After clearing Type Moon, start fighting for a better world

Walter raised his eyebrows.

"Don't be too nervous. This is just a little magic trick to prevent others from hearing what we say. I understand your position and situation, so I won't make it difficult for you. Anyway, I won't fight a Herrscher in a place full of ordinary humans. If I really want to fight you, I will take you directly to the stratosphere or the wilderness."

"I remember there are a lot of them in the United States, right? The kind of vast wilderness that has no development value and is endless - the most famous one is Yellowstone National Park, right?"

Xia Chuanhu smiled comfortably.

"First, let me introduce myself, the First Herrscher. My name is Natsukawa Tora, and in this world, I am a [Assistant of Destiny] who is temporarily living in Destiny. I am responsible for destroying the Herrscher if he appears. You can roughly think of me as Otto's partner."

"...What does Otto's partner want from me?"

Walter said in a deep voice, and at the same time he began to guess Xia Chuanhu's intention.

(They were able to find me so directly. Does that mean that Otto has already fully grasped my whereabouts? Is this person the assassin? Otto can trust him, and he also directly stated that he is the one who is fighting to eliminate the Herrscher... Is he the secret weapon of destiny?)

"You don't have to think that my situation is so complicated, First Herrscher." Xia Chuanhu interrupted Walter's thoughts. "Although Otto and I are in a cooperative relationship, I am the one in control. Basically, I have the right to completely refuse to cooperate with all his commissions. Of course, I am not here to assassinate you. If you really want to, your brain has already been separated from your body."

Unfounded claim.

Walter frowned slightly: “So what’s your purpose?”

"Alahato." Xiachuanhu said, "I saw the animation of the remake of Alahato at Siegfried's house, and heard from Siegfried that you, Anti-Entropy, have already created the real Alahato. I personally like huge mechas very much, so I really want to see it with my own eyes... and if possible, I want to control it myself."

(......Um?)

"But I know that if I apply directly to Anti-Entropy Headquarters, I will most likely be regarded as a suspicious person, so I came to see you instead. It just so happens that you are a Herrscher. Siegfried said that you are a good person, but whether an apostle who destroys civilization is really a good person, I still want to judge with my own eyes."

The sky-colored demonic eyes stared at Walter.

(Siegfried?)

For Walter, this was a name he hadn't heard for several years.

"I didn't expect that guy to say that about me."

Walter chuckled, but did not let down his guard: “So, you came to me hoping that I could take you to see Alahato?”

"That's right!"

There was a moment of excitement in Xiachuanhu's tone.

"Although I can build a mecha if I try hard, it's too time-consuming and laborious... By the way, I haven't asked yet, what is the power source of the Arahato? According to the technological development level of this world, it should be a nuclear reactor or the so-called Honkai energy? What about the main weapon? Beam saber? Or plasma beam cannon? Drills and wings must be there! Can they be connected to human nerves to achieve high flexibility and mobility? In addition, how many Arahatos have you built? Can they be combined into a larger Arahato? Is there a setting that can trigger three times the performance by inputting specific commands or letting specific people sit on it?"

"......"

A series of questions popped out of Xia Chuanhu's mouth like a string of cannonballs, and Walter didn't know where to start to understand for a moment.

However, overall, he probably understood that Xia Chuanhu should be a person who really likes giant mechas, just like their anti-entropy Dr. Tesla. Even Xia Chuanhu's eyes seemed to be sparkling now.

"Oh, sorry, did I ask too many questions at once? And if you think about it carefully, these should all be confidential, right?"

After a moment's delay, Xiachuanhu, who had calmed down a little, smiled and put away his rude side.

Walter also smiled: "It is indeed a secret. And... I'm sorry, Alahato is Anti-Entropy's irreplaceable treasure at present. It is not something that can be shown to others casually, let alone to the people of Destiny. Personally, I don't have much trust in Destiny... or Otto and the people he instructs."

This is bluntly stated, but it makes perfect sense.

"Well, that's understandable."

A look of regret appeared on Xia Chuanhu's face.

"Otto and I haven't known each other for long, and we've met less than once, but even so I can see that he's not a trustworthy person. To you, I'm indeed just a suspicious person, and you have no reason to take me to see Alaharto."

(That is to say, I can only imitate Siegfried's model. If I don't know the internal structure, I can only make a shell. I can't continue to use the method of combining with Leah to transform, right? There is no one who can combine with me now?)

Looking at Xia Chuanhu who was in great distress, Walter sighed and said, "It would be best if you could understand. So, is that all you have to say? If there is nothing more, I will first--"

"Of course there is."

Xia Chuanhu interrupted Walter with a smile.

"Didn't I tell you? I want to confirm for myself what kind of existence the First Herrscher is, so - let's shake hands first, shall we?"

"......shake hands?"

Walter didn't quite understand Xia Chuanhu's behavior. Just shaking hands shouldn't mean anything, right?

(No, this is a psychological test, right? Shaking hands is his way of expressing his friendliness and testing whether I want to be friendly with him. If I shake hands here, it means that I have established the most basic trust with him...)

After a slight hesitation, Walter shook the hand that Xia Chuanhu extended.

However, the moment the two held hands——

"——————————!"

The scene around the two of them suddenly turned into endless darkness! Walter wanted to pull his hand out immediately, but his hand seemed to be stuck to Xia Chuanhu's hand, and no matter how hard he pulled, it didn't move at all!

"what have you done?!"

"Nothing, I just pulled our consciousness into your consciousness... or I invaded your consciousness." Xia Chuanhu smiled calmly, "If you want to understand a person, the fastest way is to understand everything he has done so far, which is [Reading Memory]."

"This is your realm of consciousness and also your memory space. Now let me take a closer look at what kind of existence you are, [First Ruler]."

32. Defend Yourself

Although it was not voluntary, Xia Chuanhu was actually very good at manipulating and interfering with things like memory and consciousness. This could be seen from the fact that he could split and reorganize his memories and experiences many times, and even switch his own personality.

After all, he has always been followed by a nightmare demon who is good at playing with consciousness and illusions, and he would hack into his consciousness at any time.

As the saying goes, knowing yourself and your enemy helps you fight a hundred battles without danger. If you want to completely counter a technology, the best way is to learn that technology, so that you can naturally understand its weaknesses.

"Is this the Herrscher's realm of consciousness? It's not much different from humans' realm of consciousness."

Holding Walter's hand, Xia Chuanhu curiously observed the surrounding space. Although it seemed to be a dark and chaotic realm of consciousness at first glance, he could clearly see the memories hidden in the darkness.

"So, the memory related to you is... oh, this part."

He pulled his hand in the empty space, and something like a film was pulled out in one breath by Xia Chuanhu, and the surrounding environment instantly changed from a dark space to a dilapidated ruin.

New York, 1955

The time corresponding to this scene was directly mapped in the consciousness of Xia Chuanhu and Walter, and they both understood at the same time that they were now in that memory.

New York, 1955.

That was the time and place when Walter became the First Ruler.

"...Becoming a Herrscher turns out to have a side effect of fixing your appearance." Xia Chuanhu looked at Walter, "Judging from your appearance, physique, and bone age, you are at most 40 years old. I didn't expect you to be years old already."

"No, it shouldn't be a fixed appearance, but the body's age will be greatly slowed down under the influence of the so-called Herrscher core, right? It may even be fixed at its prime forever - very similar to me and Elquet."

After saying this, Xia Chuanhu's sight shifted to a nearly completely destroyed house not far away. There were two figures leaning against it. The older-looking young man was seriously injured, and beside him...

A little boy with tear-stained face was taking a translucent gem-like substance from the man.

"Is that you as a child? Walter Yang, there is no such record in the information of Destiny. The Herrscher Core can actually be inherited by others."

Xiachuanhu understood what the memory before him represented.

"This explains why you, as a Herrscher, do not want to destroy humanity. This is because you are not a true Herrscher. You are just a [Second Generation Herrscher] who has obtained the power and core of the Herrscher. You have not inherited the will of the Herrscher... It is the same as mine, but also different."

"Snapped!"

The moment he finished speaking, Walter suddenly shook off Xia Chuanhu's hand, then jumped back and created a large distance between them.

After taking two breaths, Walter immediately glanced around——

"Even if you shake off my hand, it doesn't mean that my [hacking] will end. The handshake is just a switch. Unless I want to quit or you kick me out of you, we can't return to the real world."

"...So, you mean that if I want to leave, I can only defeat you here?" Walter said seriously, "Then come on. However, I want to correct you on one point. It's not that I didn't inherit the [First Herrscher's Will]. The First Herrscher's Will has never been to destroy humanity and civilization, but to protect this world from the collapse - it's different from your destiny."

(Alas, I was completely misunderstood.)

Xia Chuanhu sighed helplessly and clapped his hands lightly.

“Shua——————!”

The scene around the two of them instantly changed back to the coffee shop.

Walter: "!"

(You’re back?!)

"I've already said that Otto and I are not the same kind of people. Although we do live in Tianming, if you treat me as someone from Tianming without permission, I'll be troubled." Xia Chuanhu said as he picked up the menu at hand, "Besides, I don't intend to fight you. I don't mean to look down on you, but if it's in the realm of consciousness, a hundred of you combined are no match for me, let alone the real world."

"...Are you trying to show how capable you are? You've given me a chance to live."

Walter stared at Xia Chuanhu with a stern face.

"Of course not. I'm just expressing my friendship. Although it's easy to use force to make you surrender, that's what I use to deal with guys I hate. For guys I like, I don't mind spending a little more time talking to them. Not to mention, I want to ride on your Alaharto. Wouldn't it be a big loss for me to leave a bad impression on you?"

"..."

Are you still thinking about Alahato even after this?

Walter was a little confused about Xia Chuanhu's real purpose. Why did he come to him?

“By the way, Walter, what kind of coffee do you like?”

Suddenly, Xia Chuanhu asked a seemingly unrelated question.

"Well...any kind is fine, why are you asking?"

"This is a coffee shop. We are sitting here. Wouldn't it be unreasonable not to order a cup of coffee? If we just sit there, we will be kicked out."

Cafe...

Walter glanced at the clock on the wall, and then his eyes trembled suddenly.

From his personal feeling, he felt that he and Xiachuan Hu had been in the coffee shop for several minutes, but the second hand on the clock had not even completed a circle.

(Time... was interfered with? By him?)

"Then I'll order you an iced Americano, okay? It happens that I haven't had an iced Americano in a while."

Ignoring Walter's inner surprise, Xia Chuanhu placed an order for himself and Walter, then changed to a more comfortable position: "You will be the one to dictate next."

"Your so-called [First Herrscher's Will] - from before the coffee is served until we leave here, I think twenty minutes is enough, right? Could you please explain to me in detail what [First Herrscher's Will] is?"

"Based on your description, I will decide my attitude towards you, the Fake Herrscher, who has had a similar experience to me. After all, that power is used to destroy civilization, and it is really disturbing and worrying that you alone have inherited and used it until now."

Although it is not impossible to continue to forcibly investigate the memory, it is too barbaric. Moreover, when hacking into the consciousness field, the effect is best the first time. From the second time on, the other party will be on guard and the effect will suddenly drop to 50%. It is too laborious.

"To be frank, I'm asking you to defend yourself now."

"If you want to keep your Herrscher Core, tell me everything bit by bit, otherwise..."

Xia Chuanhu reached out and tapped Walter's heart.

"——[I will crush this fire that has the potential to burn down civilization]."

33. I wish I had met you earlier

Walter's defense did not last long. At least from the outside, the conversation between the two lasted less than a minute. It could even be said that it was not a conversation at all, but just a look at each other.

However, a minute later——

"...I haven't seen someone as messy as you in a long time."

Picking up the iced Americano that the waiter had put down less than ten seconds ago, Xia Chuanhu showed a helpless smile: "You actually took the initiative to invite me to read your memory. Have you ever considered that I might completely destroy your consciousness?"

Xia Chuanhu's way of defending Walter was oral. This was a decision he made after considering that hacking into his memory a second time would most likely lead to Walter's resistance, and that continuously reading his memory might be a violation of his privacy.

But the way Walter chose to defend himself was to directly let Xia Chuanhu re-enter his consciousness and read his memory.

"If that's the case, I will certainly resist with all my strength, but I think the best way to convince someone is to be sincere and sincere." Walter said bluntly, "Since you are here to confirm whether I am an enemy of humanity, then I will use my memory to prove my sincerity to you."

"Although I am a Herrscher, in the past few decades since I inherited the name Walter, I have a clear conscience about everything I have done. In my heart, protecting the world has always been the most important thing, even if it requires me to sacrifice my life."

There is nothing to hide.

[Protect the world], this is the will and goal that the First Herrscher should declare with dignity.

"...Now even I can't say anything."

With a bitter smile, Xia Chuanhu took a sip of coffee and said, "I admit that what Siegfried said is correct. You are indeed a good person who has made many sacrifices to protect the world. I hereby solemnly apologize to you for my previous series of rude behaviors."

Xiachuanhu's attitude towards Walter changed.