Someone in Honkai, This Narration Isn't Right / Honkai Scroll Dog Path

Because of this, she worried that her adoptive brother's actions, which 'used' the Archbishop, would displease Otto, leading him to try and kill Lin Yu.

"Actually, it's precisely because of this child's actions that I've started to find him worthy of my attention."

Otto smiled as he looked at his subordinate, whose expression remained unchanged but whose eyes flickered slightly.

"Lin Yu's actions are perfectly fine. He's just an agent responsible for monitoring K423 and Raiden Mei; he only needs to do his job. If he tries to handle tasks beyond his capabilities on his own without saying anything, his stubbornness might interfere with our subsequent plans."

"He knows his limits and isn't rash like other young people. Such a young man..."

Otto continued speaking to Rita after recalling something.

"After this mission is over, I'll ask him personally."

"I'll ask him if he's interested in joining our Apocalypse clan."

Chapter 11: The Power of Love

Otto took a liking to the young man Lin Yu because of the abilities he displayed at this moment...

This was clearly impossible.

While Lin Yu's actions were indeed commendable, for Otto, who had lived for five hundred years, this action was only worth a word of praise.

Archbishop Otto, who had led Schicksal for five hundred years, had seen far too many geniuses in that time. These geniuses had, more or less, contributed to the world during those five hundred years. However, some had been too clever and discovered things they shouldn't have. For those geniuses, Otto naturally had to make them 'step aside' for his plans.

Otto did have a habit of bringing promising young talents into the Apocalypse clan. However, Lin Yu's greatest value to Otto at this moment was that he was someone who 'could potentially interact with K423 and survive.' In Otto's plan, he needed a perfect Herrscher of the Void who could overcome the agitation of the Herrscher personality. Based on the results of past actions, Otto judged that K423 was not yet capable of being a Herrscher who could wield Herrscher authority while maintaining her own personality.

Several years ago, the Ragnarok Vanguard he dispatched had found K423 and Siegfried. At that time, K423, who had been living with Siegfried for many years and was treated as a daughter by him, unleashed her Herrscher personality after being forced to. She then attacked everything around her. The Ragnarok Vanguard was wiped out, and the remains of Siegfried's severed arm were left at the scene. Even Siegfried, who had been with her for years, suffered such a fate. Naturally, Otto did not believe that the resentment within Sirin had dissipated.

Now, according to the reactions of previous agents, K423 was living well at Chiba Academy, and Lin Yu, along with Raiden Ryoma's daughter Raiden Mei, had also interacted with K423. With the third Honkai approaching, if Changkong City were to become a dead city due to the third Honkai, K423 and Lin Yu, meeting in this desolate place, might develop feelings for Lin Yu due to the excitation transfer effect. Although Siegfried was also important to K423, a father and a peer of the opposite sex were ultimately different. If Otto's plan went smoothly, K423 would gain an important friend in Raiden Mei and a male interest in Lin Yu during this event, and in the future... these two would become the best nourishment for her progress.

In Otto's view, for a person's consciousness to suppress the Herrscher's consciousness, it ultimately relied on intense positive emotional fluctuations. Simply put, Otto believed in the emotion of 'love.' Whether it was love for a friend or love for a lover, it would become the best nourishment for K423 to overcome her Herrscher personality and master her Herrscher powers.

So...

"I hope you can survive this turmoil, Lin Yu."

Otto, whose communication had already been cut off, had a different expression on his face. He knew this was unfair to his loyal subordinate Rita, as she would surely be unhappy with him using her beloved adoptive brother for these schemes. But what did it matter? Otto had betrayed his like-minded comrades and sacrificed everything to advance his plan to this point. He could no longer stop his centuries-long endeavor for minor, unimportant factors.

Changkong City. ME Company.

Inside ME Company, Cocolia let out a sigh of relief as she looked at Bronya's expressionless face. Just moments before, she had received a message from other staff members. The personnel monitoring the surveillance systems in Changkong City reported that Bronya had summoned that Quantum Mech within the city. Although Bronya had immediately made the Quantum Mech conceal itself, and the staff had promptly erased the footage from Changkong City's surveillance system, some people nearby had still witnessed the scene. Cocolia knew her daughter was capable in a fight. The fact that her capable daughter had been forced to deploy her mech clearly indicated she was in danger. While Cocolia had arranged for Bronya to participate in the X10 Experiment, it didn't mean she didn't care about her adopted daughter. What made her feel even more uneasy was that although the surveillance system showed Bronya heading towards ME Company, Bronya had not contacted Cocolia immediately.

The Silver Wolf of the Urals, usually so calm, had actually cut contact with headquarters after her failure. To be honest, this made Cocolia feel a little uneasy.

However, upon seeing her adopted daughter now, Cocolia knew her worries were unfounded.

Bronya bore some visible injuries, but this wasn't a major issue for Anti-Entropy.

Anti-Entropy's biological research wasn't as advanced as Schicksal's, but treating minor injuries was well within their capabilities.

"Mother."

Seeing Cocolia, Bronya felt an inexplicable pang of guilt.

"I'm sorry, Bronya failed this mission."

"No, this isn't a big deal."

Confirming that Bronya wasn't seriously injured, Cocolia's heart finally settled as she walked over to Bronya.

"But was the opponent really that difficult? Even you couldn't deal with him?"

"That man..."

Thinking of Lin Yu, Bronya paused before shaking her head.

"Bronya is no match for him."

"At first, Bronya thought he was just a rookie, but after we fought, Bronya knew she was wrong."

"We only exchanged blows for less than a minute before he easily took Bronya down."

"If Bronya hadn't seized the opportunity to jump from the tall building and escape using the Heavy Cannon, Bronya might not have made it back."

Listening to Bronya's account, Cocolia let out a cold snort and said in a chilling tone, "It's fine. I'll make him pay later."

Cocolia didn't ask why Bronya hadn't used the Heavy Cannon to attack.

In her opinion, her daughter was smart enough to know that causing a scene with the mech at that moment would have only escalated the situation.

Choosing to retreat then hadn't significantly impacted Cocolia's side.

Schicksal already knew Anti-Entropy was planning something here anyway. Bronya seeking them out had only served to let Lin Yu know he had been exposed.

Besides, Raiden Mei was on the verge of awakening, and after that...

Heh, Cocolia would only consider avenging her daughter if that man could survive the third Honkai.

Chapter 12: Going to School

However, Cocolia, who had completely relaxed, failed to notice the subtle difference in Bronya's demeanor compared to usual.

It was understandable.

Before the X10 Experiment, Bronya rarely showed expression towards strangers, but she would genuinely express her feelings towards her companions at the orphanage and her adoptive mother.

However, after the X10 Experiment, her emotional circuits were damaged by the ordeal.

While this didn't mean the girl had completely lost her emotions, her facial expressions were no longer as easily decipherable as before.

At this moment, Bronya couldn't understand two things.

The first was – why had that man, when he had the power to kill her, ultimately held back?

In that situation, Bronya was certain she was no match for him.

It wouldn't have been difficult for Lin Yu to snap her neck.

Yet, in the end, he hadn't killed her.

The other matter was actually quite simple.

Bronya couldn't understand why...

—she had also held back in the end.

Cocolia hadn't asked her the reason, but Bronya knew that after summoning the Heavy Cannon, she could have pursued him.

Facing a mech like the Heavy Cannon, with its powerful weaponry, Lin Yu, no matter how skilled in combat, would have likely been defeated or even killed on the spot.

But in the end, she had simply left his sight, without directly commanding the Heavy Cannon to kill him.

For Bronya, who was always loyal to Cocolia and was trying to save her companion, Seele Vollerei, this was even more incomprehensible than the first point.

She had held back against an enemy who could potentially jeopardize Mother's plans.

Could it be that it wasn't just her emotional circuits...

—but Bronya's thought processes had also been affected by the X10 Experiment?

The Next Day. Changkong City Center

After washing up in a hotel in the city center, Lin Yu let out a soft sigh as he looked at his reflection in the mirror.

After leaving his apartment yesterday, he had checked into a hotel in the city center.

While Cocolia might be a bit reckless, she wouldn't go so far as to cause a major incident before Raiden Mei fully awakened.

Lin Yu didn't know how Cocolia had forced Raiden Mei to awaken in the original story, but as far as the current Cocolia was concerned, she had already laid out her plan. The fewer changes in the subsequent actions, the more secure her plan would be.

If it were in the past, Cocolia could have easily controlled the situation in Changkong City. Manipulating information and suppressing relevant news would have been no problem for her.

But now that Schicksal had arrived, she wasn't as free in that regard.

Even if Lin Yu hadn't contacted Rita since then, he knew that Cocolia was likely in a complete mess now that Schicksal had intervened in Changkong City.

As for why he made this judgment, it was mainly because...

As long as the plot wasn't too convoluted, Otto was much smarter than Cocolia. It would be as easy as breathing for him to corner Cocolia if he put his mind to it.

[Oh, look! This handsome face is your best weapon!]

[The fact that the little girl from last time didn't deliver a killing blow must have been because she was moved by your handsome face!]

[You've already proven with facts that being handsome is truly useful. If you continue like this, it's only a matter of time before these Herrscher girls fall for your looks!]

Ah, enough.

Hearing you hyping me up so much first thing in the morning... I'm begging you, this is really embarrassing.

[Embarrassed? You, who say these words, are actually secretly delighted by the praise of others.]

[And now, the only thing you need to do is head to Chiba Academy—after all, both the Herrscher of Thunder and the Herrscher of the Void are your targets next!]

Sigh, while I do intend to do that, why does the way you say it feel so off?