Chapter 160: Departure and the Riot in the Eye of the Deep
"..." Feeling the warmth transmitting from her fingertips, Sirin pulled her hand out of Otto's chest.
Carrying the gem, she tore through space and instantly returned to her side.
And Otto's body, losing its support, fell straight to one knee on the ground.
Irene stepped forward, looking with a complex gaze at the half-kneeling Otto. His body was disintegrating; the overloaded use of the Blank Key had pushed this body to its limit.
"Ha, looks like we're late." At this moment, the small assault ship sent out earlier returned from the sky carrying Himeko and Tesla. As soon as she stepped off the ship, Tesla looked at Otto kneeling in the middle.
"If I had known, I would've come over to join the fun even if I had to run the engine on overload."
To Tesla, she hated Otto so much she wished she could eat his flesh and sleep on his skin. Yet she was late today. It was a pity she couldn't join the big guy in beating up Otto.
"Tesla, if you were here just now, I'm afraid you would have been taken as a hostage instead." Right at this moment, Einstein appeared quietly.
Her hatred for Otto was no less than Tesla's, but she knew very well that if a defenseless scientist like her appeared on the battlefield, Otto would definitely use her as a hostage.
She didn't even need to think about it; he was absolutely capable of doing such a thing. That was why she had been quietly hiding until the battle subsided before showing her head.
"Tch, Mophead, you're just a coward." Dr. Tesla's words sounded tough, but judging by how she slightly shifted away, she also knew that with her meager skills, going up against Otto would definitely spell disaster.
"But this armor on Otto's body is good stuff." Irene patted the heavily damaged armor on Otto's body. "This is a Blank Key from the Previous Era. It can unleash tremendous combat power by connecting to a Gem of the Herrscher.
"It is also the prototype for the Godsbane Battlesuit and certain Valkyrie armors. I think for the two of you, it should hold immense research value."
"Oh, the prototype for Valkyrie armor?" Hearing this, a gleam of light flashed in Tesla's eyes. That indeed held immense research value.
Moreover, this was from the Previous Era, an armor capable of connecting to a Herrscher Core. Didn't that make the advantage even greater? Just referencing its energy circuits would be enough.
"It is indeed highly valuable for research." Einstein also nodded in agreement. "But right now, it's just time for us to leave."
As Einstein said this, her gaze turned to Kiana, whose eyes had at some point reverted to blue, and whose aura had instantly plummeted.
How should she put it? It was roughly equivalent to dropping from a Queen straight down to the aura of a paramecium.
"Our objective is achieved." Irene nodded and turned to look at Kiana. "It's time to go. If we don't leave now, there will likely be trouble."
"But..." Kiana looked at Otto, then up at Schicksal HQ, a trace of hesitation flashing in her eyes. She wanted to do more than just this.
"No buts." Irene's tone was unquestionable. "It's fine. We have no way of toppling Schicksal at this moment, and besides... Dr. Einstein and Dr. Tesla should know just how ruthless Otto's methods can be."
At these words, both Tesla and Einstein nodded in agreement. Their plan this time was originally a raid mission—rescue Kiana and immediately run away.
That guy Otto was completely ruthless. Whenever they recalled the times Otto had made a move against them, both felt a lingering fear. If not for luck, neither of them would be standing here today.
Right now, they didn't know what Otto was scheming, but finishing him off was likely not part of his plan. Once he resurrected and reacted, they would have to dodge missiles.
Furthermore, this guy was exceedingly adept at one thing: taking hostages, if they didn't run and he feigned weakness.
Nine times out of ten, this guy would launch some missiles. As for where exactly those missiles would be aimed, well, that would be hard to say.
If Irene could sense their internal conversation, she would definitely give them a thumbs up. Exactly, that was absolutely right. This bastard had already done so; they didn't need to wait for him to react.
"But even if you say we're leaving..." Himeko turned her head to look at the completely wrecked bridge. "You brats, what exactly did you do to my ship?"
"Otto did it." Theresa immediately pointed at Otto's body. "He came up and slashed at me. What else could I do? I already tried my best to drag him out."
"Then this is a bit troublesome." Himeko looked at the tattered bridge with a headache. Without a bridge, there was no way to command such a massive warship.
"If it's this, just leave it to me." Rin floated leisurely to the side of the bridge. "It's only the control terminal that's damaged. It doesn't matter, I can just act as the command terminal."
She had wanted to try this feeling for a long time.
"What kind of shipgirl is this?" Irene softly muttered as she watched Rin merge into the Hyperion. "Since the control issue is solved, let's leave immediately."
Following Irene's words, they heard the roar of the Hyperion's engines starting up. The entire battleship gradually began to leave the airspace of Schicksal HQ.
"Kiana, if you can control your body, come with me for a check-up." Einstein turned to look at Kiana. "We need to ensure Otto hasn't left anything inside your body."
"Mhm, I know." Kiana had no objections and left together with Einstein. The others followed suit, leaving only Irene and Otto's body on the deck.
"Satisfied?" Irene asked coolly. She absolutely didn't believe that Otto had simply transferred his consciousness just like that.
"It's not a matter of whether I'm satisfied or not; this is merely part of the plan." Otto's body indeed emitted a voice. This body wasn't truly flesh and blood anyway; as long as the whole wasn't destroyed, it hadn't reached the point where he absolutely had to leave.
"But I must say, I am very glad that our plan can continue to proceed."
"Your plan," Irene emphasized.
"Our plan," Otto corrected. "Don't forget, little friend, you are also one of the chess players now. But as a player and someone dealing the cards, you must not be too soft-hearted."
Irene didn't retort. She was indeed soft-hearted, and she truly couldn't calculate everything as coldly as Otto did. "After all, I still have people I care about. I am not like you."
"Oh, those words truly pierce the heart." Otto put on a heartbroken expression as he looked at Irene. "But consider this a personal request, solely as Otto, not as Otto Apocalypse or the Overseer of Schicksal.
"Please, you must protect Kallen."
"I would do that even without you asking." Irene looked at Otto. "I don't want to say much about your actions. I know exactly what you will do."
"The threat of the missiles, I will always remember..." Irene paused, and only after a moment did she continue, "If you truly still want to save Kallen, at least don't make her so angry at you."
"Since you know what I am going to do, then you should understand what I will do in the end, right?" Otto didn't seem to explain anything. "So Miss Irene doesn't need to persuade me anymore.
"Additionally, did Kallen ask Miss Irene to say those words just now?"
Irene met his words with silence, and Otto smiled, having seemingly read something from her silence.
At the same time, Schicksal HQ, a hidden laboratory.
The liquid in the culture tank slowly drained away. The blond man opened his eyes and stepped out of the tank with his bare body. Subsequently, the surface of his body shifted, and a fitted robe appeared on him.
"Died again. How does it feel?" The Void Archives' tone carried its usual mockery. "The depreciation rate of your bodies has been unusually high lately, hasn't it?"
"Not too bad." Otto walked over to a nearby sofa and sat down. Amber immediately handed him a glass of red wine. "At least the objectives have been achieved. The Gem of Haste has been transferred, the fusion process between Sirin and Kiana has advanced, and Theresa has also grown..."
"Not too bad. Although there were a few minor accidents, overall, we are still steadily advancing toward my plan."
The Void Archives floated opposite him. "Do you truly believe she will always play by the rules? That Irene... do you actually know how many cards she holds in her hand? You might already have a hard time dealing with just what she has revealed so far. If one day she decides to flip the table—"
"She won't." Otto took a sip of red wine, his tone certain. "Because she cares too much about her friends. As long as she doesn't know what I will do, she will never flip the board."
"She places everyone on the chessboard, trying to protect every single one of them."
Otto watched the deep red liquid swirling in his glass. "This is her weakness, and it is also the reason I can control her. As long as I still hold hostages in my hands, she will never truly turn against me."
"Of course, this is also her merit. She will gain everyone's love and everyone's help, which is something I cannot do."
"This is also beneficial for Theresa." Otto walked out of the laboratory. "Someone who cares for them, yet can be ruthless when necessary. Moreover, I am very curious: what kind of stories have her other selves experienced?"
Just the ones he knew about included Pardofelis, Kallen, and the Herrscher of Wind, Wendy. Since they all came from Bubble Universes that were different yet similar to theirs...
Then what kind of stories had they experienced?
Sea of Quanta · Eye of the Deep
Space here lacked the concepts of up, down, left, and right; there were only countless floating fragmented worlds, like a deep ocean, with infinite bubbles reflecting worlds.
And among the infinite bubbles, two figures were rapidly advancing.
Walking in front was Kevin. He gripped an ice-blue greatsword in his hand, the blade constantly exuding a chilling aura. Even just the chill alone was enough to freeze and shatter the Quantum Shadows that attempted to approach.
Following behind him was a blue-haired girl. Griseo's gaze constantly looked around with curiosity at the bizarre and motley scenes, the infinite bubbles, and the infinite worlds.
She had only seen similar environments in the data Vill-V left on the Project Ark. But now, walking through it herself, she could truly feel the wondrous nature of this space.
They had been trekking through this space for an unknown amount of time. After all, there was no sun or moon in this space, nor could one feel the passage of time.
However, the passage of time was no longer an issue for Griseo. She had already spent an unknown amount of time alone.
"Uncle Kevin," Griseo said softly, "how much longer until we arrive?"
"It should be very soon," Kevin replied without turning his head, his voice exceedingly steady as if he had a well-thought-out plan. But this was a lie, because Kevin also had no idea where he was right now.
To find Griseo, he had indeed walked a very, very long way. And in the Sea of Quanta, there was virtually no such thing as a road sign.
So it could be said that he was actually lost right now. This made Kevin a bit panicked. It wasn't just a matter of Griseo; he still had to go back and organize Project Stigma.
The more time wasted here, the later he might return. When that happened, he would break his promise to his other comrades. Therefore, despite his cold exterior, his heart was actually quite anxious.
He definitely had to quickly find the original Eye of the Deep.
Griseo sensed the aura on Kevin's body and finally looked at him somewhat suspiciously. "Uncle Kevin, are you lost?"
"..." Kevin silently turned his face away. "It's fine, we will be able to find the way soon. As long as I can sense the direction of the Honkai energy."
Kevin wasn't exactly searching aimlessly. He was still using his perception to seek out relatively massive amounts of Honkai energy. Although that Herrscher of Reason had previously created a giant Bubble Universe maze to block his path...
Now he had to thank the other party for leaving behind such a massive road sign. In this Sea of Quanta, such a massive amount of Honkai energy was actually very rare.
While it couldn't be used as an absolute standard of judgment, it was viable as a landmark for pathfinding.
"Mhm..." Griseo nodded. "Then, Uncle Kevin, exactly how much time has passed since our time?"
"A very, very long time." Kevin looked at Griseo. "So long that a new civilization has already emerged, and right now, I don't even know what level that civilization has developed to."
"Uncle Kevin, why were you in the Sea of Quanta?" Griseo looked at Kevin with a face full of curiosity. "What about Uncle Su? Is he alright?"
"It must have been Uncle Su who guided Uncle Kevin to come find me, right?"
Having moved through this space for so long, Griseo had a rough idea of exactly how far she was from the Proper World. Without guidance, why would Uncle Kevin come so directly to save her?
Uncle Kevin's destination had been extremely direct. It couldn't possibly be that her spaceship finally sent out a distress signal; Sister Vill-V's technology shouldn't have been that advanced.
"..." Hearing this, Kevin fell silent. Finally, he could only take a deep breath and speak. "No. Someone else told me you were still alive."
Sensing the shift in Kevin's emotions right now, Griseo also understood that things were not as she imagined. It seemed Uncle Su probably hadn't been able to hold on either.
Just as Kevin wanted to say something else, that incredibly familiar aura of Honkai energy suddenly appeared within his perception. He abruptly looked up in that direction.
"Found it."
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