This was also why he didn't dare touch the red text for now.
Even when he entered and rewrote events within the green text, he could still feel that rule-bound force stirring—like mountains collapsing, seas roaring, thunder crashing.
Let alone the red text, which even the Book of Dimensions itself warned against.
Of course, whenever that force seemed about to descend upon him, warmth would bloom between his brows. The surrounding scenery would blur, and then the power would subside, everything returning to normal.
So this must be what the book meant by… ambiguous points in time?
Quite the cheat ability, Otto thought with admiration. It could exploit such a massive loophole in the Imaginary Tree.
He just didn't know where its limits lay.
Could he abduct a Flame-Chaser?
Preferably one who could knock Kevin around.
Herrschers might be worth trying too.
Honestly, if he could keep digging deeper into the nature of time… he might truly be able to overturn the timeline, even confront the Tree and the Sea themselves.
Of course, he couldn't place his future on the assumption that his cheat had no upper bound.
If he picked a fight with the Tree and Sea only to discover this was some bargain-brand cheat, that would be disastrous.
As everyone knew, transmigrators heading to the Honkai world usually got "cat-tier" cheats—drawing a good card was already a blessing, and a top-tier one was rarer than rare.
Plans flickered through Otto's mind, forming one after another.
"But now isn't the time to implement them. My priority is to gather all the controllable forces into my hands."
Still thinking, Otto walked out. The white-haired girl with orange crystalline goggles stood by the door, waiting quietly for instructions.
Before stirring the timeline, Otto had actually been reluctant to interact with Amber—she knew far too much.
But now he had a lot more confidence.
After all, he had lived twenty days as the Overseer.
Aside from being a bit too lenient with Cecilia, he had tried to act like Otto at all other times.
Amber might know him well, but at the end of the day she was still only a half-successful clone.
As long as he wrapped everything up before she could react to anything strange, she'd have no choice but to accept it.
No need to panic. Nothing major.
"Amber," Otto said, reaching out to lift her goggles slightly before setting them back, a nostalgic look on his face. "Tsk… you really do look alike."
"No matter how often you say I resemble Lady Kallen, that doesn't change the fact that you spent the whole morning playing Kallen Fantasy instead of reviewing documents."
Amber's tone was calm, but the reproach froze Otto's expression for a moment.
"Haha… well, that's why I have you as my secretary."
The girl nodded calmly, as if she had no objection, and opened the file in her hand.
"I've handled most matters. Only one requires your decision, Bishop."
"What is it?"
"A funding request from the Far East Branch. Lady Theresa is dissatisfied with last month's amount and requests an additional one hundred billion dollars."
"How much?"
Otto blurted in surprise, then quickly adjusted his tone into mild curiosity.
"Bishop, one hundred billion. Including base funding and your occasional subsidies, the total would reach two hundred billion."
"Tsk tsk… my little four-legged money-eater is impressive."
Otto found it almost amusing.
"Based on Honkai activity in the Far East Branch, how much should I allocate, Amber?"
Amber hesitated, then answered, "About ten billion, Bishop."
"Ten billion…"
He walked toward a window, recalling the plotlines surrounding the headmistress of St. Freya Academy.
Theresa—his rebellious 'granddaughter.' Genetically speaking, "mother" Kallen, "father" the Honkai beast Vishnu.
A walking symbol of Otto being metaphorically cuckolded from the start.
So… why was he dealing with this troublesome granddaughter so soon?
The original Otto doted on her endlessly—she shared Kallen's sense of justice, and with a flick of Fenghuang Down he could easily coax her into anything.
And this forty-something loli, spoiled by that indulgence, bought manga with public funds, docked employee wages, even sent A-rank Valkyrie students into experiments…
After Otto built St. Freya for her, she still complained it looked too extravagant—like some five-hundred-year-old aristocratic academy.
Of course, he had little room to judge.
He wasn't exactly a saint either.
But if the original owner wanted to spoil her, what did that have to do with him?
The current Otto didn't dislike Theresa—scientifically speaking, hormones affected cognition, and her childlike body limited her thinking. (Exceptions like certain extraordinary beings aside.)
She was just a kid. Could Schicksal really not afford to raise one human child?
That said, he wasn't fond enough to indulge her.
In fact… he planned to use her for something.
"Amber," Otto suddenly said.
"Yes, Bishop."
"Can we still determine Siegfried Kaslana's location?"
"We can identify several Anti-Entropy bases he frequents. Each has Schicksal agents embedded."
She paused, then couldn't help asking, "Bishop… shall we capture him?"
"Haha, no. Why capture him?"
Otto smiled, but his eyes were cold.
A traitor is not to be trusted.
Even if he needed manpower, he had no intention of relying on naïve Kaslanas like Siegfried or Theresa.
When they lost control, they could endanger the entire world while still believing themselves righteous—fighting for some ideal they thought humanity required.
Back when he was just a player, he might've praised the writing as idealistic.
But now that he was Otto…
He could only say they were no different from him—just protecting what they cared about.
What Otto wanted were Valkyries who knew he was beyond redemption yet still stood beside him to guard the light—those who saw the darkness in him but also the hope of resisting the Honkai, and chose to remain.
Kaslanas… he could fool them for a time, but he had no interest in guarding against them for a lifetime.
Whenever he needed those white-haired idealists to play their part, he had ways to guide them into his script—making them believe it was their own will, happily "fighting for all that is beautiful in the world."
Like now.
"Amber, notify Fu Hua and Rita to lead Valkyrie squads to St. Freya under the pretext that Schicksal requires the Eleventh Divine Key. If Oath of Judah isn't handed over, the Far East Branch's funding will not be increased."
"After securing Oath of Judah, retrieve part of what's stored beneath St. Freya. Rita will transport it back to headquarters—Fu Hua remains on standby."
"Only part. The key is for Theresa to learn about it inadvertently. And Siegfried as well."
Otto gazed out into the endless night sky. When Amber received the order and looked up in surprise, she saw the smile in his eyes.
She understood what this meant.
She knew the consequences.
But…
"Yes."
Amber lowered her head, not wanting Otto to see the emotion that flickered in her eyes.
Lord Otto…
…