No one will help him

Cecilia pondered⁠‍‌‍⁠‍​‌⁠‍​⁠⁠‍​​‌⁠‌‌⁠‌‍​ this and went to retrieve a small box.

She unlocked and opened it, revealing an assortment of trinkets—mostly porcelain ornaments. At the bottom was an old photo album.

In this era of advanced technology, few people kept physical albums or photos. But Cecilia owned a thick one.

She flipped it open, revealing countless photos.

The early pages were mostly of Bai Min and Huo Chao as children, but as time passed, more people appeared in the pictures—Huo Chao with Jiang Jinsheng, Huo Chao with Pei Changyun, Jiang Jinsheng with Zhou Jiuya, Ye Shu, and even Cecilia herself with Bai Min…

At that time, everyone was still young and inexperienced.

The Young Huo Chao didn’t yet have the cold and detached demeanor of a Divine Child. His smile was bright and sunny. But in photos taken during his teenage years with his friends, his expression became more reserved.

Jiang Jinsheng still had that hateful gentle and gentlemanly look that Cecilia detested. His smile was forced and awkward. Yet, with the Saintess next to him, he couldn’t help but blush.

Pei Changyun, as always, maintained a stern expression. This air of authority was necessary to keep a group of Alpha officers in check. However, when standing next to Huo Chao, his gaze softened slightly, and his dark green eyes, under the sunlight, were as beautiful as emeralds.

There were many candid shots later in the album—some blurry, and some showing Bai Min’s hand after being accidentally caught in the frame while taking the photo.

Zhou Jiuya back then was a rebellious, cocky young man, but in the photos, he was often getting his hair ruffled by his older brother, sulking in frustration but unable to resist.

Ye Shu and Pei Changyun were arguing again in one picture, while Huo Chao looked up at the ceiling, exasperated, hiding his face behind a file as if pretending not to hear them.

And there was that photo from when they visited the Omega Protection Association. Surrounded by a group of omega children, Marshal Huo Chao crossed his arms with a cool and aloof expression, looking every bit the arrogant hero.

“…”

Actually, there were many photos of Cecilia herself later in the album. In the early ones, she appeared timid and didn’t even dare to lift her head. Over time, however, she grew more radiant and charming, though in most of the photos, Bai Min was always standing beside her. As a result, Cecilia rarely looked directly at the camera—her gaze was always fixed on her beloved Saintess.

The album contained countless photos, not just of people but even of mechas. There was Forbidden Abyss, Wan Jiang, Pei Changyun’s B-class mecha Eternal Dream, and Bright Moon, the SSS-class mecha that had once belonged to Bai Min and was now inherited by Cecilia.

—Every photo in the album was taken by Bai Min.

The thoughtful Saintess loved to preserve memories and had made this album. It contained at least several hundred photos in total.

Cecilia flipped through the pages, pulling out every photo of Huo Chao. After a moment of thought, she closed the album and arranged the photos of Huo Chao by age.

At first glance, nothing seemed amiss. But when all the photos were placed together, Cecilia picked up a photo of Huo Chao as a child and one of him as a marshal. She realized they looked completely different.

Moreover, the young Huo Chao in the photos didn’t match the face of the same age in the incubation pod.

Suddenly, Cecilia recalled something Bai Min had once mentioned:

“I actually remember that Brother Huo Chao was much cuter as a child—big, round eyes and soft hair. But I’m not sure if all Alphas grow up to look fierce. Now his eyes seem narrower, and his hair is stiff. When he puts on that cold face, he looks so intimidating.”

At the time, the blonde girl had leaned in to whisper to her:

“Lia, do you remember the photo from the Omega Protection Association? I felt back then… Brother Huo Chao didn’t seem like Brother Huo Chao…”

“Weird, right? But I just felt that his eyes were different. They looked fiercer. But he was so gentle to the kids, so maybe not that fierce after all…”

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“Bright Moon, run a facial scan.”

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“Lia, based on facial bone structure analysis from His Highness Huo Chao’s seven-year-old photo, he should not have grown into his final appearance. However, there are no traces of facial surgery or cosmetic alterations.”

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At that moment, a flash of realization struck her.

Did this mean that it wasn’t Huo Xianfeng who looked like Huo Chao, but rather Huo Chao who looks like Huo Xianfeng?

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Yes, that had to be it!

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“But… why would Huo Chao be made to look like Huo Xianfeng?”

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As the Zerg King, Huo Xianfeng was classified as SSS-level.

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“…What a pain.”

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But above all, Cecilia didn’t trust He Zhun.

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Regardless of whether she could unravel this mystery, one thing was clear: the Huo Chao clone would soon step out of the lab as the most formidable weapon to challenge Pei Changyun’s imperial authority.

However, she wasn’t sure what effect this would have on Huo Xianfeng.

After all, Cecilia had already witnessed the combat power of that monster. She felt that even the real Huo Chao might not be able to defeat Huo Xianfeng, let alone a mere clone.

But, at the moment, she couldn’t think of any other possibilities either.
—Probably only the Pope and Bernard knew the

Cecilia lay there for a while, absentmindedly grabbing a photo. She noticed it was a candid shot of Huo Chao and Pei Changyun.

The esteemed Consul stood by a mecha, arms crossed and a face dark with irritation. Meanwhile, Marshal Huo Chao squatted beside him, clutching his head in apparent agony.

Cecilia knew exactly why this scene had occurred.

Few people in the world knew the Emperor’s only two weaknesses: first, his low combat abilities, and second, his low mental power level, which prevented him from using the nerve chain. He could only rely on manual operation.

Unfortunately, even manually, Pei Changyun’s mecha piloting skills were abysmally poor—so bad that not even Marshal Huo Chao could teach him, leading to his utter frustration and breakdown.

Cecilia stared at the photo for a long time, then reached out and tapped the figure of Pei Changyun, whose expression was both sullen and embarrassed. She murmured meaningfully,

“Well, maybe in a little while… Consul, we’ll meet again.”

At this, Bright Moon was surprised and couldn’t help asking,

“Lia, isn’t Pei Changyun the second person you hate most?”
—The first was Jiang Jinsheng.

“Yes, I can’t stand him,” Cecilia said.

The first time Cecilia and Pei Changyun met, they had a huge misunderstanding. Pei Changyun thought Cecilia liked Huo Chao, while Cecilia thought Pei Changyun liked Bai Min.

So, the esteemed Consul came charging in with a B-class mecha. With such mediocre combat power, Cecilia could have easily pinned him to the ground with one hand.

However, Huo Chao had also been present. So, using his power to remotely control mechas, Huo Chao assisted his Consul. As a result, Cecilia ended up being pinned down instead.

And so, the originally beautifully dressed up Cecilia was seen by her beloved Saintess in her most embarrassing and disheveled state.

But that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was that Jiang Jinsheng, the person Cecilia hated most, was also there. Being seen in her most humiliating state by her mortal enemy nearly drove her mad with rage.

Bright Moon remembered it clearly: ever since that incident, Cecilia had harbored a grudge against Pei Changyun. So Bright Moon couldn’t understand,

“Then why do you still want to see him?”

“Because with Huo Chao appearing, Pei Changyun won’t be able to stay put. And I want to see his terrible mecha piloting skills again.”

Cecilia folded the photo in half, hiding the part with Huo Chao on the back, and softly whispering,

“It’s just that this time, no one will help him.”

M1zushi: they had such a potential to be happy ;w; if it wasn’t for this damned Church