"We're running out of time."
Su Yu's voice wasn't loud, but every word slammed against everyone's eardrums.
He relayed the information the System had just released, word for word, to the assembled group.
Honkai invasion.
A six-month countdown.
Time Dilation.
The overflow of Project STIGMA.
When the last word landed, the conference room fell into dead silence once more.
No one spoke. Even the sound of breathing was deliberately suppressed to the extreme.
Welt's hand, holding his coffee cup, froze in midair.
Eden's fingers, swirling her wine glass, went rigid as well.
The muscle lines on Kevin's expressionless face pulled even tighter.
Beneath the table, Kiana's hand found the back of Su Yu's, her five fingers interlacing with his one by one.
The bubble gum in Bronie's mouth popped with a sharp "pop."
This time, she didn't blow a new one. She simply, silently, tapped out a string of meaningless gibberish on her virtual keyboard.
Welt knew the Honkai was coming—he had known all of this from decades ago—but he never imagined that the Honkai would truly come knocking at their door.
They had only 180 days left. Even counting every last hour, it was less than 180 days.
That "Great Filter," which had once destroyed countless civilizations like a farmer reaping crops, was truly about to descend upon this defenseless world of peace.
In that almost frozen, suffocating atmosphere—
Su Yu moved.
He didn't go to comfort anyone.
He walked over to Rita Rossweisse, who stood with her head bowed low, equally thunderstruck by the news.
Su Yu looked down upon this former S-rank Valkyrie.
He didn't open his mouth to speak those hypocritical, for-the-greater-good platitudes.
He merely extended his right hand.
Index and middle fingers pressed together.
At a spot ten centimeters from Rita's fair, slender neck, he flicked lightly outward.
That electric shock collar—forged by Tesla's own hands, requiring a complex biological password to unlock, a symbol of absolute control and humiliation—
was instantly transferred into his hand.
Rita's head snapped up, her wine-red eyes filled with intense disbelief.
She had already prepared herself to bear this shameful shackle and to face whatever brutal interrogation and information extraction came next.
But what was this?
Su Yu looked at her utterly stunned expression, and the corner of his mouth pulled into an arc that couldn't quite be called handsome, but was earnest.
"At a time when we don't even know if we'll survive to see tomorrow, still bothering over who owes whom, who should kneel to whom—that's just utterly stupid."
He turned around and set the collar down.
"I don't need a prisoner in shackles feeding me intel of dubious truth."
Su Yu walked back before Rita and looked directly into those eyes.
"What I need is that... S-rank Valkyrie from Schicksal, that Dark Rose who stood awe-inspiring and majestic on the Honkai battlefield."
He extended that large hand, its surface covered in the texture of newly regenerated skin, and held it out before Rita.
No condescending command, no victor's charity.
Only the most equal, most sincere invitation.
"To protect this world, and six months from now, to go into that hell and pull back the people we care about."
"Ms. Rita Rossweisse, please, lend us your strength."
Rita stared fixedly at that hand hovering in midair.
Her face, which had worn the mask of the "perfect maid" for so many years, in this moment, completely showed an expression that could only be named collapse.
She had imagined countless times how she would be tortured, how she would trade her dignity for a chance to live.
But the one thing she had never accounted for—
was that this man would use this cruel and overbearing "gentleness" to directly pierce through the defensive fortress she had erected to conceal her fragility.
Yielding to softness, not to force.
It was the common affliction of most people accustomed to carrying everything on their own shoulders.
Rita was such a person. So was Su Yu.
A layer of undisguisable mist rapidly welled up in Rita's wine-red eyes.
But she did not grasp that hand.
Instead, decisively, she took half a step back.
Under everyone's astonished gazes—
She solemnly straightened her disheveled maid uniform, as though it were a magnificent knight's cloak.
Then—
Her right leg withdrew, and her left knee steadily knelt down upon the carpet.
Her right hand clenched into a fist, pressing forcefully against the heart in her left breast.
A knight's kneeling salute, on one knee.
Combined with the maid's humility carved into her very bones.
"I refuse equal aid."
Rita raised her head, and upon that supremely beautiful face bloomed a smile that had never been seen before—one that carried even a touch of madness and absolute obsession.
"A sinner who nearly severed the head of her own benefactor has no right to stand as an equal beside you."
Her voice was clear, bright, and resolute, carrying a determination that would endure a thousand deaths without regret.
"But—"
"If you do not find me unworthy, please allow me to pledge my loyalty to you, for the remainder of this life, in the name of your unworthy exclusive maid."
"To serve by your side."
"My scythe, my wisdom, my life, and everything I take pride in—from this moment on, all shall serve you."
Rita's declaration echoed through the room.
This wasn't submission at all.
This was damn well a blatant case of "throwing herself at him" and "giving it all away for free"!!
Eden's expression, once grave from the doomsday countdown, was now completely replaced by a look of amusement and delight at the unfolding spectacle.
She even leisurely swirled the empty wine glass in her hand.
On Kevin's expressionless face, a trace of stiff teasing appeared for the first time in ages—he even, inappropriately, let out an off-key whistle.
In the holographic projection, Bronie outright blew her gum until it burst.
She tapped at her keyboard, fanning the flames as if fearing the chaos wasn't chaotic enough: "Yo, Boss. This is a real bargain, huh? Not only did you get your neck saved, you got a top-tier maid for free. Mind teaching me this art of conjuring something from nothing sometime?"
As for Su Yu—
At this moment, he maintained that hand-extending pose, his entire body frozen in place, the cold sweat on his back practically turning to ice.
Because he felt a terrifying force, comparable to a hydraulic press, being applied to the top of his foot.
At some unknown point, Kiana had drifted ghostlike to his side.
She still maintained that head-bowed posture.
But beneath that head of long white hair, her expression was so gloomy it could practically drip black water—looking exactly like a fierce white cat whose territory had been invaded, fur bristling and about to start hissing.
Those eyes were fixed dead on Rita kneeling on the ground, and the sole of her shoe, pressed against the top of Su Yu's foot, even went so far as to perform a viciously insane "fire-drilling" rotating motion.
"Sssss—!!!"
This time Su Yu really sucked in a sharp breath from the pain, the muscles of his face contorting from the agony.
While frantically cursing this maid who refused to play by the rules in his heart, he forcibly endured the pain of the bones in his foot on the verge of shattering, and, grimacing, tried to salvage the situation.
"That... uh, well, since you have such resolve."
Su Yu forced the words out from between his teeth with difficulty.
"Then you should... put your agent's specialties to use—first go help Welt handle the wrap-up on the base's data, and while you're at it, help Kevin fill out those few research reports!"
"As you command, Lord Su Yu."
Rita rose, took a step back, folded her hands over the front of her apron—the flawless, standard maid's standing posture.
[Ding! Absolute submission of Schicksal's S-rank Valkyrie—Rita Rossweisse—has been detected.]
[Community Bond activated! Independent of "miHoYo Studio" and "Anti-Entropy R&D," a second exclusive Valkyrie has been confirmed and enlisted.]
[Corresponding Tarot Card: The Hanged Man—representing complete sacrifice, the reversal of perspective, and absolute loyalty reborn amid submission and fervor.]
[Current Bond Level: RANK 6]Note: Because the target has sworn a knight's oath, the initial Bond has been elevated!
[Bond System Bonuses:]
[Gaze of Schicksal's Strongest Agent]: All subjects who undergo Rita's training will have their rate of physical breakthrough and adaptability doubled, and when under extreme pressure, they can burst forth with an even stronger survival instinct.
[Absolute Domain of the Perfect Maid]: Housekeeping efficiency increased by 100%; tabletops will periodically refresh with steaming hot black tea and freshly baked snacks, which upon consumption greatly boost Emotion Points and the recovery speed of SAN value.
[Bond Exclusive Reward Issued!]
[New Skill]: Shadow Stalk
[Skill Description]: The System has unlocked the bioelectric potential and muscle-exertion model of this skill for the Host. When activated, the Host can actively lower their own presence, perfectly concealing heartbeat, breathing, footsteps, and even infrared thermal signature. Combined with the Host's second-stage Genetic Lock, they can become a truly invisible blade within the shadows.
[Note: The Host must, through independent practice and Rita's subsequent guidance, perfectly integrate it with actual combat.]
[System Commentary: Your exclusive maid, tactical instructor, and even a live-in secretary. As the saying goes, when there's work the secretary does it, and when there's nothing to do—ahem, ahem. Your foster father really worries about your kidneys, my dear boy.]
The light-screen flickered a few times, then swiftly faded away.
Several lines of sight came from behind Su Yu, each of a different temperature.
Eden's gaze was one of amusement, as if savoring a bottle of vintage red wine of an excellent year.
Kevin's whistling still lingered in the air.
Bronie's holographic figure was sprawled entirely across the virtual desktop, chin resting on the back of her hand, her face writing out "wonderful, wonderful, do continue."
And Kiana... her foot stomped down hard once again.
Su Yu wisely decided not to meet her expression.
He tactically cleared his throat and forcibly dragged the topic back onto the right track.
"Alright, let's get back to business first."
His tone sank.
The subtle ambiguity in the reception hall born from the Rita incident was, in this instant, completely washed away.
"That countdown the System just released—it doesn't mean the Honkai only arrives half a year from now."
"Rather, as time passes, spatial rifts will begin to appear in Arc City. Honkai Beasts will linger within these rifts, and if no one goes to clear these nodes..."
He paused.
"Then the full-scale Honkai will arrive ahead of schedule."
When these words landed, the temperature in the reception hall dropped several more degrees.
Welt set down his coffee cup, the gaze behind his lenses becoming extremely grave.
Kevin, who had just been leaning back against his chair, unconsciously sat up straight.
The gum in Bronie's mouth stopped its chewing.
"Regularly clearing nodes? Why does that sound like running a dungeon?" Bronie frowned.
"You could understand it that way," Su Yu nodded. "But unfortunately, this isn't some game. This means going and fighting for our lives against those Honkai Beasts and Zombies."
"So the game must go live as soon as possible," Su Yu continued. "Honkai Impact 3rd isn't merely a commercial product. It's the core fuel that keeps the System running. The Emotion Points and Cognition generated by players can be directly exchanged for equipment, for lifting Kiana's distance restriction, and even..."
He glanced at Kiana.
"...for providing a passage for her to return to that world and fight."
Kiana withdrew her foot from atop Su Yu's shoe.
Return.
That ravaged, scarred world she had fled from.
That world where Mei was still fighting alone.
Her gaze instantly turned resolute.
"Besides that."
Su Yu pulled a folded blueprint from his pocket and pushed it in front of Welt.
"This is the design schematic for the Honkai Energy Detection Device that the System unlocked. Highest development priority. I need Anti-Entropy to build this thing in the shortest possible time."
Welt unfolded the blueprint, scanned it a couple of times, and his brow rose slightly.
"This precision... if it can be realized, then we'll be able to lock onto the Honkai Beasts' coordinates in advance, before they cross through the spatial rifts."
"Exactly," Su Yu nodded. "It will become our eyes, and then—"
His gaze swept toward Rita, standing in the corner.
"Rita's Argent Knight: Artemis and Skadi Ondurgud are, at present, precious equipment samples from the Honkai world."
"I need Anti-Entropy's research team to comprehensively analyze the material structure and energy circuits of these two items."
Rita bowed slightly, without the slightest objection.
"The goal is: to forge exclusive anti-Honkai equipment for the only three high-end combatants in the present world."
Su Yu held up three fingers.
"Me, Kiana, Rita."
"Before the Honkai truly descends, the three of us are this world's entire line of defense."
The reception hall fell quiet for a few seconds.
"But depending on the situation, both Kiana and Rita may very well have to return to the Honkai world to fill that massive pit. And if that crisis can't be resolved, then both our worlds will go down along with it."
Su Yu paused.
"In the worst-case scenario, I may have to head to the Honkai world together with Kiana as well, so—"
"So, we need a force, beyond just you all, that can contend against the Honkai."
Welt pushed up his glasses and picked up the thread.
"Actually, regarding the matter of the line of defense, I have some progress to report on my end as well."
He drew a stack of documents from his briefcase and spread them across the table.
"With Ms. Bronie's assistance, the super artificial intelligence, AI Ai Hyperion, has been fully deployed at the Anti-Entropy R&D base."
"With the support of her powerful computational capacity, and based on Wotan's core technology, we have successfully deduced a prototype for a single-soldier combat mech—codename Titan."
He flipped open one of the pages, upon which was a rough but clearly outlined mech design schematic.
"It doesn't have Wotan's city-level destructive power, but it's enough to give a trained soldier the ability to contend against lower-tier Honkai Beasts."
"If it can be mass-produced... then we'll have a supplement to our conventional combat strength."
For Welt, this former Herrscher of Reason, it was indeed somewhat difficult to hand-craft the reverse-engineered technology of the Honkai world within this world—but that was before Su Yu's arrival.
After Su Yu came, the energy problem was solved, and now they held in their hands not only White Comet, but also the additional Argent Knight: Artemis and Skadi Ondurgud as research samples.
With several of this world's most top-tier scientists gathered together, it was as if some valve on the ceiling of technological potential had been opened, and progress simply became unstoppable.
In truth, this also had something to do with the community Bond that Su Yu had bound. The Anti-Entropy research nexus was now operating at full power at 500% speed, and with the brains of those geniuses added on top—
It could be foreseen that replicating these single-soldier combat mech Titans that Welt envisioned in this world was an absolutely assured undertaking.
"Furthermore," Welt continued, "the analysis of a Honkai-energy resistance serum led by Dr. Mobius is also advancing. Her plan is to secretly inoculate the residents of Arc City in the form of a vaccine in the future. The production capacity for the first batch of one hundred thousand doses is already being scheduled."
Listening to these figures, Su Yu's fingers clenched tight and then loosened beneath the table.
Though he trusted the scientists Anti-Entropy had now assembled.
But—
Titan mechs.
Resistance vaccines.
Honkai Energy Detection Devices.
Valkyrie equipment analysis.
Every single item was a colossal undertaking that burned money, manpower, and time.
And they had only one hundred and eighty days.
Time, experience, cost—all of these had to be factored in.
"Anti-Entropy alone isn't enough."
Su Yu voiced the words everyone was thinking, but no one had been willing to say first.
Eden set down the wine glass in her hand.
"I know what you want to say."
Her voice was very soft, but every word carried a weight belonging to a world-class superstar—one impossible to ignore.
"You need the state apparatus."
Su Yu nodded, affirming it.
"Talent, resources, production lines, military force."
"These are things Anti-Entropy alone can't swallow whole. We need Shenzhou's official full-scale mobilization."
Welt likewise nodded in acknowledgment.
"Indeed. Although we've already been secretly searching for candidates capable of piloting the Titan and even Wotan, relying on Anti-Entropy's strength alone to screen out enough warriors fit to face the Honkai on the front lines within a mere one hundred and eighty days—that's still too much of a stretch."
"Candidates?"
"Yes. After calculations by Tesla and Einstein, even if the Titan mech can be reproduced in this world, it's not something just anyone can pilot at will. And Wotan requires a deep neural interface connection in order to control that steel behemoth."
Welt pushed up his glasses.
"We need elites with formidable mental fortitude, ranking among the foremost of humanity in both spirit and body, to become the first batch of mech pilots."
"The most important, and simultaneously the hardest to select, is the candidate for Wotan."
"Although I could serve as a candidate to pilot Wotan, considering the circumstances, I'm afraid I'll need to remain at central command to direct operations when the time comes."
Welt very calmly analyzed the situation. No one would question Welt's command capability.
For this man who had truly been through battles great and small in the Honkai world, no one present understood the Honkai better than he did.
Not even Su Yu was an exception—after all, his means of understanding the Honkai was through a game, whereas Welt's was through one round after another of life-and-death struggles.
"So, I hope to reach a partnership with the official forces, to conduct a large-scale medical examination and screening, or to gather those human elites to participate in candidate training."
Eden stood up and walked to the window.
The lingering glow of the setting sun gilded her head of wine-red hair with a golden rim.
"I'll be the one to broker the negotiations with the officials."
She turned her head to look at Su Yu.
"But it may require Su Yu's support. Those people sitting in their offices need to see the destructive power of Honkai energy with their own eyes before they'll believe this isn't some farce."
Su Yu looked at this world-class superstar, his own "secret lover," and drew a breath: "No problem. I'm counting on you, Eden."
"You're welcome," the corner of Eden's mouth lifted slightly. "After all, this is my home too."
The meeting entered its final phase.
Those grand figures, the mad plans, and the one-hundred-and-eighty-day countdown hanging above everyone's heads, pressed down on each person's shoulders like an enormous slab of lead.
Su Yu took a deep breath and braced both hands against the tabletop.
A hand landed on his shoulder.
Welt stood at his side. On that bespectacled face, there was no anxiety, no fear—only something exceedingly gentle and resolute.
"Rest assured, you've never been alone."
Welt's voice wasn't loud, but in this quiet reception hall, every word was crystal clear.
"To safeguard this one and only homeland, all of us will fight to the very last moment."
Su Yu looked into the eyes behind Welt's lenses.
He recalled this man's identity in that other world.
The Alliance Leader of Anti-Entropy.
The Nameless Guest of the Astral Express.
A man who, amid countless bouts of despair, still chose to stand up.
"Thanks, Uncle Yang."
Welt smiled, patted his shoulder, and withdrew his hand.
Su Yu looked toward the assembled group in the conference room once more. Unlike when he had first entered, even the most leisurely Bronie was now watching him with rapt attention.
His gaze swept over each and every person present in turn.
Kiana's ahoge stood upright, her fists clenched tight, her eyes glinting with a "leave it to me" light.
Rita Rossweisse remained as elegant as ever, but the fingers tightly clasped before her and the glint flickering in her eyes signified that her mood, too, was far from calm at this moment.
Eden stood with her back to the window, the lingering glow of the setting sun falling upon her.
Welt Yang sat back down, the eyes behind his lenses fixed steadily on Su Yu.
And Kevin Kaslana.
The way he looked at Su Yu held complexity, held relief, and also held a kind of almost blind belief.
Feeling each weighty measure of this trust, Su Yu braced both hands against the tabletop and drew in a deep breath.
"Now, let us begin the meeting's final summary."
"Mission name—Codename: Meteoric Salvation."
"A duration of 180 days. Before the Honkai arrives, we must, at any cost, complete three core strategic deployments!"
Su Yu raised his first finger, his gaze turning toward Bronie and Eden.
"First, the Cognition defense line."
"Over the next half year, Honkai Impact 3rd must not only enter full open beta, but its main storyline must be pushed forward at the fastest speed and highest standard, holding nothing back, all the way to the newest Meteoric Salvation chapter!"
"We are to turn the tears, the resonance, and the Cognition of tens of millions of players across the entire world into a shield against catastrophe, carving out the Anchor that belongs to us!"
"This isn't only to accumulate power for Kiana's return to the battlefield—it's also our strongest trump card for creating miracles in the future!"
Immediately after, he raised his second finger, looking toward Welt and Kevin.
"Second, the technological barrier."
"From today, the Anti-Entropy research team enters the highest-level, overloaded operation!"
"Whether it's the assault on the energy core of Wotan's giant mech, the reverse-analysis of the Argent Knight: Artemis armor and the soul-steel weaponry, or the mass production of the Honkai-energy resistance vaccine—all of it must be completed before the nodes arrive!"
"We must not only forge the most cutting-edge, exclusive armaments for our existing high-end combat strength, but also manufacture mass-production armor and weapons enough to form a steel torrent!"
Finally, Su Yu raised his third finger.
"Third, the Spark Furnace."
"First thing tomorrow morning, we will carry absolute [Truth] and knock upon the door of Shenzhou's highest decision-making echelon."
"We are to secure Arc City as a special defensive pilot zone, and have the officials draw the most top-tier special forces kings, ace pilots, and martial arts elites from across the land, secretly sending them to the Arc Special District!"
"We will use these 180 days to conduct the most brutal, hell-tier selection, forging this group of humanity's elites into a fearless blade that can pilot single-soldier Titan mechs and stand face-to-face against Zombies and Honkai Beasts!"
Su Yu straightened up, his eyes burning with a firelight that seemed capable of setting the night ablaze.
"Everyone, the hourglass of the countdown has already been overturned."
"In 180 days, the skies above Arc City will be torn apart by spatial rifts, and the true doomsday will descend upon this peaceful world—descend upon our very heads."
"But we will absolutely not sit and wait for death!"
"In the face of the disaster that will inevitably come, I do not want to see wails of despair. I want to make that pack of lofty Honkai monsters see—"
Su Yu's voice abruptly rose, exploding through the hall like thunder:
"See the proud bones that belong to humanity! See the Great Wall built from the flesh and blood and steel of mortals! See the flame we have ignited with our own hands—the sacred fire that, though it burn everything to ash, will never be extinguished!"
"To fight for all that is beautiful in this world—I'm counting on you, everyone!"
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