After Mei finished the tests, 3 months passed, during which time Tian Shi, along with Edison and Welt, continued running tests with Mei once a week.
On the last day of the simulation, Tian Shi called Nancy and the others to say goodbye.
Knowing that the simulation was about to end, Tian Shi remained calm, as he knew they would meet again shortly.
He knew the farewell had to be quick and decisive.
"Mei, Bronya, Seele."
He paused, meeting the eyes of each of them.
"I need to leave for a while to handle some matters."
"It will be a brief separation; I'll be gone for about 5 years, but time will pass faster than you think, and we will meet again."
"Don't worry, Brother Leader, we understand."
"We know that as the Leader of Anti-Entropy, you must be busy."
"Mmm."
He met the gaze of each one, with a sincere expression.
"Thank you for understanding. You have all become incredibly strong, especially Mei, with her new power."
"Bronya, keep Seele safe."
"Seele, try not to give Bronya too much trouble."
"Dark Seele, try not to bother them too much."
"I promise nothing," she replied briefly, possessing Seele.
"You four, take care of yourselves and each other."
"I promise I will return."
Tian Shi then turned to Nancy, adopting a more guilty tone.
"Nancy, I need you to forgive me for having to leave again. I promise it will be the last time I leave for so long."
"Don't worry, Leader, I already waited more than 60 years; 5 years more is nothing."
"I feel worse when you say that."
She gave him a faint, reassuring smile.
"Please, don't worry, Leader."
"Set a reminder in your terminal, as precise as one of your calculations, for three years from now, so we can meet again."
Finally, he looked at Reanna, the trusted adjutant whose body he was possessing.
"Reanna."
He changed his focus.
"Nominally you're my chief of staff, but I consider you more like a trusted friend."
He only asked for one thing.
"Look after Mei, Bronya, Seele, Nancy, and the others."
"I'm counting on you to keep them safe."
"No problem, Leader."
And finally, Welt.
"Welt, I hope you continue managing Anti-Entropy as you've been doing, and I hope you look after Tesla, Ein, and Planck."
"Don't worry, Godfather, I'll keep everything in order until you get back."
"See you."
"Have a good trip, Leader."
"See you soon, Brother Tian."
"See you, Brother Alliance Leader."
"See you, Brother Leader."
"Catch you later, Leader."
"See you soon, Godfather."
[End of Simulation]
...........
Back to the Present
"So, that guy returned three years ago... no, five years ago, but that Nancy bastard hid him from us and kept him to herself to eat him?"
At the temporary Anti-Entropy base in Sky City, Tesla said with a very unhappy expression.
"Did she even drag you into it?"
"I don't think so..."
Although she didn't have much hope for Dr. Tesla's emotional intelligence, Mei was still a little speechless after hearing what she said.
"In the end, no one got to eat him..."
"Are you stupid? You still want to eat him?"
Tesla's pigtails twitched with anger.
"I was so good to you when you were little, and this is how you repay me, your sister?"
"I already told you, Doctor..."
Mei avoided Tesla's gaze with a guilty conscience.
"Or don't you know yet? Isn't Tian Shi still hard to find?"
Tesla said while being in a bad mood.
"So, what do you mean by that...? I think you're just showing off in front of me, Mei!"
"No, no way."
After all, no matter what, first come, first served is still the rule, and Mei felt that Edison was a bit too much at the time.
But after Mei put herself in Edison's shoes, she had to admit that she would do the same.
"Now that I think about it... according to the agreement, the day of your meeting, Brother Alliance Leader and Dr. Tesla, is approaching, right?"
Mei replied with a wry smile.
Hearing this, Tesla curled her lips in displeasure.
"No wonder you're so honest today, even telling me something like that; it turns out you were waiting for me here."
"It's not entirely because of this..."
Mei avoided Tesla's gaze, feeling guilty.
Tesla snorted in dissatisfaction, but considering that Mei was younger than her, she decided to answer despite her dissatisfaction.
"I don't know, I only know it will be this year, but I don't know the specific date."
"Are you sure?"
"You ask me, who should I ask?"
Tesla pursed her lips.
"Now that I think about it, wasn't it because of this incident that Nancy threw Ryoma to Siberia to pick potatoes for half a year?"
"Sister Edison isn't that stingy..."
When this was mentioned, Mei's expression was a little strange.
"Well, I mean... Dad then started clamoring to overthrow the Leader..."
"And then Reanna took care of it?"
"It's almost the same,"
Mei said vaguely.
"Could you be the one who did this?"
Although Tesla lacks emotional intelligence, the embarrassment on Mei's face has given her away.
Then Tesla's expression immediately became strange.
"You two really are... well, a loving father and a filial daughter."
"Anyway, after consoling my father, I joined St. Freya with Bronya by Sister Edison's order."
Mei tried to downplay the matter.
"You sent your family to pick potatoes to appease them, didn't you? Although it's better than a real riot."
Tesla grumbled.
"But wasn't Nancy already in contact with the Far East branch of Sky City back then?"
"Well... I've discovered something. The specific timing seems to be related to Mr. Siegfried. It probably started after the Second Honkai Impact."
Mei has also obtained a lot of insider information through various means in the last two years.
"Back then... should I say it was quite unexpected or not?"
Tesla shook her head.
The Second Honkai Impact wasn't a good memory for most.
"But that guy's abilities were as strong as ever. She was able to manipulate both of them."
"She is Sister Edison after all."
Mei agrees with Tesla's assessment.
"But sometimes I think this isn't good."
"Ah... I get it."
Tesla understood what Mei meant and nodded with an unhappy expression.
"No, that girl is eating alone. I have to drag Einstein to report her together!"
Edison's "fighting power" was too strong, so Tesla wasn't prepared to fight alone.
"There's no rush on this matter."
Seeing Tesla trying to pull out the communicator, Mei quickly stopped her.
"The most important thing now is to find Kiana."
"You're right."
Tesla still knew her priorities and put down the communicator, disappointed.
"But speaking of looking for Kiana. Do you have any ideas now? Just to be clear, hacking isn't my forte... Sure, I've learned a bit."
Having lived for a long time with Edison's personality, who always tried to manipulate everything, Tesla has learned hacking techniques.
However, unlike what she said, her hacking skills have reached a superior level.
"Don't worry. I've already found a solution."
Mei said, and her expression turned serious.
"I think we should look for Grey Serpent again."
"Make another deal with Grey Serpent? Do you have any bargaining chips?"
Tesla participated in this operation as rear support.
It's hard to say anything else, but Tesla is very clear about the investment that Anti-Entropy and the Far East branch have made in the agreement with Gray Snake.
Especially at the end of the transaction, the information they wanted was formatted by the damn maid Rita.
Gray Snake didn't even offer any guarantee and simply said, 'Now that it's in your hands, the transaction is complete.'
It took Tesla a while to restore the transformed head of the little girl.
So Tesla also hates Grey Serpent.
But Tesla had to admit that if she wanted to find someone in the huge Sky City, then perhaps looking for Gray Snake would be an efficient method.
"As for bargaining chips, yes."
Mei lifted her clothes, revealing the purple belt around her waist.
"When you, Doctor, repaired that little girl, I also asked Sister Edison to recover the belt."
"Violent means? I'm totally on board."
Tesla was stunned for a moment and then understood what Mei wanted to do.
"You said Tian Shi installed four safety devices, right? Which one can you reach now?"
"The third."
"My average output is 1.2 times greater than that of the original pseudo-Herrscher user, and my maximum output is 1.4 times greater than that of the original pseudo-Herrscher user; this is my current limit."
"The Thunder Herrscher of that time was a Judgment-level Honkai Beast, Benares. To be able to reach that level, Mei, is truly terrifying, in a way."
"It's just that I'm superior in terms of Honkai energy output. My vitality and defense may not be comparable to that colossus."
Mei is no longer the girl she was before.
She has also seen Benares, and thanks to her connection with Kiana, Mei also knows about this giant beast.
During the Second Honkai War, Benares was defeated by a group made up of heavyweights: Welt defeated her, she ate Siegfried's Judgment of Shamash, and she resisted the desperate counterattack of that year's elite Valkyrie.
In the end, her core shattered, and she lost her emotions and human form.
Yes, according to the level of Benares's opponent, the core indeed "only" shattered.
Last year, Benares was severely beaten by Hua, and when Kiana was in Herrscher state, Himeko beat her to death.
Although she is seriously wounded and her whereabouts are unknown, overall, she is still alive and well.
Even Mei had to admit the strong vitality and tenacious will of that Honkai beast.
Anyone who had been subjected to such a beating would have died ten times over.
"It's because you're superior in Honkai power that I find it terrifying. Tian Shi is really good at judging people."
"You have put in more effort than a Herrscher who is a true incarnation of a Judgment-level Honkai Beast, and you still say you're not a Herrscher?"
Now even Tesla thinks Mei is a natural Herrscher.
"But at this level, fighting Grey Serpent is not a problem."
Although Tesla was not very involved in the Anti-Entropy army, she knew how many people in the world were capable of defeating Benares; at least Gray Snake definitely couldn't.
After all, everyone knows that Grey Serpent was dismantled by Rita.
She had his eyes taken out and gave orders to the little cyborg.
The only problematic thing is that Grey Serpent seems to have many bodies.
If you want to make Grey Serpent talk, simply threatening his life won't work.
"If all else fails, write some bad checks; all the money belongs to that idiot Edison anyway."
"Yes, I understand."
Mei completely agrees with Tesla's proposal.
"Then I'll leave first, Doctor. Please take care."
"Don't worry, I'm not unarmed; I'm staying here. Unless a troop of mechas comes, they won't be able to threaten me."
Tesla waved her hand, indicating that Mei didn't need to worry about her.
After confirming again and again that it was safe, Mei left.
..............
"Mmm... chew... eat, Kiana, don't you want to eat?"
Senti insisted to Kiana, who was sitting across from her, while shoving meat skewers into her own mouth.
"I mean, why do you have to eat something so greasy for breakfast?"
Kiana asked sensibly.
It's only eight o'clock!
It's not eight in the evening, it's eight in the morning!
Why eat skewers in the morning?
"No, it's more about why there are barbecue restaurants open at eight in the morning."
"Because I want to eat."
Senti gave a very willful answer.
"Of course, we must live our lives to the fullest."
(She is completely different from you, class monitor.)
(Speechless)
"I used to be a complete idiot. I was always doing this and that, practicing martial arts for hours today and tomorrow. Kiana, you also think I was super boring before, right?"
"Hahaha..."
(Sister Kiana, do you believe that?)
"I... I think as long as it's the class monitor, it doesn't matter if she's interesting or not."
"Hmph~~? I think that sounds a little sly, but I like hearing it."
Senti stretched out her greasy claws and patted Kiana's shoulder, as if to say, "I'm supporting you."
"You really don't want to eat it? Then I'll eat it all."
"I am going to eat! Since you're offering it to me, why wouldn't I eat it?"
Kiana used the term "this madam" to refer to herself for the first time in a long time, and viciously took several meat skewers and stuffed them into her mouth.
(It seems you're unexpectedly cheering up, Sister Kiana.)
Hua discovered that this person who was a Herrscher born from her body seemed to be able to talk to Kiana better than she could.
Although Hua felt she didn't fully understand that line of thinking.
"Yes! That's the spirit! Boss! Twenty more lamb and beef skewers!"
Senti clapped on the table in praise while placing an extra order.
"That gloomy, bitter look doesn't look like the Kiana I know at all."
.............
"There's something wrong with this street..."
Mei, who was wandering the street, suddenly slowed down and turned at an intersection.
"Are there so many Valkyries on this street?"
Mei hid at the intersection and took a quick peek at the street after covering herself.
You don't know until you take a look.
After a single glance, Mei suddenly felt a little stunned.
Almost half the people on this street are Valkyries?
Although they weren't wearing armor, the temperament in their gestures still revealed their true identities.
Valkyries, a very elite group of people.
The other party's sense of discipline fully demonstrates how capable they are.
(But why is there a team like this here?)
The elite Valkyrie team is completely dedicated to their own tasks.
Mei doesn't remember there being such a garrison in Sky City.
How could they gather on the same street as if they were on vacation?
Fortunately, they were on vacation, and Mei reacted quickly, so she wasn't discovered.
(Then what army is this?)
Schicksal?
No.
Mei rejected the idea.
An elite Valkyrie unit suddenly appeared in Sky City.
If nothing unexpected happened, their purpose was already obvious.
Kiana!
In other words, besides Grey Serpent, is there another one in front of her?
"The troops that captured Kiana... are they from the Immortal Blades led by Rita?"
Mei, who had once fought Rita, quickly deduced the origin of this army following this line of thought.
"Schicksal's most elite troops... If so, where are they staying now... in that hotel? How brazen!"
After all, Rita, who was leading the team, wasn't prepared to do any real work, so it was normal for her to act so arrogantly.
And the Immortal Blades team has the qualifications to act so arrogantly.
"But in that case, could I try to take Rita hostage?"
With the trump card in her hand, Mei felt more confident and aimed directly at Rita.
After all, I'm definitely stronger than Rita in Herrscher phase 3 state.
And now is the time to prove it.
Mei didn't hesitate.
Once she decides, she acts immediately.
She avoided the Valkyries on the street and sneaked into the hotel.
"Rita..."
Although she didn't know which room Rita was in, Mei was ready to fight at any moment.
Of course, the worst that could happen is that Rita isn't there.
Fortunately, when she was searching on the top floor, Mei heard Rita's voice outside the door, just as she wished, and another voice she knew well.
"Mr. Tian Shi, how do you like this outfit?"
"90 points."
"I didn't ask you to rate it."
"But I like black stockings."
"I'm not your maid."
Rita sighed from behind the door.
"I really can't do anything about you, Mr. Tian Shi. Black stockings... I'm a little tired of them, but since you like them, I'll consider them a reward."