Exploiting the Situation

Siegfried, just waking up from his coma, wasn't fully conscious yet. Opening his eyes to this familiar scene, he fell into a trance, murmuring sadly,

"Ceci... lia..."

If this is a dream, let me stay in it forever…

"I'm sorry, Mr. Siegfried, you've mistaken me for someone else."

Durandal didn't understand his sadness, and simply clarified the misunderstanding politely and directly.

"Ugh... Is that so..."

The voice was unfamiliar, not the gentle voice he remembered. This fact greatly disappointed Siegfried. He struggled to sit up, wanting to see who the person next to him was.

Seeing that he had regained consciousness, Durandal stood up, put away Abyss flower, turned to Lin Wei, and said,

"Since the matter here has been resolved, I'll take my leave."

Judging by her words, she actually intended to leave directly.

"Wait!"

Before Lin Wei could speak, Siegfried, who had managed to prop himself up with his one arm, called out in a low, hoarse voice.

He saw clearly that the blonde girl in front of him wasn't Cecilia.

This fact made Siegfried even more disappointed, and at the same time, a strong urge arose in him to get his wife's relic back.

"Miss, please give me back..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Siegfried looked up, meeting Durandal's gaze as she turned around. Her calm blue eyes were like an invisible bullet, instantly hitting his heart, making him lose his composure and become speechless.

"Tsk tsk, as expected of Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie, scaring someone off with just a look," Lin Wei walked over slowly, clicking his tongue in wonder,

"Durandal is truly the best. How about considering signing an autograph for me?"

If he wasn't holding the sleeping Yuno in his arms, making it inconvenient, he would have clapped.

He couldn't help but think, Did Siegfried see something?

Durandal's bangs were almost identical to Cecilia's, although their hair color was completely different...

"..."

Durandal glanced at him, too lazy to speak.

Although Siegfried's expression just now was complex and difficult for him to understand, she could still tell whether there was fear and flinching.

Maybe he misunderstood something again?

Durandal thought to herself, not intending to explain anything, just signaling to Lin Wei that she was leaving.

Lin Wei gestured towards the disheveled, one-armed man with his chin,

"It's rare to meet, why not chat a bit more?"

This "father-daughter reunion" scene wasn't touching at all, which made Lin Wei slightly disappointed.

"Hiss..."

Just then, the inner door opened, and Tesla rushed out. She just glanced at Durandal, then ran to Siegfried without hesitation, helped him up, and asked anxiously,

"Siegfried, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, just..."

Siegfried shook his head with a wry smile, putting aside the chaotic thoughts in his heart, and couldn't help but glance at Durandal again.

He wasn't unfamiliar with the girl in front of him.

As Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie in recent years, and the new wielder of Abyss flower, it was impossible for Siegfried not to know this almost public information.

But for some reason, when this girl appeared in front of him, Siegfried felt as if he had suddenly lost the courage to speak, only an unspeakable sadness welling up in his heart...

"Am I afraid of her?"

Siegfried thought for a long time but couldn't find the reason, and in the end could only attribute it to this strange reason. He couldn't help but feel ashamed. Was he really that pathetic?

"This is an Anti-Entropy base, it's not convenient for me to stay long. Since the mission is complete, I'd better leave soon."

Unlike him, Durandal didn't feel anything special. She just said calmly,

"I'll leave the rest to you. I don't want this incident to cause further conflict between Schicksal and Anti-Entropy."

After saying these slightly warning words, Durandal nodded to Lin Wei and left directly, as if she didn't want to delay for even a second.

Seeing her leaving figure, Siegfried suddenly felt anxious and blurted out,

"Wait!"

Durandal stopped again, turned around, looked at the anxious Siegfried, and said calmly,

"Mr. Siegfried, take care of yourself."

Then, she left directly without stopping.

"What a unique personality."

Lin Wei curled his lip, watching Durandal's figure disappear around the corner of the passage. Then he turned to Siegfried, who seemed to want to say something, and said in a strange tone,

"She's a Schicksal S-rank Valkyrie. Logically, she should have apprehended you on the spot. Continuing to pester her will only make things difficult for her."

I've given you the chance, it's your own fault if you don't seize it.

"..."

Siegfried was silent for a moment, bent down to pick up the Judgment of Shamash that had fallen to the ground, reassembled it into two pistols, hung them back on his waist, and asked in a low voice,

"Why are you with her?"

Why does this tone sound so strange?

Lin Wei grumbled inwardly, then replied matter-of-factly,

"Durandal flies fast, so I hitched a ride."

"I mean, why are you with someone from Schicksal?"

Siegfried asked in a deep voice.

No matter what, Lin Wei and a Schicksal S-rank Valkyrie appearing together and getting along so well was extremely unreasonable in the eyes of others.

Shouldn't you be enemies?

"Heh, I fought alongside Schicksal's Valkyries in Manila, and I have some friendships with them. Is that so strange?"

Lin Wei chuckled and replied matter-of-factly.

"Everything that happened here, you planned it, didn't you?"

After Durandal left, Siegfried felt a surge of inexplicable anger, questioning Lin Wei in a hostile tone,

"Why did you do this?"

"Siegfried, calm down first!"

Tesla saw that Siegfried was getting agitated and quickly pulled him,

"Listen to Lin Wei's explanation first. I believe he'll give you an answer!"

To be fair, Tesla was also dissatisfied with Lin Wei for this unwarranted disaster and wanted an explanation. But she didn't want any more conflict.

Lin Wei always seemed to be like this, doing excessive things, but always within a subtle range, making people extremely uncomfortable, yet not unbearable...

"Heh, hold on a second."

Lin Wei smiled noncommittally, then stepped back a few steps, gently placed the sleeping girl on the ground, took a black feather, and tapped it on her forehead, gently soothing her exhausted spirit after her extreme frenzy.

Then, Lin Wei put away the feather.

After waiting quietly for a moment, Yuno let out a soft groan and slowly opened her eyes.

"What do you want to do?"

Siegfried was on high alert, quickly gripping Judgment of Shamash with his remaining hand and shielding Tesla behind him.

As if awakened by this shout, Yuno abruptly stood up, immediately wanting to continue her unfinished fight with him.

Lin Wei gently patted her shoulder and said calmly,

"Alright, it's over."

Hearing this familiar voice, Yuno froze, completely remembering everything that had happened. She turned around with difficulty, looking at him pleadingly.

Facing the girl's silent plea, Lin Wei just shook his head and asked calmly,

"Do you remember our agreement?"

"..."

Yuno mumbled for a moment, and said unwillingly,

"I remember, but..."

"But Durandal has already left. If you go back to how you were just now, I don't have the ability to calm you down again," Lin Wei chuckled and said,

"Do you really want to go back to how you were just now?"

"I..."

Yuno hesitated.

She remembered her crazy, irrational, and completely unrestrained self just now. She had always been vaguely afraid of that side of herself, afraid that she would become a monster who completely lost her mind.

But now that she thought about it, she vaguely felt that it wasn't so bad?

Thinking of this, a dangerous smile appeared on Yuno's face.

"Cough..."

Lin Wei coughed lightly, instantly bringing her back to her senses.

"I..."

Yuno looked at Lin Wei uneasily, worried that he would hate her like this.

"That's just another side of you, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. After experiencing it once, you won't be so resistant and afraid anymore. The rest is just slowly learning to control that form and power, instead of being controlled by the power."

Lin Wei smiled reassuringly, then said seriously,

"But there's plenty of time for that. Now it's time to stop. Indulging too much will only harm you. So, I ask you, are you still willing to listen to me?"

"..."

Yuno was silent for a moment, her gaze wavering between Lin Wei and Siegfried, hesitating for a long time before finally making up her mind and nodding reluctantly.

After making this decision, her heart actually calmed down.

"Heh, good girl."

Lin Wei stroked her head, praising her with a smile, and signaled her to follow him.

Yuno lowered her head and obediently followed.

"I can answer your question now—"

After successfully calming her down, Lin Wei looked at Siegfried again with a calm smile, raised his arms slightly, and said frankly,

"As you can see, yes, I planned all of this."

"You bastard..."

Faced with this almost provocative answer, Siegfried became even angrier, Do you know what just happened here?

"What, were your losses really that serious?"

Lin Wei looked at the two of them, sneered,

"If you go to Manila and talk to Otto, you'll know that I've been very restrained!"

Einstein's voice came from the loudspeaker,

"Mr. Lin Wei, I know that the previous events have made you very dissatisfied with us, so..."

Lin Wei interrupted her, raising his voice slightly,

"Dr. Einstein, I have no complaints against you, I'm just disappointed."

Both scientists fell silent, feeling wronged but helpless.

Nagazora City, Manila, two bloody facts lay between them, leaving them speechless.

They indeed had to settle these accounts with Cocolia, but this was Anti-Entropy's internal affair. They didn't have the qualifications to expect outsiders to understand.

As the saying goes, "Every injustice has its perpetrator," and Anti-Entropy itself was the perpetrator...

But as a collaborator taken in by Anti-Entropy, Siegfried was still an outsider psychologically. So compared to the two scientists with their complicated feelings, his feelings were much more straightforward. He suppressed his anger and reprimanded in a low voice,

"You bastard, do you enjoy using other people to achieve your own goals so much?"

He just couldn't bring himself to like this guy named Lin Wei...

Whoa, this muscle-brained guy has learned to be clever, huh?

"Heh, esteemed Mr. Siegfried Kaslana, you're right. I am indeed exploiting the situation to achieve my own goals... but what of it?"

"After all, the trouble you've caused me is too great. Rather than shouldering it alone, it's better to share it with you... Don't worry, neither I nor Otto want to see anything happen to you. After all..."

Lin Wei sneered, his words carrying a double meaning,

"Overseer Otto cares much more about your precious daughter than you, her father! Didn't you ask me why I appeared with Durandal? That's the reason."

"You!"

Being so contemptuously humiliated with his sore spot, Siegfried became even more furious.

But Lin Wei seemed to ignore him, continuing to speak to himself,

"How interesting. What does the personal grudge between Yuno and Anti-Entropy have to do with you? If we hadn't arrived in time, tsk tsk tsk..."

Lin Wei clicked his tongue a few times, then chuckled and sighed,

"However, it's also thanks to you stepping forward that things didn't become truly irreversible. For Yuno, no matter the reason, having any blood on her hands is a burden she can't bear."

He admitted that his plan was indeed risky, with many uncontrollable factors. He was actually just betting that Anti-Entropy and Siegfried could hold on until he arrived.

Fortunately, they weren't so useless as to be completely vulnerable...

"Actually, I haven't finished what I wanted to do, but seeing how angry you are, Mr. Siegfried..."

Lin Wei carefully studied Siegfried's appearance, then suddenly changed the subject,

"By the way, you were seriously injured just now. Although Durandal healed you, I wonder if you're feeling alright now?"

Siegfried was so furious that he didn't think much before replying angrily,

"None of your business, I'm not dying!"

"Is that so? That's good."

Lin Wei smiled with satisfaction,

"In that case, I can finally return the gift you gave me last time..."

Without waiting for a response, Lin Wei turned to Yuno, smiled gently, and asked,

"Yuno, can you do me a favor?"

Yuno was stunned for a moment, then nodded quickly.

Lin Wei pointed at Siegfried,

"See him?"

"Beat him up!"