"Strange, where's the Honkai Furnace?"
After bypassing another layer of mechanical security, Fu Li arrived at the secret underground laboratory of ME Corp. Looking at the various sophisticated instruments inside, he couldn't help but frown.
"Snakey, scan the terrain. See if there are any hidden areas."
"Yes, boss."
The voice of the artificial intelligence, Snakey, echoed in his earpiece. The mask flashed once, and he began to observe the surrounding environment.
Under the see-through mode, apart from a few materials and special structural designs, any secret rooms hidden within the building were laid bare.
"Strange, there's clearly a Honkai energy reaction, and there's a robot guard on the outside, so how can there be nothing here?"
Fu Li stubbornly spent another hour searching the dark surveillance room, leaving him with only half an hour remaining.
Just then, the AI Snakey suddenly spoke: "Boss, I've discovered a Honkai energy source, right in that group of boxes in the most inconspicuous corner."
Fu Li was stunned for a moment, then looked toward the inconspicuous box in the corner.
Prying open the wooden planks, Fu Li stepped forward. After opening the box, a can of blue, viscous liquid was revealed inside.
As soon as the box was opened, the Honkai concentration in the room began to skyrocket.
Is this the energy canister used to create the Honkai Furnace?
In order not to trigger the base's alarm, Fu Li hurriedly closed the box and began to absorb the overflowing Honkai energy from the surroundings.
After the surrounding Honkai concentration returned to normal, he let out a sigh of relief and pulled out a tracker as thin as a cicada's wing from his waist, attaching it to the bottom of the box.
Since this much raw material was stored here, it meant that Cocolia must be planning something.
Although directly destroying it would temporarily eliminate the calamity, that course of action wouldn't allow him to find the mastermind.
"Looks like I can only slowly wait for the fish to take the bait. Cocolia, you better not disappoint me."
After finishing all this, Fu Li looked at the time. There were still twenty-five minutes left, enough to make a trip to Raiden Ryoma's office.
Although it was said that the office should have been sealed by now, making it impossible for even Mei to enter, it wouldn't hurt to leave behind some useful information.
Going down to the first floor and then to the top floor again, Fu Li effortlessly melted the lock and entered Raiden Ryoma's office.
To his surprise, it wasn't a mess as he had expected. Instead, it was very neat, as if someone had deliberately cleaned it up.
However, after a search by Fu Li, he found that all the important documents had already been taken away, leaving only a tidy and luxurious exterior.
But this was not surprising; Fu Li had long been prepared to come back empty-handed.
However, just as he was preparing to leave, he suddenly discovered a pink doll on Raiden Ryoma's bookshelf that was completely out of place with the surrounding environment.
"What's this?"
Based on the idea that things that are out of place are often strange, Fu Li reached out and took that pink doll.
[Ding! It has been detected that the Host has obtained a special item.]
[Item Name: Battered Pink Homu]
[This is a limited edition Homu doll that Raiden Ryoma gave to Mei on her 7th birthday, a toy Mei deeply cherishes.]
[Not long after, Mei was kidnapped by a terrorist organization while playing with a friend. She later returned, but her toy was lost. She begged her father to get it back.]
[Raiden Ryoma will never forget the sight of his rescued daughter, covered in tears, hugging a pink cloth doll, while that doll itself was stained with fresh blood.]
[Upon touching this item, the Host may choose to enter a short-term simulation.]
[Reward: Unknown]
A short-term simulation?
Fu Li raised an eyebrow. The last time he triggered a short-term simulation was the time with Raven.
When he first met Raven, he had also experienced it once. The process was short, but the rewards were rich.
"Snakey, I'll be able to create your body for you very soon."
"Really? Thank you, boss~"
As an AI created based on Mobius's blueprint, Snakey was naturally a free consciousness.
She had been longing for a Valkyrie's body for a long time.
"Of course it's real. Originally, I planned to make you a Valkyrie body, but the materials aren't enough. I'll get you a back brace first."
After wrapping the pink doll in a bag, Fu Li restored the scene to its original state, and then left the ME Corp building without anyone noticing.
When he returned home, he found that Mei, whose house was opposite his, had already turned off her lights. The eldest young lady, raised in a pampered environment, was indeed not like him, who had to stay up late every day.
After sending the combat armor back to the laboratory, Fu Li closed the curtains, turned off the lights, and holding the pink Homu doll, he lay on the bed and chose to start the simulation.
[Now starting short-term simulation...]
[Hint: The time point of this simulation is Raiden Mei's seventh birthday.]
[This time, your identity is Raiden Mei's childhood friend, Shigami Sounosuke (8 years old).]
[In this simulation, the host will lose all powers related to Honkai, and the physical constitution will be adjusted to the normal level of an 8-year-old child.]
[In this simulation, you are not permitted to tell anyone any news about Mei being kidnapped.]
[You are the second son of a director at ME Corp. Due to your family's relationship with ME Corp and your father's cooperation, you have known Mei since you were a child.]
[Because you live close to each other and due to your rare and precious friendship, after a long period of getting along, you have formed a deep bond.]
[At Mei's 7th birthday party, you give her a handmade bracelet, while her father gives her a limited edition pink Homu doll.]
[Mei likes it very much and often carries the doll and a bracelet to play with you.]
[However, during a school-organized outing, a stranger separates you from Mei, claiming to be preparing a treasure hunt for you.]
[You are put into a sack. You vaguely hear that the leader of the kidnappers is a woman with long golden hair.]
"Damn, why is that little boy back? He runs pretty fast."
"Who can blame him? He was scared off by that little brat."
A coarse voice sounded in his ear. Fu Li opened his eyes with difficulty, gnashing his teeth.
Damn it, what kind of starting scenario is this? Being tied up in a sack? You really have a way with things, system.
But he was confident that even with the weak body of a child, he could still turn the tables on this group of people.
Fu Li tried to move his hands and feet, but found that his limbs were tied up tightly. No matter how much force he used, he couldn't budge.
This was no longer a problem that could be solved with combat skills; his strength was fundamentally insufficient.
Just as he was getting anxious, his fingertips suddenly touched something soft and trembling slightly.
At the same time, a young, crying voice sounded.
"Brother Sounosuke... you... are you awake?"