A few minutes later, in the interrogation room.
"Care for a drink?"
The two professional investigators who were previously conducting the questioning had already left.
Now, sitting directly across from the gray-haired youth at the interrogation table was a red-haired woman in a long black dress.
Just over ten seconds ago, upon entering the interrogation room, she had turned off the electronic camera in the corner right in front of the gray-haired youth.
At present, she sat with her legs casually crossed and held out a canned drink.
The youth did not hold back at all and naturally took it, shaking it slightly. "You like beer?"
There was no logo displayed on the canned drink, so he asked casually.
"It's not beer, it's iced coffee."
The red-haired woman shook her head slightly and added, "I don't like beer."
"Of course, if conditions allow, I'd rather have hand-ground coffee, but unfortunately, there are no such conditions here."
"Oh~"
The gray-haired youth nodded, seemingly... confirming something that would make him a little bit interested.
Then...
"So, you found you couldn't pry my mouth open, so now they've brought in someone more professional?"
The gray-haired youth still acted very freely.
He opened the canned iced coffee, took a sip... and smacked his lips. Yeah, the taste was terrible.
He couldn't help it. He'd been eating too many delicacies recently, so his taste buds had become quite picky.
Across from him...
"When it comes to interrogation and questioning, those two just now are more professional than I am."
The red-haired woman pointed to the doorway. "But I think you don't need all that, so... I'm here instead."
"I just want to chat with you casually."
"Oh~"
The gray-haired youth gave another one of those lukewarm responses.
He had already set down the canned iced coffee in his hand.
It really tasted bad.
But, on top of that...
"If it's just chatting, I'm quite willing to join in."
The gray-haired youth smiled. "I don't have any other good qualities, but I'm very talkative."
"Is that so?"
The red-haired woman's lips curved slightly. "Caelus... can I call you by your name directly?"
"Go right ahead."
"Very well."
The red-haired woman pointed to herself. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Himeko, the current Captain of the Moths Who Chase the Flames' Fifth Squad."
"We met on the battlefield today."
"I remember."
The gray-haired youth, Ling ke, who was currently using the Trailblazer Model, said deliberately, "You were wearing a very cool suit of armor and even shouted at me."
"My apologies."
"No need for that."
Ling ke waved his hand. "I could tell you were concerned for my safety back then."
"Though, I don't really need that kind of concern."
"Oh?"
Himeko smiled. "You're very confident in your own strength?"
"At least I won't die easily," Ling ke said. "Since I don't even have to worry about that, I have nothing to fear... uh, I mean, I'm naturally braver."
That was close. I almost set up a death flag.
Just then...
"May I ask a question?"
Himeko's expression became much more serious. "Are you... a Pathstrider who has already awakened the Path of Power?"
Pathstrider... This concept had already spread across the entire universe.
Unfortunately, stepping onto a Path was no simple matter.
Sure, someone breaking a cup could be considered Destruction, memorizing a word could be Remembrance, and telling a joke could be Elation.
But, just as with ascending to an Aeon's Divine Throne, when Ling ke grafted the concept of Paths from a neighboring parallel universe, he set a minimum threshold for these paths.
He did not want to see superpowers flooding the world... even if the will of most people, combined with their own luck, would at most make them a low-powered user who couldn't even bend a spoon.
He grafted the Paths to witness the sparks of civilization and the radiance of humanity, not fakes.
He wasn't some great benefactor handing out extraordinary power like candy.
If anyone could use Imaginary Energy, which was even purer than Honkai Energy, it would be far too cheap.
And if there were no differences between people, how could he create more unique perspectives to view the world?
In short, ever since becoming the Grand Player of Doomsday, almost everything Ling ke had done was for himself.
Whether it was to satisfy his own desire for revenge, his curiosity, or his thirst for knowledge.
Or perhaps... he was simply killing time.
In short, for the vast majority of sentient beings, becoming an Aeon was out of the question, and becoming a Pathstrider... was equally difficult.
It was precisely because of this environment that every Pathstrider's existence held immense value.
Therefore...
"If I answer: I am... will I be immediately taken away for dissection and research?"
Ling ke asked deliberately.
"No."
Himeko shook her head, her tone serious. "Even if it's just a joke, please don't say things like that lightly... I personally dislike that kind of thing."
"So... my choice is: I would like to invite you to join my team."
"..."
The red-haired woman in front of him didn't know that her answer had just saved many lives.
Because just now, Ling ke had deliberately thrown out a "death question" that was a total trap.
If she had answered incorrectly...
Current Era: Hello?
Fortunately, Himeko's answer and her attitude left Ling ke very satisfied.
So...
"My salary demands are very high."
Ling ke raised his right hand. "And is your Fifth Squad really recruiting people so casually?"
"If I remember correctly, The Moths Who Chase the Flames is officially listed under the United Nations."
Speaking of which, because the world was about to undergo a major change, the United Nations had already completely gone public with the existence of the anti-Honkai organization, The Moths Who Chase the Flames.
This was much earlier than the related events in the original historical timeline.
As a result, this news naturally caused a huge uproar across the globe.
However, those politicians and business tycoons who had already been forcibly controlled by Aponia's Discipline cleverly used this breaking news to distract attention from... well, other more serious problems that should have received attention.
For example, the matter regarding the Cold Wave.
Right now, many people were indeed guessing: were the various countries suddenly building Base Cities really just to defend against the so-called Honkai disaster?
And those superhumans... they had existed all along!
The government had been hiding the truth and deceiving the public...
Naturally, this led to another wave of condemnation.
But the power and voices of these groups were too small to stir any waves.
In fact, whenever a large-scale public outcry was about to spark, certain people would mysteriously "disappear."
Regarding this development, before Ling ke descended into the mortal realm and was still acting as the "Control Room Old Man" in the Theater of Domination, he would say: "This smells exactly like the information suppression in the early part of 2012."
In short, under the secret control of the Newborn World Serpent, human civilization on Earth in the current era had reached a state of "pseudo-grand unification."
Ling ke, the "Audience," knew that Kevin and the others also knew... the hidden dangers of doing this would not be small.
But the latter group had no other choice.
They had missed too many opportunities before, causing the overall situation to deteriorate rapidly. Now they could only do their best to unite all forces that could be united... They no longer had the leisure to consider whether their methods were despicable.
It was precisely under these major premises...
"High salary requirements?"
Himiko asked with a smile: "How high of a salary do you want?"
In the Interrogation Room, Ling ke raised his right hand and held up his index finger. "I need ten million... euros."
"This is just the signing bonus, paid in one lump sum. Future missions will be billed separately."
He crossed his arms. "If you agree, once the deal is closed, I'll become your squad's... specially appointed consultant."
Obviously, this asking price was something he had thrown out randomly, without any special meaning at all.
In Ling Ke's eyes, it was just a minor formality... and a way to test the judgment of the person in front of him.
But in response...
"???"
Himeko was stunned.
Her total salary over the years didn't even come close to this price.
And...
"Such a high price, yet you only want to be a consultant?"
Himeko reflexively crossed her arms. "And future missions are billed separately... That's not a consultant, that's a mercenary."
"Of course, you could see it that way."
Ling Ke spread his hands and shrugged. "Same old story... I've always been too loose and free, I don't like people bossing me around."
"And..."
His eyes narrowed slightly. "Rest assured, this price..."
"Is absolutely worth every cent!"
At this moment, seeing Ling Ke so confident...
"Would you like to demonstrate your 'power'?"
Himeko didn't laugh at him for overestimating himself like some cliché henchman. Instead, she asked the question with complete seriousness.
In response...
"Sure."
Ling Ke's opinion of her rose just a little bit more.
It was clear that after being unexpectedly "invited" here today, Ling Ke had spontaneously decided to add some interesting external factors to his current "perspective."
For example: personnel related to The Moths Who Chase the Flames.
They didn't need to be registered or active duty; as long as they were "related," that was enough.
Because after witnessing the tragedy within Namba City with his own eyes today, he had become acutely aware of a certain fact...
"Those who have suddenly lost what they cherish and feel a raging fire of hatred in their hearts will likely all share the same goal."
"And to achieve that goal (revenge), joining The Moths Who Chase the Flames is a path that cannot be ignored."
"In the coming period, the scale of The Moths Who Chase the Flames will continue to grow."
"Here, the true nature of humanity will be more exposed."
"And I need a 'spectator seat' like this."
"And on top of that..."
Ling Ke planned to deploy more Puppets of Dominance to blend silently into the general public, creating more "Backup Seats" on standby, waiting for him to switch between them at will.
These characters, who could provide more "perspectives," could be experienced explorers, archaeologists, physically fit journalists, chefs, doctors skilled in close-quarters combat, or mechanics with strong hands-on skills, highly skilled race car drivers, pilots... and so on, and so forth.
Ling Ke had plenty of game character templates like these.
Even... to ensure absolute realism in this era of disaster, Ling Ke would allow Kali and her "Spawn" to attack or even kill these characters.
Only in this way would the "game" be worth his challenge, and the "Script" contain more unknowns.
Of course, Ling Ke had no intention of using them to change the course of the current civilization, so... the number of this backup group should not be too large.
"Let's go with one thousand!"
He quickly made his decision. "They won't be a Herrscher of Domination dedicated to destroying civilization, they'll just act naturally."
"I also want to see how the Puppets of Dominance, who have inherited my memories and personality, will perform when acting with 'Limited Power' in the harsh future environment."
Come to think of it... it would actually be quite interesting.
But for now...
"Alright, follow me."
Himeko stood up. "There is a dedicated combat training room in this branch base."
"It will definitely allow you to... let your skills loose."