Accompanied by the strained noise from the overloaded Honkai energy reactor, a sparkling diamond-shaped crystal slowly appeared in the palm of Chen Luo's hand.
As a complete Herrscher of Domination, he could naturally handcraft a one-time Herrscher of Domination core.
Although this Herrscher core couldn't convert someone with the strength of a Schicksal A-rank Valkyrie or above, it was sufficient to deal with Cocolia.
"Catch." Chen Luo threw this Herrscher core, forcibly "plundered" from the Honkai energy reactor, to Welt.
As for the reactor's overloaded state, Chen Luo paid it no mind; it was going to be blown up later anyway.
"This is the Herrscher of Domination core?" Although Welt didn't know much, he felt that handcrafting a Herrscher core seemed incredibly impressive.
"Handcrafting a Herrscher core is indeed terrifying, but this is just a Herrscher of Domination core, and it's only a semi-finished product, not meticulously crafted. After all, a semi-finished product is enough for Cocolia," Chen Luo said, seeing through Welt's thoughts.
If he wanted to create a complete Herrscher of Domination core, it couldn't be done in just one minute.
But then again, since Chen Luo could truly handcraft Herrscher of Domination cores, did that mean he could independently create Divine Keys now?
It's just a shame that the nature of Chen Luo's Herrscher core is different from that of the Previous Era's Herrscher cores, so the power of the Domination Key created would naturally be different too.
Even though he's also a Herrscher of Domination, if Chen Luo wants to fully use Edge of Taixuan, he still needs to use a Domination Key made from a Herrscher of Domination core.
One has to admit, it's an excellent irony.
"With this, I can make that woman lose everything, right?"
"You could say that. But don't underestimate Cocolia. Although her personal strength isn't great, and she's unwilling to perform highly dangerous human experiments on herself, she is guarded by numerous Anti-Entropy mechs. Cocolia values her own life quite highly."
"Even though your strength has been enhanced through my modifications, whether you can defeat Cocolia, who is always guarded by Anti-Entropy Titan mech units and mech units in a quantized state, is still unknown. After all, those mechs are indeed powerful," Chen Luo advised.
"So strictly speaking, you only have one chance to strike. If you fail, it will be even harder to turn her into a puppet."
"I understand, Sir." Feeling the difficulty of the task, Welt said solemnly.
"No need to be so serious. Although her mechs are powerful, they are ultimately just mechs, so they naturally have weaknesses. Since I accepted your commission, I'll naturally provide the full service. Here, catch this." As Chen Luo spoke, he threw a pitch-black seed to Welt.
"This is..." Welt hadn't seen anything like it before, so he was somewhat puzzled.
"A seed representing the Herrscher of Corruption's ability. Mechs are formidable, but under the Herrscher of Corruption's power, they are even more vulnerable than Cocolia herself. Since Cocolia trusts her mechs so much, let her taste the bitterness of betrayal by her own mechs."
Although Chen Luo was confident that the Herrscher of Corruption seeds planted in the mechs here at ME Corp would gradually invade all of Anti-Entropy's mechs, he wasn't sure when they would reach the mechs around Cocolia. So, giving him a seed was simpler.
"You'd better pick a moment when you are alone with Cocolia. Even though she will definitely have mechs protecting her, as long as you crush this black seed in advance, within a minute at most, her mechs will turn against her."
If Chen Luo had more time to infiltrate Anti-Entropy himself, he would be much more assured than having Welt carry it out.
"But remember, you only have one chance, because there's only one Herrscher core."
"Understood, Sir." Welt nodded gravely.
Welt's desire to drag Cocolia down with him had now reached its peak.
"The Herrscher of Corruption counters mechs, the Herrscher of Domination counters Cocolia. If you can lose with this heavenly starting hand, you should go grow potatoes in Siberia," Chen Luo said coldly to Welt.
Welt had wasted one of Chen Luo's Honkai Crystals, so simply disposing of him wasn't an option. But if he still failed under these perfectly prepared circumstances, then Chen Luo really wouldn't know what use he could be.
You have a flying dragon right in their face and you can still lose? Just leave the group.
After Welt repeatedly guaranteed he would absolutely complete the mission, Chen Luo, who had been pressing against the Honkai energy reactor, now had ten more Honkai Crystals in his hand, all stored in his inventory.
Condensing Honkai Crystals while pressed against the reactor was like being spoon-fed by heaven; the speed was astounding.
"Alright, let's go. It's time to blow up this Honkai energy reactor." After condensing another Honkai Crystal, Chen Luo didn't store it in his inventory. Instead, he modified it and then threw it back near the Honkai energy reactor.
"We have 5 minutes to escape ME Corp, or we'll be buried here with it. Oh, right, you have the authority to control those mechs, right?" Chen Luo asked as he led Welt outside.
"Yes."
"Then quickly order those mechs to evacuate. These are our assets now; we can't afford to lose them here," said Chen Luo, who couldn't stand waste.
When they passed by the invincible Miss Sin, Chen Luo had Welt carry her; he didn't plan to do it himself.
"Alright, you take the mechs and go first. Oh, and leave half of them for me. After all, no matter what, such a severe explosion couldn't happen without some losses," Chen Luo said to Welt.
Mechs, especially quantizable ones, were something Chen Luo never had too many of. After all, his inventory had unlimited slots anyway.
Maybe it was finite, but Chen Luo had never reached the upper limit yet.
And Chen Luo's current goal had become to collect all series of Anti-Entropy mechs.
Who knows if these mechs could be used in Chen Luo's original world?
Boom!
Five minutes later, a violent explosion resounded throughout Nagazora City.
A terrifying amount of Honkai energy, invisible to ordinary people, erupted from the center of ME Corp, sweeping through the entire city.
Just as Chen Luo predicted, this terrifying explosion simultaneously stirred the Honkai energy in the Imaginary Space, causing a massive influx of Honkai energy back into Nagazora City, whose concentration had sharply dropped before.
Standing near the epicenter of the explosion, Chen Luo faced Honkai energy sufficient to instantly turn an A-rank Valkyrie into a zombie, yet he wasn't afraid. Instead, he intercepted this Honkai energy while creating Honkai Crystals.
When a person's Honkai energy adaptability reaches 200%, there's nothing left to fear from all the corrosive things in the Honkai world.
Other A-rank Valkyries, even with excellent talent, face a high lethality risk when fusing with a Herrscher core. But even if Chen Luo's fusion fails, the worst that happens is the core being rejected; it won't cause him any harm.
"Hehehe, with the things I gave Welt, he will inevitably gradually corrode Anti-Entropy. This way, one of the two major organizations resisting the Honkai, Anti-Entropy, will fall into my hands. How could a humanity divided from within possibly be a match for the Honkai?"
"One of my goals is already about to be achieved; it's only a matter of time before they are all realized. Hahaha!" Feeling the Honkai Crystals around him increasing one by one, Chen Luo couldn't help but laugh out loud.
[Ding! The discount for exchanging items in the Honkai faction is 9% off.]
Tch, you can still laugh? You're one of the next targets.
But to be honest, things were somewhat beyond Chen Luo's expectations. Because after the ME Corp Honkai energy reactor exploded, Nagazora City's Honkai energy concentration only returned to 4/5 of its original level.
"Who on earth used up so much Honkai energy? It's infuriating." Chen Luo cursed while storing the Honkai Crystals in his inventory.
Seeing that the number of Honkai Crystals was almost sufficient, Chen Luo teleported back near the survivor base. After confirming once again that there were no other Honkai beasts or zombies nearby, he didn't return to the survivor base either.
Since everything was fine now, there was no point in returning to the survivor base. Let the children handle the children's matters.
At the same time, Chen Luo glanced at his progress.
[Lunatic's Hand]: 5612/10000
Thankfully, he unlocked the achievement. It seems he can continue grinding the achievement progress even after the event ends, otherwise Chen Luo would be crying.
But were those Honkai beasts that brutal when destroying houses? They destroyed so many houses in just a day and a half?
Terrifying.
It's a good thing these Honkai beasts were kept in Nagazora City; if they were really placed at Chen Luo's home, he wouldn't have anywhere to keep them.
After taking one last look at the survivor base, Chen Luo summoned the bar door and walked in.
Chen Luo's purpose in coming to Nagazora City had also been achieved: to test the two authorities and the modified Herrscher Physique.
The Herrscher of Domination authority was as useful as ever and could even develop different applications, such as condensing one-time Herrscher of Domination cores to allow his puppet subordinates to develop suitable puppets when he himself couldn't spare the time.
The Herrscher of Corruption authority had also been tested sufficiently after continuously corrupting mechs and leaving virus seeds within them.
At least it proved that the strength of Anti-Entropy mechs wasn't enough to resist the Herrscher of Corruption's authority.
* * *
"Mmm..." Sin, feeling a pain in the back of her head, gradually woke up from unconsciousness.
"Where is this?" After getting up from the muddy road, Sin looked around in confusion.
"Oh, awake now?" Welt's somewhat arrogant voice sounded.
"What happened? Where's that Chen Luo?" Sin supported herself on a nearby mech as she stood up.
She also had some complaints about this Welt, who had simply thrown her on the road.
"Thanks to you, he got away." Welt looked at Sin disdainfully.
"What does that have to do with me?" Sin instinctively retorted.
"Oh, so you wanted me to crush you along with that otherworldly traveler next time, is that it? I understand now. I won't hold back next time. Next time, I'll satisfy you and let you die together with that otherworldly traveler. How about that?" Welt nodded thoughtfully.
"Not good! Wait, did that bastard Chen Luo use me as a hostage or a human shield?" The invincible Miss Sin instantly realized.
"Duh. Otherwise, do you think I'd let him escape? He's stronger than you, but in my eyes, he's still just a weakling." Welt's tone remained as haughty as ever.
After all, Chen Luo wasn't stupid. If Welt's temperament changed drastically, it would definitely raise Cocolia's suspicions. So, while keeping Welt's personality largely unchanged, he made him understand concepts like respecting elders and caring for the young.
"Dammit, Chen Luo got away again!" Sin said displeased.
Last time, that bastard used her as a bargaining chip; this time, he used her as a human shield.
"Of course, it wasn't a complete loss." Welt suddenly remembered something.
"Huh? What did we gain?" Sin instinctively asked.
"Beep beep!"
Just as Welt was about to answer, the communicator on his wrist rang.
"Oh, it's Cocolia. What is it? Is something the matter?"
When he saw who the communication request was from, a flash of anger and a sense of imminent revenge crossed Welt's eyes. Then he suppressed all emotions, restored his original arrogance, and opened the video call.
Why get angry with a future fellow puppet? Soon enough, everything she has will be plundered.
There are natural differences between people.
As a clone, he only had himself, and could only lose himself.
But Cocolia was different. She was the leader of the Anti-Entropy reformists, commanded countless forces under her, and had her cherished daughters and the Cocolia Orphanage.
Welt truly wanted to see her expression after losing everything. He hoped it wouldn't be too boring.
"Lord Sovereign, what happened at ME Corp? Why was there a massive explosion?" Cocolia asked immediately after the video connected.
Yes, that's it. Still using lies to deceive me.
Not even willing to share a bit of the truth with me; what else could it mean other than using me as a disposable pawn?
Hearing Cocolia's "advice," Welt's anger surged. However, thanks to the advantages of being a puppet, Welt could freely control his emotions.
"Your daughter was taken hostage by that traveler, then used as a human shield. I didn't kill him, and he even blew up ME Corp. It's that simple," Welt said casually.
"Dammit! That traveler again!" Cocolia bit her finger and said.
"Oh, right, it wasn't a complete loss. To prevent me from pursuing him relentlessly, he offered me a treasure—a fruit said to cause evolution in people," Welt said.
"What? A fruit that makes people evolve? Where is it?" Cocolia was instantly shocked.
"Lady Cocolia, that's a stupid question. Of course, I ate it. Tasted pretty good." Welt licked his lips.
"You ate it?" Cocolia's tone held shock and a barely detectable anger.
You, a consumable, actually ate something so precious?
"Of course. And it was indeed as he said; my ability seems to have truly evolved. I feel better than ever, and the controllable gravity multiple has more than doubled." Welt wore an expression of utter satisfaction.
"...Lord Sovereign, please return with the mech units and Sin as soon as possible." After a moment of silence, Cocolia finally said.
An evolved consumable can no longer be used as an ordinary consumable.
And at this moment, a trace of mockery flashed in Welt's eyes.