Honkai Impact 3rd: Catching the Herrscher of Sentience at the Start

"Come with me. Since you're also participating in the competition, let me explain the rules to you." At the round table, Serious Chicken Bird (Fu Hua) handed Fu Lin a cup of tea and pulled out a poster to explain, "There are three types of levels: scoring, racing, and survival."

"For scoring levels, you need to collect the required points as quickly as possible through the level's mechanics. Rankings are determined based on completion time."

"For racing levels, it's simple—just reach the finish line as fast as possible. But beware of obstacles. Falling into the void will send you back to the checkpoint."

"Survival levels are about lasting as long as possible. The last one standing wins first place."

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"Then how can I participate in the competition?" Fu Lin listened to the explanation and felt it didn't seem too difficult. He was eager to join immediately.

The Serious Chicken Bird (Fu Hua) pointed to a row of teleportation gates in the distance, then glanced at the one that was lit up and said thoughtfully, "Right there. Behind those teleportation gates are the competition stages. Each day, one is randomly opened. Emmm… today's event is the diving score competition..."

"Hmph, this is my specialty! First place is mine for sure!" Master Chirp Chirp Chirp (Fu Shi) suddenly appeared behind Fu Lin, now dressed in a blue and white swimsuit, with a matching black kite skin hanging at the waist.

Fu Lin scoffed and said, "Then you'd better be careful, because first place is mine."

The Serious Chicken Bird (Fu Hua) got up and walked toward the teleportation gate. Before stepping in, she turned to Fu Lin and said, "Let's go in first. I'll explain the rules once we're inside."

"Oh? Can there only be one first place per stage?" Fu Lin quickly followed the Serious Chicken Bird (Fu Hua), stepping into the teleportation gate. A flash of white light later, he found himself in a new scene.

The surrounding platforms were crowded with eager participants. After taking a closer look, he realized they were all familiar faces—Kiana, Mei, and Bronya were among them.

At the center was a deep pool of unknown depth, with floating rings in three colors: blue, purple, and orange.

The Serious Chicken Bird (Fu Hua) explained to Fu Lin, "This is the diving score competition stage. Passing through the rings in the water will earn points: blue gives 2 points, purple gives 3 points, and orange gives 5 points."

"Accumulating 60 points counts as a successful challenge. If you reach the bottom, you'll be teleported back to the surface and must keep going until you reach 60 points or everyone finishes the challenge."

Fu Lin looked around at the dumbfounded Homu participants and smirked. "This is so easy. First place is as good as mine."

The Serious Chicken Bird (Fu Hua) said solemnly, "It's good to have ambition, but don't get overconfident, or you might suffer for it."

Fu Lin scratched his head in confusion. He hadn't seen Master Chirp Chirp Chirp (Fu Shi) and asked, "By the way, where's Fu Shi?"

"Didn't she come in?" The Serious Chicken Bird (Fu Hua) rarely smiled and glanced at Fu Lin, who had unknowingly taken Master Chirp Chirp Chirp (Fu Shi)'s place. "Each stage has a player limit—only 12 people can enter. She's probably outside, throwing a fit because she couldn't get in."

Fu Lin chuckled dryly. "…Haha."

Meanwhile, outside, Master Chirp Chirp Chirp (Fu Shi) was furiously pounding on the teleportation gate, her face full of anxiety. "Damn it! I haven't gone in yet!"

"You stupid thing, let me in!"

"Believe it or not, I'll tear you apart!"

The Serious Chicken Bird (Fu Hua) patted Fu Lin's shoulder and said, "Alright, don't get distracted. The competition is about to start. Remember, if you want to take first place, don't miss a single ring."

"Don't worry, I'm strong! Hahaha!" Fu Lin patted his chest confidently, then took out a pocket watch in front of the Serious Chicken Bird (Fu Hua) and couldn't help but laugh. With this in the competition, victory was guaranteed.

As for how he got the pocket watch back? Well, Fu Lin had "sold his body" to serve Kiana comfortably, then shamelessly asked for it back.

Cough cough, that might have been too much information. Let's move on.

"3"

"2"

"1"

"Start!"

As the countdown ended, the bean-like participants jumped into the water like dumplings, diving through the rings and displaying their scores.

Fu Lin crossed his arms, holding the time-stopping pocket watch in one hand, watching the others calmly without a hint of worry about losing first place.

The Serious Chicken Bird (Fu Hua) looked at Fu Lin in confusion. "Aren't you going in?"

Fu Lin glanced at the Serious Chicken Bird (Fu Hua) and realized he hadn't jumped in either. Curious, he asked, "You're not going in either? Don't you want to fight for first place?"

The Serious Chicken Bird (Fu Hua) instinctively adjusted her glasses—only to remember she wasn't wearing them—and lowered her hand. "First place doesn't matter to me. It's all about participation."

Fu Lin sighed. "No wonder you're the old antique's counterpart."

"Alright, I'm going in first." With that, Fu Lin jumped into the pool. Watching the other contestants diving down, he flashed a mischievous grin and slowly pressed the button on the time-stopping pocket watch.

"Although this isn't exactly fair, 10 seconds of time-stop is enough to secure victory. Hahaha, as expected of me... Uh… uh… uh..."