Alicia is the Real Golden Finger in Honkai!

Raiden Mei tossed the private items shoved into the shopping bag into the trash and quickly returned to her current residence—a rather unremarkable apartment.

Not long after, Gwen also ambled back to the apartment he was renting.

He opened the door to find the room empty. It was also meticulously cleaned. On his desk, however, lay a piece of paper with some writing on it.

"Heh, looks like the white-haired furball is still in its caution phase..."

Muttering to himself, Gwen set down the tennis bag containing his weapons and picked up the paper from the desk to read it.

Having spent a few days in Changkong City, even missing Rita's birthday, who had taken good care of him, Gwen hadn't come back entirely empty-handed—

While adapting to the local environment and casually clearing out miniature Honkai phenomena, Gwen had a chance encounter with a white-haired furball who was also busy dealing with these Honkai incidents. Yesterday, he had even brought the exhausted furball back with him.

Chapter 22: Raiden Mei: Did My Dad Really Break the Law?

Of course, the Paramecium, not yet spoiled by the leisurely life at St. Freya, wouldn't easily go home with a stranger.

The reason the Paramecium followed Gwen back to his apartment yesterday was that the day's work combined with the night's battle had utterly exhausted her. That's why she followed Gwen, whom she had gotten to know through several chance encounters at night, back to his place—

Unlike Gwen, whose savings from multiple bank cards could ensure a lifetime of comfort, the Paramecium, who had ventured out on her own, had people helping her from behind the scenes. However, she still needed to earn her daily living expenses through part-time jobs—

Yes, Kiana the part-time worker, making her grand debut.

Even after following Gwen home, the seemingly carefree Kiana was quite cautious. She waited for Gwen to start eating before she did, and her modified twin guns were always within easy reach.

Before leaving, Kiana had also cleaned up thoroughly and left some money as thanks.

On the paper Gwen held were Kiana's words, written in handwriting that, despite her best efforts, was still not very good.

Fortunately, even though the writing wasn't beautiful and contained some grammatical errors, Gwen understood Kiana's meaning. It was essentially a thank you for Gwen's hospitality last night, stating that this was all the money she had and leaving it all for him, before giving Gwen a platonic compliment.

"Ha, that's just like the Paramecium."

With a light chuckle, Gwen carefully put away the letter, which wasn't much of a letter. If he could keep it safe, it might be interesting to show it to the Paramecium in the future.

After putting away the letter left by Kiana, Gwen drew the curtains, took out his Schicksal terminal and the summoner containing Prometheus's core data, placed them on the table, and then opened his recently purchased laptop to start operating it.

Meanwhile, in Raiden Mei's rented apartment—

While organizing the various daily necessities she had bought from the convenience store, Raiden Mei suddenly noticed something unfamiliar.

"What's this..."

Looking at the earphones in her hand, Raiden Mei couldn't help but look puzzled—

Raiden Mei was certain that these earphones were not among the items she had purchased. Nor was this the bag that her classmates, whom she met on the way, had touched; it was unlikely they had put it in.

So...

There was only one answer...

The scenes from just now flashed through her mind again, the final image freezing at the moment that boy put down his phone and took out the earphones.

"..."

Having confirmed the source of the item, Raiden Mei pursed her lips. Fragments from movies she had watched before quickly appeared in her mind. She subtly glanced out the window before nonchalantly tidying up the things on the table, finally drawing the curtains shut.

While distractedly tidying up, Raiden Mei repeatedly replayed the encounter with Gwen in her mind, trying to find any further clues. Unfortunately, she found nothing. She could only wrap herself in her blanket and place the earphones, which she had put in her pocket, by her ear.

Contrary to Raiden Mei's expectations, no one's voice immediately came from the earphones. There was only an unordered static, as if the earphones were simply something someone had accidentally lost.

"..."

In response, Raiden Mei felt a mix of disappointment and relief—

It seemed there were no surveillance devices in her room...

Thinking this, Raiden Mei took a deep breath and then said in the calmest voice possible:

"Hello?"

The static in the earphones continued. Raiden Mei spoke again:

"Hello?

I am Raiden Mei."

The next moment, the static in the earphones disappeared, replaced by a synthesized mechanical voice—

"Hello, Miss Raiden Mei."

"Hello, it's me."

Her heart couldn't help but skip a beat. Raiden Mei tried to suppress the restless emotions stemming from her chuunibyou fantasies being fulfilled, and calmly asked:

"May I ask your identity..."

Thanks to the experiences of the past few months, Raiden Mei's normally aloof demeanor, used to more easily reject others, had almost become an ingrained part of her. Thus, even though her heart was pounding, her voice showed no tremor.

"It's me. We just met this afternoon, Miss Mei should not have forgotten me."

This time, the voice in the earphones was no longer the synthesized mechanical one, but a male voice that Raiden Mei found somewhat familiar—

"And my name is Gwen."

"Mr. Gwen, Mei is deeply grateful for your help this afternoon.

However, why are you contacting me through such elaborate means?"

Trying to recall movie scenes she'd seen, Raiden Mei attempted to phrase her words in a way that wouldn't make her seem easily fooled.

"For this city, and for the tens of millions of people within it."

Gwen said calmly, "Of course, in the process, I'll also rescue your father, who was framed – the former ME Corp. president, Raiden Ryoma."

"So, my father isn't a fraudster?"

Raiden Mei instantly cast aside all her previous thoughts, her mind filled with surprise. Her pretty face, already slightly flushed from being under the covers, was now beaming with joy. The skirt on her lower body had also ridden up due to her excited movements...

However, Gwen's next words were like a bucket of cold water poured over her head, instantly bringing the young girl back to reality—

"I regret to inform you that, according to the intelligence I've obtained, your father was indeed involved in illegal fundraising.

However, based on his arrangements, he should have been able to repay the money in the end.

If nothing unexpected happened, he should still be the president of ME Corp., and you would still be the young lady of ME Corp., rather than the daughter of a criminal who is now looked down upon by everyone."

"..."

Raiden Mei couldn't respond for a moment. Gwen didn't rush her, simply listening quietly to Raiden Mei's rapid breathing on the other end.

Although hardship wears people down, it also fosters growth. Raiden Mei soon continued her questioning, though her voice was no longer as calm as before—

"Then, Mr. Gwen, your statement about 'for Changkong City' is also related to those who caused my father's imprisonment and are now controlling ME Corp.?"

"Clever!"

Gwen praised, then continued, "The identity of the other party is quite complex and might be difficult to explain clearly in a short time.

Simply put, they plan to use Changkong City as a testing ground for an experiment that is destined to cause the loss of life for over 99.9% of the city's inhabitants, creating a theoretically invincible monster.

Their goal is to kill this monster, seize its essence, and complete another experiment."

"What?"

Even though Raiden Mei kept telling herself to remain calm, she couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Chapter 23: Otto's Moves (Part 1)

Originally, Raiden Mei had only thought her father's imprisonment was the result of a business failure.

At most, it involved some political darkness.

However, the information she heard from Gwen made Raiden Mei subconsciously think of plots from certain horror movies, like "Resident Evil," where the masterminds treated human lives as nothing...

And just as Raiden Mei was feeling dazed by the barrage of information from Gwen, his next words almost sank her completely—

"Furthermore, if nothing unexpected happens, the final product of that experiment... is very likely to be you, Miss Mei."

"Me?"

Raiden Mei's small mouth parted, finding it difficult to accept what Gwen was saying.

"I can only say, it's highly probable."

Gwen, who was writing in his mission plan to "trick Raiden Mei," answered by inferring from the outcome:

"After all, the most crucial element of this experiment is an item your father possesses.

And this item is most likely placed on you."

"An item... placed on me?"

Still reeling from Gwen's information overload, Raiden Mei murmured, subconsciously starting to ponder what item her father might have given her that could be what Gwen was referring to.

And while Raiden Mei was being completely fooled by the transmigrator using the information gap, in a dilapidated rental apartment in Changkong City, a certain white-haired furball was devouring instant noodles—

"Mmm... finally full."

Finally, after finishing the fourth cup of instant noodles, Kiana put down her utensils and let out a satisfied groan—

Kiana, who had been busy working all day to earn money, naturally had a significant energy requirement.

However, although her stomach was full, looking at the instant noodle cups on the table, Kiana didn't have the usual blissful satisfaction after a full meal. Instead, after looking for a while, a hint of melancholy appeared on her face—

"Ah...

No matter how tasty instant noodles are, they're not as good as a hot, home-cooked meal..."

Lying powerlessly on the bed, like a salted fish unwilling to move, Paramecium recalled the food she ate at Gwen's place, who looked so handsome, the previous night, and suddenly felt that the usually delicious instant noodles no longer tasted as good—

"Ah... when will school start?

I really miss Senior Mei's bento..."

Ever since Raiden Ryoma's imprisonment last year, Raiden Mei's situation at school had drastically worsened. She went from being the "Thunder Queen" at the top of the academy to being a "criminal's daughter" whom anyone could step on.

And given the prevailing atmosphere in Japan, in such situations, most people would either silently observe or even participate in the bullying to fit in with the group and avoid becoming outcasts themselves.

Clearly, given Raiden Mei's usual aloof persona, she didn't have friends who would stand up for her.

As a result, Raiden Mei's situation became increasingly dire.

It was in this context that the white-haired furball, who had no understanding of such traditional Japanese dregs, directly took action and taught some particularly obnoxious students a lesson, becoming the first person to show kindness to Raiden Mei amidst her adversity.

Chapter 23: Otto's Actions (Part 2)

Meanwhile, the Paramecium, too lazy to cook (and not expecting much from its own culinary skills), found its affection growing with Raiden Mei's constant feeding.

If Kiana hadn't felt too embarrassed to trouble Raiden Mei, who was already in a difficult situation, and wanted to make things easier for herself to leave later and find her smelly dad elsewhere, she would have directly asked to stay at Raiden Mei's place.

However, during the spring break, neither of them was attending school, and Kiana, being short on cash and needing to prepare for future travel expenses, naturally had to rely on instant noodles.

Originally, Kiana, who had never eaten well since childhood, could have enjoyed instant noodles heartily. However, the dinner she had at Gwen's last night had caused her taste buds to protest against the instant noodles—

The satisfaction brought by a hot meal was incomparable to a cold bento box, and the stimulation it provided to the Paramecium, which had been eating instant noodles for nearly two weeks, was far greater than that of a bento box eaten every day.

Therefore, in the comparison taking place in the white-haired ball's mind, Gwen's cooking gradually began to overshadow Mei's bento. The Paramecium, snapping back to reality, shook its head, banished the terrible thought from its mind, pulled the blanket beside it, and rolled itself up, muttering before closing its eyes—

"Mmm... No more thinking, no more thinking, sleep, sleep..."

At the same time, at Schicksal headquarters on the other side of the planet, Otto, finally free after completing his design work, opened Gwen's task plan, which, strictly speaking, was not qualified—

"Hmm?"

Looking at the plan Gwen had written to trick Raiden Mei, Otto's expression became somewhat strange—

If he recalled correctly, based on the information from his spies in Anti-Entropy, one of Cocolia's possible objectives was to induce the Third Herrscher in Changkong City?

Otto, who had initially dismissed this possibility, thinking that Cocolia and those behind her wouldn't be so foolish, had simply chuckled and hadn't even considered notifying his old friend in the Far East.

Now, looking at Gwen's plan, which felt eerily familiar, Otto recalled this possibility again.

"Hmm..."

Although he had dismissed it with a chuckle before, this possibility, brought back to Otto's mind by Gwen's plan, was not something he casually overlooked again—

After all, Otto had seen his fair share of idiots who, in their arrogance, caused huge messes and ended up killing themselves.

Although there seemed to be unknown forces operating behind Cocolia, it didn't prevent Cocolia, a minor figure from a background of a small warlord, from causing some major trouble...

With this thought, Otto's gaze deepened, and his fingers tapped rhythmically on the table, producing clear sounds.

After a moment of thought, Otto didn't immediately make any deployments. Instead, he opened another top-secret document—