Anqi, Gradually Becoming a Daughter Con

As you can see, this is a move that a normal Titan Father cannot pull off, but I can. Who says I am the Ruler of Domination? Besides, with the help of the Titan's own computing power and smart network, the dominion authority can completely and low-consumingly extend to other Titans on the same local area network... Visually, a single Father of mine can command 100 other Titans like an arm moving a finger, and no sci-fi tech can ever strip the dominion authority from my hands!"

"Invincible!"

"Don't get full of yourself; it's only decent power below a Herrscher. Even with a full squad of 100, at most it can only turn Rita Rossweisse into Valkyrie fragments, and anything higher is hard to say."

"No way? I think at least we can take down Wendy!"

The Titan Father flipped to stand upright and raised her mechanical arm high. The finger pointing straight up at the ceiling spoke of her confidence and smugness.

Cocolia wore dark lines on her face, but she did not say anything, because this was indeed a powerful force that could not be ignored, and they were all fiercely loyal to her—they were her own people, after all.

"I will arrange for the equipment R&D department to continue strengthening them and build 100 Titans with optimal performance. Once the formation is finalized... in this vast Anti-Entropy, unless Welt fails to hold back and comes to blow my head off, gods will fall and Buddhas will be crushed from now on!"

"Well said! Me, Father, strong beyond compare! Ha-ha-hahaha!"

The bulky Father mech laughed for a while with a girl's electronic voice, then entered quantum stealth and vanished from the empty basement.

Cocolia turned around, her single hand lifting the strands of hair in front of her forehead. The suddenly surging firepower gave her a full sense of security, so she tilted her head back and let out a long-suppressed, wild laugh.

"Hahahaha!"

However, the arrogance was only temporary. Anqi, who knew the plot, knew very well how deep the waters of this world were. An ultimate-performance Titan troop was indeed strong, but it was far from being a true safeguard.

"Then, it's time to go to the next place. I hope there are similar surprises there."

Leaving the basement that isolated all monitoring of external radio waves, Cocolia strode into the deeper levels of the underground base.

"Facial recognition, passed."

"Fingerprint recognition, passed."

"Iris recognition, passed."

"Skin gene recognition, passed."

"Respected Executive Cocolia, please enter the character password and voice password."

"...Passed! Welcome to the Highest Security Lab, I wish you smooth work."

Following the sequence in her memory, Cocolia successively passed the artificial intelligence recognition programs and entered the laboratory sealed by high-strength airtight doors.

Clearly, biological experiments were conducted here.

Dozens of silvery-gray capsules stood neatly in the dim light, pale blue fluorescence seeping through the glass viewports of the capsules with a cold, intense sense of technology.

Cocolia came before an experimental capsule and, through the glass viewport, saw a handsome face in deep slumber.

"A clone of Welt Joyce, wonderful, truly exceptional flesh-and-blood material... This haul is super profitable!"

The Anqis' emotions all stirred up, so much that the corners of Cocolia's mouth unconsciously curved into a charming and sly smile.

"Bang!"

Since all the eyes placed here had already been removed in advance, Cocolia simply stopped suppressing her anticipation, casually shattered the glass cover, and grabbed the clone by the face.

Then, amidst the flowing nutrient solution, Cocolia dragged this body out.

Cocolia's purple pupils transformed into golden ones bearing a cross shape.

Immediately afterward, the body she lifted with one hand was enveloped by a mysterious purple light.

One minute, two minutes, taking a full 30 minutes.

A bare-naked little girl stood in front of Cocolia. She had golden, glossy, obedient long hair, large purple eyes as flawless and translucent as gems, and a tender, exquisitely carved face. She looked like a toddler in her early tens, gazing at Cocolia with a pure and cute expression.

"Mom~~"

"Mom your head! Are you people going to disgust me once each?"

Cocolia rewarded the little girl with a knuckle rap to the head and said with a dark face.

Even though this body is indeed in its early thirties, I, Anqi, will forever be a 16-year-old girl, dammit!

The little girl giggled and stuck out her pink tongue, then crossed her legs, wobbling as she levitated in front of Cocolia with open arms. Her golden hair drifted against gravity in the air as she said:

"A physical body reshaped on the basis of the Joyce clone, strong!"

"I can feel that this body's adaptability to Honkai Energy is frighteningly high. It should be the strongest individual currently!"

"The power to manipulate gravity, infinite Honkai Energy from the Imaginary Gateway—although the output cap is still a disgrace to Herrscher standards, but... still strong, strong to the point where I'm a bit unsure of my own limits."

But what a pity, the power remaining in the avatar was truly not the same thing as the Authority of Reason. I didn't get even a tiny fraction of the Authority of Reason.

Cocolia nodded as expected, without excessive surprise or disappointment, but instead said with anticipation:

"Quickly test whether you can use this as a template to replicate physical bodies! If we can do that, all of our avatars can be shaped using this template in the future, and our overall combat power will be elevated to another magnitude."

The little girl nodded and reached out her hand, purple fluorescent brilliance condensing into a humanoid shape upon it.

A moment later, the light dissipated, and her hands were empty.

Cocolia frowned and shook her head, saying:

"As expected, there is a limit to a physical body shaped out of thin air, and the constitution of the Joyce clone has already exceeded that limit."

"It's indeed within expectations. After all, if a physically shaped body formed from nothing had no upper limit, then the original Thousand-Person Ruler wouldn't have been a thousand puppets, but could have completely been a thousand S-Rank Valkyries."

"It might also be because we are still too weak. If we acquire other Herrscher cores or authorities, or develop our authority more deeply, perhaps we can raise the shaping upper limit."

"That is a matter for the future, too. Fortunately, there are more than 20 successful Joyce clones, enough for everyone in the Theater to use... No, perhaps we should keep them. Because once used, we can't change our appearance anymore, just in case we need other powerful appearances in the future?"

"Agreed, what we need is not this bit of combat power, but tactical flexibility to swap identities at any time. Don't lose the big for the small."

"By the way, call me Ninti from now on. I somehow feel this name should suit me very well."

Cocolia and Ninti discussed, and then sent the liquid capsules in the lab one by one into the Theater of Domination.

By this point, the combat power bonuses directly attainable through Cocolia's identity had all been secured, and other matters would have to be slowly plotted in the future.

After finishing what could be done, Cocolia wrapped Ninti's petite body in her cloak and left the lab, holding Ninti just like carrying a child.

However, as the laboratory doors slowly closed, Ninti's golden little head popped out from under the cloak and she extended her chubby little hand.

"Star of Eden... No, this move should be called, Chibaku Tensei!"

A strong black gravitational point appeared in the center of the laboratory, instantly devouring the surrounding objects like a true black hole. In the blink of an eye, it destroyed this laboratory from the inside out until it was completely spotless, leaving behind only a slowly collapsing underground cavity and nothing else.

Cocolia was now Anqi's avatar, so any stains that could be washed away should be washed away as much as possible; she couldn't afford to be universally reviled like in the original timeline.

Chapter 30: Anqi, Gradually Becoming a Daughter Con

"Hoo~~"

"Sip~~"

"Ah, good tea."

In the deep mountain base where snow fluttered, Cocolia sat before the high-angle glass observation window, crossing her legs and looking lazily at several floating projection windows.

"Cocolia, why are you suddenly diverting a massive amount of resources to Titan modification and production lines? You clearly know that the core R&D strength actually lies with Dr. Einstein and Dr. Tesla. Researching Titans is putting the cart before the horse; we should place our primary resources in the fields of biology and quantum technology where the Conservative Faction is weak!"

"And then, under the premise that the Conservative Faction is unwilling to share core technology, continue to use the blood of countless soldiers to make up for the flaws of our outdated Titan models and scarce production output?"

"That is a necessary sacrifice! We lack both the basic data and core technology of the Titans, and trying to modify them gains far less than it loses. It would be better to continue trading with the Conservatives using resources and quantum technology! Furthermore, we are ultimately an organization. Should we encounter a crisis that requires a large-scale mech legion, the Sovereign and the Conservatives will not sit idly by!"

"Each has their own valid argument. In the past, because many resources were in your hands and our general direction was consistent, I kept persuading myself to compromise with you... But enough! Fellow executives, I have already made up my mind. I hope you can understand, let us value harmony above all, how about that?"

Cocolia blew on her tea and spoke nonchalantly.

At this moment, a small head poked out from the doorway of the lounge.

It was a rather peculiar little girl with heterochromia—one blue and one gold eye—and fluffy short hair, half pink and half purple. Right now, that exquisitely carved little face wore a carefree smile as she said in surprise:

"Mom, so you were here... Ah, are you in a meeting?"

"Oh, it's An! It's nothing major. Come over here, come to Mom."

Cocolia's eyes lit up, and she beckoned to An Mal, wearing an expression that clearly showed she cared far more about the daughter in front of her than chatting with old fogeys.

An blinked, a trace of hesitation flashing through her uniquely charming heterochromatic eyes, before she finally walked toward Cocolia with a smile.

"Oh my, oh my, my lovely precious daughter, today you are also the number one cutest in the world! Come, lie down on Mom's lap, be a good girl~~"

Cocolia let An lie down, resting on her thighs, and stroked the little girl's exceptionally soft hair, her face full of affection and doting intent.

An blinked, involuntarily shrinking her neck, and her little face quickly flushed red.

Ever since returning from the frontline base a few days ago, An had noticed that her Cocolia Mom seemed to have undergone many changes. At first she was suspicious, but later, from all sorts of details and conversations, she didn't find anything amiss, so she simply figured Mom must have figured something out.

"Mom, stop it, you're still in a meeting..."

An puffed out her cheeks, wearing a disapproving expression.

Yet she did not get up, and even docilely shifted her head under Cocolia's palm.

Cocolia Mom... has become a bit strange, but, it also seems pretty nice.

An narrowed her eyes, the corners of her mouth curving into an arc from comfort and happiness. Although the past Cocolia had also been good to them, she was nowhere near this affectionate; and the current Cocolia matched An's longing for the word "mom" much more.

Of course, that didn't mean she disliked the old Cocolia mom...

Anyway...

Forget it, why think about so much? As long as it's very comfortable right now, that's enough.

An nuzzled against Cocolia's thigh, feeling a bit sleepy in the cozy environment.

Cocolia fondled her "daughter's" face and hair with an inability to put her down, then looked up at the gloomy-faced old men on the screen and sighed:

"Sigh! You know, through years of competition, especially after the Changkong City incident, I deeply realized a fact."

"And that is, excluding that missing Sovereign whose life or death is unknown, the high-end combat power in my hands is actually far superior to the Conservatives. Yet why do we still keep getting restricted by the Conservatives? Isn't it because we lack autonomy in the production and expansion of the Titan Legion!"

"Both biotechnology and quantum technology can bring power, but at least currently, the true core power remains the Titans. Without the initiative over Titans, we will never truly dream of overwhelming those stubborn Conservatives!"

Of course, the powerful Titans developed regardless of cost would all end up as Anqi's puppets, so there was no need to argue such trivial matters too clearly with her "good comrades."

Several executives were silent for a moment, because they actually knew the logic in Cocolia's words all too well. The Reformist Faction did indeed surpass the Conservatives in funds, resources, and even numbers; yet if a true battle array were drawn up, the ones who spoke with the most confidence were still the Conservatives who controlled the Titan Legion.

"What you said is also an old cliché, but with such a big move this time, can we understand it as... research progress in quantum and biology has been extremely unsmooth?"

"I beg you adults to use your brains and think: if there were a way to gain power surpassing Titans in other tracks, would Schicksal just sit on their hands? Wouldn't they have flattened Anti-Entropy long ago? It's precisely because the power of the Titan Legion is fundamentally unbeatable that Anti-Entropy has the leeway to divide into two factions and bicker with each other!"

Cocolia thought of the power with which Ninti used a Shinra Tensei to flatten mountain ranges, and then remembered a certain even more bugged Golden Goose, yet she still boasted about the power of Titans without changing her expression—for the core interests of the Anqis, bragging and telling a few lies wasn't shameful.

Several executives' complexions changed slightly due to Cocolia's overly blunt words, but they still maintained restraint with good breeding. However, they still agreed with Cocolia's tall tales; after all, from their perspective, Anti-Entropy relied on the Titan Legion to rival Schicksal. Thus, they chose to continue addressing the current issue.

"Are you sure we want to shift the track back to the mech technology that the Conservatives have operated for a long time? Can it succeed?"

"At least it holds more hope than castles in the air like quantum technology and biotechnology. After all, we have ready-made samples, a large number of technical personnel, and can even poach people from the Conservatives. That's right, we don't have Dr. Einstein and Dr. Tesla, but we have money and resources, and scientific research is largely a matter of money and resources."

"Too idealistic. Furthermore, did the massive resources previously dumped into the quantum and biological fields just go straight down the drain?"

"First of all, I didn't say we are abandoning research in other fields; I am merely adjusting the general direction of resource allocation based on the reality of severely mismatched input and output. Secondly, I am not saying we want to surpass the Conservatives in Titan mech research—that's simply unrealistic. What I want is just basic independent production and modification capabilities!"

Cocolia patiently prevaricated.

And the attitude of several Reformist executives finally loosened. They clearly accepted Cocolia's explanation: this wasn't a whimsical plan, but a reallocation of resources to a field more likely to yield results, which was reasonable. The goal setting was also reasonable—not to surpass, but to close the gap—which was not an untruth.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as long as we can master a certain scale of Titan power, coupled with our advantages in other aspects, comprehensively overwhelming the Conservatives will be a done deal. I believe my decision is correct. Do any of you have anything else to say?"

"We can understand your decision, but it is too sudden and aggressive. Unless we see certain results, otherwise... we won't give you too much support."

"When have you ever not been like this? I'm already used to it! However, since you won't provide support, then in order to sustain scientific research, please turn a blind eye to some of the actions I will take next. Don't come questioning me all the time; I have real business to do, I'm very busy!"

"Hmph! There's no need for you to emphasize that, Cocolia."

The video conference ended at this point.

Then Cocolia put down the already cold tea and tiredly picked up An, who was somewhat spacing out.

Rubbing, nuzzling, kissing.

"Mom!"

"What is it? I raised you for so long, and I'm so tired today. Can't I use you for a bit?"

"You... I... Ah!!"

An fretted in Cocolia's arms, yet she didn't resist her closeness.

It's not that I like Mom kissing me... It's just that Mom is an ordinary person and her body is too weak. I just don't want her to get hurt! Yes, that must be it!

An puffed out her cheeks, finding an excuse to make herself feel a little less awkward.