Honkai, why do you only throw me into high-level battles?

"You madman!"

"Lin Wei, have you lost your mind?"

Fu Hua was caught off guard. This sudden suicidal action of Lin Wei's had no warning signs beforehand, and there was no time to stop it. It had all happened so suddenly.

Damn it, he hadn't said anything about it being like this when he explained the plan to her!

Fu Hua was secretly annoyed.

However, she also guessed the reason why Lin Wei hadn't spoken of it.

Because she would never have agreed to it.

It was precisely because he knew that Fu Hua wouldn't agree to such a reckless gamble that Lin Wei had hidden this step!

That was indeed the case. Lin Wei didn't want to make things difficult for her. He also didn't want to risk his plan encountering unexpected dangers.

Lin Wei had rehearsed the details of the execution of his plan countless times in his mind, and had imagined many possibilities for how things could develop. But no matter what the possibilities were, they all ultimately converged on the last and most critical question—

How could he make the other side compromise?

No matter how he had deduced it, he had realized that if he really wanted to make RIN and Yae Sakura give up their independent existence and become his Stigmata for him to use, he had no other better way.

Therefore, the plan had been decided—

First, he would have Fu Hua drive her to the brink, and then he would step forward and offer her a glimmer of hope.

Then, while she had no time to think, he would personally plunge the fatal blade into his own heart. He would use his life to force her to choose the path he had predetermined!

He wouldn't give her any chance to hesitate!

Yes, if Lin Wei died, Fu Hua would definitely eliminate the Herrscher on the spot, bringing this ending to the war that had started fifty thousand years ago.

And Lin Wei had just given her a bombshell of information, information that was enough to make her give up the idea of mutual destruction.

In this game of chicken, as long as one side didn't have the determination to mutually destroy the other, then that side would certainly be the one to lose.

As for Lin Wei, he was already dying. The Honkai erosion had already reached his bones. Even if the two layers of Honkai energy isolation suits protected him and blocked out 99.999% of the Honkai energy, the tiny amount of harmless Honkai energy that remained was still maliciously destroying his life.

So, he didn't care about death at all.

So he had won!

"I'm really a bastard of a stubborn person…"

Lin Wei, whose consciousness was rapidly fading, mocked himself in his heart.

This move of mutual destruction was something that he had learned from Otto—

Lin Wei had a very clear memory of a story that was yet to happen. When Kevin returned to the original world, and led the majority of the World Serpent's forces to pressure Otto, who was at the experimental base in North Africa, Kevin was planning to force Schicksal into submission.

Either comply or die.

Otto first sent out his trump card, Durandal, to fight Kevin. At the moment when both sides were building up their momentum and were about to engage in a full fight, Otto, who judged that Durandal was destined to lose, personally stepped forward and interrupted the initial skirmish, directly starting a one-on-one match between leaders.

Faced with Kevin's multiple-choice question of YES or NO, Otto showed the attitude of a stubborn person who was impossible to push around. That was because he had grasped Kevin's weakness—Kevin cared about the survival of humanity, while he, Otto Apocalypse, was the exact opposite, and didn't care at all.

Therefore, Otto was certain of victory. He used the fate of the entire world to threaten Kevin.

"If you force me and Schicksal to submit to World Serpent, then I will destroy everything with you, and your plans will all fail. You won't be able to save the world, you won't be able to save humanity.

How about it? Do you want to consider it?"

And then, the powerful Kevin backed down.

And then, the weak and despicable Otto was victorious.

"Heh, Lin Wei, you really chose a good role model..."

Lin Wei didn't have any bargaining chips, so he forcibly created non-existent chips, and then, despicably, he put his life on the line!

The specific operating method was very simple.

He had created a weakness that shouldn't have existed in the first place for the initially fearless Herrscher, and then used this weakness, which he had created himself, to defeat her!

"You madman!"

The Herrscher cursed angrily. That wasn't how you were supposed to treat people!

Look, someone was acting like a hooligan! Was anyone doing anything about it?!

She didn't have time to be angry. Lin Wei was already showing signs of becoming a zombie. The ominous white color was rapidly spreading from his limbs to his torso. The Honkai energy inhibitor wouldn't buy him much more time.

The fox-eared girl glared at Lin Wei with all her might, wanting to engrave his appearance deep in her heart. She moved her originally battered body, which was even more injured now, and struggled to get up. She reached out her hand, and her entire body lunged towards Lin Wei, who was already unable to stand.

"How dare you humiliate me like this! You just wait, I will torture your soul, so you can neither live nor die, and you will never be released!"

It sounded like a vicious vow, but it also sounded like a way to regain her face.

At the instant when the bodies of the man and woman made contact, a light burst forth from the fox-eared girl, from weak to dazzling. It was a dazzling color like cherry blossoms, and completely enveloped both of their figures.

A few seconds later, the light slowly contracted, revealing only Lin Wei's figure. The fox-eared girl had disappeared without a trace. Or rather, she—or they—had already become the light itself, gathering in Lin Wei's body and flowing to his back as if they had a life of their own.

The light traced a magnificent pattern of three magatamas on his back, releasing a cherry-colored glow that pierced through the fabric of his clothes. The glow was bright enough for Fu Hua, standing beside him, to see it clearly.

"It seems like RIN also liked cherry blossoms?" That thought inexplicably popped up in Fu Hua's heart. She continued to watch the changes that were occurring on Lin Wei's body.

His body, which had been more than half-transformed into a zombie, rapidly reversed. The silicified skin visibly retreated, revealing his natural human skin color; the tangled, knotted, and jointed Honkai erosion patterns had also receded, as if nothing had ever happened. Only the Stigmata on his back was still radiating light, declaring that it was the cause of everything.

Lin Wei let out a sigh of relief, as if he were moaning, with a look of pleasure on his face.

This kind of near-death experience, and a return to life again, the sense of security, happiness, and satisfaction it brought was indescribable.

Then, the light from the Stigmata gradually disappeared, and could no longer be seen from the outside.

And then, Lin Wei suddenly groaned, and fell to his knees, convulsing all over and letting out cries of pain.

It hurt, it hurt very much, it was a pain that went straight to his bones.

It itched, it itched terribly, an itch that came from his soul.

Lin Wei felt like he was being tortured every second, as if he was experiencing a fate worse than death.

"This is the Stigmata's rejection reaction."

As soon as Fu Hua saw Lin Wei's appearance, she understood what was happening. She walked forward and bent down to help Lin Wei up, and explained slowly.

"Although the Stigmata can improve your Honkai resistance, your physique is too weak to handle even Schicksal's artificial Stigmata. It will lead to a serious genetic breakdown, not to mention a more powerful natural Stigmata like this one."

"If she was willing to sacrifice herself for you, then that would be fine. The understanding between the Stigmata and its host would greatly improve the Stigmata's compatibility, and the existence of the Stigmata would also slowly strengthen the host's physical functions."

At this point, Fu Hua glared at him, seeing how pale his face was and how cold sweat was dripping down his body. She continued,

"But don't even think about such a good thing happening. Forcing this upon her in a way that involved both coercion and threats will likely have serious hidden dangers. The intense pain you are feeling now is just the beginning. I'm afraid you will have to pay an even more painful price very soon."

Fu Hua paused, and looked at Lin Wei seriously. "Was this also a part of your plan?"

Lin Wei weakly nodded, and smiled bitterly. "As expected of… Fu Hua, you know a lot."

Lin Wei sensed that Fu Hua didn't like to hear others call her "Red Phoenix Immortal," so he used "Fu Hua" to call her instead.

Fu Hua frowned, feeling his mental activity just now. She glanced at him, but said nothing more.

Lin Wei raised his trembling hand and shook off Fu Hua's support—of course, with his pitiful strength, he couldn't possibly do it, he was just signaling that Fu Hua should let go.

Fu Hua understood and let go. She watched as Lin Wei, supporting his weak body, staggered toward the demonic blade. The blade, emitting an ominous aura, was stuck in a crack between the bricks and tiles.

With both hands on the hilt, Lin Wei held his breath and laboriously pulled the sword out. He lost his balance the instant the blade was freed, nearly falling. Seeing this, Fu Hua instinctively wanted to reach out and help him again.

Lin Wei held the sword with both hands, and slowly walked back to Fu Hua's side. His still pale face revealed a calm and sincere smile. He opened his mouth, wanting to speak.

Here it comes again!

Fu Hua rolled her eyes in her heart. These short few days together had allowed her to have a basic understanding of what kind of person Lin Wei was.

It was because she understood that she knew that whenever Lin Wei showed that sincere expression, nothing good would come of it!

How many times was this? Would this ever end?

Fu Hua wished she could punch that detestable face of his.

But she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Because this detestable guy had chosen the most despicable approach.

"Fu Hua, I have to trouble you with what will happen next. If I fail, then use this sword to kill me. Don't worry, you know I'm not a good person. So, when that time comes, please don't hesitate. Before the Herrscher completely takes over my body, please help me and Yae Sakura obtain freedom."

"Although I'm not a good person, and I don't mind being a bad person, I don't want to become a sinner. So, please, Fu Hua."

After he finished speaking, he lost all of his strength and collapsed.

Before he completely fell to the ground, Fu Hua reached out and held onto him, and her other hand grasped the demonic blade.

Tsk, using sincerity as a weapon. What a despicable guy.

…

If sincerity was used as a weapon, nothing would be able to stop it.

But it was best not to use sincerity as a weapon,

Because it shouldn't become a weapon.

Lin Wei asked himself what he had to rely on, he, who was alone and with nothing in this world?

Apart from the plot and the settings, what he possessed was nothing more than a life, and a heart that he considered to be honest.

He used his sincerity to exchange for another's sincerity.

"Heh, I really am a despicable guy…"

Lin Wei murmured softly, complaining about himself.

Sleepiness gradually began to rise, and Lin Wei felt his consciousness fading. He knew that it was time to start the next step.

"I'm sorry, Fu Hua."

In this world, you are the only person I can rely on.

Only you can become the last line of defense behind me.

So, let me use you one more time...