For the past few days, Evan had been searching for a way to earn friendship points, but to no avail. He recalled that in the game, you could get them by using a friend's Valkyrie in battle. He wryly thought he should probably try to become good friends with Otto Apocalypse, the Overseer of Schicksal.
Of course, that was just a joke. There was only one Hyperion, and unlike the game, you couldn't have identical Valkyries in the real world. Evan figured the method for earning friendship points was likely related to Kiana and the others, but he currently lacked a legitimate reason to approach them. Unlike Tachikawa Academy, whose dorms were off-campus, the dorms for Senba Academy—where Kiana and the others studied—were on school grounds. As a student from another school, Evan couldn't just walk over and look for them, especially since it seemed to be an all-girls school.
Unable to make progress, Evan explored the virtual interface again. He tried keywords like "Ai-chan" and "Dawei" to confirm his golden finger truly had no top-up function. After that, his days consisted of classes and physical training, hoping to improve his combat abilities. Without professional guidance or real combat experience, his progress was minimal, but it wasn't a complete waste of time.
Today was Saturday, the day Evan was scheduled to report to ME Corp for his internship.
Even with his newfound sliver of power, Evan still planned to go. It wasn't for the admittedly generous intern salary, but for ME Corp's potential. In the game, ME Corp was a part of Anti-Entropy. To many players, the powerful Titans produced by Anti-Entropy were even stronger than Valkyries. Unless a Valkyrie's level and gear completely outclassed them, a Titan could shrug off a hit, but a Valkyrie hit by a Titan would either die instantly or be close to it.
Furthermore, ME Corp was an organization capable of producing purple-tier weapons. For Evan, who currently only had a single two-star Stigma, this was the greatest potential asset he could access. Of course, he didn't think ME Corp would just hand a high-level weapon to a mere intern. His plan was to wait until the Honkai Eruption occurred, then search the abandoned ME Corp building.
Also, ME Corp's former president, Raiden Ryoma, who was imprisoned a year ago due to a financial scandal, was Raiden Mei's father. Having the status of an ME Corp intern would make it much more convenient to approach Raiden Mei in the future—probably.
The skyscraper was so imposing it blocked out the sun. If all of Nagazora was filled with buildings like this, its citizens would probably lose the chance to see the sky properly.
Thankfully, none of the nearby buildings were as grand as ME Corp's.
After Evan received the invitation, several enthusiastic classmates had discreetly told him that a major scandal a year ago had severely damaged ME Corp's reputation, and he shouldn't be too set on becoming a full-time employee. But from the outside, at least, ME Corp's prestige seemed untarnished.
Evan pushed through the door, found the receptionist, and presented his internship letter, explaining his purpose. She led him through the building for a short while, arriving at the third floor.
"This is where you'll be working," she said. "Your current task is to organize some of the company's files. Once you're more familiar with the work, you'll be assigned other duties."
The receptionist pursed her lips as she looked at the young man before her and offered another friendly reminder.
"The different departments in the company are separated. Employees from one area are not permitted to enter another without authorization. I hope you'll keep that in mind. Violating this rule could cost you your chance at a permanent position."
"Thank you, I understand."
Seeing Evan nod, the receptionist smiled lightly and left the office.
It was a private office, just for him. His tasks and requirements were displayed on an electronic screen next to the computer.
The work wasn't demanding and didn't require much technical skill. After all, Evan was only a first-year high school student at Tachikawa Academy. ME Corp naturally didn't expect much from him and just assigned him standard procedural tasks. This was expected to continue for three years, after which Evan could graduate and become a full-time employee, or choose to delay his start date to attend university first.
Of course, Evan had no intention of interning here for three years. The Third Honkai Eruption would definitely happen before then. For now, he decided to see if the files ME Corp wanted him to organize contained anything of value.
He began browsing the data. None of it was classified. Besides some basic information, it mostly detailed business collaborations with other non-confidential companies.
The Nagazora branch of ME Corp wasn't the headquarters, just an ordinary office. The current president had never even visited. The purple weapons Evan dreamed of wouldn't be stored in a small branch like this. Amidst the vast sea of data, the only useful piece of information Evan found was that there was a weapons research lab on the upper floors of the building.
Even if there were no purple weapons, surely there'd be a blue one, right?
Whenever Evan thought of his sole Stigma, Shigure Kira (T), and recalled his glorious days in the game where "blue Stigmata are only for collection, and most purple ones are useless decorations for the inventory," a wave of silent sorrow washed over him.
He silently committed the limited information about the building's layout to memory, checked the time, and prepared to leave.
As an intern, he wasn't expected to work overtime like the full-time staff, and his tasks were light. Walking along the designated path out of ME Corp, Evan could still see many employees bustling about their work.
Right now, ME Corp was busy and full of life. When the Honkai arrived, this place would likely be abandoned in an instant.
Evan let out a soft sigh, walked out of the ME Corp building, and headed away.
He had real work to do. To estimate when the Honkai Eruption would occur and prepare accordingly, Evan planned to investigate the current state of Raiden Mei, who should already be enrolled at Senba Academy. Since it was an all-girls school, Evan would have to use his new, superhuman physique to climb the walls and sneak in.
This was a matter of great importance, not some lewd act. Without a doubt, Evan was fighting for all that is beautiful in the world.