Honestly, it wasn't just Seele who didn't believe him. Shu himself didn't entirely believe it either.
But he couldn't help it; in a certain sense, what he said was absolute truth.
If he were to suddenly lose the Authority of [Wish], given his physical constitution and other base abilities, he would be completely, irrefutably useless. He'd probably have to live off his sugar mommas for the rest of his life.
Furthermore, Shu never hesitated to assume the absolute worst of Otto. For instance: What if, once Otto realizes I have no more tactical value, he ruthlessly kicks me to the curb and revokes all my accumulated merit points?
Would Otto actually do that?
Of course not. He was a villain, not a scumbag. He wouldn't stoop that low. Moreover, Kallen would absolutely elbow him in the ribs before his conscience even had a chance to waver.
Yes, Shu was purely slandering him.
But since the target was Otto, Shu felt completely justified.
The group walked out the main gates of the Fire Moth headquarters, descended the long flight of stairs, and officially entered the city.
In the six months since he had arrived in this world, Shu had visited many places.
Nagazora, Arc City, Depascal, the Babylon Labs, Sicily, the City of Sighs...
Following the Great Eruption, these places had suffered varying degrees of destruction. Nagazora and Arc City were in ruins, the land ravaged by zombies and Honkai Beasts, leaving a landscape of absolute devastation.
Places like Depascal and the Babylon Labs were perfectly preserved, unconsciously shielded by Herrschers. Although the architecture was intact, they still exuded a chilling, desolate aura of abandonment.
And Sicily—well, Shu had casually nuked that one himself. There wasn't even ash left.
As for the City of Sighs, it was the quintessential cyberpunk slum. There was no glittering neon or hedonistic luxury; only impending doom and a desperate struggle for survival.
And just a month ago, Arc City wasn't doing much better.
The massive trench Shu's sword had carved was still a local landmark, and the area where they had fought Evolution was completely leveled—just an empty, barren wasteland.
The rest of the city hadn't experienced anything quite so spectacular, but it had been thoroughly "plowed" by the urban exploration teams, leaving it in a state of chaotic disrepair.
That was Arc City a month ago: ruined, desolate, and giving off the distinct impression of an old man with very little time left.
But now?
The moment they stepped onto the street, the distinct, chaotic noise of a small, bustling town washed over them.
It wasn't the roar of countless vehicles and engines. The predominant sounds were the clamor of construction: metal clashing against metal, machinery grinding, and the shouts of workers blending together into a cacophonous symphony of progress.
Hiss... Arc City is supposed to be a highly developed metropolis, right? Even now, it has a population of over ten million. Why does it sound like this?
The scene before them was entirely different from what they had imagined. The city didn't display the polished veneer of "high civilization." The streets were dusty, but teeming with people coming and going.
The buildings on both sides of the street were covered in scaffolding. They hadn't even bothered to put up green safety netting; there was simply a swarm of people climbing up and down the scaffolding, actively rebuilding.
It was an incredibly raw, grounded, and rustic sight.
And also incredibly bizarre.
What exactly had Shu been exposed to over the past six months?
Aside from those first few days wandering Nagazora as Kiana's part-time babysitter, Shu had witnessed autonomous mag-lev trains capable of traveling the globe, sentient AIs, the colossal Wotan mecha, cold fusion reactors, the Babylon Labs, quantum cluster supercomputers...
Not to mention homunculi, MANTISes, Herrschers...
Shu had become so desensitized to hyper-advanced sci-fi nonsense that seeing this scene of rugged, primitive manual labor genuinely shocked him. He stared, momentarily stupefied, as if he had just gained true sentience.
Wait. So all that overpowered stuff isn't actually standard-issue technology in this world?!
Holy crap, nobody told me!
The realization hit him so suddenly that his past experiences felt even more like a hyper-realistic holographic video game.
Honestly, the game was so realistic that Shu was starting to lose track of what was real and what was virtual.
He watched a worker struggling to pry up a broken slab of concrete with a crowbar.
The man's face was red, the veins in his neck bulging as he grunted in exertion. Two other men hurried over to lend a hand.
With a coordinated heave, the three of them finally managed to move the obstacle—something that would be entirely trivial to modern heavy machinery.
Nearby, a group of young men, equally covered in dust and looking thoroughly disheveled, were huddled around a blueprint, pointing and arguing animatedly.
Within two sentences, the young men—who looked no older than twenty—were glaring at each other, and it quickly devolved into a physical scuffle.
After exchanging a few blows, they threw their arms around each other's shoulders and went right back to discussing the plans.
Students and workers... Watching them, Shu suddenly let out a soft chuckle.
"So this is... the power of ordinary people..."
"Shu suddenly sounds exactly like an old man," Bronya's calm voice drifted up from his side. Shu tilted his head, looking down at Bronya, who had strategically positioned herself within the shadow of his parasol.
A faint smile touched the corner of Bronya's lips. She looked up at him, her eyes shining.
"Do I?" Shu raised his free hand and scratched his cheek awkwardly, then looked at the others.
Theresa crossed her arms and nodded seriously. "Mhm~ Shu's statement just now sounded exactly like a veteran cadre preparing for retirement."
"That's oddly specific." Sweating slightly, Shu turned to the others for a second opinion.
"Uh..." Seele looked incredibly conflicted. Seeing her expression, Shu looked even more conflicted, which surprisingly made Seele laugh.
"Pfft—hahaha..." Seele giggled, waving her hand dismissively. "Not at all. Big Brother Shu has always been very young."
"Seele, we must always speak the truth." Bronya deadpanned, though the smirk on her face was impossible to hide.
Shu smiled pleasantly and placed his hand directly on top of Bronya's head.
Instantly, Bronya fell silent, becoming as quiet as a quail, the smile wiped completely off her face.
But the others couldn't hold back their laughter.
"Hahaha! Bronya, your day of reckoning has finally come!" Seeing her rival in distress, Kiana immediately unleashed a barrage of mockery.
Historically, Bronya possessed the sharpest, most venomous tongue in the entire group. Despite her small stature, she was like a little hedgehog, firing barbs in every direction. She was basically a calmer version of Sin Mal.
Although Sin Mal was pure, unadulterated aggression, unlike Bronya.
The St. Freya crew had suffered under Bronya's tyranny for far too long! The only problem was that Shu was usually entirely checked out, Mei spoiled Bronya rotten, and Seele and Bronya were practically joined at the hip.
Kiana was the only one fighting a desperate, solitary war against her.
Finally!
The evil Bronya has finally been sanctioned by a higher power and manually muted!
Kiana raised her head, bathing in the glorious sunlight.
The sun has finally risen...