(Volume V: Smash him for me!)
Time never stops for anyone's temporary absence.
Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, World Serpent...
During Lin Wei's time in the Elysian Realm, this behemoth called the real world was still being pushed forward by countless other forces.
Schicksal Headquarters, Floating Island.
The grand and solemn main cathedral was empty. Otto was currently looking through various reports and data submitted by different branches and laboratories, while also engaged in some sort of conversation with a holographic projection of an elegant woman.
"Lord Overseer, I remember you rarely used to read these lengthy, tedious written reports, did you?"
Nagamitsu, with her long, wine-red hair, looked at Otto, who was constantly flipping through various documents, her expression as odd as her tone.
"If you keep being this diligent, I'll start worrying Miss Amber might suddenly lose her job one day—Ah, surely you're not using this subtle method to convey some kind of crisis like 'mass layoffs' to all our colleagues in Schicksal?"
Her manner of speaking had always been rather flippant. Even though she was already very restrained in front of Otto, she still couldn't help but occasionally blurt out some "less than respectful" words.
"...Although such words could cause unnecessary trouble if they got out, I'll take it as a compliment, Ms. Elizabeth."
Otto slowly closed the file in his hand, smiling as he gently rapped the outspoken female doctor on the knuckles.
"Alright, let's get down to business—do you have any important work progress to report to me?"
In fact, she's right. Tedious work like reports and documents used to be reviewed by Amber. He only needed to listen to the extracted key information afterward and then make decisions.
But not long ago, a certain fellow hiding in the shadows nearly caused him irreparable, massive losses due to these minor "oversights." This left Otto shocked and annoyed, but also unwilling to ignore any seemingly insignificant detail, lest a similar mistake occur.
Amber had once felt terrified by this, thinking her work wasn't good enough and had disappointed the Lord Overseer. Otto, seeing this, could only comfort her gently.
"Don't worry, Amber, it's not your fault—In fact, the reason for that fatal, major error last time was ultimately because I lacked the patience to listen to your work report. The fault lies with me."
Otto had always been good at self-reflection. He waved the thick stack of paper documents in his hand and smiled sincerely.
"Therefore, consider this period a small punishment for this incompetent Overseer, punishing his shallow ignorance and, most laughably, his arrogance..."
Hearing such a sincere "confession of guilt," what more could Amber say? Deeply moved, she respectfully withdrew, secretly vowing to make her work even more outstanding to prevent the Lord Overseer from encountering such troubles again.
Thus, Schicksal Headquarters, already in a frenzy driven by a certain tireless blonde Valkyrie, now became even more chaotically busy under Otto's seriousness and Amber's higher-intensity work ethic, making everyone complain endlessly.
Actually, what Otto said wasn't false, but it wasn't the whole truth either—a bigger reason was that a certain individual who had appeared out of nowhere, making him feel an unprecedentedly fatal threat, had vanished again after causing a ruckus at Anti-Entropy headquarters that day.
This matter naturally put Otto on high alert. After suffering several losses in a row, it was very difficult for him to let his guard down against that person anymore.
He worried Amber would be deceived by that insidious fellow, so he decided to take matters into his own hands, to find clues from the vast and inefficient ocean of information from all over the world, and dig that fellow out again!
However, day after day passed. Although he successfully unearthed several secret organizations suspected to be deeply hidden by Anti-Entropy in the process, some of which were even quite close partners of Schicksal...
But Otto never cared about any of these "achievements," because the fellow he cared about most seemed to have vanished into thin air, with no clues to be found.
This disappointing result made Otto somewhat annoyed. Although he tried his best to control his emotions, how well did Nagamitsu know him? She naturally and keenly sensed the displeasure hidden behind Otto's subtle micro-expressions.
Nagamitsu, having been gently rapped, jolted. Her previously somewhat flippant expression immediately turned serious, afraid of further displeasing her boss. She said,
"Lord Overseer, the antique longsword you had someone send to Institute 1504 earlier—we've successfully analyzed parts of its structure."
Actually, in Nagamitsu view, it wasn't a particularly important task, but it was personally assigned by Overseer Otto, so of course, it had to be completed with top priority.
Although when she first received it, she was utterly baffled, asking Amber at the time if it had been sent to the wrong place. This was a weapons research institute, not a historical research institute! And it was even a Far Eastern style longsword? This made her feel even more triggered—Although people called her "Nagamitsu," she really wasn't some "legendary Far Eastern swordsmith"!
At this moment, she couldn't help but feel a surge of resentment towards a certain source of misinformation. Look what you've done...
"Oh, is that so? What are the results? If I remember correctly, when Amber delivered it to you, you were quite disdainful of it at one point, immediately stating that such 'artifact restoration' work should be handled by the department specifically responsible for historical research and archaeological excavation..."
Otto's heart stirred. He placed the documents that had severely taxed his patience back onto the mountain-high pile on his desk and smiled.
"Hehe, clearly, most of our scientific research achievements come from relics of even more distant eras. Even your Institute 1504, isn't it also primarily researching those 'antiques' from fifty thousand years ago?"
"...Can fifty thousand years ago and five hundred years ago be considered the same thing?"
Nagamitsu couldn't help muttering again. A complex product left over from a highly technologically advanced era, and a simple item from an era when civilization was still in its infancy—how can these be compared?
"However, Lord Overseer is right. It is indeed a very interesting item. It's hard to imagine it's actually a creation from the medieval era, five hundred years ago."
Nagamitsu said with a strange expression.
"With the concentration of Honkai energy gathered on its blade, it would have been no problem to completely destroy the then-fragile human civilization. Even in today's era, it could cause considerable disaster—One can only say, regardless of the era, human wisdom and courage are so admirable, although the people at that time probably didn't know what their actions truly meant..."
As she spoke, she couldn't help but gesture with her hands, it was unclear whether she was genuinely expressing admiration or exasperation at their recklessness.
"..."
Otto had a feeling she was alluding to him. Five hundred years ago, when he opened that black "Divine Box," he truly hadn't known what a terrifying demon was lurking inside.
"Hehe, being controlled by a Herrscher day and night for five hundred years, it's not surprising if it undergoes some kind of mutation."
Otto was very interested in Nagamitsu's findings and directly asked about what concerned him most.
"I want to know, from this demonic longsword, can any secrets of that 'Herrscher of Corruption' be partially deciphered?"
The threat of the Corruption authority was too great for him.
Unlike other Herrscher authorities that were thoroughly researched by the Previous Era and passed down as Divine Keys, the Herrscher of Corruption was born far too late. That era simply didn't have time for any research on it before it was destroyed. Even the Void Archives only had a few cursory records about it.
Now, the true Key of Corruption was in Lin Wei's hands, making him lose sleep and appetite, yet he didn't dare act rashly.
After all, after such an enthusiastic "friendly exchange," he could no longer afford to underestimate that fellow who hid a dagger behind his smile and employed ruthless methods.
It was precisely because of this that he had set his sights on those spoils of war—since the sword obtained from Lin Wei was related to the Herrscher of Corruption, it was worth researching!
It was precisely because of this that he had solemnly handed it over to Nagamitsu afterward, hoping she could provide him with a satisfactory result.
"Uh... Lord Overseer, you really know how to make things difficult."
Nagamitsu, the hardworking employee, felt her scalp tingle at her boss's outrageous request. Her previously somewhat flippant smile instantly stiffened, then turned bitter.
"Although its birth is indeed related to a Herrscher, and to some extent it can indeed be considered a rather unorthodox Divine Key, at most it can only be called a 'symbiotic creation.' To so easily decipher secrets related to Herrscher authority is truly asking too much..."
She was just in charge of equipment research; how would she know the Lord Overseer's demands were so high!
"Is that so?"
Otto was noncommittal. Although he felt somewhat disappointed, he didn't demand too much. After all, he was just trying; since he had the item, it was worth a try. Otherwise, he would have taken action himself long ago.
Although he didn't hear what he wanted, he didn't refuse to hear more of her research findings.
"Perhaps it's because it coexisted with a Herrscher for five hundred years, or perhaps the Corruption authority itself played a special role; the internal structure of that tachi, which could only be called 'well-crafted' in that era, has undergone earth-shattering changes."
Seeing Otto didn't show much reaction, Nagamitsu plucked up her courage and continued her report.
"In short, the basic elements constituting it have undergone some unknown special change, transforming from ordinary steel into a special metal of hard texture. Between molecules, between atoms, and even at a more microscopic scale, it is filled with extremely densely compressed Honkai energy. Even Honkai energy itself has become one of the constituent elements of this special metal."
Speaking of this, Nagamitsu, as one of the heads of the weapons R&D department, couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
"This is the first time I've seen such an application of Honkai energy. It's the complete opposite of the principle of Soulium, yet the results are quite similar—In any case, this has provided us with many new ideas for our upcoming weapons development work..."
Although her expression and tone sometimes seemed flippant, Nagamitsu was always serious about the work she was responsible for.
"Oh? Hehe, is that so? That's truly an interesting result—At least, this can also be considered a creation that has been 'corrupted' in some way, can't it?"
Otto chuckled. Of course, he understood the intention behind this woman's lengthy explanation.
"Go to Amber to approve the R&D funds for related follow-up research. She will give you the corresponding support."
Amber was Schicksal's chief steward. Important yet tedious matters like these had always been her responsibility. Otto only needed to listen to her reports periodically and then sign the shockingly long price list with an eye-watering number of zeros in the total sum.
"Alright, then I shall take my leave!"
What do R&D personnel fear most? Lack of funding!
Hearing what she most wanted to hear, Nagamitsu gave this generous boss a thumbs-up in her heart, then happily hung up the communication. As the light in the room dimmed slightly, the holographic projection of the woman vanished without a trace.
"Mm."
Otto wasn't particularly concerned about this. Alone once more, he simply picked up another stack from the thick pile of documents on his desk and began to carefully peruse them with a frown.
In the past, for such inefficient work methods, the Void Archives would have long since mocked him mercilessly. But recently, it had been incredibly quiet, never once causing Otto any trouble...
Otto was equally unconcerned about this.
He had many things to do, and very little time. He couldn't be bothered to expend energy on such insignificant minor matters.
A moment later, the heavy, tall, ornate solid wood door of the main cathedral was slowly pushed open a crack, and Amber walked in gracefully.
"Lord Overseer."
Amber walked to Otto's side, glanced guiltily at the piles of heavy work on the desk that should have been her responsibility, and said respectfully,
"Lady Rita and Miss Anna have returned from London and are currently docking at the airport."
"Oh, is that so?"
Otto rustled through another page and asked calmly,
"What were the results?"
"Even with Miss Anna placed outside the headquarters, no suspicious personnel have appeared."
Amber reported in a low voice.
"..."
Otto's hand, flipping the paper, paused slightly. His eyes narrowed, then quickly returned to normal.
"I understand. Continue."
"Yes, Lord Overseer."
Amber continued,
"Additionally, Lady Rita reports that she has successfully located the Second Divine Key."
Hearing this, Otto abruptly looked up. The paper in his hand was unintentionally crumpled, almost torn to shreds.