I'm in a crossover anime world, and I've been transported to Hogwarts twice.

She had planned everything meticulously, but she hadn't anticipated that Keisha would reject her seemingly win-win proposal with such an almost unreasonable reason.

364 Keisha's Weak Side

Filled with anger and frustration at having her plans disrupted, Liang Bing's figure transformed into specks of purple data light with a furious snort and vanished into He Xi's research institute.

The research institute returned to the cold silence typical of high-tech fields, with only the low hum of the instruments running.

But the awkwardness and heaviness in the air were even greater than before.

Keisha remained standing in the same spot, her posture upright like a pine tree, but the slight furrow in her brows showed that the turmoil in her heart had not subsided.

He Xi leaned against the control panel, her eyes vacant, seemingly lost in thought.

After a long silence, Keisha was the first to break the suffocating silence.

She turned around, her gaze returning to He Xi, and the decisiveness befitting a king seemed to have regained its advantage.

However, what she said almost made "San San San" He Xi spit out the liquid in her mouth.

"Although Liang Bing's method is absurd and insulting, she is right about one thing: we cannot sit idly by and wait to die."

Keisha's voice returned to calm, but carried an unquestionable air of command.

"He Xi, you'll have to figure out a way to get close to Yu Sheng Genichi, find an opportunity to take him down."

She used the word "take down" rather subtly, but in context, its meaning was self-evident—it meant that He Xi should use her influence to rebuild her close relationship with Yu Shengxianyi, using this as a breakthrough to break the current deadlock.

“Puff—cough cough!”

He Xi eventually choked. She coughed lightly and looked at Keisha with disbelief. Then, a very strange expression appeared on her face. It wasn't anger, but rather she was so angry that she laughed.

"what!"

He Xi let out a short, cold laugh, her azure eyes filled with a sense of absurdity.

"My dear Queen Keisha, why don't you go yourself?"

Her tone was clearly sarcastic: "Besides, you're just talking like I can easily do it with a few words. What do you think Yuzuru Genichi is? One of those young male gods who can be easily controlled by your sense of justice and order? Or do you think I, He Xi, have some unknown, unparalleled secret technique to seduce men?"

Keisha looked at He Xi's expression that said, "You're probably dreaming," but she maintained her infuriatingly calm demeanor and even said in a matter-of-fact tone, "I believe you can do it. Your wisdom and your methods far surpass mine. This kind of thing is best left to you. You are the most suitable person to do it."

The phrase "I believe in you" might normally evoke a sense of warmth and trust, but in this context, it sounded even more jarring to He Xi than Liang Bing's mockery.

He Xi was genuinely so angry that she laughed, her laughter filled with helplessness and absurdity.

"Keisha, I really don't know where you get the courage and confidence to say such things without batting an eye!"

She pointed at herself.

"I don't even think I have that ability myself. Do you think I haven't tried? Before, when he still needed us, he saw through all those subtle hints and the barely perceptible closeness, yet he always maintained just the right distance. Now that he's all grown up and has lost interest in us, you want me to win him over?"

He Xi found it increasingly absurd: "And you actually think I, He Xi, have such abilities? Do you really think that Yu Shengxianyi is the kind of guy who only thinks with his lower body, is a lecherous scoundrel, and can be easily won over by any beautiful woman throwing herself at him? If that were the case, he would have died countless times over by now. You and I both know his ruthlessness and rationality perfectly well!"

Keisha listened to He Xi's rapid-fire rebuttals without getting angry; only a slight glint appeared in her deep eyes.

She waited until He Xi finished speaking before slowly saying, "Precisely because he is not that kind of person, ordinary seduction is ineffective against him, which is why your wisdom is even more needed, isn't it?"

He Xi rolled her eyes, completely giving up on persuading Keisha. She said firmly, "In short, I don't have that ability! Your Majesty, if you think this is feasible, you can go yourself! I won't stop you!"

She paused, her tone turning serious and carrying a warning: "However, don't blame me for not warning you, Genichi Hanyu is unfathomable and far more complex than he appears on the surface. Beneath his seemingly indifferent demeanor lies a power and mind capable of easily overturning our understanding. Don't take him for granted as someone you can manipulate at will, or the consequences could be far more severe than our current marginalization!"

These words left Keisha in silence.

How could she not know the danger and unfathomable nature of Genichi Hanyu?

However, as a queen, she had to find a way out for the future of civilization, even if the path seemed hopeless and even required her to humble herself.

She stood there, her gaze lowered, as if weighing He Xi's warning against the harsh reality.

The research institute fell silent again, with only the sophisticated instruments still running tirelessly, recording insignificant data.

After a long while, Keisha finally raised her head again and looked at He Xi, who had an expression that said "this is off-limits."

Her eyes held a complex mix of emotions: helplessness, resolve, and even a barely perceptible plea.

She took a step forward, closing the distance between herself and He Xi, lowering her voice, but with an unprecedented, almost conciliatory tone: "Since that's the case..."

She paused slightly, as if the next words were difficult to say, but she finally spoke them.

"Help me."

It's not an order, not an assignment, but a request for assistance.

"Help me figure something out. I'm not asking you to go on this risk alone, but for us to face this together. With our combined strength, we'll surely find a way to re-establish effective contact with Genichi Hanyu."

Keisha adopted a very humble posture, which was almost unimaginable in her tens of thousands of years of life.

She clearly realized that she alone, or He Xi alone, might not be able to solve this problem.

Only if they temporarily set aside their subtle competition and differences and join forces can they possibly tear a hole in Genichi Hanyu's increasingly complex and vast network of relationships and his cold, guarded heart.

He Xi was stunned. She looked at the King of Gods who was showing a sense of need for help in front of her for the first time, and saw the rare, almost vulnerable look in his eyes. Her firm refusal softened slightly.

After all, their interests are, to some extent, intertwined.

365 Erina Nakiri's Request

Genichi Hanyu's mind was no longer in this small study, nor on Keisha and He Xi, who had different thoughts.

Their inner anxieties, calculations, and even their resentment and attempts to salvage the situation, from Genichi Hanyu's current perspective, are like pebbles colliding in a stream—they might create a few ripples, but they can't affect the direction of the river's flow.

He simply didn't have the time or the interest to carefully ponder and understand what thoughts were swirling in Keisha's mind.

Admittedly, in the early stages when Genichi Hanyu's power had not fully recovered and his understanding of the universe was still shallow, he did become interested in the highly advanced technology of the Angel civilization, which can be said to be insightful.

Those cutting-edge technologies, such as gene engines, dark energy drives, sacred atoms, and micro-wormhole computing, were invaluable stepping stones and aids for him at the time, as he urgently needed to quickly understand and integrate into a wider world.

It was at that time that Keisha and Hexi, with the technological capital of the Angel Civilization, secured a place for themselves in his company and established a subtle yet relatively equal cooperative or investment relationship.

However, times have changed.

The current Genichi Hanyu is a completely different person from the one he once was.

His control over the rules and powers, the knowledge system he has drawn from various worlds, and the ever-growing and diverse forces under his command have enabled him to reach a level that the angelic civilization can hardly match, whether in terms of individual strength, knowledge reserves, or resource mobilization.

He may not have surpassed angels in all areas of technology, but he has found his own path of power that is more in line with his own nature.

For him, technology has gone from a necessity to an "icing on the cake" option, and some technological approaches even seem outdated or unsuitable.

Therefore, Genichi Hanyu now truly lacks nothing, at least he no longer needs the Angel Civilization's technological system as a core support.

However, Genichi Hanyu is not the kind of person who would betray someone after using them, as Liang Bing speculated.

He has his own set of rules and bottom lines.

"Back then, Keisha and Hexi did provide some help and information sharing when I needed it, although they also had their own motives."

Genichi Hanyu had his own assessment: "I approve of this investment."

Therefore, he did not treat He Xi and Keisha as useless chess pieces and kick them away completely.

He is willing to give them appropriate rewards and certain privileges based on their past contributions, so that the Angelic Civilization can still maintain a place under his new order and preserve its dignity as a transcendent civilization.

But that's all.

As for other things, such as more core power sharing, closer relationship binding, or even the deep alliance status originally envisioned.

Keisha and Hexi shouldn't overthink it anymore.

Genichi Hanyu is not that generous; he would not easily give a reward that far exceeds its current value.

Everything requires them to make "new contributions" in the future. Emotional appeals? They won't work on him.

Just as Genichi Hanyu was pulling his thoughts away from the angelic civilization, a few crisp, rhythmic knocks came from the door of the study, which was engraved with spatial stabilization runes, interrupting his reverie.

"Come in."

Genichi Hanyu composed himself, and his voice returned to its usual indifference.

The door was pushed open silently, and a tall, beautiful figure walked in from outside.

She has dazzling long golden hair with natural curls at the ends, like flowing honey.

Her delicate features had the deep, three-dimensional look of someone of mixed race, especially her violet eyes, which at this moment carried a hint of tension and determination that was not easily detected.

She wore a well-tailored Totsuki Academy girls' uniform, highlighting her unique identity—Erina Nakiri, the God Tongue of Totsuki, and now one of the members under Genichi Hanyu responsible for some logistics and special resource management.

"Is there something you need, Erina?"

Seeing the girl push open the door and enter, Genichi Hanyu softened his tone slightly.

He had a fairly good impression of this girl who had amazing talent and dedication to cooking, and whose personality had gradually changed from arrogant to calm and reliable.

Erina Nakiri walked to the desk, took a slight breath, as if gathering her courage for what she was about to say.

She didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point, her violet eyes looking directly at Genichi Hanyu: "There's something I want to ask you, no, I want to ask you something."

Her voice was clear and crisp, with the crispness that belonged to her age, yet she tried her best to remain calm.

"I need to ask you to do something for me!"

Genichi Hanyu looked at the mixture of anticipation, nervousness, and determination in Erina's eyes, nodded slightly, and gestured for her to continue.

He is usually generous in providing appropriate assistance to his talented and hardworking subordinates, as long as their demands are not excessive.

With Genichi Hanyu's permission, Erina Nakiri took another deep breath, her full chest heaving as if trying to suppress all her hesitation and unease.

Then, she looked intently at Genichi Hanyu and stated her purpose clearly and forcefully:

"I would like to ask you to help us find that world of culinary captives!"

The word, uttered by Erina, carried a strange weight and longing.

Toriko is a legendary world filled with incredible and rare ingredients, possessing a culinary civilization beyond imagination, where cooking is equivalent to combat, and where gourmet cells can grant people infinite possibilities!

For a chef who regards culinary skills as a lifelong pursuit and possesses a "god tongue," such a world is undoubtedly the ultimate dream palace!

She came into this world and witnessed the wonder of magic and the vastness of divine power, but deep in her heart, her desire for the pinnacle of culinary skills never died out. On the contrary, it burned even brighter as she saw a wider world.

She knew that only by finding that legendary world could her and her companions' culinary skills break through existing limitations and reach a completely new and unimaginable realm!

Now, she mustered her courage and made this request—which might seem abrupt, but was the deepest desire in her heart—to this being who possessed the ability to travel through the world and was almost omnipotent.

In the study, only Erina's slightly rapid breathing could be heard for a moment.

She waited anxiously for Genichi Hanyu's answer, her violet eyes unblinking, as if afraid of missing any subtle change in his expression.

This request concerns the future path of her and her companions, and whether Genichi Hanyu is willing to provide crucial support on the seemingly unrelated path of culinary arts that she is so passionate about.

366 Erina, you underestimate yourself too much.

Inside the study, the air seemed to freeze slightly because of Erina Nakiri's expectant and determined request.

Her words, "In search of the world of delicious food," were like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating thoughtful ripples in Genichi Hanyu's heart.

Genichi Hanyu did not answer immediately.

His deep, starry eyes gazed at Erina, his gaze calm yet seemingly able to penetrate her soul, seeing the burning desire in her heart for the pinnacle of culinary skill, and behind that desire, the infinite yearning for the unknown world of gastronomy.

He pondered for a moment, his fingertips unconsciously tapping lightly on the black jade tabletop, producing a rhythmic tapping sound, as if he were weighing something or recalling something.

Erina's heart leaped into her throat with the sound of the knocking. Her violet eyes were fixed on Genichi Hanyu, and she unconsciously held her breath, afraid that the slightest movement would affect his decision.

She was even mentally prepared to be rejected or asked to pay a huge price.

After all, searching for a specific world sounds like an extremely difficult, and possibly futile, endeavor.

However, just as Erina's tension was about to reach its peak, Genichi Hanyu stopped tapping the table.

He raised his eyelids, his gaze refocusing on Erina's delicate face, a mixture of tension and anticipation. Then, under Erina's incredulous gaze, he slowly nodded.

"can."

His voice remained calm, yet carried an undeniable certainty.

"I'll keep an eye out for you."

He paused, seemingly explaining to Erina, or perhaps organizing his own thoughts:

"Gourmet Devil is indeed a very meaningful, even quite attractive, world to me."

Scattered information and rule settings about that world flashed through Genichi Hanyu's mind.

That was a magical dimension that took concepts such as "food luck," "gourmet cells," and "capture level" to their extreme.

The creatures, plants, and even the natural environment there are all closely related to food, containing incredible energy and rules.

"The resources that world possesses, whether in terms of variety, quantity, or unique nature, are vast and rare."