Otto: "?"
Beichen: "What's wrong?"
Otto: "Is there something wrong with this Stigmata? Why did you dismantle it directly?"
Because he was my boss~
Of course, Beichen would not say that outright. Otherwise, Otto would be launching a full-scale investigation by tomorrow.
Then he would really be in deep trouble... So, to avoid such an embarrassing outcome, the best option was to brush it off with a reasonable yet graceful answer.
"Because this Stigmata is useless~"
"?"
Hearing that answer from outside the screen, Otto could not help frowning. For some reason, he felt as though he had been slighted...
"Alright, it was just a harmless little interlude. Everyone, just watch quietly. Don't make any noise, especially this viewer!"
Only after repeatedly reminding Otto not to speak did Beichen finally feel at ease and return to the Precision Supply screen.
Honestly, after getting Otto in one Ten-Pull, he was genuinely worried that his boss would break through the dimensional barrier... just to drop by the supply screen and say hello.
Phew! Nothing major, nothing major... With this many Crystals, there was no way I wouldn't get the last Welt piece, right?
With that thought in mind, Beichen tapped the Precision Supply button and began another Ten-Pull...
Having learned from last time, he did not wildly mash through everything. Instead, he tapped the screen one pull at a time...
Blue light... purple light! Blue light... blue light... purple light!
As the two different flashes alternated, a weapon and a Stigmata appeared before his eyes.
They were... Fairytale!? And Dirac (M)?
Hmm... not bad?
Beichen looked at the two pieces of equipment, quietly delighted.
Both were exclusive gear for A-rank Seele. Once he finished the event, he would have Seele too, and then she could use this ready-made equipment.
That way, when fighting Kallen in Memorial Arena, he would at least not have to brute-force it with The Starter Trio...
"Wow, another two pieces! But how good are these two pieces of equipment?"
Seeing the streamer get two purples in one Ten-Pull, Seele immediately voiced her amazement and curiosity.
After all, there was the precedent of that Schicksal Bishop. She did not know whether these two pieces of equipment would also be dismantled...
Beichen naturally understood Seele's concern, so he answered cleanly and decisively:
"Don't worry, these two are far more useful than Otto."
"Really? That's great!"
The streamer and his fan discussed things harmoniously, and the atmosphere was exceptionally peaceful for a time...
Until...
"?" A green comment floated past. It did not use many words, but its meaning was crystal clear.
It made the formerly harmonious atmosphere somewhat awkward...
"Ahem! Enough chit-chat, let's continue! I refuse to believe I can't pull a Welt today!"
Then, Beichen clicked the Ten-Pull screen once again.
Another burst of blue and purple lights flashed in succession...
Unfortunately, Welt did indeed appear... but it was Welt Yang (T).
"WELT, ARE YOU JUST GOING TO DIE IN THE POOL INSTEAD OF COMING OUT!!!"
"Wow! What's wrong, big brother... You're so scary!"
A blue comment floated by, expressing Seele's confusion...
All that could be said was that she would never understand how painful it was for an old Captain to sink on pulls...
Forget thirty pulls—even sinking three pulls would feel awful!
After failing three Ten-Pulls, Beichen was starting to lose it.
His Crystal reserves were indeed plentiful, but they could not withstand this kind of abuse...
If it took several more Ten-Pulls just to get Welt (M), how would that be any different from hitting pity?
Tch! Dawei, can you put in some effort? Stop obsessing over that crappy villa of yours and give it to me!
In the end, Beichen pressed the Precision Ten-Pull button once more...
This time, he kept chanting in his heart, Trust Dawei and miracles will happen, trust Dawei and miracles will happen, trust...
He was so nervous that he barely dared to look at the gacha screen.
What if... Otto Apocalypse's glorious face appeared on the results screen again... Wow, that would be terrifying!
"Wow! Big brother, look! You finally got it!"
Just as Beichen's thoughts ran wild, a blue comment on the screen caught his eye.
"Got it? Wow! Really, hahahaha! Great! Huh? Why is there another Otto!!!"
That was right. Something Beichen could never have imagined had happened.
The Welt he had been longing for... came out together with Otto, and they were both middle pieces...
What else was there to say? It was a cursed connection.
Still, it was not a big deal. As long as it dropped, that was enough. As for the newly appeared Otto~ dismantle him!
As the dismantling animation played, the freshly pulled Otto Apocalypse (M) was dismantled once again...
Dismantling him right in front of the Bishop... felt pretty good?
Of course, Beichen only savored it for a moment. After dismantling the Stigmata, he immediately began livening up the atmosphere.
"Alright, everyone, after forty pulls, I've finally achieved perfection. Next, I just need to enhance the Stigmata before playing Chapter Five's story. Hold on, hold on."
After saying that, he began spending materials to enhance Ri Duck, whose weapon and Stigmata set were already complete.
After the upgrades, the monsters in Chapter Five would be nothing worth mentioning, so there would be no embarrassing situation where he got stuck.
"Okay!"
"Hurry up. I'm already dying to know what happens in Chapter Five."
"Mm... I agree."
Comments from three viewers floated through the Live Stream one after another. Soon afterward, Beichen successfully raised Ri Duck to a new level of strength.
Once he was done, he immediately kept his promise and opened the first stage of Chapter Five.
As the stage loaded, the game first presented players with a snowfield filled with falling snow... Only afterward did it begin playing the recap cutscene.
The first half of the cutscene was basically no different from the summary at the end of Chapter Four, except that the narration sounded more mature and gentle.
Only when the cutscene reached its latter half did it begin introducing what happened after the cutscene at the end of Chapter Four.
Searching for information related to "human brains connected to Bio-chips."
As the image gradually appeared, the game showed Theresa and the response from the Schicksal database.
After some exchanges, Theresa found a breakthrough.
February 7, 2000? Damn it, it was during that time. Database, pull up the relevant records for me.
At Theresa's request, her petite body began flickering with a red glow and gradually disappeared.
As Theresa vanished, the camera shifted to the half-open door.
At that moment, a girl wearing White Comet's basic combat uniform was peeking through the doorway...
Kiana Sisters' Siberian Family Reunion Trip (Not Really)
"Hm? Isn't that Kiana?" As the cutscene reached its end and Kiana appeared, a green comment floated across the screen.
The owner of that comment was the "certain someone" who had directly encrypted 712 out of the 713 records Theresa had found—Otto...
"I see. She sneaked in while Theresa entered? Heh, curiosity is human nature, so I believe... she will pay the price for it."
Pay the price... It seemed Archbishop Otto had already guessed that Kiana was the protagonist of Chapter Five's main story?
Beichen thought about it and felt that it was not hard to guess. After all, the cutscene showed Kiana holding the door and peering into the database, yet it did not show Theresa's perspective after she vanished.
Just from that bit of game design, one could infer that the protagonist of Chapter Five's later story... was not Theresa.
Huh? The screen is disappearing? I have to hurry in after her...
Under the watchful eyes of everyone in the Live Stream, Kiana casually walked through the doors of the Schicksal database.
Unfortunately, she had no idea what lay inside those doors.
Virtual space construction complete. Time: 3:00 p.m., February 7, 2000.
Just as Kiana walked in, the space around her became virtualized and formatted into data. During this transition, there was also an effect resembling a fall.
By the time Kiana finally landed, the red data flashes around her had turned blue.
At that moment, the artificial intelligence narration finished its final line.
Location: Siberia, Babylon Laboratory.
"Siberia... Babylon Laboratory? Could this be..."
As the artificial intelligence narration ended, a neatly written comment floated across the screen.
The person who sent it was Durandal, who had been quietly watching the Live Stream and rarely spoke.
When Beichen saw her comment, he realized this Kiana had become suspicious, so he teased her.
"This story teaches us that remembering to close the door is a good habit. Haha! Shall we continue?"
"Mm, please continue." After saying that, Durandal fell silent again.
Beichen did not pay much attention to it and continued playing through the main story.
However, what he did not know was that outside the Live Stream, Durandal was asking Otto a question.
It was about whether she should continue staying here to watch the Live Stream...
"You have not yet arrived at your mission location, Arc City, have you?"
"No."
"Then there is nothing wrong with relaxing before that."
Contrary to his usual behavior, Otto did not interfere. He even displayed an easygoing attitude through the communication channel.
This greatly surprised Durandal, who had already prepared herself to argue her case.
The Bishop... did not object?
"Then... why would you agree, Bishop?"
"I have no intention of interfering with your decision, Durandal. I merely need to remind you that pursuing answers means bearing a price equal to them. Whatever consequences arise from what you are about to see will be yours alone to bear."
"...Yes, I understand."
While the two conversed outside the game, it finally entered the gameplay screen.
Kiana's story dialogue appeared on the screen.
Hello! Hello! Is anyone there? Damn it, there's no signal on the communicator either. What kind of place is this? I was clearly following Theresa, but now I have no idea where she went.
Since there was no one else on the vast snowfield, the entire conversation consisted only of Kiana talking to herself.
The only thing I can see is that tower. Forget it, I'll go take a look over there first.
Perhaps talking to herself was too boring, so Kiana decided to check out the tower.
Then, the game's mission prompt began guiding the player forward.
Beichen controlled Ri Duck as she sped across the Siberian snowfield. He knew that fighting the respawning enemies in this Open World-like map offered no benefit, so whenever he encountered Honkai Beasts or Zombies along the way, he went around them and avoided unnecessary battles.
Before you continue