What the f***! It's a Titan! / Adaptable Anqi

...I think the one upstairs is right!

Anqi hung up her cup, then cupped her face in her hands, lamenting her pitiful life where she was surrounded by beauties yet unable to indulge in pleasure.

"Sigh..."

"Hmm? Anqi, what are you sighing about?"

Raiden Mei, who was simmering soup, turned her head and asked with a picturesque smile.

Anqi picked up a knife out of habit, helped process the ingredients on the cutting board, and said with a deadpan expression:

"That person, super strong, completely flawless."

"That... ah, you mean the monitor? I heard Kiana say you've been observing her in secret these past few days. What on earth is this about?"

"Study, defeat, revenge!"

"Pfft! You're still holding a grudge about being knocked out and brought back by the monitor?"

Raiden Mei tried hard to hold back her laughter, but finally couldn't help herself, looking at Anqi with a look of amusement and helplessness.

Anqi raised the gleaming kitchen knife, its smooth and cold blade reflecting a pair of purple eyes filled with seriousness.

Then, Anqi tugged on Raiden Mei's apron, looked up, bit her pink lips lightly, blinked her watery, big purple eyes, and softly pleaded with a deadpan voice mimicking Bronya:

"Help me, please."

Thump!

Raiden Mei covered her heart, and after three seconds of suffocation, she nodded resolutely:

"Leave everything to me! The daughter of the Raiden family always keeps her word, and I will definitely make sure you get what you want!"

Chapter 16: What the f***! It's a Titan!

"So, that's how it is. Little Anqi probably had too terrible of a past experience, which is why she became so vindictive. But even so, she's a good kid. Monitor, do us a favor and spar with her... Please go easy on her and don't hurt her, I'm begging you!"

Raiden Mei pressed her palms together, bowing ninety degrees in front of Fu Hua, showing twelve points of sincerity and pleading.

Then Kiana and Bronya on either side immediately copied the bow.

"Though I don't know why, but since Mei asked, I'm asking too, monitor!"

"Bronya will find a way to repay the monitor later, please!"

Facing the sincere request of the Three Great Families, Fu Hua scratched her cheek, not knowing how to reply for a moment.

Actually, sparring to clear up old grievances was not something Fu Hua resisted.

Only, she instinctively felt that the matter probably wasn't that simple.

Amidst her hesitation, Fu Hua's ahoge suddenly perked up, and she felt a wave of goosebumps—the familiar feeling of being intensely watched had returned.

Fu Hua subconsciously turned her head to look at the trees beside her, and sure enough, she saw Anqi hiding behind a tree, sticking out her little head, watching her with some kind of hard-to-understand, intense emotion.

"Fine! I accept, let's do it right now!"

Fu Hua said decisively.

Whether it was sparring or apologizing, apologizing after sparring was fine too—just don't let Anqi stare at her like this every single day!

"Yay!" ×3

Raiden Mei and Bronya high-fived to celebrate helping Anqi out, and while Kiana didn't know anything, it didn't stop her from joining in the celebration.

The group then shifted their gazes to Anqi, who was hiding off to the side.

At this moment, Anqi had stopped gazing at Fu Hua.

Because a butterfly was fluttering its wings, flying slowly past her eyes.

Anqi subconsciously focused her attention on the butterfly's gorgeously patterned wings, watching and watching... When she snapped out of it, she was sprawled at the feet of Fu Hua and the others, hands cupped together, having caught the pretty little butterfly.

"I... caught a specimen."

Anqi knelt up straight, her expression solemn as she spoke. Aside from her blushing cheeks, it was a fairly convincing explanation.

Of course, Anqi knew no one believed it.

So she released the butterfly, patted her tights, and stood up. Then she pointed one finger at Fu Hua, her face flushed, but serious and earnest as she declared:

"Let's duel!"

"Acting on impulse is not what a Valkyrie should do, but this time, I accept your request."

Fu Hua adjusted her glasses and responded in the exact same serious manner.

The training ground on a day off didn't appear too empty. After all, Valkyries were in a profession burdened with honor yet on the verge of death, so there was no shortage of students with a sense of urgency.

Right now, however, a certain area had suddenly emptied out as a crowd was drawn into a dueling ring, observing a rare scene of a duel between newcomers.

"Whoosh!"

"Boom!"

The duel's horn had long since blown. Anqi's figure was as fast and agile as a cat, darting and shifting around Fu Hua's body, the punches she threw easily producing loud cracks that tore through the air.

Fu Hua steady and poised, her lower stance as solid as Mount Tai, each move concise and devoid of excess. She completely parried Anqi's punches and kicks, remaining as unshakable as a tumbler.

"Hey, isn't that Fu Hua who's quite famous among the newcomers? Impressive, looks like she has deep martial arts foundations, truly worthy of being from Shenzhou!"

"The other one isn't bad either, you look at that speed and power—man, at the very least she'll be an A-rank in the future, right?"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The murmurs of the onlookers couldn't affect the actions of the two duelists, and their fists and kicks clashed as swiftly and violently as lightning.

Anqi knew that with the buildup up to this point, she had entered Fu Hua's sight. The victory or defeat of this match didn't matter at all; what mattered was displaying her talent and hard effort—whether she could get one or two moves of true teachings from the Immortal Lord in the future depended entirely on her performance today!

"Take this!"

Anqi used the power-generation technique she had figured out. Stepping from behind Fu Hua, she threw punches like lightning and flint, muscle vibrations carrying an explosive burst of Honkai Energy. This punch had the force of 30 Thousand-Person Rulers working for a week...

Hold on a second!

Pull your punch! Hurry up and pull your punch!

Anqi acted accordingly, her face instantly turning pale.

As a grandmaster of close-quarters combat, Fu Hua could naturally see that this move was immensely powerful.

At the same time, she could also see that this move was a reckless mess!

Fu Hua's eyes turned sharp, her hands already preparing to grab Anqi's wrists and press her down to the ground along with the explosive force.

Unexpectedly, however, Anqi's punch stopped mid-air.

"Bang!"

The sound of bursting flesh rang out. Anqi's right arm, which had halted its punch, suddenly exploded with a mist of blood, the splashing fluid spraying a large patch of the surrounding ground.

Fu Hua watched with her own eyes as Anqi collapsed to the ground covered in blood, only to be quickly carried away by a panicked and anxious Raiden Mei, Kiana, and Bronya.

Then, Fu Hua took off her blood-spotted glasses, feeling that there must be a lot of Anqi's bloodstains on her own face as well.

"That child... was she afraid of hurting me?"

Fu Hua sighed with complicated emotions.

Originally, she hadn't felt much about Anqi—just a normal mission target, at most gaining a shred of anticipation for a younger-generation warrior after enrollment.

But now, she felt she needed to pay close attention to her.

Before that, she would head to the infirmary to take a look, hoping that abruptly stopping such a reckless move wouldn't affect her future.

Wow, this wave should really rack up the Immortal Lord's favorability, right?

In the pure and elegant villa, Young Lady Anqi lay sprawled on the sofa, using her phone to browse booking information for private jets while casually swinging a pair of jade-like legs, muttering to herself.

Phew! That was a close call!

Even though that punch was the result of us messing around for a week and its power wasn't bad, it definitely wouldn't have done anything to the Immortal Lord.

Whether we threw it and got regarded by the Immortal Lord as reckless and lacking care for classmates, or made the Immortal Lord forced to fake an injury—either way, it would totally tank favorability.

It's still better this way: talented, hardworking, and restraining oneself to protect a classmate... I refuse to believe that such a model student asking for guidance later will just be brushed off casually by the Immortal Lord!

Sigh! If only we could learn Taixu Sword Qi. Conceptually, it's a martial art that doesn't rely on the body's Honkai Energy storage capacity, and it could totally raise our individual output cap.

I think the most important part is the mental cultivation secrets inside. If we can boost our mental and willpower attributes, the number of clones might be able to expand.

One step at a time. A tall building rises from the ground, we've only just enrolled after all!

Young Lady Anqi nodded repeatedly at the analysis of her other selves, occasionally switching web pages as she earnestly searched for a luxury private jet suitable to serve as her round-the-world travel vehicle.

Suddenly, she seemed to remember something.

"Speaking of which, according to 'the big brothers' plan', that old man should be having his family reunion tonight, right? Strange, why is there not a single piece of news..."

"Buzz!"

A sound like electronic mechanical static echoed through the room.

Young Lady Anqi's swinging legs paused, and she stiffly turned her head to look aside.

Only to see a dark-gray, bulky, and heavy mechanical creation standing in the center of the living room, purplish-red lights flowing through the gaps in its armor, everywhere displaying the majesty and aesthetics of the Cult of Technology.

At this moment, it was staring fixedly at Anqi with its purplish-red electronic single eye.

What the f***! It's a Titan!!

Chapter 17: Adaptable Anqi

First of all, I have never offended Anti-Entropy!

I know, I know.

Secondly, I really have never offended Anti-Entropy!

That's right, that's right.

Lastly, I really, really haven't offended you guys at Chaos—Anti-Entropy!

Shut up! Calm down first, will you!

In reality, Young Lady Anqi's expression was stiff, staring unblinkingly at the equally motionless Titan Mech beside her.

The Anqis in the theater took a deep breath in unison, and after calming down, immediately began to discuss:

* "First of all, judging by this paint color, it shouldn't be Protector or Godfather, just a regular standard Titan Mech." * "Then the situation is probably the same as that time with Kiana—not that they found out we're Herrschers, but that we've offended trouble somewhere else without knowing it." * "However, no matter how useless Young Lady's physique is, she's still one of the Thousand-Person Rulers. Taking apart a normal Titan shouldn't be any difficulty." * "We can't dismantle it!" * "That's right. Otherwise, not only will Young Lady's combat power be hard to explain, but it's very likely to draw even more attention from Anti-Entropy. Don't invite unnecessary risks upon ourselves." * "Just play it by ear. As long as they don't want our corpse, or want to drag us off for dissection... As long as it's not the kind of thing that might expose our Herrscher identity, then there's no harm in playing along with it and seeing what trick they're pulling this time."

In the span of just a few seconds, dozens of thought circuits completed a brainstorming session simultaneously, delivering the decision to Young Lady Anqi in reality.

Thus, Young Lady Anqi sat up from the sofa, her fair, soft, bare feet stepping onto the plush wool carpet, lifted her skirt, bent her knees, and bowed as gracefully as a court aristocrat, then said with a smile as bright as flowers:

"Unknown guest, visiting late at night. I wonder if this humble girl can be of any help to Your Excellency?"

"Clack! Clack-clack!"

The Titan remained silent. Instead, it raised a mechanical arm so heavy and solid it felt capable of grinding Anqi into meat paste in an instant, its fingers contracting and transforming to protrude a black-gold cannon barrel with a caliber far larger than a human head, purplish-red energy rapidly gathering at the muzzle.

"!"

Young Lady Anqi's posture of holding her skirt and smiling remained unchanged, though her pupils constricted slightly.

Dying would leave behind a core, directly exposing her Herrscher identity.

Therefore, if it had truly come for her life, she would have to dismantle this Titan, then eliminate related individuals as much as possible, completely burying everything about Young Lady and sinking completely back into the darkness once more.

"Please reconsider carefully. This humble girl believes that I still possess value worth looking at."