Outside the main entrance of the Fire Moth's ARC City headquarters, two figures appeared almost shoulder-to-shoulder on the long flight of stairs.
The distance between them was maintained very subtly. A one-meter gap was the safe distance where they wouldn't have to communicate much, and they didn't keep a further distance because both were clenching their fists at this very moment.
A one-meter distance was just enough for a backhand punch to the other's face.
At the entrance of the Fire Moth, Otto stood at the forefront. He had changed into a proper Overseer uniform, his blonde hair appearing immaculate under the base's lighting.
Not much emotion could be seen on his face, only a focused scrutiny.
The two people standing by his side, however, gave the main Shu a slight peace of mind.
Bianka wore a Valkyrie battlesuit specially crafted for her by Otto, her posture as straight as a spear, her azure eyes locked firmly on the two people obediently climbing the stairs.
Although there was unstoppable suspicion in her eyes, she maintained a combat stance, like an insurmountable wall of sighs, faintly surrounded by a frost mist originating from Honkai Beast genes.
On Otto's other side was Sirin, holding the "Scepter" that had just stood the two up with an attitude not long ago. At Sirin's feet, a yellow cloth rabbit that made Shu's face ache just looking at it stood with arms akimbo, glaring fiercely at the two "Demon Kings."
The Scepter had now returned to its usual "docility," lying quietly in the crook of the bewildered Sirin's arm, flowing with a peaceful and restrained colorful shimmer, starkly different from the violent and chaotic appearance under the contest of the two Shus earlier.
I see.
Was this part of the reliance Otto dared to use to let him bring the other [Self] back?
When setting up automatic protection and emergency protocols for the "Scepter," Shu had indeed considered extreme situations—such as the Scepter being forcibly taken by other Herrschers, or his connection with the Scepter being temporarily blocked by shameless means like the Canopy of Desire.
For this reason, he specially set up a "backup control authority" for the Scepter.
And the candidate could only be Sirin.
As the primary vessel of the former Herrscher of Dream, even though she had lost her Herrscher Core, she still retained some residual [Dream] authority.
She was the only person in the entire Fire Moth besides Shu himself who could potentially use part of the Scepter's power in an emergency.
...Perhaps... maybe Bianka could be added too?
Shu really hadn't tested whether Bianka could use the Scepter with her cooperation. Theoretically, with Bianka's outrageous talent and certain unspeakable relationship with Shu, perhaps she really could forcibly bear the Scepter.
But it certainly wouldn't be as "compatible" and "safe" as Sirin.
The significance of Sirin appearing here holding the Scepter was self-evident. Otto brought the two of them here definitely not to welcome him.
The number of people in the Fire Moth capable of intervening in a battle of Shu's level could be counted on one hand—at most four.
Sirin holding the Scepter, the MANTIS Bianka, Kiana wearing the "Key of Blankness," and Fu Hua wielding the Xuanyuan Sword...
Among these four... Fu Hua had just detached from the timeline of the past, and Kiana was even more of a heavyweight. Among all the civil and military officials, only Sirin and Bianka, who just found out she could also use the Scepter, were left available.
But two people were enough.
With the two of them present, even if the two Shus clashed again, they possessed the ability to intervene immediately, or at least delay, and even create variables.
Even in the worst-case scenario, the real Shu would bear the main pressure of confrontation, while Sirin and Bianka would be the key supports for victory.
The safety baseline was temporarily stabilized.
Shu felt just a tiny bit more stable in his heart.
Otto really wouldn't disappoint... at least that seemed to be the case so far.
Then there was only one question left—how to distinguish the difference between the two?
The two Shus looked at Otto in unison, and Otto took a step forward meeting their gazes, spreading his hands calmly to them.
"Welcome back, although the situation is a bit... special."
Watching the stagnation appear on the two Shus' faces almost simultaneously, he silently lowered his spread hands and made a "please" gesture instead.
"For everyone's sake, including the safety and future of you two yourselves, we need to conduct a thorough 'verification.'
"I will use all currently available technical means to try to find any formal 'difference' that may exist between you two."
The journey to Otto's laboratory gradually shortened in a suffocating silence.
Passing through corridors cleared of idlers in advance, they arrived in front of the dedicated encrypted elevator.
The interior space of the Heliopolis Life Sciences Pharmaceutical elevator was definitely not narrow, but when it needed to accommodate Otto, Bianka, Sirin, and two Shus with full auras glaring at each other like tigers, almost ready to pull each other's hair, the sense of space immediately became cramped.
Otto stepped in first, standing in front of the control panel.
Bianka followed closely, standing to Otto's side and rear, her body slightly turned towards the inside of the elevator, maintaining the best angle for observation and response.
Sirin, holding the Scepter, followed somewhat awkwardly beside Bianka, subconsciously looking for a less "conspicuous" position.
The two Shus stopped simultaneously at the elevator door.
They both saw that the remaining space inside the elevator, roughly using Otto and the control panel as the center line, could barely fit one person on each side, but the distance between them... would definitely not exceed one meter.
The air seemed to freeze for a few more seconds.
Their expressions didn't seem to change much, but in reality, from the moment they saw each other, both their faces had darkened like the bottom of a pot.
That gloominess, like dark clouds pressing down on a city, caused even their restrained energy to leak out a trace involuntarily.
Clearly, they were extremely resistant to being in the same room with each other at such close range, especially with others in this small space.
But under Otto's calm gaze, under Bianka's silent gaze, and under the faint "gaze" of the Scepter in Sirin's arms, any protest or request to enter in batches seemed childish and could trigger unnecessary suspicion.
Almost simultaneously, the two stepped forward.
Left foot, right foot, stride length, landing point... precise as honor guards at a parade.
They entered from both sides of the elevator door respectively, occupying the space on Otto's left and right hands, then turned simultaneously to face the elevator door.
Standing straight, hands still half-clenched into fists ready to smash the other's face, both focused their gazes on the other, full of warning, trying to deter the other from thinking of pulling any tricks.
Then the next moment, their eyes turned into shock that said, "You dare act all high and mighty to remind me?!"
The smell of gunpowder seemed even stronger.
Sandwiched between the two, Otto had fallen into silence. He suddenly started to feel that maybe he really should have let these two have a serious fight first to lower their tempers.
He felt that if these two guys really started fighting, they might take advantage of the chaos to each give him a punch.