A Thousand-Person Ruler's Personal Opinion

"Who knows, maybe one day I'll walk through the wrong door, or fail a physical, and while I'm home eating hot pot and singing, the Gold Saints will haul me away."

"In the end, it's just cowardice. Why wouldn't you admit your own people?"

"..." xn

"Beat her!" xn

A horrific brawl broke out in the Theater of Domination, the kind where a dozen or twenty girls gang up on one.

However, while playing is playing and joking is joking, Anqi wasn't someone who changed her mind on a whim.

Touching Otto was probably unavoidable, after all, he needed Anqi's Dominion Authority. If they couldn't reach an agreement in the end, Anqi and the others would have no choice but to go all out and send Bishop Otto to meet Miss Kallen.

But they couldn't confront Otto directly yet, that was the reality. He had five hundred years of accumulation, his methods were unfathomable, while Anqi and the others had only just begun to develop. To gamble on hiding themselves under Otto's nose at this point wasn't bravery, it was stupidity.

"Sigh! Let's take a detour. Fortunately, we still have time. Going into Headquarters is too risky, let's start with a branch!"

Cocolia flipped through the vast amount of Schicksal data collected by Anti-Entropy. After a long while, she leaned back and sighed, saying.

"Mom!"

"Hmm? What is it, my precious An?"

"Can you stop? I want to go play..."

On the comfortable, soft sofa, An lay curled up, turning her head to say resentfully to Cocolia, who was stroking her hair.

Cocolia tossed the documents in her hand onto the table full of papers and files, cupped An's face, and gave her pouting lips a big "Mua!" Then, with even more resentment than An, she replied:

"Sigh, but Rosaliya and Liliya are still resting, and Bronya has grown up and doesn't need me anymore. You're my only good daughter now. If you leave, who will keep me company?"

"...So I'm the leftover one, you're only with me because you have no other choice?"

An immediately broke free from Cocolia's grasp, saying in exasperation.

Cocolia touched her smooth cheek and replied innocently:

"What else?"

"Ahhh!!!"

"Sigh, look at you, jumping and shouting at the slightest thing, with your bad temper, always calling yourself 'this great one,' and wearing all sorts of unconventional, unique clothes... In comparison, Rosaliya and Liliya, though a bit slow, are at least cute girls who like wearing skirts."

" 'This great one' is... I... I'm not talking to you anymore! Hmph!"

An stomped away with a "dada, dada" sound, furious.

Only then did Cocolia let out a sly laugh.

Then, from the communicator on the corner of the table, Gray Serpent's indifferent voice came through.

"You asked me to contact you at this time just to watch your family comedy with your daughter?"

"Of course not! You should be happy. If we weren't partners, I wouldn't let anyone else see my precious daughter's cute face and voice for even a trillion!"

"...You've really changed a lot."

"What can I do? I've lost so much. These are the only daughters I have left, how could I not cherish them? Hey, Gray Serpent, I don't mind you knowing my weakness because we are partners. But I also want to remind you of something: no matter what plans you have in the future, you'd best not touch my daughters, otherwise... you don't want to know what a mad mother is capable of."

As Cocolia spoke, she picked up an empty cup from the table. Since the daughter who could help her pour water had just been teased away by her, she could only grimace and pour it herself.

Gray Serpent was silent for a moment, then nodded through the communicator.

"Alright, I've received your reminder."

"Heh heh! Don't think I'm being rude. After all, conversely, you understand that using my daughters to persuade me in the future will be the most effective, won't you?"

Cocolia drank her water, then spread her hands and boldly crossed her legs.

She was hinting that if Gray Serpent could produce something to cure Rosaliya and Liliya, it would be a great reward.

Gray Serpent naturally understood this. He shook his head and said:

"Currently, there isn't, but I will increase my investment."

"Thank you!"

Cocolia raised her glass and said sincerely.

Even though she was preparing to take action herself, until Rosaliya and Liliya were truly cured, she valued any other possible options equally.

"Then let's get down to business. What do you want?"

"A piece of information, regarding the recent travel plans of all high-ranking personnel at Schicksal branches."

"Hmm? What do you plan to do?"

"The Gem of Desire and the Gem of Serenity. Until the Herrscher of Thunder is successfully captured, these are also targets worth paying attention to. I plan to take some precautionary measures, but I won't tell you the specifics."

"What about your own intelligence network? Doesn't it even infiltrate Schicksal Headquarters?"

"You're exaggerating. It's just some clever tricks. When it comes to intelligence networks, everyone has their own focus. Of course, I have one, but with yours added, it will naturally be more comprehensive and accurate. Just tell me if you'll help or not?"

Cocolia said with utter frankness.

Yes, the original Cocolia didn't have this ability. The only reason she could fool Gray Serpent was a bit of foresight from Anqi, at least that's how it seemed now.

As for Gray Serpent, who was listening to this honest statement, he certainly didn't believe it.

"What do you have to trade?"

"From now on, I will unconditionally provide you with three pieces of important intelligence. These can be ones I deem important, or ones you ask for. Don't worry, we've worked together for so long, I won't let you lose out on something this small."

"Three times isn't enough."

"Don't be difficult. Truly critical intelligence is priceless, and I'm already being very sincere. I just want to add some insurance to my plan. If you want to raise the price, I can withdraw my offer. Can't you see? Letting you exchange a piece of information everyone has for three future critical pieces of intelligence is my special compensation for last night's rudeness!"

Cocolia leaned closer to the communicator screen, trying to con him with utmost sincerity.

The truth was, Anti-Entropy didn't have such an impressive intelligence network at all, at least Cocolia didn't. Information this extensive and rare, involving the movements of all Schicksal branch high-level officials, could only be obtained from World Serpent.

Gray Serpent paused for a moment, seemingly in thought, before finally speaking:

"Five times."

"Only three!"

"Four times."

"Tsk, you're really pushing your luck. Fine, consider it for smoother future cooperation. Four times."

Cocolia sighed and nodded, as if she had lost out but had no choice but to accept.

Gray Serpent also nodded with satisfaction and ended the communication.

Both sides felt they had gotten a good deal.

"The dress, you said it! Is this okay!?"

Just as Cocolia was silently thanking her ally for their generosity, An appeared before Cocolia, wearing a little red dress and cute white shoes, with an unhappy expression on her face.

This child, though complaining verbally, actually understood that Cocolia was trying to subtly encourage her to be more ladylike. And on this day when Cocolia was swamped with work, An chose to put aside her pride and fulfill her mother's small expectation.

Cocolia was stunned.

She was genuinely taken aback.

After all, the text and Cocolia's own memories made it perfectly clear how stubborn and tsundere An Mals was.

Now, did this child's behavior indicate that her acceptance of the current Cocolia was at least on par with the original Cocolia's?

"Come here."

Cocolia smiled and beckoned.

An clutched her skirt, seemingly unaccustomed to such an insecure garment that would flutter with the slightest breeze. She was a little resistant but eventually walked over hesitantly.

Cocolia embraced her.

Although it wasn't Rosaliya and Liliya, but An, Anqi now felt the reward for her efforts.

This was good, giving her a sense of security, a feeling of truly integrating into this world. Anqi loved it.

Chapter 41: Please Let Me Marry BT!

December 2014, on the Siberian ice fields, nearing the coldest period of the year, an abnormal extreme freezing storm occurred. The temperature in the core blizzard zone was detected to have dropped below -70°C, colder than the coldest recorded weather in the Arctic.

Even more bizarrely, the storm area was moving, advancing towards the New Siberia Region at a high speed of 250 km/h.

"Beep—Beep—Beep—"

"Faster! Faster! Assemble!"

Amidst the piercing siren, a line of grayish-green full-body exoskeleton soldiers sped towards a distant base. The excessively rapid acceleration caused the tail flame thrusters on their torsos and joints to vibrate unstably.

"Vroooom—"

Suddenly, a strange electronic noise sounded. Above the speeding formation, sixteen-meter-tall snow-white mechs appeared out of thin air. These colossal figures soaring through the sky had incredibly thick bodies and limbs, and every curve of their metal plating exuded an absolute mechanical sense and power.

"Titans in position! Iron Pilot squad, board!"

"Yes!" ×35

Including Colonel Koala, who was leading them, 36 Iron Pilots clad in steel armor leaped high, landing between the outstretched fingers of the Titans, and were then smoothly sent into the open cockpits.

"Woohoo! My dear BT-7213, I'm back! Did you miss me like crazy?"

"Iron Pilot, I am not human. Please direct your reproductive desires towards a suitable target—at least a carbon-based life form."

"Oh, what's the difference! Your voice is so cute, I have no problem at all!"

"Iron Pilot, that is sexual harassment."

The hot-blooded Iron Pilot squad, having just completed a long-distance drill, began bantering with their Titan AIs as soon as they entered their cockpits.

Of course, they didn't know that all the AIs were controlled by Koala, who was piloting Titan Anqi. If Titan Anqi were human, her expression at this moment would undoubtedly be extremely pained.

Titan BT72 Model, nominally a modified and upgraded Plus version of the Godfather model, was equipped with a highly intelligent collaborative system developed by Cocolia's research team. But in reality, they were all puppets controlled by Titan Anqi through the Dominion Authority.

In these Titans, Anqi provided the Honkai Energy, mech control, and mech enhancements—the hard conditions, equivalent to the functions of the body and limbs. The Iron Pilots provided the judgment and decision-making capabilities of excellent soldiers, equivalent to the functions of the brain. This reduced the difficulty of Anqi's multi-tasking and utilized the military expertise of the Iron Pilots to maximize the performance and combat efficiency of each Titan.

"Zzzzt—"

A sharp, piercing electronic sound suddenly rang in all the Iron Pilots' ears, forcibly interrupting their seasoned banter.

Then, Koala's voice, as clear and cold as snow, reached everyone.

"I've told you all that Iron Pilots are not your mating targets. Find someone else if you have needs! Also, switch to automatic pilot mode and prepare to enter a remote conference. We have a mission!"

"Yes!"

The 36-person Iron Pilot squad's expressions turned serious.

While they might joke around, the earlier siren had already indicated a grave situation. They were all talents carefully selected from various frontline bases and understood the gravity of the circumstances.

Soon, a solemn conference room appeared before them.

Cocolia, in a stunning, sharp, and majestic military uniform, stood before an electronic map of Siberia, pointing to a region colored a vivid red.

"The situation is urgent, so I'll get straight to the point. Our target is a special variant of the Honkai Emperor. However, its detected energy levels are already nearing the limit of a lower-class Honkai Beast, and it could evolve into an Emperor-class Honkai Beast at any moment. Its ability manifests as extreme sub-zero blizzards. It will reach the state of New Siberia in four hours, at which point 1.5 million civilians will freeze to death. Your mission is to intercept and eliminate it en route!"

"Real-time map data has been sent to the BT72s. Based on our current speed, you are expected to enter the sub-zero blizzard's affected area in 30 minutes. After that, according to the plan provided by tactical command, you will have two hours to locate and eliminate this Honkai Beast. If you fail, we will deploy Silver Bullets."

"Do you understand?"

As her decisive words fell, Cocolia's purple eyes pierced forward like sharp swords, as if she could stare down all the soldiers through the remote signal.

"Yes!" ×36

"Very well. You need to reserve 10 minutes for tactical confirmation and unit self-checks before arrival, so we have 20 minutes to chat. I'll give you some bad news first: we haven't encountered a Honkai disaster of this scale in nearly 20 years. The last time, the Leader personally resolved it, so I've already prepared to hold a collective funeral for you all."

"Commander, you speak as if we're strangers. Which one of us here hasn't already prepared for sacrifice? Otherwise, we wouldn't be qualified to have our own BT72s, would we?"

A soldier said with a chuckle.

This was followed by hearty laughter from the others.

Cocolia stood before the electronic map and also smiled.

"I'm glad to see your resolve. Although, even if you wanted to desert, it wouldn't be permitted."

"Wow! Such a cool statement! Just as expected from an Executor!"

"Listen, don't mess around. The performance of the BT72s far exceeds your imagination. As long as they are used properly, even Emperor-class Honkai Beasts are not impossible to defeat. This battle is not only to protect our compatriots but also a test of the years of effort by the Siberia Region's military and research departments—you'd best complete the mission flawlessly, otherwise, all of us will become a laughingstock for Anti-Entropy."

"Understood, Commander! Also, I have a small request."