Honkai: Withered White Camellia

"Such a rare, clear sky... It's been so long since I've seen such a comfortable wilderness."

Planck gently stepped onto the slightly soft soil, her gaze fixed on the azure sky with a hint of nostalgia.

Welt put away the communicator in his hand, sliding it into his coat pocket. He walked over to where Bohr and Einstein stood. "We shouldn't be far from the ruins now," he said, pausing briefly before adding, "but... it seems like something... well, not so good has happened."

His slightly evasive, somewhat ashamed expression didn't escape Liesel's notice. She had a guess about what might be troubling him but chose not to press the dark blue-haired youth too hard.

"It's okay, Joyce. It's not your fault," she said softly.

Welt responded with a helpless, self-deprecating smile. "Even so, I am the head of the 42nd Lab, after all..."

"Who is it?"

After a brief moment of thought, Liesel decided to clarify the situation first.

Welt somewhat unnaturally placed his hand near the pocket where he had tucked the communicator, pressing it closer to his body. "It's Head Heisenberg," he said. "She just mentioned that she hopes the Third Division can assist in the investigation of the ruins. The Third Division's Guard has already arrived there ahead of us and is waiting for us to arrive."

"If that's the case..." Liesel began, her tone thoughtful. "It seems that Landau and Lysenko's plan was intercepted by Heisenberg. They actually wanted to directly interfere with the work being led by the North American branch. If Nancy or Planck knew, they would definitely—"

Before she could finish, a slender finger poked her delicate cheek.

A teasing, pleasant voice interrupted, "Definitely what?"

Liesel sighed, already used to the sudden teasing. She spread her hands in mock defeat and glanced over at Nancy, who was busy teasing Tesla. Taking a moment to assess the situation, she gently tugged on Planck's sleeve, pulling her closer to herself and Welt.

After confirming that Nancy wasn't paying attention, Liesel lowered her voice and continued.

"Head Heisenberg has already sent the Third Division Guard to the ruins ahead of us. You'll have to find a way to stabilize Nancy's mood later."

Hearing this, Planck flicked a strand of hair that had fallen by her ear, her expression lazy. "I thought it was something serious..." she said. "If it's Miss Heisenberg, then it will be much easier. We have our conflicts with Landau and the others, but Miss Heisenberg is different. She's helped us a lot in the past."

Bohr raised an eyebrow. "At the dinner in Madrid, Nancy didn't exactly show... goodwill towards us."

He shrugged, brushing the topic aside. "By the way, the Finn is here too, right? We can't start work on deciphering the ancient texts without him."

"Don't worry, we're all prepared," Planck replied, a confident smile playing on her lips. "Now we just need to get to the ruins."

She shook her head slightly, letting her slightly disheveled green hair flutter in the breeze. The way it moved made her look almost divine, like a goddess in the wind.

"Hey! Tesla! Nancy, let's go!"

Nancy, who had been gently lifting Tesla's red hair in the distance, lowered her hand with a blank expression. She walked over to Planck's side, her pace steady. "Can we go in now? Then let's hurry."

"Oh, before we go, there's something I need to tell you," Planck said. "Dr. Heisenberg is also participating in this research with us, and... well, there are some Third Division Guards there."

Nancy's expression remained unchanged. She simply nodded, acknowledging that she understood.

The underground entrance to Yellowstone Park wasn't far. Welt spotted the Guard standing watch at the entrance from two hundred meters away. The Third Division soldiers wore blue-steel exoskeleton armor and carried modified versions of the STG-44 automatic rifle.

As Bohr approached, one of the soldiers quickly extended his hand. "I'm sorry, Cardinal Secretary," the soldier said. "Please show your identification. We ask for your understanding."

Bohr gently took out his identification from his coat pocket. The soldier took it, checked it, and then let them pass.

Welt followed Bohr's example, holding his identification to his chest. The soldier examined it carefully for about 20 seconds before nodding, signaling that Welt could enter.

"Be careful. Use the special cameras to photograph the murals. Leave all the scrolls where they are for now," Welt instructed. "Wait for the other technicians to arrive. Try not to move anything, and keep the lighting at its current level. Without my orders, do not use flashlights to illuminate the murals or scrolls."

As soon as he entered the cave, Welt heard a familiar, slightly crisp voice.

Heisenberg, with her light blue hair, was wearing a matching light blue work uniform. She was directing her researchers to back up the files.

Welt gently walked behind her and tapped her shoulder.

Like a cat startled by a sudden movement, Heisenberg quickly turned around, hugging her chest in surprise. Her indignant rebuke was laced with a soft, charming tone. "W-w-what do you think you're doing, Joyce? You went to the 42nd Lab without a word, and now you scare me like this when we meet..."

"Okay, okay, Heisenberg is still the same as before..." Welt chuckled, then added, "But Heisenberg, aren't you a theoretical physicist? Why are you in charge of this work?"

Heisenberg puffed up, looking almost like a pufferfish. She raised an eyebrow, her voice tinged with mild irritation. "Who said I can only do theoretical physics research? Before taking over my uncle's job, I graduated from the archaeology department of the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. I only switched to theoretical physics later."

Unable to resist, Welt reached out and poked her forehead. "It's been a while, you haven't changed at all."

Heisenberg shot him a glance, her lips curving into a slight frown. "You're talking like you're much older than me..."

She muttered this in a low voice, slightly dissatisfied.

Bohr stepped onto the hollow stone slab and walked toward Heisenberg. "Thank you for your hard work, Heisenberg. How are things with Landau and Lysenko?"

Heisenberg sighed softly, glancing at the blue-haired beauty in men's clothing. She lowered her voice, clearly troubled. "Terrible. Lysenko is slightly better, but Landau—he almost insists on establishing a joint research center and putting the project under the supervision of the Cardinal Council. He just wants to provoke Nancy."

"...That doesn't sound like Landau." Bohr furrowed his brow. "Although his relationship with Nancy has always been bad, he wouldn't escalate things to this point... unless..."

Bohr paused, lost in thought for a moment. He then looked at the stalactites above his head, his voice so low that only Heisenberg and Welt could hear.

"Unless he received some kind of guarantee. And that guarantee must be beyond the authority of the Cardinal Council."

Although Bohr didn't say it explicitly, Welt immediately understood.

Beyond the authority of the Cardinal Council, there was only the Overseer, Kallen Apocalypse.

But... why would Teacher allow Landau to openly provoke Nancy like this? Hadn't she always told him to act as the balancing hand in the conflict between the two factions?

Heisenberg let out a sigh, spreading her hands in helplessness. "I really don't know why Landau and Nancy's conflict runs so deep. It's almost like they have some kind of deep-seated hatred..."

"I have the same feeling," Welt said, his voice thoughtful. "But we can't change anything right now. I've already tried to delay this agenda, but it seems like Landau is determined to push this plan through. I can't help much."

"Hmm? Deep-seated hatred? I don't think so, but Landau definitely thinks so."

The sudden sound of Nancy's voice made Heisenberg stagger back a few steps, almost falling into Welt's arms.

The blue-haired beauty in men's clothing gently tossed a strand of hair that had fallen to her ear behind her. "You should ask Landau about that. At the dinner in Madrid, wasn't he the one who started with the sarcastic remarks?"

Heisenberg blinked, still recovering from the surprise, and sighed. "Well... that's true, but Nancy, you also... sigh, never mind. I've already given up on any hope of mediating your conflict."

She waved her hand helplessly. "Really, I remember you two had a good relationship during your academic exchanges in Switzerland. You were the one who recommended Landau leave the Soviet Union and become the director of the direct physics research institute in Schicksal..."

Nancy's expression hardened slightly. "That was a thing of the past. It was probably when I became the actual head of the North American branch and Landau became the deputy director of the Second Division's development research department that we started to split apart."

Bohr gently tapped his forehead. "Let's start now. Let the Cardinal Council worry about these internal Schicksal matters."

Nancy nodded without saying anything further.

Welt opened his mouth, as if about to speak, but Bohr stopped him.

"It's useless, Joyce. You see, this isn't just about Landau and Nancy. It's about the conflict between the European headquarters and the North American branch... and even more than that."

Bohr sighed, looking away for a moment. "Like Nancy said, she and Landau used to be friends, but at some point, they went their separate ways. Then, with the emergence of the Uncontrolled Theory and the Civilization Theory, things became like this. The reasons for all of it... are very complicated."

Perhaps, though... it wasn't that complicated.

The real reason the Overseer would allow Landau to act so recklessly... could only be him.

From long ago, in her long life, the white-clad gentleman named Otto Apocalypse had become her eternal obsession.

Indeed... no one could replace him.

In her heart, he had surpassed many things... including Schicksal.