Honkai: You're telling me this difficulty is from Honkai Impact 3?!

Should I try to get in touch with Shu and give him a heads-up before he gets too far?

Otto considered it with a sort of playful seriousness, then shook his head.

Forget it. Joyce's charm wasn't something a simple warning or two could counteract. Especially with someone of Shu's personality, the moment Joyce appeared before him, the two of them would hit it off.

It was inevitable. Besides, it wasn't a guarantee that Shu would be the one getting poached by Joyce.

Maybe Shu would be the one to trick Joyce into leaving the Future CIty for Fire Moth.

"Bang—!" Just as Otto was lost in his thoughts, the door was pushed open with a practiced force. Otto turned his head with a sigh of resignation.

"Ah, Kallen, welcome back." Otto smiled, put down his coffee cup, and picked up a document.

The newcomer was indeed Kallen, just returned from the Sapphire City front line. In response to Otto's welcome, Kallen first nodded, then remembered she had come here with questions.

"Otto! Did you know two new people have arrived at the base? Rita and Durandal! The super-strong Durandal!"

Otto nodded calmly. "So, you've already met them?"

Kallen nodded and walked into Otto's room, finding a place to sit. "Yeah. Did you find them?"

"Of course not," Otto chuckled, casually grabbing a small cake from the refrigerator for Kallen. "I can't possibly be conducting research and searching the entire world for people at the same time."

"So they came on their own..." Kallen said, somewhat surprised, though her eyes were already glued to the small cake Otto had produced.

This was her real objective. Asking about Bianka and Rita was just an afterthought.

After all, if even she could realize how important they were, how could Otto not? He had surely arranged everything perfectly. All she needed to do was keep fighting and eating small cakes.

"Since you've met the two of them..." Otto sat down opposite Kallen, looking at his documents as he spoke. "What do you think?"

"Mmm..." Kallen took a bite of cake, then carefully recalled their behavior.

"Rita is very elegant, almost like a real maid. But I can feel that she's very strong. She just seemed a little intimidated by Theresa's and my power."

"And Bianka?" Rita's reaction was within Otto's expectations. After all, placing Bianka with her was intended to provoke just this kind of reaction.

From the looks of it, Rita didn't seem to have any ulterior motives. Hardship would make Rita more cautious, but it would never frighten her.

Since she was intimidated, it meant she genuinely had no guard up and no hidden agenda. Otherwise, her first reaction would have been to figure out how to avoid or eliminate these two obstacles...

As for whether Kallen's emotional read was accurate? Otto didn't think the question was worth debating.

If Rita could hide her true emotions from a Kaslana, then she could certainly fool a carefully observing Otto as well.

"And Bianka?" Otto asked next.

When he asked about Bianka, Otto lifted his head slightly. Kallen glanced at him, puzzled, but didn't say anything more.

"Bianka, huh..." Kallen chewed on her cake fork, thinking for a long time before voicing her feelings.

"She's strong." After saying that, Kallen felt it wasn't enough and added, "Extremely strong."

"Stronger than you and Theresa?" Otto asked with a smile, but his slightly narrowed eyes betrayed the imbalance in his heart.

"Not yet, but I can feel her natural talent is exceptional. It's truly a cut above mine and Theresa's..." Kallen said very seriously. "If she were also to use a Key of Genesis, she might actually become stronger than us."

Otto nodded in agreement, then lowered his head and began to contemplate Kallen's words.

Or rather... Bianka's true value.

Her talent was a notch above Theresa's and Kallen's. What did that even mean?

Whether it was Fu Hua or himself, the talent and potential they displayed in their respective areas of expertise were nearly identical to that of Theresa and Kallen.

Their ability to accept and master new things, to synthesize and master everything they learned and created—their progress was all roughly the same.

Above their level, Otto had only ever witnessed two individuals.

Joyce, who had already transcended the human category, and the crystallization of Siegfried and Cecilia—Kiana Kaslana.

One was the culmination of civilization created by human wisdom, and the other was a "new human" born under the harshest conditions with the most incredible probability.

Only these two did Otto wholeheartedly admit were superior to him.

And now, another person had been added to that list: Bianka...

A slight smile played on Otto's lips, but it wasn't an expression of happiness. It was more like a smile of resignation.

Exceptional ability meant being difficult to control. Otto might be able to set a general course for Bianka's future actions, but he could never guarantee that she would walk the exact path he wanted.

Who knew if Bianka would suddenly start shouting about friendship and bonds and completely shatter his original objectives... Don't doubt it; these kinds of people genuinely had that ability.

"Otto, are you planning to have Bianka and Rita join Theresa's team?" By the time Otto looked up, Kallen had already finished her cake.

"If we put them all in one team... isn't it a bit..."

"A bit of a waste of their combat power and potential for search and rescue work, right?" Otto finished Kallen's hesitant sentence for her, then smiled and took away her cake plate.

"They're newcomers, after all. And their sense of mission is different from ours. They fight for reasons of kindness and responsibility in their hearts. They need a period of transition and adaptation."

"The best people to guide them through this period are Theresa and Himeko. The Titan mecha division can't spare Himeko, so I can only entrust them to Theresa's hands."

Kallen nodded seriously, then rubbed her still-hungry stomach. "Otto, is there still food in the cafeteria?"

"Perhaps... but you'll have to be careful this time." Otto looked at Kallen as she turned to grab a pair of sunglasses, a mask, and a baseball cap, and he smiled helplessly.

"Theresa was already exposed today. The cafeteria staff are probably on high alert right now. You might get caught by everyone..."

Kallen's movements froze. She stared silently at the sunglasses in her hand.

Damn it! Theresa didn't wait for me!!

A moment later, a brilliant idea struck Kallen. She slowly turned to look at the pondering Otto, holding the disguise gear in her hand. She tiptoed up behind him.

"Otto~ could you do me a little favor~?"