"Hm?" Ming Yu was rather surprised. The fact that Theresa came to the Far East Branch was not without an element of spite towards Otto, but for her to plead with Otto on his behalf, and for Otto to actually agree...
There was a big story in this. Ming Yu didn't think he had enough clout to borrow the Abyss Flower, even with Theresa pleading for him; it still wasn't quite enough. The most likely reason was out of respect for Fu Hua. In that case, Fu Hua would sooner or later find out about what he did in the data space. He wondered what she would think of him. Would she consider him an unstable element and give him a "Wrath of Heaven"?
This time, he had miscalculated and exposed too much. Now, even if he wanted to lay low and develop, he wouldn't be able to. In Otto's eyes, he was part of Fu Hua's faction, so he would definitely receive attention. And in Fu Hua's eyes, what would he be?
Shaking his head to dismiss these thoughts, Ming Yu said with a wry smile, "Then thank you, Principal. I already understand my mistake, and I will definitely not be so reckless in the future."
As he spoke, Ming Yu lowered his head, feigning shame. Although he wasn't too concerned about the losses this time, since Theresa had already gone so far as to request the Abyss Flower, it would be too pretentious of him to act otherwise. Besides, Ming Yu was also a little interested in the Abyss Flower. Although it was impossible for him to keep and use it, it would be nice to have a chance to see it.
Seeing Ming Yu bow his head and admit his mistake, Theresa's mood improved considerably. However, she didn't think the matter was over just like that.
Narrowing her eyes, Theresa tried her best to speak in an amiable tone, "Ming Yu-chan, why do you think Headquarters agreed to lend out the Abyss Flower?"
Hearing Theresa's words, Ming Yu couldn't help but shiver. That look, that tone... a gentleness laced with killing intent, it was chilling. Ming Yu knew Theresa had become suspicious. She knew that it was definitely not normal for Headquarters to agree to lend out the Abyss Flower. Since it wasn't her own doing, then there must be something special about Ming Yu.
If Ming Yu didn't give a reasonable explanation, Theresa would definitely take action. Although this Principal liked to slack off at work, one should never forget that she was a battle-hardened S-rank warrior, one who had truly walked out of mountains of corpses. When necessary, she would absolutely not show mercy!
"Er..." Ming Yu scratched his head, a few beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead. "Before leaving the data space, I met a golden-haired, green-eyed young man who called himself the Overseer. He said he was very optimistic about my control over the Black Abyss and invited me to join Headquarters after graduation. He also promised to let me keep the Abyss Flower."
"Also, I'm not a kid anymore!" Ming Yu added firmly. Don't think I don't know how '-chan' is used.
"Oh, is that so?" A smile played in Theresa's eyes, not minding Ming Yu's stubbornness. "So, did you accept that person's invitation?"
"How could I? St. Freya is my home, I'm not leaving. Besides, I don't know anyone at Headquarters. It's not as reassuring as being at St. Freya." Ming Yu immediately made his attitude clear, blinking his eyes, which were full of sincerity.
In Ming Yu's heart, Schicksal Headquarters was definitely the most dangerous place. If he really had to go to Schicksal Headquarters, he might as well pack his things and prepare to jump ship to Anti-Entropy. He heard the benefits and salary were even better there.
Under Otto's nose, his secrets wouldn't remain safe for long. After all, technology to probe the human brain was not non-existent in this world. If he were to arouse Otto's suspicion, he wouldn't be as easy to talk to as Theresa. He'd probably just use Void Archives directly. Talking about humanitarianism with Otto was a complete joke.
"Then remember what you said. Don't cause any trouble during this time. The Abyss Flower will arrive in a few days." Theresa jumped off the cross, gave a few instructions, and having gotten the answer she wanted, she had no intention of staying any longer.
Watching Theresa leave, Ming Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief, complaining inwardly about the System's incompetence. If it had solved his identity problem, would he need to be tested every few days? Even arranging an identity for him in Anti-Entropy would be much better than a complete blank slate.
As long as they couldn't find any trace of him in this world, Theresa and the others would always have reservations. They could even accept members of Anti-Entropy, so what kind of identity would make them back down? But Ming Yu's complete blank slate was the most unsettling; the unknown was the greatest danger.
System: "..."
The next morning, feeling that his body was basically fine, Ming Yu prepared to head to the training grounds. Other than his hair still being half-white and his body feeling slightly weak, there were no other effects. Although there would certainly be long-term effects, no serious consequences were apparent in the short term. Plus, with the Abyss Flower arriving soon, Ming Yu no longer dwelled on it.
On the other hand, when Mei learned of the situation, she cooked a table full of delicious food, allowing Ming Yu to have a great meal, though most of it ended up in the bellies of the two white-haired fluffballs.
After the events in the data space, Kiana had become unusually hardworking, diligently training with Theresa. Her diligence was almost on par with Ming Yu's.
Arriving at the training grounds, Ming Yu habitually sought out Fu Hua. The progress he made when practicing with Fu Hua was very significant, far better than practicing alone.
Seeing Ming Yu's white hair, Fu Hua asked with a surprised expression, "Classmate Ming Yu, your hair is?"
"Oh, you mean this? I just dyed it a while ago. What do you think, pretty cool, right?" Ming Yu said, pretending to be calm. He wasn't sure if Otto had communicated with Fu Hua. If his situation was exposed, how would Fu Hua react?
Fu Hua nodded calmly, indicating that she understood, but did not express an opinion, only gesturing for Ming Yu to begin training.
Ming Yu didn't mind. He didn't like this attention-grabbing hair color either; half-black and half-white was a bit strange.
Assuming his stance and taking a deep breath, Ming Yu threw a punch at Fu Hua. At the same time, Honkai Energy flowed through his meridians, further heightening the acuity of his five senses.
Fu Hua's lineage of martial arts differed from Schicksal's application of Honkai Energy. Schicksal simply used Honkai Energy to strengthen the body, requiring Valkyries to have Honkai Energy resistance and adaptability so that they would not be corrupted into Honkai Zombies when gaining power.
Fu Hua's martial arts, however, took a different path, using the dantian to store Honkai Energy and mobilizing its flow through the meridians in a special way to reduce the corrosion of Honkai Energy on the human body. Although this method didn't greatly enhance physical strength, it could significantly reduce the possibility of being corrupted by Honkai Energy, and its explosive power was extremely formidable.
Looking at the serious young man before her, Fu Hua couldn't help but think of Otto's communication from yesterday.