Inside St. Freya, in the Principal's office.
Himeko, while looking through the pile of documents that had accumulated over this period, spoke in a casual tone without lifting her head, "Theresa, what are your real thoughts on that Ming Yu?"
"Huh?" Startled by Himeko's question, the comic book in the Principal's hands nearly slipped out. She hurriedly looked up at Himeko, who was still focused on reviewing documents, and silently covered the comic with a file before frowning in thought. "This matter... it indeed requires careful consideration."
Hearing this perfunctory reply, Himeko couldn't help but roll her eyes at Theresa. How could she not know what the Principal was just doing?
But since she was still here, she might as well let Theresa rest for a bit. After all, a lot had happened recently, and as the Principal, she surely had a lot on her shoulders.
"Ahem!" As if sensing Himeko's mood, the Principal cleared her throat, put on a serious expression, and said gravely, "I gave him a chance, but from the looks of it now, he already had his own ideas."
As she spoke, a hint of regret appeared on the Principal's face. She could see the potential Ming Yu possessed and had naturally extended an olive branch to him, but Ming Yu had never given her the answer she hoped for.
In the end, their paths were different.
"That kid... although he acts like he doesn't care, he's more stubborn than anyone!" Himeko sighed, offering a different perspective. "I actually think that kid is a lot like you."
"Who's like him!" The embarrassed and enraged Principal slammed her fist on the desk, leaving a clear fist print on the solid wood. "I hate brats the most!"
Seeing the fuming Theresa, a smile tugged at the corner of Himeko's lips, and the frustration of being forced to work overtime instantly dissipated by more than half.
"During the operation related to Chiyou, Anti-Entropy also made an appearance. And according to recent intelligence, it seems they've been making moves in Southeast Asia."
Seeing that Theresa was about to pull out Judah, Himeko wisely changed the subject.
"Hmm?" Seeing Himeko suddenly turn serious, the Principal quickly pulled out the relevant report and murmured, "A neutral zone... this is a bit tricky~"
So-called neutral zones were regions that belonged to neither Schicksal nor Anti-Entropy. According to their agreement, the armed forces of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy were not permitted to enter these areas.
The other side of neutrality was that these regions had to face the threat of the Honkai on their own.
Of course, an agreement was an agreement. On the surface, everyone followed the rules, but behind the scenes, no one could be that disciplined. But as long as it wasn't discovered, it could be treated as if it never happened.
If it was a secret infiltration, the Valkyries certainly couldn't bring their Valkyrie Battlesuits; that would be too conspicuous. But without their battlesuits, the combat capabilities of the Valkyries would be greatly diminished.
At this thought, the Principal's brows furrowed. The situation with Anti-Entropy had to be investigated. Even with the agreement she'd reached with Einstein, she couldn't just let Anti-Entropy act freely right under her nose.
But considering that agreement, the choice of personnel for the mission had to be made carefully.
"I say we send that guy Ming Yu. If it's a Divine Key, he should be able to get it past customs."
Looking into Theresa's eyes, Himeko said solemnly.
"But..."
Facing Himeko's intense gaze, the Principal couldn't help but look down. Ming Yu's strength was certainly sufficient, but his trustworthiness was...
"It's just this sort of thing, he can handle it. I'm not trying to criticize you, but you should have a little faith in him."
Seeing the hesitation on Theresa's face, Himeko couldn't help but sigh. Sometimes she couldn't figure it out either. Ming Yu clearly held a great deal of goodwill towards St. Freya and got along well with Kiana and the others, but why did he have to butt heads with Theresa?
With the world's cutest Theresa as his superior, what more could he be dissatisfied with?
Looking at Theresa's small, contemplative face, a doting light flashed in Himeko's eyes.
"Alright." After a long moment of deliberation, the Principal gave an extremely reluctant nod. "Speaking of Ming Yu, what's that guy up to now? I haven't seen him for days."
"Didn't he just apply for a patrol mission a few days ago? He's taking his new warship for a spin right now."
Rolling her eyes at Theresa, Himeko said irritably. If this Principal wasn't such a slacker, she wouldn't have to sit in the office reviewing documents all day.
Noticing Himeko's resentful gaze, the Principal's face flushed. She covered the corner of the comic book that was peeking out again, then cleared her throat and said, "The Nemesis? Isn't his squad still empty?"
Although the Inverse Feather Squad had been officially established, building a squad wasn't something that could be done overnight. Valkyries for various roles had to be assigned. Even if Ming Yu's combat power could meet the needs of the entire squad, he couldn't possibly handle all matters by himself.
"He transferred that girl Higokumaru to his squad, and it was just a regular patrol mission he applied for."
Briefly recalling the personnel changes for the Inverse Feather Squad, Himeko explained.
As a cruiser equipped with artificial intelligence, the Nemesis could perform a certain degree of autonomous navigation. With the addition of Higokumaru, the Inverse Feather Squad already had the basic capability to carry out missions.
Of course, the Far East Branch would definitely assign sufficient personnel to this squad later.
Planting spies was a secondary concern; Theresa wouldn't allow an elite Valkyrie squad from the Far East Branch to become a laughingstock for other branches, even if it was Ming Yu's squad.
An elite Valkyrie squad with only a handful of members? That was too ridiculous to even be a joke.
"Just a regular mission?" Frowning slightly, a trace of worry appeared on Theresa's face. "This time, he'll finally stay quiet for a while, right?"
"Probably..."
Looking into Theresa's blue eyes, Himeko softly agreed. But thinking about what Ming Yu had been up to these past few days, her voice lacked much confidence.
...
Far East, ME Corp Headquarters.
As a company with a certain degree of influence worldwide, ME Corp's financial strength was self-evident. Even after its former president was arrested and imprisoned, and ME Corp went through a brief downturn, it eventually recovered with the support of Anti-Entropy.
Under the dark night sky, this industrial park belonging to ME Corp was as bright as day. Towering buildings stood tall, making the entire industrial park resemble an impregnable fortress, while the bright lights enchanted it with a sleepless magic.
Suddenly, a tiny human figure fell from the clouds. Bathed in a faint cyan glow, the figure was as light as a bird, landing steadily on the roof of a building in the corner of the industrial park without making a sound.
Surveying the bustling, sleepless castle below, a cruel smile appeared at the corner of Ming Yu's lips. He took out a white fox mask from his waist and slowly, carefully, placed it over his face.
"A dark and windy night... what a great day."
Slightly tilting his head up to look at the dark night sky, Ming Yu's somewhat deep voice came from under the smiling fox mask.
Beneath the night sky, a massive dark cloud was slowly descending.
But if someone were to look closely with a telescope at this moment, they would discover that it wasn't a dark cloud at all, but countless black, wing-flapping Assault-class Honkai Beasts.