Chapter 242 Character Event "Rosemary's Floriography"! The St. Fontaine Serial Murders.
[This was indeed a scene that could be described as tragic.]
[The torrential rain poured down without mercy, yet the stubborn embers amidst the ruins continued to burn.]
[The building once called 'home' had been destroyed, charred to a point where its shape was barely recognizable.]
[Only the full moon, hanging solitary in the sky, observed everything impassively—bright, cruel, and alone.]
[The girl opened her mouth weakly. Splashing rainwater fell inside, slightly moistening her parched throat; the taste was unexpectedly sweet.]
[On her chest were three hideous lacerations resembling claw marks. Crimson blood was diluted by the rain, pooling into a small puddle beneath her.]
[—These were, without a doubt, fatal wounds.]
["London Bridge is falling down... Falling down... Falling down..."]
[In a scene that should have evoked terror or even despair, for some reason, the girl suddenly began humming a Mother Goose nursery rhyme.]
["London Bridge is falling down... My fair lady..."]
[The air was a mix of mud, ash, and the charred fragrance of incompletely burned flowers and herbs.]
The girl remembered that smell. It was a plant called Rosemary; its blossoms carried a scent that calmed the heart. And the hamburger steak her sister seasoned with it was the most luxurious flavor in her and Little Jo's memories—
The beginning of the story told of a desolate city after a disaster, a man, a dying girl, and a promise concerning salvation and revenge. The man in the CG holding the girl's hand had his resolve drowned out by the thunderous rain; it was impossible to tell if the moisture on his face was rainwater or tears of regret. However, the owner of the hand he held had already fallen into a peaceful, permanent sleep.
And the appearance of this man was all too familiar to Elysia and the others.
"Is that... Welt Yang?" Elysia widened her eyes in confusion. "It looks like Mr. Welt promised a dying girl's final wish in a disaster-stricken city? But this girl... her voice sounds so familiar."
Elysia thought for a moment, then her eyes went wide. "That voice—isn't that Seele's voice? Wh-what is going on here..."
Her confusion was quickly met with a response from Theresa. "It's probably like the Kongming event—a story happening in a parallel world different from the main storyline. After all, we know Seele and Mr. Welt Yang only had their first intersection in the Sea of Quanta, right? Plus, Seele didn't die; she was trapped in the Sea of Quanta because of an experiment..."
Theresa's answer made Elysia nod. she felt it was a reasonable explanation. After all, Honkai Impact 3rd had the settings of the Sea of Quanta and World Bubbles... In other words, when in doubt, it's a parallel world! Since it's a parallel world, anything is possible and logical!
"But speaking of which, Su Mu is really being a bit inhumane this time." Elysia shook her head. "Killing Seele right at the start? Taking a perfectly fine character and knifing her immediately—he's far too wicked!"
[Hehe, I can only say the Old Thief has been getting more and more brutal lately. He's practically a cold-blooded knifing machine!]
[My evaluation is: the Old Thief is most lost when he's just finished writing a tragic scene but can't make us players cry immediately because the update is still days away!]
[Like playing Honkai 3rd? Can't stop it! Did you really think your favorite character could escape the Old Thief's poison? Hmm??]
[Himeko fans have already died peacefully; now Seele fans are being buried with them, I see?]
The fact that this character event killed off the beloved Seele right at the beginning reminded many players of Su Mu's previous inhumane acts. This time, he wasn't even pretending; he went straight for a full-sprint assault on the hearts of Seele fans!
Elysia continued the game.
After the scene of Welt Yang accepting the girl's final wish, the perspective shifted to Conan Doyle. This segment utilized a flashback technique. After the truth behind the serial murders in the "Desolate City" of St. Fontaine had been uncovered, Conan Doyle met with a guest of special status. she was neither a friend nor an informant, but she had recently shared a life-and-death experience with Doyle and possessed information that he had ultimately failed to decipher.
Who was the person he wanted to see? What exactly were the "St. Fontaine Serial Murders"?
This piqued the curiosity of the audience, but at the same time, sharp-eyed viewers caught the keywords: "St. Fontaine" and "Serial Murders"...
"St. Fontaine? Isn't this place a bit... ominously weird?" Thinking about how the story of A Post-Honkai Odyssey also took place in St. Fontaine, Theresa's expression became subtle. "I didn't expect St. Fontaine to become a 'Desolate City' in this parallel world... This place is rather disaster-prone, isn't it?"
[True, it's basically the Sydney of movies. Sydney got destroyed again today...]
[Am I the only one worried about the 'Serial Murders' part? I mean, the Old Thief isn't even acting anymore. 666, invincible—he just straight up told us a bunch of people are going to die, right?]
[Based on the Old Thief's patterns, the characters appearing this time will definitely be ones we recognize.]
[Damn, the parallel world setting is too convenient! For an Old Thief who loves to abuse us players, this tool is just too effective!]
However, precisely because the game established the tone of mystery and detective work from the start, players built up their mental defenses. Thus, the "torture" of Su Mu didn't last long. after all, the scariest thing is a plot that starts humorous or wholesome only to drop a knife halfway through—that is truly inhumane. Like in Lone Star, where he followed a sweet date with Kongming with her sudden death; that scene was a textbook example of being a "born-yesterday" bastard!
As Elysia clicked on [Prologue: Desolate City], the scene opened on a moving train.
["Detective Consultant Mr. Holmes sat on the train reading a newspaper."]
["He is a quiet man with very regular habits, rarely staying awake past ten at night. In the morning, he always finishes breakfast before I wake, waiting for commissions."]
["This unique observer of London possesses an intuitive ability to analyze things."]
["Most of the time, provided the client provides specific facts, he can provide the answer called 'truth' without even leaving his home, relying on his research of criminal history."]
["Of course, occasionally slightly complex cases arise. At such times, he travels and investigates in person."]
["Since this renowned detective has appeared outside of London, what bizarre case awaits at the end of this rail line?"]
["This case will also be presented to you by me, Dr. Watson..."]
Conan Doyle narrated the journey in Watson's voice; this was the story for his upcoming Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. sitting opposite him, holding a newspaper, was Fu Hua, who interrupted his self-praise with a look of utter helplessness.
When asked why he used such strange pseudonyms, Doyle replied solemnly: ["Look, if you put the first characters of 'Holmes' (Fú) and 'Watson' (Huá) together, it's your name. I believe this is proof of our friendship."]
Facing Doyle's words, Fu Hua sighed. ["Why does this Mr. Holmes in your novel look like a stitched-together product of my personality and your logic living in one body?"]
["That... is merely a technical adjustment—'God only made you a human shape, but while the exterior is dignified, the essence is rogue.' I was born a free spirit, and such characters generally aren't popular with female readers."]
["It seems you have some self-awareness. Then, a final question: Nationality. I do not believe assigning a British nationality to a character based on me without my consent is a sign of respect."]
["No, no, no, of course I respect you and the mysterious East behind you, my friend. But please understand my difficulty. you see, here, it is default that Easterners cannot appear in mystery novels. This rule holds no discrimination or prejudice; it's just that in Western perception, you Easterners carry a bit of a magical attribute."]
Doyle's answer made Fu Hua view it as a prejudice.
["But undeniably, you can at least punch through a wall with your bare hands."]
The next sentence forced Fu Hua to admit he was right.
["...Fine. you have a point."]
The interaction made Elysia burst into laughter. "Mysterious Eastern power? Mhm! It's true~ after all, in foreigners' eyes, doesn't everyone from Shenzhou know Kung Fu? That counts as a kind of prejudice, I guess?"
"Mhm... to be honest, it really is like that. Before I came to Shenzhou, I thought everyone here knew Qinggong, Iron Shirt, or Golden Bell Cover. I was worried I'd be out of place because I didn't know Kung Fu," Theresa smiled, recalling her early days in Shenzhou. "But later I found out that even in Shenzhou, not everyone knows it... many people here are just ordinary, differing only in skin color."
"But Hua really does know martial arts," Elysia said. "I saw it with my own eyes. In a state of extreme anger, she really did punch through a wall!"
"About that..." Theresa sighed helplessly. "Back when I was at St. Freya, a student got into trouble with some thugs outside. They cornered him in an alley—there were ten of them. Fu Hua just happened to pass by. When I reached the hospital, I saw her fists covered in blood and nearly died of fright. —As it turned out, Fu Hua told me she wasn't hurt at all; it was the thugs' blood. All ten of them were wailing in hospital beds..."
Theresa's story made the chat explode.
[Pfft, the Class Monitor is that badass?]
[one vs ten while she was in school?]
[Is the Monitor actually Ip Man? fighting ten at once!]
[I finally understand why her combat power is so broken in the plot—the inspiration is rooted in reality!]
Amidst the audience's shock, Doyle's in-game monologue continued. He complained that while he was a doctor by trade, business was poor, and his monthly income barely sustained him. his other side-hustle was being a two-man detective consultant team, providing case consultations for official Scotland Yard detectives. Doyle provided the brains, while Hua provided the brawn. after the case was solved, the credit went to the inspector who commissioned them. The reward for a successful solve was usually generous.
So far, they had assisted in various cases, and commissions from official detectives and private clients were increasing. By contrast, his clinic was doing worse and worse. When there were no commissions, he regularly recorded what he saw in the cases. his landlady, Mrs. Hudson, discovered these manuscripts and sent them to a magazine she knew. Unexpectedly, these stories based on real experiences were highly acclaimed. Thus, Conan Doyle gained the identity of a novelist.
A doctor, a detective, and a novelist... a doctor who doesn't want to be a detective isn't a good novelist.
This time, Doyle was invited by Walter Joyce to the "Desolate City" of St. Fontaine. This city of long history and diversity would have remained a bustling resort if not for the unexplained "Great Catastrophe" five years ago. Now, five years later, St. Fontaine was a dead city. Honkai energy leaking in the city had spawned a large number of Honkai beasts that roamed the streets. To prevent the disaster from spreading, members of the Schicksal Empire Research Institute Lab 42 spent three years establishing an effective isolation system called "Anti-Entropy" around the city.
Though confused why a man named after the world would invite a private detective with a series of cryptic poems, Doyle decided to go to St. Fontaine to investigate. However, Doyle and Watson weren't the only guests. In the seat beside them was the woman who haunted the dreams of countless viewers—Irene Adler. she had also received Joyce's invite to the Walter Manor.
As for how Doyle deduced she was an opera singer who had just retired? because the news of Irene Adler's retirement was on the back of the newspaper in Watson's hand. This left Watson speechless. So that long analysis and all that reasoning earlier was just you showing off??
When the train reached St. Fontaine, the sky turned dark. This was a lingering effect of the Catastrophe; for four years, this region had been shrouded in perpetual heavy rain, making day and night indistinguishable. On the way to the Walter Manor, Doyle's party was attacked by monsters and happened to encounter Dr. Tesla. after some introductions... Tesla noticed the graceful figure behind Doyle. Her face changed subtly—looking constrained yet... cowering?
["Hello, Frederica."]
["Miss Adler, thank you very much for accepting the invitation."]
["It's been a while; you seem to have become even more interesting."]
["Not at all, it must be your imagination."]
["I feel that compared to the past, you make me want to dote on you even more now."]
["you—stay away! don't come any closer!"]
The interaction made many viewers immediately think of the classic scene at Schicksal where Rita tied Tesla to a chair, gave her a bow, and sprayed her with perfume... It seemed the Tesla of this world had also been severely teased.
"Miss Tesla is quite cute, like a kitten with its fur standing on end," Rita chuckled, covering her lips.
"No... I understand Tesla's feelings perfectly. Rita loves teasing people for fun..." Theresa felt empathetic, holding her forehead as she recalled some unpleasant memories.
Under Tesla's lead, the party entered the Walter Manor, where they met Dr. Einstein, who had been waiting. Einstein revealed the truth: the invitation was written by Dr. Tesla, and the manor's owner, Joyce, had been murdered in his room two days ago. Left on the table at the crime scene were the very lines of poetry from the invitation; they were likely clues left by Mr. Joyce.
Subsequently, Einstein led them to a circular hall. The vast space, if not for the lack of seats, would have resembled a Roman colosseum. several strange guests were already standing there.
Sora, Raven. Jackal. And "Little Jo" (Joachim/Welt Yang).
These strange guests made Elysia widen her eyes, her face full of curiosity. "A rainy night, a manor, a murder, and a group of strange visitors... this is truly the standard opening for a classic detective novel!"
END OF CHAPTER
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