Fu Hua, based on Welt II's memories, knew the location where Anti-Entropy was storing the Gem of Serenity: in the underground warehouse of this very hotel.
Although Dr. Magi was a traitor, he still had a conscience. To prevent the gem from causing a Great Honkai Eruption, he led the group to the basement.
As they rushed along, Kiana, next to the panting Dr. Magi, hesitated before asking, "Dr. Magi, if after this... you're not dead... could you do me a favor?"
"Cough, cough, cough..." The running Dr. Magi was stunned by Kiana's question, lost his footing for a moment, and fell to the ground.
Dr. Magi picked himself up and sighed, "Has Schicksal already issued an execution order for me?"
"Do you want the truth or a lie?" Ryn lifted Dr. Magi from the ground and continued running towards the basement.
"No need to say it..." Dr. Magi shook his head. It seemed Otto had most likely marked him for death.
"Young lady, tell me your request! As long as I can do it, I'll do my best..."
Kiana looked at Dr. Magi with a determined gaze and said, "It's like this, my teacher's body has been severely eroded by Honkai energy, so I was wondering if your serum could help her..."
*Is it Himeko?* Ryn and Fu Hua, who were nearby, were momentarily taken aback.
It was a pity. Although Ryn could help Himeko by replacing her body parts, as long as Himeko didn't give up fighting and insisted on being on the front lines against the Honkai, she would still be eroded again, and each time would be more painful than the last...
"Heh... is that all?"
Dr. Magi laughed self-deprecatingly, then took out a red tube of serum marked "HSN-b46," identical to the one he had injected into Ryn and the others earlier.
"HSN-b46. You already know its effect, it neutralizes the Honkai energy in the human body... Alas, unfortunately, the manufacturing cost and price are too high for mass production."
With that, Dr. Magi turned to look at Ryn. He nodded in satisfaction at Ryn, this powerful and perfect Herrscher.
Then he looked at the androgynous Fu Hua, whose gender he couldn't determine. Although Dr. Magi didn't know Fu Hua, he gave a look of approval to the one who had taken down Welt II and possessed the Divine Key, Fenghuang Down.
"Ryn and Fu Hua, you can read and modify people's memories and cognition, right?"
"Mhm." Both Ryn and Fu Hua nodded.
Ryn read and modified memories by altering the brain's tissue structure, and Fu Hua's Fenghuang Down was much the same, manipulating what is called "consciousness" through subtle control over a living being.
"Hehe... I could sense it when I saw those people in the hall. After all, that bastard Otto also has Fenghuang Down... but he managed to persuade so many loyal followers with just his charisma and rhetoric... never mind that.
Ryn, Fu Hua, if you are to execute me, I have no objections. It's what I deserve. But before you kill me, I hope you will copy my research findings."
The Valkyrie Surgery, the MANTIS surgery, the modification of Divine Keys, the development of Heimdall, the creation of the Knight series... Dr. Magi had participated in and made significant contributions to almost everything worth mentioning.
But geniuses are always arrogant and eccentric. Otto didn't trust him, and he didn't trust Otto. After Dr. Magi defected, Otto gave him a chance to return to Schicksal, but Dr. Magi refused, so Otto was determined to kill him.
But research findings are innocent. If Dr. Magi died, these achievements would be lost forever, which would be a huge loss for all of humanity.
Unfortunately, Otto didn't care... and Cocolia was an idiot. She simply didn't understand the value of researchers...
Ryn and Fu Hua exchanged a glance, communicating silently.
Fu Hua: "The value of HSN-b46 may be far more important than we imagine. Otto might rescind the annihilation order."
Ryn: "Mhm, but just in case, you should copy his memories first. Then give me a copy of the copied data. What Otto decides to do with Dr. Magi is his business. We are the executioners, not the rulers; we don't need to concern ourselves with such matters."
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It only took the group a few minutes to reach the basement where the gem was stored.
Ryn kicked open the several-meter-thick blast door of the basement, revealing the situation inside to everyone.
The moment the door opened, Ryn immediately erected a Honkai energy shield, enveloping everyone.
Because the Honkai energy concentration in the room was so high that it had condensed into Honkai Crystals that filled the entire room, if Ryn had been any slower with the shield, Dr. Magi might have been instantly washed away by the Honkai energy and dissolved into white foam.
The crystal-blue Gem of Serenity floated among the numerous Honkai Crystals, emitting a soft glow.
"Tsk, good thing we came quickly. If we had been a few days later, a Great Honkai Eruption would probably have been triggered, destroying the entire city. You all wait outside, I'll go retrieve the gem."
Ryn clicked his tongue, then took out the mission item he had prepared in advance—a containment vessel for the Gem of Serenity—and walked straight towards it.
During the Second Honkai War, the Herrscher Core of the Second Herrscher, Sirin, was shattered into four gems: the Gem of Serenity, symbolizing the Authority of the Herrscher of Death; the Gem of Conquest, symbolizing the Authority of the Herrscher of Thunder; the Gem of Desire, symbolizing the gem of the Herrscher of Wind; and the Gem of Plague, symbolizing the energy of the Herrscher of Flamescion.
Only when the four gems were fused again, or when the Herrscher of the Void triggered another Great Honkai Eruption to re-condense the Herrscher Core, would the Herrscher of the Void's core reappear in the world. This meant that the Sirin in Kiana's body currently had no core and should not be able to use her Authority or manipulate space.
But rules were made to be broken. What's this about not being able to use Authority without a Herrscher Core? When Kiana was running around opening space portals and Sirin was using space to fight her, it didn't look like she couldn't use it at all.
Ryn easily broke apart the Honkai Crystals encasing the Gem of Serenity, took it out, and stuffed it into the containment box.
With the Gem of Serenity gone, the Honkai energy that filled the room suddenly went berserk. Ryn waved his hand, calming and suppressing it all.
Not to mention possessing a part of Janna's abilities, which made his control over Honkai energy almost absolute, his status as a Herrscher alone was enough to suppress this unruly, ownerless energy.
"Alright, mission complete~" Ryn, with his back to Kiana and the others, bent over and said with a smile, "Everyone, let's go for barbecue tonight!"
"Yay!" Kiana jumped for joy.
"Sigh, whatever!" Fu Hua shook her head, pressing a hand to her forehead.
Fu Hua had originally been looking forward to a thrilling special agent infiltration, where she would disguise herself to penetrate the enemy's inner circle, gather intelligence, fight her way through their ranks, and finally complete the mission in a blaze of glory.
But why did Ryn's involvement turn it into a deus ex machina, where he completed the recovery of the Gem of Serenity with a mere wave of his hand?!