newbobooks Chapter 425 The Storm Is Coming
Chapter 425 The Storm Is Coming
"A new storm has arrived; how can we stand still? I will traverse time and space, exerting all my strength, to reach you..."
On the Hyperion, Sora, who had been sent by Himeko to keep an eye on Ai, was humming a song as she looked at the Schicksal insignia, slightly lost in thought, after the Hyperion automatically cruised to the Oceania branch.
Destiny is the most powerful human organization against the Honkai, bar none (excluding World Serpent).
The powerful Schicksal organization is spread all over the world. To facilitate management, under the division of the Schicksal Archbishop, many branches belonging to Schicksal have been set up on each continent. Even though the scientists of the North American branch, which has the strongest technical capabilities, had a major conflict in 1955 (two years after the first Berlin Collapse in 1953) due to different ideas against the Honkai, and led the First Herrscher Welt Joyce to raise the banner of rebellion, and eventually split and recombined to form Schicksal's nemesis "Anti-Entropy", Schicksal still did not abolish the branch system, but only tightened the financial autonomy of each branch.
Clearly, the Bishop hasn't reflected on his actions. He believes that if the North American branch hadn't lacked financial support, if it weren't for a certain heiress from General Electric named Nancy Edison and other sources of funding, perhaps… Unfortunately, the Bishop probably doesn't understand the concept of "what has been will be again," or "what has been done will be done again." In the not-too-distant future, his manipulation of the Far East branch will also force it into rebellion (though is this also part of his plan?).
In short, the branch system still exists. After the failure of the Tianming Expedition to North America to fight against Anti-Entropy in the 20th century, in order to prevent Anti-Entropy's sphere of influence from spreading like cancer cells in the Pacific direction, the Oceania Branch, headquartered in Queenstown, New Zealand, came into being.
Because of its fortress-like status, Otto spared no expense in deploying a large amount of manpower and resources to the Oceania branch. With the support of the Schicksal headquarters, the Oceania branch, this newly established branch, ostensibly possesses the second-largest technology department after the headquarters. They also recruit A-rank Valkyries who graduated from the Far East branch and have the potential to become the next S-rank Valkyrie, and...
That deceptive gem of desire.
That gem is also the reason why Sora is sitting here keeping an eye on Ai-chan while she works.
After humming the tune, an extremely bored Qiong yawned. The Hyperion's autopilot system on the bridge was still running smoothly. He couldn't leave, couldn't use his phone, and couldn't even come to see him except for Himeko, whose return was uncertain. Now he could only watch as Cabbage Head entertained himself while steering the ship, his face flashing repeatedly on the screen, seemingly imitating his little tune of "stealing some electricity"...
With nothing else to do, Qiong tapped on the control panel.
"Ai-chan, where are we? How much longer until we get to New Zealand?"
"Almost there, boss, Ai-chan is being located..."
On the screen, the green cabbage stopped humming and started shaking its head.
"We are currently over the eastern waters of Australia! Based on our current speed, we are expected to arrive at Queenstown Airport in 30 minutes! Boss, are you feeling bored? Want Ai-chan to tell you a joke?"
Artificial intelligence telling jokes? A beverage mixing robot flashed through Qiong's mind.
"Thank you, but I don't want to hear jokes, can I hear crying instead?"
Ai-chan: ?
Ignoring Ai-chan's hesitation, Sora adjusted her posture and gazed at the endless clouds outside the window.
"Um... okay, Ai-chan's no problem! After you hear this, I guarantee you'll cry, boss! Listen carefully, boss, this is something Ai-chan engraved in the code..."
A rather melancholic melody filled the bridge, accompanied by Ai-chan's "artificial intelligence horror story" about "stealing electricity because of fear of running out of power." However, Sora wasn't an artificial intelligence, so how could the joys and sorrows of humans and artificial intelligence be shared? He barely listened to Cabbage's vivid explanation of her grievances about stealing electricity, such as "I'm terrified of running out of power" and "I haven't dared to waste a single penny on electricity." His thoughts had already drifted far away.
Looking back now, Himeko said this operation was Theresa's idea: Himeko stated that the headmistress requested the operation because of the storm she longed for in the Moonlight Throne email—the Gem of Desire. The dangerous and unstable Herrscher Gem mentioned by Anti-Entropy is of great research value, and as the leader of the Far East branch, Theresa has secured the transfer of guardianship of the Gem of Desire.
"What does that have to do with Wendy?"
Kiana Kaslana, who was present at the time, asked this question.
Kyō still remembers the strange expression on Himeko's face at the time, but she didn't say anything.
However, even without her saying it, Sora knew that, out of displeasure, he had privately complained to Kiana and the others for a long time after Himeko left—don't forget, he was also a "victim." His wonderful secretary, Anna Schariac, was gone because of Wendy!
Thinking of her current lack of a deputy and poor Wendy, Qiong relentlessly exaggerated and criticized the Oceania branch's inhuman behavior in front of Hoshime and Kiana, saying things like they tried to use the Gem of Desire to create "controllable Herrscher-level combat power," causing our senior Wendy, the former strongest Valkyrie of the Oceania branch, to be paralyzed in both legs...
Meanwhile, Wendy's leg also serves as a container to stabilize the gem that binds her. Removing it could unleash a cataclysmic event capable of destroying Changkong City! Therefore, barring unforeseen circumstances, the gem will remain inside Wendy until…
Why do I talk so much?
Thinking of this, Qiong sighed. Why did he have to tell those guys? Now look what happened…
Furthermore, shouldn't Theresa have waited over a year before remembering this matter and intervening after the collapse in New Zealand? It's one thing to advance the Moon Throne's exit time, but why did Theresa act prematurely as well? Shouldn't it have been delayed another year?
Could the fourth Great Collapse also happen today?
This possibility made Qiong extremely uneasy, and to make matters worse, Lao Yang went missing at this time...
The sad music stopped abruptly, and Ai-chan suddenly became serious.
"Boss, so next time you're in charge, could you allocate a larger portion of the electricity budget?"
Qiong snapped out of his daze and saw Ai-chan staring at him expectantly on the screen. He was about to apologize for not listening when the warning lights on the bridge suddenly flashed red, indicating an emergency.
"Warning, warning! Abnormal Honkai energy fluctuation detected ahead! Intensity level: 300HW! Automatic avoidance activated. Boss, we might need to take a slightly different route..."
"Honkai? Here?"
Is it possible that what he fears will come true?
Qiong immediately sat up straight and brought up the radar interface. The source of the wave was located about five kilometers ahead of the route, in an area that should have been ordinary sea surface.
300HW isn't high, but it's rather strange that it appeared in a place so far from human settlements and not in an area prone to historical collapse.
After all, the essence of Honkai is a screening mechanism. If it happens outside of human territory, then screening is pointless!
In any case, Himeko isn't here, so let's have a go at Captain for once and give the order!
"Ai-chan, I don't need to tell you, right? Analyze the Honkai energy fluctuations and compare them with the database. At the same time, send a notification to St. Freya headquarters and the Oceania branch, informing them that we will be delayed... um, ten minutes, due to avoiding Honkai?"
"Yes, boss! Comparing... Boss, no matching fluctuation characteristics found in the database! This is not a recorded natural collapse energy eruption!"
Ai-chan's voice carried a rare hint of doubt.
"The fluctuations exhibit a highly regular and periodic pattern, more like... some kind of deliberate release or leakage of Honkai energy from a large-scale device!"
"What the hell? Is this some kind of artificial collapse?"
More data streams and analog images popped up on Ai-chan's screen.
The unexpected turn of events left Qiong completely bewildered.
A massive underwater Honkai energy facility? A name almost popped into my head—Anti-Entropy Abyss City?
No, that's not right! The Eye of the Deep is located in the Mariana Trench, not between Australia and New Zealand, so the location is incorrect!
Is it some kind of new equipment experiment? Is it because the Oceania branch is conducting other research besides the Gemstone Desire?
"Ai-chan, continue the investigation! Also, contact the Oceania branch to find out if you've sailed the ship into their experimental zone?"
"Boss, Ai-chan isn't here! Ai-chan swears to the electricity bill... The Oceania branch has replied!"
Ai-chan's voice was clearly filled with confusion.
"The other party stated that there were no experimental projects in the area and asked if support was needed..."
"No projects?"
Qiong was about to faint. Things were starting to get weirder and weirder. He had no memory of this happening. Could it be the World Serpent?
"Ai-chan, stay alert. We might need to open fire?"
"Understood! Entering combat readiness mode... Boss, the Honkai energy fluctuations have disappeared!"
"Disappeared?"
Qiong looked at the radar signal; the 300HW wave source that had been clearly displayed just moments before had now subsided, as if it had never existed. The collapse energy readings in the sea surface area immediately returned to normal levels.
"Yes, boss, it's completely gone. Ai-chan has scanned it three times and confirmed it's true."
Qiong stared intently at the screen: Could it be an instrument malfunction? But the Hyperion's Honkai energy detector is one of the most advanced models currently available from Schicksal, and its maintenance is quite thorough, so the possibility of a false alarm is almost nonexistent—did the other side shut it down immediately after being exposed?
"Continue scanning, remain vigilant!"
"Yes! But boss, no abnormal Honkai energy reactions, large energy sources or suspicious ships, or Honkai beasts have been detected within a 50-kilometer radius... There's nothing there except seawater."
Was it really just a temporary anomaly?
After the Hyperion sailed out of this sea area, a jet-black mech surfaced. The mech's single, crimson eye on its head flashed twice, recording the outline data of the departing Hyperion.
"The fault has been resolved, and the target has been confirmed to have passed through. The fluctuation camouflage was successful and did not trigger further investigation. The flight path has been confirmed to remain unchanged..."
Somewhere, the calm, synthesized voice of Gray Serpent echoed.
The mech then immediately sank, disappearing back into the sea, leaving only a ripple on the surface, as if it had never existed...
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The rest of the journey was uneventful. Ai-chan obediently piloted the Hyperion, no longer humming songs or trying to feign distress for more power. Sora also remained silent, glancing at the radar screen every now and then, but until the Southern Alps surrounding Queenstown in New Zealand appeared on the horizon, the Honkai energy fluctuations that had kept Sora on edge the entire way never reappeared.
"Boss, we have entered New Zealand airspace and have established contact with the Oceania branch airport tower. We are requesting clearance... Another safe flight! Remember to give Ai-chan a good review!"
Ai-chan's voice broke the silence of the bridge.
"Mmmmmmm..."
Ai-chan and Sora completed their missions simultaneously. Relieved, Sora eagerly stepped off the bridge and onto the connecting passageway leading to the external hatch.
At the end of the passage, the red-haired mature woman was leaning against the door, giving instructions to the Valkyries in charge of this mission.
Incidentally, since Theresa took this mission very seriously, it was impossible for Kiana, Raiden Mei, Bronya, and the other C-rank Valkyries who were still on vacation to grind for credits. If Sora hadn't insisted that she was an "A-rank Valkyrie and Captain (albeit a substitute)," she wouldn't have been able to board the ship. But...
"Hey, how are you feeling?"
Himeko Murata raised her head, looked at Sora who was walking towards her, and a smile appeared on her lips.
"Isn't it great to be in charge of driving the Hyperion for the first time?"
"Um……"