Chapter 226: What Does Hua Teaching Me Have to Do with Fu Hua?
Rita was a perceptive and cautious person.
A few days ago, when she landed in Singapore and encountered Fu Hua, she immediately noticed that Fu Hua was not being entirely truthful.
Although she couldn't pinpoint any specific flaws in their conversation, Rita knew from her time working with Fu Hua at Schicksal HQ, and from her thorough understanding of Fu Hua's five hundred years of experience within Schicksal (like reading the lines on the palm of her hand), just how impeccable Fu Hua was.
Therefore, she knew very clearly that finding obvious loopholes in Fu Hua's words was absolutely impossible. Such an overly deliberate attempt would only alert the equally perceptive Fu Hua, and would achieve nothing beyond arousing her vigilance and hostility.
Thus, Rita wisely chose to remain silent.
She knew that Fu Hua was implicitly wary of her, and this was precisely Rita's advantage. As long as she didn't show even a hint of suspicion, but instead clearly and frankly stated her intentions, then if Fu Hua was indeed hiding something, her wariness of Rita would inevitably lead her to reveal some clues in the details.
Feigning retreat to lure the snake out of its hole – this was the strategy Rita decided upon the moment she saw Fu Hua.
Unlike Fu Hua, Rita had always been quite fond of this eternally youthful senior.
Rita had long been aware of and understood Fu Hua's wariness of her, regretting it but accepting it, since Fu Hua disliked Otto and Rita was the Overseer's right-hand woman.
Therefore, out of courtesy to avoid disturbing her, while Durandal and Fu Hua shared many common interests, Rita chose to maintain a certain distance from her. This deliberate distancing, in fact, made the relationship between them even more awkward.
And it was precisely this relatively relaxed attitude that gave Rita a natural advantage when facing Fu Hua – which, in turn, further deepened Fu Hua's wariness.
In Rita's view, since the misunderstanding had already arisen, explanations were useless. It was better to leave it as it was, perhaps it could play a positive role when necessary.
Like now.
"If possible, I really don't want her to become my enemy..."
After seeing Fu Hua part ways with her and immediately change her route, leaving the airport, Rita confirmed her suspicions while thinking with some regret.
As she, skilled in concealing her tracks, followed Fu Hua's footsteps to this neighborhood and found this residence, Rita was surprised, because it was so ordinary.
It even made her momentarily more vigilant – she thought Fu Hua had discovered her and was just playing games to mislead her.
But when Rita saw Fu Hua enter this extremely ordinary residence, stay briefly, and then leave directly, boarding a plane back to the Japan under her watchful eye, she was a little confused.
"..."
What's the meaning of this? Did you come here to visit relatives?
Is it necessary to be so secretive about visiting relatives?
Then, Rita immediately grasped the key point:
Wait a minute, where did you, Fu Hua, get relatives?
So, she began to investigate this strange residence, returning to the neighborhood and starting a detailed investigation.
She quickly confirmed that this was indeed an ordinary neighborhood – because there were so many grandparents taking care of their grandchildren here.
Then, with her charming appearance and elegant and polite conversation, she quickly won the favor of these elders, and from them obtained a basic piece of information – that house was occupied.
Someone who likes to fish, and always comes back empty-handed – an old man said with a bit of mockery.
After obtaining the basic information, Rita contacted Schicksal's secret intelligence agency in Singapore, verified her identity, obtained command authority, and asked them to investigate the owner of this residence and conduct a reverse investigation based on this.
As for herself, after much deliberation, she decided to temporarily put the matter on hold and not immediately report her findings to Schicksal HQ, especially when both the Overseer Otto and Durandal were away.
After all, it involved Fu Hua, and she decided to be cautious to avoid unnecessary turmoil. After all, Fu Hua had no reason to be involved in Anti-Entropy's affairs, so it was better not to be too hasty.
Soon, the investigation yielded results.
The owner's name was Lin Wei, and he moved here at the beginning of the year. The funds for purchasing the house came from a subsidiary company of Anti-Entropy, a public transaction that was easy to trace.
"..."
Rita held this information, pondering.
One reason was that Fu Hua seemed to indeed have a relationship with Anti-Entropy. This was indeed bad news, because once this information was confirmed, the arrangements for the K-423 experiment would no longer be secure.
Strictly speaking, for such a major event, it was better to err on the side of caution, but because the person involved was Fu Hua and not someone else, she was still somewhat hesitant.
After all, she herself had some unclear relationship with Anti-Entropy!
The second reason for her contemplation was the name "Lin Wei." Rita felt a faint impression, as if she had seen it somewhere before, but the impression wasn't very deep, as if it wasn't something very important.
Rita would never doubt her own feelings, so she began to dig through her memories.
What was it?
When she looked down again at the paper filled with investigation information and saw the name "Fu Hua" again, this name, like a stick poking through the window paper, instantly connected some information fragments scattered in various corners of her memory palace, and she found the answer she needed:
A year ago, Overseer Otto had entrusted Fu Hua to investigate a person, and the target of that investigation was Lin Wei.
Due to Rita's special work requirements, she had the authority to access various Schicksal data at any time – she even learned Durandal's true identity very early on because of this. She had recently seen the investigation report for this mission while routinely browsing the vast database, and she had seen the name "Lin Wei" on it.
If she remembered correctly, that investigation mission seemed to be related to the mysterious organization called World Serpent, which the Overseer and Durandal were currently investigating, and which seemed to have connections to the Previous Era?
Thinking of Fu Hua's true identity, Rita couldn't help but feel a headache.
Could it be that Fu Hua, you're actually playing three sides? a triples agent?
Playing it so big, hiding it so deep?
And the fact that Lin Wei, who was originally missing, suddenly reappeared and seemed to have connections with Anti-Entropy, represented even more significant and immeasurable information:
Had Anti-Entropy and World Serpent reached a cooperation, with Lin Wei as the intermediary?
Or had this experimental subject named "Lin Wei" escaped again, carrying some of World Serpent's secrets, and defected to Anti-Entropy?
"Neither... seems likely?"
Rita substituted the information she had, thinking of the bizarre internal strife that broke out in Anti-Entropy not long ago, and the subsequent collective disappearance of the upper echelon, as if they had gotten themselves into trouble, she muttered to herself.
After all, what kind of "cooperation" would end up so badly for one party?
...
Thus, the investigation initially made "significant progress," but this progress made Rita even more cautious.
On the one hand, any of these findings seemed to have huge implications and could not be handled rashly.
On the other hand, although she had been delegated by Amber, without the support of Overseer Otto and the backup of Durandal, she was still essentially fighting alone and therefore had to be careful.
Thirdly, this matter seemed to be related to World Serpent, and if she continued to investigate further, she might alarm them, which could adversely affect the mission that the Overseer and Durandal were currently carrying out.
...
In short, the matter was of great importance, and Rita didn't dare to make a decision rashly. Asking Amber to make this decision was clearly a bit difficult for her.
Rita clearly didn't believe that with Overseer Otto and Durandal working together, there was any possibility of failure in the Manila mission. Therefore, in her view, she didn't need to worry about the World Serpent part at all, and only needed to continue to focus on the part of Fu Hua and Anti-Entropy – and Lin Wei happened to be the key intersecting clue between the two.
Therefore, due to the complex interplay of factors such as the great importance of the matter, her reluctance to report it rashly, her reluctance to rashly proceed further due to the involvement of World Serpent, and Lin Wei's prolonged absence, Rita's investigation was awkwardly suspended, unable to advance or retreat...
It wasn't until a day ago, when Amber sent her a message that the Overseer and Durandal had returned to Schicksal HQ, and the Overseer instructed her to continue the investigation, that Rita felt relieved and planned to dig deeper.
And it was also at this time that Lin Wei, who had been away for a long time, returned. This coincidence made Rita even more suspicious of his connection to World Serpent.
But it didn't matter. Capture him, and after some interrogation, everything would be clear – as a Valkyrie specializing in hunting missions, Rita was already adept at this kind of thing.
So, just when she thought things were starting to develop in a familiar direction, she carefully arranged her favorite way of appearing – filling Lin Wei's home with traces of her presence, making him think he had nowhere to hide; and when he was at his most panicked, she would suddenly appear behind him, planting the deepest fear in his heart!
As for cleaning? That was just her personal aesthetic preference...
Using this method of killing people and seizing their hearts, Rita had repeatedly and easily crushed the minds of her prey, making the subsequent actions incredibly smooth.
Even if she couldn't completely crush her opponent, it could at least achieve a preemptive effect, allowing Rita to take absolute initiative from the beginning.
But she never expected that this guy would counterattack in such a comical way.
Calling the police? What the hell are you trying to pull?
Failing to intimidate Lin Wei and instead being disgusted, Rita immediately and decisively switched strategies – if finesse failed, then brute force!
After all, as an S-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal, Rita considered herself to be somewhat skilled in martial arts.
As for whether this was elegant enough?
Rita indicated that capturing Lin Wei and completing the mission had higher priority...
And after a brief exchange of blows, Rita, with her sharp observation skills, noticed that Lin Wei's fighting style was full of familiarity, and every detail of his movements was filled with Fu Hua's personal style.
It was as if she had taught him hand-to-hand...
This was too outrageous, wasn't it?
How many years had it been since Fu Hua's last disciple died?
Moreover, the most important and unique label of Fu Hua's disciples – the Taixuan Sword Qi– was completely absent from Lin Wei. All he had were basic punches, footwork, force exertion, and power application.
He hadn't even learned the Taixuan Sword Qi, so he didn't seem to be very valued.
But these basic contents were imbued with Fu Hua's personal style, which could only be achieved through careful teaching and rigorous training. From this perspective, he was very valued...
But Fu Hua's schedule for all these years had been tightly controlled by Schicksal, how could she have had the time to teach a student who was completely her own, and not belonging to Schicksal?
But this young man in front of her clearly proved that this impossible thing had actually happened...
So many contradictory things converging on this one person made Rita exclaim in amazement.
"May I ask, what exactly is your relationship with Fu Hua? Why can her shadow be clearly felt in your movements just now?"
After completing the probe, knocking Lin Wei off balance and making him sit on the sofa, Rita retracted her aggressive fighting aura, maintaining a polite smile, but still looked down at Lin Wei, asking "humbly,"
"Could you please satisfy this insignificant curiosity of mine?"
Damn, he's good at acting!
Lin Wei rolled his eyes, sat up straight, and did not directly answer her question. Instead, he shook his head and sighed,
"Oh dear, breaking and entering turned into armed robbery... Tsk, are thieves so brazen these days?"
Who can't put on an act?
"..."
Rita still maintained a polite smile on her face, but the veins on her forehead couldn't help but twitch.
You're pushing it, aren't you?
How could Fu Hua possibly teach such a rogue-looking disciple?
You're pushing your luck!
Since "courtesy first" didn't work, Rita decided to go with "force second."
"By the way, what did you just ask me?"
The moment Rita clenched her fist, Lin Wei suddenly spoke, asking with a strange expression,
"Who did you ask about? Fu Hua?"
"...If you don't want to answer, you don't have to."
Although he looked like he was a beat slow, Rita clearly felt that this guy was doing it on purpose, warning with a smile,
"If there is no sincerity, I think it's better not to waste time."
"Oh, she taught me some boxing and basic combat skills for a while," Lin Wei said truthfully,
"But if you ask Fu Hua herself, she probably won't even remember it."
How could the Fu Hua outside possibly know what Hua taught me in the Elysian Realm?
Chapter 227: Luring the Tiger into the Trap
Hearing Lin Wei say this, Rita was clearly not satisfied.
"Hehe, Mr. Lin Wei, you're quite the comedian. As far as I know, you've only known Ms. Fu Hua for a little over a year. How could you possibly forget something that happened in such a short time?"
Rita unceremoniously dismantled every loophole in Lin Wei's statement,
"And in such a short period, to be taught to such a degree by Ms. Fu Hua, it would likely require long-term, day-and-night supervision and contact – and in that case, are you suggesting that you're also a student at St. Freya Academy?"
At this point, Rita gently covered her delicate mouth, feigning surprise,
"If I remember correctly, Mr. Lin Wei lived in a small town adjacent to St. Freya Academy for a period of time, so I presume I don't need to elaborate on that, do I?"
She was gradually revealing her knowledge of Lin Wei's information, bit by bit, creating a tremendous pressure that "everything about him was seen through."
"But unfortunately, Schicksal's Valkyrie academy never admits male students – so your reasoning is impossible. And since that's the case..."
The usual smile on Rita's face gradually became dangerous, and her voice became colder,
"If you continue to refuse to tell the truth, I'll have to be so bold as to invite you to return to Schicksal with me as a guest, so that I can express my sincerity and fulfill my duties as a host."
No matter what secrets he was hiding, Rita believed that as long as she had him in her custody and brought him back to Schicksal HQ, no secret could remain hidden!
Rita had never been an indecisive person; on the contrary, she was actually ruthless and extremely decisive.
Making up her mind, Rita's steps and movements elegantly attacked Lin Wei again.
Her constant elegance represented her ingrained cultivation, it did not mean her movements would be slow or gentle; on the contrary, they were extremely sharp and decisive.
The previous probing was enough. Now Rita had lost interest in toying with her prey and only wanted to quickly capture this guy who dared to posture in front of her.
"Clack!"
Rita was empty-handed, but Lin Wei, showing a distinct lack of martial ethics, pulled a sleek, matte black cane from the gap in the sofa. With a flick of his wrist, the tip of the cane aimed directly at Rita's chest.
He had secretly hidden it there the moment he entered the room, noticed the anomaly, and Fu Hua's feather clone had just warned him, precisely to deliver a surprise attack at this moment.
"Despicable!"
Rita's reaction was also extremely fast. She cursed inwardly, her body deftly dodging to the side to avoid the direct thrust of the cane. At the same time, the hand reaching for Lin Wei did not lose its force, while her other hand struck at the cane, preparing to break it in one fell swoop.
But at the moment of contact, Lin Wei gave a slight flick of his wrist. The tail end of the cane dipped slightly, and the shaft of the cane struck Rita's wrist.
At this moment, the shaft of the cane was raised. Lin Wei smiled slightly, gripped the head of the cane with his five fingers, and thrust his arm forward, the rather sharp tail end of the cane aiming straight for Rita's throat!
"Hehe, Miss Rita, I forgot to introduce myself."
Lin Wei, seemingly mirroring Rita's current state, showed no mercy with his hand movements, but a warm smile appeared on his face. He said cheerfully,
"In addition to some rudimentary martial arts, someone else also taught me some simple sword and blade techniques. I apologize for my clumsiness, please don't laugh..."
His tone was restrained and friendly, even self-deprecating, but to Rita, it was full of sarcasm.
After all, she had just used the information she had to pressure Lin Wei step by step, but now she was suddenly countered unexpectedly. This was undoubtedly a silent mockery – it seems you don't know much, do you?
Most importantly, Lin Wei's way of speaking was almost a complete return of Rita's previous performance towards him, which could be said to be quite malicious.
Ultimately, Lin Wei's performance in the previous exchange with Rita was too passive, completely led and suppressed by Rita, which inevitably led to her underestimating him. Therefore, this sudden counterattack was able to greatly exceed Rita's expectations and achieve such an unexpected effect.
"..."
This thrust was as fast as lightning, swift and decisive, aiming straight for the vital point of the throat. Rita, in a hurry, had to dodge further to the side, and the strike aimed at Lin Wei was also inevitably delayed. Lin Wei seized the opportunity to roll over the coffee table, moving from the cramped sofa area to a relatively open space.
It had to be said, the "Newbie Village" [Elysian Realm, a tutorial level in the game] wasn't for nothing. A year ago, Lin Wei wouldn't have been able to pull off this set of fluid movements even if his life depended on it!
"Oh dear, I'm terribly sorry. But facing a distinguished S-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal, I had no choice but to use my full strength. Please forgive any offense..."
After regaining his balance, Lin Wei turned to face Rita, his arms slightly raised to the sides to show that he had no hostility, displaying a polite smile, and said calmly,
"You see, all my moves were easily neutralized by you. And I, despite my best efforts, barely managed to escape. If it happened again, I'm afraid I'd have to surrender!"
"...Is that so? Mr. Lin Wei, you are truly full of surprises, which I find quite admirable."
Rita's charming eyes narrowed slightly. She wouldn't be fooled by Lin Wei's posturing. They were both foxes from the same mountain, what were you trying to pull? [Meaning: We're both cunning, don't try to fool me.]
In any case, this brief exchange, on the surface, seemed to end in a draw, but Rita knew that she had ultimately fallen into a disadvantage.
The more she thought about it, the more unwilling she felt, and she couldn't help but sarcastically say,
"However, with your manner of conduct, you could never be a disciple of Ms. Fu Hua."
The implication was clear: how could Fu Hua possibly take a liking to such a despicable person?
"Hehe, you're right. If a despicable person like me were really Fu Hua's disciple, I'd probably be expelled within two days..."
Lin Wei nodded, acknowledging it somewhat shamelessly, and then smiled and retorted,
"However, facing an uninvited 'guest' who entered without notice, I don't think there's anything wrong with what I did."
We're not good people, so don't put on airs in front of me. Who are you trying to fool?
"Hehe. In that case, it was indeed Rita's fault first."
Rita resumed her usual elegant and polite posture, speaking with a smile and a gentle tone,
"Since that's the case, Rita can only solemnly invite you to return to Schicksal with me as a guest, so that Rita can fulfill her duties as a host and express her apologies..."
"That won't be necessary..."
Lin Wei waved his hand, generously saying.
But before he could finish, the elegant young lady, who had previously seemed like a noblewoman, suddenly transformed into a cheetah, swiftly rushing towards Lin Wei.
Rita had made up her mind. Facing this despicable, cunning, and scheming fellow, it was best not to waste words with him here. She just needed to use her full strength to capture him.
In the face of an absolute gap in strength, any schemes would seem so ridiculous.
"Bang!"
Unsurprisingly, when an S-rank Valkyrie unleashed her full power, Lin Wei was instantly overpowered and pinned to the ground by Rita, a slender knee pressing on his spine, leaving him completely unable to move.
"Hehe, Mr. Lin Wei, now..."
Rita was about to taunt him, but suddenly her expression changed drastically. She immediately released Lin Wei and retreated far away.
"Crash! Rattle..."
The moment after Rita retreated, everything within a three-meter radius around Lin Wei, whether it was the sofa, the coffee table, or the TV cabinet, was instantly flattened and crushed by an invisible force, like sandcastles swept away by a wave, collapsing into a mess of debris.
Seeing this scene, Rita felt a lingering fear.
The reason she retreated so decisively just now was purely due to her consistently sharp combat instincts. And in the instant she pulled back, she clearly felt her body weight suddenly increase, as if an invisible force had suddenly placed a burden several times her weight on her, almost crushing her to the ground.
Rita was an extremely intelligent person. She recognized the nature of this invisible force in the instant she felt it.
"This is... gravity?"
Rita looked at Lin Wei, who stood up calmly from the ground, her voice somewhat hoarse,
"Are you... Welt?"
Of course, it wasn't out of fear, but pure wariness, and a sense of the absurdity of a glorious image shattering.
The Welt who fought to the death for human civilization in the Second Eruption was actually like this?
Fake, right?!
"Oh, think whatever you want, I'm not Welt anyway."
Don't talk nonsense, that name is unlucky!
Lin Wei muttered inwardly, while quietly retracting the "Projection: Star of Eden," which had been hidden behind him. Then, he pretentiously patted the wood chips and debris from his clothes, shook his head, and sighed,
"Controlling the force is really troublesome. You know, if I'm not careful and crush the floor, the neighbor's house downstairs will be ruined too!"
As Lin Wei spoke, he looked at Rita with some blame, his tone even turning to a lecture,
"Everyone's just trying to make a living, can't we be a little more considerate of each other?"
"..."
Rita looked at Lin Wei's act and couldn't help but take a deep breath, somewhat speechless.
What kind of person is this?
She only had one thought in her mind: this could absolutely not be Welt!
Welt could not possibly be this cheeky and rogue-like!
"Is Anti-Entropy's Star of Eden in your hands?"
Rita asked coldly. If it wasn't Welt, then this was the only answer,
"It seems, even if you're not Welt, your status in Anti-Entropy is definitely not low!"
With Rita's rationality and intelligence, she would never get stuck on one idea, nor would she be so easily misled.
"Hehe..."
Lin Wei slowly took out a black, gorgeous sphere that seemed to devour all light, holding it steadily in his hand, and smiled calmly,
"Guess?"
Seeing this, Rita's heart sank.
Lin Wei appeared calm on the surface, but he sighed silently in his heart.
Even though Lin Wei didn't want to cause trouble, now that he was facing Rita, he naturally wouldn't surrender. He had been going all out from the beginning.
Similar to Rita's previous approach, Lin Wei was also gradually increasing the pressure on Rita, step by step.
At first, he showed weakness to mislead her and make her underestimate him, then he launched an unexpected counterattack to get her attention.
Finally, when Rita was serious and going all out to capture him, he seized the opportunity to reveal a corner of the Divine Key, using the appearance of the Star of Eden to completely arouse her vigilance and wariness.
"The Star of Eden is in my hands. If you don't summon your Valkyrie Battlesuit and show your true full strength, what makes you think you can fight me?"
At this point, Rita had realized that whether she wanted to continue fighting and complete her mission, or retreat safely and plan for the future, she needed to equip her Valkyrie Battlesuit to deal with the situation calmly.
And this was Lin Wei's goal.
Normally, Rita equipped with her Valkyrie Battlesuit was her strongest form, and he should have taken her down when she was unarmed.
But for Lin Wei, who held the Key of Erosion [Pandora], Rita equipped with her Valkyrie Battlesuit was precisely her weakest!
Then, the corrosive virus would invade the Battlesuit's control system, and the invincible armor would instantly become a binding cage, leaving her unable to move, helplessly at his mercy, unable to resist.
But with Rita currently in her everyday clothes, even if he really subdued and captured her, he would have to be constantly wary of her secret preparations for a counterattack.
But when she was inside the close-fitting cage called "Valkyrie Battlesuit", she would have absolutely no such opportunity!
Therefore, in Lin Wei's view, this was the most foolproof method.
So, from the first moment he saw Rita, he had formulated such a step-by-step plan to lure the tiger into the trap. And so far, everything was going smoothly.
"..."
Rita looked at the "Star of Eden" in Lin Wei's hand and knew that she could no longer hold back. Without hesitation, she opened the quantum transport system. A stream of light instantly enveloped her body, and from it emerged a Valkyrie in blue and white armor, holding a giant scythe, heroic and valiant – "Argent Knight: Artemis"!
"Got her!"
Both Lin Wei and Rita were now full of confidence in themselves.
Rita crouched slightly, ready to strike.
Lin Wei made a grasping motion with his empty hand, preparing to reveal Pandora's true identity.
The tension was palpable!
But, at this moment, a sudden ringing sound broke the freezing tension.
"Ring ring ring..."
Lin Wei and Rita's eyes turned simultaneously to the phone that had been thrown aside.
Lin Wei raised an eyebrow. He didn't bother to walk over and pick up the phone. Instead, he remotely answered and turned on the speakerphone, making it easier to hear clearly.
"Hello, Lin Wei!"
Dr. Tesla's distinctive energetic voice came from the phone's speaker, but now it sounded extremely panicked,
"Something's wrong, we're in big trouble!"
"What?"
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