In the dimly lit room, Otto sat with his back to all living beings in his comfortable gaming chair. The computer screen in front of him displayed the settlement interface of Kallen Fantasy.
It was obvious that Otto had once again achieved a global second-place ranking today, though his score was still some distance away from the first-place holder, whose name had been turned into asterisks.
"You're here," his deep voice came from in front of the chair.
"Yes, I'm here," Shun said casually. With Otto unable to use zero-frame simulated Fenghuang Down and lacking any means to target imaginary space, Shun was completely at ease regarding his own safety.
"You shouldn't have come…"
"But I'm already here, damn it. Also, weren't you the one who called me over?" Shun interrupted Otto's attempt to continue playing around and acting crazy.
"Ah, alright, alright. Old friend, you really have no sense of humor." Seeing that Shun had no intention of playing along, Otto sensibly put away his playful mood.
"Although I have nothing to do every day, that doesn't mean I want to waste time here with you."
To be honest, he still couldn't figure out why he would become close friends with Otto in the future. Had he forgotten Otto's evil deeds?
And Otto's skill at stabbing his friends in the back was also exceptionally outstanding. "Red Kite Immortal, I didn't lie!" He couldn't possibly forget that famous line either.
"Hahaha, old friend. I guess you're thinking again, 'How could I become close friends with someone like this?' But please allow me to keep you in suspense. You will naturally understand these matters in the future."
Otto's mouth remained tightly sealed. No matter how Shun asked about past information, Otto wouldn't reveal anything. Even after Shun revealed a bit of black history that only he himself knew, Shun was left speechless.
Some things had happened before he crossed over. If Otto knew about them, what that implied needed no further explanation.
Damn it. In the future, was he really going to be best buddies with Otto, wearing the same pants?
Even if it was for the sake of restraining the Herrscher bug, he wouldn't have gone that far, right? After all, the current Otto was even more annoying to him than a fly in a public restroom.
"Alright, old friend. I know you're the prospective groom, immersed in the joy of happiness, so naturally you have no time to accompany an old widower like me."
Otto pretended to look very heartbroken as he spoke, but who would believe he was genuinely sad?
"Yeah, you do have quite the self-awareness, don't you?" However, up to now, he owed Otto two favors. One was for the gifts for Kiana and Bianca, and the other was for Otto agreeing to serve as the officiant and host his wedding.
Because he owed two favors, Shun could only tease him verbally. He still understood the principle that taking someone's hand makes one short, and eating someone's food makes one soft-spoken.
"Old friend, let's get straight to the point. The reason I invited you here today is that I want you to do an experiment."
"An experiment? What kind of experiment? Don't even think about making a clone of me or anything. I don't want to have a Y-xxx brother or sister."
Anyway, if Otto wanted to collect his genetic samples or anything like that, Shun would definitely refuse immediately.
"Rest assured. To me, old friend, you are one of a kind." In fact, Otto had once had ideas about Shun, but after discovering that cells leaving Shun's body would undergo genetic collapse in an extremely short time and could not be analyzed, he had given up on that plan.
"Then what kind of experiment is it? Just tell me directly. Since I owe you a favor and find it hard to refuse, as long as it doesn't cross my bottom line, I can do it."
There were still quite a few places to sit in Otto's room. Considering that he might have to argue with Otto for a while later, Shun found a spot and sat down.
"Rest assured, it's definitely not a decision that would harm a friend. I know the strings in your heart and your bottom line very well, old friend."
Seeing that things were about halfway done, Otto continued to reassure Shun.
"Old friend, as you know, the Herrscher of the Void is very important to me."
Shun nodded noncommittally. After all, after becoming a slave to the Imaginary Tree, Otto could only temporarily sever his connection with the Tree using Imaginary Renormalization before he fully took over the authority of God, in order to free Otto from his bonds and allow him to fulfill his long-cherished wish.
This was not only important to Otto but equally important to Shun. Otherwise, the Herrscher restraint would disappear, only for an unkillable false god and a fully powered Otto with unknown combat strength to appear.
"Go ahead. I'll help you…" As long as it wasn't tying Kiana in front of Otto to recreate the Descent of the Queen or anything like that, Shun felt he could accept it.
"Hahaha, old friend, why are you looking at me like that?" Sensing Shun's sharp gaze, Otto quickly said.
"Rest assured. I'm not a bad person. How could I possibly make you do something like that? The Red Kite Immortal, my other old friend, is someone from your side. Bianca probably wouldn't have the heart to attack her own sister either."
Look at that. You said it yourself—do you even believe your own words? I haven't even said what I guessed, yet you already guessed it. Sure enough, you really haven't changed your ways.
Shun felt a bit like he had boarded a pirate ship, but it was obvious that he could no longer get off now.
"Alright, alright, no more jokes. Let me show you something, and you'll understand." As Otto spoke, he took out a not-too-large box from the drawer beneath him. It was obvious that it contained something important.
"As everyone knows, the core of the Herrscher of the Void born during the Second Eruption actually cracked at the end. Although I tried my best to repair it, there was still a small part that couldn't integrate into that girl's body."
Otto opened the box, revealing well-preserved yellow gem fragments inside. If Otto hadn't lied earlier, this was a part of the Herrscher of the Void's core.
"Why are you showing this to me? Don't tell me you think stuffing these fragments into someone else's body and triggering another Eruption could recreate a Herrscher of the Void?"
Shun couldn't quite understand Otto's purpose in doing this. The advantage brought by the time-traveler's foresight was becoming smaller and smaller.
"Old friend, you really are talented. Why didn't I think of such a method? If two Herrschers of the Void were really born at that time, that would be wonderful."
Otto looked somewhat tempted. He rubbed his hands together, suddenly feeling motivated again.
"No, you actually want to do it like that… I was just saying it casually."
Shun stared at Otto for a long time, seemingly considering which direction to stab him later.
Perhaps Shun's desire to stab Otto was too strong, or perhaps Otto simply didn't take it seriously. At least on the surface, Otto was forced to abandon this plan.
"Just kidding. However, old friend, you still know nothing about your own power. I need you, old friend."
Otto spread his hands open, inviting Shun in the same way as those meme images Shun had seen before.