Although it was phrased as a request, no emotion could be heard in Odin's voice.
His starsilver mask concealed every trace of emotion.
Vill-V shrugged slightly. "Hah, aren't these your people? Why should I be the one to save them? Remember, you owe me a favor."
Then Vill-V took out her communicator and directed Inori and Hua to lead the Taixu Gang in subduing those lunatics.
As for what favor he owed her, of course Vill-V was just saying it. Who knew whether Odin himself had tampered with those Mobile Response Force members and caused their mental breakdowns?
By forcibly selling him a favor, even if Odin did not necessarily repay it, Vill-V would at least seize the initiative in their conversations.
Those Mobile Response Force members were practically cyberpsychos now. Compared with dealing with a well-trained army, the Taixu Gang found cyberpsychos much easier to handle, and they quickly suppressed the lunatics.
As for rebuilding the walls of their hearts, did he seriously think this was some Honkai Impact × EVA crossover?
I'll just deploy an AT Field and refuse to communicate with you.
Watching the busy Vill-V, ghostly flames flickered beneath Odin's eyelids. "This is the lamentable nature of a Daughter of Humanity. You were born 'human.' Saving humanity is the rune engraved upon your very soul."
...
No Key was found on Ghostfire Syndicate leader Tenmon Soji or the officers who had surrendered alongside him.
Although Tenmon Soji had already been blasted into ash in outer space, Vill-V did not believe that a Key connected to a God could be destroyed so easily.
If it really had been destroyed just like that, Vill-V would actually have felt much more at ease.
Moreover, the Key was considered just as important as the four great gangs. Aside from its hidden function as a Key, on the surface, it represented support from Heliopolis Life Sciences.
Even if your gang was wiped out, as long as the Key remained in your hands, Heliopolis Life Sciences would help you make a comeback.
Of course, Mad Hatter had prepared a contingency.
Queen of Hearts Liora, who had infiltrated the Ghostfire Syndicate, brought good news.
She had successfully infiltrated Onoya and discovered the power backing the Ghostfire Syndicate—the Seishin Association.
The true masterminds controlling the Ghostfire Syndicate were those old men from the Seishin Association. Tenmon Soji might have been powerful, but he knew absolutely nothing about politics.
If the blunt, straightforward Tenmon Soji, who kept his grudges and favors perfectly clear, had truly been left to manage everything, there was no way the Ghostfire Syndicate could have maintained such a harmonious relationship with Heliopolis Life Sciences.
That was why the people who had always dealt directly with Heliopolis Life Sciences were those old men from the Seishin Association.
Onoya was also where they had gone to spend their twilight years. Once they learned that Tenmon Soji had suffered a total defeat, they naturally surrendered without hesitation.
They had neither ability nor brains. The only reason they had managed to remain in such positions was because both Tenmon Soji and Heliopolis Life Sciences had given them face.
What they confessed left the members of the Taixu Gang seething with righteous fury.
"The entire gang structure was organized by Heliopolis Life Sciences? They provided funding and ordered you to establish gangs like the Ghostfire Syndicate just to divide the conflicts among the civilians on the outskirts?"
"Y-Yes... Ahhh!"
Before those elders could even finish confessing, Liora subjected them to torture.
Liora despised people who treated the lower classes as playthings more than anything.
Ignoring the Taixu Gang members who hung the barely breathing "elders" from streetlamps to vent their rage, Liora extracted the information she wanted.
It turned out they really did know something about the Key. It seemed the Ghostfire Syndicate was indeed the custodian designated by Heliopolis Life Sciences to safeguard it.
Tenmon Soji himself was also extremely unusual. Heliopolis Life Sciences had granted him extraordinarily high clearance, indicating an inseparable connection between them. It would hardly be an exaggeration to call him one of their own.
Yet the way the two sides interacted showed no sign of such a close relationship whatsoever. It was extremely contradictory.
"Actually, it's easy to explain. Tenmon Soji was an imitator. Although he originated from Heliopolis Life Sciences, the person he had always imitated was that Tenmon Soji from the Far East."
As Liora led Vill-V and the others to retrieve the Key, Vill-V explained the situation.
"Of course, you could also say that person really was Tenmon Soji. His memories were unchanged. Only the core had been replaced."
"So Heliopolis Life Sciences is full of UFO people?"
Excitement and eagerness shone in Bronya's eyes.
Fighting aliens? That's way too cool.
This is way more exciting than Honkai.
Hua was also startled when she heard this explosive revelation. "We haven't even dealt with Honkai over here yet, and now aliens are showing up too? And they're even appearing as enemies."
"Then who's this iron-masked guy?"
Liora gestured toward Odin, who followed behind Vill-V with his massive, muscular frame standing two or three meters tall.
In the end, Odin had still followed Vill-V.
Naturally, Odin had nothing to say in response to Liora's question. Aside from Vill-V, he had no interest whatsoever in unrelated people.
Vill-V had no intention of explaining either.
After all, once you learned about the Ninth Mausoleum, you became involved with it.
As the mysterious Klee once said, "Whatever is spoken shall become known."
Given the characteristics of the Ninth Mausoleum, it might be even more absurd. Perhaps it was actually, "Whatever becomes known shall know that it is known."
Vill-V's information had probably been exposed in precisely that manner.
So if she could avoid dragging more people into this, she would.
As for Pardo, there was no need to worry about her.
Maybe one day, Kitty would even open their door for a visit and treat their home as a brand-new source of merchandise.
Pardo was the true embodiment of "whatever becomes known shall be restocked." She had even opened Honkai's door to restock from it before. A mere mausoleum was nothing to fear.
...
The group arrived at a hidden underground warehouse where the Ghostfire Syndicate's treasures were piled.
At the same time, many people were imprisoned there.
The environment was chaotic and oppressive.
There were many guards along the way, but Hua dealt with every one of them by herself.
However, what Hua saw next made her pupils contract violently. "Why... are you here?!"
She had never expected to meet that red-haired MOTH captain again in a place like this.
"Captain Himeko!"
Captain Himeko was tightly bound in thick chains and imprisoned inside an electronic cage glowing pale blue.
Her clothes were tattered, and her complexion had turned deathly pale after such prolonged confinement, but her voluptuous figure had not grown thin.
Her thick, long hair concealed half her face, yet it could not hide the determination and unyielding spirit shining from her large, phoenix-like eyes.
She was like a trapped lioness. Even imprisoned, her courage and rebellious spirit could not be broken.
Hearing the voice, she raised her head proudly and sneered. "What? Come to mock me while I'm down again?"
Only when she clearly saw the face of the person before her did surprise appear in her eyes. "It's you... Why are you here? I remember you... I remember you..."