Leaving

The shaking overhead was getting worse, and bits of brick and dust were falling from the ceiling in a constant pitter-patter. Dust motes danced in the cramped space, and time was running out.

Bang! Bang!

Crack!

Having taken some time, Anna, who successfully shut down the power chamber, quickly returned the way she came, carrying the extracted energy core. Along the narrow passage, she used her gun and blade to strike down the Deadman that blocked her path, successfully returning to the hall where she had separated from Lin Wei earlier.

It wasn't like she hadn't considered the possibility of traps there, like more and more dangerous Deadman, or even Honkai beasts that hadn't appeared here before, or other potential threats.

But she didn't care. Once the Honkai energy used to operate this base leaked, it would cause more deaths, create more tragedies, and inflict irreparable damage on the city above. So, she went without a second thought.

Being able to remove a deadly threat hidden underground for this city, then this trip wouldn't be a complete waste, right?

Fortunately, none of those things happened. It just took some effort to shut down the already-failing furnace that was leaking Honkai energy externally. And calmly extracting the energy core from the heavily locked and jammed steel machinery was an utterly painstaking task requiring full concentration.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly! Anna was extremely happy about this.

It felt like it had been a long time since she had felt such pure joy. No need to think about those complicated and incomprehensible, bad things; just focus on what's in front of her, in her hands, doing what she wanted to do and could do, and enjoying the joy and sense of accomplishment that success brought.

I wonder how Lin Wei is doing? Anna thought to herself, Did he manage to leave safely?

Returning to the hall where she had parted ways with him earlier, all she could see were rows and rows of hibernation pods that had long since ceased to function, and it was completely empty. Anna's expression couldn't help but dim.

She had wanted to share her joy with Lin Wei, just like when she was living at headquarters and shared with Yuna and the other Valkyries.

But at this moment, a sense of loneliness, like being abandoned, welled up in her heart, inevitably making her mood a little downcast.

Although it was she herself who had told Lin Wei to leave first – the so-called "split up," which basically meant one person goes ahead, and the other covers the rear – she still felt a bit wronged now.

Anna sniffled, then cheered herself up and walked towards the only other passage here, preparing to catch up with Lin Wei.

But before she could even enter the passage, she saw Lin Wei walking out to meet her.

"You're back? Looks like everything went smoothly…"

Great, he really was waiting for me!

Anna was initially surprised and happy, but then it turned into dissatisfaction – Didn't we agree that you'd leave first? Why are you still here?

It could only be said that a girl's heart changes were truly unpredictable.

"What about that little girl?"

Forgetting to worry about these trivial things, Anna directly became concerned about another issue, because Lin Wei had appeared alone.

"As a victim, she was too frightened, so I had her sleep it off. Don't worry, she's fine."

Lin Wei waved his hand, signaling Anna to follow.

"Let's go, we're running out of time."

The walls and ceiling kept crumbling, with debris falling more and more frequently as time passed, even several lights had already shattered.

Anna secured the Honkai energy core she was carrying on her back and followed closely behind Lin Wei, just like she had done all along.

"The structure here isn't too complex, roughly a concentric circle. Two passages start from here, each drawing a semicircle, connecting to two different areas; one of them is the power chamber you went to earlier."

Lin Wei said as he walked, his investigation of this place had been relatively detailed.

"The other semicircle leads to the secret exit of this base. It's very well hidden, specifically used to transport those 'survivors' who have passed the 'selection,' so it's almost impossible to discover."

Lin Wei emphasized both words with a slightly mocking tone.

"Those hibernation pods you saw earlier can be seen as containers. Like a factory, putting qualified goods in boxes for proper storage; then, once enough of a quota is produced, they are boxed and shipped out together."

Speaking of this, Lin Wei couldn't help but chuckle.

"Heh, it's really a complete production process…"

Anna felt a chill as she listened from the side, finding it hard to imagine what terrible fate those people would meet.

Continuing forward, the air gradually became humid; and then, the view suddenly opened up – what appeared before them was a square "pond," not too big but not too small, quite large in area and seemingly bottomless, carrying the scent of the ocean, surrounded on three sides by uneven rocky walls, with only a platform resembling a pier where Lin Wei and Anna stood.

A young girl lay there quietly, her chest rising and falling slightly; not far from her side, there was a pile of black ashes from burning, carrying the acrid smell of burning flesh.

"Lin Wei?"

Anna asked, somewhat uneasy.

She could see clearly that the path had come to an end, and there was no other way out ahead.

The frequency of the shaking became more and more intense, and Anna could even feel the ground beneath her feet vibrating along with it. Time was truly running out.

But Lin Wei remained quite calm, saying softly,

"The passage is right here. Coral Island is a man-made island, surrounded by ocean, so its hidden exit naturally leads to the sea. After all, using the vast ocean to conceal movements makes it naturally difficult to discover."

Immediately after, without waiting for Anna to speak, Lin Wei sighed. What's coming is inevitable, he smiled helplessly.

"Don't worry, I said I'd definitely get you out. But, what you're about to see, Anna, don't tell anyone."

Lin Wei looked at Anna seriously, waiting for her response.

Anna was taken aback by Lin Wei's rare seriousness.

She knew that Lin Wei was finally going to reveal his secret to her.

Objectively speaking, she knew Lin Wei had always been mysterious and was indeed curious about what kind of secret he held; but she also knew that a secret becomes a secret precisely because it shouldn't be known by too many people.

So before, at the android, when Lin Wei first decided to reveal his secret to her, she wisely chose to refuse.

And this time...

"Lin Wei, can I refuse?"

Anna showed a bitter smile, this time she couldn't even pretend to be acting petulant like last time.

She felt that if she took this step, it would probably be difficult for them to ever go back to the way things were – although this "way things were" was just a chance encounter and brief companionship.

"Then what should I do? I can't exactly knock you out, can I? I can't carry two people out at once."

Lin Wei chuckled, pointing to the unconscious girl to the side.

"What happened to her? Wasn't she just fine before?"

Anna seemed to want to avoid the previous topic.

"Did something happen between you two just now?"

She saw the bruises on the girl's wrist, they were too obvious.

Lin Wei took out a pair of scissors as sharp as a dagger. Anna only glanced at them and understood, feeling even more suffocated in her heart.

"How could this happen?"

Anna didn't believe Lin Wei would intentionally hurt her; there must be other reasons.

Thinking of her pitiful and obedient demeanor before, Anna felt wave after wave of disappointment in her heart.

"It's not strange. This place is like hell for those who are captured here, so becoming a vengeful ghost for survival isn't impossible."

Lin Wei said indifferently.

He even felt that this was another layer of hidden selection mechanism – with the qualities that girl had shown, there was a high chance she could catch the eye of Grey Serpent and become a formal member of World Serpent.

After all, in a sense, she was a cunning and ruthless, worthy of the serpent casting its cold gaze upon her.

"Sha-la-la…"

Another wave of gravel fell, splashing a few drops of water on the surface.

"Let's go."

Time was pressing, Lin Wei urged directly.

"The thing you're carrying on your back isn't light either, let's not delay any further."

The thing Anna carried on her back was the size of a car fuel tank, flowing with a shimmering purple light, looking somewhat heavy on a girl's body.

"Wait!"

Anna was still resisting. But she couldn't find a suitable excuse.

She didn't really know why she wanted to delay; maybe she understood that after leaving here, she would likely have to part ways with him, and she felt uneasy.

This world was too complex, she couldn't understand it. But Lin Wei always seemed to understand everything so clearly, making her unable to resist wanting to rely on him and not wanting to be separated.

Lin Wei looked at her, then smiled again, as if he understood her thoughts.

Walking up to Anna, he lowered his head to look at the half-pendant on her neck, then took out the other half from his pocket, held it in his palm, and handed it to Anna, saying softly,

"You said this was something important to you…"

Is it really going to end? Anna felt a pang of sadness in her heart.

"So, are you willing to leave it with me for now?"

Rather than continuing to drag things out here, it was better to cut the Gordian knot.

Anna was stunned for a moment, her face flushed instantly, and she lowered her head, somewhat at a loss.

Lin Wei inwardly scorned himself for a moment, then put the pendant away again.

"Okay, it's getting late, let's go."

Anna was still looking down, even her ears had turned red, and she subtly shifted her feet.

The effect was immediate.

"Then, what you see next, let's keep it as a secret between us, don't tell anyone else. Okay?"

Lin Wei coaxed the innocent girl in a gentle tone. He felt he was being really despicable.

Anna nodded almost imperceptibly, her little head still lowered, and her neck had also turned red.

He had clearly said something similar once before, but the feeling then and how it sounded now were completely different.

"...Lin Wei, you're really shameless."

Yae Sakura's somewhat indignant voice surfaced in his mind, she felt like she had been blind.

Lin Wei felt a moment of awkwardness, unable to refute.

Clearing his throat, Lin Wei stepped to the water's edge, gently raised one hand, and Anna also looked up curiously, wanting to know what Lin Wei was planning to do.

A pitch-black sphere appeared in his hand out of thin air, floating an inch above his palm, slowly rotating.

"Projection: Ninth Divine Key – Star of Eden!"

Lin Wei stood motionless by the water's edge, but the seawater suddenly began to roar without wind, and then, centered on Lin Wei, it slowly parted like a curtain being drawn aside, revealing a deep passage in front of Lin Wei.

Then, the constant slight tremor underfoot suddenly intensified, and countless rocks rose from the ground with a roar, forming a long staircase leading into the distance.

This scene, like something out of a myth, shocked Anna, making her stare in a daze. Then suddenly, her body jolted, as if remembering something, and she muttered to herself in disbelief.

"This is… the power of gravity? You are… the First Herrscher… W…eld?"

As an elite Valkyrie from Schicksal Headquarters, she knew the information about the renowned Anti-Entropy leader, the First Herrscher, inside and out.

That Anti-Entropy who backstabbed Schicksal during the Second Honkai, causing Schicksal heavy losses, killing Senior Cecilia, and masterminding the Third Honkai...

Their leader, the First Herrscher, Welt?

"You… deceived me?"

Anna questioned in a dry voice, her heart in turmoil, feeling as if every moment they had spent together along the way had become a huge irony in an instant.

At this moment, she only felt flashes of darkness before her eyes, wishing she could immediately stab this hateful bastard to death!

However, a sliver of hope in her heart made her restrain herself from taking action immediately.

"I'm not."

Lin Wei felt helpless for a moment, he knew it would come to this.

Maintaining the gesture in his hand, he turned around and said helplessly.

"Do I look like him to you?"

Being mistaken for Otto by an Anti-Entropy scientist was one thing, but now being mistaken for Welt by a Schicksal Valkyrie...

So he's just catching flak from both sides?!

Is there any justice in this world?!

(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻ (Table Flip!)

Anna remained silent, staring intently at him, her hand gripping and releasing the gun handle repeatedly, her expression conflicted.

She didn't want to believe that the person in front of her was that First Herrscher, but the reality before her told her she had to.

For a moment, she didn't know what to do.

"If I were Welt, would I be so bored as to play games with you here? Do I look like I have that much free time?"

Lin Wei said irritably. If he didn't have to maintain the sea-parting, he would have wanted to shove Black Abyss White Flower in front of Anna's eyes to broaden her horizons.

"Let's go, I can't hold this for much longer."

Anna was taken aback for a moment, accepting this reason—or rather, she didn't really believe Lin Wei's statement at this moment, but she just wanted a reason to convince herself.

Lin Wei had said, no matter what, don't deceive yourself; but at this moment, she found that she couldn't help but deceive herself…

The shaking all around became increasingly obvious, and cracks even started to appear in the rock strata overhead, showing more and more signs of collapse.

Anna hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and followed Lin Wei.

"Wait a moment…"

Lin Wei called out to stop Anna, gesturing with his mouth towards the still-unconscious girl beside them.

"Could you trouble yourself to carry her? I don't have the strength anymore—Speaking of which, you're carrying such a big thing, can you carry another person?"

Anna was momentarily speechless, what kind of person was he?

Her focus had been on the "First Herrscher" issue just now, but now, slightly calmer, she fixed her gaze on Lin Wei.

She noticed that his face was incredibly pale at the moment, sweat constantly beading on his forehead. He was holding the sphere in one hand and leaning on a black trekking pole with the other, both shaking slightly, and even his stance looked a bit unsteady.

A Herrscher… shouldn't be this weak, right?

Anna thought, in this moment, she somewhat believed that Lin Wei wasn't Welt.

"Who exactly are you?"

She asked, unwilling to give up.

"Lin Wei, no other identity. If I were the First Herrscher, and wanted to deceive you, I wouldn't reveal myself in this way now."

Lin Wei said frankly.

"And if a Herrscher wanted to hurt you, there's no need for such elaborate schemes, is there?"

Although his words were somewhat impolite, Anna didn't react at all, just staring intently into his eyes, which didn't seem to be deceiving her. After a while, she suddenly sighed, her expression turning somewhat melancholic.

Bending down to pick up the limp girl, she stepped onto the stone steps and walked on the path that Lin Wei had opened.

"I don't care who you are, you have to give me an explanation!"

Anna threatened fiercely, without turning her head back.

Lin Wei shook his head and chuckled, sighed, and followed slowly, leaning on his staff.

Behind them, the parted seawater gradually closed after Lin Wei walked through, submerging the stone steps, and further ahead, it continued to part, revealing the path ahead.

…

Ten minutes after Lin Wei and Anna left, a sudden deafening roar echoed from the original location. A massive tunnel boring machine plunged straight down from above at high speed, roaring as it tunneled deeper into the earth.

It dug through everything, causing seawater to rush in and submerge everything here, all buried in the deep seabed.

Everything was as if it had never existed.