You Need Your Own Resolve Too

Saint 7308 Research Institute of Schicksal

"Ryusuke, Ryusuke, this is bad, something big has happened!"

Ryusuke Murata was in the lab, still researching how to repair the Fourth Divine Key, when Mint Candy suddenly jumped onto his shoulder.

"What's wrong? Didn't I ask you to keep an eye on Himeko? What else could happen?" Ryusuke chuckled, but his gaze was stern.

"I just finished watching a movie and felt a bit bored, so I went out to play. But suddenly, I detected a strong Honkai Energy reaction, exceeding 200 HW, near the movie theater." Before Mint Candy could finish speaking, Ryusuke pulled him along to the institute's operations room.

Upon opening the operations room screen, the recent intrusion meant there were quite a few people inside. However, Mint Candy had to hide in Ryusuke's pocket for now.

"Director Ryusuke."

Staff members passing by greeted him one after another. Ryusuke merely nodded with a cold expression, leaving the staff feeling a bit crestfallen.

"What's going on? Director Ryusuke is so serious!"

"He must have run into some trouble with his work again."

"Then why is he in the operations room?"

"How should I know? Let's go, let's go."

Ryusuke opened a screen and brought up the data panel. A map of the entire Earth appeared. Ryusuke quickly locked onto Himeko's location. Through satellite positioning and detection, as expected, a high concentration of Honkai Energy reaction appeared around that area.

Moreover, the energy level was no longer the 200 HW Mint Candy had mentioned. It had now broken through the 500 HW mark. However, instead of radiating outwards, it was showing signs of contracting.

"Is a Herrscher about to be born?" Ryusuke was stunned, murmuring as he looked at the panel. The surrounding personnel also noticed this, and the entire operations room sprang into action.

"America G047 Base, this is Saint 7308. We've detected a high concentration of Honkai Energy reaction in California, with energy exceeding 500 HW and still increasing. Please dispatch a Valkyrie combat team immediately."

"Calling Headquarters, this is Saint 7308. A high concentration of Honkai Energy reaction has been detected in California, America. Suspected Herrscher emergence. Please dispatch support immediately."

"High concentration Honkai Energy reaction detected in Las Vegas, America, energy level reached 200 HW. Wait, the energy reaction has disappeared."

"Don't just report nonsense!"

The operations room became chaotic. Ryusuke was even pushed away from the console and could only stand behind, watching the energy level of the red dot on the screen continuously rise.

Ryusuke's expression was grim, but he couldn't leave the operations room at all. Helpless, he had to ask Mint Candy to go again. "Mint Candy, I'm asking you to go one more time."

"But I can't deal with that monstrous thing either. It looks just like you humans, but it has no thoughts." Mint Candy, eating candy in Ryusuke's pocket, said helplessly. He had tried to use his abilities to drive that thing away earlier.

Ryusuke bit his lip. "No need. Just take Himeko away. I'll contact Headquarters to deal with that monster as soon as possible. Please."

Seeing Ryusuke's firm attitude, Mint Candy knew there was no way to persuade him. He sighed and said, "Sigh, there's no helping it. Who told us we're friends? I'll go one more time then!"

With that, Mint Candy jumped into the wormhole.

Ryusuke squeezed in and took over the console of the person contacting Headquarters, stating directly, "I am Ryusuke Murata, head of Saint 7308. I request Headquarters to contact Bishop Otto."

The communication on the other end suddenly crackled with static, and then the screen flashed blue. A blonde man sitting on a throne, holding a wine glass, looked at them from the screen, his green eyes filled with indifference.

"My dear Director Murata, what is it?"

When this man appeared, the entire operations room fell silent, with only the voices of the man and Ryusuke audible.

Ryusuke Murata stood before the screen, looking at the man. "Bishop Otto, there is a high concentration of Honkai Energy in California, America. The energy level has reached 500 HW and is still increasing, but it hasn't erupted directly. It's suspected that a Herrscher has been born."

The blonde man straightened his posture slightly, his gaze seeming to pierce through Ryusuke's body. "Do you know what you are saying, Director Murata?"

His voice was low, and for a moment, everyone in the operations room looked at Ryusuke, not daring to breathe. Ryusuke's expression remained unchanged. "Bishop Otto, based on this continuously contracting and increasing energy reaction, it is not impossible for a Herrscher to be born. And compared to the past, if this energy erupts, it will instantly engulf all of California. If we don't deal with it now, it will be too late."

Ryusuke's eyes were fixed on the man on the screen, the man named Otto Apocalypse.

Otto's gaze flickered. He looked at Ryusuke, then took a sip of his wine, smiling. "In that case, dispatching Valkyrie troops would be too late. The only way is to launch missiles now and obliterate that entire area. However, I will leave this decision to you, Director Murata. I trust your judgment, but America is Anti-Entropy's territory, so you must also show your resolve."

Placing his wine glass on the tray held by Amber, Otto unilaterally cut off the communication. The image on the screen changed to a coordinate, centered on the area of the energy reaction, with a 1000-meter radius marked in red.

A pale hand covered the console. Ryusuke fell silent, while the operations room became noisy, with most people urging Ryusuke not to press the button.

After all, the area was currently only covering about 50 square meters. But if Ryusuke pressed that button, it would be no ordinary event, because the authorization Otto gave was certainly not for just one or two missiles.

To destroy a Herrscher, it would require direct firepower, a full-force assault to annihilate it.

His hand trembled slightly, but Ryusuke still pressed the launch button. After a brief moment of contemplation, Ryusuke made his decision.

"Target locked, coordinates confirmed. Authorizer: Otto Apocalypse. Executor: Ryusuke Murata."

As the people in the operations room watched as towering objects resembling high-rise towers appeared at the G047 Base, and then vanished into the sky amidst a brilliant fiery explosion, their voices were as if stolen.

"Hey, Saint 7308, what the hell are you doing!"

"You'll be judged!"

Ryusuke quietly withdrew amidst the horrified gazes of the people in the operations room and the curses from the G047 Base.

Meanwhile, at an Anti-Entropy base, Einstein had just finished assisting Welt in dealing with the [Clone I] in Las Vegas. Suddenly, she heard Tesla's furious shout, "These Schicksal bastards, actually launching missiles! They've gone mad!"

"What?" Einstein was also somewhat shocked. Why would Schicksal do something so reckless at this time?

"Tesla, what did you just say!"

Welt Yang, who had originally been in Las Vegas, heard this with his superhuman hearing and quickly asked. A huge, seemingly bottomless pit appeared before him.

Inside the pit were some dark red fragments and debris.

Einstein took a look and directly operated the screen in front of her, confirming the trajectory of the missiles launched from G047 Base via radar and satellite.

She also had an approximate range for each missile's impact point.

Once the coordinate range was determined, Einstein sent the coordinates to Welt, "Alliance Leader, please go and resolve the California issue first. I've already sent you the coordinates. I'll be researching with Tesla to see if we can intercept these missiles early."

Welt Yang glanced at the coordinates he received:

37°22'13"N

122°02'26"W

Immediately, blue light appeared around Welt Yang, assembling and piecing together like building blocks, finally forming an airplane. As Welt operated it, the airplane actually took off.

The giant pit that appeared here was quickly filled in by an engineering team that rushed over, and a "Under Construction" sign was hung up.

All surveillance was disabled, and there were no witnesses, as if nothing had happened.

Ten minutes later, the airplane constructed by Welt Yang using the authority of the Herrscher of Reason arrived over California.

The converging Honkai Energy naturally couldn't escape Welt's senses. He soon spotted Li Ming locked in combat with the [Clone I].

Although he knew the student's capabilities from Cocolia, he was still very surprised. Li Ming, with his mortal body, was fighting back and forth with the [Clone I], and even seemed to be gaining a slight advantage.

Seeing this, Welt no longer worried. He found the highest point and began using the authority of the Herrscher of Reason to search for and eliminate the missiles launched by Schicksal.

Suddenly, a fluctuation appeared around him, causing him to be momentarily distracted. He scanned his surroundings but found nothing amiss.

Meanwhile, over at Himeko's location...

Seeing Li Ming and that monster leave, Himeko ran downstairs once she saw there was no longer any danger. However, as soon as she reached the ground floor, Mint Candy rushed over from Ryusuke Murata.

It looked around and spotted Himeko, who had just come downstairs, not far away. After jumping onto Himeko, Himeko suddenly fell unconscious.

The moment Himeko collapsed, a wormhole with a door frame appeared. Tentacle-like appendages extended from Mint Candy and dragged Himeko into the wormhole.

"This should count as completing Ryusuke's task. No, I'll definitely have to make him bring me more food next time, preferably donuts, cream rolls, and toffee candies..."

Mint Candy, sitting on the ground, took a breath. It had taken quite a bit of effort to pull Himeko in just now.

Then Mint Candy saw the person it least wanted to see, "This is bad, I'm going to have a headache now."

Welt Yang anchored the missiles using satellite data. Einstein and Tesla had managed to intercept most of the missiles with the approval of the Americas, but unfortunately, a few missiles were still outside the range of this coordinate lock.

Fortunately, Welt had already determined the trajectory of the remaining few stragglers, and now he just needed to deal with them.

Several cannon barrels appeared out of thin air, along with cannonballs.

The muzzles followed Welt's command, aiming at the sky. Then, as the missile trajectories became faintly visible in the sky, Welt chose to fire. Blue cannon fire shot straight into the sky, like brilliant shooting stars.

However, most people in California at this time did not witness this shocking scene. This was because chaos suddenly erupted around the DreamWorks movie theater, and it was surrounded by security forces. The cordon continued to expand, and California began issuing relevant notices, telling everyone to take shelter.

Although they didn't believe it, the gunshots were real. With such a commotion, even the most foolish wouldn't run out to die at this time.

Therefore, those hiding at home naturally had no chance to see the blue cannon fire that pierced the sky. However, those who did have a chance to see the blue cannon fire were already scared and hiding when they saw the missiles.

The remaining were the security forces and Li Ming.

Director Fiss stared at the cannon fire that pierced the sky and intercepted the missiles, his mouth wide enough to fit two light bulbs. Snapping back to reality, he yelled into the walkie-talkie, "You saw that thing, you bastard! What the hell is that, and why are there missiles! You guys..."

Although Director Fiss was agitated, the voice on the other end of the walkie-talkie replied coldly, "Everything is classified. Director Fiss, you have no right to inquire."

"No, you son of a bitch, you sour pickle..."

Even the usually good-tempered Director Fiss couldn't help but curse.

But the other side didn't even bother with him and hung up the communication.

He had originally wanted to ask them to use that weapon to support their location. Before he could say it, Li Ming's situation took a turn for the worse. The monster suddenly erupted, and the situation that was previously suppressed was now reversed.

And this suppression range was not just within fifty meters; even the security forces were covered by this gravity field. Caught off guard, Fiss was pressed to the ground, feeling as if an elephant was standing on him.

He managed to lift his head and saw that his teammates around him had all fallen. Some, unable to bear the pain, wanted to cry out loud but found they couldn't.

At this moment, Fiss's heart sank. What was happening?

The sudden eruption of the gravity field caught everyone off guard. Li Ming, looking at the core just inches away, felt powerless.

Furthermore, as the core's light intensified, Li Ming found his HP and SP draining faster and faster.

Although only ten seconds had passed, Li Ming felt as if ten years had gone by. His physical strength and spirit felt as if they were being sucked away by the core.

At this time, the Candlelight Armor: First Light on Li Ming also emitted a faint red glow, as if synchronizing with the core.

Li Ming had a premonition that once the glow of Candlelight Armor: First Light completely synchronized with the core's glow, he would likely die.

The energy system inside the armor also began to issue constant warnings, "Warning, armor energy has been depleted by 30%. Armor energy will be exhausted in 20 seconds."

Did he only have 20 seconds to live?

Under the coverage of this gravity field, Li Ming felt as if his thoughts were also being suppressed by the gravity, making his thinking slow and sluggish.

He only vaguely saw a blue light flash behind the monster, but he was more concerned about the worm-like red unknown objects wriggling on the monster's cheeks and neck.

He initially thought it was a special effect of this upgraded [Code??? I Clone]. But then he saw a red mechanical object, like an octopus, slowly moving towards the [Code??? I Clone]'s pupils.

Before Li Ming could get a closer look, with a flash of black light, a large pit appeared beneath the [Code??? I Clone]'s feet. The entire [Code??? I Clone] turned into dust, crushed into fragments.

All that remained before Li Ming was half of a shattered core.

Staring blankly at the half-shattered orb before him, Li Ming suddenly took a deep breath, his mind racing.

"Just now, what the hell was that?"