Master Shifu, Why the Betrayal?!
"Can you analyze the specific cause?" Shu didn't want to keep dwelling on a fictional company, and cut straight to the chase, asking about the actual reasons.
"I've got some leads, but there's still too little information about the Honkai. I can't pinpoint the exact cause yet." Otto shook his head.
"But I can say one thing for sure: the reason the Honkai is evolving like this probably has nothing to do with this so-called Umbrella Corporation. The cause lies in some fundamental… errors."
"Errors, huh…" Shu pondered.
He'd already told Otto everything he knew about the Honkai, including the relationship between Honkai energy and Imaginary Energy, and the structure of the Tree and the Sea. The rest were countless examples that would take forever to explain.
Shu planned to slowly explain these things to everyone when he had some free time.
That's right, Shu was now certain that this world was barely related to the world of the original game. It wasn't some weird world bubble or some unknown civilization drowned in the Honkai.
Worst start ever, bar none.
So Shu no longer planned to hide anything. The original story wasn't some top-secret classified info. He might as well play the role of the Chang Gui and properly… cough cough… enlighten these people.
He would share information and let Otto find a way out for this civilization.
Shu was ready for all of this, but not right now.
His current primary goal was to grab what he needed and get back.
Thinking this, Shu looked down and realized that, while he was lost in thought, Otto had somehow finished his big bowl of food.
His speed was neck and neck with Kallen, who was also wolfing down her food. They both finished eating at almost the exact same time.
Even though Otto's eating motions were so elegant, the speed at which the food disappeared was just…
Look at Fu Hua, she still had more than half left!
Otto gracefully wiped the corner of his mouth with a paper napkin folded into a triangle, and smiling, handed his and Kallen's empty bowls to Shu.
Shu: "?"
Hey! You damn freeloader, you tempted me with food and now you want me to clean up your dishes?! Born evil, these Apocalypses…
"There's another portion in the kitchen, it's for you. When you go to get it, could you bring our bowls along? No need to wash them, okay?" Otto smiled warmly, his face full of gentle kindness.
"Sure thing!" Shu hopped up nimbly, grabbed the bowls, and headed to the kitchen.
All that physical exertion this morning really had made him a bit hungry.
And this was food made by Otto! Kiana and the others probably haven't even tasted it. He had to try and see what exactly this "Tiriri's Magical Cuisine" was all about!
He couldn't be trying to poison him here, right?!
Watching Shu leave, Otto turned his gaze away and looked at the half-broken wooden training dummy in the corner, falling into brief contemplation.
Those marks… among everyone Otto knew, no one could achieve that. Kallen and Kiana didn't have that kind of skill. Fu Hua might, but her physical stats were a bit lacking. Otto wasn't even sure if Fu Hua could do it at full power.
But right now, Kiana wasn't here, and Fu Hua and Kallen had been with him the whole time. Since they arrived at this dojo, only two people had come.
Li Sushang and Shu.
It couldn't possibly be that 7-year-old Li Sushang, already surpassed her master… right?
It seemed like Shu still had secrets… Why hide such power, though…?
Shu had forgotten all about it.
After Shu left, another person fell into thought – Li Sushang.
She'd tragically realized something.
Master Shifu and this bad guy might be in cahoots! Master Shifu had betrayed the dojo!
She was hesitating whether she should tell Fu Hua. She was a little scared that Fu Hua would side with Shu. If that happened, she'd really have to work hard for thirty years, maybe even thirty-one!
Li Sushang counted on her fingers.
"One, two, two, three… thirty-five, thirty-six… Whoa! In thirty-one years, I'll actually be thirty-seven years old! Wouldn't that make me even older than Master Shifu is now by one, two, two…"
Li Sushang confused herself with her own counting, but she knew that by the time she got her revenge, the power dynamic would have shifted from bullying the small to bullying the old.
No, wait, she'd be old by then too!
Imagining thirty years without touching her beloved sword, watching her beloved sword become tainted with someone else's scent and color, turning into someone else's sword…
No way! Noooooo!!!
Li Sushang went into meltdown. She couldn't accept this ending!
Give me back my sword… give it back!
Screw it!
"Um, Master Shifu…" Li Sushang took a deep breath and spoke hesitantly.
"Hm?" Fu Hua, the one Li Sushang was pinning her hopes on, looked puzzled. "What is it, Sushang?"
"That, that guy…" Li Sushang didn't know how to refer to Shu for a moment.
She just remembered that Shu hadn't told her his name yet, while she'd already told Shu hers…
Aaaah! As expected of a sly adult!!
How did Master Shifu and Big Sister Kallen call that person just now? Shu… Shu something?
"Are you talking about Shu?" Fu Hua realized who Li Sushang meant, and couldn't help but smile wryly.
Daring to speak up only after Shu left, it couldn't be anything good.
"Did Shu bully you?" Fu Hua glanced at the wrecked wooden dummy in the corner. She had the same question: why did Shu hide such power?
But Shu must have his reasons for doing so, and Fu Hua didn't want to pry.
Shu really had forgotten.
Thinking about it, Li Sushang didn't seem like the kind of kid who would demand compensation for a broken wooden dummy. After all, Li Sushang usually used free wooden training posts for sword practice. If it was about compensation, Li Sushang would owe a ton.
Wait… Sushang today seems a bit off…
Fu Hua narrowed her eyes, "Sushang, where's your sword?"
Stabbed right in her weak spot, Li Sushang's eyes instantly welled up with tears. Ignoring whether Fu Hua would "help the evildoer," she threw herself into Fu Hua's arms.
"Waaaaah! Master Shifu! That bad guy won my sword from me!!"
Li Sushang didn't say "snatched" or "robbed." She wouldn't make false accusations!!
Fu Hua was stunned. Otto, who had been in contemplation, stopped thinking and started watching the drama unfold.
"Huh? Shu actually stole something from a kid?!" Kallen looked shocked, then her expression became conflicted. "No way, Shu seemed like a nice guy…"
"This might be what they mean in Shenzhou by 'you can know a person's face but not their heart'…" Otto, never one to miss a chance to stir the pot, immediately threw more fuel on the fire.
Shu, returning with food: "?"
What's going on? When did I steal something from a kid? Wasn't it a fair and square "win"?!
Also, how many "nice guy" cards have I collected now?