K424 of the Collapse World

Shilis said as she slowly leaned down.

"I suppose you have something to say to me, Miss Charlotte?"

Continuing to look down at the red-haired girl lying at her feet, Shirley made a slight operation on her terminal. Charlotte's electronic collar made a slight sound and entered standby mode, and Charlotte also regained her ability to move.

"..."

Silently propping herself up, Charlotte curled up her legs and sat on the cracked metal floor. She raised her head and looked at the girls in front of her. After a brief hesitation, she relaxed her body.

The moment she regained her freedom, Charlotte had thought about attacking the silver-haired girl in front of her and taking her hostage to escape. However, thinking of the other party's genuine Herrscher power, she could only give up this unrealistic idea, lowered her head slightly, and acted obediently.

"No... not really, Lady Shilis."

"Hehe... who knows. Among the Anti-Entropy Organization's fighters, your strength should be considered one of the best. If I fought you before I became a true Herrscher, I'm afraid I would definitely lose."

Bending down and squatting, keeping her eyes at the same height as Charlotte's, Shirley looked directly into the girl's eyes and said, the smile on her face gradually disappeared and her expression became serious.

"You'll try to escape, which means you don't want to be locked up here until the end of the world, right? Since your escape plan has failed, why don't we talk about it... After all, there's no point in keeping you locked up like this, right?"

"Eh...? How can I help?

Yours, Lady Silis?"

Facing the red-haired girl's confused and cute response, Shiris just smiled back and spoke again patiently.

"I just said that you are very strong, and it would be a waste to leave you here. Even if you are a criminal, you can still be used to make use of your labor value while serving your sentence. So I think, instead of leaving you here to rot, why not find another way to solve the problem between us?"

496 The Fate of the Traitors >>

"..."

Charlotte's eyes were stern, but before she could say anything, Shirley's cold voice sounded again.

"By the way, Cocolia, who was once allied with you, is now a teacher at St. Freya Academy. As long as there are suitable conditions, there is no contract that cannot be reached. To put it bluntly, I want to use you - use the fangs of the 'Devil Wolf Fenrir' to bite off the throat of the 'Lord' of 'Honkai'! If you are willing to accept it, as a condition of the deal, if you are willing to abandon your dignity and face us so humbly to achieve that goal, I will also consider helping you..."

Hearing this, Charlotte's eyes finally changed. The pretended weakness and gentleness disappeared instantly, and the sharp eyes like a wolf or a tiger appeared in her vertical pupils again.

"you......?!"

"Don't rush to give me an answer. I haven't finished yet... Because you are a betrayer of Anti-Entropy, and I can't trust you completely. So, even if we can reach a consensus, I will not lift the restrictions on you just in case. Are you willing to accept such conditions?"

"Humph, you can only feel at ease if you tie up the wolf with a chain... But it doesn't matter! Silis Kaslana, as long as you are willing to agree to let me save Lucia, no matter what the conditions are, I can..."

"Stop, wait a minute. Don't be so anxious to give me an answer. I have to go see Raiden Ryoma now. It will take about half an hour. Take this time to think about what to do in the future. Give me the answer when I come back. However, I have something to say in advance... Although I have given you this opportunity, I will not forgive a second betrayal, absolutely not."

When she said the last sentence, the aura of Shirley suddenly became dangerous. The terrifying pressure from the Herrscher made Charlotte's body tremble, and her sharp amber eyes also slightly dissipated in an instant.

After saying this, Shilis walked straight past Charlotte, came to the corner of the isolation room, and stood in front of the huddled young man.

"Young man, you are very brave... You dare to blatantly betray a violent armed organization and even dare to accept the Houkai energy of a Judgment-level Houkai beast? You look like a high school student, right? Who gave you the courage to do such a thing, Suzuki-kun?"

"..."

In response to the girl's question, which was more mocking than questioning, Suzuki remained silent, but curled up his body even more and stuffed himself into the corner. Shiris could clearly see that the young man's body was trembling slightly.

The pressure from the Herrscher that he had just released also had an impact on this young man. Moreover, he should have been prepared to bear the consequences, but he was still afraid of his unknown fate. This was in line with the psychology of ordinary people and was indeed normal.

"You want to get the power to destroy the Honkai beast, so you trade with this stupid wolf, right?"

"..."

"It's okay if you don't say anything. I'll take it as your acquiescence. Now, I'm sorry to tell you that not everyone can withstand the power of Honkai! Not to mention that men are naturally less adaptable to Honkai than women, even if a gifted Valkyrie is asked to withstand the power of a Judgment-level Honkai beast, the probability of successful fusion will not exceed 1.4%! This is the data obtained by the Destiny Organization through countless bloody experiments. You should know how low this probability is."

Seeing the young man shiver violently, Shirley smiled coldly and threw out a cruel fact again.

"Moreover, even if you succeed by chance, if your body adapts to the Houkai energy but your will cannot resist the erosion, you will most likely become a 'Honk Beast with wisdom' instead of a 'human who masters the power of Houkai'. Do you understand the difference between the two?"

"I......"

Ignoring the young man who was about to speak but stopped talking, Shilis glanced at Yuno who was still imprisoned in the next compartment. Facing the hatred and anger of the girl, Shilis could naturally see that a being like her was the so-called "smart Honkai beast". However, compared to the Honkai beast, Yuno was obviously a little more advanced. After all, she was a pseudo-hersr who was truly loyal to Honkai...

"According to the wartime treatment method of ME, the heaviest punishment should be waiting for you, such as erasing your personality and memory to make you a tool, or using your limbs as experimental materials... Well~ Although the leader and the conservative upper echelons are definitely against such inhumane practices, in a large organization like Anti-Entropy, where the superiors have difficulty in inspecting the lower units, there are many such methods. No matter which one, it is more painful than death. Having said that

, but based on what you did, even if Walter handles it personally, he won't show mercy. You should have guessed the outcome like this."

Having said that, Hillary paused, and seeing the young man's face darken again, she suddenly changed the subject, her tone becoming a little joking.

"But! If I want, I can change this ending. Just now, what you said to Charlotte interested me a little bit..."

"...?"

"You just said to Charlotte, 'No matter what I become, I am willing to obtain the power of Honkai?' Is that right? Your words have reminded me... From ancient times to the present, women have a strong adaptability to Honkai, resulting in the majority of Knights of Destiny and Warriors of Shenzhou being women. Men who are born with stronger physical fitness and aggressiveness rarely play a role in fighting Honkai... So can this result be changed by adjusting the Y chromosome and genes in the later stage? Cocolia happens to be here, she should be very skilled in this area..."

Shirley spoke to the young man, but it was more like she was talking to herself than explaining.

"Well~~ To put it simply, I'm going to let you conduct a human experiment. If everything goes well, you may be able to achieve your wish of becoming stronger. Of course, there are certain costs. If you don't want to be a test animal, you can choose to refuse and accept your original punishment."

"I......"

"Don't rush to tell me the answer. Just like Charlotte, wait until I finish my work, come back in half an hour, and then tell me your decision."

Shirley waved her hand and turned away, leaving the young man staring blankly at her frail back.

Then, seeing what the girl was saying to the leader of the processing troops and the other party's extremely respectful attitude, the young man finally couldn't help but speak out.

"Um! Who are you?"

"Me? The eleventh Ruler, Silis Kaslana. I'm also one of the Anti-Entropy Executors. I still have a say in the ME Company, so don't worry about the validity of my opinion."

After saying this, Shirley didn't even glance at the dazed Suzuki anymore and walked straight towards the exit of the isolation room.

"Then I'll go ahead. Bella, Sakura, while I'm away, please keep an eye on that wolf loli. I don't think she'll dare to act rashly... Anyway, I'm counting on you~"

497 Intermission

Among the ruins on the outskirts of the city, in some areas that have not yet been thoroughly cleaned up, rustling sounds can be heard constantly.

This is the sound of the activities of Honkai creatures. You can never guess whether among the wreckage of a relatively intact building there are broken bricks and tiles, or large Honkai beasts quietly waiting for their prey to come.

Unlike lower-level Honkai creatures that kill only on instinct, Temple-level and even Plankton-level Honkai beasts not only have more terrible destructive power, but also have a stronger hunting consciousness, as cunning as real hunters. If there is no organization to intervene when the Honkai breaks out in Changkong City, I am afraid that it will only take half a day for the entire city to become a dead city.

In the alleys filled with rubble and cracks in the walls, human figures in tattered clothes staggered and wandered, and from time to time, they let out waves of meaningless dry howls from their throats. This was the most common scene in the ruins of Changkong City. Although the streets had been cleared by combat troops, such low-level dead soldiers were everywhere in the cracks of the city, and they were not so easy to clear out. The collapse could transform the body cells of the dead soldiers so that they would not rot like normal corpses. Therefore, even after a year, these still existing collapsed creatures were still the most dangerous enemies of the survivors.

Even though the Herrscher had been silenced, the aftermath of the Honkai disaster still made it impossible for the city to recover and rebuild. Apart from other things, the number of citizens who died in the Honkai disaster alone was as high as millions. And such a number of people, who were transformed into zombie-like dead soldiers under the influence of Honkai energy, naturally also amounted to an astonishing one million. They were posted in every corner of the city. The seemingly inconspicuous sewers, storage rooms, and even the pipes of some buildings could hide these inhuman monsters.

Compared to the entire world, the size of a city is indeed small. However, it is almost impossible to eradicate the remaining Honkai energy in every inch of land. As long as there is Honkai energy in the environment, anything can become an apostle of Honkai. This is also the reason why any Honkai outbreak area will become a restricted area.

“Ka…Ka…!”

The assassin who was wandering aimlessly in the alley just now suddenly stopped, slowly turned his head behind him, ignoring the creaking sound of his twisted neck bones, and turned nearly 150 degrees before stopping, with his completely dilated pupils facing the direction of the alley entrance.

The woman in the dark blue anti-entropy uniform stood silently at the entrance of the broken alley, fiddling with the super-electromagnetic hand cannon in her hand, and was not moved at all by the gazes cast towards her by the assassins.

"Tsk... There's actually one in a place like this? This is the fifteenth one in the southern part of the city, right? It seems that the project of expanding the defense base station will have to be postponed a little before the cleanup here is completed."

While talking to himself,

A dead soldier who had captured the target launched an attack. The alloy projectile driven by the super electromagnetic burst had already penetrated the brick wall at the deepest corner. A few residual stray arcs flashed slightly through the hole in the dead soldier's head. The next moment, the dead soldier whose nerve center was destroyed fell to the ground and completely lost his life.

Lillian turned off the Honkai energy display function on her photon eyepiece, slowly stepped into the alley, and walked directly past the dead men on the ground and continued to move forward.

"Ms. Lillian, the next detection point is in a house 50 meters ahead. It is predicted that there are multiple Honkai creatures inside. Do you need us to provide you with..."

"No need, four low-level assassins, I am enough."

Lillian's mission was to assist the exploration team in checking the safety of the new expansion area. In simple terms, it was a job like this to find and eliminate potential safety hazards. The dead soldiers, which were dangerous and deadly to ordinary people, were just a repetitive and boring job for the former Valkyrie Lillian. The speed of those dead soldiers was not even one-fifth of the moving targets in her daily training.

In such a boring "battle", Lillian had plenty of time to think about other things. In fact, she did so, not paying any attention to these low-level Honkai creatures. The action of drawing the gun and aiming to shoot was completely completed by unconscious instinct.

(Claire's so-called vacation trip...has been going on for more than three months? Not only have you exited the public channel, but the terminal's positioning and tracking have all been turned off. What on earth are you doing? What are you trying to hide?)

Thinking silently, she tightly grasped the gun in her hand, thinking of the series of events that had happened recently. Even Lillian, a member who had a shallow relationship with Shilis, could feel that the peaceful atmosphere had completely changed since the last Chiyou battle. After the collapse, the me company, which originally existed only as a testing station in Changkong City, suddenly expanded outward like cell division, completely transforming from a company into a highly militarized and strict organization. Moreover, the top management obviously had a strong sense of urgency, as if they were preparing for some battle...

But for all this, Thunder Ryoma, Walter and other high-level anti-entropy people did not reveal any information to the outside world, and Shilis was the same, still maintaining her original gentle attitude. However, even Lillian could see that the worry and irritability in the girl's exhausted pupils became stronger as time went by. Although it has eased a little in the past two days, it is probably just a temporary relaxation because of Kiana's birthday. The root cause of all this is still weighing on her heart.

497 Intermission>>

Although Valkyries are just like soldiers, they only need to obey orders and don't need to know things they shouldn't know, and Lillian was educated like this as a Valkyrie, but the few years in Anti-Entropy have changed the original concept of this Valkyrie. She must be more than the only one who doesn't know, but this feeling of pretending not to see that everyone is hiding something makes Lillian feel very uncomfortable.

“Ah! Really…! Whether it’s the idiot Claire, the president, or Miss Hillis, why are they all like this? It seems like something big is about to happen, why do they have to pretend that nothing is wrong and say nothing? At this point, who can’t see how serious the situation is? I’ve had enough…!”

——Bang!

Lillian kicked the metal door in front of her furiously and rushed into an abandoned house according to the direction of the Honkai radar. She swung the handle of her gun and smashed the head of a dead man in front of her. She swung her free left hand forward and the wrist blade of the mechanical arm armor cut off the dead man's head from the ear. Normally, as a guard shooter, Lillian would never fight in this way, but dealing with a mere dead man was not even a fight for her, it was just a boring job.

So, there’s nothing wrong with letting off a little steam while you work, right?

(Ms. Shirley... Even I can see what's on your mind, how can Kiana and the others not see it? What will you do if they want to expose this? Let's wait and see... And then, when that idiot Claire comes back, I will definitely teach her a lesson...)

Thinking silently in her heart, she raised her gun again, aimed it steadily at the second assassin rushing forward, and pulled the trigger...

Although I still have doubts, now all I have to do is complete my task!

At the same time, in Changkong City, the upper area of ​​the me company headquarters.

"It has probably been more than half a year since we last met, Mr. Raiden Ryoma."

On the rectangular conference table, Shirley sat at one end of the table, looking at the black-haired man in a suit sitting opposite her, and greeted him with an emotional expression.

"Indeed, it feels like it was a long time ago when we last met."

Raiden Ryoma nodded and looked into the eyes of the silver-haired girl. Feeling the obvious change in the other person's eyes, he couldn't help but sigh.

"I have to say... your aura has changed quite a lot, Shirley.

Miss."

"Maybe. After going through so many bad things, anyone would become different."

Shirley shrugged noncommittally and chuckled. She could also feel the changes in herself. In Shirley's current situation, she could no longer remember what kind of mentality she lived with a few years ago.

After coughing twice, the girl organized her words and her relaxed expression began to turn serious.

"Mr. Raiden Ryoma, regarding the full fortification of Changkong City by the ME Company, I want to know what you think?"

"Use the Houkai outbreak area in Changkong City as a base to build a base that can contain the Destiny Floating Island. By the way, this is the order of the leader."

Raiden Ryoma answered without hesitation, as if he had anticipated the girl's question. The next moment, just as he expected, the silver-haired girl was slightly stunned, and then her beautiful eyebrows wrinkled slightly.

"Well, regardless of the purpose of doing this, first of all, I know nothing about this, which is not normal. When the leader and I were searching for Haiyuan City in the Pacific Ocean, the leader did not mention anything to me."

Shirley frowned and sat sideways with her elbows resting lightly on the armrest of the chair. Since this is what Walter promised, then according to the time Diana said, when she and Walter acted together, the fortification of the ME company had already begun. Therefore, as the leader of the alliance, Walter should have issued this order earlier. However, during the operation in Haiyuan City, she did not get any news.

Although she didn't doubt her colleagues in the Anti-Entropy Organization, she still cared about it. Although she had not been in Anti-Entropy for a long time, her position in the core circle of this organization should be recognized. The affairs of the ME Society were not top secret, so why didn't they tell her at the first time?

Is it because it is not necessary?

"Speaking of this, isn't it the same for Miss Shilis? The purpose of you and the leader to secretly seize Haiyuan City, and even the series of subsequent plans you formulated, were also kept completely secret from the outside world. The leader also did not tell me the details of this part. Isn't it the same for us to hide it from each other?"

"this......"

498 The Infectious Feelings

At this point, the girl's momentum and serious expression suddenly collapsed.

Of course, Shiris herself didn't know how to answer this question. Concealing the truth about Honkai and the news of the action was a decision she made alone. Although she selectively told Walter, Otto, Cocolia and others, it didn't mean that it wouldn't be leaked at all.

"Okay... I'm really sorry, Mr. Raiden Ryoma. And that... I shouldn't have spoken to you in that way just now. I've been scheming against others in the Tenmei Branch, so I couldn't adjust for a while. I'm sorry~~ But it's true that from this standpoint, I have no right to tell you what to do."

Shirley smiled sheepishly, and the heavy feeling in the atmosphere just now disappeared. Perhaps because she had spent too much time in the Mandate of Heaven branch in New Zealand, she realized at this moment that she had unconsciously used the same attitude towards bureaucrats that she had used when facing the Mandate of Heaven senior officials during that period. This excessive etiquette and seriousness, as if facing a negotiating partner, was naturally somewhat inappropriate when used in a conversation with her colleague, Raiden Ryoma.

At this time, she even forgot that she first came into contact with Thunder Ryoma as Cecilia, Kiana's mother and Mei's father, people of the same generation, and there was no need to put on such an attitude even if she did something wrong.

"Haha... It's okay, Miss Hillis. As expected, you are still the same person. I just thought that you just wanted to adapt to the way of talking in formal occasions... It is really hard to interact with strangers in an unfamiliar environment every day."

Facing the silver-haired girl who had returned to normal, Raiden Ryoma still maintained his original humble and polite attitude, but his eyes became a little softer.

Although Shiris's current position in the organization as an executor may have surpassed his own, Raiden Ryoma did not care about that. As a colleague, he was still a senior.

During the early days when Shilis used the identity of Cecilia, Lei Dian Long Ma was one of the few people who knew her as "Cecilia". However, although this identity has not been revealed by her until now, in Lei Dian Long Ma's eyes, he has already subconsciously regarded her as a junior.

After spending a long time together, the man could naturally see that although Shirley's thoughts were more mature, her personality and temperament details were more like his daughter Mei than Cecilia Shaniat, who was of the same generation as him...

So, there is no need to be overly harsh towards the younger generation.

Perhaps because it had not been mentioned for a long time, both Shiris herself and Raiden Ryoma had forgotten that they were people of the same generation.

"Anyway, don't take it to heart. In some formal negotiation situations, your momentum and aggressiveness are indeed needed! Since you don't plan to continue this atmosphere now, let's relax."

As he spoke, Raiden Ryoma no longer maintained his upright and dignified sitting posture, but leaned back casually on the backrest of the chair. However, judging from his slightly uncomfortable movements, the president was probably not used to such a relaxed posture, but in order to make the girl in front of him relax, he still did so.

"Regarding what happened just now, although the leader did not tell you this, please do not blame him. I can guess why that person did this. You are burdened too much, Shirley. Apart from the 'real business' you are busy with recently, there is no need for you to overwork yourself with other things like this."

As Raiden Ryoma spoke, he tapped the conference table in front of him with his fingers. The smooth black tabletop reflected his slightly worried expression. Like everyone else, he could naturally see that the girl was different. However, out of consideration for the other person's feelings, he did not intend to bring it up directly.

"Eh? Overwork or something... It's not that serious at all. I'm not the only one like this. Everyone in Anti-Entropy has their own responsibilities and pressures, so this reason is indeed a bit..."

"Alliance leader is also trying to reduce your stress, just like you concealed the news about recent actions, it seems to be to prevent us from worrying, right? It's the same for both of us."