Over the Pacific Ocean, aboard the aerial battleship Hyperion—
The sunlight at eight in the morning wasn't glaring. The morning rays filtered through the gap in the curtains, gently caressing the girl's face.
Kiana was disturbed by this warmth and slowly opened her eyes.
Rubbing her messy premature white hair, her expression was still a bit dazed.
"Waking up so early," she thought, "will make people stupid. People need to sleep."
Slowly closing her eyes, she turned on her side, curled up into a ball, clamped the soft duvet between her thighs, and covered her head.
Very introverted; scared to get out of bed during the day.
The clouds outside the window were a fluffy white, flawlessly white, as cute as the girl's slightly chubby cheeks; the sky was a pure blue, crystal clear blue, as moving as the girl's bright eyes.
Time passed minute by minute. The cat clock on the bedside table reached nine o'clock.
With a click, the door to the maiden's boudoir was opened from the outside.
Soft and bouncy like jelly pudding, a small cat hiding under a square shell hopped into the room.
It moved to the bedside, raised its large watery eyes, and let out a strange yet cute sound at the white-haired dumpling curled up on the bed: "Moyomo?"
—A micro-magnetic robot, a universal basic work unit Mei found in the Pre-Civilization Treasury of Knowledge within the Stigmata of Thunder space.
The magnetic server technology used not only allowed them to sense each other but also allowed them to arrange themselves into various shapes for construction, transportation, combat, and many other uses, completing various tasks at extremely high speeds. They could be considered the ancestors and prototypes of Soulium puppets.
Using the ME Corp production line transferred to the Hyperion and supplies exchanged from Theresa, Mei mass-produced them to make up for the organization's shortage of manpower.
The Cat-Cake design was voted on by the four of them. Even though Fuli, as the BOSS, had absolute decision-making power on key matters, facing the extremely rare three votes in favor + intense staring from the Trio (stare~), he wasn't tactless enough to forcibly veto it.
Besides, he didn't want to veto it because the Cat-Cakes were just too cute!
And the one that ran to the window right now was temporarily dispatched to call the bed-loving Kiana for breakfast.
Unfortunately, it couldn't achieve its goal.
"Mo!"
A small hand reached out from under the covers, grabbing the Cat-Cake, which was letting out urgent calls, and using it as a pillow.
Kiana smacked her lips, rubbed her cheek against the little cutie struggling fruitlessly in her arms, changed her posture, and fell into a deep sleep.
Another hour passed. Amidst the disappointing growling of her lower abdomen, the starving white-haired dumpling finally opened her eyes.
"Since I'm awake, I can't sleep anymore!"
Shouting useless nonsense, the girl got up, showered, flicked the Cat-Cake's little head, rushed out of the room, whooshed through the corridor, and arrived at the Hyperion's public bridge area.
Like a wild horse off the reins, having eaten croton beans and drunk laxatives, she was unrestrained everywhere.
The bridge had excellent lighting. Three pieces of transparent special glass divided half of the cabin. The control console for manual operation in critical moments was in the center.
Further ahead, the platform was a small luxury salon used for temporary rest and meetings. In the corner was a wine cabinet and bar counter that Fuli had specifically brought back from Nagazora City before leaving.
Kiana, making her grand entrance, scanned all directions, her eyes lighting up.
"Bro! N! Ya!"
She headed straight for Bronya, who was also yawning!
Fuli's reaction was still timely. He put down the newspaper he had just bought from a passing light-projection news pigeon, used Void Instant Movement to shift behind Kiana, and restrained her.
"That's right, Ah-Li, hold me down just like that!"
Kiana, pinned to the floor, said viciously, "Otherwise, I'm going to kill Bronya!"
Bronya: Damn retard!
She scratched her butt and retorted, "Is it interesting to do this once every day?"
The Third Eruption had been over for a full month. Did this white-haired idiot not get tired of playing this every day?
And Brother too, actually playing along with her tirelessly.
Spoiling her so much, why don't you two just go get married—
Hmm? Killing intent!
The girl looked up alertly and immediately met the eyes of Miss Mei walking towards them.
"Electromagnetic induction is convenient."
She mumbled, re-editing the Honkai energy in her body to shield against Mei's terrible skill that Fuli jokingly called 'Heart Net'.
Seeing the true pillar arrive, the entangled Fuli and Kiana quickly separated.
Mei sat on the sofa, crossed her legs, and casually picked up the newspaper Fuli had thrown down to read. "Why are you up so late?"
She seemed to have just taken a bath. Her snow-white skin under the bathrobe carried a soft charm against the daylight. Her long hair was loose, her eyes like water, natural and unadorned, carrying a fresh and refined beauty in her temperament.
Just that this outfit of ultra-thin white stockings under a loose bathrobe, along with the casually open collar and the looming hem...
Anyway, first rule out teasing the only male on the Hyperion. Second, rule out tempting the only Fuli on the Hyperion to lose control and commit a crime against her, then push the boat with the current to get a marriage certificate!
Kiana raised her hand: "Report to Teacher Mei! I caught a disease where my back hurts when I wake up in the morning!"
Bronya ruthlessly dismantled her excuse: "The back pain is obviously from Brother elbowing you just now."
Man!
Mei pretended not to hear. "Then wake up in the afternoon from now on?"
"Divine doctor!"
Kiana suddenly realized, then felt sheepish meeting the sweeping gaze. "O-Okay, fine. Mainly because my monthly theory test scores weren't good, Himeko gave me remedial lessons remotely for most of the night..."
This girl still held the status of a St. Freya student.
As a student, of course, she had to study and take exams.
Fuli asked curiously, "Not good? How bad can it be? Where's the paper? Let me see (kang kang)!"
Kiana clearly lacked confidence, her eyes darting around. "Th-The paper isn't with me. Look at my clothes, I don't even have pockets."
In the month since boarding the ship, this girl's attire had become increasingly casual.
It was normal the first week. The second week turned into short shorts and a tank top.
From the third week, she started wandering around in pajamas. In her words, since there were no male outsiders anyway, naturally, the more comfortable, the better. And now...
Glancing at the girl's oversized boyfriend shirt and the long, white, tender legs under her panties, Fuli once again felt insulted. "Can't you wear a bit more? Not treating me as a man, are you!"
Good thing no outsiders saw this; otherwise, they'd think the Hyperion is a terrible organization that parties all day!
We are decent people!
Kiana didn't think much of it. "Ah-Li is this Young Miss's appointed bestie for life (a duvet)!"
(TL Note: Pun on 'Yi Bei Zi' (Lifetime) and 'Yi Bei Zi' (A Duvet).)
"Scram, scram, scram. The term 'male bestie' sounds disgusting."
Fuli spat at her and casually gave Bronya a look.
The girl understood instantly, her slender fingers tapping in the void, printing out the part related to Kiana's exam paper from the Hyperion's history record tape.
"Eh! Wait!"
In her shock, the white-haired dumpling pounced to snatch it, but no matter how fast she was, she couldn't beat Fuli, who was closer.
Taking the exam paper, he glanced at it and burst into laughter.
"If Darwin were born in this era, he'd have to tear up his theory of evolution. How did humans devolve back into monkeys? Hahahaha!"
Kiana, having snatched the paper back, huffed angrily. "You! How can you speak as horribly as Himeko!"
"What did Himeko say?"
Kiana-bao turned her head away, cheeks puffed.
Bad person! Bad person!
Not telling you!
"Himeko said Idiot Kiana showing her this kind of thing is essentially a form of violence. Like punching her in the eye, with the intent of deceiving the master and destroying the ancestors."
Bronya couldn't help but yawn again. She also wanted to live a leisurely life without being woken up by an alarm clock, but alas, Kiana's room was next door. A mere wall couldn't block the roar coming from Himeko in the middle of the night; it was truly earth-shattering and ghost-weeping.
"Bro! N! Ya!"
Kiana, having her wound poked, instantly flew into a rage, jumping over to wrestle with Bronya.
For a moment, flailing punches and verbal gymnastics flew together; 'Muda' and 'Ora' colored the sky.
Fuli held the sparkling water he had just mixed at the bar and sat next to Mei, sipping while enjoying the girls' life-and-death struggle.
"Master Kiana! Try cutting into her mid-lane!"
"Oh my, Bronya, how can you hit there? If something happens to that place, won't this girl's future husband fight you to the death?"
Occasionally offering commentary, highlighting his scumbag nature.
Mei, disturbed by the noise, frowned. "Aren't you going to manage them?"
"Appropriate desire for comparison and vanity are also among the driving forces of human progress."
Fuli bit the straw, answering slowly. "At least Kiana still knows shame now. When she gets a zero and smiles happily without caring, that's when we're really in trouble."
Mei imagined that scene.
In her fantasy, Kiana stood on the podium waving her arms: "The famous humanoid star of Equatorial Guinea, Macías, once said—studying is the highest level of brainwashing! Having answers in your brain, isn't that cheating? If you have the guts, let's compare luck, compare the teacher's effort, compare the beauty of the exam paper!"
The girl suddenly shivered, and her hands holding the sides of the newspaper loosened.
Fuli glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw two big things.
The first was the two super eye-catching... cough, at the front of Mei's loose bathrobe. The first was the controversy among 'pure passersby' regarding Theresa's actions during the Third Eruption.
People, they always like to tear down some positive figures to show off that they know everything.
He put this matter aside for now and instead looked subtly at another major case recorded in the newspaper, which was "Former Far East Prime Minister Assassinated by Assassin with Homemade Firearm During Roadshow".
Nearly a month had passed since the Third Eruption. During this period, Fuli had also done three single pulls.
The first pull was [Conventional Field Protective Suit], D-Rank. The equipment had undergone special treatment, possessing certain protective functions against pulses, electromagnetism, etc., and could also ignore external detection.
Its utility was better than nothing. Given its feature of customizable initial appearance, he changed it to look like the male version of the Divine General of Heavenly Strike outfit he wore in his God-King state earlier.
Compared to her previous excitement, Kiana threw a tantrum for half a day when she saw Fuli wearing this outfit this time.
Only when she learned that dinner was bluefin tuna did she turn the tables, coming over coquettishly to hug his arm and say, "Ah-Li, Ah-Li, this Young Miss wants to eat ten strips~"
Actually, I just felt uncomfortable that Ah-Li wasn't wearing the outfit designed by this Young Miss! —A certain cute Tuna who wishes to remain anonymous.
Heh, only small Tongliao countries would use such shabby protective gear! —This was Mei looking unhappy seeing Fuli not using her stuff.
The second lottery item was a C-Rank technique called [Clockwork Trick].
This technique could only be successfully cast twice a day and only on people weaker than the caster (stronger individuals could also voluntarily let the Clockwork Trick take effect). The victim's emotions would fall into one of four states: Joy, Anger, Sorrow, or Calm (chosen by the caster) for a short period, thereby influencing subsequent reactions and communication attitudes.
[Note: The Watchmaker is the Nameless.]
In Fuli's eyes, this thing was simply a god-tier skill. If not for the limitation of only two successful casts per day, the legendary Hyperion Grand Orgy that could only be uploaded to P-hub might really—well, Chu Nan Shen He (Author/Censor) definitely wouldn't allow it.
Even so, he found another path, inventing a special function to determine enemy strength through the Clockwork Trick.
As everyone knows, combat power realms can be simply and crudely divided into Ant Realm, Fellow Daoist Realm, and Senior Realm. Since the Clockwork Trick can only be used on those weaker than oneself, this artificially filtered who could be provoked and who couldn't.
And the third lottery item was related to the former Prime Minister who was assassinated by the legendary Assassin.
[Name: Famous Gun - Abe-Slayer Tetsuya]
[Grade: C]
[Classification: Weapon / Noble Phantasm]
[Effect: An incredibly crude handmade firearm, yet it gained immense fame due to a successful assassination.
Also known as Famous Gun - Taiko-Slayer Tetsuya, Iron Gun Forging Immortal, Famous Gun Abe One-Shot-Kill Yamagami's Handheld Divine Treasure.
For some reason, although it doesn't look like one at all, this gun will be perceived as a camera by people other than the holder before firing.
This gun can only target those with higher status than the holder, and can only fire twice at each target. Each shot has an 80% chance of exploding in the chamber, but as long as consecutive hits are achieved, it triggers an Instant Death effect.
Additionally, whether it accidentally injures someone other than the target or completes the killing of the high-status individual, this gun will destroy itself.]
[Note: When a commoner is enraged, blood splashes five steps, and the world wears mourning clothes.]
Fuli was a pragmatist. If you told him how diligent the artisan spirit of the Far East was, he would only sneer disdainfully, indicating you read too much Reader's Digest. But if you used Mr. Yamagami as an example, he would definitely give a thumbs up in admiration.
One can only say the Big V public intellectuals were right. In the matter of Mr. Yamagami's assassination, whether it was the quality of Far East water pipes actually serving as gun barrels, the bravery of a Far East general in single combat, or the 'Gekokujo' (overthrowing superiors) spirit engraved in the blood of the Great Nuclear Nation, all these spirits were verified.
"You look quite happy?"
A cool, beautiful voice intruded into Fuli's ears. He turned his head subconsciously, and his profile brushed against cool, soft jade.
The boy then realized that he had been too absorbed in the newspaper and had accidentally gotten too close to Mei sitting next to him. Just now, their faces had even touched.
And that slightly cool, moist sensation felt more like he had brushed against her lips...
He hurriedly sat up straight, looking at his nose, nose looking at his heart. "I-I guess so."
Mei looked with interest at the flustered and cute appearance of her crush. The tip of her tongue glided over the cherry-soft lips that had just touched his cheek, letting out an enchanting chuckle of unclear meaning.
Fun Fact: Raiden Mei was born in April 1997. Fuli and Kiana, born on December 7, 1998, share the same birthday and are both a year younger than her.
The ambiguous scene of the bad-hearted big sister teasing the younger brother she liked didn't last long. Kiana rushed over 'at just the right time', rattling two boxes of chess pieces.
"Ah-Li, Ah-Li, let's play Go! Watch this Young Miss crush you into pieces in two or three moves!"
"Alright! Coming!"
Fuli seized the opportunity to get up and run. Amidst Mei's amused hum, he engaged in a duel with the fellow beginner white-haired dumpling.
Soon, the gameplay shifted from Go, which was profound and unfathomable to the two of them, to the more approachable Gomoku (Five-in-a-Row).
Naturally, Kiana lost more than she won. Bronya, watching from the side, couldn't stand it anymore and leaned in to start backseat gaming and venting her frustration.
So Kiana, arguing with her, didn't win a single game after that.
And games, well, they stop being fun if you lose too much.
"Not playing anymore, not playing anymore!"
The big white cat, with another small turtle drawn on her cheek, puffed up her face and put her hands on her hips angrily. "Ah-Li, you won so many times, you're responsible for cleaning up!"
"Don't even understand the principle of 'Loser Eats Dust'?"
"Wu..."
Seeing Kiana growling in her throat and about to jump over to gnaw on his head, Fuli, worried about his scalp safety, sighed. "How about this? We each take a step back. You clean up the white pieces first, and I'll clean up the rest."
"Deal!"
It sounded fair at first glance. Before the boy could finish, Kiana agreed readily.
She picked out the white pieces one by one from the messy board and put them separately into the box beside her.
After the girl finished cleaning up, Fuli grabbed all the remaining pieces on the board in one handful and put them into another box.
Kiana was stunned at first, then realized she had been played.
Bronya, who had been watching the whole time, almost died laughing.
But immediately, the alarm sounding on the bridge alerted the noisy trio and Mei, who was cooking lunch in the kitchen, simultaneously.
[Warning! Warning! Unidentified object approaching! Unidentified object approaching!]
On the page of the central computer processing system, scarlet colors symbolizing crisis flashed. The multi-functional scanning system and holographic projection device quickly manifested the appearance of the intruder in the air.
Blonde hair, blue eyes, a tall and alluring figure, a cold and noble expression, skin glowing with dazzling light.
Light, cold eyebrows; a beautiful melon-seed face; soft and delicate facial curves—everything was breathtakingly beautiful.
"Durandal?!!"
Fuli's heart skipped a beat. An inexplicable sense of guilt made him unable to resist whispering the other's name.
"Durandal? That strongest Schicksal Valkyrie?"
Kiana, taking out her dual pistols, also had her pupils shaking violently. "Why would she come here? Why specifically run to the Hyperion?"
During the month of online classes at St. Freya, the girl had heard rumors about this person more than once.
If it's her, even a simple scan would definitely be sensed—
"I can sense that I am being detected by optical, sonic, energy, and various other detection methods jointly. Presumably, you can hear what I am saying."
Bianka, still over ten kilometers away, didn't stop her supersonic flight straight toward the Hyperion.
She said coldly, "I have never liked beating around the bush. Hand over Fuli, and I promise to let your group leave safely."
The belated main wife, Schicksal's strongest S-Rank Valkyrie, hereby issues a declaration of inevitable victory!
To this, will the girls' reaction be compromise?
Or will they pick up their weapons and kill until rivers flow with blood?
...