peaceful life—which was why she hated the Honkai so much.
And Raven had to admit: Zero... was the perfect companion for such a life. He cooked well, handled chores effortlessly, took good care of children, and never let missions interfere with family time.
He was simply... the best choice.
"Tell me, Mr. Zero, aside from coming to work for me... would you be interested in—"
"Sorry, but Zero isn't for lending. I signed a very, very long employment contract with him."
However, before Raven could finish, she saw a blonde woman, dressed in a somewhat revealing bikini and with a figure far more curvaceous than Raven's, gracefully stride over and sit down beside Gao qi.
"And, Miss Raven, if I recall correctly, you're only eighteen or nineteen, right? For someone so young, starting a business isn't so easy—you might lack some necessary... experience?"
Cocolia leaned against Gao qi, using her plump and soft chest, barely covered by two strips of black fabric, to press against his arm. As she glanced at the children playing, she casually poured cold water on Raven.
"Although an orphanage isn't a business, this industry also prefers more mature professionals. Only the most compatible individuals can meet the industry's—needs, don't you agree?"
Though already in her thirties, perhaps due to some Anti-Entropy technology or simply natural beauty, Cocolia's skin was so fair and tender it seemed to glow. She lifted her smooth thigh slightly, rubbing her sand-dusted foot gently against Gao qi's calf—undoubtedly, she was making a move.
Not long ago, Cocolia had been wavering at a critical crossroads in her life, and just as she was about to slip into the abyss, a man pulled her back—Zero.
Now, looking back on her former self, Cocolia couldn't help but shudder. How could she have ever spoken so righteously about placing her own daughter on an experimental table?
Suddenly, Cocolia felt tired. Her exhaustion had been building since the Second Honkai Eruption—through the warlord conflicts in Siberia, the factional struggles after joining Anti-Entropy, and the dealings with World Serpent...
All of it had distanced her from her original self, the self who only wanted to fight for the children. Cocolia thought it might be time for her to rest.
She already had her own place to call home—the Cocolia Orphanage was everything to her. But... since the children had already grown accustomed to calling the man beside her "Father," and she was only a few years older than him, with looks that weren't bad either, why not take the initiative and let the children keep calling him that? It didn't seem like a bad idea.
"Mhm, mhm—ow, ow, ow, what are you pinching me for?"
Gao qi was watching Bronya racing on a jet ski in the distance, silently nodding in agreement with Cocolia's words, when Raven suddenly pinched the soft flesh at his waist.
Seeing the shameless behavior of this older woman, Raven trembled slightly, her gaze sharpening like a blade as she glared at the composed Cocolia.
"Oh, really? I think that industry old-timers aren't necessarily more successful than younger ones. After all, their minds have already become rigid and can't keep up with the times. On the contrary, it's us younger ones who are the real favorites in the industry. Who doesn't prefer someone more energetic and lively, rather than an old-timer who's half-asleep by evening, right?"
As she spoke, Raven hugged Gao qi even tighter, going a step further by resting her smooth thigh on him, deliberately elongating the word "old."
"Yeah, yeah—ouch, what now?"
Gao qi's gaze was fixed on Rozaliya, who was using her forehead to crack open a watermelon, and he casually nodded along with Raven's words—only to have Cocolia's toes pinch his calf.
Though both of them were getting a bit too close, Gao qi had long grown accustomed to this level of proximity, thanks to their gradual, subtle interactions. After all, at Mobius's lab, besides Mobius, Klein, Nuwa, and Fuxi also liked sticking close to him, just like children.
He couldn't help but think—is the orphanage industry really this competitive? Are these two really just discussing orphanage matters?
But just as Cocolia and Raven were about to continue arguing over who was more suited for the "orphanage industry," a loud and somewhat peculiar sound of waves suddenly reached their ears.
"Dad! Wow, look over there!"
"Father, hurry, look!"
Soon, the children from the orphanage came running over, shouting and pointing toward the sea not far away.
The once calm and windless sea had inexplicably formed a massive whirlpool, its diameter expanding from a few meters to hundreds of meters in an instant.
It seemed as though something was pulling the Pacific Ocean's water into it, as if by magic.
"What... the underwater lab!"
After a moment of thought, Cocolia immediately guessed the source of the problem. She pulled a communication terminal from her ample chest and tried to contact the Anti-Entropy laboratory beneath the Sea of Okhotsk.
Although Project X-10 had been halted, research on the Honkai continued, and the lab remained an important research base for Anti-Entropy.
The call connected quickly, but only chaotic noises came from the other end.
"Ma'am, there's an error in the experimental data... This was just a routine experiment, but a singularity... We've connected to an alternate space... The physical constants are completely distorted. We must—"
Then, the faint communication was completely cut off. Within the whirlpool, distorted halos of light began to appear, like a massive bubble connecting to a twisted world.
"Raven, is this World Serpent's doing?"
Immediately, Cocolia turned to Raven, her eyes filled with suspicion.
"I knew it—you've long known my identity! It's not me. My mission is to prevent you from releasing something from the experiment. I'd prefer if this kind of experiment never happened!"
Raven's expression also turned serious as she waved her hand, clarifying her stance.
Compared to Cocolia, as a member of World Serpent, she had a clearer understanding of the Sea of Quanta. Gray Serpent had repeatedly warned her to prevent anything from there from arriving prematurely.
"This is beyond our ability to handle. We must evacuate immediately and take the children with us!"
No one was happy about their lovely date being interrupted, but as they looked at the enormous whirlpool and listened to the alarming beeps from their portable instruments, Cocolia and Raven immediately decided to retreat—this was no different from a minor Honkai outbreak!
"No, it's too late. The energy here is even greater than you imagine—protect the children."
Gao qi, wearing his swim trunks, let out a long sigh. At this point, it was no longer the time to question why the Sea of Quanta had suddenly opened.
Gao qi thought that if the Will of Honkai desired it, even a slight disturbance in the Anti-Entropy experiment could open that door—this butterfly had once again flapped its wings, causing something extraordinary.
"Wait, Zero, don't go! Don't leave the children behind!"
"Come with us, Zero. The children need you too!"
But as he stood up, both Cocolia and Raven instinctively grabbed Gaoqi's hands. In their minds, vague memories they had deliberately ignored seemed to resurface.
During the Second Honkai Eruption, they had seen this same back.
"No, I have to... hold these things back—take care of them."
Gaoqi smiled faintly as the power of a MANTIS began to flow within him. Watching the translucent, azure Honkai beasts emerging from the gateway to the Sea of Quanta, he knew he had no choice but to go.
The next second, he kicked a large crater into the sand and his seemingly insignificant figure charged straight toward the whirlpool on the sea.
If it were just dealing with quantum Honkai beasts, Gaoqi was confident—
But shortly after entering the Sea of Quanta, accompanied by a hoarse roar, a blazing, burning fist slammed toward Gaoqi's face.
BOOM—
"Ahhhhhhh!! The Serpent's Herald—you... deserve to die!!!!!"
Note: I'm new to translating so please be kind and tell me any mistakes you all find, I will try to release a chapter a day but don't expect much
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Raw: 崩坏模拟器,你找的人是我么?