Chapter 349: Equivalent Exchange
"Honkai outbreak in New Zealand, giant beasts making landfall on the North American coast, swarm-type mini-Honkai beasts spreading across Eurasia, an unknown massive Honkai energy reaction discovered in the deep sea… Ugh, this world is way too hard! And here I am, still stuck in confinement, unable to do anything. Damn it!"
"Slurp—"
In the small solitary confinement cell–the barred door was more symbolic than secure–Kiana sat there with a cup of instant noodles in hand, staring at the world map projection riddled with flashing red alerts. She sighed as she took another bite.
Her hand reached up to the black collar around her neck. Its edges were adorned with ornate golden lace, linked to glowing blue lines stretching out from the walls and floor.
It was a variant of the Moonlight Throne's technology—a crude Honkai energy conversion device.
Kiana glanced at one of the monitoring screens nearby. The readings made her scowl.
{Hey, Sirin, pick up the pace! The output curve's dropping! Right now, we can only barely supply a trickle of energy as it is. You'd better cooperate and pay the rent properly!}
"Slurp—"
The sound of someone else eating noodles echoed in her consciousness. Then, in the next moment, Kiana felt more than half of the limitless Honkai energy that should have been at her disposal suddenly slip out of reach.
Her face went pale.
{You've got to be kidding me! You're throwing a tantrum at a time like this? I can't maintain the output alone!}
But her mental realm remained silent.
Kiana set the noodles down and scratched her head in frustration.
As the date of Sigurd's founding ceremony drew near, it seemed even the will of the Honkai had sensed something looming, and it responded accordingly. Recently, disasters had been escalating everywhere—strange new threats, mutations that defied imagination, and wave after wave of bizarre Honkai creatures popping up across the globe.
Even Theresa and Siegfried had already been released by Otto, dispatched to fight on the front lines. As for the rest of Kiana's friends and family, every single one of them was out there, battling with everything they had.
Only Kiana was the exception. As a Herrscher, she was bound under the strictest control. Apart from Sigurd himself, no one had the authority to release her. And with his coronation imminent yet his return still pending, her situation was a deadlock.
So unless things spiraled completely out of control, no matter how chaotic the world outside became, Kiana could do nothing but stay cooped up in the inner city base, supplying a little energy here and there—helpless to act beyond that.
"Kiana, your output has fallen below the critical threshold. At a time when we desperately need energy, what exactly are you doing?"
A cold, still-childlike voice rang in her ears.
Kiana looked up. A holographic projection appeared before her, a gray-haired little girl with twin drills. Kiana quickly pressed her palms together, trying to look sincere as her big watery eyes shone with mock innocence. She forced a laugh.
"Listen, Bronya, I can explain! It's not my fault—it's Sirin throwing a fit!"
"In the end, it still comes down to you. Either you do it, or you don't. Bronya doesn't have time for your nonsense."
With that, the stern-faced loli projection vanished without a trace.
Kiana puffed up her cheeks and muttered under her breath, lips pouting.
"What's with her, acting like she's so high and mighty? If it weren't for the fact that I can't fight right now, there's no way I'd let her boss me around… Still, judging by Bronya's tone, things outside must be really bad."
The frivolous air faded from her face. Her bright blue eyes hardened with seriousness, brows furrowing in thought.
After a moment, she spoke inwardly.
{Sirin, do you know the process of making a single cup of instant noodles?}
{Hm?}
{To make one delicious cup of noodles, you need skilled chefs to develop the flavor, farmers to grow all the raw ingredients, trucks to transport them, factories to process them, specialists to test the taste and safety, and even other factories just to manufacture the containers… From top to bottom, start to finish—without a complete production chain, without the cooperation of tens of thousands of people, you wouldn't be able to eat a single cup of tasty noodles!}
{…}
{So, Sirin—for the sake of delicious instant noodles, for more and better flavors, let's generate Honkai energy together!}
{Are you stupid? Or do you just think I'm easy to fool?}
Sirin's cold retort echoed in Kiana's mind. She blinked, then let her head and shoulders slump in exasperation.
A moment later, she looked up again, a mischievous glint flashing in her eyes.
"Alright then—until Sigurd comes back, I'll try out a new instant noodle flavor every single day. Equivalent exchange. How about it?"
{Hmph!}
"Ugh, stop with the grunting already! No one knows what you even mean by that. Think about it carefully—Sigurd absolutely hates it when I eat junk food. When he comes back, he could easily pass a law banning me from eating instant noodles altogether. If that happens, I won't be able to help you taste-test new flavors anymore. And if we don't record them all before then, you might never get to expand your flavor library again— Imagine being stuck with just a handful of options every day. You don't want that kind of life, do you?"
{Get lost!}
Kiana's gentle persuasion was abruptly cut short by a sharp, venomous shout in her mind.
She dug a finger into her ear and wrinkled her nose.
"Fine! Just wait until Sigurd comes back and whips you into shape! I don't need you anyway. It's just Honkai energy—if I want it, I'll have it!"
She grit her teeth, pulled the collar off her neck, and gripped it tightly in her hand. Her eyes shifted, glowing with gold.
"Hah… Huh? The energy's stabilizing again? Sirin, what happened to you?"
{At least five new flavors a day.}
"Deal!!!"
. . . .
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
On the coast of New Zealand, a colossal machine-beast rampaged through the city. To be precise, it was a grotesque giant—an amalgamation of countless writhing tentacles, bristling with cannons and machine guns, endlessly devouring every mechanical creation in sight. Each second, it unleashed devastating blasts that tore through the cityscape.
Dark clouds gathered above. From the sky descended a massive floating cannon, its barrel locking squarely onto the monstrosity.
Fwoosh!
A brilliant white beam lanced down, piercing the creature and shattering half its body into rubble. Mountains of twisted metal fragments piled high across the ruins of the city.
But moments later, the warped monster roared—a hideous cacophony of electronic screeches—and the scattered fragments rose back into the air, knitting themselves together. In seconds, the monster's hulking form was restored to its original size.
Landing on the rooftop of a high-rise, Welt pressed down the teal scarf whipping in the wind. His face was calm, but his brows were furrowed.
"The Moonlight Throne isn't enough? No… it's my model. Imperfect, underpowered. Maybe if I call Einstein and get her to use the Far East's full chain-linked Moonlight Throne cannons, we could finish it in one shot. Albert, what are our losses?"
The final question was directed at the grim young officer climbing up beside him—his right arm gone, only his left remaining.
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