"Otto..."
Do you really think of me as your friend?
Lihua wanted to say that, but worried that she'd hurt his feelings, she instead said, "Am I still your friend?"
"Of course, of course--Lihua, you'll always be my most important friend!" Otto said excitedly.
"Then can you help me with something?"
Lihua sighed. "Do you remember when I told you about cleaning up the leeches in Schicksal? I mentioned that I had a Valkyrie squad?"
"I know. Is it Eleanor Schariac and the others?"
Lihua was shocked. She had never mentioned their names, and Otto had already found out who they were.
But now, those things didn't matter…
"I want you to help me send them to Shenzhou."
"Shenzhou?"
Otto was confused. "Why?"
"There are immortals in Shenzhou. When you guys start a war, that should be the safest place..."
Lihua sighed. "I wanted to ask you to evacuate all of Europe, or simply abandon the research, but I guess you won't agree."
"…I understand. I'll take care of it."
"Yeah, thank you."
Silence filled the dungeon again.
In the end, it was Otto who broke the silence. "Lihua, I know that you hate what we're doing… but I want to ask you, why are you so pessimistic about the future?"
"Why are you so sure that we can't control that black box?"
Because I'm a transmigrator-- Lihua could never say that. So, she just said, "Because I can see the future."
"See the future?!" Otto was surprised. That was beyond his understanding.
"Yes, I saw you becoming the ruler of the world, and playing the entire world in your palm in my dream."
Lihua sat back on the pile of straw. "You're willing to resort to any means necessary to achieve your goals. You'd cause countless sacrifices, just to save someone who doesn't even like you."
Otto was speechless. He didn't understand what Lihua meant. He only knew that she didn't like her future self. "Lihua, do you hate me?"
"Hate? I don't know, Otto. I don't know."
Lying on the straw, Lihua looked at the ceiling. She thought, "I admire your determination, but I don't agree with your methods. You might have done many wrong things, but in the end, you did save the world."
"I wanted to make this world better than the one in my dream, but I've made it worse."
Lihua sighed. "And even the future that I knew before probably won't happen anymore. The end of humanity might be today."
Otto looked at Lihua's dejected face and had an urge to listen to her and stop Schicksal's research.
Doing that might slow down humanity's understanding of Honkai, but it would erase the darkness from Lihua's face.
But his rationality stopped him. How much of his position and power came from his research in the field of Honkai?
He was able to climb to this position because of those dangerous and inhumane things. They were the only thing that could protect Lihua from those wolves and tigers. If he gave up his power, those animals would devour them both.
He could never turn back on this path.
"Lihua, I'll prove myself to you." Otto sighed.
"I'll control that power and prove to you that you underestimated your hero."
"When that time comes… Lihua, I promise you, I will eliminate everything that you hate and turn this world into what you want it to be."
He picked up the untouched food by the cell and replaced it with a fresh plate. Then, he turned around and left the dungeon. "I'll let you out when things are safe. Then, you can do whatever you want. You can even hit me, or kill me. I won't fight back."
"That day is coming soon, but in the meantime, eat your food and take care of yourself."
"Yeah, go for it…"
Lihua, knowing that Otto was stubborn, didn't bother to persuade him anymore.
However, her energy had increased a lot while talking to Otto. It was almost at 200,000 points again. But compared to the 2.7 million she had before, it was still nothing.
Ugh, if I could win the lottery and get a million points or so, that would be great.
The atmosphere in Kolosten was tense.
The vendors who sold things to support their families were rarely seen. The people on the streets were sparse. The few people who were out were wearing heavy coats and hats, and they were walking quickly as if they didn't want to be caught in the cold.
The closed doors seemed to foreshadow the coming storm.
"Damn it, I knew those Schicksal bastards weren't up to any good!"
In her hidden base, Eleanor slammed a fist on the table, shattering the table that Lihua had bought with two silver coins. "Lady Lihua disappeared the day after she talked to Otto about cleaning up Schicksal!"
"That jerk Otto must have betrayed Lady Lihua!"
Like Eleanor, the other Valkyries in the base were angry. They looked like they wanted to eat Otto alive.
"He probably sent us all to Shenzhou to keep us from finding out that he had imprisoned Lady Lihua."
Whenever Eleanor thought about the transfer order that Otto had sent to them with a cold look, her body shook with rage. She should have punched him in the face that day!
Thankfully, they found out the truth in time and snuck back from Shenzhou.
"So how do we rescue Lady Lihua?" a young Valkyrie asked hesitantly.
"I've already found out where Lady Lihua is being held. It's in the dungeon under Schicksal HQ."
A tall Valkyrie adjusted her glasses that were made by Lihua. "We can break into the dungeon and rescue Lady Lihua."
"Schicksal HQ's defenses are strong. It's impossible for us to just break through with only a hundred people."
A Valkyrie from one of the three great families, who was familiar with Schicksal's security, said, which was a realistic problem.
"We don't have enough, so we'll just need to get more."
Eleanor smirked. "You all have seen how the Schicksal executives have been acting all these years. The people are resentful and waiting for a spark to ignite the flames."
"Let's be that spark and use what Lady Lihua taught us! Let them see what a people's war is like!!"