Chapter 147: Chen Tianwu's Doubts, Encountering Li Sushang

Chen Tianwu stood in a daze, as if he had returned to a distant old dream.

It was a disaster that was still fresh in memory. On that day, skyscrapers teetered on the brink of Honkai, the ground cracked open into gaping chasms, buildings turned to rubble, cars became scrap metal, and the cries of people mingled with the roars of collapsing beasts echoed throughout the entire city.

Despair spread, fear bred, and this was the first time Chen Tianwu had come into such close contact with death, as well as the first time he had such a close understanding of the Honkai.

The Manila Honkai had caused him to lose his sister, but it also gave him a new lease on life—

A Valkyrie named Anna Schariac saved him.

Amidst the ruins, Chen Tianwu stood in place, gathering his scattered thoughts with a somewhat despondent expression.

In a daze, he found himself on a scorched earth.

The smell of gunpowder and heat awakened his senses, a place he would never forget in his lifetime. He looked around, searching for the reason he came here.

It was this dream again. The Manila Honkai fiesta was like a nightmare, often appearing in his dreams, like a poisonous snake tightly entwining its chosen prey, making it unable to escape.

Soon, the youth in the ruins would meet the light in his life here.

She was a girl with chestnut-colored hair, her pink eyes were enchanting, and she found the buried version of herself in the steel and concrete, reaching out to him in despair...

He had always thought that since his life was given by Anna, he should burn for Anna until the very last second. So even if he joined the World Snake to survive, he was willing to give up his life to protect Anna.

Chen Tianwu often had such dreams, being saved by Anna, followed by an unfinished bet, and finally, this dream would end with Anna's back.

Although by now Chen Tianwu still couldn't understand why Anna left.

Chen Tianwu thought it would be the same this time, but he was wrong.

"Brother... where are you... Brother..." The weak voice of a girl sounded in his ears, and Chen Tianwu's heart shook. His pupils dilated in an instant, and he quickly turned his head to look in the direction of the voice.

"Save me... quickly... save me..."

"Is anyone there..."

"...Xiaowen!" Chen Tianwu's breath stagnated for a moment, and in an instant, his pupils trembled, his mind went blank.

His actions were faster than his thoughts, and Chen Tianwu ran to Xiaowen's side before he could regain his senses.

"Xiaowen, Brother's here, it's okay, everything will be fine."

He reached out, trying to push away the concrete blocks pressing on the girl, but almost stumbled himself.

He looked in shock at his hand passing through the concrete, and hesitated to touch the girl again, but it was the same.

At this moment, Chen Tianwu had to recognize a reality. In this dream, he was just a spectator.

The heat in the air, the bitterness of the smoke, and the shapes and soft sounds of blood oozing from the cracks in the stones... everything kept stimulating Chen Tianwu's nerves.

Pain, struggle, despair, anger.

Chen Tianwu wanted to rush forward and rescue his sister from it all, but he couldn't. He was like sinking into a swamp, unable to move, and powerless to change anything.

But since he couldn't change anything, why did he have to watch his sister suffer in the disaster?!

Is there anyone who can save my sister... Chen Tianwu prayed in his heart, even if this was just a dream, even if it was a dream that couldn't change anything after waking up, Chen Tianwu still hoped so.

Just as Chen Tianwu was thinking like this, a sound of footsteps caught his attention, and he only then noticed another person in the ruins...

Chen Tianwu was somewhat surprised and involuntarily called out the person's name, "Anna..."

The person who had once saved him, Anna Schariac, stood in a beam of light just like that day.

"Quick, save her, save Xiaowen."

With his call, the trembling girl reached out her hand.

"Big sister... save me..." the little girl pleaded, trembling as she tried to grab the last straw of salvation.

But Anna didn't move, just stood aside, quietly watching the girl reach out her hand, listening to the girl's desperate pleas for survival, without any action.

Chen Tianwu was astonished, and in that moment, he saw a trace of unfamiliarity in Anna's eyes.

Then, he watched Anna step back, turn around, and run away.

The dream ended here.

"Anna!" Chen Tianwu woke up from the dream, panting heavily, his back already soaked in cold sweat without his awareness. He sat on the bed, his eyes full of shock.

This dream was too weird!

Chen Tianwu stretched out his hands, looked at his palms, and then looked around the room suspiciously. This was the hotel he had just moved into, and the surroundings hadn't changed since before he went to bed. The sunlight shone calmly and peacefully through the window, revealing the beauty of the daylight.

He rubbed his brow, feeling extremely annoyed.

Somehow, his heart was pounding violently like the engine of a tractor, and Chen Tianwu could even hear the dull sound it made.

His heart was sharp, fixated on one point, and not moving.

Anna abandoning Xiaowen to escape alone, how could he dream of such a thing?

Obviously, Anna was his savior, and he hadn't even had time to be grateful to her, why would he dream like this?

But the more he thought about it, the clearer the image of Anna's back in the dream became, as well as the utterly helpless look in Xiaowen's eyes...

Suddenly, Chen Tianwu froze. Suddenly, the silhouette of Anna in the dream seemed to gradually overlap with the last image of Anna leaving in his memory...

Could it be that Anna was really...

"Snap!"

Chen Tianwu slapped himself, forcefully interrupting his thoughts.

No matter what, he couldn't think like that about her!

It was just a dream, nothing more.

Outside the window of Chen Tianwu's room, golden feathers dissipated in the warm sunlight, and Chase withdrew the virtual storage device in the form of feathers, feeling slightly relieved.

To be honest, Chase was really afraid that Star Herrscher would awaken here. He even had the virtual powers of Void Herrscher ready, ready to immediately pull Chen Tianwu into the void space and give him a good beating if anything happened.

But this was also a last resort, and it was better not to do it if possible.

The current situation was the most satisfactory to Chase.

Chen Tianwu didn't awaken to Star Herrscher, but he did have doubts in his heart and would actively search for answers. And this was exactly what Chase wanted.

Anna and Chen Tianwu, two excellent potential Herrschers, both had a common psychological flaw—the death of Chen Tianwen.

Anna initially abandoned the people she should have helped and protected, and although she recognized her responsibilities and made timely amends later, the initial mistake could not be rectified, which was Anna's knot.

This directly led to the fact that even if they awakened as Herrscher, they could not completely control this power. This was a bomb that once the Honkai approached a little closer, it would explode.

Without a firm will and a strong heart, one could not control the power of a Herrscher. Even with the help of predecessors, this shade was not so easy to take advantage of.

Did Chase really think all Herrschers were like Sirin, the favored one of the Honkai?

What Chase wanted to do was to detonate this bomb before the Honkai arrived.

With prior knowledge of the truth, Chen Tianwu would not be swayed by the Honkai, and Anna would not appear so weak in the face of the Honkai.

Although this was risky, it was worth it.

Thinking like this, Chase felt a bit melancholic.

Lord Kevin, please watch my performance carefully.

The next moment, Chase appeared in his own bathroom, pushed the door open, and asked Anna to go out together.

.......

Chen Tianwu sat quietly in the room, his expression serious and solemn, his hands nervously clasped together, contemplating the scenery outside the window.

The aftermath of that dream was a bit too strong, and even now he couldn't completely calm down.

It's just a dream, nothing serious.

Perhaps he should console himself like this, but the more he did, the more he cared. If it was a dream, according to common sense, it should have dissipated shortly after waking up, but it had been quite a while, and the memory of this dream only became clearer.

So clear that it didn't seem fake, Chen Tianwu himself seemed to have really experienced that event, and the unfamiliar eyes of Anna, the helpless plea of Xiaowen, were still fresh in his memory, as if they had just happened a second ago.

"No, I can't go on like this." Chen Tianwu stood up, picked up his coat, and turned to leave.

There were some things he had to clarify.

When you want to test the hardness of a piece of glass, it's destined to shatter. Some things are like this too, once suspicion arises, the verdict has already been established.

So Chen Tianwu went out, searching for Anna's figure in the city.

As a cadre of the World Snake, he naturally didn't lack information, and besides, even if Chen Tianwu didn't actively seek it out, Chase, this conspicuous package, would jump out on his own, occasionally throwing him a few pictures of Anna, for some unknown reason.

Could Chen Tianwu bear this grievance? He had just learned grappling techniques!

Naturally, the original images were saved and backed up.

He was like a shark smelling blood in the sea, a high school student snatching food in the cafeteria at noon, wherever there was a scent, he would come.

It didn't take much effort, and Chen Tianwu easily found Chase and Anna, who were shopping outside.

Looking at the familiar and intimate appearance of Chase and Anna, Chen Tianwu fell silent.

Chen Tianwu: "..."

His fist hardened.

It was clearly he who arrived first...

"Oh, it's the season of White Album again..." Anna carried plastic bags and heard Chase's inexplicable sigh, tilting her head in confusion, unable to understand the meaning of his words.

"Just murmuring, nothing serious." Chase smiled and glanced subtly in the direction where Chen Tianwu was, playing the role of a mysterious person in front of Anna.

"Oh, okay." Anna didn't ask further, nodding in a somewhat understanding manner.

"Ah," as they walked back home together, Chase suddenly slapped his forehead, "I forgot to buy flour again, we're out of eggs at home."

"What should we do then?" Anna was a bit helpless; they were almost home, and now he remembered. "Should we go back to the supermarket? There seemed to be one nearby..."

"No need," Chase refused with a shake of his head, "we're almost home, I'll go alone, Anna, can you take these things back home first?"

"Huh? But I'm your guard, you know?"

"Nothing will happen, trust me, Anna."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Alright then." Seeing Chase insist, Anna gave in and obediently carried the bags back home.

Chase walked in the opposite direction, leaving behind a parting remark, "Anna, stay at home and don't move, I'll go buy some 'Kun eggs.'"

Chase couldn't help but think that the new vocabulary he occasionally came up with really puzzled Anna. She touched her hat, feeling unable to understand the connection between 'Kun eggs' and regular eggs, so she decided not to dwell on it and let him be.

Back at home, Anna changed her shoes, neatly organized the bags, and sat on the sofa to continue reading the book she hadn't finished.

Engrossed in her reading, the doorbell rang. Thinking it was Mr. Chase returning with the eggs, Anna immediately put down her book and went to open the door with her long, fair legs.

"Mr. Chase is back, welcome ba—"

Before Anna could finish her sentence, she suddenly froze, staring blankly at the somewhat familiar figure in front of her.

"Chen... Tianwu?"

......

Walking on the road, Chase took out his communication device to check Chen Tianwu's location, feeling slightly relieved.

It's fortunate that he went with Anna, I'm worried about what would happen if Chen Tianwu followed me.

Some things must be done alone, and some paths must be walked alone. The answer to the puzzle ultimately had to be explored by Chen Tianwu himself; Chase was merely an outsider and couldn't interfere. At most, he could provide some insurance, but if either of them lost control and awakened, Chase didn't need to think much, there were two solutions:

First, as a Herrscher, throw them into the imaginary space and he could solve it himself.

Second, if more than one Herrscher awakened, still throw them into the imaginary space, then release Lord Kevin.

Heading towards a nearby department store that sells eggs, Chase kept an eye on Chen Tianwu's movements in real-time while also using his authority to monitor Anna's situation at home. He wanted to ensure that nothing unexpected happened, but even if it did, he could handle it promptly.

At that moment, Chase felt a light tap on his back, before he could turn around to see, he heard the voice.

"Excuse me, do you know how to get to this address?"

Chase heard the voice and was slightly stunned, turning around with some confusion to see someone familiar standing in front of him, dumbfounded.

It was a brown-haired girl with twin ponytails, and although she was short, her delicate appearance made her look cute. It wasn't that Chase was captivated by this cuteness, but mainly because of this girl's identity.

The Dormant-Type S-Class Valkyrie of Schicksal- Li Sushang.

Slightly surprised, but after just a moment, Chase's expression returned to normal, showing a hint of confusion and perplexity, appearing very natural. At least, the inexperienced Li Sushang couldn't detect any clues.

"Um, let me take a look." Chase took the paper map from Li Sushang's hand and carefully examined the circled area, with the characters of Shenzhou written on it, feeling slightly stunned.

Isn't this my house?

After a moment of hesitation, Chase had already figured out a response and smiled, "Oh, this place, I know."