Alicia is the Real Golden Finger in Honkai!

For the students at this school, most of whom had some sort of background, the teacher was powerless to stop them from doing whatever they wanted and could only try to mediate as best as possible.

However, seeing the tacit understanding and intimacy that Gwen and Raiden Mei displayed in some details, the teacher, who was already old and had been through the trials of society, gave up on the idea of talking to Gwen after class. Instead, he went directly to the head of teaching to inquire about Gwen's background…

After the homeroom teacher left, the almost stagnant atmosphere in the classroom didn't improve much.

When a nearby classmate cautiously asked about the relationship between the American transfer student and Raiden Mei, Gwen, holding Raiden Mei's small hand, replied, "What? Don't we look like a couple?" This answer made the atmosphere in the classroom even more stifling, as if a thousand-pound boulder were pressing down on the space, making everyone speak with extreme caution, for fear of making any noise and attracting attention.

Thanks to the presence of Gwen, an American transfer student with an unknown background, Raiden Mei's status in the class seemed to have improved—

At least, there were no longer instances where she would go out during break and return to find her desk covered in vulgarities—

Although they would use Raiden Mei, the fallen young lady, as a topic of conversation, and even bully her to solidify their own positions in their small cliques.

However, this did not mean that these students would mindlessly mock Raiden Mei without any regard for the consequences—

At least, until they understood the background of Raiden Mei's new backer, they wouldn't act rashly.

"I'm sorry, Gwen, for the unfair treatment you've received."

At noon, Raiden Mei, who had found a quiet place to have lunch with Gwen, apologized.

Nearly half a year of bullying had also allowed Raiden Mei to master the skill of "reading the atmosphere," a skill she never needed before.

"Heh, isn't this what I should be doing as Mei's boyfriend?"

With a light laugh, Gwen teased:

"If you want to thank me, how about a kiss from a beautiful girl?"

However, in response to Gwen's teasing, Raiden Mei merely rolled her beautiful eyes:

"Alright, let's eat."

During these dates (acting), Raiden Mei's acceptance of many of Gwen's statements based on his identity as her boyfriend had increased dramatically, and she wouldn't blush easily from holding hands like she did at first—

Although Raiden Mei's face was still unavoidably slightly flushed at this moment…

What Raiden Mei didn't know was that at this very moment, the scene of her having lunch with Gwen was appearing on a screen in a room in a satellite city not far from Changkong City.

"Who is this man?"

Having finally prepared everything needed to trigger the Great Honkai, Cocolia, full of ambition, was ready to conduct a final inspection of her experimental grounds. Once everything was confirmed to be in order, she would begin this experiment, taking the first and most crucial step in rescuing her daughter who had fallen into the Sea of Quantum.

"Reporting, Lady Cocolia,"

Hearing Cocolia's question, the burly and thin duo, who were in Changkong City and responsible for monitoring Raiden Mei, quickly replied:

"This kid is from America. According to our investigation, he's an online friend Raiden Mei made recently, and they've now become a couple."

"Heh…

In the end, they have to end up as ill-fated lovers…"

Upon hearing this, Cocolia let out a cold laugh, devoid of any emotion. Her narrow eyes narrowed like a fox's as she stared at the young man and woman on the screen and said:

"Bronya, investigate that kid's identity thoroughly."

"Yes."

With no change in expression on her small face, Project Bunny appeared, its mechanical hand holding a laptop for Bronya to operate.

A moment later, the burly and thin duo in Changkong City heard a sentence that made the slightly grumbling pair shiver—

Chapter 32: Cocolia: How can you do a good job with Anti-Entropy with those bugs?

"According to the information, this Gwen, who appears to merely have a huge inheritance left by his parents, is actually an dispatched member of the FBI, and at the same time…"

After some operations, Bronya's gray eyes reflected the information compiled by Rita, and she spoke with a voice devoid of any emotional fluctuation, revealing intelligence that made the burly and thin duo instantly break out in a cold sweat:

"Gwen's parents have ties to the Anti-Entropy conservative faction, and he himself has registered information with the Anti-Entropy conservative faction."

"Heh…"

Looking at the young man in the picture who was having dinner with the girl, appearing to be just an ordinary high school student, Cocolia sneered, her voice filled with disdain and contempt:

"I thought Einstein and those guys were preparing some big move, but they sent out some unknown kid…

Hmph, no wonder Anti-Entropy has been declining all these years…"

Saying this, Cocolia looked at the trembling operative beside her, who was also nervous due to this huge oversight, and coldly said:

"From now on, Changkong City will be under martial law, and reconnaissance efforts will be increased.

I want to see how those conservative bugs plan to take the person away right under my nose."

"Yes!"

The operative, greatly relieved, responded and began to operate—

With the deterrent force of swallowing ME Corp. in one go, Cocolia, the newly risen minor warlord of Siberia, had taken control of all aspects of Changkong City in the past six months, and could now directly order the city to be sealed.

However, it would still take some time for the equipment to be fully activated, so Cocolia was only imposing martial law for now, rather than directly sealing the city and then triggering the Great Honkai.

"Hmph!"

Looking at the young man and woman on the screen, who seemed to have dyed the surrounding air pink, Cocolia snorted coldly, turned around, and left to continue checking other aspects.

Gwen was quickly informed by Prometheus about the fact that his information, hidden in some Anti-Entropy database, had been accessed.

Gwen wasn't surprised by this—

If they couldn't even uncover his first alias, just how weak were the conservative factions of Anti-Entropy that allowed Cocolia to reach this point?

By the afternoon, news that Changkong City was under martial law for a seemingly reasonable cause began to spread among the students.

Although the reason was quite sound, many students at Senba Academy still had urgent family matters come up that afternoon and left school early.

However, this had nothing to do with Gwen and Raiden Mei, who were pretending to be a couple—

After receiving the news from Prometheus at Schicksal headquarters that "Cocolia was beginning to reinforce the area around Changkong City," Gwen knew that without resorting to underhanded tactics (like transforming and flying away with Mei), he wouldn't be able to take Mei away directly.

Therefore, Gwen, still sticking to the premise that "Artificial Collapse was a last resort," chose Plan B—

After school, Gwen and Raiden Mei, who hadn't been picked up early by their parents, continued their date. During dinner in the evening, they "coincidentally" met the part-time worker Kiana.

After dinner, Gwen and Raiden Mei, who had been constantly showering Kiana with displays of affection, left together after waiting a while longer.

At this moment, the three of them were less than two kilometers away from ME Corp., a well-known East Asian company located in Changkong City.

Cocolia, who had also investigated Kiana's identity, was unconcerned by this—

"Heh, I don't know if I should call them bold or ambitious but incompetent…

To still be trying to win over Schicksal's traitors at a time like this…"

As for the core of her plan, the question of whether ME Corp., which was heavily guarded by her forces, would be ambushed by three brats never even crossed Cocolia's mind—

Did anyone really think those melodramatic plotlines from novels in this country would happen in real life?

As the trio strolled, they arrived in front of the magnificent ME Corp. headquarters building.

Looking at this landmark building that once belonged to her father, a hint of sadness involuntarily appeared on Raiden Mei's face.

At this moment, a warm, large hand enveloped Raiden Mei's small hand.

"I'm sorry for making you worry…"

Raiden Mei said softly with an apologetic expression.

"If you're sad, you can tell me."

Gwen replied with a smile:

"If you keep everything bottled up and it makes my little Mei unhappy, I'll be heartbroken."

"...

Seriously, doesn't this American kid find that cheesy?"

The burly man, who had just walked back from the brink of death, showed no signs of complacency. He, along with his companion, was closely monitoring Raiden Mei and the others' every move, afraid of any further mistakes that might cost them their heads.

"Heh, who knows?"

With a scoff, the slender man patted his companion's shoulder:

"Stop complaining and watch carefully. I'm going to rest for a bit; I'll take over for you in the latter half of the night."

"Go ahead."

The burly man waved his hand and said casually.

However, while the two were watching Gwen and Raiden Mei being affectionate on their screens, the reality at the entrance of ME Corp. was that the security guards on duty had already slumped to the ground, their bodies limp.

Not far away, Kiana and Raiden Mei were running at full speed towards the distance—

"Next, I'll hack into all nearby surveillance, take control of ME Corp.'s network, and break in directly to shut down and destroy all of Cocolia's preparations.

Mei, Kiana, your mission is to run, as far away as possible."

Gwen had said this not long ago while explaining the plan.

—Over the past half month, Raiden Mei had tried countless times to recall her vague memories from five years ago, but she still failed.

However, amidst her anxiety, Raiden Mei still asked Gwen to examine her body, and the result was that "the Gem of Conquest was currently within Raiden Mei's body."

Raiden Mei's heart was filled with mixed emotions, and she was also filled with trepidation—

After all, Raiden Mei was already well aware of the mission represented by Gwen's identity.

Fortunately, to the girl's relief, Gwen did not show any change in his attitude towards her, as a potential Herrscher candidate. Instead, he became even more caring, which caused the girl's affection for the young man to quietly increase once more.

It was also because of learning this that after covering Gwen's successful arrival at the entrance of ME Corp., Raiden Mei and Kiana directly retreated—

It wasn't that Kiana hadn't offered to help, but no one could guarantee whether Raiden Mei, with the Gem of Conquest within her, would undergo any negative changes upon contact with a massive amount of Honkai energy.

To protect Raiden Mei and prevent her from being forcibly captured by Cocolia, who had discovered the truth, Kiana could only abandon this idea and choose to leave with Raiden Mei.

At this moment, within ME Corp., which had been quietly controlled by Prometheus, all external communications were cut off, and all doors were locked. The staff were in a state of panic, unaware that a figure was rushing towards the secret underground as if entering an empty realm—

Chapter 33: The One Saving You

"Prometheus, what's the situation underground?"

While continuously advancing downwards under Prometheus's guidance, Gwen asked about the situation of his objective in his mind.

"Currently, the few Honkai energy engines visible through surveillance are in a safe state.

However, based on past surveillance and entry records, there are several larger Honkai energy engines in surveillance blind spots, and their specific conditions are unknown."

Prometheus replied calmly, while also presenting some possibilities:

"Furthermore, although I've already isolated this area from the outside world, ensuring Cocolia won't detonate the Honkai externally.

However, if the Honkai Engine is equipped with certain triggered detonation devices, I'm not sure if we can resolve it."

"In any case, shutting down what we can is the right move."

Gwen didn't overthink this. He'd do what he could, and worrying about things beyond his capabilities was just self-inflicted trouble.

"Alright, next, turn left and take the elevator down."

Prometheus didn't comment on Gwen's perspective, merely continuing to offer calm advice.

"Understood."

Casually replying in his mind, Gwen rushed into the elevator whose doors had opened, quickly heading underground.

Meanwhile, in the base where Cocolia was hiding, her preparations for the next phase of her plan were suddenly interrupted by Bronya's communication—

"Mommy Cocolia, something's wrong in Changkong City."

Bronya stated concisely:

"There's an issue with the information ME Corp. sent back. Based on cross-referencing, it's suspected that someone used AI to create false intelligence."

While Prometheus had the remote support of Schicksal's computational power, Bronya was not lacking either. With the technical support of Cocolia, who was currently all the rage within Anti-Entropy, even if she couldn't break through Prometheus's setup, it wasn't impossible for her to discover some problems.

"Hmph, only thinking of acting now?"

Cocolia, however, was unhurried, a cold smile appearing on her lips:

"Bronya, set up the computer to automatically attack the enemy's disguise. You prepare to lead a team to Changkong City. After the Honkai outbreak, go capture the Herrscher."

"Yes."

Calmly accepting the order, Bronya floated away as silently as she had arrived.

And half an hour earlier, at Schicksal Headquarters—