"Aunt... I... I..."
Mei clutched her chest, her expression somewhat dazed. "I don't know... this feeling... this feeling..."
"Just follow your instincts!" Hearing this, Xia Yu patted her head comfortingly. "Leave the rest to me."
"Okay... I understand..." Mei gritted her teeth and began to reach out toward the throbbing sensation originating from deep within her body.
On the other side, Bronya was leaning over the edge of the rooftop, staring at the data being detected by Project Bunny.
"It's locked down, it's really locked down..." she muttered to herself. "Such technology... what exactly is this?"
"You still don't believe me, do you?" Xia Yu reached out and scooped her up, lightly pinching her cheek. "I said I could do it, so I can do it!"
Truth be told, Bronya's face was very soft; it felt excellent to the touch!
"Sister Acheron, Bronya was wrong!" The latter's voice held a trace of excitement. "Bronya should not have doubted you!"
"Don't let it happen again," Xia Yu said, only releasing her hand once she heard the girl obediently admit her mistake.
Meanwhile, Kiana looked at the sky-blotting Erdtree with a face full of shock, murmuring to herself, "I think I know... why Sister Acheron could just casually pull out pieces of gold for us to spend..."
With such a massive tree glowing with golden light, she could hardly imagine how wealthy Sister Acheron was!
"Alright, now it's up to Mei," Xia Yu reached out to rest her hands on the heads of the two little ones. "Let's see if she can receive this world-defying fortune."
"Wait quietly."
Over at Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, both factions were going mad.
"Faster! Faster!" Durandal was deeply worried about Rita's condition and repeatedly urged the Mobile Cities to accelerate.
Just then, a call from Schicksal headquarters connected.
"Overseer, is there news of Rita?" Seeing Otto's peculiar expression, she immediately asked.
"Yes, the situation in Nagazora City is somewhat complicated," Otto said to her. "Considering you are heading to the front line, I think it's best to share the news about Rita with you all."
"Lord Durandal," two screens appeared on the main display of the warship, showing Rita and Theresa. Rita looked at the worried Durandal and spoke first, "Do not worry about Rita. Nagazora City... at least for now, the situation isn't too bad."
"But St. Freya Academy has already detected the eruption of a Great Honkai!" Before Durandal could speak, Theresa couldn't help herself. "Rita, the Honkai Energy concentration we've detected is almost the same as Ground Zero during the Second Great Honkai Eruption. What do you mean by 'not too bad'?"
Himeko was leading the Hyperion and was nearly at Nagazora City; Theresa couldn't help but be anxious.
"Theresa, be at peace," Otto's expression was strange as he spoke. "If it truly compared to the Second Great Honkai Eruption, the impact wouldn't just be limited to Nagazora City. The entire Far East and even Shenzhou would be affected!"
"But isn't your St. Freya doing just fine?"
"That's also what I don't understand," Theresa said urgently. "The readings are clearly that high, so why..."
"Rita believes it might be related to that tree," Rita turned the camera toward the direction of the ME Corp headquarters. "As you can see, although there is unrest in Nagazora City, it was all caused by that tree rising from the ground."
"In fact, Rita also doesn't understand. You all say a Great Honkai has erupted, but from Rita's physical perception, the Honkai Energy concentration in Nagazora City has not risen."
"But on our end, satellites show almost the entire Nagazora City covered in Honkai Energy," Otto looked at the sky-blotting Erdtree she was showing. "In other words, the Honkai Energy is only concentrated inside the tree and hasn't diffused outward?"
"And the values detected by the satellites are only because the canopy is so massive it covers most of Nagazora City, creating this illusion for us?"
"I think I don't need to say more; you all clearly understand what the existence of this tree means for Human Civilization!"
"If it really can restrain a layer of Honkai Energy sufficient to trigger a Great Honkai, then that means..." Seeing this, Theresa had already picked up the Oath of Judah. "Grandpa, I apply once again to go to Nagazora City!"
"Application denied!" Otto said without hesitation. "Its existence is too much of a Mystery. We cannot bet all our chips at once!"
"That includes you, Durandal! Go to Nagazora City to pick up Rita, then regroup with Theresa! In this critical period, your combat power is especially important! I will not allow any self-indulgence!"
"But Overseer, that tree is too important for Humans," even Durandal, who usually followed orders strictly, began to hesitate.
"Precisely because of that, we cannot make contact blindly. Facing such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Humanity cannot afford a single mistake!" Otto shook his head. "Someone will scout it for you."
"This is an order!"
Meanwhile, on the side of Anti-Entropy.
"Siegfried!!!"
Tesla's voice was practically exploding. "That tree! Go to the tree! I need data! Bring the data back to me!"
"Humanity's salvation is at this very moment!"
"Don't listen to her," Dr. Einstein reached out and covered Tesla's mouth. "Siegfried, exercise extreme caution. I am contacting Welt now. Before he arrives, you must ensure your own safety!"
"I understand, Dr. Einstein," Siegfried nodded, then looked up at the Erdtree blotting out the sky.
"Humanity's salvation, huh..."
Just a moment ago, he had shown the two doctors that while there was some unrest, Nagazora City was still relatively safe. When both sides compared their respective situations, they reached this conclusion.
It was that tree that restrained the eruption of the Great Honkai.
No matter what it was, this was information Humanity could not afford to pass up.
Except...
He said worriedly, "Kiana... you wouldn't... be right there, would you..."
On the other side, Dr. Einstein dialed Welt's communicator.
"Welt! Get to Nagazora City quickly!"
Dr. Tesla quick-wittedly snatched the phone and shouted to Welt on the other end, "Something has happened there!"
"Ah?" Welt sounded dazed. "Theresa did sound the combat readiness alarm, but us ordinary teachers haven't been notified about what's going on yet..."
"A Great Honkai has erupted!" Dr. Tesla said excitedly. "That son of a b**** Cocolia, she must have lost her mind, actively triggering a Great Honkai! Just now, Otto even called us!"
"He's demanding accountability! Accountability! Damn it, what right does he have to ask us! I f***ing..."
"Wait, Cocolia? The Siberia Executive?" Welt's face changed drastically. "And a Great Honkai? What exactly is she trying to do?"
"That's not important!" Tesla said. "What's important is that a massive problem has occurred in Nagazora City!"
"I know, a Great Honkai, I'm afraid the Third Herrscher..." Welt said worriedly.
"The Third Herrscher isn't important either!" At that moment, Dr. Einstein finally reclaimed the communicator. "What's important is that a tree has appeared in Nagazora City! Under our satellite images, the Honkai Energy readings in Nagazora City are equal to those of the Second Great Honkai Eruption, yet Siegfried, who is in Nagazora City, reports that if it wasn't for our notification, he wouldn't even know a Great Honkai had happened!"
"That tree! That sky-blotting Golden Great Tree restrained all the Honkai Energy! Can you understand that, Welt!" Dr. Tesla snatched the communicator back again. "Maybe it is the hope of Humanity! Get to Nagazora City right now! I need data! I need samples! I need..."
Before she could finish, Dr. Einstein snatched it back again. "Be extremely careful on this trip. There is one more piece of intel: an unknown female has appeared beside Raiden Ryoma's daughter. It is highly likely she is related to this anomaly."
"I've already sent someone to call... oh, he's already here," Dr. Einstein looked at Raiden Ryoma, who walked in wearing prison clothes.
"Ryoma! Just who is your sister-in-law?" Before she could even speak, Dr. Tesla on the other side couldn't hold back.
"Ah?" Raiden Ryoma was completely bewildered. "Sister-in-law? What sister-in-law?"
My wife has a sister?
How come I didn't know?
"This person!" Dr. Einstein pulled up the data shared by Otto. "She calls herself Acheron and suddenly appeared beside your daughter. Your daughter calls her Aunt."
"This..." Raiden Ryoma looked at the strangely familiar figure on the screen and subconsciously said, "Mei..."
"No, it's not Mei, but... I really don't have a sister-in-law!"
In all these years, he never knew he had such a relative. But looking at that face—which was almost identical to Mei's, only more mature—he couldn't lie with a straight face.
Anyone could see that this person calling herself Acheron definitely had a connection to Mei.
"Then this person..." Tesla and Einstein exchanged a glance. "Welt, you need to focus your attention on this person. Whatever you do, do not provoke her."
"According to Siegfried's intel, this person subdued Schicksal's S-Rank Valkyrie Rita without any effort. Her combat power is estimated to be at the Herrscher level. We suspect she is related to the energy outburst in space from a week ago."
This suspicion was actually quite normal. After all, the world's powerful individuals were all accounted for with known origins and backgrounds. For a top-tier master to suddenly pop up with zero information, it was natural to suspect other directions.
"I understand," Welt's expression turned grave. "Leave Nagazora City to me. Einstein, Tesla, please support me from the rear."
"When necessary, I will need to see the Fleet appear. Otto won't let that tree go; he only shared intel with you to make us act as the vanguard."
"But we have to swallow this bait," Dr. Einstein sighed. "After all... Cocolia is one of Anti-Entropy's people, isn't she?"
"We must give the world an explanation."