Whoosh—
The battleship stirred up a violent wind pressure. Under the action of the posture adjustment engine, the huge 'Minerva' slowly lifted its bow, forming a giant greatsword.
The ground split open. A dozen layers of heavy armor plates opened one by one. Dense red electronic lights lit up, looking like an optical track. Then, the battleship began to descend, as if the giant sword was returning to its scabbard.
This was a massive project presided over by Vil-V, building a giant hangar, and New York had also changed its appearance.
Ryan felt like he was glued to the floor, his body at a ninety-degree angle to the wall. Through the porthole, he could see that the city outside had vanished from memory.
This peninsula no longer had those beautiful office buildings. The ground was incredibly flat, with some steel-like buildings scattered about. They weren't tall, and their silver-white appearance seemed monotonous, yet Ryan, who had read the blueprints, knew these were modular military structures.
Normally they could serve as barracks, but in a defensive battle, they would disintegrate to form Honkai disintegration cannons or energy shields. Even this warship was quite impressive.
Powered by Honkai energy engines, with fluid metal armor, it could even traverse the atmosphere autonomously. It was quite similar to the 'Hyperion' in his memories.
Shadows gradually obscured the sunlight. Outside the porthole, the view changed to metal walls and pipes. Some robotic arms extended, beginning to secure the hull, causing the warship to vibrate slightly.
The process was very sci-fi, but in essence, it was just parking the car in reverse.
Ryan retracted his gaze, looking at Elysia, who floated in the air with outstretched wings. She held Eden in her arms. The latter originally had a seat, but Elysia enthusiasm was hard to refuse, so she allowed herself to be held.
"Vil-V must have been very busy lately, finishing so much construction progress in just a month."
"That's not called busy, that's called happy. She's delighted!" Elysia corrected, wiggling her finger, then her eyes sparkled: "Ryan, how about we take Eden home together? I've already prepared her room!"
The administrator seemed very excited about the new tenant moving in, even forgetting to remind Ryan that one of his secrets had been discovered.
Ryan found it somewhat strange. This Elysia, like the Spear of Kindness, always arrived a step late. He heard she had been down in the dumps a few days ago, but immediately revived when she heard he was awake.
Take Eden home? There would be more fun to watch then.
He was about to nod, but someone spoke before him.
"Elysia, I should have reminded you that the Director-General has important matters to attend to. Don't cause trouble." Mobius had been waiting there for a while, clearly guessing that Elysia would try to back out.
"Sister Elysia, didn't you say we'd take Big Brother to find my father?" Hua also came over, casting a questioning look.
Sakura didn't say a word, just stood beside Ryan with her katana drawn. This was her exclusive position as his aide.
Elysia looked around, sweat forming on her forehead. Seeing everyone staring at her, she turned her head and blew a whistle that made no sound.
"Did I promise? Oh dear, I completely forgot! Ryan, you choose!"
Ryan was originally enjoying the show from the side, thinking that Elysia, the clever little imp, indeed promised everyone and then snuck away. But before he could enjoy it for long, this hot potato was thrown into his hands.
He looked at the several people, and slowly sweat also seeped from his forehead. This was another death question; choosing anyone would offend others. But his eyes rolled.
"Sakura, accompany me to see Vil-V. I have an important task to entrust to her."
"Yes."
"Wait a minute, what important task?" Mobius wasn't so easily fooled. As soon as she asked, she saw Ryan snap his fingers, and energy gathered into a human form.
This thing was a bit abstract, like a mud doll made by a naughty child, but quite flexible, and it could stay in the air.
"Energy clone?"
"No, it's a puppet of domination, the Authority of that Herrscher of Domination. However, she directly dominates living people, using their own power and memories, which saves energy and can form a mental network."
"I can't do that. I can only drive it like a puppet, and the distance can't be too far. You are essentially a remote-controlled car that won't be interfered with."
Ryan spoke eloquently, causing the several people who had just been a little angry to become serious.
They had seen how troublesome this Herrscher was. She could be said to be the best infiltrator. Not only that, after controlling John, she underwent severe MANTIS surgery, and her direct combat power was also very strong. And one must remember, this Herrscher was not completely dead yet.
"You have a mission: follow it and search the headquarters. As it's the same Authority, if there are dominant bodies nearby, they will be exposed. You must dig out these monsters."
"Alright, someone constantly monitoring my home is quite annoying." Elysia was the first to agree; she hated being spied on the most.
Since she was willing to do serious work, the others naturally wouldn't object. No one wanted a Herrscher lurking nearby. This thing might be difficult to dominate them, but probing for information without any delay was very irritating.
Sakura, however, stayed behind, looking at the distant backs of Elysia and the others, still a little confused. She was the expert in this kind of purge work.
"Alright, don't waste your effort. The Herrscher isn't a fool. After knowing that its Authority has been understood by me, it will definitely retreat immediately. Why would it leave itself behind to be slaughtered?"
Ryan yawned. If the Herrscher of Domination had a thousand threads, this battle, where he killed it, and the obstructions and exposures along the way, at least broke five hundred threads. And as an infiltrator, its value was largely lost.
"Actually, I quite like what it left behind. Maybe I can even get the concept of corruption, then I can use living organisms as puppets."
"Then they..."
"When dealing with Elysia, you must be prepared to solve her problems at any time. Let's go. I really have something to do with Vil-V." Ryan waved his hand and walked off, leaving Sakura silent for a long time.
Actually, I also wanted to take you to pick Rin up from school.
It turned out she was also a participant. Fortunately, her 'worker' habits prevented her from speaking out, so she just silently followed.
Ryan had no intention of using Vil-V as an excuse. He genuinely had something for this genius inventor to do, the most important being to hand over the Herrscher of Flamescion Core to her to customize a Divine Key.
At the future intensity of battles, ordinary soul-steel weapons would break one after another, wasting resources and reducing Ryan efficiency.
Besides that, he had to make time to visit Su. The iron triangle from their student days was finally reunited. If there were a Herrscher of Sentience in the future, Su could be of great use.
Ryan was preoccupied until he walked into Vil-V workshop. Since joining the Fire Moth, the 'Magician' had upgraded her equipment, and after Ryan took office, she gained almost infinite funding.
"How much did this guy waste?" Ryan, however, couldn't smile.
In a huge workshop, there were mechanical arms everywhere, thick and thin, and welding sparks were dazzling, like the light of civilization. But in the corner, there was a huge pile of products.
Most of them were clearly unrelated to combat, probably things Vil-V made on a whim, then found useless and left to gather dust.
He walked over and picked up a clown mask, put it on his face, but found he couldn't pull it off. He finally used Honkai energy to peel it off. He then picked up a spray bottle, and the paint stuck to his hand, finding that even Honkai energy couldn't wash it off.
"What the hell is this?"
"Stubborn paint. It's said to be used for spraying, to make power exoskeletons less prone to scratches." Sakura clearly knew about it, and lightly coughed, "Then, after calculating the cost, it was found that the spray paint was more expensive than the exoskeleton itself, so it was rejected."
Ryan mouth twitched instantly. You say this thing is useless, but it's definitely a high-tech product. You say it's useful, but its cost-effectiveness is surprisingly low.
"Doesn't Mei manage her?"
"She does, but you said Vil-V research funds come from a special account, and Mei was annoyed by her constant nagging. By the way, this special account is mainly the Director-General's personal account, previously used to bypass the Fire Moth Council for confidential experiments."
Personal account? I knew it. I've been the Director-General for so long, how come I haven't received a single penny in salary?
Ryan cheek also twitched. He suddenly remembered something: "This special account wouldn't have merged my previous funds, would it? Those are my private assets."
"Declaring private assets again was an order you signed, so..."
"When did I sign that damn order!" Ryan pupils shrank. He vaguely remembered something like that. It was originally to deal with corrupt elements in the organization, and he had Prometheus do the auditing.
"So, you're a little poor now." Sakura suppressed a laugh, giving the answer.
Good heavens, on top of working on a loan, I'm also leading on a loan, right? I control the entire Fire Moth, hold the highest power, and yet I'm in utter poverty?
Is there any justice, any law?!
Ryan was furious. Before he could even curse, he heard a 'bang'.
Confetti floated down from all directions. This stuff seemed to be made of special material, just floating in the air, never falling to the ground. With 'thump-thump' sounds, a large group of robots of various shapes sprang out, performing strange dances.
Whoosh—
A large amount of white smoke rose. With the sound of heavy gears, spotlights shone on the head of a giant mecha. In the reflection of its dark metal gleam, a girl arrived on a flying disc.
"Steam and gears roar, witnessing the supreme art of engineering. Applause and inspiration intertwine, the light of civilization emerges in my hands."
"Cheer, scream! Amidst the sparks struck by hammers, the most talented magician makes her debut!"
A grand entrance ceremony with full special effects. Vil-V lightly patted her prominent chest, her head held high in the steam. She had long known Ryan was back. For the past half month, all her free time had been spent slacking off, just to create this atmosphere.
She maintained her most flamboyant pose, waiting for several seconds without a response. Then she quietly opened one eye.
Ryan was indeed full of shock, but showed no intention of applauding. The two remained in a stalemate until he bent down and picked up the clown mask.
Vil-V was initially a bit confused, then ecstatic, her voice becoming even higher. "Of course, there will be a clown beside the magician. This esteemed gentleman, could it be that he wants to... Ouch!" Before she finished speaking, the mask hit her head, and she fell backward.
"This is all my money!"