"A fifty-fifty split?"
Theresa was a bit stunned. She had originally thought that since Anti-Entropy had answered the question, the reward was naturally theirs to keep. She never expected Einstein to offer to share it.
Still, it was a freebie offered right to her doorstep. It would be foolish not to take it.
"Alright..."
"Wait, Principal. Don't be so quick to agree."
Just as Theresa was about to accept, she was stopped by Bronya.
"There's no such thing as a free lunch. Dr. Einstein, your goal is for us to share all future rewards, isn't it?"
"As expected of Cocolia's daughter. Bronya, you are very clever."
Having her plan exposed, Einstein didn't seem embarrassed at all. Instead, she praised Bronya.
With Bronya's reminder, Theresa also realized what was happening. Einstein was blatantly fishing!
It was a good thing Bronya had stopped her, or she would have taken the bait.
If she had accepted Einstein's favor now, how could she refuse when Einstein asked to share a reward they won later?
As the saying goes, when you take from others, your hands go soft; when you eat others' food, your mouth goes short. It was exactly that principle.
"Ms. Theresa, as I've said, there is no reason for us to be enemies. Just like last time in the underground chapel at St. Freya, didn't we cooperate quite happily?"
"So, since we will be allies in the future because of Otto, why don't we form that alliance now?"
"Besides, your St. Freya Academy is under Schicksal's watch. Even with a miraculous place like the Q&A Space, it must be difficult to develop, correct?"
"But if we cooperate, the speed of development for both our sides will be greatly increased."
"Otto's plan will not only threaten Kiana's life, but it will also cause turmoil throughout the world. And our Anti-Entropy's goal, from beginning to end, has always been to fight the Honkai. I can promise you that Dr. Tesla and I will absolutely never do anything to betray the interests of St. Freya."
"So, Ms. Theresa, are you willing to cooperate with us?"
"This..."
Hearing Einstein's long, well-reasoned, and sincere speech, a hint of hesitation appeared on Theresa's face.
"Wait a moment, we need to discuss this."
With that, Theresa led the St. Freya group a short distance away from Einstein and Tesla and began to confer in low voices about whether to cooperate with Anti-Entropy.
After a few moments of differing opinions and heated discussion, they finally reached a consensus, thanks to Bronya's rational analysis.
"Einstein, we can cooperate, but only on the condition that it is limited to the two of you. I don't trust anyone else in Anti-Entropy," Theresa stated.
"No problem, Ms. Theresa," Einstein said with a faint smile.
Just then, the Q&A Space began to display the vision of the future.
The St. Freya group was already used to this, so they didn't have any particular reaction.
But for Tesla and Einstein, it was their first time seeing it. They couldn't help but be curious about what methods the Q&A Space used to predict the future.
It was a pity they didn't have their equipment with them; otherwise, they would have loved to study this place.
The vision began to materialize. The background was the control room of the Hyperion, where Bronya and Einstein were currently piloting the ship.
"Four kilometers to the coordinates Dr. Tesla sent. No anomalies in the vicinity," Bronya said, reading the information on the screen.
"Received. Beginning deceleration and descent. Prepare to search for Tesla and the others. All squads, remain vigilant. The Herrscher could attack through imaginary space at any time," Einstein commanded the Valkyrie squads while controlling the Hyperion.
"What's the status of the wounded?" Bronya asked.
"Not optimistic. Ms. Theresa's injuries have been stabilized, but she will need to rest for a long time before she awakens."
"As for Mei... when the Herrscher seized the Gem of Conquest, her heart was injured. Her condition is critical right now. We must arrange for heart surgery immediately. As soon as we find Tesla and the others, we will retreat..."
BEEP BEEP BEEP—!
The Hyperion's suddenly blaring alarm cut them off.
"Radar detects a large number of Honkai Beasts invading the ship."
"...Prepare for battle."
"Roger."
Watching the Bronya in the vision leading Anti-Entropy's Titan mechs to fight the invading Honkai Beasts, the group couldn't help but glance at Einstein and Tesla.
Well, what do you know. In the future, they really did cooperate with Anti-Entropy. And from the looks of it, these two high-ranking scientists personally went to Schicksal HQ to provide support.
"So this is a vision of the future? Truly miraculous," Einstein said, stroking her chin. Her usually calm eyes were now shining like a mouse that had just seen cheese.
"Hey! Why haven't I shown up yet? These are just small-fry Honkai Beasts. If this genius took action, they'd be dealt with in minutes!"
Seeing that only Einstein had appeared in the vision while she, the genius, hadn't gotten any screen time, Tesla was immediately displeased.
"Dr. Tesla, please be quiet."
"Ngh... damn it!"
"...Mei... I'm sorry."
Upon hearing Einstein in the vision say that Mei's heart had been injured by the Herrscher and that her life was hanging by a thread, Kiana's heart was instantly filled with guilt.
"Kiana, you don't need to apologize. It's not your fault," Raiden Mei said, taking Kiana's hand and looking at her with gentle eyes. "Besides, the future can be changed. I believe that you will definitely be able to overcome the Herrscher consciousness."
"Mmm! Mei! I will not let you down!"
Instantly, the sweet fragrance of oranges filled the air between the two.
Meanwhile, the vision continued.
Bronya fought hard to repel the invading horde of Honkai Beasts, but there were simply too many of them. With her strength alone, she couldn't hold out for long.
Finally, due to a sudden violent tremor on the Hyperion, Bronya failed to block an attack from one of the beasts.
A massive claw fell mercilessly towards her. Project Bunny instantly moved in front of Bronya to block it, but she was still thrown by the inertial force of the shockwave, tumbling several times across the floor before coming to a stop.
"What... happened? Did the Hyperion make an emergency landing?"
Bronya struggled to her feet. The world before her was a blur, but she could faintly hear the sound of burning flames.
Then, the world before her grew brighter and brighter.
And then, she saw it.
Fire. Burning.
"...Teacher Himeko!"