"You eat first. I have something to take care of."
"What is it?"
Before Li Wu could finish speaking, Raiden Mei asked impatiently, taking two steps forward, trying to get close enough to see the contents of his phone screen.
Li Wu smoothly put his phone back into his bag, then kept a straight face and scolded her sternly: "This isn't something you need to know. Go back and eat. I'll be there in a moment."
"Alright..."
Mei returned to the dining table. Her expression was docile yet slightly content, bearing a striking resemblance—about seventy or eighty percent—to that fragile demeanor she had displayed at school during the day.
Leaning forward with her elbows on the table and her chin resting on her interlaced hands, she stared unblinkingly at Li Wu out on the balcony, delaying her meal.
It wasn't until Li Wu returned that she finally started, but he found that the food on the table hadn't been touched at all.
"Just now... did you run into some trouble?" Mei maintained her pose, chin in hands, her eyes following Li Wu's movements, that docile, faint smile still hanging on the corners of her lips.
"I owe some money. Debt collectors. But you, on the other hand, have been absent-minded since just now. Is there something you want to ask?" Li Wu made up an excuse on the spot.
In fact, to make the protagonist's journey to save the heroine more fraught with difficulties, the protagonist in the comic had taken out loans to go to school and relied on part-time jobs to make a living.
Which meant he was indeed carrying a not-so-small debt, with a deadline of seven days.
"Can I ask?"
"This time, you can."
"My father left me a black card. It hasn't been frozen, and there's a lot of money on it. It's useless to me, so I can help you pay off the debt..."
As she spoke, Raiden Mei pulled out a black card from behind her back.
"..."
Li Wu took the black card, and suddenly connected it to the true hint the system had once given him—
Day after day, with no end in sight. I smile as I ask you for money, for health, for dignity. You kneel before me, your face full of fawning adoration, unreservedly offering up everything I demand with both hands, saying how much you like me. I rejoice, I hesitate, I pity... Is this salvation, or is it conquest? I can't tell the difference. When will it end...
As long as he accepted this card, the debt would no longer be an issue.
But this also corresponded perfectly to the system's hint. Yet, Li Wu truly had no reason to refuse. He would need money for many things later on, and taking this black card could save him a lot of trouble.
"Then I'll accept it."
The comic protagonist might not mooch off women, but I can!
Reason triumphed over emotion, and Li Wu accepted the black card.
Almost simultaneously, the system directly updated the mission content for Act 1—
[Act 1: "Their Unknown Other Side."]
[Save point updated. You accepted Raiden Mei's black card. Main Mission altered.]
[Main Mission: "Save Her, or, Kill Her."]
[Location: Nagazora City.]
[Target: Raiden Mei.]
[Mission Objective 1: Help Raiden Mei's personality conquer the Herrscher personality, and ensure she survives the Third Honkai Eruption.]
[Mission Objective 2: Raiden Mei dies.]
[Hint: Raiden Mei is now permitted to die. Upon death, "Return by Death" will no longer be triggered. Completing either objective will clear Act 1 and unlock Act 2.]
??
??
Li Wu clutched the black card, his brown eyes trembling involuntarily.
Clear Act 1?
Why?
Main Mission altered? The heroine is allowed to die? There was never a plot point like this in the comic...
Does this mean he can abandon Raiden Mei now?
No, something is wrong.
Why did this change suddenly pop up?
Just as Li Wu was about to ask something, the window glass suddenly shattered. Shards of glass mixed with blood landed in his bowl.
Thud.
Raiden Mei's eyes were vacant as she fell straight off her chair. Crimson liquid flowed ceaselessly from the bullet hole in her forehead.
Everything happened too suddenly, catching him completely off guard. Li Wu froze on the spot, staring blankly at Raiden Mei's corpse.
She did not reset.
[Act 1 Cleared. Act 2 will unlock for you in ten minutes.]
[Save point will automatically update upon unlocking Act 2.]
"What... happened?"
Li Wu looked at the black card in his palm. It was just an insignificant little event; why did it lead to a change in the main mission?
No, now is not the time to consider this.
Li Wu immediately pulled out his phone to check the time. 8:07 PM. He had actually forgotten such an important thing.
The 8:00 PM Deliveryman Incident. The mercenary was supposed to disguise himself as a deliveryman. But when the deliveryman didn't arrive at 8:00 sharp, Li Wu thought he had avoided this crisis event.
But this cold scene before his eyes made him realize instantly.
He hadn't failed to show up; he had just appeared in a more covert and lethal way.
Those powerful figures knew there was a traitor inside, so they abandoned the original plan. Even Ruslan was on the suspect list, so he hadn't been able to learn the inside information in advance.
"How long until Act 2 starts?"
[Three minutes.]
Li Wu took out the handgun Ruslan had prepared for him, pressed the muzzle to his temple, and clicked off the safety.
If stabbing himself to death with a knife back then was a last resort, this time he had a choice. As long as he gave up, he could immediately clear Act 1.
"I don't want to clear the level in such a confusing way. There are still so many things I haven't clarified..."
"It doesn't matter if you haven't clarified them."
"Raiden Mei is the heroine after all. Dying like this is too easy. I have to Return by Death immediately to change this terrible ending."
"But she wanted to die anyway."
Li Wu spoke word by word, as if two people were arguing inside him.
"Once. Just once. I took her money, so I should help. Besides, returning once won't cost me anything."
Li Wu found a suitable reason, and with a bang, he fell to the ground.
...
...
The instant his consciousness cleared, Li Wu immediately lunged forward. The moment the bullet penetrated the glass, he tackled Raiden Mei to the ground, avoiding the fatal blow.
"Don't ask. Follow me." Li Wu dragged Raiden Mei into the bedroom, then quickly drew the curtains and locked the door.
Raiden Mei sat on the bed, quietly watching Li Wu's every move. After he finished, she suddenly asked, "...Is someone here to kill me?"
"Have you encountered this before?"
"Mhm. Quite a few times. But back then, it was to make my father pay a ransom. But now... it doesn't look like they're here for money. It's probably because of... another matter."
Raiden Mei's eyes suddenly became desolate. She clutched her faintly burning chest—the place where the Herrscher Core resided.
A few months ago, in order to cure her congenital disease once and for all, her father had implanted the Gem of Conquest into her body to suppress it.
At first, she didn't know what it was. Until she found the relevant information in the files her father left behind. The opening line was a row of bold, darkened characters—
Third Herrscher, Raiden Mei, Herrscher of Thunder Vessel.
Just as Li Wu was about to ask what matter she was referring to, the sound of someone trying to pry open the door suddenly came from outside.
Without time to think, Li Wu walked to the door, raised his handgun, and aimed the muzzle at the closed bedroom door.
The crisis wasn't over yet...