Honkai, why do you only throw me into high-level battles?

After briefly outlining his plan with a simple yet impactful statement, Lin Wei fell silent, sitting quietly in the back of the car as if resting with his eyes closed. Only the steady, rhythmic tapping of his index finger on his leg betrayed his active mind.

Sakura knew this was a sign that Lin Wei's brain was still racing with thoughts, and she wasn't sure whether she should interrupt him. Hesitating briefly, she decided to remain silent—she trusted that Lin Wei would share his considerations with her, regardless of whether he had truly made up his mind.

Time passed unhurriedly, and the car finally stopped in front of Lin Wei's hotel.

They returned to the room without incident. Lin Wei pulled over a chair and sat by the floor-to-ceiling window without a word. He took out the half-pendant from his pocket, held it up to the setting sun, and quietly admired the shimmering, sparkling light reflected through the gently swaying gem, serene and brilliant.

"...Sakura, did you think what I said earlier was unbelievable?"

Lin Wei, who had been admiring this beauty, suddenly spoke, his voice slightly louder than a murmur.

"Killing Otto is indeed unbelievable... If it were a little earlier, I wouldn't even have this thought. But now, I'm serious..."

His voice was calm and composed, as if he were merely discussing tomorrow's menu, not a matter of life and death confrontation.

"Because he's in my way."

"So, to avoid trouble, I have to ask him to die."

"...How do you plan to do that?"

Sakura glanced at the half-pendant and then looked away. She hoped Lin Wei's decision was carefully considered, not a sudden impulsive act driven by worry.

"Simple."

Hearing this question, Lin Wei smiled, a relaxed smile.

"Kill Otto, frame World Serpent, go to the hospital to heal Anna, and then leave..."

His smile was relaxed, his tone casual, as if outlining steps as simple as "When eating, you should first fill your bowl with rice, then use chopsticks to pick up the dishes, and finally remember to wash the dishes after eating."

"...Lin Wei, haven't you always been restraining yourself? You said you didn't want your existence to interfere too much with the future of this world."

Sakura found herself unable to keep up with Lin Wei's leaping thoughts. She sighed helplessly and decided to ask more directly,

"Miss Anna's situation, although sudden, shouldn't have caused such a drastic change in you, right?"

If Otto were truly killed, the future would become completely unpredictable from this moment on. She knew Lin Wei always had a strong sense of responsibility. If he caused the future of this world to become uncertain, he would definitely blame himself for it.

And he would definitely step forward, forcing himself to fill the void created by his actions, then try to redraw a clear path for this world from the chaotic and unclear future.

Just like he had always done, enduring, restraining himself, trying to stay outside the "real stage" of this world. He had always been like this, beneath a seemingly frivolous exterior, lay an incredibly passionate and heavy soul.

She didn't want Lin Wei to burden himself with too heavy a cross due to a momentary impulse and his overly strong sense of responsibility, just like in the legends of the far west.

"Lin Wei, do you... need to calm down a bit?"

Sakura carefully expressed her concern and care.

"Uh, Sakura... why are you looking at me like that?"

Lin Wei snapped back to reality and met her worried gaze. He paused for a moment, then smiled and reassured her,

"Don't worry, I'm still very restrained... It's my fault, I didn't explain myself clearly and caused a misunderstanding. I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

Sakura shook her head slightly, Lin Wei's apologetic words easing her worries a little. She believed he would give her a satisfactory answer.

"If Otto suddenly dies, the consequences would be too severe, practically earth-shattering. I wouldn't dare to cause such trouble..."

Lin Wei chuckled self-deprecatingly.

Not to mention being completely hated by Schicksal, being relentlessly pursued by all Valkyries from Durandal downwards, even Anna might end up resenting him. These obvious consequences aside, Otto had tied too many things to himself over these five hundred years, and the chaos that society would fall into due to his sudden death would also be blamed on him.

Theresa, whose grandfather was killed… let's not even go there, her threat was negligible.

But the two Herrschers under her command were a different story!

Especially Kiana, who was currently wholeheartedly striving to be Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie. Would she miss such a good opportunity to avenge the Archbishop?!

Schicksal's most loyal warrior—Kiana Kaslana, reporting for duty!

If Kiana acted like that, how could Raiden Mei, who always followed in her footsteps, stay out of it?

And Fu Hua would also become his enemy because of this! In Fu Hua's eyes, no matter how much of a jerk Otto was, he was still humanity's greatest protector; and he, the one who killed the protector, would be an accomplice of the Honkai, her enemy.

Bronya might be persuaded, but what good would one person do…

Even Anti-Entropy's Welt would see him as a madman, a threat to humanity, and then defeat him "in the name of humanity".

Lin Wei pondered, with Welt's personality, stubbornly refusing to listen to reason since his debut, how could he possibly listen to his explanation?

It would inevitably end in a breakdown of negotiations and a direct fight…

A full-scale pursuit from a united front of Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, and St. Freya…

How miserable would his end be then, need he even say?

He wouldn't even have a place to hide, even if he ran to the Quantum Sea, he would probably be dragged out!

"The whole world uniting to avenge Otto? What kind of dream is this?"

Just thinking about it made Lin Wei shiver.

"Wouldn't only the World Serpent bunch be laughing happily at such a plot development?"

Unwilling to work for World Serpent, Lin Wei immediately rejected this doomed storyline.

Don't even think about it!

(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

Putting aside these scattered thoughts, Lin Wei couldn't help but feel a headache coming on, the reason was simple—

Because there was a high probability that he would really confront Otto in the future!

As soon as the existence of the Key of Corruption was exposed, either he or Otto would have to die!

And he would absolutely not sit still and wait for death.

That meant…

"That rejected world line just now, could it really play out one day in the future?"

Lin Wei rubbed his aching forehead, finding this cruel fate a little hard to accept.

"Could it be because Gray Serpent foresaw this outcome, believing I would create the most advantageous situation for World Serpent, and in the end, I would have no choice but to seek their protection in desperation, that's why he pretended to be magnanimous and let me leave? And then set me up to be exposed to Schicksal in Nagazora City?"

Lin Wei couldn't help but let out a chilling smile. What a cunning plan! Should he applaud him?

But was there really no other way?

He didn't believe it!

"Lin Wei, what's wrong?"

Sakura sensed the sudden fluctuations in Lin Wei's emotions and called out worriedly.

"Ah, it's nothing, I just spaced out for a moment..."

Lin Wei, whose train of thought was interrupted, snapped back, all the strange emotions instantly vanishing. He simply recounted what he had just thought with a wry smile.

"Sigh, life is truly difficult..."

Lin Wei concluded with a sigh.

"Good, he's not crazy..."

Sakura, while listening to Lin Wei, actually breathed a sigh of relief.

As for the potentially terrifying future, she wasn't too worried, they could face it together when the time came.

Thinking of the cherry blossom-like falling ending, the somewhat melancholic Sakura even felt a sense of happiness.

No, I can't be having these thoughts…

Shaking her head slightly, Sakura cast aside those messy "tragic and beautiful imaginations", calmed herself, and brought the topic back.

"Since you know the consequences of killing Otto are so severe, then why..."

Knowing that he couldn't kill him, but still wanting to, she was completely confused by Lin Wei's contradictory thoughts.

Just listen to his explanation, Sakura thought, deciding to let it play out.

"Not being able to completely kill Otto doesn't mean I can't kill his current, annoying body..."

Lin Wei raised his hand and pointed backwards. The TV on the wall switched on out of thin air, and Sakura followed his finger. The screen showed the surveillance feed of the emergency ward in Manila's largest hospital. A girl sat silently with her head down outside the door; inside, a girl with a respirator slept peacefully. Next to her bed, the electrocardiogram monitor beeped steadily.

After watching this scene, Sakura slowly turned back, because Lin Wei continued,

"As long as I make his consciousness leave here, my goal is achieved."

Sakura nodded, indicating that she understood Lin Wei's thoughts, but she was still puzzled. After all, the risk of doing this...

"The risk is indeed high, I know."

Lin Wei seemed to have guessed Sakura's thoughts, and said somewhat helplessly,

"Because there's no way around it..."

Then his smile vanished.

"Since there's no way around it, I'll just take him out, and the problem will naturally be solved."

"..."

There it is again.

Sakura felt helpless, once again faced with cryptic words.

"The Honkai eruption in Manila is imminent. To keep Anna alive, there are only two ways - transfer her beforehand; or borrow the power of Abyss Flower to directly heal her."

Lin Wei repeated his previous conclusion, this was the core and premise of everything. Then he slowly said,

"And Schicksal clearly won't transfer her to another city for no reason. If I want to work in this direction, no matter what I do, it's inevitable that the currently lurking Otto, disguised as Yuno, near Anna, will become aware of my existence, just like back in Nagazora City..."

Lin Wei slowly raised a hand and made an explosion gesture.

"Then, we fight. Just like this: boom!"

"...Okay, that would indeed be very troublesome."

Sakura expressed her understanding and continued to ask,

"Then what about the other method?"

"The other method? Heh... You tell me, what would happen if I, under the cover of a Divine Key, secretly snuck into the hospital ward and used the projected Abyss Flower to heal Anna?"

Lin Wei scoffed,

"Would that Otto, disguised as Yuno, turn a blind eye to this sudden change?"

"...No."

Sakura was momentarily stunned, gradually understanding Lin Wei's thoughts.

"Right? Anna's miraculous healing would definitely attract his attention, at least curiosity; then, driven by curiosity, he would start investigating. And the easiest way to investigate is to look for clues from Anna, who's directly involved..."

Lin Wei simply explained his guess, and snapped his fingers,

"As long as he uses the Feather of the Dawn to read her memories, everything will come to light. And what would the result be, need I even say?"

"...Indeed, the result is obvious..."

Sakura smiled helplessly. As long as Otto saw Lin Wei's presence in Anna's memories - the inevitable pursuit and battle would follow.

"Even if I asked Durandal for help, to convince her to use the Abyss Flower, I would definitely need to provide a convincing reason and demonstrate sincerity."

But Lin Wei's explanation wasn't over yet,

"And the consequence would still be attracting Otto's attention, being targeted by him, being investigated by him, being found by him..."

What would happen after being found, need he even say?

"Besides, you can't expect Otto to show mercy and personally use the Void Archives to heal a mere A-rank Valkyrie, can you?"

Lin Wei mocked Otto without reservation, and then said,

"You see, no matter what method I use, Otto is an obstacle I can't avoid. Unless I do nothing and just watch Anna die here!"

"...You wouldn't do that."

Sakura said helplessly. If he stood by and watched, he wouldn't be Lin Wei.

"Yes, since that's the case, rather than being hesitant and racking my brains to figure out how to bypass Otto's ears and eyes, it's better to be straightforward and just take him out!"

Lin Wei's voice was calm but carried a hint of coldness,

"Make his consciousness roll back to Schicksal Headquarters. Don't block my way here, and don't use other people's appearances to annoy me!"

At this point, Lin Wei couldn't help but laugh,

"It's also thanks to Jackal's sudden appearance that I thought of the best solution to this matter - since she's already targeting me, then as an equivalent exchange, she shouldn't mind taking the blame for me, right?"

Lin Wei stood up, facing the setting sun, his smile gentle yet dangerous,

"Otto will get his wish and find World Serpent's trail, Jackal will get her wish and teach Schicksal a lesson, gaining new glory."

"And as a reward, little old me will just take advantage of the chaos to heal an ordinary Valkyrie and then quietly slip away unnoticed. Wouldn't I be the one who loses the most in this deal?"

Lin Wei even started joking.

"...But, wouldn't Otto, after returning to headquarters, notice Anna's sudden recovery?"

Sakura was still somewhat worried.

"Hehe, how could he?"

Lin Wei seemed quite confident about this,

"Having finally caught World Serpent's trail, and receiving such a big welcome gift from them, Otto would be too busy celebrating to constantly pay attention to a mere A-rank Valkyrie far away in Southeast Asia, wouldn't he?"

Lin Wei watched as the last rays of sunset faded away, and sighed softly,

"So next, I need to carefully plan how to successfully pin this mess on Jackal..."