The thought that this ancient city of ten million people was about to turn into a living hell teeming with demons and ghouls made Fuli's good mood, which had been basking in the state of "my sword didn't break this time!", fly off to who knows where.
"Damn it!" Boothill, being the more direct type, slammed his fist into a tree trunk, causing the small deer near Argenti to let out a frightened cry and flee.
After a moment of thought, Rita's thin lips parted. "I have an idea."
"Dr. Mobius," she looked at the green-haired beauty leaning against the stone tablet with her arms crossed. Surprised by the other's rejuvenation, she also knew that now was not the time to get hung up on the differences between Schicksal and Anti-Entropy. "According to you, Heinrich, before he died, wanted to use the release of the hidden ghoul virus in people's bodies to exchange for us letting him live, correct?"
"I'm guessing so." Serpent looked with extreme envy at Rita, who was still clinging to Fuli and refusing to let go. If I were in her place, she thought, how much inspiration would that spark?
Mine! Mine! It's all mine!
Pitiably retracting her gaze, Mobius nodded. "On the way here, I happened to catch a few infected lab rats. The virus in their bodies is indeed in a state close to the critical point."
Rita nodded. "In other words, Heinrich has been controlling the virus in people's bodies, preventing them from breaking out."
This was normal. Everyone knew that a nuclear bomb was most deterrent when it was on the launchpad.
"In other words, Heinrich must have all the infected individuals under his control to prevent the virus from breaking out prematurely, which would cause him to lose his last trump card for survival." Rita's wine-red, enchanting eyes scanned her surroundings. Her voice was grave. "Everyone, please don't forget that even though he usurped the copy of the Herrscher of Reason through various means, Heinrich is still only an exceptional A-rank. For his mental strength to suppress a city-wide virus outbreak, the number of infected individuals cannot be too large!"
Boothill's laughter was hearty but self-deprecating. "Ha, 'only' an exceptional A-rank. Coming from you, that's really convincing!"
"A brilliant deduction, Ms. Rita!" Argenti couldn't help but applaud. "Not only did you remain calm at such a critical moment, but you were also able to see through the truth with those falcon-like eyes. Your tempered mentality is truly something I am ashamed of."
"Let's stop with the mutual flattery," Mobius waved her hand to interrupt. "It seems the S-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal has a plan. Tell me, what do you want me to do?"
Rita's eyes burned. "I need you to use your authority as an Executive to order Fimiris to temporarily withdraw, and let Schicksal's Ai take temporary control of London's entire network!"
Mobius immediately understood the young woman's idea. "Check the city's surveillance footage to find everyone who has come into contact with the ghoul virus?"
As mentioned before, despite media outlets like the BBC constantly condemning Shenzhou on the international stage for installing cameras everywhere and disrespecting privacy, the truth was that the UK had the highest density of camera installations in the world.
And the City of Fog was the worst of them all. Once Ai, as the central nervous system of Celestial Hymn, went all out, this data could be sorted out in the blink of an eye.
"I think there's a loophole," Mobius offered her opinion. "Surveillance is fine for monitoring the ghouls who were originally ordinary people. But for a master like Heinrich, the ones he personally converted locally would surely be undetectable."
"Therefore, we will also need His Highness Argenti's help," Rita switched gears, her tone meticulous and swift. "If I remember correctly, Your Highness possesses a spell called the 'Time Phantom Orb,' which can replay the past events that occurred in a selected area for a period of time, correct?"
"Use surveillance to capture the present, and the Time Phantom Orb to trace back the past?" Fuli frowned. "The surveillance part is fine, but the area the Time Phantom Orb needs to cover is too large, isn't it?"
The trio of immortals had been active throughout London. To make Argenti trace back location by location, he would die of exhaustion before he could finish.
"Please rest assured and leave this task to me," Argenti replied in an extremely firm tone, gazing at the Pardo-cat who was yawning on top of Fuli's head. "I swear in the name of the Goddess, I, Argenti of the Knights of Beauty, will not disappoint everyone's expectations!"
"After capturing every person who has come into contact with the virus, what's next?" Boothill's tone was unreadable as he pushed up the brim of his drooping cowboy hat with his gun.
Ever since Mobius appeared, their conversation had been using a special acceleration technique. In layman's terms, the explanation didn't take up any time.
Once they came up with a plan and acted on it, the virus that had been dormant in people's bodies would rapidly mutate in a short amount of time.
To minimize casualties, after Ai and Argenti identified the infected individuals, the best way would be to kill them all in one go without a word.
When that time came, could he bring himself to do it?
Even if it was to sacrifice a few to save the many...
The silver-haired ranger who upheld justice lowered his remaining electronic eye, his tattered scarf swaying uncertainly in the wind.
"Next?" A graceful smile appeared on her beautiful face. As if seeing through Boothill's thoughts, Rita hugged the struggling Fuli tightly. "Next, of course, Lord Fuli and I will jointly deploy the Reality-Distorting Field to isolate the infected from the ordinary people."
Due to Aschour's aggressive offense, Fuli hadn't been able to successfully deploy Soulium Animara before the battle ended.
Since the deployment had failed, there was naturally no cooldown of half a day.
"Hey! This is the City of Fog, London, covering an area of 1,577 square kilometers!" Boothill was dumbfounded. "To deploy such a large field and accurately envelop every infected person... is that something a human can do?!!"
Taihu Lake, the third-largest freshwater lake in Shenzhou, was only 2,427 square kilometers. To encompass three-quarters of Taihu Lake in one go... this was poetry he could eat!
"If it were just me, it would be very difficult in my non-peak state," the young woman said softly, her gentle eyes gazing at the boy she was hugging tightly. "But with Lord Fuli here, then I can do anything."
"In short, I have an ability that can amplify spatial skills." Fuli refused to be a riddler. Under his collar, the Stigma of the Void bloomed with a silver-white radiance.
Rita was not annoyed. "After that, we'll have to rely on you, Mr. Boothill."
"Me? There's something for me too?"
"Time will not stop inside the Reality-Distorting Field. The virus will still spread after they are trapped inside," Fuli explained. "Before people completely turn into monsters, we need to rely on your superb marksmanship to inject the serum developed by Mobius into their bodies."
He teased, "A critical mission. Can you do it?"
"By my darling baby!" The ranger grinned. "Who do you think I am!"
With a "click," he drew his gun and loaded it!
"Then—" Looking around at his companions who had been assigned their tasks, Fuli raised his right hand holding Jueyu.
"Operation Clean Up Mobius's Mess!"
"Operation I Was Wrong Don't Scold Me Anymore!"
"Operation Honeymoon!"
"Operation The Goddess of True Self's Beauty is Peerless!"
"Operation Why the Heck Did You Guys Come Up with So Many Messy Names!"
The command sword slashed down sharply.
"Begin!"
"I'll have to write a self-criticism report when I get back. Tsk, at least 100,000 words, conservatively." Mobius had her hands in her pockets, her beautiful, innocent face full of helplessness.
That woman Rita had made it sound nice. After Femirins withdrew her restraints, even if it was only temporary, Ai's siege would be enough to swallow up most of Anti-Entropy's industries in this land.
But considering that she was the one who had caused this mess, even though she knew Rita was taking the opportunity to plot against her, Mobius could only pinch her nose and accept it.
Of course, Serpent would never admit that she was worried about London turning into a living hell. She was just afraid of being traced back to her afterward.
That's right! That's it!
While the beauty was thinking, she used her authority as an Executive to lift Femirins's jurisdiction over London.
"Doctor..." On the other side of the light screen, Klein had dark circles under her eyes, looking tired and helpless.
This habit of being stubborn will probably never change, even in the next life.
And don't even think about making me write the self-criticism report for you again!
Meanwhile, on Schicksal's side—
"Huh?" In the starless, dark space, the second-generation Ai—that is, the cute moe-girl Otto from the parallel world—who was lying in mid-air playing Kallen Fantasy III, turned her ahoge.
"Oh, investigate the whole city's surveillance," she muttered, not very willingly.
Fimiris had finally relented for once. Instead of wasting time investigating here and there, it would be better to just take the opportunity to drive her influence out of the country.
And the chaotic London afterward?
They could just send in Valkyries and God-Machine troops to clean it up. If that didn't work, they could just throw a few experimental new Honkai fission bombs under the pretext of a Great Honkai Eruption to see how they performed. Anyway, the culprit was from Anti-Entropy, so the blame wouldn't fall on Schicksal.
No, according to that guy Otto's way of thinking, he should use public opinion and other means to force Anti-Entropy to drop the silver bullet themselves. Schicksal just needed to provide all support except help. And by the way, they could bring Rita Rossweisse's parents to headquarters as hostages—ahem, for their retirement.
It was so happily decided.
Ai narrowed her holy cerulean eyes, threw the game controller in her hand, and was just about to act.
In the blink of an eye, a charming female voice with a hint of sickness echoed in Fuli's ear.
"The surveillance is all taken care of. The locations and numbers of the virus-dormant individuals have been sent to Rita Rossweisse's terminal. You owe me a big one, bro~"
"Hmm?" Fuli, completely unaware that his existence was what had made her change her mind, blinked, thinking that this second-generation Ai was quite friendly.
At the same time, in the Parliament Building, the Speaker of the House of Lords, McFall, slammed his fist on the table, making a huge sound. "I do not agree to use the Honkai energy from the 'Cauldron'!"
—The Dagda's Cauldron, a certain alternate dimension established by Great Britain in the suburbs of London, one of the world's top ten Honkai energy reactors.
Its name was taken from the never-empty cauldron of the father of the gods in Celtic mythology. It could provide infinite food, symbolizing abundance and nourishment, and could also give strength to warriors or resurrect the dead. In some studies, it was one of the many prototypes of the Christian Holy Grail.
What Argenti wanted to do was to use the massive amount of Honkai energy in the Cauldron to expand the traceback range of the Time Phantom Orb.
Of course, the councilors would not agree to this. Not to mention how an A-rank could withstand such a huge amount of Honkai energy, it was a critical period for the World Bubble's integration, and the Cauldron was an important hub that provided energy for many institutions. If something went wrong, who could bear the responsibility?
After firmly rejecting Argenti's request, Speaker McFall comforted him, "Your Highness, please rest assured. In order to 'help' Rita Rossweisse find her kidnapped father, we have already deployed various military units, including the Seraphim Police and the Royal Dragoon Guards, in London to maintain order. Once the ghouls cause a riot, they will rush to the scene immediately and clean up those abominable monsters!"
The underlying meaning was that the casualties would definitely be much less than he expected, at most only a few hundred thousand.
Compared to the entire city of London, this was just a drop in the ocean.
"..." Argenti opened his mouth. Even though he had already anticipated everything that was happening, he still felt a piercing cold.
That's right. As the leaders of Great Britain's Honkai side, the families of the honorable councilors either lived in heavily guarded high-end districts or simply lived in alternate dimensions that were contrary to reality.
How could such people care about the lives of the common people and consumables? They would just blame it on some virus, make the prime minister apologize and resign, and that would be the end of it. Great Britain had a permanent population of nearly seventy million. If they were short, they could just bring in more from other cities or open up their immigration policies.
"I really have to bring out 'it'..." Argenti muttered to himself. When his figure reappeared, he was holding a photo.
"Everyone, please take a look at this." Argenti's real body was still in the park. He was communicating with the House of Lords via a projection on a large screen, so the photo in his hand was particularly clear.
In the photo, the Shenzhou boy's features were very handsome and pleasing, making many of the old lords with peculiar tastes present feel a stir in their front and back.
But when their eyes moved up and saw the Pardo-cat who was languidly brushing Fuli's face with its tail from time to time, they all gasped in unison, making their contribution to global warming.
"Is that... the Beast of the Gate!"
"I... I'm not seeing things, am I? Her Majesty Cath Palug is actually lying on a foreigner's head?"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"The guardian of the Thames... for it to be so intimate, could it be that that boy, like the legendary King Arthur, was chosen by those two pioneers, the Lady of the Lake (Su) and the wizard Merlin (Kevin)?"
The fourth councilor was met with looks as if he were a dead man as soon as he said this. It was only then that he realized he had just said something that should absolutely not have been said.
They knew their own business. The Anglo-Saxons were out-and-out invaders.
Don't be fooled by how they praised the legend of King Arthur to the skies. Once King Arthur and her Knights of the Round Table returned like lightning, the first to be sacrificed would be this bunch of cuckoos in the nest!
Speaker McFall was silent for a moment.
"Kennedy!"
"Here!"
"Inform the administration to open the 'Cauldron's' authority for His Highness Argenti, with a weight of one-tenth!"
"Yes!"
Communications officer Kennedy opened the administration's network and faithfully relayed the Speaker's orders.
During the Second Honkai Eruption, Schicksal's Tower of Babel laboratory in Siberia had one of the world's top three largest Honkai reactors at the time, with an energy level of as much as 6500 HW.
More than a decade later, with the rapid development of Honkai energy technology, the newly built "Cauldron's" energy level was only higher, not lower, than the past Tower of Babel.
Even if it was only one-tenth, it was enough for Argenti to achieve his goal.
And as the price.
"Ugh, ugh, ugh, ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!"
Pain.
Excruciating pain.
Heart-piercing pain.
Liquid gushed from his eye sockets and eardrums, and long needles were repeatedly inserted into the 480 million pores of his body.
It felt as if lava was flowing in his blood vessels, and surging mercury was being poured into his opened skull.
"The Goddess of [EGO]... beauty... is peerless!"
"The Goddess of [EGO]'s beauty... is peerless!"
Blood had already dyed the man's vision red. He gritted his teeth and repeated the name of the god he believed in, guiding the surging, majestic Honkai energy in his body with great willpower to manifest the Time Phantom Orb that could trace back the past.
A super-large traceback vision that covered the entire city unfolded at this moment, and then immediately locked onto the tall figure that had been following the white-haired youth a few hours ago, recording his actions during this period.
"Link... broken!" Argenti gritted his teeth and broke the connection with his last ounce of faith.
Brother Fuli, Ms. Rita, the rest is up to you.
The battle-scarred knight thought, his body collapsing heavily to the side.
"You did a great job, I'm proud of you ♪~"
In a daze between sleep and wakefulness, an encouraging voice sounded in his ear.
A gentle breeze blew across Argenti's face, making the smile at the corner of his mouth seem even more gentle.
"Don't worry, Bro, leave it to me."
Sometimes, words didn't need to be said to be understood.
Fuli, who had memorized the coordinates, shuttled between the high-rise buildings, arriving at the city center with the extreme speed of White Moon's Afterimage.
"Field, deploy—" He and Rita in his arms looked at each other, their clear and charming voices overlapping. "Soulium Animara!"
A bone-chilling cold poured down, dyeing the ground a pale, bone-white color. Every inch of soil oozed with fine frost crystals, like billions of pupils staring into the void.
At this moment, everyone in the City of Fog saw that rising pale moon, and the black-haired youth in the center of the eternal night's abyss, holding a nation-toppling beauty in his arms.
Tens of thousands of sharp ice prisms floated in the air, each reflecting a different angle of his profile.
The moonlight favored his silhouette, plating his sculpted jawline with a silver edge.
The pale moon was fleeting, and the people who had been gazing at the starry sky awoke as if from a dream.
That beautiful scene was etched in their hearts, becoming a myth passed down through their bloodlines.
Inside the vast domain, deploying the field and identifying the targets had exhausted Fuli so much that he didn't want to move a single finger.
"A total of 5,179 contacts, of which 417 are direct transmitters and 4,762 are indirect transmitters. They were originally distributed in London's 33 administrative districts, and now they are all here." He buried his face in Rita's well-developed mountains, his voice muffled. "Remember to deal with them separately. Don't screw up this last step."
"Roar!"
"Roar!"
"Roar!"
The ghouls in the crowd also noticed the boy's weakness. They howled and charged forward, their momentum like a heavy truck loaded with steel coils plunging in an avalanche, crushing rock layers and stirring up a cloud of dust. Even the air condensed into rust-colored particles that rustled down.
"Leave it to me! Haha! Watch me love you to death with my gun!"
A wild laugh echoed through the sky. Syringes filled with serum, in the silver-haired ranger's precise chain of shots, found one bewildered innocent after another, continuously disintegrating the virus in their bodies.
The man's other hand held various heavy weapons and fired crazily. The barrage of bullets plowed a bloody path through the ghoul crowd. He moonwalked on the falling storm of shell casings, leaving behind only steam-rising empty syringe tubes and a ground full of mutated remains, like a one-man army.
It wasn't until the last ghoul disappeared in the roar of a high-explosive grenade, until the last ordinary person pulled the syringe from their neck and looked around in a daze, that the cowboy righted his hat and let out a cheerful whistle.
"Operation Why the Heck Did You Guys Come Up with So Many Messy Names, complete—"
Before he could finish, the light in his eyes disappeared.
It looked scary, but it was actually just him running out of energy.
A few gulps of gasoline, and he'd be a lively hero again.
Rita, who had rested enough, stood up and was just about to add the final conclusion.
A small hand suddenly shot up high.
"Operation Clean Up Mobius's Mess—"
Using his last ounce of strength, Fuli laughed.
"A perfect ending!"
...