Otto walked in without hesitation.
The moment Otto entered, Xia Qi immediately noticed him.
But the others didn't notice. What lay before their eyes had shocked them far too deeply.
The photo album had been turned to the next page.
"Ah... this... this is... Overseer Otto, Mr. Welt... and, and that Kevin???"
"?"
Otto, who had just entered, paused slightly in his step. Welt and Kevin walked in at that same moment. They all heard what Kiana had just exclaimed and couldn't help but look over.
Something related to them?
With a reaction like that...
Welt and Kevin both moved toward Xia Qi and the others.
Seeing this, Otto didn't hesitate and followed.
All three possessed formidable strength. Except for Xia Qi, no one else had noticed the three of them quietly arriving behind them.
Xia Qi looked at them, remained silent for a moment, and made no move to put away the item in her hands.
She had a bold idea forming in her mind.
Otto stood behind Kiana and the others. All three men were generally taller than the Valkyries present, and they easily saw over the heads of the group to what everyone was gathered around.
When they saw clearly what it was, their eyes went wide, even Kevin's.
What they saw shattered their cold, indifferent, or smiling expressions completely.
"Who would've thought... who would've thought those three would dress like that in the future!"
Kiana exclaimed, her face extremely flushed.
"And dancing on stage..." Bronya added immediately, her expression perfectly flat.
"And striking poses like that..."
Himeko pressed her hand to her face. She felt she would never be able to look at her Overseer properly again.
"These are fake."
At that moment, Kevin's voice, cold to the extreme, sounded behind them.
"Waaaah!"
Everyone looking at the photos startled and immediately turned around to find Otto and the other two standing behind them.
"Overseer!"
Himeko immediately sensed trouble.
Kiana instinctively moved to block the album, but it was already far too late.
"Regarding this photo."
Otto smiled slightly, looking at Xia Qi with a gentle expression: "I believe it should be handed over to us."
"Correct."
Kevin nodded, staring coldly at Xia Qi and the others.
"..."
Welt said nothing, but at this moment, standing alongside Kevin and Otto, he stared intently at Xia Qi, not at the album in her hands.
"..."
Xia Qi didn't reply immediately.
Instead, she stepped slightly to the side, allowing them to continue seeing the contents of the album, and turned back to the previous page. On this page were photos of nearly half of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers.
Kevin was subconsciously drawn to them, but when he saw the scenes in the photos, a few veins rose on his neck.
In the photos, within the Elysian Realm, he and Su, Kosma, and Kalpas were standing in the Gold Courtyard, their faces wearing extremely embarrassed and helpless expressions. Behind them, Eden and Elysia were holding up beautiful dresses, chasing after them and calling something out.
After letting them take in that page, Xia Qi quickly turned to the next.
Otto's breath caught, and he went still.
On this page was a photo of him.
Him from five hundred years ago, from when everything was just beginning.
In the photo, he was wearing a green dress, his tall, broad frame filling out the skirt amply. He was lying in the arms of a bald guard, wiping away tears, his face full of grievance and helplessness.
Although Otto had been momentarily lost in memory, his entire body still twitched violently at the sight.
Xia Qi said nothing, and quickly turned to another page.
When she opened it, she looked at Otto, her gaze calm.
"Kallen?"
Otto lost control of himself and immediately stepped forward several paces, his eyes wide, staring at the album. In it, his younger self and a young Kallen were leaning against a lush green tree, fast asleep side by side.
His reason told him this was almost certainly fabricated.
There were no cameras back then.
This photo could not possibly exist.
But the younger version of himself, the younger Kallen in the photo, matched his memories perfectly. He even remembered when the scene in this photo had taken place. Otto held on to every single day from back then, never forgetting a single one.
"This photo..."
Otto looked at Xia Qi, momentarily and slightly flustered.
"Give it to me."
"..."
Xia Qi remained silent, and gently closed the album.
Otto watched her movements, his gaze gradually deepening.
The album was seven or eight centimeters thick. What they had just seen were only a few pages.
How many more photos were inside about the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, about Otto and Kallen's past?
Welt stared at the album, his breathing also growing somewhat heavy.
There was a photo of Joyce on the wall nearby. Did this album also contain photos of Joyce?
The thought made him extremely restless as well.
"Otto."
Holding the album, Xia Qi looked at Otto expressionlessly.
"Do you want these?"
She casually pulled a photo from the album and held it out to Otto.
Otto immediately reached out and took it.
Then, holding the photo in both hands, he fell silent.
In this photo he saw his younger self, standing by a wall of stones, looking up at Kallen sitting on top of it, her face beaming with a brilliant, bright smile as she looked back down at him.
He could never forget this scene.
But it had ultimately remained only in his memories, a thing of the past.
And now, holding this photo, he fell into a long silence.
Otto stared at the photo, at Kallen looking at him with that brilliant, bright smile. His gaze gradually deepened, tinged with pain, his lips pressed tightly together.
When had it started...
When had Kallen stopped smiling, her presence becoming heavy and dark and desperate...
"Do you want the rest?"
Looking at Otto, Xia Qi said calmly.
Otto looked up at Xia Qi, his gaze profound.
"What... do you want?"
"To renegotiate."
Xia Qi looked at Otto, her expression calm.
"The Hyperion remains Bronya's. It will be directly subordinate to the Far East Branch and not subject to deployment by headquarters."
"..."
Otto stared at Xia Qi, his gaze deep, and did not answer.
"Furthermore, the Hyperion requires skilled crew members. The crew will be jointly provided by all four parties. Key positions such as Captain and Vice-Captain will be arranged by the Far East Branch, St. Freya Academy."
Xia Qi continued calmly, looking at each of them in turn as she spoke her final terms.
"Bronya will send the core data of the Moonlight Throne module to you as a data package. Additionally, the multiple rounds of combat data already recorded in the Hyperion's database will be shared with all three parties, and future combat data will also be synchronized in real time. However, in exchange, you may not interfere with the Hyperion's sortie missions."
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