Lord Kevin, You Have the Makings of Lin Yu! (Continued)

"According to intelligence, he should have just been a Schicksal agent a month and a half ago!"

"How could he be so strong in such a short time!"

"Yes, normally it's impossible."

Having accepted reality and completely abandoned his dejected and angry thoughts, Gray Serpent calmly spoke to the Jackal.

"However, Lin Yu, who has demonstrated this level of strength, is clearly not a normal Honkai Energy Warrior."

"Currently, the situation can be roughly divided into two categories."

"One possibility is that he had this ability from the beginning, but Otto concealed his abilities for some reason, making him appear to be just an agent on the surface."

"Actually, this conjecture makes sense. As Rita Roseweisse's sworn brother, it seems strange that Lin Yu was only a junior agent before he officially showed his talent."

"During the Third Honkai Outbreak, he preemptively comforted Raiden Mei, protected Siegfried's daughter, hindered Cocolia's actions, suppressed the Herrscher of Thunder, and saved Theresa..."

"I used to think that he suppressed the Herrscher of Thunder with the HSN Serum because what he did was too outrageous."

"But now it seems that this was the wrong answer—he was Otto's trump card, which he had been hiding in the shadows all along."

At this point, Gray Serpent suddenly paused.

At that moment, after the Gray Serpent stopped speaking, the Jackal held his breath, waiting for the Gray Serpent to continue.

"To be honest, what scares me the most is not Lin Yu, but Otto behind Lin Yu."

"This terrifyingly powerful subordinate, he had completely shelved him all along to hide his trump card, only letting him complete his agent training and work, using this resume to mislead others..."

"Lin Yu was the first card he revealed, but we will never know how many more terrifying cards Otto has in his hand."

"Gray Serpent, I think you're overthinking things."

Upon hearing Gray Serpent begin to 'praise' Otto in this way, the Jackal, who had always looked down on Otto, spoke to Gray Serpent in an annoyed tone.

"I admit I misjudged him in the past. He may have some ability, but—is it possible that Otto himself didn't know Lin Yu was so powerful and capable of completing so many extremely difficult tasks?"

"Jackal".

At this moment, the Gray Serpent turned its head towards the Jackal and paused for a few more seconds.

Then he spoke to the Jackal.

"From now on, I will not hand over command of these missions to you."

"Hello!"

Listening to the mechanical voice of the Gray Serpent, the Jackal felt as if he could hear obvious disappointment and helplessness in it.

"No, why do you all think Otto is so infallible? Is that reasonable?"

"Let's look at it step by step. First of all, the HSN Serum was recently developed by Dr. Mags, who works under Otto. This trump card for suppressing the Herrscher was given to Lin Yu by Rita."

"Secondly, although Otto mobilized three S-class combatants, Rita, Durandal, Theresa, to Changkong City during the Third Honkai Outbreak, we can actually see from our review that Lin Yu was in charge of Raiden Mei's side all along."

"With his intelligence, it's impossible that he doesn't know who the Gem of Conquest is inside. So from this point of view, the probability that Lin Yu is Otto's trump card is even greater."

"I won't go into the rest. Lin Yu is proof of Otto's trump card. If you observe carefully, you'll find that there are just as many as you could want."

Seeing the unconvinced Jackal, Gray Serpent suddenly sighed and revealed his true feelings to the Jackal.

"Moreover, there is actually a reason why I think this way."

"I'd rather admit that Lin Yu is Otto's hidden trump card than believe that my second possibility is correct."

"The second possibility?"

"The second possibility is that Otto did not achieve perfect planning, just as you said, and Lin Yu's many achievements were not really related to Otto."

"That just proves that Lin Yu may have really been a low-level agent, and now—forty days have passed, and he can kill Simulated Herrscher without taking any damage."

Even Jackal, after the Gray Serpent explained things to her in detail, would no longer be unable to understand the current situation.

Simulated Herrscher appear to be vastly different in strength from the Herrscher, in this world, the Joyce Clone are actually considered to be among the strongest high-level combatants.

In Gray Serpent's eyes, the only people with power beyond this level in Schicksal are Otto, Theresa, Fu Hua, Durandal, the four holders of the Divine Key.

Then, the Joyce Clone was killed by Lin Yu without taking any damage.

The difference in combat strength between the two sides was not outrageously large, but for the intelligence analyst Gray Serpent, he knew very well that the mind was an essential part of the battle.

As a special agent, Lin Yu must have strong adaptability and some analytical skills.

After gaining power, Lin Yu, who combined immense strength with excellent thinking and adaptability, was clearly more terrifying than ordinary strong individuals.

"Okay, I admit it, even if he really is strong—so what's there to be afraid of!"

"You haven't realized how serious things are, Jackal."

At this moment, the Gray Serpent spoke earnestly to the Jackal.

"Back then, it took the Venerable Lord much longer to grow from a high school student into an outstanding warrior than it did for Lin Yu."

"Don't give me that 'How dare you slander the Venerable Lord' look, Jackal. You should know just how loyal I am to the Venerable Lord."

Hearing the horrifying secrets of the Gray Serpent, the shocked Jackal spoke to the Gray Serpent in a trembling voice.

"You, you, you wouldn't be trying to tell me that he might become a powerful figure like the Venerable Lord, would you?"

"You've got it wrong, that's definitely not what I meant."

"Then I'll put my mind at ease—"

What I mean is...

At that moment, Gray Serpent interrupted Jackal's words with an extremely bitter tone.

"Venerable Lord Kevin, you have the potential of Lin Yu —in terms of the speed of your growth, Lin Yu has already surpassed Venerable Lord Kevin."

"This is the situation I don't want to face. Do you understand now?!"

Looking at the Jackal that had already crashed, Gray Serpent felt that it was fortunate that he was just a cyborg.

Because he is a cyborg, he has a much stronger ability to withstand pressure than ordinary people.

Currently, World Serpent's operation may seem to have resulted in the loss of only a few 'Gray Serpent' and some valuable potions, but for Gray Serpent himself, the crisis World Serpent faces is far more than that.

The fact that the World Serpent's high-level combat power is insufficient is no longer a major problem.

What they need most is time.

Whether it's the Feathered Rabbits who aren't planning to act yet, or their plan to save Venerable Lord Kevin, both require enough time.

However, the Raven has now been captured.

To be honest, even though Gray Serpent handed over the Seven Thunders of Retribution to Raven, he didn't completely trust Raven.

It wasn't that he had a problem with Raven; everyone else besides Kevin received the same treatment from Gray Serpent.

However, even if Raven himself suddenly changes his personality and is determined to protect the information about World Serpent even at the cost of his life, the crisis facing World Serpent will not change in the same way.

Otto Apocalypse possesses the Void Archive and can Simulated Feathered Dust.

Hua, the pioneer, is himself a holder of Feathered Dust.

Faced with the power of Feathered Dust, Raven's already unreliable loyalty would instantly become a huge joke.

If Gray Serpent hadn't withheld all information about the World Serpent from Raven, the pressure he would be facing now would be even greater.

However, since the other intelligence was given out, World Serpent only lost a portion of its bases.

However, the Raven knew that the Void Key was in England!

Furthermore, while Gray Serpent and his group can move other bases and data, the control of the Void Key is in the hands of Pioneer Su, so they cannot move the Void Key.

This means that the Thousand Worlds Annihilation will eventually become Otto's possession.

The current situation is like World Serpent Company sending its errand girl Xiola, out to get Chiyou sashimi for the company's CEO, Kevin, only for Xiola to be knocked unconscious and taken away before the CEO even returns, revealing the company's trade secrets.

Remembering his orders, Gray Serpent felt nothing but regret.

Lin Yu... damn it!

If it weren't for him, if it weren't for him...!

There's nothing I can do now. No matter how angry or regretful I am, it's useless.

At this moment, Gray Serpent sent a communication signal directly into Cocolia's communication channel and began to wait for this woman, who had almost nothing left, to connect to the communication.

After a light screen appeared in front of the Gray Serpent and the Jackal, the two of them, unsurprisingly, saw Cocolia's tired face.

"Gentlemen, please speak frankly about what's on your mind."

Cocolia, busy dealing with some trivial matters, leaned back weakly in her chair.

The strong woman, who would normally not reveal her weaknesses, is now too exhausted, both physically and mentally, to bother hiding her inner weariness.

"Let's skip the blame game. Neither of us has time to waste."

"Yes, that's what I think too, Cocolia."

At this moment, the Gray Serpent seemed to have made up its mind, and spoke to Cocolia in an extremely gentle voice.

"The plan went wrong this time, and it's really not our fault. But, in any case, we have to face the fact that we each suffered heavy losses."

"So what?"

Cocolia, who had always needed Gray Serpent's help, suddenly revealed a mocking expression.

"Are you here to squeeze out the last bit of value I have left?"

"In fact, I've come to give you a way out, Ms. Cocolia."

At this moment, Gray Serpent said the words she had expected to hear to Cocolia.

"I have already witnessed the power of those Simulated Herrscher you created; they are indeed very useful."

"But I think you probably don't have the funds to continue creating these Simulated Herrscher, right?"

"I'll provide you with the technology, and now, there's a good deal in front of you. It's up to you whether you want to take it."

Cocolia said sarcastically as she listened to Gray Serpent's persuasive words.

"You're just looking for the Herrscher of Reason's genes, aren't you? Just name your price, Gray Serpent."

"If the price is right, I will definitely choose to cooperate with you."

"Great! We'll cover the money and the people. You're responsible for bringing the genes over. Half of the mass-produced Simulated Herrscher will be under your control—don't try to bargain, this is the limit I can offer."

"Deal made, in three days—"

"We don't have time, do we?"

After interrupting Cocolia's speech, Gray Serpent saw Cocolia give him a deep look, then said nothing more, simply nodded and hung up the communication.

At this moment, the Jackal looked at the equally exhausted Gray Serpent with great confusion.

"Didn't you say before that you didn't want to cooperate with her? Right now, our World Serpent needs funds to complete the Stigmata Plan, and we need to use those funds to feed Cocolia..."

"Jackal, remember one thing. Without sufficient power, everything else is meaningless."

At this moment, the Gray Serpent began to contact other Gray Serpent while saying to the Jackal with great helplessness.

"If this continues, we won't be able to protect our World Serpent base and our plans. At this point, all we can do is increase our own strength to prevent the other side from directly raiding our home base."

"Now, our action plan can be summarized in just a few simple points."

"Raise troops, create high-end combat power, and first seize control of Haiyuan City and a gem."

"And once the Venerable Lord returns, under the leadership of the Venerable Lord who can suppress all men, our World Serpent will no longer have to worry about funding in the future."

"Only with a sufficiently strong military can we guarantee that these plans can be carried out."

"Sacrificing some funds to buy time is inevitable."

"Next, we need to transfer the data to a base where there's no risk of exposure, and then, once we have enough Simulated Herrscher..."

"—We'll go straight to Schicksal's Oceania Branch, bring that Valkyrie named Wendy back to World Serpent headquarters, and find a way to extract the Desire Gem from her body!"

Schicksal Headquarters - Medical Room

Inside the medical room, Fu Hua, having completed her treatment and physical examination, looked at Otto beside her and said to Otto in an annoyed tone.

"May I ask what's the matter, Bishop Otto?"