Unbound... This might be a good thing for others, but for Kevin Kaslana, it only represented emptiness.
His life was long, so long that most people could hardly imagine how to pass such an extended period. And in such a long life, most of his time had been dedicated to existing for the same person... initially to protect that person, later to avenge that person.
Now, the person he wanted to protect was dead, the idea of avenging her had been rejected by the person herself, and even the means for revenge were no longer viable.
When Lee was on the moon, she had told him she didn't want him to become a mere tool for revenge... But besides that, what else did he have left?
The answer was nothing.
Therefore, when Lihua marveled at him becoming a free person, Kevin could only remain silent. He was free because he had nothing.
Kevin just wanted to see the person he loved most one more time, but that seemed impossible now. No matter how similar she looked, the Lihua before him was ultimately not Lee.
The only way to perhaps achieve his wish was to beat Lihua to the brink of death again, forcing the bloodline within her to activate once more, calling forth Lee.
If he did that, Otto Apocalypse and the others would surely fly into a rage and hunt him relentlessly. Kevin didn't care much about that, but the thought that Lee's soul might still reside within Lihua made him hesitate.
Although attacking Lee wasn't exactly unprecedented for him, those situations usually had some justification. Doing it merely to see Lee again felt somewhat...
...He still needed to do something.
Since these people hadn't passed the test with their strength, he would use other methods as their assessment.
Glancing at the face identical to Li's, Kevin said no more and vanished on the spot.
He shouldn't have appeared in the first place; it was only Lihua's sigh just now, stirring memories of the past, that had unconsciously brought him here... But it did help him figure out what to do next, rather than continuing to secretly watch someone he could never be with from afar.
He's gone... That direction, looks like he's going to find Mei and the others. Lihua watched Kevin's rapidly moving icon on the system map, compared the direction slightly, and deduced who he was going to seek out.
Could he be planning to ask those three mad scientists [Referring to Mobius, Vill-V, possibly Mei] to see if they can create a technology to directly use the Kaslana bloodline to reawaken Li?
Well, it doesn't really concern her anyway...
---||---
"Miss Makima, it's a pleasure to meet you for the first time."
In the dark movie theater, Makima sat alone in the empty screening room until Otto's voice and footsteps approached from behind. "Could I trouble you to perhaps calm down the animals currently running rampant across this world? To be honest, the birds flying everywhere and the rats on the ground are indeed somewhat bothersome."
Makima silently turned to look at Otto, the light in her eyes flickering uncertainly.
Unable to dominate... Is it because he's not a normal human, but a being composed of machinery, or is it simply because he's too powerful to be controlled?
Or perhaps, I just can't bring myself to genuinely consider these beings from a strange otherworld as inferior to myself?
But this situation was within Makima's expectations. She merely looked at Otto calmly, without speaking.
There was no need for further unique self-introductions. Both were information powerhouses [Individuals skilled in gathering and wielding information], having already gathered all the necessary intelligence long before this meeting.
After all, both their worlds had significantly impacted Blue Earth, so the information summarized and published online about them was the most extensive.
Makima took out her phone, silently found the photo of Shoko wearing a paper bag, and showed it to Otto.
"I can disperse the animals, but in exchange, I need you to use the human intelligence network to help me find her. There are many surveillance cameras in this world; finding her shouldn't be difficult for you, who controls most of the political entities in this world."
From a practical standpoint, Makima and Otto's positions weren't really equal at the moment.
The latter had been operating on Blue Earth for some time and had many companions with explosive combat power. In contrast, Makima was not only a newcomer but also lacked reliable support.
Logically, Otto didn't need to make any deal with Makima; he could simply subdue her with force.
But Otto didn't do that. Instead, he smiled and nodded in agreement with Makima's request.
"Of course, my friend. This transaction is quite reasonable."
Otto could indeed defeat Makima right now, but what would be the point? His actions were never fixated on useless details but focused on whether developments benefited his ultimate goal. Therefore, such things weren't important.
Previously, his goal was to resurrect Lihua; now, it was to protect her. To do that, investigating the secrets behind her was necessary.
Since directly grabbing Lihua and asking if she was hiding something wasn't convenient, the best method was to investigate similar cases.
After careful searching, Otto's attention was ultimately drawn to the Giant of Light who had faced the Gun Devil—or more accurately, the girl who transformed into the giant.
Despite the paper bag, she hadn't concealed much else at the time, so the internet had long since uncovered her identity, confirming her as Shoko, the Wish Devil from Chainsaw Man.
It wasn't unusual for beings from the Chainsaw Man world to arrive on Blue Earth, but why did she appear at that specific moment? And how could she transform into a powerful Giant of Light to fight the Gun Devil?
That power, transforming into an Ultraman, clearly didn't belong to Shoko herself. Even using her wish-granting ability would likely struggle to achieve that.
Furthermore, why did she appear only once and then vanish completely, as if she had disappeared from Blue Earth entirely?
Most importantly, everyone else who had come to Blue Earth arrived alive, yet only Shoko and Lihua appeared here after death...
These numerous suspicious points forced Otto to pay close attention to Shoko... and Makima behind her.
To obtain more intelligence to verify his theories, contacting Makima and establishing a cooperative relationship with her was indispensable. Although he could learn some information about Shoko through the manga, it wasn't complete.
For example, Lihua had once mentioned something about the Wright brothers, but this detail wasn't reflected in the manga at all.
The only way to obtain such details was to ask the person involved.
However, upon hearing Otto's proposal, Makima's brow furrowed. It wasn't that she had any objection to cooperation; she simply felt displeased by Otto's form of address.
Friend? Who is his friend? Her only friend is Shoko. Does this guy who popped out of nowhere think he's worthy of being her friend?
But since she currently needed Otto to find Shoko's whereabouts, Makima ultimately suppressed her displeasure.
Finding Shoko is what matters; everything else is trivial... Besides, she also wanted to know what exactly this man was planning.