A person's life will…
Oh—sorry. For Ji Ran, who has already spent more than 3 seconds after transmigrating into this world, this is already his second life.
There's no need to talk about his previous one. As an orphan who grew up in an orphanage, he finally managed to pay off his tuition through part-time work and found a job… only to be run over by an out-of-control dump truck on the street.
If you told that story, no one would even sympathize with you.
After arriving in this world, once Ji Ran realized he had gained a second life, he originally wanted to shout in joy.
But when he saw the road sign beside him, with the words:
[Canghai City]
…he froze.
"Canghai City" isn't exactly a unique name. He'd seen it in more than one ACG work.
But the problem is—
one of those worlds is basically a death sentence for ordinary men.
After spending over an hour finding a nearby map, Ji Ran felt like he couldn't breathe.
He wanted to tell himself this was all fake.
But the electronic map clearly showed places like:
"Sky Dome City" (Tianqiong City)
"Nagazora City" (Chang Kong City)
Names he recognized… and absolutely didn't want to see.
"…Damn it. This is the Honkai world."
"…I'm screwed."
In this world, there exists a special energy called Honkai Energy.
For those without compatibility, being infected is basically a death sentence.
Even those with slight resistance don't fare much better:
If lucky → you survive, but suffer lifelong damageIf unlucky → you become a zombie-like Honkai creature (Deadwalker)
And if you're like that ultimate unlucky guy, Chen Tianwu, a rare male with high compatibility…
Congratulations. You might gain a Herrscher Core.
But once that happens, you basically become a puppet of Honkai—
losing control of your body, causing destruction against your will…
…and eventually getting killed by the righteous Valkyries.
"Wow, amazing. The script is already written. When does filming start?"
Ji Ran muttered sarcastically with a blank expression, sitting down on a nearby public bench, staring at the blazing sun.
Current time: Spring, 2014
…Wait, why is the sun this intense in spring? This is Shenzhou, right?
Ah, forget the details.
Anyway, since it's 2014, this must be the Current Era.
During this time:
K423 (Kiana)Raiden MeiBronya Zaychik
…are preparing to escape from Nagazora City.
During their escape:
K423 gets heavily injured by Honkai beastsMei loses control and becomes temporarily possessed by the Herrscher of Thunder
Although they eventually survive and enter St. Freya Academy,
most of the people in Nagazora City… don't make it.
"Looking at it this way, I should probably be grateful."
"At least whoever threw me into this world didn't drop me straight into Nagazora City."
"With my slightly-above-average body, I probably wouldn't even survive long enough to find a strong ally…"
"…Actually, I might not even have Honkai resistance. I could've just died painlessly at the start."
"So yeah—starting in Canghai City is already a blessing."
"But what am I supposed to do now?"
If he lives as an ordinary civilian:
→ He won't have to fight Honkai
→ But could die randomly any day
If he joins one of the three major factions:
→ Hard to even find them
→ And not exactly safe either
Anti-Entropy?
The weakest. And ruled by Cocolia, who causes endless trouble.
"Yeah… doesn't sound reliable."
Schicksal?
With Otto in charge?
That guy doesn't care about human lives at all.
He'd even allow dangerous experiments like letting a Herrscher core be stolen just to create another Herrscher.
"With that lunatic around, nowhere is safe."
World Serpent (Kevin)?
Even worse.
If not for Su stopping him, Kevin would've launched the brutal Stigmata Project centuries ago.
Back then, humanity was still sparse—
if that plan had been executed early, humanity might've gone extinct.
"Ugh… this is too annoying."
"Joining an organization is hard. And each one is more terrifying than the last."
"Staying a civilian? I'll just die when Honkai hits."
"Mom, I want to go home—"
"…Actually, never mind. I don't even have a mom or a home."
[Ding! Compatible host detected. Initiating automatic system binding.]
"—Holy crap, a cheat system?!"
[Congratulations! You have obtained the 'Randomly-Made Dungeon System' Version 0.1 (Test Version)!]
"…Wait."
"…Why does that name sound so unreliable?"
"Even though I got a cheat… I suddenly have a really bad feeling about this…"