dmims Page 177
Page 177
Besides, Paradise Ellie actually enjoys teasing her silly self, and she doesn't want this rare "toy" to just disappear like that.
For such a purpose, revealing everything about the Paradise of the Past to Alicia would be an extremely inappropriate act.
It's not that it's absolutely impossible, but at least we should try to slow down the realization of that idiot's true form. Only in this way can Alicia better accept everything.
Be a help, not a nuisance.
Jiang Qiao did not comment on Paradise Lovely's idea, but simply smiled.
However, it largely complied with the former's wishes.
Whether Alicia would change her decision because of her experiences in the five past paradises, he actually had no opinion—although Jiang Qiao also knew that if Alicia knew all this, she would never be able to escape with a clear conscience.
From this perspective, bringing Alicia to Paradise seems to have left her with only one path to choose from.
But Jiang Qiao didn't want to think about these things—in his view, as long as Alicia made a decision she wouldn't regret, that was fine.
Paradise Ellie puffed out her cheeks and left; she needed to find Aponia first to arrange the next steps.
Jiang Qiao, who remained in the Yingjie Conference Hall, originally planned to take a stroll inside Paradise—to be honest, he was quite curious about this place, since the game's model of it wasn't very complete.
However, before he could get up, another visitor approached after Paradise Ellie left.
He glanced up and saw a head of wine-red hair.
—She's a super rich woman, Eden!
...It's not that strange, after all, the rich woman is the number one fan of Alicia in Paradise, and Alicia was able to land in the Eden territory as soon as she entered Paradise - it's hard to say that this is just a coincidence of the matching mechanism.
As for Jiang Qiao's version of 'Alice' sitting on the sofa at this moment, although there are some differences, Eden, as an Alice fan, still has a deep interest in her.
Sure enough, he and Paradise Ellie had just finished chatting when the rich woman, drawn by the scent, showed up.
Sensing the gaze and scrutiny, the azure eyes of 'Alicia' met Eden's shimmering gold, somewhat languid eyes.
The latter sat at a distance neither too close nor too far from Jiang Qiao, scrutinizing him for a long time before sighing:
"You must be Jiang Qiao that Ellie was talking about?... Hmm, you really do look alike."
Just like Paradise Airi, she almost didn't recognize 'Jiang Airi' at first glance.
Fortunately, Eden's status as the number one Ellie fan of the former civilization is no joke—even if Ellie in Paradise couldn't recognize him, Eden could.
Of course, Eden didn't feel any ill will towards this similarity.
After all, unlike the later Herrscher of Corruption, Jiang Qiao was not trampling on or desecrating everything about her former hero and close friend; it was merely a kind of 'performance' disguise.
Eden might even be somewhat pleased with this.
After all, they really do look so alike, don't they?
Can anyone resist a cosplay with 120% realism?
The wealthy woman couldn't refuse anyway; faced with this, all she could say was—give me more! (Soundbite)
"Hmm—this can only be described as a poor imitation."
"To say such a thing is a bit too modest, Mr. Jiang Qiao. At least from my perspective, if you were in our time, you might have to admit defeat even to Wilvey when it comes to the talent of 'imitation'."
In response, 'Alicia' touched her smooth chin and suddenly became interested in whether she should try her hand at being a 'background extra', just to experience the life of an actress and unlock a new picture and experience of 'background actress playing Alicia'.
I don't know Jiang's
"Although I didn't go into detail about your situation due to time constraints, Ellie still told me quite a bit."
"It's unbelievable... but I'm willing to believe it's true."
Given Alicia's personality, it's not surprising that she would tell her companions in Paradise about this, and Jiang Qiao had expected it.
The 'girl' propped her cheek on her hand, gazing at Eden, curious about the thoughts of this wealthy woman.
Although he was certain that Eden had indeed come to see him with the intention of "closely mimicking Ellie," if she knew about the previous civilization, then Eden must want to ask him to do something, right?
"May I ask, Mr. Jiang Qiao, have you ever seen me in the past?"
Eden doesn't seem to have the memory of meeting Alicia (the version of Jiang) like Aponia and Kevin, but that's not surprising.
After all—strictly speaking, she is now merely an echo, a memory, left behind by the heroes of the past; the Eden of yesteryear has long since passed away with the old era in the cycle of the end.
The world allows consciousness to match new containers, but does not allow containers to collect dissipated consciousness.
That's exactly how it is.
Even without the memory of meeting Jiang Qiao, Eden inevitably had some things he wanted to do after learning what Jiang Qiao was doing.
As Sakura later said, among the people in this paradise of the past, each of them had left behind some regrets, more or less.
"I will save that era."
Jiang Qiao responded to Eden's question in this way.
—For the 'golden' hero before us, the biggest regret is probably the life whose trajectory was changed by the arrival of the Collapse.
After all, as a 'treasure' of a pre-civilization, that era is all she has.
After hearing Jiang Qiao's words, Eden smiled, already having obtained his answer:
"It seems that you did indeed have some connection with me in the past."
"Indeed, I only saw half of the concert with the ticket I bought. By the time I finished what I was doing and came back, the concert was already over... Um, Miss Eden, would you mind if I paid for the ticket myself?" The girl leaned against the sofa, revealing a little resentment and helplessness, before making a joking remark.
"..."
Eden fell silent for a moment, but quickly smiled again.
She never imagined that her past encounter with the person before her would be like this.
She chuckled and said:
"If you want, I can make up for the concert you didn't get to see on your own."
A concert with only one audience member was a privilege that only Alicia could enjoy in the previous civilization.
This clearly shows the wealthy woman's fondness for Jiang Qiao's version of 'Alice'.
"But you've probably misunderstood."
"While the previous civilization is indeed incredibly important to me, that's not what I want to talk about."
His languid tone tinged with seriousness, his long, wine-red hair swaying slightly with the movement of his body, this crystallization of pre-civilization art—Eden—said with considerable solemnity:
“Mr. Jiang Qiao… um, please allow me to use a more intimate term, Qiao… I actually hope that you will go to find the me of the past.”
"If possible, please let my past self enter the Moth of Fire ahead of time."
Jiang Qiao was a little surprised to hear this request.
He could understand if other heroes had this idea, but... Eden?
Compared to the other twelve heroes in Paradise, Eden was arguably the most successful of them all.
At a young age, he became a globally popular singer and a world-renowned artist.
Eden actually wants to send his once glorious self into the Moth of Flame ahead of time?
— Eden showed a hint of helplessness and a wry smile in response to this question.
Perhaps to most people, she was indeed incredibly successful in the past—and that is indeed the case. After going through a series of thrilling experiences that everyone goes through initially, her career began to flourish.
until--
The sudden fire destroyed everything.
Yes, perhaps even after that, she could still be active as a world-renowned artist and singer.
But the urgency of collapse and the gradual disintegration of people's hearts are pressing.
In such an environment, how can people continue to appreciate so-called 'art' with peace of mind?
That period was also the lowest point in Eden's life.
It's even worse than when they first debuted.
Compared to the realities of her predicament, the blow to her beliefs was the most severe for her.
The declining civilization left Eden unable to find meaning in its existence.
Thanks to Alicia's comfort, she was finally able to emerge from the shadows.
But at that time, Eden also chose to give up the many honors he had once been proud of, no longer walking as a 'singer', but joining the battlefield against the Honkai as a 'warrior'.
"..."
Jiang Qiao understood the meaning of Eden.
She didn't want her past self to continue to be immersed in the illusion of prosperity.
Art will certainly still exist, but only after everything has settled down.
Perhaps most heroes in this paradise share similar thoughts.
After all, they were firsthand witnesses to that desperate era.
Jiang Qiao nodded slightly in response:
"I will convey your message."