Theresa: What other surprises are you hiding from me? / Theresa: Xia Ling is definitely a good person. I said it.

After all, Otto's monologue was incredibly valuable...

Sure enough, a moment later, she heard Theresa slurping her noodles softly outside the door.

Yes, it's spicy! That's the flavor!

Now all we need to do is wait until Theresa comes out later and tell her that Otto didn't actually die and left her a memory for handling work... That should make her more accepting of Apocalypse.

Uh... I'm so disgusted by this... But isn't it a bit too unethical of me to use this method?

Forget it, whatever. I'm already burdened with debts anyway, and I've been put in the position of bishop's secretary... This position is born to mess with bishops!

However, Xia Ling didn't realize that the difference between her and Amber was that even if Amber sometimes overstepped her bounds, Otto wouldn't do anything to her, but if she were to tease Theresa...

Otto's desk is quite spacious, especially the space underneath.

However, Xia Ling was unaware of what it would be like to take over as secretary in the future; she was still waiting for Theresa to come out.

Ten minutes later.

The low sobbing inside the room gradually stopped. It seemed that Theresa didn't want to expose her embarrassing state to Xia Ling Lingling Mengba [Shan Lingjiu? O Qi Jiu Wu Ba]. After carefully tidying up her expression, Theresa walked out with red-rimmed eyes.

"Uh... let me preface this by saying I didn't expect this recording to be so impactful for you..."

"It's okay... Although Grandfather made a lot of mistakes, he still accompanied me for many years. It would be a lie to say that I have no feelings for Grandfather at all."

"I just never expected that his last words would be like this..."

"Um, what I actually wanted to say was..."

Xia Ling's expression turned somewhat embarrassed.

"Perhaps I didn't explain myself clearly..."

"Actually, Otto wasn't dead yet. I arrived just as he was about to die and saved him."

Theresa blinked her still tearful eyes.

"Ah???"

A moment later, she finally realized what was happening.

"You little brat, Xia Ling, you're clearly doing this on purpose, aren't you!"

Seeing Xia Ling's guilty and shifty gaze, Theresa, enraged and embarrassed, grabbed Xia Ling and began to grope her ticklish spots, which she had already discovered.

"Hahahaha... I'm sorry, Theresa... I was wrong, hahahaha..."

"It's no use admitting your mistake now! Today I'm going to teach you a lesson!"

The girl's silvery laughter immediately filled the dimly lit room and corridor.

Chapter 41 Theresa: What other surprises do you have that I don't know about?

"So... just as Grandfather was about to disappear, you happened to find his location through the Void Archive and brought him back to life?"

"That's right. Although it would be incredibly difficult for him to remove the Tree of Imaginary's blockade while completing his plan, I happen to have something that can help him."

Xia Ling, feeling weak and listless from Theresa's tickling tactics, explained weakly.

Theresa: Stare...

Seeing Theresa's fingers itching to move, Xia Ling subconsciously shrank back. "Okay... it wasn't just a coincidence, it was premeditated."

"However, this matter was not difficult for me. In addition, I knew from our cooperation that he would not cause any harm to the Intrinsic World this time. In fact, he would even help us solve several problems... So in return, I saved his life."

"So that's how it is... But..."

Theresa's feelings were somewhat complicated.

On one hand, she was actually somewhat relieved that Otto had come back to life... After all, as Theresa's family, Otto was definitely not without a place in Theresa's heart.

On the other hand, due to Otto's long-standing "glorious record," she has to devote a considerable amount of energy to monitoring Otto existence and whether he is up to something.

"Don't worry, he can't possibly come back from there. After all... his current way of being is a bit unusual."

Thinking of Otto's version of the Void Archive, Xia Ling's lips twitched involuntarily.

Perhaps because Otto from that world had disappeared, when she was opening up the Void Archive, she discovered that the data on the simulated bodies within it only had an initial form...

In other words, if Otto doesn't create a Soul Steel body, he'll probably only be able to use the form of Pudding Duck to move around in the outside world for the time being.

As time goes on... even if he successfully replicates the Soul Steel Body technique, he might get used to it. After all, Otto himself doesn't care about appearance, and Kallen would definitely choose an image she's more familiar with.

Well, hopefully Theresa won't be scared off by the new Otto.

"And even putting aside the difficulties on his side, I estimate that at least in the Intrinsic World, Otto is already on the blacklist... If he wants to return to the Intrinsic World, he will probably have to get past the Tree of Imaginary first."

"After all, nominally he still occupies a position of constraint."

"That's good... As expected, Grandfather who doesn't cause trouble is a good Grandfather."

"Wait, I haven't finished yet."

Xia Ling held up one finger. "Although Otto is sometimes inhuman, for some people in Schicksal and even the world, Otto's methods are unavoidable."

"Considering that neither the Doctor of Anti-Entropy nor the two of us are really suited to doing this kind of thing, I asked Otto for an extra 'reward'."

"He will help us take care of these troublesome things."

"He...?"

Confused, Theresa followed Xia Ling around a corner, and then...

She saw a very familiar figure from behind.

Theresa's body trembled violently as if she had been stressed.

"Grandpa, Grandfather???"

"Hello, Miss Theresa." Apocalypse slowly turned around and bowed slightly to Theresa. "My Apocalypse. I am an independent personality-type Soul Steel Doll created by Mr. Otto based on some of his memories and behavioral habits."

"As agreed, I will pledge allegiance to the Apocalypse Family and handle matters that are not in my personal capacity for you and Miss Xia Ling Schicksal."

"Here, this is the last gift Otto left for you." Xia Ling patted Theresa on the shoulder. "Actually, I just wanted a doll that could temporarily fill in for me and also have an Otto face to intimidate those guys."

"But I didn't expect Otto to be so concerned about this matter... As you can see, it has turned out like this."

"Stop, you, you wait a minute..."

Theresa, looking bewildered, pulled Xia Ling out of the room. After using Honkai Energy block out the sound, she looked at Xia Ling with disbelief.

"Are you sure this isn't some kind of backup plan that Grandfather left behind in the Intrinsic World?"

"He... he looks a bit too much like Grandfather..."

"From an emotional standpoint, there should be no way that Otto would have left such a contingency plan in the Intrinsic World."

Xia Ling thought for a moment and replied:

"But... this is something you need to decide for yourself, Theresa."

"After all, I'm not Otto's granddaughter. According to Apocalypse himself, he only retains Otto's feelings for you... So, I can't make any judgment for you in this regard."

"But about that... don't worry, you should have plenty of time."

"A lot of time?"

"Didn't you notice that after the incident, neither Ain and the others, nor Amber and Changguang, made any move to announce Otto's death?"

"Now is the final period before Finality end... Even from the perspective of public opinion alone, stability is definitely the priority."

"So you have plenty of time to get an answer about this Apocalypse. If you think it's inappropriate, you can destroy it directly. If you think it can really help you, then not announcing Otto's death and letting him continue to 'live' is also an option."

"What you said makes sense..." Theresa sighed. Although she had not yet taken over the position of bishop, troubles were already coming one after another.

"Then let's leave this doll here for now. I'll have Amber take him back to the Schicksal Headquarters later, and then find an opportunity to have a good talk with him."

Hopefully, everyone will get a satisfactory answer in the end.

After their secret underground meeting, Theresa and Xia Ling did not linger and immediately returned to the Hyperion.

Of course, he couldn't escape the mocking gazes of a group of people.

After all... the fact that Xia Ling blocked the surveillance and that she and Theresa had been missing for almost an hour couldn't be kept secret.

Following this minor incident, Theresa's bishop inauguration ceremony proceeded as scheduled.

The next day, the appointment process for Xia Ling was sent to Xia Ling's terminal.

However, the succession of the bishop is not so simple. There is a lot of business that Theresa needs to handle at the Schicksal Headquarters. Helpless, Theresa and Amber can only return to the Schicksal Headquarters first.

Xia Ling also went with them... After all, as the bishop's new secretary, she still had to do her work.

However, this period of peace did not last long.

According to the information sent by Elysia, Xia Ling will probably have to go to the World Serpent soon.

Chapter 42 Theresa: Xia Ling is a really good person, I'm telling you.

"What???"

On the floating island of the Schicksal Headquarters, a roar that seemed to threaten to tear the room apart came from the office of the newly appointed Bishop Theresa Apocalypse.

"You've only been in office for a few days and you're already going to disappear again?"

Theresa glared at Xia Ling fiercely, her hands braced on the table as if she wanted to devour Xia Ling.

However, this is Theresa, after all... judging from her dark circles, she has already begun to understand the hardships of being the Archbishop of Schicksal in the past two days.

But Xia Ling is different. Having learned from Otto for a long time, Xia Ling has gained experience in handling matters of Schicksal and can solve problems with ease.

During the day, she could confidently delegate some of her work to Xia Ling, and at night she could cuddle with Xia Ling and be affectionate with her to recover from the day's fatigue. If Xia Ling left, Theresa didn't even dare to imagine what she would become.

She has become inseparable from Xia Ling (sad).

"Please, my dear Theresa, this really happened so suddenly..."

Xia Ling clasped her hands together, sincerely trying to persuade Theresa.

"Sudden? Judging from the way you handle things so proactively, it doesn't seem like it was sudden."

Theresa tapped the table. "Why don't you explain why we need to handle some of the work from a week later in advance?"

"Xia Ling, you want to ask for leave but you don't tell the truth? You'll be punished for that!"

"Wait, wait, wait! I had this planned all along, didn't I?"

Xia Ling was immediately startled by Theresa's "threat," after all...

She had personally experienced Theresa's "punishment," so it's safe to say that Otto's secret room for hiding the Kallen was quite large.

"You should already know about this... I told you before, both to you and to Ain and the others, that I would give you an explanation of the Previous Civilization later."

"See, the explanation came right away."

Is this what it is?

Upon hearing Xia Ling's words, Theresa immediately remembered.

After all, when Xia Ling disappeared, she had discussed the matter with others and concluded that most of Xia Ling's advantages in terms of ability came from her hometown.

Xia Ling's advantage in intelligence lies largely in her connections with the Previous Civilization.

However, everyone who participated in the discussion was completely baffled. After reviewing Xia Ling's timeline, they found that Xia Ling should not have had any interaction with the Previous Civilization.

Now, the answer to this question seems to be coming to light.

"Not only that, I have another important purpose for going to the World Serpent this time."

"That is to bring everyone an enhancement."

"Strengthen?"

Theresa tilted her head, her eyes filled with great confusion.

After all, given the combined strength of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, Kevin is probably the only one in the world stronger than them. She really can't think of anything else Xia Ling could enhance.