Rita was completely captivated by Klee.
"So your na is Klee? I'm Rita. You can call Sister Rita."
Upon hearing that, Klee cheerfully called out:
"Sister Rita~"
That one word "sister" bewitched Rita utterly. She felt as if she were floating on clouds, overjoyed to the point of blissful delirium, completely imrsed and unable to pull herself away.
Originally, Theresa had planned to bring Rita to her own table.
But when she turned around, she saw Rita had already moved a small stool next to Klee and was smiling as she listened to the six little ones chatting and watched them eat.
Theresa saw this and decided not to say anything. Let her be.
anwhile, in a nearby village, Otto had quietly arrived with a squad of Valkyries.
"Quickly set up the equipnt," Otto ordered, then entered a house.
Inside, several Valkyries had already cleaned up the place.
Otto sat at a desk, opened a laptop, and put on headphones to monitor the celebration banquet.
He silently watched the happy crowd enjoying the banquet on the screen.
After a while, Otto felt thirsty.
"Soone bring a glass of water," he called toward the door.
There was no response.
He removed his headphones and turned to look outside—only to be t with a fist the size of a sandbag.
Otto was sent flying, crashing hard into the wall before sliding down slowly.
He looked up at his attacker and his eyes widened in shock.
"Welt Yang!"
That's right — the intruder was Welt.
The mont surveillance caras were installed in St. Freya Academy, Walter had noticed the pinhole lenses and tracked them here.
He hadn't expected this — to catch such a big fish!
Welt's usual solemn deanor was replaced by unhinged excitent.
A red gleam flashed in his eyes.
"Otto! Hahaha! Otto, I finally got you!
Star of Eden! Zero Output!"
Welt was ready to kill Otto on the spot.
But then he reconsidered — killing Otto outright would be letting him off too easy.
So he dismissed Star of Eden, slicked back his hair with one hand, adjusted his sleeves, and walked toward Otto.
From inside the house ca Otto's periodic screams of agony.
Over an hour later...
Welt dragged Otto back to the celebration like a beaten dog.
Upon seeing Otto's miserable state, Rita imdiately drew her weapon and lunged at Welt.
But Stelle reacted fast, raising the Judgnt of Shamash and striking at Rita to block her.
Forced to retreat, Rita raised her scythe and pointed it at Star.
"Step aside!"
Hu Tao, March 7th, and the others surrounded Rita.
Stelle leveled her flaming greatsword.
"Don't even think about it. If you want to touch Uncle Yang, you'll have to get through first."
Rita closed her eyes for a mont, then reopened them.
"All Valkyries, listen up! Rescue the Overseer!"
The Valkyries that ca with her launched attacks against Stelle and the others.
Seeing this, Theresa dropped all pretenses — her grandfather had already been captured!
"Kiana! Attack!"
Bronya ascended into the air and pointed at the Valkyrie troops below.
"FIRE!"
Several energy cannons fired, knocking down Valkyries left and right, rendering them unable to resist.
i drew her katana and rushed in, carefully avoiding vital spots with each strike — her goal was only to disarm.
Kiana summoned the Valkyrie Armor: Athena, her strikes sending waves of Valkyries flying.
Under Theresa's instruction, everyone held back just enough — only disabling, not killing.
Rita spun her scythe and charged toward Stelle.
Stelle stopped holding back and prepared to finish her in one blow.
Just then, Fu Hua appeared between them, using a Tai Chi technique to repel Rita.
"Stelle, leave her to ."
Star nodded and went to assist the others in subduing the Valkyries.
Fu Hua breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't stepping in to help Stelle — she was there to protect Rita.
After all, that sword Stelle unleashed in Canghai City wasn't long ago. If Rita went up against her, the outco would be disastrous.
With herself intervening, at least she could prevent Rita from being hard.
Rita faced Fu Hua.
"Miss Fu Hua, I don't want to fight you. Please step aside. I must rescue the Overseer."
Fu Hua sighed.
"Rita, I can't let you pass. You're no match for Stelle and the others."
Rita gave a slight bow.
"Then I apologize, Miss Fu Hua."
She dashed in with her scythe, and the two engaged in an intense battle.
anwhile, Ye Yun and Zhongli were still calmly drinking tea.
The six little ones stood beside Ye Yun, cheering on the fighters.
Rios and Dudoco protected them.
Klee waved a small flag.
"Go, Sister Stelle! Go, Sister March 7th! Klee's cheering for you~"
Bailu, Hook, Diona, Qiqi, and Yaoyao were also waving flags.
Bailu shouted the loudest.
"Go Hu Tao! You're so cool!"
Hook was cheering for Hiko.
"Go, Sister Hiko!"
Yaoyao tugged Qiqi's hand.
"Go, Sister Kiana!"
"Kiana... go."
With Stelle and the others joining the fray, the Valkyrie forces were quickly subdued.
Only Rita and Fu Hua were still fighting.
Rita glanced around and realized she was the last one standing — not good.
She looked toward Stelle, who waved nonchalantly.
"Don't mind us — pretend we're not here. Keep going, keep going."
Then Stelle, March 7th, and Hu Tao sat on a flowerbed, all in a row, excitedly watching Rita and Fu Hua battle.
Stelle took out a big bag of sunflower seeds and shared them.
"Here, have so. What's a great fight without snacks?"
And so, the bizarre scene unfolded: Stelle and the others sat in a row, munching seeds while watching the battle.
When things got exciting, they even clapped and cheered.
Kiana was the loudest, especially when Fu Hua gained the upper hand.
"Nice! Go, Class Rep! You're the best!"
Rita grew more irritated hearing their cheering — did these people have no sense of crisis?! She was an S-rank Valkyrie, for crying out loud!
But then — ca the final straw.
The six little ones lined up, waving their little flags, cheering for Fu Hua in unison.
"Go, Sister Fu Hua! Go, Sister Fu Hua!"
Rita suddenly clutched her chest, as if her heart cracked with the sound of shattering glass.
Fu Hua seized the mont and subdued Rita.
Rita's mind was blank, looping only the image of those six little ones cheering for Fu Hua.Pain! Where? Her heart!Everywhere!
***
Ten or so minutes later.
Rita and the surviving Valkyries were imprisoned together, with Stelle sitting nearby as their guard. Next to her lay the weapon Judgnt of Shamash.
As for Otto, he was tied to a tree by Welt. Welt, Ye Yun, and Zhongli sat under the tree, sipping tea and chatting.
From ti to ti, Welt would give Otto a good kick.
"Did I let you faint? Stay awake!"
Otto was roused by the blow and opened his eyes.
Welt frowned.
"Did I tell you to open your eyes? Keep them shut!"
Otto, helpless, closed his eyes again.
But he was seriously injured, and once he closed his eyes, drowsiness surged uncontrollably.
Seeing Otto dozing off again, Welt jabbed Otto in the stomach with the Star of Eden, forcing him awake in pain.
March 7th watched this side of Welt with astonishnt.
"This is the first ti I've seen Uncle Yang like this."
Hu Tao also chid in.
"Mr. Welt usually seems so solemn. I've never seen him like this. Who's that blond guy anyway? Why is Mr. Welt treating him like this?"
March 7th thought for a mont and asked Kiana, who was munching on sunflower seeds beside her.
"Kiana, do you know that guy?"
Kiana was already addicted to the sunflower seeds, unable to stop and finding them increasingly tasty.
"Huh? Oh, you an Otto Apocalypse, the Archbishop. He's our Archbishop."
March 7 was surprised.
"Archbishop?"
i added, "We're part of an organization called Schicksal. The Archbishop is our top leader. We're all supposed to follow his orders."
Hu Tao beca even more confused after hearing i's explanation.
"Then why didn't you save him just now?"
Kiana and i both shrugged, saying they didn't really know. They usually just listened to Theresa.
If Theresa said to fight soone, they fought.
Ye Yun glanced at the miserable Otto, and a sudden idea sparked in his mind.
He looked at Zhongli.
"Zhongli, your neighbor Ei is already scraping together money for revival items. What about you? Any interest?"
Zhongli frowned slightly at the ntion.
"Revival items?"
Ye Yun nodded.
"Yup. Revival items. They can unconditionally revive people of Ei's level or below. So, what do you say? Want one?"
Zhongli nodded slightly.
"Yes. I'll need more than one, though. But it'll have to wait—I still need my credits for other things right now."
Yeyun didn't seem in a hurry.
"True. You all still need to open up new planets."
Their conversation was overheard loud and clear by Otto, every word etched into his mind.
Otto widened his eyes and looked anxiously at Ye Yun.
"Sir, do you really have revival items for sale?"
Welt saw Otto still had the strength to talk and kicked him again.
"Shut your stinky mouth. Even your voice is polluting the air."
After speaking, Welt pulled out a fan and dramatically waved it, a look of disdain on his face.
Ye Yun didn't respond to Otto's question and instead walked off with Zhongli.
Ye Yun had brought it up in front of Otto on purpose. Just to tease him.
Otto cald his breathing, then looked up at Welt.
"You're not the Welt I know! Who are you? Tell ! Was that man really telling the truth about revival items?"
Welt adjusted his glasses.
"You're right. I'm not the Welt you know. I'm from a parallel world.
But that doesn't stop from using you as a punching bag.
And yes, Ye Yun really does have sothing that can bring people back to life. He just ntioned it—it can revive soone like Kallen."
"I've beaten you long enough. I'm tired. You rest, I'll rest too."
After saying that, Welt tidied up his disheveled clothes and walked toward Ye Yun and Zhongli, leaving Otto tied to the tree, ignored.
Otto hung his head, deep in thought.
After a short rest, everyone went their separate ways.
Zhongli's group returned to Liyue Harbor.
As soon as Calestia got back, she rushed to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's internet café.
Calestia pulled Hu Tao over to the side of her Hellfire Motorcycle.
"Boss, hurry! Take back!"
Hu Tao hopped onto the Hellfire Motorcycle and called to Zhongli.
"Guest Consultant, what are you doing standing there? Hop on—we'll go back together."
Zhongli looked at Calestia.
Calestia urged impatiently.
"C'mon, stop dawdling. I need to get back online!"
Hearing this, Zhongli finally got on the bike.
Hu Tao revved the engine and sped off toward the café on her Hellfire Motorcycle.
Ten minutes later.
The three returned to the café. Calestia jumped off the bike and dashed upstairs to the third floor.
Zhongli bid farewell to Hu Tao and returned to his courtyard.
Hu Tao checked the ti—still early.
After a mont's thought, she parked her motorcycle and went for a stroll.
She walked the streets of Liyue, illuminated brightly at night.
On her way, many familiar faces greeted her warmly.
Nowadays, the most famous thing about the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor wasn't funerals—but its internet café. The people of Liyue no longer avoided Hu Tao.
Before, if anyone saw her, they'd worry she'd try to sell them a funeral package.
Without realizing it, Hu Tao wandered in front of Aether's milk tea shop.
It was the first ti Liyue folks had seen milk tea, and since it tasted great, Aether's business bood.
What started as a ten-square-ter stand had now beco a full storefront.
Aether had even hired a few employees, making things much easier.
Hu Tao walked into the shop.
"Aether, give —three cups of milk tea."
She'd originally planned to get just one, but then decided to bring one for Calestia and Zhongli too.
Aether, after processing the order, looked up and realized it was Hu Tao.
"Oh, Boss Hu, it's you. These three are on the house."
Hu Tao shook her head.
"No need, no need."
She took out 3,000 Mora and handed it over.
Seeing this, Aether could only accept the paynt.
He then asked, "Boss Hu, is Calestia at the café? I just went to talk to her about sothing, but she wasn't there."
Hu Tao replied, "She's there, just got back. What did you want to talk about?"
Aether smiled.
"I took a commission from her."
Hu Tao understood imdiately.
"Oh, I see. Go find her later, then. If I know her, she's gonna ga all night.
By the way, turns out all my guest consultants at Wangsheng are big shots. I had no idea at the ti."
Aether gave a stiff smile, the corner of his mouth twitching.
So she does know what kind of people she has working for her... I thought she was clueless.
"Alright, I'll go find her once I'm done here. Here you go, Boss Hu—your milk tea."
Hu Tao took the drinks, thanked him, and walked off sipping her tea, continuing her nightti stroll.
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