amaotonovel Chapter 364 Otto: Can you bring me a surprise?
Chapter 364 Otto: Can you bring me a surprise?
After Sora left, Walter fell into a long silence.
"God of Earth, Lawrence of the End..."
The leader of the Anti-Entropy Alliance, talking to himself, walked towards the bookshelf, paused in front of it, and then reached out to pick up a "notebook" placed in an inconspicuous corner.
"Huh? It's stuck?"
Walter was slightly taken aback. It didn't make sense. The hidden design space he had created by hollowing out the wall (don't worry, it's not a load-bearing wall) to imitate the miniature train room bathroom design was ruined.
Click.
A soft yet clear sound echoed in the room. Immediately afterwards, the bookshelves in front of them, taller than the Walter, made a low "click-clack" sound, slowly and silently sliding to one side, revealing a small space hidden behind them.
"Welcome back, Joachim."
If anyone else were here, they would definitely complain about Walter using Tesla's voice for this useless voice broadcast and the completely pointless act of smashing walls to hide things... But Lao Yang himself doesn't care about that—doesn't it look cool to have a secret base or a place to store confidential documents at home?
"Hmm, where did I put it?"
Walter turned his head to look for his schedule and notebook for organizing speculations in the dim light. His glasses reflected almost all the light, making it impossible to see his eyes—even though he was alone at home at the moment.
"found it!"
Old Yang's fingers swept over several labels on the notebook—Second Collapse, Project Sirin… Finally, they stopped at the last label and the accompanying photo.
The label read "Starry Sky Train" in large characters, and there was also a group photo of the five of them plus the train conductor, which they had gotten from Xiao Sanyue.
Walter's gaze lingered on everyone's smiling faces for a long time, his fingertips gently brushing across the photograph.
"The Lawgiver of the End..."
Walter casually flipped the notebook to a blank page, intending to write something, but he didn't know where to begin...
Qiong couldn't possibly lie, but if it really is Kiana, how could she have any connection with Qiong? And what's with Qiong's talk about the Martian God going mad and colluding with the evil Venusian woman of pleasure...?
Walter frowned even more deeply, and after much thought, he wrote down the first word: Star.
"Sister, gray hair and golden eyes, strikingly similar to him... Martian artificial life form or genetic clone? Is she still in Otto's hands?"
Walter took off his glasses and rubbed his temples hard. Even though Sora had provided everything she knew, there were too many missing details, too many fragments of information, and missing key links. But a strong intuition told him that these seemingly isolated events—Sora's stigmata, her sudden appearance as his sister, the Pleasure Fate Masked Fool who shouldn't have been there, and the three solar system gods whose appearance time didn't match his memory, and his colleague were Martians… It seemed that behind all of this, there was an invisible thread connecting them, pointing to a truth that he couldn't yet confirm, but which was somewhat unsettling.
Welt picked up his pen again and wrote the name "Qiong" in the center of a blank page, then drew a circle. Next, he extended several rays from this circle, connecting to "Star," "Kiana, the Herrscher of the End?", "The Masked Fool," "Stigmata," "Otto," "Schicksal," and the Star Core, among others…
Finally, he drew a question mark heavily between "star core" and "star" with the tip of his pen, and then circled the question mark several times.
Assuming his guess is correct, the Masked Fool was attracted by the coordinates released by the small stellar core explosion of the Sky Dome, and the Sky Dome Train that has explored this place comes from ten years in the future. Does that mean that at the earliest, ten years after this timeline has been greatly disrupted, the pawn of the "Destruction" Star God Nanuk will also break through the "Interstellar Barrier" Honkai Energy Tidal Belt and kill its way into the Solar System?
No, that's not right! Qiong didn't mention that the Earth God he spoke of mentioned any great calamity of alien invasion on Earth...
Walter Young is trying to piece together an answer that could overturn everything, and he sincerely hopes he is wrong.
And if he guesses correctly, then even after the end, the time left for peace on Earth may not be long...
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Maintaining her perfect maid smile, Rita and the Valkyries of the Undying Blade guided the dome off the spaceship.
"Sora-kun, right? It seems you had a rather unpleasant dream last night... Would you like me to prepare a cup of calming tea for you? Or how about coming to sit in our Undying Blade training room? I'm free today, so I could even show you around Schicksal~"
We're both available!
"Um, no need! Really, no need!"
Feeling uneasy about these Valkyries who were still so enthusiastic after she had hit their vice-captain, Sora could only maintain a polite smile like Rita and refuse them one by one.
Unexpectedly, one of the Valkyries actually grabbed his arm.
"Oh, don't be so embarrassed!"
Qiong pushed the other person away without making a sound.
"Um... thank you, but I'm in a bit of a hurry, so I won't bother."
"Hehehe..."
Rita, who was walking at the front, chuckled softly, her fingertips brushing against the stray hairs by her ear—it seemed that this was an occasion that Sora was not good at handling.
However, although Rita really wanted to mess with this wicked gray-haired guy who had put her in an awkward position a little longer, she had to help Qiong out of the predicament because of Bishop Otto's mission.
"The Undying Blade, disband! Qiong, please come with me to Bishop Otto's private library. The bishop wishes to see you."
"So fast?"
Qiong's heart tightened, but she still nodded.
……
Following behind Rita, under the curious gazes of the Valkyries passing by, she rubbed her eyes, which were a little sore from not sleeping well.
Suddenly, Rita stopped in her tracks.
"Yes, we've arrived. Good luck."
Rita pulled out a magnetic card from somewhere, swiped it to open the door, stepped aside, and gestured for them to enter.
"His Excellency the Bishop will be here shortly—by the way, the way you were forcing a smile just now and the way you looked when you had that nightmare just now, it's just like Theresa when she had to put on a brave face in front of Rita, isn't it?"
Qiong: ...
You mean... I've been infected with the Delilah virus?
Qiong subconsciously rolled her eyes at the suddenly eccentric Rita, then took a deep breath... casting aside all distractions, preparing to face the villainous bishop who was probably the most bastard, the smartest, the most troublesome, the most innocent, and the most difficult to judge on Earth!
“Qiong-kun”.
Suddenly, Rita lowered her voice and, in a manner completely out of character for a maid, placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Um, is there anything else?"
With her mind solely focused on preventing fires, theft, and Otto, Qiong is finding it hard to keep up with Rita's pace.
Rita has a small personal problem.
At this moment, Rita's voice no longer carried the meaning of watching a good show; for some reason, it also carried a hint of curiosity and passion.
"I didn't have time to ask before, but what do you think of the childhood photos of Lady Durandal that I sent you?"
Qiong: ?
When did he... see the little goose's picture?
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With the thought that she would fight Otto to the death if he didn't hand over the star, Qiong stepped into the spotless library.
Specifically, he had already mentally rehearsed several negotiation scenarios, from arguing his case to physically rescuing the person after confirming their location, and he even had a plan for how to call Einstein and Lao Yang to mobilize the manpower and the mechs... In short, he was prepared for a tough battle—however, the situation behind the door was not quite what he had imagined...
Libraries are usually very quiet places, and Otto's private library is even quieter, with hardly anyone in sight. In this almost excessively tranquil space, a discordant sound broke the silence.
"what!!!!"
A scream shattered the silence, followed by the clatter of books scattering all over the floor.
"Someone?"
While Qiong was idly pondering her words and strategy against Otto, a scream from someone made her heart skip a beat. Looking in the direction of the sound, she saw a blonde girl wearing the Valkyrie uniform of the Undying Blade team, but with a completely different aura from the other Undying Blade members. She was frantically trying to clean up the mess.
She screamed "Oh no! Oh no!" as she tried to put the pile of books that had fallen to the ground back onto the bookshelf.
"Here...no, no! Is it here? Was it placed here?"
Seeing that a reckless person needed help, and with Otto absent and having nothing to do, Sora instinctively walked over quickly.
"Do you need any help?"
It must be said that he is not the kind of person who would want to help every beautiful woman he sees. It's just that the aura of this "naive and innocent" woman in front of him is too strong, which inexplicably dampened half of the momentum he had just built up to fight Otto. He couldn't think about the plan until he dealt with her.
"Your Excellency, I'm so sorry! I'll get it sorted out right away!"
The blonde girl had her eyes closed and head bowed, her golden hair trembling frantically with each movement, and her voice was clearly trembling with sobs.
Qiong: ...
"Uh...you've mistaken me for someone else."
Hearing Qiong's unfamiliar voice, the girl abruptly raised her head. When her still slightly watery golden eyes saw Qiong's face, they widened instantly, her face turning bright red with embarrassment, even more so than when she had been startled by Otto's "check-up."
"I'm so sorry! I...I'm not...that...I thought..."
Qiong saw her face clearly and knew without a doubt that she was the wealthy young woman, Susana.
Faced with Qiong, who was both amused and exasperated, she was speechless, unsure of what to do with her hands and feet, and wished she could disappear into the ground.
Seeing Susana's appearance, the worry and tension he felt because of Otto were inexplicably dissipated. He sighed at the girl who was going to go back to inherit the family business instead of being a proper Valkyrie, and bent down to pick up a thick book at his feet... the Honkai Chronicles.
"Never mind, where should we put these books? Do you need any help?"
"Thank you...no need! I, I'm just a little—"
In her haste, Susana tried to show her reliable side by speeding up the tidying up when she saw Qiong, but the two incredibly thick books she had just picked up slipped from her hands and fell to the floor.
Qiong: ...
"How about I help you?"
"Won't this bother you? Thank you so much!"
Susana's eyes lit up instantly, as if she had grasped at a lifeline.
"I am the new Valkyrie of the Undying Blade, and for the past few days I have been responsible for cleaning His Excellency the Bishop's private library..."
A look of fear flashed across Susana's face.
"If His Holiness the Bishop or Lord Amber were to see me... they would definitely expel me and send me home!"
Qiong didn't say anything, but silently bent down and helped her pick up the ridiculously thick book from the ground—if Serapem's library were destroyed like this by Xing...
Haha, the scene is too beautiful to imagine.
"By the way! I'm Susana, a B-rank Valkyrie who just transferred from the West Asia Phosphorus Sand Squad to the Undying Blade! Which squad are you from?"
While organizing the books, Susana couldn't help but curiously observe Qiong.
"Sky".
Qiong followed Dan Heng's example and gave his name concisely. Now, it was best to avoid talking to this naive and innocent girl, who was comparable to Kiana, on Otto's turf for the time being.
Just as Susana picked up the last book, the library door opened again. Otto, dressed in his bishop's robes, and Amber, following behind him, walked in with what could be described as "elegant" steps.
Otto's gaze swept over Susana, who was cleaning up the "crime scene," and finally landed on Sora, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Oh, my dear Amber. Don't you think those books have changed a little?"
Otto's voice was gentle yet carried a subtle hint of authority. Upon hearing the voice, Susana froze instantly, the color draining from her face, her legs buckling as she nearly knelt down to confess her "crimes."
"Your Excellency... Your Excellency, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I... I just—"
Upon hearing Otto's voice, Qiong immediately stood up, her mind and body alarm bells ringing: When dealing with Otto, no matter how you defend yourself, you won't suffer a loss!
"You must be mistaken, Your Excellency."
Upon hearing what Qiong said, Otto put on his signature elegant smile.
"Oh dear, did I make a mistake? Valkyrie Susana, you did a great job. From today onwards, you don't need to clean the library anymore—"
"Your Majesty Bishop..."
Susana's face turned pale. She was terrified that Otto would demote her or even fire her, which would mean she would be dragged back by her family to inherit the family business and sell gems... No way!
"Go with Amber to find Rita and get her back to the team. After all, you're not the logistics Valkyrie, are you?"
Susana was taken aback at first, then a look of surprise flashed in her eyes.
"Yes, Your Excellency!"
Susana quickly bowed to Otto, then cast a grateful glance at Qiong before hurriedly following Amber out of the library.
However, this meant that only two people remained in the vast library.
Otto's "loving" gaze returned to Sora.
"Qiong-kun, long time no see—don't be so nervous! I'm not some monster, I just want to talk to you about... how are your family and friends doing?"
Otto casually found a seat and sat down. He smiled and gestured for Qiong to sit down as well. For him, the most important purpose this time was to confirm the "sun".
K423—oh no, I should say Kiana now…
Isn't that interesting? Siegfried and Cecilia gave their daughter a very interesting name: Moon Goddess.
However, anyone with a basic understanding of science knows that the moon does not emit its own light. The essence of moonlight is reflected sunlight. If K423 had no sun, no mentors and friends to guide her growth, how could she have grown up, how could she have followed her plan to use "love" to defeat the Herrscher consciousness, and finally, like the Moon Goddess, illuminate the night when darkness falls?
However, nightfall requires the sun to set, and for his long-cherished wish, this sun, which is destined to be destroyed, can be anyone—including his beloved little Theresa.
Of course, if he could, he certainly wouldn't want that "sun" to be Theresa. Could this man, who had successively moved the Third Herrscher and the Fox Spirit, become the blazing sun that would eventually set? Or...?
Otto squinted at Qiong, whose face was expressionless—"The interstellar traveler who has lost the snake, can you bring me any surprises...?"