Azhar, who was already squatting down, looked up at Shu, who had spoken.
Someone actually remembers me?
Of course, Shu remembered... Although the massive amount of information the Scepter had brought back had made his head spin, he remembered the important details clearly.
Snatching a Herrscher Core... besides Azhar, Shu had done it too. He knew how difficult it was.
And Azhar's circumstances were far worse than his. What bridged the gap between them was Azhar's will.
"Oh, oh, oh! I remember now!" With Shu's reminder, Susannah immediately realized she had been looking in the wrong place.
No wonder she found her familiar but couldn't for the life of her remember who she was!
"Hehe, sorry... it's all my fault for being so dumb..." Susannah scratched her head apologetically at Azhar and decided to make it up to her. "How about I treat you all to dinner today!"
She didn't seem to have any special talents, and the only thing she had was the Contribution Points her grandfather and the others had left her...
Susannah wasn't just her grandfather's treasure; she was the crystal that the entire City of Sighs held in the palm of its hand, the sole embodiment of kindness in that city filled with malice.
In a Fire Moth where the average savings were around a thousand points (excluding certain individuals), Susannah had successfully inherited a fortune of tens of millions, making her, on paper, the richest person in all of Fire Moth.
Rita was aware of this, but she had no reason to accept Susannah's kindness for no reason.
An apology? It was better to leave the favor owed.
"Thank you for your kindness, Miss Susannah, but it's just a small meal. We wouldn't want to trouble you."
"Aww~" Susannah's face fell with disappointment. Shu's eyelids twitched incessantly.
You didn't mention your own name, did you? Rita just called you by name, and you're not even a little suspicious?
"Money really is useless..." the twice-rejected girl lamented with a resentful sigh, making Shu's eyelid twitch again.
No, no, no, I've practically sold myself for 60 Contribution Points, you can't say that...
Bianka had been staring at Shu the whole time. The unexpected sense of familiarity she felt from him still intrigued her.
It was a feeling she hadn't even gotten from Mr. Siegfried, and it was different from the warmth she felt from Cecilia.
This feeling, Bianka had only ever felt it from Kiana, who she was supposed to call her older sister, and it was even stronger.
That feeling of a shared origin... that sense of closeness...
It made Bianka wonder if he really was related to her in some way.
Bianka's unabashed, probing gaze made a cold sweat break out on Shu's back.
Could it be that Bianka had discovered his disguise, but couldn't see through it completely, and had become wary of him?
Hmm... this could be a little troublesome...
"Kevin... sir, is that right?" Rita turned her head to look at Shu and asked with a smile.
Shu was taken aback for a moment, then immediately realized that she must have seen the resume he had submitted. It was only natural that she would recognize him...
Wait, does that mean Susannah submitted a resume too?
"And with Lady Azhar, it seems there's only one person who hasn't arrived yet."
There's more?
Shu looked around. Everyone here was a "familiar face," but with Azhar as an exception, he couldn't be sure who the remaining person was.
Speaking of which... who were the "original characters" he hadn't met yet?
Einstein and Tesla, those Anti-Entropy members, should still be in Future City. The rest were the members of World Serpent...
Natasha had been with Fire Moth for a while, so that left...
Chen Tianwu and Ana.
Where were those two now?
Amidst the rumbling of the stationed Titan mechs and the commotion of the diners, Shu's thoughts began to wander.
And the attention of Susannah and the others was drawn to the moving Titan mechs.
"It's time for the shift change," Susannah said softly, watching the receding mechs.
Rita's expression changed slightly.
Almost simultaneously, Shu and Bianka, who had been lost in thought, snapped their heads up and looked in the same direction.
It was the opposite direction from where the Titan mechs were leaving. A low rumbling sound was rapidly approaching.
But by the time the crowd noticed the tremor, several huge white figures had already appeared on the distant street, charging towards the base with a savage fury.
"Honkai Beasts! It's Honkai Beasts!!"
With a piercing scream, a commotion broke out in the base.
The people who came to Sapphire City were no ordinary folk; they all had courage and basic skills.
But their psychological defenses were still at the level of dealing with zombies. The existence of Honkai Beasts was far beyond the expectations of most.
Honkai Beasts were supposed to be dealt with by mech squads and those special teams!
And where were the Titan mechs that were supposed to protect them?
The crowd looked towards the departing mechs, only to see that they were already far away, now desperately rushing back towards the base.
The shift change! Why did the Honkai Beasts have to appear during the shift change?!
They won't make it in time!
The Titan mechs were fast, but they couldn't just ignore everything in their path.
But the Honkai Beasts, who had somehow bypassed the surveillance network to get here, had no such concerns.
The moment they locked onto the base, these several Templar-class Honkai Beasts had gone full throttle, charging towards the base in a low-altitude flight.
At their current speeds, the Titan mechs and the Honkai Beasts would collide right at the base!
Shu, who had subconsciously activated his power, instantly analyzed this. In the midst of the scattering crowd, the unmoving figures of Shu and his group stood out.
The panic and fear in the hearts of the people around him made Shu frown slightly. He looked at the three Templar-class Honkai Beasts, his eyes narrowing. The [Hope] in his body began to flow, converting into imminent power.
But just as he was about to end this accident quickly, the reconnaissance ability he had sent out suddenly detected many "little things" arranged along the Honkai Beasts' path.
"That's..."
BOOM—!! An ice-blue figure shot past Shu, rushing towards the three Honkai Beasts at an incredible speed.
The next moment, a violent explosion sounded, drawing everyone's attention.
The three Templar-class Honkai Beasts stopped their charge, and blocking their path was...
"Ana Schariac will not let anyone get hurt!"