"No, no, no! I absolutely have no such intention!" Ming Yu hurriedly waved his hands, defending himself.
"Due to certain irresistible reasons, I cannot be completely honest about my past. If we are just ordinary friends, digging into the roots of things is not conducive to getting along; maintaining a certain amount of personal space is beneficial for the relationship. But for any organization that pursues rigor and stability, such an existence would be a hidden danger."
Especially for Theresa, the timing of Ming Yu's appearance was too coincidental. Coupled with the fact that she should also understand the value of "Kiana" and the Third Herrscher, it was even more impossible for her to completely let her guard down around Ming Yu.
This had nothing to do with Theresa's personal feelings towards Ming Yu; it was simply her responsibility as the supreme commander of the Far East Branch that required her not to let any suspicious person go.
Although it would be a good thing for Ming Yu if he could gain complete trust, in the long run, wouldn't following an unreliable boss be even more dangerous?
Just thinking about how Theresa was instantly defeated by Rita when Fu Hua captured Kiana, Ming Yu couldn't help but worry about his own future. She was an S-rank Valkyrie, for crying out loud! She was taken down so cleanly without even being able to pull out her weapon, Judah. The S-rank Valkyrie title was probably for Judah, wasn't it!
"Because of the Divine Key's existence, the organization cannot ignore me and treat me as an ordinary low-level member. But because of my origins and identity, the organization cannot trust me and treat me as a normal core member."
Ming Yu raised his head and stared into Fu Hua's calm eyes, saying, "In the current situation, my search for the Celestial's traces is not without the intention of seeking protection. But for anyone living in Shenzhou, the Celestial is a respectable existence, so no matter what choice you make, I have no right to object."
With that, Ming Yu lowered his eyelids. The cards were on the table. Just as he said, whatever choice Fu Hua made, he could only accept it, without any right to refuse.
For Ming Yu to say such words was indeed a bit shameless. He offered no promises, paid no price, yet he was asking Fu Hua, with whom he was not well-acquainted, to vouch for him in front of Otto.
If he caused trouble in the future, the first person the Overseer would hold responsible would be Fu Hua. Although they were allies and Otto couldn't be too harsh on her, it would still be an embarrassing situation.
For any normal person, the pros and cons of this matter were simple and clear. Vouching for Ming Yu offered no personal benefit to Fu Hua; on the contrary, it would damage her credibility with Otto to some extent.
After all, from what has been revealed so far, Ming Yu knows a lot, and his own strength is not enough to protect these secrets. An innocent man gets into trouble for his wealth. This was not a good thing for him.
But Fu Hua was, after all, not an ordinary person. As a Celestial, her thoughts and considerations were not from her personal standpoint, but from the perspective of the human race. What was not beneficial for the identity of "Fu Hua" was not necessarily so for "Hua," so she did not immediately express her attitude.
"As you said, I am not completely subordinate to Schicksal, so your origins and identity are not essential for me to know, and prying into others' privacy is not my wish. However, why should I believe you?" Fu Hua said faintly, her tone impartial, neither approving nor mocking, as if she were merely stating a simple fact—which it indeed was.
"When it comes to trust, everyone looks for different things. I don't know what is important to a Celestial," Ming Yu shook his head gently, not giving an immediate answer.
After some thought, he asked in return, "Class Monitor, do you know the full story of the Third Honkai Eruption that happened in Nagazora?"
Fu Hua was slightly taken aback, then nodded lightly, "I know some of it, but not much. According to intelligence, this eruption seems to have been man-made."
Originally, the Far East Branch had obtained the firsthand information and was responsible for transmitting these precious materials to headquarters immediately. But Theresa clearly had other ideas and did not submit all the intelligence to headquarters. Therefore, the intelligence Fu Hua obtained through headquarters was not very detailed, only slightly better than that of an average Valkyrie.
"Is that so? It seems I know a bit more then." Ming Yu sighed and continued in a somewhat lamenting tone, "Your intelligence is correct. This eruption was caused by Cocolia of Anti-Entropy. I'm not very clear on the specific details, but it seems she implanted a high-concentration Honkai Energy crystal into Raiden Mei's body and triggered the Honkai Eruption by detonating the Honkai Energy within that crystal. Using the million-strong population of Nagazora as a sacrifice, she created the Third Herrscher—the Herrscher of Thunder."
Ming Yu didn't reveal everything he knew; at the very least, he didn't mention Cocolia's reasons for doing so, and even his description of the Gem of Conquest was somewhat vague.
Going too far is as bad as not going far enough. Too much detailed information would arouse suspicion; a slight bit of holding back would lower his threat level.
Moreover, the information he had revealed so far could be easily investigated, at least for Otto it wouldn't be a difficult task.
"In that eruption, I was lucky to survive, becoming that one in a million. But what about next time?" Ming Yu shook his head gently and sighed, "To this day, I still remember the fear of Nagazora. An empty city, filled with Honkai Zombies and Honkai Beasts everywhere. It was a scene from hell."
"I don't want to die in a sudden Honkai Eruption in the future, nor do I want to die because of some higher-up's greed. I just want to live, in a peaceful and stable way," Ming Yu stared into Fu Hua's calm blue eyes and said, one word at a time.
This goal was neither noble nor great, but it was very real.
In fact, Ming Yu could have said some nice things to win Fu Hua's approval, but he felt it was unnecessary. He sincerely believed that Fu Hua was a person worthy of respect, and these small lies would only seem redundant in front of the Celestial.
Ming Yu constantly reminded himself never to underestimate the Celestial who had lived for fifty thousand years. Such a person's wisdom and experience were enough to school him eighteen times over. To show off such petty tricks in front of the Celestial, was he treating her like a fool?
Hearing Ming Yu's words, Fu Hua frowned slightly. She wasn't very satisfied with this answer. As someone also chosen by a Divine Key, she hoped Ming Yu's focus could be a bit higher. But everyone has their own ambitions, and this was ultimately not something that could be forced.
Looking at the 12th Divine Key in Ming Yu's hand, Fu Hua thought again of what Otto had told her about the data space, and she pondered it carefully.
Finally, Fu Hua slowly opened her mouth, and a thousand thoughts turned into a single sentence: "I accept your explanation, and I can take responsibility for all of this with the Overseer."
Although most parts of the world remained stable, when the Honkai descends, no one can remain aloof. As long as Ming Yu still held such thoughts, Fu Hua wasn't worried that he wouldn't stand against the Honkai.
Besides, it was much better for the Divine Key to remain in the hands of someone like Ming Yu than in the hands of a madman like Otto.
As for Otto's plan, she just needed to do what she was supposed to do. What did any potential changes caused by the 12th Divine Key have to do with her, Fu Hua?