Honkai: Fire Moth Herrschers

"All members of the Fifth Squad, please assemble on the bridge!"

Early the next morning, the Fire Moth One had already flown over Ruruye.

Probably due to the rush, the bridge was a bit crude, like a combination of pipes and container steel plates. There weren't as many people in the cockpit as Michael had imagined, not even twenty people – thinking about it, with the development of technology, the degree of automation was higher.

"Can the Fire Moth One fly with just one pilot in extreme situations?"

On a whim, Michael turned his head and asked the AI next to him.

"No," the AI replied decisively.

"Okay…"

"At least two people are needed, one to operate in the cockpit and one to start the engine in the engine room."

"…I think it's necessary to give you a Turing test…"

"No, I'm just a bit more humorous than you. You can't be jealous of me."

Elysia, who was watching from the side, found it amusing. She tapped the AI's screen with her finger and asked, "Hey, when you think of a girl with pink hair, who do you think of?"

"I think of Sakura," the AI replied mechanically.

"..."

"Wow!" Elysia had already raised her fist, but then the ship suddenly dove, breaking through the clouds, and the scenery of Ruruye came into full view.

Michael squinted as he looked out. Unlike natural scenery, Ruruye was filled with the aura of human civilization everywhere.

The first thing that caught his eye was "Ruruye Island," which was surrounded by the ocean. The edge of the entire city extended all the way to the coast. To deal with the high tide, high dikes had been built. Perhaps it was the designer's bad taste, but these dikes had been artificially trimmed to look like ancient giant stone fortresses.

The buildings in the entire city gradually increased in height from the outside to the inside, looking orderly. Even the outermost buildings were roughly seventy stories high. The buildings weren't made of stone or cement, but a translucent green crystal material.

As the morning sun shone down, the crystals glowed, like golden light shimmering on the blue waves.

As for the outer districts, which were separated by a strait and were larger in scale, they would be considered developed in other places, but in front of Ruruye, which was like heaven, they were inevitably overshadowed.

"Dr. Mobius, according to this AI's calculations, there's a 98.37% probability that Sub-Captain Michael will say to you: 'This greenish stone is very suitable for you.'"

"Shut up!"

"Yes, as you wish, Dr. Mobius."

"Do you think you're very funny?"

"Yes, Dr. Mobius."

"…"

In the center of the gradually increasing buildings was a tower that had a base area that took up one-tenth of the total area of the Ruruye district and was over 3,000 meters tall. The top of the tower emitted a bright light, like a giant holding up a spark, or like a second sun in the sky.

That was the energy source for the entire Ruruye district.

Inside this tower, which Michael had mockingly called the plasma spark tower, there were actually thousands of small neutron reactors. The green crystals on the tower also helped the solar panels beneath it generate electricity. The electricity produced here not only supplied Ruruye, but 80% of the power demand for the entire Mu Continent came from here.

And in recent years, with technological breakthroughs, humans had also built a group of miniature Honkai energy reactors underground on Ponape Island, not far from Ruruye, and connected them to the Ruruye district through underwater tunnels and pipes.

Coincidentally, the Fire Moth One's landing point was on Ponape Island – the hills on the original island had been flattened by large machinery, and a huge airport had been built on the flattened land. This was specially prepared for the Fire Moth One.

This behemoth, which seemed useless to Michael, would take off from Ponape Island early on the second day of the academic conference, fly over Ruruye, and demonstrate the Fire Moth's armed forces against the Honkai to elites from all over the world.

The Fire Moth One slowly landed. The Fifth Squad was already fully prepared. The moment the ship's hull touched the ground and all the green lights in the ship's cabin turned on, Himeko, who was standing at the front of the line with a brand-new fiery red greatsword on her back, lightly pressed the button next to her.

The valve automatically rotated clockwise, spraying out white air, and then the quick-response hatch door suddenly popped open. The alloy rails slid down along the opening of the hatch door. In less than a minute, the entire Fifth Squad had quickly arrived on the ground…

And then, they were surrounded by a group of people in suits.

"Hello, let me introduce myself. I'm Alfred von Liechtenstein, the municipal official of Ruruye City in the Mu Continent Special Administrative Region. Captain Himeko, I've heard so much about you!"

Perhaps it was because they had landed too close, but this municipal official, who looked to be under thirty years old, was a bit disheveled. His golden hair was straight up, like a Super Saiyan, but his face was delicate and fair, even with a hint of sickly paleness. The two buttons on the abdomen of his suit were also missing, so he could only wear it open. The wind blew through his wide shirt, revealing his tall but thin body.

Himeko perfunctorily pinched his index and middle fingers at the second joint and then said strangely, "Municipal Official Alfred, you should know that we're here to carry out a mission, so, what is this…"

"You should call me Mr. Liechtenstein…" Alfred muttered, and when he looked up again, he had a bright smile again. "Captain Himeko, I come from the Liechtenstein family. I've long heard of your achievements, especially your performance in turning the tide during the Second Honkai… it's really… hehe. I heard that you're coming to my jurisdiction to carry out a mission, so as the host, I should naturally do my duty as a host and prepare a banquet. I wonder if Captain Himeko and your team members would do me the honor…"

Himeko glanced at the crowd of people behind him. They all seemed to be celebrities from all walks of life in Ruruye. Although they were a bit far away, these people shouldn't be able to hear what Alfred was saying.

But Himeko still felt a cold sweat. She frowned and reminded, "Mr. Municipal Official, I know your family has connections to the highest levels, and perhaps you know a lot about the Honkai, but you shouldn't be discussing this topic in public! As for the banquet… Mr. Municipal Official, we're here to carry out a mission, not to be guests."

"Oh, my goodness! Captain Himeko, look at the terrible mistake I made. I promise this is the last time… But you don't have to rush into your mission, do you…"

His emerald green eyes narrowed slightly. But before he could finish speaking, Himeko grabbed the greatsword on her back and gently slapped him with the flat of the blade.

"Don't block the way."

The scene was in an uproar, but Himeko didn't care. She walked forward without looking back. The so-called celebrities along the way all stepped aside to make way for her.

Before leaving, Michael glanced at the young municipal official Alfred.

There was no anger, no unwillingness, and no fear in his eyes.

Michael even saw a hint of mockery in his eyes.

As if sensing Michael's gaze, he turned his head and glanced at Michael, showing a meaningful smile.

This made Michael even more confused.

"This man is definitely not a simple playboy, but he's pretending to be like this."

"Theoretically, if something like this happens, the municipal official would invite the captain to a banquet out of guilt, taking the opportunity to make some kind of shady deal. But that would be too idiotic. Besides, he's acting very exaggerated, very stiff, as if…"

"As if he's not trying to hide anything, but forcing us to carry out the mission as soon as possible…"

"It doesn't make sense…"

"It's too deliberate…"

"It's a pity that Mobius stayed on the Fire Moth One. Otherwise, I could have asked her what the Liechtenstein family is all about."

"Ah!"

Michael covered his forehead. It turned out that he had been thinking too deeply and had unknowingly bumped into a guide rail.

"What's this?"

"This is a 680mm railgun. It's impossible for the Fire Moth One to fly over Ruruye in its current state… Heh, of course, if the takeoff weight is too high, this railgun will be replaced with a proportional model."

Himeko had also followed to the back of the line at some point.

She and Michael exchanged glances, both seeing the confusion in each other's eyes.

Himeko tapped his head.

"Stop thinking about these things for now. Let's go to the scene. Fortunately, the three districts are connected and are all in the Dagon District."

"Okay!"

Before boarding the vehicle, Michael looked back at the young municipal official on the airport runway again. He was too thin, like a matchstick figure made of a few bamboo poles, as if he would fall apart with a touch. His face was also too pale, almost as white as the snow on the snowfield, so pale that it was almost dazzling.

He was probably a junkie…

He was now standing in front of the group of celebrities who had come to welcome them, smiling as if he was saying something.

It was as if the awkward scene just now hadn't happened.

"What exactly is he thinking?"

The whole incident had become even more bizarre.