While Siegfried and the members of Anti-Entropy were preparing for battle with all their might, what was Li Zihan—the one who had taken Sirin's place and become the core of the Second Eruption—doing?
The answer is: he was eating water chestnut cake with Miss Fu Hua.
Perhaps because he had already resolved everything early on, Li Zihan's job was simple.
He would fight the bestialized Siegfried, then unseal the Herrscher core he had taken from Welt, allowing him to be revived once more.
To be defeated by the combined pincer attack of a super soldier and the First Herrscher—this was the ending Li Zihan had scripted for the "Second Herrscher."
Wanting to defeat an enemy far stronger than oneself is a difficult matter.
However, intentionally throwing a fight and losing to an enemy far weaker than oneself, making a graceful exit under a plausible scenario, was another matter entirely.
Therefore, he could use the precious pre-battle time to see Fu Hua and share the freshly made water chestnut cake.
"How is it?"
After finishing the cake, the boy packaged it up, went out, and now smiled as he asked the beautiful immortal who had promised to date him in the future.
The girl savored the taste of the still-warm pastry very seriously, tasting it meticulously.
"It tastes very good, very authentic."
"Such an authentic flavor, it must have been made according to a traditional recipe."
Savoring the rich aroma of the pastry in her mouth, the immortal named Fu Hua gave her evaluation.
"Although I'm not quite sure why you suddenly became interested in me and started pursuing me, I have certainly felt the sentiment behind you specifically seeking out an ancient method to make this pastry."
"Authentic?"
As if hearing something strange, the boy, who had modified the recipe quite a bit when making the pastry, looked somewhat surprised.
"This wasn't made according to any ancient method."
"It wasn't?"
The immortal, who had felt that the taste of this pastry was very similar to a flavor from her memory, looked a little dazed.
"This is very, very close to the taste I had a long, long time ago."
"Close to the taste of a water chestnut cake you ate a long time ago?"
Li Zihan was also stunned.
Then, he couldn't help but glance at the feather-shaped ornament on the Shenzhou Flatboard's body. As someone who was no stranger to time travel and had used Fenghuang Down to overwrite the memories of key individuals to maintain the worldline's normal progression after messing things up, he fell into deep thought.
He felt that ever since he had appeared, the timeline of the Honkai world had become as tangled as a ball of yarn clawed by a cat.
"Perhaps we have met a long time ago," the boy lamented.
"Perhaps," the immortal replied.
Then, she once again looked at the boy sitting in front of her and spoke.
"So, what do you plan to do next to ensure the worldline unfolds normally?"
"Roughly, I'll seal a part of your memory with Fenghuang Down, then go face the First Herrscher and Siegfried."
The boy, with a dark red feather dancing in his hand, spoke very seriously.
"I see."
The immortal, not minding that a part of her memory would be sealed, nodded.
"I may have to be impolite next."
The boy, who had replicated Fenghuang Down through the Authority of the Herrscher of Reason, spoke to the immortal.
"It's alright."
The immortal closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
The boy, who had activated his Clairvoyance at some unknown point, vanished as well.
Then—
The immortal opened her eyes, a hint of confusion in them.
She looked around. Apart from the half-eaten water chestnut cake, everything seemed unfamiliar.
==
Meanwhile, on the other side, in the conference room at the Anti-Entropy base.
In the center of the room was a long, high-tech table. Anti-Entropy's top scientists and the man who had inherited the blood of a super soldier were already seated in their positions, waiting quietly.
Without a doubt, everyone present was an extremely outstanding individual in this world.
It could even be said that with Otto having been beaten into seclusion by Dull Goose, Fu Hua missing, and Welt having died violently, they were now the highest level of combat power on the planet.
And now, having been promoted to the world's top combat force, none of the people present wore the slightest smile.
An oppressive atmosphere spread through the crowd, covering their heads like an invisible shadow.
The grim-faced people looked at the meeting's moderator, who was holding the Star of Eden at the head of the conference table, waiting for her to speak.
"As you can see, humanity has been defeated on the battlefield against the Second Herrscher."
Lieserl, the Anti-Entropy scientist with deep blue eyes and a doll-like round face, calmly analyzed the current situation.
"It sounds pessimistic, but humanity is already on the brink of extinction."
"However, we are not without any chance of victory."
The man with crimson dual pistols at his waist held a syringe and slowly spoke up.
His ancestor was one of the most powerful individuals of the Previous Era, perhaps even the single strongest warrior. As long as he activated the super-transformation factor from him, he could gain power rivaling his ancestor's for a short time.
At that time, he could even stomp a Herrscher under his foot.
"But we can give you even greater help."
As if having made some sort of decision, the scientist named Einstein pushed forward a gem encased in what looked like a quartz protective shield.
It was the substance containing a Herrscher's Authority and a massive amount of Honkai energy that they had obtained after defeating the Pseudo-Herrscher named Bella.
"According to the data analyzed from the ruins on the moon, we have learned that the so-called Zeroth Power is not the true upper limit of a Divine Key."
At that, the gazes of everyone present fell upon her.
The woman, now the center of attention, paused for a moment before speaking with a grave tone.
"It is the Overclock Mode, driven by multiple Herrscher cores."
At the mention of the so-called Overclock Mode, even the first-rate scientists and the super soldier present were visibly stirred.
The so-called Zeroth Power was already a force so terrifying that Schicksal wanted to completely seal it away. So what about the Overclock Mode, which was a step beyond that?
"We don't have multiple Herrscher cores in our hands, but the overly arrogant Second Herrscher has pushed this right in front of us."
For the first time in a long while, a slight smile appeared on Einstein's face.
She pushed the gem, sealed in a transparent container, in front of Siegfried.
"When you use this as the second energy source for the Might of An-Utu, it will show you its true form."
"Sounds like our chances of winning are high."
Siegfried took the gem symbolizing the Herrscher of Thunder and tried to make a joke to lighten the overly serious atmosphere.
"No. Even with this, we may not be able to defeat the Second Herrscher."
A rather merciless truth came from Einstein's mouth.
"According to our test results, this generation's Second Herrscher has a huge problem. Her strength is far beyond reason."
"Saying something so discouraging at a time like this is really a blow to morale."
The smile on the white-haired man's face gradually faded, and he sighed helplessly.
"Therefore, you will also need Welt's help."
Einstein smiled faintly.