Chapter 158

"There's nothing we can do about it. That's just how we researchers are. After all, researchers are the seekers of truth. Facing the unknown, cutting-edge experimental equipment, large amounts of research funding, countless research projects, and the best research environment... I think most researchers can't refuse them."

"Let's talk about the dissatisfaction of the higher-ups at Schicksal. The Acting Grand Bishop certainly won't let these accomplices of Otto go, and she's been limiting the power of the higher-ups lately..."

"Wait a minute, how come I didn't know about this? Has she really treated me, her special advisor, like a mere figurehead?"

"Because the Acting Grand Bishop believed she could handle the matter herself, and as the price for reclaiming their power, the Acting Grand Bishop put them in charge of recovering the spoils of war..."

"Recycle loot?" Welt was slightly taken aback. He felt like he had been offline for several months and had missed a lot of plot developments.

"Yes, in addition to the assets of Shencheng Medicine, the Acting Grand Bishop produced a list of World Serpent members and handed it over to the higher-ups. Some of the higher-ups couldn't get it directly, but that didn't stop them from using their own methods."

"Using one tiger to devour another..."

Welt already understood Freya's plan.

"Yes, the Acting Grand Bishop did not do it herself. She simply provided the list to the higher-ups frankly and then asked for half of the 'spoils of war,' while the other half belonged to the higher-ups."

"Trading power for benefits..."

"Hmm, exchanging benefits for power, to be honest, the Acting Grand Bishop is better at this than you are."

Tesla rolled her eyes. So, when it came to this kind of tactic, she really didn't think Freya would ask Welt for his opinion.

"Let the higher-ups deal with the World Serpent members, let them outwit and outmaneuver the World Serpent, exhaust their energy. In the words of the Acting Grand Bishop, let them fight like the snipe and the clam, and she can get half of the spoils without doing anything."

In short, Freya simply moved her lips and provided a list, waiting to split the spoils in half. Meanwhile, the higher-ups not only had to provide manpower and resources, but also had to fight against the remnants of the World Serpent Organization.

At that point, who would have the mind to hold others back? Who would have the energy to fight for power?

"Well, compared to the Acting Grand Bishop, our Lady Theresa is..."

"After all, she's Lady Theresa ~"

Tesla noticed the admiring glances from the Valkyrie around him, and bit down hard on the sausage he had forked, as if venting his anger.

For some reason, Welt felt a chill.

"By the way, am I no longer of any use as a special advisor?"

"No, you can definitely seek benefits for Anti-Entropy. The Special Advisor isn't just waiting for the Acting Grand Bishop to consult you. You can also offer your own opinions. By the way, don't offer opinions contrary to those of the Acting Grand Bishop... Two months ago, a high-ranking official who disagreed with her was thrown into Siberia to mine resources for a day and almost died there. You know, that place is still a disaster area to this day."

Once Honkai Energy erodes the land, it is difficult to dissipate. The main battlefield of the Second Eruption War was the Siberian Plains. Even though they defeated the Second Herrscher, the Siberian Plains became a disaster area and remains a forbidden land for humans to this day.

Even if you go in wearing protective clothing, you can't withstand it for a whole day.

Even if Schicksal has better anti- Honkai protective suits, it doesn't mean they can completely isolate Honkai Energy; people can still die.

That high-ranking official was a pampered rich kid, but he cried his eyes out after only one day being sent out by Freya. If it weren't for the other high-ranking officials pleading for him and giving up some power, that high-ranking official who initially wanted to challenge Freya would have died right there.

It was only at this point that they realized how 'gentle' Otto was.

However, Otto went to recuperate, leaving them with a 'little Otto's who would target them.

The days of living as one pleases are over.

Rather than the title of "Merciful Saintess" that the Valkyrie secretly gave Freya, the higher-ups of Schicksal reached a consensus—"Black-hearted Saintess".

He secretly mocked Freya for having a black heart.

Tesla wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth with a tissue.

"There are some things the Acting Grand Bishop didn't tell you, simply because he felt it was unnecessary for you to know them."

Does that include going to heaven?

Welt was both amused and exasperated. He took a sip of hot soup and asked.

"Is Schicksal planning to build a space station?"

"Yes, the Acting Grand Bishop wants to explore the ruins on the moon, but Schicksal has been consciously hindering the development of lunar landing technology in order to control the speed of technological development."

"Our Acting Grand Bishop believes that while the Honkai increases with the level of civilization, it doesn't mean we are ignorant and that the Honkai won't be our enemy. To defeat the Honkai, we must understand Honkai, and the ruins of the Previous Civilization on the moon are crucial to us. We cannot throw the baby out with the bathwater..."

Tesla began clearing away the tableware in front of him.

"The Acting Grand Bishop wants to build the Nine Floating Islands into a huge space station, send it into geostationary orbit, and then combine it with the satellites that Otto had previously deployed to form a defense network in geostationary orbit that combines detection and interception capabilities."

"Blocking function..."

"After all, with our help in Anti-Entropy, haven't various countries developed nuclear weapons? The Acting Grand Bishop is trying to create an anti-nuclear system to counter nuclear weapons. In reality, it uses a super quantum computer to control all electronic devices worldwide. That is to say, if someone launches a nuclear missile at Schicksal, under the influence of this super quantum computer, it will be launched towards their own territory, but no one will notice the problem. All the data is controlled by that super quantum computer—"

Welt was completely dumbfounded after hearing this.

Is their Black-bellied Saintess really that fierce?

Anyone who didn't know better would think she was preparing to become a demon king.

"I wonder what expressions governments will have when they find out their nuclear weapons are restricted..."

"Hehe, how could the Acting Grand Bishop possibly let them know? The most important thing is that this system is designed to capture Otto."

"I'm starting to get a headache... no, I'm starting to get a headache for Bishop Otto."

"Although excavating lunar ruins is also a primary objective, the idea of turning the Nine Floating Islands into space stations is just a pretext. The main purpose is to hide the super quantum computer that is currently under construction."

"It's being manufactured, which means?"

"Einstein is in charge of this project. Haven't you noticed that she's been eating with you much less often lately?"

"She doesn't eat with me very often... No, that's not what I meant. I only want to eat with you, cough cough, no... I mean, ahhh, I don't have those feelings for Einstein."

"Einstein doesn't have those feelings for you either, don't worry."

Tesla grinned mischievously.

Teasing Welt occasionally made her feel quite good.

"By the way, when did these plans originate?"

"Oh, it was probably about a month after that young lady left, when our Acting Grand Bishop finally recovered and started to let loose."

"That happened six months ago!!"

Welt was immediately annoyed. No wonder he and Theresa had been going out on inspections more often since half a year ago.

He genuinely believed that Freya sent him and Theresa to inspect the area to prevent the branch of Valkyrie who had been conscripted from rebelling.

He and Theresa were clearly considered to be a hindrance to the quietly proceeding plan, which is why they were assigned to the "drag group" and sent away.

This fact was somewhat of a blow to Welt.

"The Acting Grand Bishop probably doesn't think you'll be a burden..."

"Oh? Does that Black-bellied Saintess have other ideas?"

"She wanted you to be the bait to see if she could catch Otto, but... she didn't catch him. I only found out about this two months ago."

"But I was used as bait for more than six months." Welt immediately covered his face.

"I say, is it too late to call that young lady back now? Otherwise, can we really stop the Acting Grand Bishop from going berserk?"

Tesla also helped Welt tidy up the tableware in front of him, and shrugged when she heard the question.

"It's probably difficult. They're probably in the Sahara Desert right now, where there's basically no internet and it's also one of the most severely affected areas, so electronic devices themselves will be affected."

"So that means it can't be stopped?"

"Well, no one should be stopping us. In fact, we, including myself, are all very motivated."

"What the hell is this researcher's thought process!"

"Oh, you have a problem with that?"

"... No, I didn't."

Seeing Tesla narrow his eyes as he asked the question, Welt quickly changed his tune.

175. A city located in a desert where life is forbidden.

Researchers sometimes think in ways that are just like ordinary people.

Freya opened up basic technologies from Previous Civilization to researchers at Schicksal, advanced technologies to Tesla and Einstein, and even provided some technologies that were classified as taboo.

These technologies are incredibly attractive to researchers.

Tesla, at least, can't imagine anyone who could resist such a Previous Civilization technology.

Ultimately, the purer the researcher, the more they are seekers of truth, so they simply cannot reject the scientific and technological advancements of Previous Civilization.

Otto's past practice of hoarding beauty stands in stark contrast to Freya's current generosity.

Apart from those researchers who use scientific research as a tool to advance their careers and make money, most researchers succumbed to Freya's technology.

Moreover, Freya is exceptionally generous with funds. Compared to Bishop Otto, who prefers to spend his money on game development, Freya clearly treats researchers much better.

Of course, along with the extremely high treatment came extremely strict management regulations.

Many researchers, especially those who wanted to get promoted and make money, chose to leave in the face of these strict management conditions.

It can be said that while Schicksal was developing rapidly, its own strength was indeed somewhat damaged.

Especially those researchers who left, Freya only signed confidentiality agreements with them and then let them go. She doesn't know if those researchers will cause trouble for Schicksal. If they are recruited by other organizations, then the confidentiality agreements will be nothing but a piece of paper.

The only saving grace is that only two of those researchers were senior researchers.

Welt rubbed his temples.

"I don't know if this kind of rapid reform is good or bad..."

However, Welt also had to admit that under Freya's method of eliminating the dross and retaining the essence, the cohesion of the Schicksal reached an unprecedented level.

If he really had to choose, Welt would rather fight against the Schicksal led by Otto.

Watching Tesla pick up the cutlery and leave, Welt gave up thinking and got up from his chair to take the set of cutlery from Tesla's hands.

"... Let me help you."

"Welt?"

"Don't be surprised, I might have more and more leisure time in the future..."

Although he had been sent on various missions by Freya over the past six months, and had been inspecting various places with Theresa, Welt had not been without oversights in observing Freya.

Of course, it was his fault for not discovering Freya's many plans in secret.

Welt, who thought Freya was Honkai Apostle, carefully observed whether she would betray humanity. However, it turned out that even Freya's secret plans were beneficial to fight against Honkai.

Originally, my role as special advisor was to guide Freya, provide her with advice, and point her in the right direction.

In reality, Freya didn't need to worry about anything at all.

Most importantly... Welt didn't think Freya, who made a suggestive laugh while counting money, would betray humanity.

"You don't want to protect the world anymore?"

"No, I personally feel that I still need to work harder in this area, but... that lord doesn't seem to consider me as a combat asset, well, he just uses me as bait to attract attention." There are some things that Welt is well aware of.

Of course, not discovering the other party's secret plan still left him speechless.

"Oh?" Tesla stood still, looked up, and met his gaze.

Welt smiled.

"Tesla, want to have dinner together tonight?"

"Sorry, I made plans with Einstein tonight, but no one's invited me out for a late-night snack."

"Then let me treat you to a late-night snack."

Tesla raised his thin eyebrows and stared blankly at the departing figure.

Tesla was indeed surprised that Welt had taken the initiative to contact him.

"What's wrong? You've been watching this for decades, is there anything strange about it?"

"Welt, you..."

"It's nothing, I was just a little discouraged. Sometimes, we work hard for decades, but it's not as effective as that young lady's one-year rampage."

"Jealous?"

"No, not really... well, I admit I was a little jealous."

Although Welt didn't think he could become the Acting Grand Bishop, and Freya's success did indeed rely on luck, it would be impossible for him not to feel discouraged.

Having fought against Schicksal for so many years, the fact that Schicksal has now become Anti-Entropy's greatest ally has indeed left him feeling as if he were in a different world.