Chapter 85: Project Bunny, She Says, It's Go Time!
Chapter 85: Project Bunny, She Says, It's Go Time!
Honkai World, Underground Base of ME Corp.
"Gray Serpent, this is..."
Cocolia sat at the circular command table. Through the glass porthole, she could see the busy researchers in the base below. She paid them no mind, her expression cold as she stared at the blue projection screen before her.
"As you can see, the tracks of a rat."
There was no image on the screen, only a sound wave fluctuating with the deep, electronic voice.
"Did Schicksal notice?" Cocolia pressed her forehead.
She felt she had been very discreet. Those two idiots from the conservative faction couldn't possibly know the situation here. With her and World Serpent's intelligence network lockdown, even Schicksal shouldn't...
"Did I really underestimate that old fox from Schicksal?"
"Hehe, not at all. As I've said before, you have no need to worry about that man. Even if he knew, he most likely wouldn't care."
"The rat tracks that have appeared may be related to the former master of this base."
"That's impossible!" Cocolia denied it flatly.
Raiden Ryoma was still trapped in prison. His control over external forces couldn't possibly have reached this level.
"Normally, that would be the case. But what if someone is helping him?"
Gray Serpent spoke in that strange, hoarse voice, his tone odd, a mocking sneer as if he'd seen a joke.
"Gray Serpent, what do you mean by that!?"
Seeing the photo of Bronya entering the prison appear on the screen, Cocolia's face instantly changed, and her gaze towards the communicator was filled with ill will.
She knew Bronya had gone to the prison to see Raiden Ryoma. Bronya had told her in advance, the reason being to ask some questions about the test subject. It wasn't a big deal, but now that Gray Serpent was showing this photo, the meaning was self-evident.
"This is just a normal deduction..."
"Shut up!"
The electronic voice was cut off by Cocolia's cold interruption. "Gray Serpent, we are only cooperating temporarily because our needs align. Don't use such laughably petty tricks."
Bronya, her daughter, betraying her?
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
Cocolia knew that Bronya harbored resentment towards her, but she had one hundred percent confidence in Bronya's obsession with finding Seele.
Even taking a step back, even if Bronya didn't lend her power, there was no reason for her to help Raiden Ryoma.
Although World Serpent had lent her the power of their intelligence network during their cooperation, their relationship wasn't truly that intimate. It was purely a relationship of mutual exploitation.
Now that Gray Serpent was trying to provoke their mother-daughter relationship, Cocolia felt it was necessary to consider whether World Serpent's support for the plan concealed other motives.
"Alright, I hope your mother-daughter bond is as sincere as you believe."
The hoarse electronic voice carried a hint of sarcasm, as if amused by the motherly facade Cocolia was putting on.
That being said, the awakening of the Herrscher of Thunder was crucial to welcoming back their Lord sooner. The plot in Nagazora City was also very important to World Serpent. To prevent any accidents, it was best to have Raven keep an eye on things.
Coincidentally, she was currently in Nagazora City.
The communication ended, and the projection went dark.
Cocolia's expression remained gloomy, as if shrouded in an unshakeable haze.
She did not suspect Bronya. Looking at the bio-chip that could be activated at any time, Cocolia was reassured.
Her precious daughter would never betray her!
So, at this very moment, what was the loyal and devoted daughter in Cocolia's mind doing?
[Ready... set... action!]
The silver-haired girl's voice sounded like that of a certain Far East jungler.
In a matter of days, the forces of Anti-Entropy's conservative faction, guided and assisted by the host, Raiden Ryoma, had secretly and swiftly poured into Nagazora City. Like rainwater seeping through cracks, they trickled in, converging along the channels carved by an unseen hand, becoming a gushing stream that surrounded the small-scale Honkai energy reactors Cocolia had set up in the city.
Secondary Wings had warned Raiden Ryoma and the two-person Anti-Entropy research team that World Serpent was behind Cocolia's plan in Nagazora City.
But time was running out for Nagazora. The frequency of Honkai Beast appearances was increasing at a visible rate. After weighing the pros and cons, the conservative faction finally decided to speed things up.
But once the scale of their actions increased, secrecy could no longer be guaranteed. The two could not be maintained simultaneously.
After receiving feedback from Raiden Ryoma that they might have already attracted Mother Cocolia's attention, the silver-haired girl made up her mind on the spot. Tonight was the night!
No plan can ever be completely foolproof. After all, plans can't keep up with changes. With the preparations they had made, it was enough to give Mother Cocolia a big surprise.
...
Raiden Residence, the trio has assembled.
Raiden Mei, who had returned home, had shed her gloomy and desperate demeanor from outside. For the past few days, she had been playing the role of herself gradually falling into the abyss, to prevent Cocolia's other spies from discovering the anomaly with the test subject and Bronya's failure to 'report the anomaly'.
To be honest, Mei's acting skills were leagues behind Caelus's, who was treading the path of Elation and had a mask to boot.
But, human potential is limitless.
Faced with the silver-haired girl who had taken out two Far East-style masks and, with a cute angelic smile, said, 'If you can't act, Sister Mei, let me help you experience and remember the taste of despair using method acting,' Raiden Mei's face turned pale, with a hint of red showing through.
Her face was filled with terror, yet there was a strange hint of something else. Under the daily tasks assigned by the silver-haired girl, this housewife-like posture seemed to be awakening some strange kink.
Raiden Mei tried hard to imagine herself and the silver-haired girl in a storybook scenario to conjure that feeling of despair. Unfortunately, she failed.
As a result, she saw the silver-haired girl dig up the diaries she had buried and locked away as a child, and the creations she had posted online and then deleted.
It wasn't just on the level of 'One slash, two halves!' or 'Gale, submit to me!' There were also stories where Mei imagined herself as a magic swordswoman saving the world, defeating the evil demon king to become a hero.
The level of cringe was second only to that savior from the neighboring Honkai Impact 3rd, and the shame was greater than looking at ten years of QQ signatures. And when the silver-haired girl said she would post these dark histories online under Raiden Mei's real name...
Raiden Mei truly felt the world plunge into the darkness of despair.
It turns out that with enough of a push, you can force someone to do anything.
Except for math and physics problems!
"Sister Mei, tonight you'll first go to the prison to pick up Mr. Raiden Ryoma, then rendezvous with us at ME Corp."
The silver-haired girl looked at Raiden Mei, who was carrying a tachi on her back.
Mei, before becoming a Herrscher, was just an ordinary girl. At best, she was a bit better at fighting than the average person. Against a Titan mech, it was a 1-9 split.
One punch from the Titan, and Mei would become a 90% concentration Mei-paste.
"Okay!" Raiden Mei was full of fighting spirit, happily accepting the new task.
"What about me? What about me?" Seeing Mei get an assignment, the white-haired girl next to her eagerly jumped up and down, raising her hand.
She also wanted a task from her master... Ahem! This was about Nagazora City and millions of lives. How could she possibly do nothing?
"You and Mr. Siegfried will hide around ME Corp. When the plan begins, force your way inside to support me."
The silver-haired girl had no doubt she could successfully control Cocolia, but if she didn't kill her directly, she would inevitably face a counterattack.
"Hmph hmph~ No problem, leave it to me! I'll definitely let you get hurt!"
Kiana puffed out her chest and patted it proudly.
Although the relationship between the trio had deviated from the original timeline.
They hadn't experienced the rooftop rescue at Senba Academy, because the Third Eruption wouldn't happen. Their wonderful life together was cut short by someone's interference before it even began.
For Raiden Mei, the silver-haired girl who appeared that night was undoubtedly a ray of dawn, dispelling the darkness and despair of the world.
It was a bit embarrassing to say, but even though Bronya was younger than her and called her 'Sister Mei', Raiden Mei, in turn, felt like she was being cared for by an older sister.
Inside that small body seemed to be the soul of a twenty-seven or twenty-eight-year-old, a mature, graceful, and composed big sister who often teased her little sisters.
Although this 'sister' was usually flighty and unreliable, she was extremely dependable and incredibly charismatic when it mattered most.
Kiana's favorability towards the silver-haired girl was also not low, far exceeding that of the Bronya from the same period in the original timeline.
After all, it was 'Bronya' who had helped her find her dad, and now she even had the chance to fight alongside him.
Gratitude was beyond question.
"Then let's set off," the silver-haired girl said with a light laugh.
The night was the best cover for chaos.
Whether it was the conservative or radical faction of Anti-Entropy, or World Serpent, they were all still hiding the existence of Honkai from ordinary people.
Even if a battle caused an explosion, it could be explained away as a gas leak. Fighting in the city in broad daylight would be difficult to clean up afterwards.
The two-person Anti-Entropy team was coordinating and deploying, Raiden Ryoma was ready to leave the prison tonight, and Kiana and Siegfried were hidden in the vicinity of the ME Corp building.
Bronya walked into ME Corp alone.
The lively expression was gone, her small face returning to a three-no state, indicating a change in control of the body.
Having watched Silver Wing customize and implement the plan from start to finish, Bronya knew that Silver Wing would not deliver a killing blow to Mother Cocolia.
For her, that was enough.
With Bronya's identity, which was well-known among Cocolia's faction, her actions within ME Corp would naturally go unimpeded.
She passed through the identity verification smoothly and arrived at the base located underground ME Corp, stepping into the command room where Cocolia was.
"Bronya, what are you doing here?"
Leaning back in her chair, the blonde beauty in a green military uniform slowly opened her eyes, a trace of surprise in her crimson-purple pupils.
Bronya reported with a deadpan expression, "Abnormal state observed in the test subject."
"Hmm?" Cocolia frowned. "What happened?"
BOOM!
Before Bronya could answer, an explosion, accompanied by a slight tremor, was heard.
A few seconds later, a communication screen appeared on the control console in front of Cocolia.
"Lady Cocolia, enemies have infiltrated the upper levels!"
"Who is it?"
The question was quickly answered by the content from the central monitor displayed on the large screen.
A white-haired, blue-eyed Kaslana.
Kiana, and...
"Siegfried?"
Seeing that figure, Cocolia's brow instantly furrowed, her eyes filled with shock and uncertainty.
She knew Siegfried had been following his daughter in this city, but why would they suddenly attack ME Corp?
"Could they be after me?"
Cocolia was lost in deep confusion and bewilderment, muttering to herself, "How could I have been exposed?"
She was confident she was well hidden. Besides, the current plan had only reached the halfway point of building the dam. How could there be any possibility of exposure?
Unless...
Her conversation with Gray Serpent last night suddenly flashed back in her mind. Cocolia looked at her precious daughter, whose head was bowed. "Bronya?"
"Mother, did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
The sudden words were a bit strange. Out of trust for her daughter, Cocolia quickly focused her mind, using the tips of her ears to gather the surrounding sounds.
"y'фэк"
Cocolia heard it, a faint sound like static electricity. She knew what it was, a gift from Seele to Bronya.
"Project Bunny, she says..."
The silver-haired girl slowly raised her head. Amidst Cocolia's expression of disbelief, the corners of her mouth curled up into an angelic smile.
"It's go time!"
A steel beast collapsed from its quantum state, its massive mechanical hands reaching out to envelop Cocolia.
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on Patreon. with 50 advanced chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/Leanzin