Eh? All the mechanisms were disabled? For real?
Yuya, with dizzy eyes and a snot bubble, had her mind filled with this thought. For the first time in her life, she experienced what it meant for the strongest Grade 1 Sorcerer to fight the King of Curses.
Only now did she realize that Fuli and Kiana had bypassed all surveillance equipment inside the building and broken into the president's office without alerting a single person.
Since they had that ability, extending it a bit further seemed... somewhat normal?
Little did she know, Alice herself, who performed this feat, was also marveling.
To be factual, with her hacking skills ranked a mere 96th in the world (unofficial ranking, just for fun, low accuracy, many don't recognize it, you lose if you take it seriously), even with the ultimate weapon of digitization, at best she could shield Fuli and the others from detection inside the building. She absolutely couldn't pull off this god-tier move of overturning the heavens.
Besides, she didn't want to provoke Anti-Entropy for two strangers of unknown origin; opening a back door as a token gesture was enough.
Unexpectedly, while hacking, the chuunibyou girl was shocked to discover:
Holy crap! ME Corp, known as Anti-Entropy's largest arms production base in the Eastern Hemisphere, not only wasn't included in the defense perimeter of the super AI [Femirins], but it didn't even have a decent hacker assigned to it!
Unconscious Bronya: Hehe, sister, guess why there isn't one?
This was the first time since debuting with the virtual identity of Alice that she encountered a completely undefended Anti-Entropy branch base. While intruding, her hands got itchy and she couldn't resist, directly taking down the entire internal defense network of the building in one go.
At this moment, the girl's mood could be summed up in one word: Barking (bragging)!
Leaving aside the detailed internal structure of the Anti-Entropy branch that she could now faithfully recreate in her elaborately produced Homu's Great Adventure, and not mentioning the fortune she could make selling this stuff to other medium-to-large organizations, just the supreme sense of accomplishment from stepping on one of the world's strongest forces meant that for at least half a month, Alice would absolutely not wash the hands that just tapped the virtual keyboard!
Hehehe, let this savior touch herself all over to absorb some of this joy~
"Hey! Have some decency!"
Seeing the 2D girl on the screen unconsciously start groping herself with a lecherous expression, Kiana, realizing what was happening, hurriedly spread her arms to block Fuli's view.
Coming back to her senses, Alice glanced at them and vanished in a flash.
Setting aside how Old Xiao was having a mental orgasm in secret, Mei turned her gaze back to the adjutant.
"Just kill me."
Confirming that the situation was truly hopeless this time, Yuya remained silent for a long while before switching to repeater mode.
This wasn't hysteria, but rather counter-interrogation techniques for captives.
Aside from the above sentence, she would not answer any questions to prevent intelligence leaks through casual chat.
"That's useless!"
Kiana spoke up first. "If you really wanted to die, you wouldn't be wasting breath with us; you'd have bitten your tongue off already. Why not be honest with us, and we'll let you off the hook, how about that?"
Kitty Kiana was kind-hearted after all. She knew well that if she didn't strike first, the two behind her, who were always happy to "punish" people, would definitely not mind dismantling the unlucky person before them piece by piece during the interrogation.
Unlike her, they would really kill people.
"The reason she doesn't bite her tongue is that it doesn't cause immediate death."
Professional Fuli added from the side, "Biting the tongue to commit suicide is essentially neurogenic shock caused by intense pain, combined with excessive blood loss and suffocation. But setting aside the fact that a B-rank wouldn't faint from this level of pain, with me here, even if she swallowed her tongue to block her windpipe after biting it off, I could extract it immediately."
Not to mention he had long controlled a miniature Trailing Shadow dental guard to prop open her upper and lower jaws. Should anything happen, whether stopping her from biting her tongue or turning into sword qi to pierce through her skull, it was all within his thought.
"You're so practiced?"
Looking at that clean, sunny face, the Tuna whispered, "Why are you so skilled at this?"
Yuya's face turned even paler. She was speechless for a moment, then finally said, "Just kill me."
She regretted it now. When brushing her teeth in the morning, she shouldn't have removed the poison packet from between her teeth for convenience.
Now, she could neither live nor die.
Mei seemed thoughtful during the trio's conversation. After a moment, she raised her hand and pressed a finger against the northern hemisphere the adjutant had exposed earlier while trying to seduce Fuli.
A cluster of electric light burst from her fingertip, merging into the other's body like a dragon entering the sea.
"Now, I ask, you answer."
You ask and I answer?
Yuya sneered inwardly, thinking, Who do you think you are, little girl?
"Yes! Master!" ???
Mei withdrew her hand and explained to her companions:
"The human conscious mind transmits the subject currently being actively thought about and solved as a command signal to the subconscious. Regardless of whether this command signal appears as light waves, sound waves, pressure, temperature, or as images, language, or concepts, it will ultimately be converted into bio-electric pulse signals and transmitted to the right brain via nerve fibers."
"What I just did was delete and modify the bio-electric pulse signals converted from the above to a certain extent, changing the information received by her subconscious into the neural signals I need, thereby prompting..."
Noticing the blank looks from her friends, the girl smiled gently. "In short, she must now answer the questions I ask."
Confused Kiana Unit: "Ah, Ah-Li, you probably didn't understand either, right? It can't be just me who didn't understand, right? Right? Right?"
Half-understanding Li Unit: "Don't panic! This kind of little trick that isn't a skill or spell can only be used on ordinary people or unlucky ones like Yuya who can't resist. Normally, releasing some Honkai energy would interfere with its effect!"
"Huh?"
"Hmm?"
The two realized that what they cared about was completely different from each other.
'Fuli... seems to be hiding quite a few little secrets he doesn't want to share with others.'
Mei thought this, but didn't show it.
The girl knew that even if she asked, the boy would brush it off with shameless quips like "The wind is a bit noisy today~", "PUBG? My Yasuo is super slick!", "Yamato Nadeshiko is my ideal type!", "The one I actually fantasize about is you, Mei!"
And she would inevitably be unable to ask further amidst Kiana's ruffled chirping.
But it didn't matter. There was still a long, long time ahead. She had plenty of ways to explore those domains of his that hadn't been trodden by others.
Mei's lips curved up, then she looked down with a cold glint in her eyes. "First, answer me. At the cost of stealing my father's painstakingly built ME Corp in such an undignified manner, what exactly do you intend to do in Nagazora City?"
No! You can't! NO! My body!
Despite the continuous screams inside her heart, the adjutant involuntarily straightened her back and seriously answered the Raiden Queen's question:
"Using twelve ancient Honkai phenomena around Nagazora City, such as Thousand Shadow Tales, Tachibana Villa, Mirror Hymn, as nodes to mobilize a large amount of Honkai energy. Through regulation technology developed by the technical department referencing Shenzhou cultivation methods, appropriate amounts of harmlessly treated Honkai energy are injected into the populace to artificially increase ordinary people's Honkai adaptability, thereby catalyzing potentially existing Stigmata awakened individuals for recruitment."
"That's not right, is it?"
Kiana was the first to question. "Smelly Dad said Anti-Entropy doesn't involve itself in human experimentation!"
"That was the past."
Yuya's mind rejected it, but her mouth was honest. "After the Sovereign's disappearance (spiritual seclusion), the new generation of scientists led by Enforcer Candidate [Infinity] began to step into the previously untouched field of human experimentation, achieving remarkable results visible to all in a very short time. For example, the Spirit Platform Generator Lady Cocolia used to contact Master Raiden Mei earlier was a gadget casually made by that lady."
"Just for this trivial matter, you went to such great lengths?"
Strangely, the one asking this wasn't the direct victim Mei, but Fuli.
His face was particularly grim at this moment, so much so that it presented a surging killing intent.
This was the first time the girls had seen such a color on his face. Kiana frowned with a trace of worry, while Mei licked her lips with slight excitement.
"Yes! That's what Lady Cocolia told me and the others!"
After Einstein locked Cocolia's authority, Yuya, who was temporarily transferred up, answered decisively.
Fuli looked at Mei.
The latter shook her head lightly. "She's not lying, but it's not ruled out that Cocolia didn't tell her and other subordinates the full picture of the Nagazora City mission."
An adjutant responsible for protecting an Enforcer being only B-rank—anyone could sense the problem there.
"Is that so..."
The boy stepped back, holding his sword and lowering his eyes, signaling the girl to continue.
Mei stepped forward as instructed. "Why did Cocolia issue a warrant for my arrest?"
"This is classified. All invisible data related to Raiden Mei are SSS-level files that only those above Enforcer rank have the authority to view. Even I am not qualified to read them."
The adjutant answered, "I only know that what Her Ladyship desires is something inside your body. It's something Raiden Ryoma put into your body when you were young to suppress the natural Stigmata that was about to go berserk."
By the way, this security level was only raised after Cocolia learned that Mei hosted the Gem of Conquest. Raiden Ryoma wasn't idiot enough to deliberately set his daughter's classification so high, fearing others wouldn't know she was special.
Kiana the Cat jumped out again. "Since you guys are leaving, how will you handle those Honkai phenomena and nodes that sound dangerous?"
"Follow-up troops will dismantle and restore the technical modifications made previously to prevent the Schicksal Far East Branch, upon learning the news, from intervening and obtaining relevant intelligence."
Yuya said, "But in my opinion, even letting Ms. Theresa take some advantage really isn't a big deal."
Knowing ordinary people wouldn't be affected, Kiana, relieved, asked curiously, "You, why is your elbow turning outward (siding with outsiders)?"
"I am a former Schicksal Valkyrie who underwent artificial Stigmata transplant surgery. Because my ability couldn't be used in combat, I was assigned to the logistics unit. Seeing no hope for revenge, I chose to leave Schicksal and defect to Anti-Entropy, joining the Reformist faction and climbing to my current position."
Yuya looked calm. "The artificial Stigmata transplant greatly reduced my natural lifespan. The scientific department under Ms. Theresa is researching ways to alleviate the side effects of Stigmata transplant surgery and extend Valkyrie lifespans. This makes it impossible for me to feel ill will toward her no matter what."
So-called artificial Stigmata are artificially created Honkai gene sequences meant to replace natural Stigmata.
Although inferior to natural Stigmata in efficacy, they have the advantage of being mass-producible.
Currently, Schicksal's artificial Stigmata technology is immature. Even though the technology has undergone multiple iterations, for carefully selected compatible candidates, the survival rate of accepting an artificial Stigmata is less than half. Among those who survive, the true success rate is less than half again.
And even if the transplant is successful, not only is the individual's lifespan greatly shortened, but it also comes with various sequelae.
Take the ace of the current Far East Branch, A-rank Valkyrie Major Murata Himeko, as an example:
Even with negative factors like being implanted in adulthood and excessive combat intensity, her current theoretical lifespan is less than four years remaining.
Since Theresa established St. Freya Academy with the goal of "letting Valkyries cherish their lives and not treat themselves as tools of war," the first problem to solve was lifespan.
In fact, as someone from the future, Fuli knew Theresa's massive investment was definitely not in vain.
St. Freya Academy was established in 2009. In five years, their research greatly delayed the sequelae of Valkyrie artificial Stigmata transplants. Some even had their lifespans extended enough to dare marry and have children after retirement!
In the past, this was something they wouldn't even dare dream of.
Of course, behind the increased funding for research was Ms. Theresa's relatively frugal personal life.
In the previous timeline, when chatting privately with Fuli, Kiana often complained that her aunt wore one nun outfit for a whole year and was stingy about applying for budget even to buy a Homu's Great Adventure manga.
Regrettably, as the person closest to being saved, Ms. Murata Himeko sacrificed herself heroically in the Herrscher of the Void resurrection battle in 2016.
Rumor has it she donned the Vermilion Knight: Eclipse, originally stored deep within Schicksal's Helheim Labs.
First, she repelled the attacking Judgement-class Honkai Beast Benares with the Godsbane Surtr and her unique Vermilion Knight swordsmanship. Then, at the cost of her own life, she assaulted the Imaginary Space and killed (neutralized/saved) the resurrected Herrscher of the Void.
For that wondrous woman who streaked across the sky like a meteor, this was perhaps the best and most magnificent curtain call.
"But, Stigmata?"
Kiana looked curiously at the silent Yuya. "I remember Stigmata awaken all sorts of abilities. Big Sister, what is your Stigmata ability?"
As a normally talented person from the Kaslana family who hadn't awakened a Stigmata, the girl had always been curious about this.
The adjutant sighed. "Body Enhancement Type, Gentle Appearance."
"Specifics?"
"It grants me an amiable aura, lowering others' vigilance toward me. But it's ineffective against individuals who determine me as an enemy from the start, and it doesn't stop the targets with lowered vigilance from drawing their swords and hacking me normally."
At the end, she specifically glanced at Fuli, who had retreated behind the two girls to meditate with his sword.
"That, that's a pretty nice ability, ahahaha..."
Kiana scratched her head and laughed dryly.
No wonder she left Schicksal. Betting her life and future on a surgery only to get such a useless thing in return—who wouldn't have a mental breakdown?
"Just a reminder."
Alice's figure flashed on the screen again.
"Cocolia herself will return to the Raiden Tower in twenty minutes. With her, the highest authority holder present, I don't have the confidence to let you move unimpeded here like before."
In human language: Time to leave, everyone.
...