What If?

A little earlier.

After reaching a new agreement with Gray Serpent and taking his leave, Lin Wei once again held up a feather, casting small suggestions on every passerby he encountered, while walking towards his final, and also initial, destination: the central hospital where Anna was.

"After finishing this last thing, we can leave."

When he was about to reach his destination, Lin Wei took one last look at the bustling street, put away the feather, and said softly, with an indescribable regret in his heart.

"Are you unwilling?"

Yae Sakura asked.

In the outskirts of the city, Yae Sakura had walked beside Lin Wei for a long distance. It wasn't until later, when the vehicles around them gradually increased and they encountered more and more passersby, that Yae Sakura, disliking the curious gazes they cast on her long ears, took advantage of a corner to return to the Stigmata Space.

"Unwilling? A little, but more regret, I guess. After all, I really wanted to save this city."

Lin Wei shook his head slightly,

"But I tried, I did my best. Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, World Serpent, we have thoroughly investigated their foundations in this city. None of them have the possibility of artificially triggering a large-scale Honkai Eruption here. In that case, this Honkai Eruption can only be a natural disaster..."

Lin Wei smiled slightly and said very seriously,

"I can still try to prevent man-made tragedies in advance, but natural disasters, how can you or I stop them? In that case, what's there to be unwilling about? Just like in Nagazora City back then, leaving early and not getting ourselves involved is the most important thing!"

Lin Wei raised his hand, showing the two fingers that had just been holding the feather,

"Letting as many people as possible jump ship before this giant ship sinks is the best we can do—we can't get ourselves involved, right?"

When he said the last sentence, Lin Wei couldn't help but chuckle.

He remembered the reckless things he had done when he first transmigrated, the impulsive actions that almost got him killed and ultimately became his lifeline.

In this way, Lin Wei became the biggest, and perhaps the only, beneficiary of his good deeds.

Maybe it was just a coincidence, or maybe there was really some karma. In any case, even now, Lin Wei would still do some good deeds within his ability.

And from his heart, he was very happy to do so. It's just that he was no longer as impulsive as he was a year ago, and had become much more rational and realistic.

"Okay, now, let's wake up that sleeping princess, and then we can say goodbye."

Lin Wei stood in front of the tall central hospital, looked up at this solemn building, and said to himself,

"Let's leave the great things like fighting against the apocalypse and saving the world to Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, and those great people!"

"And I, I just want to go home and sleep..."

With that, Lin Wei walked into the gate of this hospital for the second time, skillfully blinding the perception of the remaining Valkyrie, walking past her swaggeringly, taking the elevator, and going straight to the floor where Anna was.

The journey was unimpeded and extremely smooth.

But this was natural, because all the factors that could cause obstacles had been eliminated by Lin Wei in advance. And now, it was more like in a fairy tale, the witty and brave prince, after overcoming all kinds of difficulties and obstacles along the way, successfully defeated the vicious queen, and finally walked to the deepest part of the palace to awaken the sleeping beautiful princess...

However, although Anna was indeed a beautiful princess and was sleeping, Otto was not a vicious queen—he was a hundred times more vicious than her.

And Lin Wei was naturally not a witty and brave prince. He just wanted to come quietly and leave quietly...

"Creak..."

Lin Wei gently pushed open the door of the ward and saw at a glance the beautiful girl who was once full of energy, now lying quietly on a small bed. A huge oxygen mask covered half of her pale face, and her beautiful eyes were now quietly closed, as quiet as her breathing.

Lin Wei quietly looked at her face, and suddenly thought, if she were still awake, she would definitely not let him be so "impolite", but would jump up and pull him to ask questions, right?

A girl who was usually quite noisy, suddenly quieted down, it really made people feel distressed...

"Beep, beep, beep..."

The instrument placed at the head of the bed beat rhythmically. It was the only source of sound in this room, emitting a slight, but reassuring beeping sound to everyone who heard it.

"You, you, why do you always like to show off, always like to rush forward? It was like this in Coral Island, and it's still like this now..."

Lin Wei reached out his hand, gently put one of her arms exposed outside back into the quilt. The touch of that hand was still soft, but a little colder than in his memory. He sighed,

"Can't you be smarter? Even if you didn't know she was Otto in disguise, you should have known that she was stronger than you, right?"

In the original timeline, Yuno was someone who made Theresa stumble twice. Even if the timeline had changed now, and she had received Schicksal's scientific training, her strength would only be stronger than before,

When the brief battle in the river took place, Lin Wei had seen it completely, and naturally saw Anna's defeat process clearly. He couldn't help but complain,

"See, you got yourself involved, didn't you? The Overseer Otto, whom you 'risked your life to save', doesn't care about your life or death at all..."

"..."

The unconscious Anna naturally couldn't respond to Lin Wei's "verbal attack", and could only remain silent.

"...But that's right, that's just like you, Anna. If you had retreated back then, it would have made people suspect that you, like Yuno, had been replaced."

Lin Wei smiled slightly and slowly raised a hand, holding it empty in the air.

A black light appeared, twisted, and gathered. In just a moment, a gorgeous black lance was held horizontally in front of his chest.

Lin Wei took a deep look at the sleeping Anna, then stretched out his arm, pointing the tip of the "Projection: Abyss Flowers" directly at her sleeping face, and sighed softly,

"My silly girl, grow up quickly."

"Otherwise, this world will soon become completely incomprehensible to you..."

"At that time, what will you do?"

After speaking, with a thought, the black body of the spear gradually emitted a soft white light, gradually filling the entire ward. Then it condensed into a translucent huge flower bud, which bloomed into a holy white flower with a slight sway.

Then, the stamens also stretched out, flowing and gathering into a drop of bright nectar, flowing over each petal. Finally, the petals trembled slightly, and the drop fell silently, landing between Anna's delicate eyebrows, infiltrating this abundant life force into her body, and disappearing without a trace.

In just an instant, Anna's breathing became stronger, and her face visibly regained color.

"That should do it."

Lin Wei, who was a little dizzy, unceremoniously stuck the lance upside down on the ground, leaned his whole body on it, and rested for a while,

"Phew, it's really tiring... At this time, I really want you to help me..."

Lin Wei muttered, remembering how Anna had refused to listen to his advice on Coral Island and insisted on helping him. He couldn't help but smile.

"Okay, I think it's time to return this thing to you."

Lin Wei rested for a few seconds, and the strength he had lost in an instant recovered a little. He gently took out a half-heart-shaped pendant from his pocket, admired it for the last time, slowly bent down, preparing to hang it back on Anna's slender and straight neck, and said softly,

"Keep it safe, don't give it to others easily next time..."

"Bang!"

Just then, the ward door, which he had casually closed, was suddenly slammed open. A Valkyrie with short, light blue hair rushed in. As soon as she saw Lin Wei, she rushed over with a furious expression, like a hen protecting her chicks,

No, who are you? You came at a really good time, didn't you?

Lin Wei was full of helplessness.

This feeling was like: the game was over, the audience had dispersed, and the players had already gone home. But suddenly, someone jumped out, intending to give him an overtime game?

You're not tired, but I am!

In order to prevent Anna from being accidentally injured, Lin Wei took a step back, grabbed the lance, and prepared to dispel this weapon, which was too huge to use in this small space, and switch to Fenghuang Down to finish the battle quickly,

"Who the hell wants to play overtime with you?!"

"This is... Abyss Flowers?"

However, Lin Wei reacted quickly, and Jell's reaction was not slow either. She glanced at the black lance stuck upside down on the floor. Although the color was completely opposite to the one she had seen in Durandal's hands, its shape, pattern, and aura all told her the identity and name of this lance.

This sudden change made her stop abruptly. She just inserted herself between Lin Wei and Anna, blocking Anna behind her, and then stared at Lin Wei with a surprised and suspicious expression,

"Who are you? Why is Abyss Flowers in your hands?"

"..."

Lin Wei rolled his eyes and was too lazy to waste his breath on her. He dispelled the huge lance he was holding in his left hand, raised his right hand slightly, and a black feather gradually gathered in his hand,

And then there was no more...

"Huh, this pendant is actually in your hands?"

Jell immediately saw the half pendant still hanging on Lin Wei's wrist, and said in surprise. She asked for the third time,

"Who are you?"

This time, listening to her tone, most of her hostility had dissipated, replaced by strong curiosity.

"...I say, are you going to fight or not?"

Lin Wei couldn't stand this rapid change of face.

"I originally thought you were an enemy who was going to harm Anna, but looking at you..."

Jell looked Lin Wei up and down, pouted, shook her head,

"You don't seem like it."

"...Where did you get that idea? Was it because of Abyss Flowers, or this pendant?"

Lin Wei asked, half helplessly and half curiously, pointing to Anna who was blocked behind Jell,

"Don't you suspect that I just took it from her neck?"

"You really know about Abyss Flowers! As for the pendant, of course I don't suspect..."

Jell's eyes lit up, and then she took out a pendant from her pocket, almost identical to the one in Lin Wei's hand,

"Because the other one is with me."

"...Where did you get it?"

Lin Wei had a headache. This plot was a bit familiar,

"Did she give it to you? Or did you pick it up somewhere?"

This unceremonious, master-like tone and words made Jell examine Lin Wei again.

"You guessed right, I picked it up downstream of the river where Anna was injured."

Jell nodded, looked back at the still sleeping Anna, and said,

"I know she values this pendant very much, so I kept it for her first, and planned to return it to her after she woke up."

"...How can she keep losing this thing?"

Lin Wei held his forehead and complained,

"Is this Anna's fixed attribute?"

"..."

She keeps... You two are quite familiar, aren't you?

Jell couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. It was best if he wasn't an enemy.

After all, if they really fought in the ward, no matter how careful they were, they would inevitably accidentally injure Anna on the hospital bed.

"You're the guy who went to Coral Island with Anna?"

Jell's eyes at this moment even had a bit of a mother-in-law's scrutiny, looking Lin Wei up and down,

"You don't look very strong, do you?"

"You know? I thought Anna would cover it up for me. It seems that the effect is not as good as I thought..."

Lin Wei heard that Jell was taking the initiative to try to resolve the hostility and embarrassment, so he also responded,

"I guess she's too clumsy, and you saw through it?"

"Hehe, Anna is such an innocent and lovely girl, how could she lie? Besides, with the things written in the report, she couldn't have done it alone—as her captain, it's not hard to guess."

Jell saw that Lin Wei matched the information with her and confirmed the guess in her heart. She couldn't help but completely relax. She glanced at him and said,

"But don't worry, I helped her modify the mission report of Coral Island, and headquarters won't question it."

"...Then thank you."

Lin Wei couldn't help but smile.

"You know me? Did Anna tell you?"

Seeing that Lin Wei was not surprised by the word "captain", Jell asked.

"No. Although Anna is innocent and lovely, she's very tight-lipped about Schicksal's internal information."

Lin Wei explained, he didn't want Jell to misunderstand Anna,

"I learned it from other channels."

He's a guy who's easy to make a deep impression on, Lin Wei thought to himself.

"Is that so? That's good."

Jell nodded, and then asked again,

"Who are you? Why do you have Abyss Flowers?"

This time, her words were only filled with strong curiosity and inquiry.

"I thought you would just capture me on the spot and send me directly to Schicksal headquarters?"

Lin Wei didn't answer directly, but asked with some playfulness.

"It seems that you don't intend to answer my question directly."

Jell nodded, not in a hurry to ask,

"Well, everyone has their own secrets. Although I have never met you before, this gentleman, I know Anna..."

Jell took a few steps back, allowing Lin Wei to see Anna, and at the same time turned to look at her, and said very seriously,

"Although she is still an unqualified new recruit as a warrior, it is undeniable that her ability to judge people is unexpectedly good..."

Jell thought of Yuno, who had a terrifying temperament but was unexpectedly reliable in battle,

"The most important thing is, I don't want to see her sad so soon..."

"Life is like this, it's inevitable. After all, no one can be a pure child forever. But with Anna's pure and serious personality, if no one helps her, this hurdle will be difficult to overcome..."

Lin Wei shook his head, pointed to himself, and said self-deprecatingly,

"Especially now that she's provoked a guy like me."

"...Is that so? I'm probably not the person to guide her."

Jell paused for a while, sighed softly,

"But you can say such words, even if you're not a good person, you're probably not a bad person. Maybe you can help me with this? At least, I can see that after Anna went to Coral Island, she has become much more stable than before."

"We've only met for the first time, and we almost fought just now, and you trust me so much?"

Lin Wei couldn't help but be speechless,

"And you also know that my identity is not very respectable, right?"

"So what? Should I fight you again now, or report to headquarters that a suspicious person was found in Manila?"

Jell smiled frankly,

"I said, Anna will be sad. I see that she's in good spirits now, and she will probably wake up soon. I don't want to see her faint again."

Jell looked at Lin Wei curiously,

"Was it the credit of your Abyss Flowers just now? Is it really Abyss Flowers?"

She had just seen Abyss Flowers in Durandal's hands, and no one could take her weapon from her.

"It's a pirated version, but it has all the functions it should have."

Lin Wei told the truth,

"In the world, probably only Overseer Otto of Schicksal and I have this pirated power."

Although it was a bit of an overshare, Lin Wei wanted to see this Valkyrie's reaction.

"...It seems that the problem is more serious than I thought. Maybe it would be the best choice to capture you here and hand you over to headquarters."

Jell looked at Lin Wei seriously, and then suddenly smiled,

"But thinking that it's that Lord Overseer... Heh, forget it."

"Oh? That's really surprising."

"Is that so? Thank you for the compliment."

Jell smiled slightly,

"Probably because I'm a rebellious Valkyrie, otherwise I wouldn't have taken the initiative to cover up those things for Anna."

"You hate him?"

Lin Wei asked curiously, but received a polite smile,

"It's not polite to pry into other people's secrets, this unknown gentleman."

Until now, she hadn't even asked Lin Wei's name.

Lin Wei gave up.

"Ugh... Um..."

At this moment, Anna suddenly made some subtle sounds, attracting the attention of both Lin Wei and Jell.

"It seems I have to go."

Lin Wei said, he didn't want Anna to see him after waking up, that would be troublesome.

"Oh? Aren't you going to wait for Anna to wake up before leaving?"

Jell was a little surprised.

"No need."

Lin Wei shook his head,

"Anna is a very enthusiastic girl, so enthusiastic that it makes people feel that refusal is a sin... But the Coral Island incident was an accident, and it was also an accident. If this continues, it won't be a good thing for her."

With that, Lin Wei looked at the pendant in his hand again, and said self-deprecatingly,

"If in the future, I really have an irreconcilable conflict with Otto, it would be too cruel to let this little girl of the Schariac family be caught in the middle."

"This thing, holding it in my hand, to be honest, is a bit hot..."

"...Heh, I can't tell, you're really a man with deep sins."

Jell was stunned and mocked,

"Are you planning to return it to her?"

"I do have this idea."

Lin Wei smiled self-deprecatingly,

"Before that, letting her slowly forget about this matter related to me is the best choice. But maybe it's a bit wishful thinking..."

"Well, it's not that bad."

Jell nodded, waved her hand,

"Since you don't want to see her, then leave quickly."

"I'm curious, why are you so straightforward?"

At this time, Lin Wei was even more curious,

"Whether from Schicksal's perspective or Anna's perspective, you should capture me on the spot and hand me over to Schicksal headquarters. After all, a quick pain is better than a long one. But you didn't, but instead were extremely indulgent. Why?"

For a moment, Lin Wei couldn't figure out her position.

"Sigh, because I have a little selfishness..."

Jell was silent for a while, sighed deeply, looked out the window, and said,

"I... somewhat hate Schicksal."

Lin Wei didn't interrupt, waiting for her to continue,

"To be precise, I hate the person who represents Schicksal's will... Maybe it's not hate, just unforgivable?"

As Jell spoke, she even felt a little puzzled herself,

"After all, as an orphan who was saved by Schicksal in the Honkai, I have no right to resent anyone... But, when my best friend was taken to their laboratory in the name of dedication and never came back, I couldn't forgive them."

Jell's anger seemed to have been suppressed for a long time, and her voice trembled slightly. Then she took a very restrained deep breath and said,

"Perhaps, being born because of Schicksal and dying for Schicksal is the fate of us Valkyries. I fully understand and accept this fate—dying on the battlefield and dying in the laboratory are not much different."

"I originally thought that all Valkyries were like this..."

Jell said softly,

"Later, Lady Durandal's rise made me see that there is another way for Valkyries to live, strong, firm, and ruling everything!"

She smiled self-deprecatingly again,

"I really want to live like her, but unfortunately, I can't do it anymore!"

"So you placed this hope on Anna?"

Lin Wei glanced at Anna and realized something.

"Yes, my most cherished friends, relatives, and teachers have all been buried in the past. I'm the only one left standing here alone. To be honest, it's a bit cold..."

Jell said with a reminiscent expression, and then lowered her gaze to Anna, stroking her chestnut-colored long hair with some pity, and said,

"A-rank Valkyrie, for me, it's probably the end, but for her, it's just the beginning. She's different from me, she has an infinite future."

"A future that I can never reach..."

"I see, no wonder you value her so much."

Lin Wei nodded, and changed the subject,

"In that case, shouldn't you protect Anna even more and deal with me, this outsider?"

"And then deprive her of her cherished things?"

Jell pointed to the pendant in Lin Wei's hand,

"In that case, what's the difference between her and me?"

"...It seems that I really am a man with deep sins."

"You know it."

"..."

Lin Wei took a deep look at Jell. She probably didn't think about how serious the opposition between him and Otto was. If she knew, she probably wouldn't dare to do this.

But this was normal, outsiders couldn't imagine it.

"If there is such a day, I will do my best to give Anna a better future."

Lin Wei looked at Anna's delicate face and said seriously.

Maybe, killing Otto and becoming the new Overseer of Schicksal could fundamentally solve this problem?

A dangerous thought suddenly popped into Lin Wei's mind, and then he killed it.

Don't be ridiculous, going to work is very tiring!

Jell didn't respond, just waved her hand, asking him to leave quickly.

"By the way, there's one thing I think I should tell you."

Since the other party was so frank, Lin Wei thought for a while and felt that he should tell her the news,

"As far as I know, this city may be facing a Honkai Eruption. I think you can prepare in advance."

"Honkai" touched a sore spot in Jell's heart. She turned around abruptly and asked sharply,

"When, where, what level, how do you know?"

This kind of thing is no joke!

"I don't know when exactly, and I don't have any evidence. You can just treat it as my unfounded guess."

Lin Wei said seriously,

"I've investigated during this period, and there are no traces of man-made sabotage. If a Honkai Eruption really occurs, it's probably a natural disaster. If not—then I'm just worrying for nothing, which is the best result."

Unlike Anna, Jell was the commander of the entire squad and had the natural right to issue orders. And she had a complete and mature worldview, knowing what she should do and what she shouldn't do.

Therefore, Lin Wei felt that telling her this news in advance was not a bad thing.

Jell looked into Lin Wei's eyes seriously, repeatedly confirming that he was not lying, before lowering her head dejectedly and saying in a deep voice,

"Thank you."

Maybe this was a cliché story of the boy who cried wolf, but what if the wolf really came?

Jell felt it necessary to take it seriously.

"Well, in that case, I'll take my leave."

Lin Wei took one last look at Anna and turned to leave.

No one can predict the future. It's better not to worry too much about the future for now.

"Ugh..."

Not long after Lin Wei left, Anna groaned and opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Jell, who was standing beside her with a worried expression,

"Captain, you're here?"

She scratched her head, feeling that her body was incredibly healthy at this moment. She couldn't help but ask,

"How long have I slept? How is Yuno?"

After remembering the memory before she fainted, she immediately cared about her companion.

"She's fine, she's already returned to headquarters."

Jell temporarily put aside her worries and asked,

"How do you feel now? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"

"No, no! I feel great now!"

Anna sat up almost instantly and said with a smile,

"I feel like I can punch a Honkai Beast to death!"

"That's great. Seeing you like this, I'm relieved."

Jell smiled slightly,

"Then you continue to rest, I'll go back to the base first."

"Wait for me! Let's go back together!"

Anna immediately got up and was about to catch up with Jell's pace, but she was pushed back by her,

"Captain?"

Anna was a little confused,

"I'm really fine!"

"I know."

Jell raised an eyebrow and said with a smile,

"But, Anna, you were so seriously injured before, and now you're suddenly alive and kicking. Do you think it will make the people in the headquarters assessment department mistakenly think you're a slacker?"

"Ah? This... Ugh, no! I'm innocent!"

Anna cried out in grievance.

"Of course I know you're innocent."

Seeing that Anna was easily deterred, Jell couldn't help but smile and continued,

"I think you'd better just wake up and need to stay in the hospital for a few more days to recover 'slowly', so that it's easier to explain to headquarters."

"This... Oh, okay..."

Anna agreed dejectedly, lying back on the hospital bed with a reluctant expression.

Phew, fortunately, in this way, headquarters should not be suspicious.

Jell secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't help but feel a little self-deprecating. Was this considered an act of treason?

At least it should be considered dereliction of duty, right?

"By the way, I'll return this thing to you."

Since Anna was already awake, Jell returned the pendant she had temporarily kept to her.

"This... Ah! Thank you, Captain!"

Anna was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed, and quickly took it from Jell's hand, carefully hung it around her neck, and stroked the half-heart-shaped brilliant gem with great affection.

"Since you've sent out half your heart, you must protect the remaining half well, don't lose it again."

Jell exhorted meaningfully, with a bit of a double meaning.

Anna naturally understood a part of the hint, and her cheeks immediately flushed,

"It's not what you think!"

Jell shrugged. I didn't say anything?

Seeing her like this, Anna's face became even redder.

"Okay, I won't tease you anymore. Rest well and return to the team as soon as possible."

Jell smiled slightly, gave a final instruction, and turned to leave.

She remembered the rather terrifying news that Lin Wei had said before he left, and felt that no matter whether it was true or false, it was necessary to make some preparations in advance.

What if?