Like You, Yet Not You

Seeing her overly enthusiastic junior, Hinako Akuta couldn't bring herself to yell at him, so she quickly changed the subject and asked Bai Mo:

"So? You're planning to stay here with the Qin Shi Huang and secretly treat those people in the lower levels whenever you have free time? I don't have any objections, but you came all this way for this, right?"

"I've already told him everything through my familiar beforehand, and now I'm waiting for his reply. You don't need to worry; at least, I'm not your enemy."

"So, let's put the Chaldea matter aside for now. You've been in Qin for so long, you should know much more than any of us, right?"

This Hinako Akuta was clearly different from the other two Crypter; she possessed far more secrets. However, upon hearing Bai Mo's words, Hinako Akuta coldly snorted:

"You still need to ask? With your Magnetic Field Power, why don't you just read minds? Honestly... I was forced into this by that guy Ying Zheng back then..."

"Oh, after all, discussing personal matters with an emperor is indeed a bit of a fantasy for him. But I'm different from him; this is just a request, and you naturally have the right to refuse."

Hearing Bai Mo's words, Hinako Akuta frowned slightly as she looked into his deep, still gaze.

"How did Ritsuka find out about my identity? In the entire Chaldea, only Marisbury probably knows that I once used the name Yu Mei-ren."

"Then you'll have to ask your best friend."

Bai Mo's amused gaze shifted to Xu Fu, who turned his Xu Fu away, unable to face Hinako Akuta. Seeing her expression, Hinako Akuta guessed what had happened.

But her gaze softened slightly as she looked at Bai Mo. Although she was an elf who was hostile to humans, Hinako Akuta had made contact with humans throughout her long history, and she had never met anyone she could trust.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible to summon Lanling Wang.

"Sigh, well, respect should be returned in kind. Besides, we should exchange basic intelligence now, and Xu Fu has just woken up. Ask whatever you want here; I have to go to work later."

Seeing that Hinako Akuta's attitude had softened, Ritsuka secretly gave Bai Mo a thumbs-up with an ambiguous meaning. Then, Bai Mo asked without any hesitation:

What was the situation with the Qin Shi Huang?

"He's basically dead. Now that guy is... in modern terms, an AI? Anyway, he's a dying guy who survived using the divine technology of the Shang Dynasty."

Upon hearing Yu Mei-ren's words, Bai Mo frowned. He had unwavering faith in his own senses, as well as in the knowledge Abigail had brought. The knowledge of the Outer God might be incomprehensible, but its authenticity was beyond question.

Yog -Sothoth is a very real god.

Bai Mo was absolutely certain that the Qin Shi Huang's soul was definitely inside that vessel. This was his conviction, but it seemed that Hinako Akuta was unaware of this.

But Bai Mo wasn't going to tell her, or anyone else, unless there was something like Dream Creator; otherwise, their minds could very well be read. If the Qin Shi Huang knew about this, there was no guarantee he wouldn't do something outrageous.

"As for that captain of the guard, you should be familiar with his name, Li Shuwen, a renowned warrior in the Pan-Human History. Speaking of which, this Lostbelt is really strange. Even though the Qin Dynasty has continued to exist, some things still happened."

For example, the sworn brotherhood of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei in the Peach Garden during the Three Kingdoms period. However, most of these people are now in a frozen storage room at Mount Li, although only half of them remain. Of course, they are all basically filled with Magnetic Field Power.

Hinako Akuta pondered for a moment, then slowly pulled open her sweater, revealing something resembling a nail below her collarbone.

"The Qin Shi Huang devoted a great deal of energy to the study of immortality and the Magnetic Field Power, and still achieved some success. Driving this bronze nail into the heart would seal the power, but correspondingly, the Primordial Spirit would not leave."

But once it's removed, it won't work a second time.

So you mean...?

"I guess I'm a lucky one. My strength is around 500,000, but the Qin Shi Huang gave me this thing before he died. And because of Lord Xiang Yu, I can't take it off."

Those people at Mount Li, and even that chief guard, all possess this. To resist the erosion of time, they had to relinquish their power, but it's alright, it wasn't originally theirs anyway."

Hinako Akuta picked up the teacup in the room, took a sip, and then asked Bai Mo:

So, do you have any other questions?

How much do you know about the Blue Country?

Upon hearing those two words, Hinako Akuta's brows furrowed instantly, then she waved her hand and said:

"That would take a long time to explain, and I'm very busy. Why don't you just do some mental arithmetic? Besides, I don't know much about what's happened recently. I'm afraid the only one who truly understands the reasons is the Qin Shi Huang. Let's wait for his summons."

Seeing this, Bai Mo nodded, indicating that she was fine. Just as Hinako Akuta was about to leave, Ritsuka reached out her hand, and at the same time, the Projection of Chaldea was reflected.

"I have another question. Senior, why are you working so hard for him?"

Ritsuka asked, somewhat puzzled. Bai Mo didn't care about Hinako Akuta's behavior, but as a Ritsuka, Hinako Akuta had a lot of doubts about why Akuta Hinako was serving the Qin Shi Huang like a slave.

"To risk my life... that's not entirely wrong, but I'm really enjoying this time. Heh, you humans probably can't understand, but for me, as long as I can be with Lord Xiang Yu, none of this matters."

Hinako Akuta's gaze was full of determination, but everyone looked at her with a strange expression.

"I can understand the unwavering love between Yu Mei-ren and Xiang Yu, but what's your connection to this Xiang Yu? This... is Lostbelt, isn't it?"

Bai Mo was the first to shatter Hinako Akuta's carefully cultivated emotions, directly presenting this cold, hard fact: this is Lostbelt, and Xiang Yu, whom Hinako Akuta loves, doesn't know her at all, nor has he ever had any connection with her.

It never even had the name Xiang Yu; it was always the Kuaiji Type Zero that was under the control of the Qin Shi Huang. In the Pan-Human History, Xiang Yu, although also a machine, had a humanoid appearance, which the Qin Shi Huang had already modified into a humanoid.

"Well..."

Hinako Akuta was clearly speechless, and then Ritsuka, filled with strong doubt, asked, "Senpai... this isn't right."

"Stop talking nonsense. How could you humans possibly understand a life form like mine?"

"I can't understand it. As long as they're the same kind of beings, it doesn't matter, even if they haven't experienced anything? Tsk, I'm starting to feel sorry for Xiang Yu from the Pan-Human History."

In Chaldea, Arcueid's words struck Hinako Akuta directly on the head, and she retorted, somewhat angrily, "Who said that? You just wait, don't let me catch you!"

Arcueid's words clearly provoked Hinako Akuta, but Arcueid only found her somewhat endearing in the face of her threat.

"Is there anything wrong with that? There's no shared experience between you; you're just another person from another world. Isn't that someone else? You're actually treating him like your former lover."

Don't disgust me. If I saw the same being as my lover in another world, I would make sure that thing never appears in front of me again.

Someone else is overshadowing my lover's presence, affecting our most precious memories and experiences. Just thinking about it makes me want to kill.

Arcueid's words almost froze one's bones, while Bai Mo felt a pressure on his heart.

I always felt that as her power increased, her emotions became increasingly heavy.

Before she could finish speaking, Arcueid suddenly gave Hinako Akuta a playful smile.

"You might want to consider this: if your beloved Xiang Yu from that previous world were still alive, watching you find a ' Xiang Yu ' from Lostbelt with completely different experiences, and devote yourself to him, working like a slave, then... what would the Xiang Yu you remember thinking?"

Oh, I almost forgot, it's a machine, so it shouldn't be a problem for him. As for what you said, hehe, I'll be waiting for you here, little sprite."

Snap, snap, Hinako Akuta's molars made a somewhat terrifying sound. Xu Fu, who was standing nearby, quickly grabbed Ritsuka, wanting to turn off the Projection with Chaldea. But Ritsuka, who had been pondering, suddenly spoke up like an inventor with a flash of inspiration:

"Is this what meal replacements are?"

Everyone fell silent. The next moment, Olga Marie turned off the Projection, and the Chaldea members silently took off their headphones.

"Ritsuka... you know quite a lot."

Reines's sarcastic words became the final straw that broke the camel's back.

"Quack! Enough nonsense! I've been waiting all alone for so long, and I finally found you. What's wrong with eating? You guys, remember this!"

With a loud crash from the gate, Hinako Akuta rushed out. Xu Fu wanted to chase after her, but as soon as he came out, he saw the enormous Xiang Yu standing at the door.

"No, aren't you going to chase after them?"

"I am here on the orders of the First Emperor to negotiate. As for Hinako Akuta... she seems to have some connection with me, but orders take the highest priority. Moreover, in this negotiation, the First Emperor only requested to negotiate with Mr. Bai Mo, and did not require Hinako Akuta to be present."

Have you finished your discussion? Mr. Bai Mo, would it be convenient for me to come outside and talk? The door to this room is not wide enough for my body to pass through.