Compared to the fierce conflict on the other side, the scene between Otto and Lin Wei had been calm, even a bit dull and boring. But just as the eye of a storm is always clear, sometimes the calmer the surface, the more turbulent the undercurrents...
"Join Schicksal? I seem to recall you said something similar to me not long ago, right?"
Although Lin Wei wasn't facing Otto, he could clearly see that the smile on his face seemed to be full of sincerity, so he couldn't help but smile along.
"And if I remember correctly, even earlier than that, I was personally entrusted with another important mission by you—'a spy to infiltrate Anti-Entropy.' Heh, it's still surprising to think about it now, to encounter the legendary Overseer of Schicksal in such a desolate place. What an incredible experience, don't you think?"
It was a "fateful encounter" born of a well-laid plan, followed by a series of interlocking conflicts and schemes. Within the chessboard, after twists and turns, Lin Wei, the "fisherman," emerged as the final victor, thwarting all of Jackal's and Otto's attempts and ambitions. But outside the chessboard...
Who could say who had gained and who had lost?
"Hehe, if Mr. Lin enjoys bringing up my past embarrassments to ridicule me, it is still Otto's honor. After all, as I said before—'you don't get to know someone until you fight them.'"
Otto didn't mind Lin Wei bringing up the past; he truly didn't care about such superficial matters of right and wrong. Then he smiled faintly and said meaningfully, "Actually, besides these few times, your path and mine, and Schicksal's, have crossed even earlier. It's quite surprising that you haven't mentioned it now. It seems that despite all the later calculations, that encounter was just an unexpected and regrettable coincidence for both you and me..."
"Even earlier?"
Otto's words truly stunned Lin Wei for a moment, leaving him at a loss. What other "encounter" could there have been between us?
But he also knew that although Otto was skilled at rhetoric, he would never speak without reason. Since he had specifically mentioned it, it must be true. So, although Lin Wei was puzzled, he didn't dismiss it out of hand. Instead, he carefully traced back all his memories, and after confirming that nothing was missing, he asked in an uncertain tone, "Are you perhaps referring to the time when I was living next to St. Freya Academy?"
Before Manila, the only experience he had that could be considered "having some contact" with Schicksal was during that naive period at the very beginning.
But they were just neighbors for a few days. What was so special about that?
What on earth is Otto up to now?
Otto remained silent and smiling throughout. He didn't interrupt Lin Wei while he was thinking. It was the first time he had seen such genuine confusion on Lin Wei's face, and for a moment, a subtle but definite sense of pleasure welled up in his heart.
In Manila, he played me, completely ignorant, in the palm of his hand. At Schicksal HQ, he even pushed me into such a tight and embarrassing spot. At that time, looking at me like a clown, Lin Wei was probably full of pleasure too, right?
Otto thought with amusement.
Although he didn't speak, his half-smiling expression already had the answer written on his face. Seeing this, Lin Wei sneered and said, "Is Your Excellency perhaps referring to Miss Fu Hua's 'visit'?"
Lin Wei knew that this was unlikely, but he couldn't think of anything else that could be related to Schicksal. But when he said the words "visit," a flash of inspiration struck him. He remembered another past event that could be connected to these words and asked with suspicion, "...Are you talking about that absurd incident when I once applied for a job at St. Freya Academy?"
It was indeed an extremely absurd past event.
At that time, Lin Wei, who had just settled in, had no understanding of this world. He naively thought that he might be able to apply for a job as a "janitor" or something similar at St. Freya Academy, thinking that he could at least make a living and receive some degree of protection, which was very suitable for his lazy personality to muddle through life. And so, he was as enthusiastic when he went as he was dejected when he returned...
"Hehe, it seems that incident was indeed just a coincidence," Otto had been paying attention to the changes in Lin Wei's expression. The way he inadvertently remembered something he had forgotten didn't seem feigned. There was even a moment of embarrassment in his eyes, as if he couldn't bear to look back at his past "absurdity." This completely ruled out the possibility of "deliberate planning" for Otto. He smiled and said,
"Thinking back now, that incident was truly a regrettable miss for both you and me, wasn't it?"
Lin Wei didn't care about Otto's lament. After the embarrassment that came with the memory faded, he said with a half-smile, "Schicksal's intelligence network is truly pervasive! To be able to dig up such a trivial interlude from over a year ago in such detail, tsk tsk tsk... it's truly breathtaking!"
"You flatter me, Mr. Lin."
Otto smiled, not caring whether Lin Wei was being sarcastic or genuinely praising him.
"Hehe, I expected as much. If I hadn't known that Overseer Otto's eyes and ears were everywhere, I wouldn't have shown myself before you found me. But it's still surprising."
Lin Wei sneered, then recalled with a strange expression, "That absurd 'job application' incident back then, I didn't even get through the gate of St. Freya Academy. A woman who claimed to be the principal's secretary stopped me there and very politely, yet mercilessly, shattered my unrealistic fantasy at the time..."
"Hehe, unrealistic..."
Otto repeated the word softly and smiled.
"Although Theresa's amusement park is always poorly managed, it's still a bit of a fantasy for an ordinary citizen to join so easily."
Thinking back now, Lin Wei's performance at the time was too foolish and clumsy, which was why it hadn't attracted his attention and vigilance early on. He had just thought it was another fanciful resident from the neighborhood. After all, St. Freya Academy had never forbidden students from interacting with nearby residents, so it was inevitable that it would occasionally arouse the curiosity of ordinary people.
"Hehe, yes, I suppose I became one of the jokes circulating in that school for a while after that. Otherwise, how would such a trivial matter have reached the ears of the esteemed Overseer?"
Lin Wei no longer cared whether he would become a joke in others' mouths. He just looked at Otto meaningfully and said, "Or perhaps, that so-called 'principal's secretary' was also one of Your Excellency's spies planted in that school, which is why you know so much about it?"
Otto remained silent and smiling, his smile even widening.
Seeing this, Lin Wei understood completely and laughed heartily.
"Or perhaps, that so-called 'principal's secretary' was actually Your Excellency himself in disguise from the very beginning?"
With Otto's unspeakable bad taste, is the truth really that hard to guess?
"'Spies'? Hehe... It's true that as the Overseer, I have to plant spies in my own subordinate institutions. Such absurd matters are naturally handled by professionals. As for me—that was just a transparent doll I made using Amber's collected behavioral data. Apart from trivial matters like my worrying granddaughter staying up late or oversleeping and missing breakfast, I never interfere with little Theresa's actions."
Otto spread his arms wide and said with a frank smile, "Hehe... in the end, it was just an old man worrying about his child's life far away, so he couldn't help but follow along to take care of her daily needs. I've made a fool of myself in front of you."
"..."
For the "experiment," all he, the "chief researcher," had to do was pay necessary attention and make objective records, not interfere excessively out of self-righteousness. Otherwise, the experimental results might be very different from his expectations...
"Is that so?"
Lin Wei sneered.
"With such meticulous and detailed care, your nearly half-a-century-old granddaughter would surely be very moved if she knew, right?"
Being watched 24/7 by the person she feared most, that "child" would probably be scared to tears—although the "person" himself only "logged on" occasionally, it probably wouldn't affect the final result.
"Hehe, as for this, it's best not to let her know."
Otto accepted Lin Wei's sarcasm with a light laugh, completely unfazed. He was very self-aware of his image in Theresa's eyes.
For this Overseer, whose possessiveness and bad taste were both borderline psychopathic, Lin Wei had little interest in his "family affairs." He was only interested in the truth that Otto himself had revealed.
Ignoring Otto's vague self-comparison, he looked deeply into Otto's emerald green eyes and said in a strange tone, "So, you're saying that you and I already had a meeting over a year ago?"
That's truly an unexpected surprise!
It's even a surprise that's a bit scary to think about now—family, who understands this feeling? I just started the game, haven't even learned WASD, and I've already run into the final boss!
That encounter in Manila was just me deliberately lowering all my defenses to "show weakness to the enemy." Although it was dangerous, I was quite confident. But this time at St. Freya Academy, I really was stupidly walking right into the line of fire!
"Hehe, in just over a year, Mr. Lin is like a completely different person. It's almost incomparable."
Otto said meaningfully.
"Even I myself only belatedly remembered this past event after we parted ways last time."
How much can a person change when they are reborn?
Even with the same face, the same clothes, and even the same attire, it would probably be difficult for even one's own parents to recognize them at first glance, let alone a stranger they've only met twice.
"...Hehe, back then, I even enthusiastically prepared a beautiful resume, but I didn't even get a chance to hand it in."
The discomfort of bringing up old matters had long since faded. Even when his past embarrassment was mentioned, he didn't care at all. At this moment, Lin Wei's heart was filled with endless sighs, and he couldn't help but laugh heartily.
"Does Your Excellency think that if you had detained me at the first opportunity back then, you wouldn't have to go through so much trouble now?"
The saying "life is unpredictable" couldn't be more true!
"...Your Excellency's attitude now is also completely different from a year ago."
Otto looked at Lin Wei, who was now unrestrainedly expressing his emotions, and said in a tone that was both mocking and sentimental, "It's hard to imagine that the dejected and timid young man from a year ago is the same person as the great hero in front of me who scoffs at the Schicksal Overseer..."
"A great hero? Heh, forget it. Have you ever seen a 'hero' who uses Honkai Fission Bombs in a densely populated city?"
Lin Wei sneered, then sighed lightly.
"But the change has really been huge..."
For a moment, he thought of the middle-aged man he had met by chance on the subway in Singapore. He had also looked at him as if he recognized him but dared not say anything.
What a pity...
Lin Wei thought silently, sighing again for the unpredictability of life, the fragility of life, and the cruelty of this world.
"If, at that time, the gates of Schicksal had not been closed to you, then today would be a completely different story, wouldn't it?"
Otto looked deeply at Lin Wei.
"Do you have any regrets about such an outcome?"
Whether Lin Wei regretted it or not, for some reason, his own tone also carried a hint of imperceptible regret...
"At that time, I was just a pitiful and pathetic little character. It was already very lucky to be able to escape the hell ravaged by the Honkai. To walk past the Overseer and be completely ignored by him, although it was a bit unexpected, it wasn't something that was completely incomprehensible."
Lin Wei said calmly.
"As for regrets? Yes, there are. Because if that had happened, I would probably have had a completely different life from the one I have now..."
"Oh?"
Otto snorted softly, but there was no surprise in his expression, nor any hint of urging. It was as if he were just simply agreeing, as if he were just an ordinary listener.
"After all, who would want to face the most terrifying thing in this world alone? Honkai erosion, imminent death, a hopeless future..."
Lin Wei's expression held a trace of reminiscence, his tone calm, as if he were just talking about a very ordinary thing.
"If I were still in Schicksal back then, I would probably have rushed out of my house at the first opportunity, begging for help from every living person I could meet, showing them the fine, terrifying purple patterns on my body like thorns, and hoping that these 'professionals' could save my life..."
At this point, Lin Wei couldn't help but laugh again.
"And then? Maybe I would have been saved, maybe I would have become a half-human, half-machine monster, maybe I would have died helplessly after those kind girls did their best. But no matter what, that me would not be the Lin Wei of today."
"Is that so?"
Otto also smiled.
"It sounds like you have no regrets at all. Then why do you say you have regrets?"
"Tsk tsk tsk, are you still the Otto I know?"
In the depths of his consciousness, a silent figure chuckled softly.
"To actually... mmmph..."
Just as he was about to mock him some more, Otto expressionlessly sealed his mouth and then unhesitatingly threw him into the deepest part of his consciousness.
He's really annoying. He's still the same Otto...
"Because I was originally just an ordinary person. I would cry, laugh, be afraid, and despair. I like comfort, have no great ambitions, and just want to spend a boring life in a comfortable place, peacefully and without illness."
Lin Wei said, "If it's about the Honkai, breaking through life and death, defeating the Herrschers... each of these things sounds simple, just a few words. But just thinking about them is enough to take away one's breath. If I hadn't been completely desperate, how could I have had such a crazy idea of 'killing a god as a human'? It was just a guy who had been drowned in despair, forced to snatch a chance of survival from the hands of 'God'..."
Otto was still listening with great interest.
"This world is always like this, cruel and beautiful at the same time. It will push you into an unimaginable desperate situation at any ordinary time, in an unexpected way, as if it wants to see what incredible miracle you can create."
Lin Wei raised his hand and clenched it slightly, saying in a deep voice, "It shatters your hopes, tramples on your dreams, breaks your spine, tears your body apart, grinds your dignity into dust, and throws your soul into the abyss... and then, when you have crossed all this with just a little bit of will left, and have done things you didn't even dare to imagine before, the so-called 'God' graciously bestows upon you immense power, reshapes your soul, baptizes your flesh, and even crowns you with a brilliant diadem with supreme authority..."
At this point, Lin Wei paused, then a mocking smile appeared on his face.
"But it never considered whether all of this was what you originally wanted."
"Is that so?"
Only then did Otto sigh softly.
"That's truly the greatest regret in the world..."
He had achieved everything now, but he couldn't go back to how he was before. This was the regret and remorse that was deeply engraved in his soul, making him tremble every night.
But what about Lin Wei?
"I say it's a regret because I could have had a less difficult life, a simpler life where I could have relied on others with a clear conscience. But now, I can do things I never dared to imagine before. When I want to be a hero, I have the ability to be a hero. When I want to protect the people around me, I have the ability to shelter them from the wind and rain."
Lin Wei looked at Otto and said calmly, "No matter what, in my not-so-long life, I finally have the ability to do some things that I won't regret."
"..."
Otto looked deeply at Lin Wei. After a long while, he smiled faintly and said slowly, "Is that so..."