Honkai, why do you only throw me into high-level battles?

"Like this… then this… and then like this… Any other questions?"

"No, thank you, Pardo."

"Hee hee hee, you're too polite, Hua! You've been such a good customer, of course I gotta give you my best service! Hee hee, if you have any more questions, just give me a call, and I'll be right there to solve all your problems!" A petite catgirl enthusiastically promoted her wares to Hua, her fluffy tail swaying back and forth, expressing her owner's delight at a successful sale.

"If that's all, I'll be going now!"

"Yes, take care." Hua bid Pardo farewell, then her expression suddenly changed.

"Hee hee hee, another profitable day!" Pardo counted her money as she walked, her steps light and silent. Suddenly, she yelped, "Whoa!" Her fur stood on end, and she bolted.

"Hold it right there! Where do you think you're going?!"

Several chains shot out, wrapping tightly around the catgirl's wrists and ankles, then retracting rapidly, pulling her back.

"Waaaaah! Help… Help me!"

A black cross erupted from the ground, a small, pitiful, and helpless catgirl tied to it, crying out for help. She struggled, but her outstretched arms were bound tightly.

"Boss Lin Wei, hee hee, there must be some misunderstanding… Let's talk this over… Waaah… Let me go, and I'll never do it again…" Seeing Lin Wei approaching with a dark expression, Pardo forced a smile, attempting to explain, but quickly gave up and begged for mercy.

She was panicking. What's going on? I'm usually so good at sensing danger, how did I get caught so easily?

"Lin Wei, what are you…?" Hua started to intervene, but hesitated, afraid of hurting Pardo and trusting that Lin Wei wouldn't go too far. By the time she had decided to act, Pardo was already bound in a crucifix pose.

She still didn't understand why Lin Wei had suddenly attacked Pardo.

"I've been putting up with you for a long time, Pardo…" Lin Wei walked over to the black cross, his face dark, looking up slightly at Pardo, who was now almost at eye level with him.

Although her feet were dangling in the air.

"It's all my fault! Boss Lin Wei, you're so magnanimous, so forgiving, you have the heart of a… uh… what's that saying again… Anyway, put me down first, and we can talk this over, okay? …Hua! Hua! For old times' sake, please tell Boss Lin Wei to spare me!"

Pardo squeezed out a strained smile, her tail swaying anxiously, her survival instincts kicking into overdrive as she desperately searched her limited vocabulary for the right words.

"Meow…" A fat orange cat gracefully jumped onto the top of the cross, looking down at Lin Wei and Hua. It tilted its head, looking at Pardo curiously, unsure what its owner was doing.

After a couple of seconds, it gave up and settled down comfortably, licking its paws.

"Waaah! Can! What are you doing, run! Go get Elysia and Boss Kevin, hurry, it's too… Wait, Can, what are you doing?!" Pardo urged Can to get help, then watched in horror as Lin Wei produced a black cat teaser from somewhere. The fat cat was completely captivated.

After playing with the cat for a bit, Lin Wei turned his attention back to the pleading Pardo.

The moment their eyes met, he saw Pardo flinch, her cat ears perking up.

Lin Wei sighed inwardly. I know you're cowardly, but this is ridiculous.

I'm cowardly enough as it is, but you're a Flame-Chaser! How can you be even more cowardly than me?

"Don't you think you've gone a bit too far…?" Lin Wei dangled the cat teaser in front of Pardo, her large, round eyes following its movement.

"Those wooden sticks Hua uses, the bricks she makes me stand on, the sandbags, the weights… aren't those all from you?"

Lin Wei had been waiting for this opportunity. If he couldn't deal with Hua, he could at least deal with Pardo.

"Oh, you mean those? Boss Lin Wei, it's a misunderstanding! A huge misunderstanding!" Hearing Lin Wei's accusation, Pardo's racing heart calmed down a bit. She quickly put on a serious expression, intending to thump her chest reassuringly, but forgot her hands were tied.

She puffed out her chest instead, explaining earnestly, "It's all for your own good! Think about it, how can Hua train you properly without any equipment? You need training tools to be effective! I'm just… helping Hua out? Hee hee, yes, that's right, helping her out!"

"Oh really?"

"Is that why you sell her one wooden stick a day?" Lin Wei asked through gritted teeth, pointing to the pile of bricks nearby that could build half a wall. "And all that other stuff you bundle with it?"

"Well, they're consumables, Boss Lin Wei! Think about it, you're improving so quickly, those things won't be enough in a few days! I have to stock up, you know! It's not easy to gather all these things!" Pardo complained, trying to justify herself.

"Is that so? Then what about this?" Lin Wei pointed at Hua, more specifically, the retractable police baton she was holding, probably stolen from some police station.

Imagining Hua using that thing on him sent shivers down his spine. He glared at Pardo.

"Ahahaha, well… about that…" Pardo's smile turned awkward. After a moment of stammering, she had a sudden inspiration. "What's that saying again? Upselling! Look, Hua has been such a good customer, of course I have to recommend the best products!"

Even she didn't believe her own words.

In the end, Hua intervened, asking Lin Wei to release Pardo.

Lin Wei gave Pardo a resigned look and beckoned with his hand. The black cross shimmered, merging with the cat teaser, transforming into a black box that landed in his hand and vanished.

The moment she was free, Pardo scooped up Can and ran, shouting, "Thanks, Hua! Bye, Boss Lin Wei!" Her voice faded quickly, the last few words barely audible.

"Seriously, how much money do you even have? Can you afford Pardo's constant price gouging?" Lin Wei felt sorry for the naive Hua. She was too trusting, believing everything Pardo said.

If it were the Fu Hua he knew, she would be the one swindling Pardo!

The current Fu Hua is incredibly cunning, Lin Wei thought, remembering how she had even resorted to using seduction!

The nerve!

"It's fine. For us memories, money has lost its meaning," Hua said, shaking her head indifferently. Besides, she didn't think she had spent that much.

After all, Eden had given her quite a few valuable gifts over the years.

"Alright…" Lin Wei didn't understand the disparity between their worlds and simply assumed Hua wasn't listening.

"By the way, you shouldn't reveal your Divine Key so readily." Hua's expression turned serious.

"It's like 'a child carrying gold through the marketplace.' You're still weak. You should learn to be patient and humble, not rely on the power of a Divine Key to act recklessly. It's not a power you can fully control yet. External objects are just that, external. Don't become complacent or overly reliant on them."

Hua's words were gentle, but her meaning was clear. She was warning him.

Lin Wei listened attentively. He understood her concern and accepted her advice.

"You're right. I've been getting carried away. Compared to reality, life here is too comfortable. I've become complacent without realizing it." He admitted his mistake. Unlike his previous life-or-death struggles, the Elysian Realm was a peaceful haven.

After Yae Sakura's awakening and obtaining Pandora, he had become somewhat arrogant.

After all, how many Divine Keys were there in the world?

He had achieved all this through his own efforts. Couldn't he be a little proud?

Hua was telling him, NO.

"This Elysian Realm is not as peaceful as it appears. The shadows and darkness of the Flame-Chasers still linger here. I can't say too much, but you mustn't let your guard down. Moreover, whether in the Elysian Realm or the real world, having a hidden card is always beneficial."

This was truly valuable advice. Lin Wei expressed his gratitude.

After a moment of hesitation, he finally asked the question that had been on his mind. "Did RIN… cause any damage to the Elysian Realm?"

RIN's gift was too generous. If anything bad had happened, he felt obligated to take responsibility.

He summoned Pandora again. He didn't want to hide anything from Hua.

After all, Hua held a special place in his heart, unlike the other Flame-Chasers.

The real Fu Hua, besides Yae Sakura, who was now a stigma, was the only one who knew all his secrets, his only true friend in this world.

Hua watched as Lin Wei unhesitatingly demonstrated the twelfth Divine Key, shifting it between its various forms –

A massive black cross stood between them, humming as thirteen sharp black spears materialized around it.

Then, it transformed into a giant black lance, which then split into two – one black, and the other…

Even blacker.

Lin Wei stepped forward, grasping a lance in each hand. With a flick of his wrists, they transformed into two uniquely shaped black pistols.

The pistols combined, becoming a greatsword wreathed in black flames.

Under Hua's watchful gaze, Lin Wei swung the greatsword effortlessly. It looked heavy, but felt as light as wood in his hands.

He then held the greatsword horizontally, and it transformed again, becoming a railgun crackling with electricity, then a katana.

Lin Wei mimicked Yae Sakura's sheathing motion, and the Divine Key vanished, returning to its form as a quiet black box.

He felt he could do more, but there was no need.

He had long been awed by Pandora. He was more concerned about other matters. He looked at Hua seriously. "Hua, tell me the truth. Did RIN devour a part of the Elysian Realm?"

He suspected she might have consumed half of it!

Corrosion, expansion, replication, mimicry – these were the powers of the Herrscher of Corruption. The virus was just her outward manifestation.

It made sense. If the current Herrscher of Corruption could corrupt and mimic the Flame-Chasers' data, why couldn't the more powerful Herrscher of Corruption from the Previous Era do the same?

As long as she could corrupt the data, she could achieve it, even if both she and her target were Divine Keys.

And the Elysian Realm had no shortage of Divine Keys!

RIN must have done something to the Elysian Realm, something significant!

After all, the amount of data and resources required for the Divine Key to perform the transformations he had just demonstrated was astronomical, especially the ability to mimic other Divine Keys.

And then there was the Zeroth Power output, which only he could activate…

Her gift was too precious, too heavy a burden. He couldn't accept it without knowing the truth.

"You needn't feel burdened, successor." Hua admired his sense of responsibility. Such a person would make a reliable comrade or friend. 

"As far as I know, RIN… she only absorbed the accumulated redundant data from the past fifty thousand years. She didn't cause any damage to the Elysian Realm itself. That data was difficult to purge and had simply been piling up. RIN's absorption of it is actually beneficial to the Realm's operation. I've confirmed this with the other Flame-Chasers and the Realm's administrator. You don't need to worry."

Then, after a moment of hesitation, she added, "However, she seems to have taken something from Dr. Mobius. It infuriated her. I don't know what it was. But don't worry about Dr. Mobius. Kevin is keeping a close eye on her. She won't have a chance to harm you."

Lin Wei's lips twitched. He knew what it was – the Herrscher of Corruption's core.

Dr. Mobius's prized possession, hidden for fifty thousand years, had been confiscated by its rightful owner.

No wonder she was furious!

But Lin Wei was relieved. He didn't want RIN to do anything that would harm herself for his sake.

The Elysian Realm was RIN's home, and he wanted to protect it for her.

Therefore, he would never use Pandora's "virus" function here.

That was a weapon he would only unleash in the real world.

Lin Wei raised his hand, admiring the quiet Pandora – a deep, magnificent, beautiful black.

It wasn't evil, it was beautiful, wasn't it?

Suddenly, he thought of the Void Archives, the golden box in Otto's possession.

They were very similar, weren't they?

Coincidentally, both the golden box and the black box were once Schicksal's assets.

And even more coincidentally, the golden box was obtained by Otto, and the black box was taken by Kallen…

A strange smile touched Lin Wei's lips as a peculiar thought occurred to him –

The black box, in a sense, was Kallen's legacy. And now, it belonged to him…

He wondered how Otto would react if he knew.