Nagazora City.
Fu Hua was currently located in a small, extremely well-hidden, and hard-to-find base.
Her slender white fingers rapidly typed a long, complex special password onto the electronic screen. The massive, custom-made safe in front of her emitted a crisp chime, verifying success. Then, the heavy safe door slowly swung open, revealing a golden cube stored within.
Silently, Fu Hua tossed the golden feather she held towards the golden cube in the massive safe. The moment the feather, mimicking the Feathers of Fenghuang, touched the Soulium cube, ripples violently spread across the surface of the solid Soulium.
Like butter rapidly melting in a hot pan, the Soulium, originally in a cubic form, transformed into a boiling, golden liquid state in an instant. With extreme speed, it constructed the neatly dressed form of Otto Apocalypse before Fu Hua's eyes.
"Many thanks, my old friend. If it weren't for you, I doubt I would have made it back from the Imaginary Space alive this time."
Otto clenched his fists, experimentally moving his body. After confirming there were no issues with this Soulium body, he nodded in satisfaction and thanked Fu Hua, who stood before him as silent as a wooden block.
Fortunately, Schicksal had urgently transported another batch of Soulium to Nagazora City during this period. Otherwise, with Otto's original Soulium reserves in Nagazora, he would have had to make do with his Overseer persona for a while longer.
"...It's about time you told me. Ren Amamiya's true identity."
Fu Hua quietly adjusted her breathing, then slowly made her demand to Otto, who still wore a lighthearted smile, showing no sign of someone who had just escaped death's door.
Back at Leblanc, because Ren Amamiya wore a Lightning Spiral Ring clearly crafted by Vill-V, and because his eyes occasionally flashed with a hint of familiarity towards her, coupled with Otto's conversation with him, Fu Hua had initially thought Ren Amamiya was a pioneer from the Previous Era, like herself.
However, after further contact with Ren Amamiya, Fu Hua was certain he was definitely not one of her former comrades, because he simply didn't recognize her.
Whether it was that new Key of Judgment ring or the faint sense of familiarity in his eyes towards her, it must have been due to some other unknown reason.
"Ren Amamiya's identity is actually very simple... After the pioneers of the Previous Era experienced the Trial of Finality, they passed the embers of hope to every corner of the Current Era. And besides the Previous Era, the authority of Finality has already reset this world countless times."
At this point, Otto had no interest in keeping Fu Hua in suspense any longer. The smile on his face faded slightly as he spoke to her in a serious tone.
"...You mean to say, Ren Amamiya is a pioneer from a civilization even earlier than the Previous Era? How is that possible?!"
Upon realizing the subtext in Otto's words, a deep look of astonishment instantly appeared on Fu Hua's delicate face. The sheer shock of this fact left her mind feeling somewhat numb.
"Nothing is impossible. If pioneers from the Previous Era could reach the next generation, then why couldn't pioneers from the era before the Previous Era? Ren Amamiya's consciousness is clearly not that of a Current Era resident. Perhaps he also awakened in the Previous Era, only he wasn't noticed then as he is now."
After dropping this bombshell of a revelation on Fu Hua, while her brain stalled, trying to accept and comprehend his words, Otto's mind raced, considering the current situation.
This trip to the Imaginary Space had been a disastrous loss for Otto.
Not only had he lost an extremely powerful Soulium body, but even the Key of Revelation, the Void Archives, which he had used for five hundred years, was forcibly lost.
The only silver lining was that the right to use the Void Archives was deeply bound to his consciousness.
Even though the main body of the Void Archives had been taken by Ren Amamiya, relying on the residual power of the Void Archives from the Simulacrum feather of Fenghuang, supplemented by Soulium for simulation, Otto could barely still use the Void Archives' mimicry ability, albeit the power exerted would be greatly diminished.
The true Void Archives could mimic seventy to eighty percent of an original Divine Key's power. Now, however, relying on his five hundred years of experience using it, Otto would be performing exceptionally if he could mimic ten to twenty percent of a Divine Key's might.
Of course, the loss of the combat Soulium body and the Void Archives was regrettable, but it wasn't unacceptable for Otto. They were merely two convenient tools lost; he had plenty of replacements.
What truly concerned Otto was, naturally, everything related to the Herrscher of the Void.
Although the Herrscher of the Void's consciousness residing in the Herrscher Core had been successfully erased, the Herrscher Core itself hadn't fallen into Otto's hands. Instead, it had been obtained by the Phantom Thief, Ren Amamiya, as a spoil of war and had now been secretly stolen from the experimental subject K-423.
Ren Amamiya and the Herrscher of the Void each corresponded to a plan to save Kallen.
If Otto had to choose between them, he was more inclined to place his hopes on Ren Amamiya, this outlier who had once witnessed the curtain fall on Finality.
However, Ren Amamiya had failed once in the Previous Era. To prevent him from repeating the same mistake, Otto believed it was still necessary to maintain the original plan utilizing the Herrscher of the Void's authority as a backup.
"Thinking about it differently, although the Herrscher of the Void's core was stolen by Ren Amamiya, the Herrscher of the Void's consciousness itself was personally eliminated by me..."
Otto gently stroked his chin, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully as a decision gradually formed in his mind.
"The time to conclude Project SIRIN has arrived ahead of schedule. As long as the recovery of experimental subject K-423 is completed, without the obstruction of the Herrscher of the Void's consciousness, K-423 will naturally awaken as the new generation's Herrscher of the Void."
According to Previous Era data unearthed by Schicksal and conclusions drawn by Schicksal scientists through research on Herrscher Cores and Divine Keys, Otto had already confirmed that Current Era Herrscher Cores possessed distinctly different activation characteristics from Previous Era Herrscher Cores.
Even if the Herrscher of the Void's core had been stolen by Ren Amamiya, as long as Otto forcibly infused a massive amount of Honkai energy into the body of K-423, who was a natural vessel for the Herrscher of the Void...
Never mind it just being stolen, even if the Herrscher of the Void's core had already been made into a Divine Key, a new Herrscher of the Void core would still naturally emerge from within K-423, crowning her as the new generation's Herrscher of the Void.
"...Are you asking me to carry out the mission to recover that K-423 experimental subject?"
Fu Hua gradually recovered from the shock of Otto's earlier pronouncements. Noticing Otto's gaze now resting on her, she raised an eyebrow slightly and inquired.
Although the Herrscher of the Void's consciousness had been eliminated, according to Otto's words, experimental subject K-423 clearly still possessed the potential to become the Herrscher of the Void again.
Concerning a Herrscher-level existence, very few Valkyries in the entire Schicksal organization were capable of executing such a top-secret plan. Fu Hua subconsciously thought Otto was about to exploit her labor again.
"No, your mission remains to infiltrate the Phantom Thieves and secretly report Ren Amamiya's and the others' actions to me. As for recovering K-423... let's leave that to Rita. She's still in Nagazora City."
Otto immediately refuted Fu Hua's speculation. After a moment of deliberation, he finally decided to have the S-rank Valkyrie Rita Rossweisse, whom he trusted deeply, carry out the mission to recover K-423.
While residing in the mimicked Feathers of Mist, Otto had spied on the conversation between Ren Amamiya and Fu Hua. He had long since detected Ren Amamiya's almost undisguised intention to recruit Fu Hua... Ren Amamiya's Phantom Thieves team happened to be lacking someone with Fu Hua's type of psychic sensory abilities.
Even if Fu Hua was an honest, unassuming person, unskilled with words, by relying on the talent Ren Amamiya sought from her, she wouldn't need to put on much of an act. She just needed to approach Ren Amamiya systematically. It wouldn't be difficult for her to infiltrate the Phantom Thieves and complete her surveillance mission.
And to avoid unnecessary risks of exposure, Fu Hua naturally didn't need to participate in the mission to recover experimental subject K-423.
"Rita alone probably won't be enough. Aren't you going to call Durandal over as well?"
Upon hearing that Rita would be the one to recover K-423, a trace of surprise flickered in Fu Hua's emerald eyes.
"Setting aside the possibility of K-423 suddenly mastering the Herrscher of the Void's power, the Anti-Entropy Sovereign is currently in Nagazora City. If that Herrscher of Reason detects Schicksal's actions, I'm afraid even Rita herself will be in grave danger."
After Raiden Mei had left, Fu Hua had been tailed and monitored by Anti-Entropy personnel.
However, even though the Anti-Entropy staff were very professional, Fu Hua, their surveillance target, was always one step ahead. With Otto, a 500-year-old fox, assisting from the sidelines, plus the illusionary power of the Feathers of Mist, it was all too easy for her to move freely under the noses of the Anti-Entropy staff. She had even entered this small base completely undetected.
It was precisely because she detected the Anti-Entropy personnel's tracking and surveillance that Fu Hua learned from Otto that the Anti-Entropy Sovereign, Welt, was also in Nagazora City, and was even among the Raiden Mei group that appeared when Ren Amamiya brought her out of the Imaginary Space.
Unlike Fu Hua, who had a partial understanding of the situation in Nagazora City, Otto knew that the resistance to recovering K-423 wasn't just Welt Yang, the Herrscher of Reason. He might also encounter Siegfried, who happened to be near K-423. Even Ren Amamiya, due to his connection with Raiden Mei, had a certain degree of association with K-423...
Just as Fu Hua said, with her needing to carry out an infiltration mission, summoning Durandal, Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie, to Nagazora City to perform the recovery mission was indeed the most correct choice.
However, the current situation was different from before. Ren Amamiya seemed to have confirmed Durandal's true identity as the original Kiana Kaslana through some special means in the Imaginary Space. Although Otto had easily fooled the straightforward girl who questioned him, he still didn't want Durandal to get involved in the overly chaotic battlefield of Nagazora City.
What if, under the emotional offensive of Siegfried and K-423, Durandal suddenly recalled her lost memories? He'd practically be gifting a major powerhouse to the enemy.
Even if Otto was very confident in his brainwashing and indoctrination abilities, with an eighty percent certainty that Durandal would still capture K-423 and bring her back to Schicksal HQ despite her troubled heart after learning the truth, he absolutely did not want to gamble on the remaining twenty percent possibility.
After all, if Durandal truly decided to rebel, Rita, as her adjutant, would definitely not stand idly by. At that point, his one and only hardworking, uncomplaining black ops agent would also quit... At the very least, she would definitely go easy on the K-423 recovery mission.
After comparing all the various risks, Otto still believed that having Rita execute a decapitation strike and swiftly abduct K-423 had the highest probability of success.
Although Rita's power against Honkai Beasts was far weaker than Durandal's, if the target shifted to dealing with humans, the cunning, shrewd, and experienced Rita was undoubtedly Schicksal's strongest. A hundred Durandals combined wouldn't match half of her cunning and methods.
"Durandal has other crucial missions to attend to. More importantly, Rita's mission will also require your cooperation in other aspects, old friend."
...
"Huh? I'm the one to recover K-423?"
Gazing at the confidential mission directive sent by Overseer Otto via private network, Rita couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath after reading the entire message. Even the charming beauty mark at the corner of her eye twitched slightly due to her current expression.
Unlike the straightforward Fu Hua, Rita was a top-notch expert at gathering intelligence. She naturally knew what kind of terrifying, man-eating undercurrents were madly surging beneath the seemingly calm surface of Nagazora City.
Although she rationally knew that having her carry out this recovery mission was the most efficient plan for success, emotionally, Rita still felt she was about to snap.
If Overseer Otto were conveying the instructions via video call right now, Rita could still smile while throwing a few sarcastic, barbed remarks his way to make herself feel a little better.
But unfortunately, as if Overseer Otto had anticipated this, he directly issued the mission order via a confidential letter, leaving Rita with no outlet to vent her emotions, even if she wanted to be passive-aggressive.
"Fortunately, I've been monitoring K-423 for the past few days. I know her movements and schedule. It shouldn't be too difficult to seize the opportunity to capture K-423."
Standing atop a tall building, Rita let out a soft sigh. After closing her personal terminal, her wine-red eyes gazed down at the figure of a white-haired girl with twin braids, constantly moving on the ground below.
"K-423 has obtained Raiden Mei's address and is now preparing to go to Raiden Mei's location. Although that Anti-Entropy Sovereign has left Raiden Mei's temporary residence to reorganize Anti-Entropy's conservative faction in Nagazora City, just in case, I should seize the opportunity to complete her recovery before K-423 reaches Raiden Mei..."
Just as Rita, positioned at a vantage point, was preparing to secretly follow Kiana's movements on the ground, her pupils suddenly contracted violently. Beads of cold sweat visibly appeared on her fair, clear forehead.
On another path leading to Raiden Mei's location, the figures of Ren Amamiya, Raiden Mei, and Bronya had appeared at some unknown time.
Based on their current trajectories, in less than five minutes, K-423 would run into Ren Amamiya's group!
If K-423 successfully joined up with Ren Amamiya and the others, Rita had no confidence she could snatch her mission target from under the nose of Ren Amamiya, the man who had defeated Durandal!
Just as Rita's brows knitted tightly, her mind fiercely deliberating whether to find a way to prevent Ren Amamiya's group from meeting K-423, or to choose to give up the current opportunity and wait for K-423 to be alone again before making a move...
From Rita's vantage point, Ren Amamiya, who had been weaving through the crowd on the street, suddenly stopped. He put his phone to his ear, apparently talking to someone.
When the brief phone call ended, Ren Amamiya no longer headed towards Raiden Mei's location. Instead, he parted ways with Raiden Mei and Bronya, turning and heading in the complete opposite direction from Mei.
Seeing Ren Amamiya, the strongest of the three, voluntarily leave, Rita, atop the tall building, let out a slow breath. She returned to her usual elegant and composed demeanor, raising a handkerchief to gently wipe away the cold sweat that had formed on her forehead.
Due to the delay from that phone call, K-423 had already moved a considerable distance. Raiden Mei and Bronya, approaching from another route, would need at least ten minutes to even catch a glimpse of K-423's back. This window of time was already enough for Rita to execute her mission.
It wouldn't matter even if some unforeseen circumstances arose midway.
Bronya was already a defeated opponent of hers, hardly worth mentioning.
Raiden Mei's strength, while not to be underestimated, and indeed a threat to Rita, wasn't her target.
Rita's mission this time wasn't to defeat Raiden Mei.
As long as she could avoid a direct confrontation with Raiden Mei, after capturing the K-423 experimental subject, Rita was confident she could retreat completely unscathed from Raiden Mei's pursuit.