Author Notes:
Honestly, quite a chill GSS chapter, all things consider.
Anyway, hope you all will enjoy this new release, and have a fun weekend! I for sure will take my time by hanging out with my Mom.
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"Wah! Sister Hua, I know I was wrong!" I let out an undignified cry as Hua raps my head with an expression that is a mixture of exasperation and sternness. "Owie! It hurts! You'll make me dumber at this rate!"
Around us, we have Xuanyuan and Nuwa, who are taking joy in my misery, and Fuxi, who is having her hands on her dainty hips and is shaking her head with a 'You reap what you sow' look.
"Clearly, there are many other ways you could have handled the many obstacles that appeared in your path." Hua admonishes me. Her red eyes glint in the light of disapproval. "Yet, must you default to the riskiest options on a near constant basis. Those were real witchcrafts and sorceries you were dealing with. Debuff Immunity isn't foolproof, and it's only a passive ability. There are myriad ways for the enemy to maneuver around your defense, either by skill or by luck. And off the top of my head, I could think of at least ten sure-fire ways to do so!"
"Ein, my disappointment in you is palpable. You could have done better, and without tripping any alarm as well." Hua sighs, before going from messing with my head to actively caressing it. "But other than that... You have done well, and welcome home, Ein."
I smile apologetically before finding myself closing my eyes in contentment as Hua finds the sweet spot on my head. I can't deny any of the allegations levied at me by my Master, nor am I intended to. After all, while the end result would be much the same, the process to achieve it could have been made more Elegant.
I wholly admit that, back then, I was still riding some of that high that came from achieving mastery in Edge of Taixuan. With my parameters so massively enhanced by Honkai energy, my trouble was not about controlling my strength; it was about adjusting my mindset back in the home universe.
And yes, in case you haven't noticed, after the debrief, I essentially returned to Mount Taixuan. Why, you may ask? It's because I need some time away from home to further refine the prosthetic schematics I drew, using Robocop Design Knowledge. This won't be too long a visit, but I reckon I will have to subject myself to some intense training under Hua after my recent fiascos.
Hua, seeing that I have acknowledged the errors of my way, sighs wryly. Her hands don't stop patting my head, though. "What am I going to do with you...?"
"Maybe forces her not to do anything, for once?" Fuxi suggests, stepping forward to scan the spot on my head where Hua keeps resting her hand on and off. "Huh. From what I can see, Ein really likes being pat, huh?"
"You know what," Hua ponders. "That may actually be a good idea. It was a rush training before she went off to fight a high-intensity battle. Having Ein do something other than just training may actually be the perfect way to balance out her mindset... And yes, Ein seems to enjoy this action. Do you want to try it, Fuxi?"
So maybe no fighting my Master and Senior Sister all that much... And my head is not a toy to be passed around, but since it's Hua and Fuxi, then I can let it slide.
Fuxi, seeing me not at all reacting negatively to Hua's patting, is emboldened and reaches out to replace Hua in pacifying me like the family's pet. Ultimately, Nuwa and Xuanyuan join in, unable to contain their curiosity about the silkiness of my hair. Apparently, patting my head can be quite addictive, according to the more energetic Nuwa.
I honestly don't know what to say about that, but I guess it's harmless enough. So, other than Mama Elyzabeth and Emperor, I have four more people who take a very keen interest in making sure my head stays on my shoulders for a quite hilarious reason.
Coincidentally, since I don't intend to take a long vacation on Mount Taixuan, the Emperor of Man opts to sit it out and stay in the Warhammer universe. With Time frozen by the System, to the Emperor, it may not even feel like I have gone anywhere when I return.
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Some time after my reunion with my Taixuan family, I borrowed one of Fuxi's and Nuwa's labs and some materials to work out my crafts. The injured members of 3rd Platoon all have injuries with varying degrees of severity, meaning I will have to cover a wide range of prosthetic disciplines and neurology to craft the correct body part replacements. Surbella's loss of a hand is quite an easy fix. It's Anders and Drake, though, who will be quite challenging. One involves an eye replacement and a cranial rework, which most certainly will involve some parts of the brain and nervous system. The other has extensive internal injuries, damaged organs, and even spinal damage. Vats grow biological replacement exists, but perfect ones are unfortunately beyond what the JTF can easily hand over to the surgeons. Hence, I have to take a little detour to Mount Taixuan.
While I am working on an interface that marries Warhammer and Robocop technologies with the human bodies, Nuwa, who has been aiding my research with Fuxi, suddenly asks with a face as if she's just remembering something.
"Wait a second, didn't Ein give Hua a Random Reward Ticket? Did she not use that at all?"
Fuxi, not looking up from her computer that is sprawling with codes, replies calmly.
"We didn't really have a chance. Ein's return, Hua and Xuanyuan needing to take care of the tribes, our participation in Ein's project... Our attention is all consumed. I only just remember it now because you mentioned it, Sister."
"So... Should we ask Hua to tear that ticket up when she and Xuanyuan get back? I am dying to see what will come out of that." Nuwa suggests, her hands lowering a prosthetic arm that I have been using as a reference, down onto a display stand. She then turns to me. "Oh, Ein, are you done with this arm? I'm thinking about cleaning up this workstation so that I can show you the vertebrae replacements."
"Just about, Sister Nuwa." I nod, displaying a grateful smile. Nuwa has managed to scrunch up the old prosthetic from somewhere in storage, made from the technologies of her words. "Comparing your prosthetic design language to my world's and the Robocop Knowledge... It has been an enlightening endeavor."
If anything, the mechanical limb replacement that Nuwa grabbed for me is way, way beyond what the Warhammer Universe is capable of producing in its current state, much less the 2K-era equivalent. It's both impractical and nearly impossible to craft something as complex as the Honkai-engineered prosthetic back in the Warhammer universe. Impractical because there's no way a common Guardsman would be or should be given a prosthetic that can punch a hole clean through an Astartes' power armor. Nearly impossible because, aside from requiring Honkai as an energy source, the prosthetic limb sitting on the display stand requires an exotic material, Soulium, which itself is a metallic composite formed from numerous nano-robots.
In other words, I can't reasonably replicate this sort of Black Technology back in my home universe. As such, I have only been using the prosthetic on display as an ideal benchmark, an ultimate piece of reference. Combining this with knowledge from Robocop and the Adeptus Mechanicus, it would be an achievable task to refine a series of prosthetics and mechanical body part replacements that best suit the Imperial Guards. Of course, it's easier said than done, but there's fun to be had in tackling these gray-matter-intensive challenges.
Having formulated all of my recently acquired insight into a fancy miniaturized computer, I hum a nameless cadence while saving the work progress before putting the computer to Sleep Mode. I then turn to Nuwa.
"Let me help you put that away, Sister Nuwa." I say while moving to easily lift the hefty prosthetic arm and its display case.
"Thanks~! Let me get that door out of the way for ya." Nuwa cheerily replies before hopping ahead of me and spinning to a stop in front of Fuxi, who remains steadfast in her work. "By the way, you haven't replied to my question."
"Can't you see I'm working here, Nuwa? Can you stop pestering me for five minutes? Ein needs quality and full-proof coding to run her prosthetic designs so that they can withstand Warp corruption. I can't do that if you keep jumping all over my front like a white bunny."
Nuwa, being chastised, grins cheekily before mockingly putting out her tongue.
"You're no fun, sis. There must be a balance between work and leisure. Especially so when there's no Dr. Mobius around."
The mention of the Doctor's name causes Fuxi to stop what she's doing and shiver. I quirk an eyebrow of interest at the reaction, commenting.
"I don't really know this Dr. Mobius of yours, but judging from your reactions whenever the name is brought up, I can hazard a guess that she must have been one heck of a slave driver. Sister Fuxi, while I am grateful for your dedication, this matter of mine isn't really time sensitive. So you don't need to exhaust yourself now when time is stopped over there. Haste makes waste and all that."
I smile gently, adding. "Come on, Sister Fuxi, save your workflow, help us put the stuff away, and we can all go prep something for when Sister Hua and Senior Sister Xuanyuan return."
Under my persuasion and Nuwa's nudging stare, Fuxi sighs wryly before saving and closing her tabs, one by one. Standing up, Fuxi says.
"Right, let's get this over with. May as well see if Hua still retains her bad gacha luck after all this time."
Nuwa laughs, suddenly reminded of fond memories of a time long gone.
"Hahaha, oh, it will be golden, if a bit of a waste, when Hua tears the ticket and what comes after is a chicken or an egg!"
"Bad gacha luck?" I tilt my head in puzzlement while my feet carry me after the twins' fair backs. "I didn't think that your world had the concept of gacha, much less that Sister Hua was playing gacha games at some point."
Both Fuxi and Nuwa share a knowing look before turning back toward me with gossip grins. Fuxi, having gone off her work mode, is suddenly sharing the same brain cell as Nuwa, huh.
"Oh, Ein, you truly don't know even half of it~!"
"Come! Come! Allow us to regale you with tales of Hua's exploits back when mobile gaming was still a thing!"
Lost in the girls' talk atmosphere at Hua's expense, we three collectively forget the notion that the Random Reward Ticket is, itself, a gacha mechanic. So, with Hua being the one to tear it later, things will get quite... Interesting.