Mystery: When the Fool Meets the Masked Fool

Chapter 438 Otto's Research

Colin rejoined the group, and as he left the half-collapsed church, the environment around the exploration team returned to normal.

In the following period, although there were occasional difficulties and obstacles, Colin solved them all with ease.

While Otto was exploring the Giants' Court in Silver City, he was also conducting some kind of "exploration" on the high seas.

The brightly lit laboratory had long tunnels lined with two-meter-high petri dishes on both sides. Otto walked slowly through them, his footsteps making a crisp, pattering sound as he stepped on the ground.

He wore a pair of bracelets on his hands, which were sealing objects. In the blank space on them was written a decree: "Control of the Spirit Threads is Forbidden."

This is a seal from the Judge's Path, capable of sealing off an extraordinary ability of a demigod.

For a demigod of the Diviner path, losing the ability to manipulate the threads of the spirit body is like a tiger losing its claws and teeth; any other extraordinary abilities are at best minor supplementary tricks.

"Look, this is my latest research result," Otto said with a smile to the people behind him, seemingly quite proud of his achievement.

Behind Otto followed a figure dressed in General Fussack's uniform. He was unsmiling, and his face, neck, and hands were covered with silver armor plates, giving him a cold and aloof appearance.

His name is Rhys Lopez, an admiral of Fussack, a Silver Knight of Sequence Three, and a true demigod.

He looked calmly at Otto's "experimental results" and nodded slightly.

They were monsters soaking in petri dishes, out-of-control extraordinary beings.

“You are able to control them effectively.” Rhys used a declarative sentence rather than an interrogative one.

“That’s right, this is my in-depth research on the Spirit Threads. As you may know, I am a master of puppetry.”

“A sorcerer.” Rhys bluntly called out Otto’s statement, but offered no explanation.

Otto paused slightly, seemingly because his trick had been exposed, but quickly resumed his normal movements.

He seemed unwilling to discuss this issue, subtly changing the subject by pointing to a brand-new cabinet:
“Often, sealed objects with the characteristic of ‘being alive’ are easier to control than sealed objects without that characteristic. The same is true for people.” He was too thin and was placed on one of the petri dishes. In the petri dish was a person who looked like a sea monster. His skin was bluish, his features were strange, his arms and legs were long, and his body was covered with fish scales.

“I’ve noticed that if an out-of-control extraordinary individual happens to regain their sanity, they can briefly control their already out-of-control body. But soon, this loss of control will turn around and control their brain.”

“Therefore, we need to make them lack the characteristics of being alive, but also give them a spiritual quality so that they can be easily manipulated.” Otto lowered his hand from the petri dish. “Then humans whose brains cannot control their bodies are the most suitable.”

"Without the control of a brain, their bodies may be out of control, but as long as the body itself does not generate thoughts, it is equivalent to just a living corpse."

"For such people, all you need to do is directly apply extraordinary traits."

"Then how do you prevent the body from developing its own thoughts?" Rhys asked.

“Indeed, a common manifestation of an out-of-control extraordinary being is the birth of thought into the physical body.” Otto acknowledged this criticism.

"But you know what? Love, and even broader emotions, can indeed work miracles."

"The self that arises from the body does not possess sufficient intelligence. If multiple consciousnesses exist within a body, with just a little guidance, they can seize control of consciousness rather than the body."

"So, I wove their dreams, split their thoughts, and broke down the original people into countless personalities, creating a sufficiently ideal world for them in the dream. As for the so-called physical consciousness, it manifests in many forms in the dream depending on the type of potion. Natural disasters, man-made calamities, foreign invasions, or the arrival of giant warriors."

"Those split personalities will constantly die, be born, repeat, and reincarnate until a so-called... savior is produced. He will strive to fight against the disaster in his world and achieve a delicate balance with the so-called disaster."

“Thus, a perfect puppet is born. Extraordinary characteristics can be directly added to it without considering potions or advancement.” As he spoke, Otto pointed to another “puppet” that seemed to have been created not long ago.

It was a distorted shadow, like a paste, and eyes hidden behind it.

A black knight.

"The only thing we need to consider is not filling a puppet with non-adjacent, contradictory extraordinary characteristics," Otto explained.

"A good idea," Rhys complimented.

Otto couldn't help but smile, but he quickly composed himself and continued to explain his research.

"Look here again, this is the second invention I have developed."

It was a glass display case, and you could see a weapon inside, a machete.

"What's it for?" Rhys stepped forward and lightly touched the glass display case with his finger, asking.

Otto realized that he seemed to want to smash the glass display case and take out the weapons inside to take a look.

“Please don’t do this, my friend,” Otto quickly stopped him, his tone slightly “urgent.”

Rhys paused slightly, withdrew his hand, and asked simply, "What is its effect? ​​And how far can it affect?"

"To be precise, the weapons themselves are not important; it's the viruses attached to them that are important."

"This virus is invisible, colorless, and odorless. It can silently infect both the user and the victim of this weapon. In fact, simply being near it without protection can slowly lead to infection."

"The effect is simple: a gradual erosion of both the physical and spiritual bodies, causing the spirit to disintegrate and the body to gradually become silicon-based. As for the range of influence, it's a contagious disease; the infection range depends on the concentration. For example, this weapon's infection range exceeds one kilometer. Given enough time, it can easily kill a Sequence Four user. This time is approximately..."

Otto made an estimate.

"Half an hour."

Rhys looked at the machete, and after a few seconds, nodded approvingly, giving it a positive assessment.

"good."

He wasn't worried that Otto would use the virus to harm him. Because his prerequisite pathway was that of a Demon Hunter, he hadn't detected any virus in the air, and the people of the Church of War knew very well that he was here; if something happened to him, harming a Sequence Three would inevitably result in endless pursuit.

This Honkai General can't afford to gamble.

Otto said with a sigh, "Life is indeed a fragile thing, isn't it? No matter what angle you study it from, you can easily find ways to destroy life."

“Let’s continue,” Rhys gestured for Otto to continue.

Unbeknownst to him, under some subtle guidance, his wariness of Otto gradually decreased.

“No problem.” Otto smiled and nodded. “Then please look at this third research, which is also my proudest achievement.”

As the two delved deeper into the lab, they drifted further and further apart.

(End of this chapter)