If he didn't report this upward... and Kallen found out about it herself later, her fury would likely burn even hotter. As a "black market dealer" who knew but didn't report, he would inevitably be caught in the crossfire.
"What a troublesome hot potato... It took me so much effort to obtain this 'free identity' that even Kallen doesn't know about. Am I going to waste it for the sake of a mere Anna?" Otto rubbed the space between his eyebrows, sighing again and again.
"No, a 'free identity' can be obtained again sooner or later. A 'Saintess' appears in every generation. Compared to these trivial matters..."
"Li Wu..."
As Otto spoke this name, incredibly complex emotions surged within his emerald eyes.
Memories that had been sealed away for the longest time were suddenly ripped open at this moment. Like ten million needles falling like rain, they pierced his soul, leaving it riddled with holes.
The nightmare with no end instantly flooded his mind.
"The exact same name."
"Old friend..."
Otto paused, the corners of his mouth lifting uncontrollably.
"Could it be you?"
Immediately, Otto shook his head violently, as if trying to fling away this absurd thought. His blond hair traced messy arcs in the dim light.
Laughter squeezed out from his throat—dry, hoarse. His fingers dug fiercely into his own true skin, leaving deep red claw marks on his face.
"Ha... Haha!! How is that possible!?"
"Five hundred years ago, you walked away. After what happened to Kallen... after she was reduced to that state..."
"How could you possibly have the face to return?"
Otto laughed maniacally. For five hundred years, whenever the night was quiet, he would recall that "endless nightmare." And Kallen was the same.
With every recollection, the bone-deep pain became clearer.
He was the light they both chased.
A hero, an idol, a god...
All the words of praise in the world added together weren't enough to describe the admiration and reverence he and Kallen held for him.
Back then, he and Kallen firmly believed that he could lead humanity to defeat the Honkai. They trusted every choice and decision he made.
Any voice of doubt was stifled; any act of obstruction was suppressed.
With the three of them working together, he managed to... reclaim the entirety of Europe from the Honkai in a short period, returning it to its original state.
But that conviction was soon marked as the beginning of the nightmare, the start of the tragedy.
Otto laughed at the mirror in the basement. He looked just like a clown suffering from pseudobulbar affect, unable to control his mouth from splitting into a wild grin.
Several minutes passed. The laughter gradually subsided, and reason regained the upper hand.
Otto wiped the vial of Holy Blood, letting out an involuntary chuckle.
"How could it be?"
"A savior as cold-blooded and heartless as you... Kallen and I worshipped and respected you so much, yet we couldn't earn your favor. So how could a girl risk ruining her life just to help you? In the end, you don't deserve to be loved..."
"Besides, you possess the purest bloodline. As the source of the 'Holy Blood,' anyone else's blood would only taint your status. Anna Schariac?"
"Her blood is nothing but an incredibly clumsy imitation of yours. If it were really you, how could you have fallen to such a state?"
"But if it is really you..."
Otto walked to the lab bench and placed Anna's Holy Blood into a brand-new vessel. Once inside, the Holy Blood began to flow as if it had a life of its own.
This vessel could simulate the internal environment of a living body, tricking the Holy Blood into thinking it was still inside a host, thereby maximizing the preservation of its functions and properties.
The surrounding instruments emitted a cold light, their smooth surfaces reflecting the increasingly dangerous look in Otto's eyes.
Otto entered three layers of passwords and opened the safe in the laboratory. Inside, neatly arranged, were dozens of garments of various sizes.
These were all clothes that he and Kallen had once personally made for "that person."
"..."
Otto wanted to utter harsh words. He wanted to ruin his future, shatter his hopes, cut off his happiness, and make everyone betray him...
Countless vicious curses and words tried to force their way up his throat, only to be swallowed back down. The only things left were his bitten lip and the rich, metallic taste of blood spreading in his mouth.
In the end, Otto couldn't bring himself to say words that would hurt him. He could only use self-harm, again and again, to soothe his unbalanced heart.
Yes, Kallen could say them, but she wouldn't. He could say them, but he wasn't qualified to.
As the sole survivor of the "Endless Nightmare," he, Otto, had no right to slander him.
The only thing he could do was—
Let that person taste exactly what Kallen had felt back then.
"You must pay the price for what you did. I, Otto Apocalypse, swear—I will use the rest of my life to bury your happiness. Teacher, I promise you... if you are still alive, you will definitely regret it..."
An interesting plan surfaced in his mind, pending only the confirmation of the other party's identity.
Meanwhile.
At Li Wu's home.
The sounds of knocking and shouting rose and fell, fishing his consciousness out from the hazy sea of fog.
Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was the incredibly familiar ceiling.
This was his bedroom.
The pain in his body had faded significantly. There were many bandages around his left shoulder, likely applied by Raiden Mei while he was unconscious.
He had to admit, Anti-Entropy's special medicine was indeed miraculous. One sleep and he was mostly recovered, although...
He couldn't really lift his left arm. He could exert force, but not much.
The knocking outside continued, then quickly died down, replaced by the sound of people talking.
Judging by the voices, it was the landlord and a few adult women. It seemed the authorities had arrived.
Li Wu prepared to get out of bed to check the situation. Just as he lifted the blanket, he saw a puppy-like creature curled up under the covers. Her whole body was scrunched into a ball, her head resting on his chest, her nose letting out faint, even puffs of warm air.
Raiden Mei was sleeping soundly. Li Wu carefully tried to move her, but he still woke her up.
"Mm... Little Li, you're awake?"
Raiden Mei rubbed her eyes. It seemed she hadn't been asleep for long.
Li Wu took out his phone and checked the time. An hour had passed.
"I'm awake. There are more important things to do now. We have to explain things properly to the officials. We're in the right, so don't worry."
Are the cops in Nagazora City this inefficient?
It's been an hour before they showed up.
Li Wu found it strange, but he didn't dwell on it too much.
"If they dare touch you, I'll..."
Before Raiden Mei could finish, Li Wu pinched her small mouth. "Just leave it to me. I've already figured out how to explain it."
Before the people outside could pick the lock, Li Wu opened the door first. Just as he was about to identify himself, the person on the other side suddenly said, "You're Li Wu, right? Come with us."
An inquiry?
No, an order.
"Aren't you going to ask about the situation first?"
"There's no need. Someone has already informed us of the situation. Those cyborgs from the Anti-Entropy Conservative Faction deserved to die, so please don't worry about it. We are also here to escort you. If you cooperate with our work, you won't need to worry about the aftermath."
They even skipped the identity verification step.
Li Wu thought rapidly.
There's a high probability they already obtained my file on the way here.
'Cyborgs from the Conservative Faction deserved to die'... Does that mean these people are from the Radical Faction?
Radical Faction...
Cocolia?
"I already called the police. What if the police arrive?"
"Don't worry about that. We've already contacted the local police. Your case has been taken over directly by us. So please stop stalling, bring Raiden Mei, and come with us."
"Fine, but I need to know who you..."
Before Li Wu could finish his question, the noisy whir of a propeller came from outside the living room's floor-to-ceiling window. Looking back, he saw a helicopter hovering in mid-air.
A helicopter?
Just as Li Wu was wondering why a helicopter had appeared, the cabin door opened, and a heavy machine gun was aimed right into the room.
Striking tongues of fire poured from the muzzle, strafing wildly into the apartment.
Are you kidding me?
Just as Li Wu was about to give up resisting and initiate a regression, the bullets fired from the heavy machine gun all froze in mid-air, one after another, connected by purplish-black electricity.
And the source of that electricity was Raiden Mei.
At this moment, Raiden Mei extended a single hand forward. The electricity from the entire apartment building gathered in the area under her control, forming a powerful, special magnetic field. Anything attempting to pass through this field was converted into dazzling, tangible electric charges, pierced through, and controlled.
Furthermore, she was attempting to extend the magnetic field outward, stopping immediately upon reaching her limit.
She had nearly lost control and indiscriminately killed everyone present.
The Radical Faction member finally spoke up: "We are here precisely to protect you. Before the Conservative Faction sends stronger combat forces, please leave with us."
As the words fell, a heavy Titan mech dropped from the sky, smashing the helicopter to pieces.
Things were developing in an uncontrollable direction.
Li Wu frowned tight. Suddenly realizing something, he immediately grabbed Raiden Mei and decisively followed the Radical Faction members.
Even though Raiden Mei's father, Raiden Ryoma, was one of the bosses of the Conservative Faction.
Arga had revealed that Raiden Ryoma wanted to kill Raiden Mei more than anyone else, to prevent her from being captured for human experimentation and leaving a legacy of infamy.
So while the opposing Radical Faction weren't exactly "good guys," at this current juncture, their goals aligned with his.
The group quickly left the apartment and boarded the Titan.
Various cyborgs crawled out from corners, nearly killing them several times right in front of their faces. Fortunately, the Titan mech's combat power was high enough to easily intercept the cyborgs.
If it were just me, how many times would I have to die to get out of here alive...
Li Wu pushed aside these unrealistic hypotheticals and forced himself to calm down and think.
The news of the failed assassination had already spread. A very clear message was now presented within Anti-Entropy—
Raiden Ryoma was making a move to kill the Herrscher, Raiden Mei.
This news was no longer a secret.
And the experiment of Raiden Mei becoming the Herrscher of Thunder wasn't the result of a single faction, but a long-term plan by all of Anti-Entropy to research the Honkai and strengthen the organization's combat power.
Of course, there would inevitably be people who wanted to use the Herrscher of Thunder's power for other things—like Cocolia wanting to fish Seele Vollerei out of the Sea of Quanta.
Which meant that once the Radical Faction learned of this news, they absolutely wouldn't sit idly by. They would protect Raiden Mei on all fronts.
Combining this with—
This is the last night Raiden Ryoma will make his move.
Tonight, he would play every card in his hand and mobilize every resource he could touch, just to accomplish one thing: kill his own daughter, Raiden Mei.
This segment did exist in the manga's plot—
The darkest, most desperate crisis before the outbreak of the Third Honkai Eruption.
The entire city's security system was hacked. Cameras on the streets, robots in supermarkets, self-driving cars on the roads, and swarms of various cyborgs.
Their core code was tampered with, marking Raiden Mei as the highest-priority target for elimination.
The manga didn't explain the reason, simply summarizing it as "the malice of the world."
Looking at it now...
The mastermind behind the scenes was indeed Raiden Ryoma, the one who created the prelude to the crisis.
So, the true boss of Act One was actually Mei's biological father—Raiden Ryoma.
Having clarified his thoughts, Li Wu couldn't help but look at Mei beside him. She still didn't know the truth and was completely confused.
She just held onto him tightly, looking around warily at everything, including the Radical Faction members, completely unaware that she herself was standing on the stage of life and death.
Perhaps it wouldn't be long before she understood the truth and gave up on herself, saying things like "Just give up on me."
Li Wu had already anticipated this and made up his mind to let it go in one ear and out the other.
He had worked so hard to keep Mei alive until now; how could he let her just die so casually?
In the clash between powers, the social order of Nagazora City temporarily failed.
Asking the cops or the media for help would be tantamount to walking into a trap.
Damn it!
I should have thought of this. I actually thought explaining the cyborg home invasion would be enough. How could something like this be kept from the internal members of Anti-Entropy?
Raiden Ryoma definitely wouldn't let go of this final chance to kill Raiden Mei.
"Wait! There are enemies everywhere outside! Hiding inside the mech can buy us at least two minutes! Once the Titan's control system reboots, we can—" the pilot shouted urgently upon seeing the situation.
Several nearby Radical Faction members also rushed forward, trying to intercept them.
Raiden Mei simply turned her head slightly, her purple eyes glancing at them indifferently.
The people rushing toward them froze simultaneously, as if instantly drained of strength. They collapsed to their knees and then to the ground, their bodies twitching uncontrollably.
Raiden Mei withdrew her gaze. A trace of coldness and unfamiliarity, which even she didn't notice, flashed in the depths of her eyes.