Uchiha Sasuke’s Collapse Chapter 008

Kiana’s clear voice came from the phone, pulling Mei back to reality. No longer was there the chilling lightning before her.

The indifferent young man leaned against the tree, calmly looking at her.

“I’ll be right back, Kiana. Remember to help me wash the vegetables and start cooking the rice.”

“Mm-hmm!” On the other end of the phone, the white-haired furball nodded vigorously.

After hanging up the phone, Mei looked at the young man under the tree.

Then, there was a long silence.

Both seemed to be waiting for the other to speak, neither taking the initiative to say anything, just calmly gazing at each other.

Finally, as if to prevent her pet “slipper bug” from starving on the streets, Mei spoke first. She deliberated for a moment, then slowly said, “Sir, although I don’t know why you know so much about me, I want to say…”

“The driving force for seeking power should not be for slaughter or hatred.”

“I know, in the past, they fawned over me to curry favor with me, the young lady of ME Corp, hoping that I would promote them in the future. Now that this identity is gone, they abandon me like a worn-out shoe.”

“But that cannot be a reason for me to wield a sword against them!”

A hint of sorrow and weariness was mixed in the girl’s brows, but she still calmly stated her thoughts to Sasuke while trying to smile at him.

“…”

Sasuke did not answer.

“Well then, sir, thank you for your guidance today. I have something to do at home, so I’ll stop here.”

Sasuke still did not answer, merely watching Raiden Mei silently.

Mei turned around, took two steps forward, then turned her head back to look at Sasuke again: “Oh, sir, I haven’t asked for your name yet.”

This time, the silent young man finally spoke, his cold voice ringing out: “Uchiha Sasuke.”

“Okay, thank you.” Mei bowed slightly, then turned and walked towards the school. She needed to go back and get her school bag and the uniform she had left at the kendo club.

Sasuke leaned quietly against the tree, gazing up at the setting sun gradually sinking below the horizon.

“Tsk tsk tsk, I can’t believe I, the great Uchiha Sasuke, was lectured by a little girl,” the system’s teasing voice echoed in Sasuke’s mind.

“She is not me as a child, easily swayed by a few simple words,” Sasuke replied.

Yes, what Sasuke had said earlier was a deliberate imitation of what Itachi had done to him in the past. But it was clear that the bullying the girl experienced was far less devastating than the trauma of the Uchiha massacre and the Tsukuyomi, not to mention that Raiden Mei herself was now a seventeen-year-old girl, the same age as his current self, and far more mature than he was back then.

“Then you should be grateful for your failure, otherwise, the Herrscher of Thunder would have been born prematurely.”

“Will drastic emotional changes… also affect her?” Sasuke frowned slightly.

“Of course, it’s like a self-protection mechanism. Otherwise, why would Cocolia go to such lengths to make the entire St. Freya Academy, even her friends and family, alienate or abuse her? Of course, part of it is due to the inherent evil in human nature; after all, everyone loves to see a high-and-mighty winter flower fall into the mud.”

“She just mentioned ME Corp. Is that tallest building in the city hers?”

“Of course, or rather, it used to be. Her father, Raiden Ryoma, was also a member of Anti-Entropy, but he lost in his struggle with Cocolia. Of course, the external rumors say that Raiden Ryoma was implicated in forging financial documents, not only removed from his position as president by the board of directors but also imprisoned. A portion of the assets that once belonged to the Raiden family was swallowed by Cocolia, while the other part was coveted by other ME Corp personnel. They pestered this seventeen-year-old girl day and night, and of course, Cocolia had a hand in it too.”

“I see, so you call her this world’s Danzo?”

“More or less. I need to warn you, although Raiden Mei was pulled back by Kiana’s call today, it doesn’t mean this city will have such luck next time. After all, she’s just an ordinary person who hasn’t experienced much. She grew up in a peaceful era, unlike you. Therefore, societal isolation could become the last straw that ignites the Gem of Conquest within her at any time.”

Sasuke said nothing. He instantly appeared on a nearby rooftop, watching Raiden Mei’s retreating figure as she headed home. Upon arriving, the shouting white-haired ponytail girl gave her a warm hug.

Watching the warm smile on Raiden Mei’s face, Sasuke fell into contemplation.

Clearly, Raiden Mei was not suited for the path he had walked in the past. Hatred, pain, despair—these intense negative emotions would only accelerate her transformation into a Herrscher. The watchful Cocolia could trigger the Third Eruption at any moment.

So, what should he do?

Sasuke fell into deep thought.

Clearly, his understanding of Honkai was still insufficient. Sasuke could, of course, activate his Rinnegan now, search the entire city for Cocolia’s possible location, and then directly kill her.

But the problem was, would killing Cocolia prevent the Third Eruption?

Sasuke couldn’t help but recall the Honkai energy storage devices he had seen in the suburban factory earlier. If Cocolia’s method of triggering the Third Eruption was to deploy a large number of such storage devices throughout the city and then detonate them directly, then killing Cocolia might not thwart her plan, unless he carried out a decapitation strike against all members of Anti-Entropy’s management stationed in Nagazora.

If such a measure were to be used, he would need to ascertain the specific identities of Anti-Entropy’s management.

Secondly, there was another matter worth considering: was there an inevitable link between Raiden Mei becoming a Herrscher and the Third Eruption?

If he stopped Cocolia but failed to prevent Raiden Mei from becoming a Herrscher, would it still cause the Third Eruption?

The intelligence was still too scarce.

Sasuke gazed at the city’s night sky, the dim moon obscured by clouds.

As the saying goes, “a dark and stormy night is a good time for murder.” From a weather perspective, it was indeed a good time to act.

The system had said earlier that the ME Corp headquarters building had been occupied by Cocolia. Whether true or false, he would find out with a single investigation.

However, compared to directly moving against Cocolia, there was a lower-risk, lower-cost method right now.

Since all of Cocolia’s plans revolved around this woman named Raiden Mei…

Why not just kill her?

A cold glint flashed in Sasuke’s dark pupils.