At this thought, Mei couldn't help but feel exasperated. The things she had done in the plot or the illusion—what did they have to do with her now?
She would never shout something like that.
If she really did, she'd surely face instant social death, right?
Just then, Kiana spoke up.
"No way! Mei is mine. I absolutely won't let some shady woman seduce her away."
"Hmph! Wu Tong, what kind of suggestions are you even making?"
At this moment, Kiana glared fiercely at Wu Tong, as if waiting for an explanation.
Hearing Kiana's words, Wu Tong simply shrugged.
"I just wanted Mei to experience her original fate, that's all."
"What ulterior motives could I possibly have?"
Right, Mei?
Mei's lips twitched uncontrollably upon hearing this.
She really didn't feel like talking to Wu Tong, this troublemaker, anymore.
Original fate?
She'd rather not have that kind of fate.
In any case, she wasn't going to shout it.
"Hmph! You're definitely up to no good."
"Mei, you mustn't agree to this."
Kiana's sharp intuition instantly picked up on Wu Tong's troublemaking mindset.
She snorted and then turned to Mei with a warning.
"Don't worry, I won't do it," Mei reassured her.
"If Mei isn't willing, how about you give it a try, Kiana?" Wu Tong suggested, unwilling to let it go.
"Once we go in, just shout, 'Mei, you've gained weight!'"
Hearing this proposal, Dan Zhu and Cang Xuan immediately froze, their faces paling as if they'd seen a ghost. Cold sweat poured down their foreheads like rain.
What kind of deep-seated grudge did these two have?
If not, why would Wu Tong want to send Kiana straight to Dr. Mobius's operating table?
"No way! Do you think I'm stupid?" Kiana yelled at Wu Tong.
She might not like to overthink things, but that didn't mean she was an idiot!
If she actually said that, would she even make it out alive?
Though she couldn't remember who Mobius was, the moment Kiana heard the name, her "Bug Sense" went haywire, screaming warnings at her.
Based on that alone, Kiana instantly concluded that she absolutely could not take Wu Tong's advice.
"...?"
Wu Tong chose not to respond and instead sent her a question mark in silence.
Was Kiana stupid?
Of course not. She was plenty clever.
But as everyone knew, once Kiana spent too long in a comfortable environment, the Kaslana family's already-not-bright brain would gradually deteriorate, eventually becoming little more than a decorative accessory.
Like now, surrounded by Raiden Mei, Bronya, Fu Hua, and the others, Kiana's brain had long since devolved into a mere ornament.
Wu Tong was certain that the now single-celled Kiana had completely forgotten Fu Hua's earlier warnings about the dangerous figures among the Thirteen Flame-Chasers.
She probably didn't even remember who Mobius was anymore.
In this state, she might not be a complete idiot, but she wasn't far off, was she?
Hearing Kiana suddenly retort that she wasn't stupid left Wu Tong at a loss for words.
But seeing that even Kiana hadn't fallen for his trick, Wu Tong couldn't help but feel a little dejected.
People these days were just too hard to fool…
With that thought, he reluctantly shelved his troublemaking impulses.
...
Just then, a faint ripple emanated from Mei's body.
Possessing the same Authority, Wu Tong detected it almost instantly and immediately pinpointed its source.
He stopped the group before they could enter the Elysian Realm.
"Hold on. Let's deal with a little problem first."
Wu Tong halted everyone, his eyes locked onto Mei's figure.
Mei, puzzled by this, wondered—
What's going on?
Why was Wu Tong looking at her so strangely all of a sudden?
"The Herrscher of Corruption!!!"
"I never expected it to be hiding so well. If not for that sudden ripple, I might not have noticed it at all."
His tone was laced with relief. If the Herrscher of Corruption had actually made it into the Elysian Realm, things would have gone very badly.
A Herrscher wielding the Authority of Corruption against the data-based Elysian Realm? That would be like mowing down weeds—effortless slaughter.
Amused, Wu Tong couldn't help but chuckle.
This Herrscher of Corruption was a complete amateur, barely able to control its emotions.
Right before entering the Elysian Realm, it had gotten too excited and leaked a trace of its presence.
All its grand plans had crumbled in an instant—and by its own inadvertent mistake, no less.
Truly, a newborn consciousness was just too naive.
If Wu Tong hadn't caught it, it might have slipped right in.
"The Herrscher of Corruption?!"
Hearing this, Mei's delicate face instantly paled.
The Herrscher of Corruption had already appeared within her this early?
Again… again, she had nearly caused a catastrophe without even realizing it.
She had almost brought the Herrscher of Corruption into the Realm once more.
As Mei stood there, trembling with dread, Wu Tong placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't blame yourself. No one could've guessed the Herrscher of Corruption would show up this soon."
"After all, ever since the Second Impact, the information about the Herrschers from the Previous Era can only be referenced by name—their order is completely unreliable now."
Wu Tong sighed. This really wasn't Mei's fault.
Ever since the Second Impact and the appearance of Sirin, the multi-core Herrscher, the records from the Previous Era had become jumbled.
Aside from the names being roughly the same, the sequence had completely derailed.
After all, the core of the Herrscher of Flame, which should have been the Seventh, had appeared during the Second Impact—something utterly inconceivable.
But since the sequence was already scrambled, the Herrscher of Corruption appearing here wasn't too surprising.
Maybe the Will of Honkai had quietly deployed it at some unnoticed moment?
Having figured this out, Wu Tong stopped worrying about the Will's schemes. Since the plot had already been foiled, any follow-up plans would inevitably collapse.
Then, using the Authority of the Herrscher of Sentience, he effortlessly crushed the nascent Herrscher of Corruption like an ant.
A moment later, a crystalline Herrscher core materialized in his hand.
Seeing this, Mei finally confirmed that she had, unknowingly, carried the Herrscher of Corruption with her.
But thankfully, disaster had been averted.
With that thought, she cast a grateful glance at Wu Tong.
…
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(End of Chapter)