Luo Lin observed Fu Hua and Senti engaging in a battle of wits and tongues, their verbal sparring creating a scene akin to sparks flying.
Unfortunately, aside from Luo Lin, the other three present couldn't observe this "duel."
Siegfried and Elysia listened to 'Fu Hua''s words shouted into the air, wanting to help the "Fu Hua" they saw. However, they didn't really understand what had happened to the gray-haired girl, so they could only watch anxiously.
Siegfried leaned in next to Luo Lin, asking anxiously, "How's the situation?"
"I can only say that Fu Hua has the upper hand," Luo Lin replied with a subtle expression.
Most Honkai Impact 3 players know that Fu Hua is an honest person.
In the previous era, she was subjected to various experiments by Dr. Mei and Mobius. In the current era, she executed the "Project Ember." After the plan failed, she diligently protected the people of Shenzhou from the Honkai.
Then Fu Hua raised a group of rebels, was beaten miserably, and her strength greatly diminished. Finally, she fell into Otto's hands and began living a life similar to the previous era, being manipulated everywhere she went.
...Just looking at these things gives off a sense of simplicity and honesty.
But in reality, Fu Hua is exceptionally talented in manipulating people with words.
In the original storyline, Kiana was pulled into a fantasy by the Herrscher of Sentience, where she met her mother, Cecilia, and together they experienced an unforgettable journey (Luo Lin wiped the sweat from her forehead, feeling that this scene was a bit similar to the current situation). Then, Fu Hua arrived and revealed that everything that had just happened was an illusion, and the white-haired girl cried directly.
As for Sirin, during the Second Honkai Eruption, she was beaten badly by Fu Hua, both physically and mentally.
Kiana's ancestor, Kallen Kaslana, was intercepted by Fu Hua while leading the Schicksal army eastward. After Fu Hua defeated Kallen, she also uttered some heart-piercing words, making Kallen doubt her life.
After returning, she probably didn't want to live anymore, thanks in part to Fu Hua's verbal attacks.
In the Invasion of Schicksal arc, Welt (a replica of Welt Young created by Cocolia) stormed into St. Freya's Dormitory and knocked Mei and Bronya unconscious. Fu Hua saved them.
Fu Hua made Welt Clone start to doubt his identity with her words and then knocked him out with a punch.
And even Bronya, who was being controlled by the brain, was awakened by Fu Hua's fists and verbal attacks.
As for the Herrscher of Domination, it naturally suffered as well. Originally, it trapped Fu Hua and Bronya in the Dominator Theater, preparing to mess with their minds in the endless corridors, but Fu Hua broke through its defenses instead.
As for the Herrscher of Corruption, before she faced Memory Hua, she still had the attitude of watching the show, but countless memories kept causing trouble, and in the end, Hua's verbal attacks became the last straw that broke the camel's back, causing her mental state to collapse completely, unable to even maintain the illusion of Elysia.
Of course, the most miserable was probably the original Herrscher of Sentience. She was forced to accompany Fu Hua for three whole chapters in a row, and in the end, she was so angry that she didn't even get a chance to fight back against her.
Looking at it this way, there should be no problem giving Fu Hua a medal for being the best at breaking defenses of people's hearts with words.
Luo Lin shook her head, refocusing her attention on the debate between the two.
Although the plot had changed drastically, Fu Hua and Senti coincidentally began discussing the past.
They discussed who Fuxi and Nuwa was in the ancient era of Shenzhou, what the "Project Ember" was all about, and all the way to the Schicksal's expedition, the betrayal of the Seven Apprentices, and then to the handling of certain recent Honkai events. The two of them once again engaged in heated debate.
Listening carefully, Luo Lin realized that all of this was Fu Hua's story of guarding Shenzhou alone after suffering severe injuries. This was the difficult and bitter choice made by the gray-haired girl, who couldn't fully utilize her previous strength due to her injuries, when the Honkai event occurred.
Save one person or save ten? Save a few or save many? Should she raise the butcher's knife to save more people?
Fu Hua had encountered too many situations similar to the "trolley problem," and it wasn't just a choice between two tracks of a trolley, but a situation where people were scattered all over the densely crisscrossing tracks, and even the train was crowded with people.
But Fu Hua had lost the ability to kick over the trolley. She couldn't not choose, and she couldn't hesitate for even a second, if she then she didn't choose, the Honkai would press the fast forward button without hesitation.
Perhaps, this was one of the reasons why Fu Hua later chose to cooperate with Otto to protect Shenzhou and maintain world peace...
She really couldn't protect the world alone anymore.
The longer the debate went on, the more Luo Lin could distinguish between Fu Hua and the Herrscher of Sentience. Senti was more radical, not thinking much about the consequences when she acted, while Fu Hua actually had a decisive side, but most of the time, she considered the overall situation.
"The big picture, the big picture! What does the so-called big picture really mean in the end?"
'Fu Hua' couldn't help but shout out loud.
"Fuxi and Nuwa sacrificed their life for the 'Project Ember,' Kallen Kaslana was trapped by the big picture and eventually died on the gallows for the sake of what she believed in... Why didn't those seven damn disciples sacrifice themselves for the big picture willingly? Why do I have to constantly sacrifice, constantly lose?"
Fu Hua calmly said, "...because that's my mission."
"Fu Hua's mission is... 'To protect humanity and eliminate Honkai'..." 'Fu Hua' took a deep breath, "But honestly, ask yourself, do you really think Otto is genuinely trying to eliminate Honkai?"
"When you were carrying out those shady tasks, when you were interrogating those captured spies, when you were looking at those confidential files, when you were standing in front of the gravestones of those sacrificed Valkyries... were you really thinking like this?"
Luo Lin raised her eyebrows in surprise.
At least at this point in time, Fu Hua didn't know what Otto was really planning but Senti, during the debate, found suspicious traces in her memories, which had to be said to be quite impressive.
"...Otto must have his reasons for doing this, just like Dr. Mei..." Fu Hua's response was somewhat hesitant, she frowned, finding something buried deep in her mind was gradually surfacing due to her thoughts, "...Huh... Mei..."
'Fu Hua' gritted her teeth and said, "...you're really stubborn! You old fossil!"
Luo Lin felt that the current Herrscher of Sentience was also showing signs of breaking through.
It appears that the newborn child (referring to the Herrscher of Sentience) although possessing Fu Hua's memories, still lacked some experience in specific applications.
She was about to speak to ease the atmosphere when Elysia beside her issued a warning first, "Everyone, be careful! I feel like this space is collapsing!"
"Collapsing?"
Before the words fell, the space enveloping everyone began to shake violently. Amidst the sound of glass shattering, they found themselves back in Nagazora, which was similar to reality but subtly different.
Luo Lin looked up, her face stiff as she stared at the sky where two shining "stars," one golden and one purple, exuded an unparalleled sense of presence and oppression!
"They are Herrschers! And there are two of them..."
Siegfried looked at the distance with a complex expression, gripping the Judgement of Shamash in his hand.
Kiana covered her mouth, muttering in disbelief, "Sirin... she's a Herrscher?!"