Hoping to Give A'yu a Surprise (cont.)

The more Otto thought about it, the more he felt that he was actually at a loss.

World Serpent was beaten bloody by him.

But what about the other issues?

Sue was stalling for time, and it wouldn't be difficult for Otto to kill him if he wanted to.

Void Archive is also stalling for time with him, but Otto cannot dismantle Void Archive as a sacrifice to the heavens yet.

Lin Yu's combat power is getting stronger and stronger. After obtaining the Key of Domination, Lin Yu is now able to temporarily fuse with the power of the Herrscher of Thunder to launch attacks.

If he were to obtain the Blank Key... although the Blank Key requires Herrscher Core to connect in order to launch a Herrscher- level attack, the problem is that Lin Yu already has two Herrscher by his side.

He learned the complete version of the Tai Xu Sword Qi under the tutelage of his old friend, so he must be stronger than those two little girls in terms of manipulating Honkai Energy.

In the documents I dug out from the Void Archive, I once saw that the person who used the Blank Key in the Previous Era could also complete the [Core Connection] after wielding the Flame-Chaser's Judgment.

In other words, as long as those two little girls are by Lin Yu's side, even if they can't launch a full-force attack, they can still unleash the strongest Herrscher- level output through Lin Yu as a "relay station" by acting as a "battery".

But I can't refuse to give it to them.

Otto is really finding it hard to cope right now.

Two months ago, he discovered that Kiana had someone important besides Siegfried —and that he was a man, which would make it easier to bring them together.

Although the boy was somewhat intelligent, he was relatively easy to control. With a little training, he could become a good sacrifice.

In the days that followed, the boy surprised him once or twice.

As for why there were only one or two pleasant surprises...

What followed wasn't a surprise, but a shock.

Under the right conditions, he could survive against a single-core Herrscher. For a knight who has only been around for two months to be this strong, his rate of progress is a bit outrageous.

Moreover, Otto, who is now organizing intelligence, has discovered that Lin Yu may not be considered his lucky charm.

Admittedly, Lin Yu has indeed brought Otto many benefits and surprises since his debut.

But looking back now, Otto realizes that trouble has been brewing ever since Lin Yu debuted.

World Serpent now has a mass-produced Herrscher Clone army—although Lin Yu wiped them out, they'll definitely be able to produce a bunch of these again in the future.

Wendy was also stolen from the house.

Although the Desire Gem wasn't important to Otto's plans, once he considered the World Serpent's unusual thirst for the Herrscher Core of the Current Era, Otto felt that these people were definitely up to no good.

Then—Su appeared, and stood on the opposite side of Otto.

If these things happen one by one, that's a good thing for Otto.

But now, all the bombs have exploded at once, and even if Otto had extraordinary abilities, he wouldn't be able to deal with all the enemies and troubles at the same time.

Lin Yu is like a mine detector now; wherever he goes, something explodes. That's why some call him a lucky charm...

Otto believed that people should have a clear understanding.

Especially when the plan enters a critical stage, he needs to be even more cautious and not deceive himself.

Sigh, at first I was worried Lin Yu would get beaten to death, but now, now...

I'm so worried.

Sirin is waking up...

The Void Key is already with me...

Most of the elements are there...

Sigh, but why do I feel so bad?

Meanwhile, Fu Hua, led by Amber, arrived at the location designated by Otto and retrieved the set of Blank Key.

Looking at the armor in front of her, Fu Hua was certain that it was indeed the real thing.

Otto really didn't lie to me this time...

Sigh, was I too harsh on him in the past?

Perhaps he truly considered me a friend.

With this in mind, Fu Hua instructed Amber to camouflage the armor, and that she would personally transport this valuable item when she returned to the Far East Branch.

However, before she left the Schicksal Headquarters, she had another thing to do.

After skillfully arriving at the infirmary, Fu Hua happened to encounter a ghost who had just come out of a ward.

"Oh, what a rare guest!"

Looking at the 'girl' in front of him, Ghost, who knew her identity, took the initiative to approach Fu Hua and asked with a grin.

"What brings you to headquarters today, Fu Hua?"

"Ghost Senior, Rita Roseweisse's hospital room..."

"It's the one I just came out of."

After glancing at the room number, Fu Hua thanked Ghost and went straight into room 233.

"She came to see Rita... Hmm, I heard she and Kobayashi seem to be quite close?"

On his way out, an idea popped into the ghost's mind.

I've heard rumors before, could it be that...

Wow, Fu Hua wouldn't have fallen for Kobayashi, would she?

This is a bit tricky.

She's a good person, but she clearly has some secrets.

Xiaolin is clearly caught in the middle now, and to make matters worse, he's gotten involved with some women who aren't easy to mess with...

Xiaolin, don't blame the teacher.

It's not that the teacher doesn't want to save you, the problem is that none of the teachers can afford to offend the people you've messed with.

Bishop Otto seems to be planning something against you, but I can't control that.

After Fu Hua took a liking to you, you got caught up in other events, and there's nothing I can do about it.

My poor disciple, why do you have such a high charm rating?

Thankfully, Rita is still asleep. If she were still awake, she would probably be having a lot of trouble again.

On the other side, Fu Hua, who had already entered the ward, quickly walked to the sleeping Rita's side and took the initiative to release the power of Feathered Dust onto Rita.

Fu Hua, whose body had almost returned to its peak condition, would certainly not vomit blood again from using Feathered Dust once more.

As for why she's doing this now, it's mainly because she feels that since she has the ability to wake Rita up, it's better to do it now.

Rita is Otto's capable subordinate, but at the same time, she is also an outstanding Valkyrie.

If Rita continues to sleep like this, Fu Hua is worried that her body will become even weaker due to sleeping for so long.

Moreover, Lin Yu would be even more worried if Rita continued to sleep.

Now, besides hating the Honkai, he also wants to dismantle all of World Serpent's bases one by one every day, all because Rita was injured.

If Rita wakes up, it might distract him a little and reduce the violence in his heart.

At this moment, Rita, who had been imbued with the power of the Divine Key, naturally and easily awoke from her slumber.

When the girl opened her eyes, she—of course—did not see the person she wanted to see.

"... Lord Fu Hua."

Looking at the woman in front of her, Rita, who had just woken up, immediately understood that it was the other woman who had helped her out of that state.

Thank you for your help.

"No need for such formalities."

Seeing Rita trying to get up, Fu Hua immediately pressed her back onto the hospital bed.

"I have received a lot of help from you in the past."

"You're still so polite."

Faced with Fu Hua's concern, Rita put aside her regret at not being able to see Lin Yu and Bianca, instantly switched to work mode, and asked very seriously.

"How long have I been asleep? What's the situation in the battle? And— Wendy, have we rescued her?"

Listening to Rita's three questions about Valkyrie, Fu Hua could only shake her head helplessly.

"You've been asleep for less than two weeks, and the current situation is: the Fourth Honkai Outbreak is over, Cocolia is dead, and World Serpent has been utterly routed by our Schicksal, but..."

"Unfortunately, Wendy is still in the hands of the World Serpent."

"... I see."

As expected, Wendy fell into the enemy's hands because of my incompetence.

That makes sense. Herrscher- level hostage, World Serpent with that kind of mysterious teleportation ability must have hidden her in an area that no one else can detect.

Rescuing Wendy is going to be incredibly difficult.

"Then, what about A'yu and Bianca? They...?"

"They are fine."

Looking at Rita, who started asking her about work-related matters as soon as she woke up, Fu Hua couldn't help but sigh inwardly—like mother, like daughter.

You two... your sense of responsibility is a bit too much.

Oh well, never mind.

Although I wasn't interested in the party, Rita needed to relax a little.

"In a few days, Lin Yu and the others are having a party at the beach—would you like to come and relax with them?"

Upon hearing Fu Hua's news, Rita smiled sweetly.

"Alright. But Lady Fu Hua, please keep my awakening a secret for now."

"I'd like to make some preparations, then..."

"I hope to give A'yu a surprise."

One hour later, in Lin Yu's room

Lin Yu, who was constantly trying to cultivate his Mind Essence in his room, found himself extremely irritable today and unable to calm down at all.

[You yourself said it was to save people, but—you don't need to be this shy, my dear host.]

Shut up—it has nothing to do with this!

They have absolutely no relation!

[Come on, this system knows exactly what you're thinking—heh heh, you little nobody.]

[He's clearly a master at picking up girls, but after finally getting one, he became such a pathetic player that he couldn't calm his mind and couldn't even continue practicing his Mind Essence.]

So you're overthinking it; it has absolutely nothing to do with this matter.

And since you've taken the initiative to speak up, I happen to have something to ask you.

Although your attempt to change the subject was rather clumsy, this system won't press you further—what do you want to ask?

You told me last time, "Don't worry about being spied on. When you and your lover are deeply in love, this system will automatically block external sensors."

Then—why were you still able to speak back then?

[Um, so you mean you're admitting Fu Hua is your lover, right?]

[Just kidding, this system knows you're not interested in that area right now. Yes, not for the time being.]

[Let's be frank about this mechanism: Long, long ago, the gods who created this system gave it several fundamental, unchangeable mechanisms.]

[One of the fundamental mechanisms is that 'when the host and their lover are deeply in love, this system will automatically block out external senses.']

[The automatic blocking of external sensors here means that this system cannot see you and your lover doing those things, and according to our boss...]