Wendy blinked blankly and nodded.
"What you said makes so much sense, I'm actually speechless—wait no, don't be so pessimistic! The experiment will succeed, we're both going to survive!"
"Stop messing around. We might as well discuss some serious business."
"What?"
"Should we leave our last wills first, and then have them pack us together in the same box later? I don't really like dark places, but being with Wendy makes it totally fine."
Delta spoke in the soft, melodious, and tender voice of a young girl, but with the slow tone of an old person who had seen through the ways of the world.
The goji berry tea in Wendy's hand shook, almost spilling out.
Her small face turned bright red all at once, and then she said with shy anger:
"What do you mean by sharing a box? Have you already calculated that we'll die together? Ah, I really yield to you!"
"This is called sharing the same bed in life and the same grave in death. It's clearly super romantic, you know."
"That's used to describe married couples! To describe married couples, geez!"
"Oh please, at our age where would we even find that kind of partner? That's against the law, you know? Anyway, Wendy is very cute and smells fragrant, so I think being packed in one box should be very comfortable. Yup, it's settled. I'll write my will as soon as we get back."
Delta said slowly, her whole body slouched in the wheelchair from start to finish, without shifting her position at all.
Wendy blushed, but the corners of her twitching mouth refused to stop, and finally, she lowered her head with a deep sense of helplessness and sighed.
Damn it, she had clearly proposed coming to see the sunset to cheer up Delta, who had been depressed all this time, so why did this attitude toward life of not wanting anything suddenly feel so enviable!
Chapter 64: History Books Will Not Record Them
"Sigh, why on earth do I have to go out and buy food for her?"
Amidst the morning sun and dawn, Wendy was running wildly on the track while spinning her wheelchair, muttering nonstop.
However, that dead salted fish Delta was simply impossible to wake up and had completely missed breakfast time at the laboratory.
"Damn it! If it weren't for pitying your crippled legs, I wouldn't be doing this for you!"
Wendy muttered, stopping at the entrance of the Valkyrie cafeteria with a hint of hesitation on her small face, before taking a deep breath and resolutely pushing her wheelchair inside.
As Wendy expected, the Valkyries in the cafeteria cast strange gazes at her all at once. No one blocked her path, but they very consciously avoided the area where Wendy moved—it felt just like dodging terrifying cockroaches.
"Hey, look, it's that one!"
"Quick, stay away from her."
"She invested so much yet gained nothing, and she still has the nerve..."
"Don't say that."
"Don't let your sympathy overflow; given the situation, who knows when she'll turn into a monster!"
The surrounding whispers dyed Wendy's eyes with a trace of gloom.
Yet Wendy chanted silently to herself that this trip was so Delta wouldn't go hungry, so she kept a wooden expression and slowly moved toward the ordering counter as if nothing was wrong.
"One standard breakfast, plus a cup of warm milk, to go, please."
Wendy said in a low voice, while continuous whispers reached her ears.
"She actually has the self-awareness to take it to go..."
"That's why people say Oceania's Valkyries are universally useless. It makes sense that they're looked down upon by the whole of Schicksal."
Amidst various gossipy remarks, a childish and lazy voice rang out clearly, feeling to Wendy like a ray of sunlight piercing through dark clouds and shining inward.
It was Delta.
Wendy subconsciously looked back, and sure enough, she saw the familiar cyan-haired girl lazily slouched in a wheelchair, operating a remote-control-like device to slowly steer a high-tech electric wheelchair toward her.
Amidst the unfriendly gazes of the surrounding Valkyries, Delta acted as if she noticed nothing at all, merely yawning lazily, the corners of her eyes even lingering with a few tears of sleepiness. And as her tender, cute little mouth gently opened and closed, it spat out remarkably aggressive words:
"Ignorant, cowardly fools who are afraid of death, standing in a safe place and pointing fingers at those who willingly throw themselves into a sea of fire to protect the world. It reminds me of a famous painting: a great warrior finally collapsing in exhaustion after being covered in wounds, and then disgusting green bottle flies crawl all over the warrior's body, buzzing and thinking themselves greater than the warrior... You lot are that pile of flies."
Perhaps not all the Valkyries had seen the painting Delta mentioned, but they naturally weren't illiterates either; they could all understand insults that were practically pointed straight at their faces.
For a moment, the atmosphere froze completely. The group-mocked Valkyries glared sharply at Delta in succession.
Delta remained as unconcerned as before, slowly approaching Wendy and continuing as if talking to herself:
"I wonder if your barren and base brains have ever thought about what the Herrscher gem fusion experiment actually means?"
"Simply put, once the experiment succeeds, Herrschers will transform from a purely destructive natural disaster into resources that can enhance Schicksal's strength. From then on, we will no longer passively endure the disasters of Herrschers, but instead actively crusade against them, extracting even greater power from their corpses, and continuing the crusade with higher efficiency and lower casualties."
"Because of this experiment, Schicksal's history books will be written in two volumes. The upper volume is the history of thousands of years of painstaking efforts and constant sacrifice under the threat of Honkai; the lower volume is the future where the roles of offense and defense are reversed, using Honkai to suppress Honkai, and killing Herrschers with Herrschers."
Delta used a lazy tone to tell a story that was irrefutable and worth looking forward to.
The small fraction who still had some pride were already flickering their gazes.
However, most of them still gritted their teeth, offering no retort yet remaining unconvinced.
Delta swept a gentle glance around the surroundings and continued, as if posing a question:
"If we were at Schicksal headquarters, even Lord Durandal would treat people like us with respectful deference; if we were at the Far East Branch, Lady Theresa would do everything in her power to protect us, taking pride in Valkyries like us who face death without fear."
"But in Oceania... in Oceania, I really find it hard to imagine just how stupid, cowardly, and shameless one must be to talk behind our backs. What do you think, Wendy?"
Delta arrived by Wendy's side.
Amidst the subtle and complex expression of the cafeteria attendant, Wendy retrieved the meal box and grabbed Delta, wanting to run.
"Are you out of your mind?"
Wendy certainly knew the logic Delta had just explained, but the atmosphere in Oceania wasn't something formed in a day or two. Valkyries were a violent group; if Delta really provoked them to the breaking point, how could the two little cripples like them possibly withstand it?
"Don't panic, slow down. Life lies not in motion, but in stillness, Wendy."
"Shut your mouth and go back quickly!"
"I told you there's no need to panic. Cowards like them don't have the guts to touch us. You must know that across the entire Oceania Branch, aside from the Gem of Desire, the two of us are currently the most precious experimental subjects who stood out among hundreds of heroic martyrs. Whoever touches us won't have to wait until sunset to be dragged to the scaffold and executed for the crime of obstructing the grand cause and betraying Schicksal."
"...Really?"
Wendy paused, looking at Delta suspiciously.
Delta nodded, rolling her eyes as she said:
"Are you truly clueless or just pretending? Right now, headquarters and all the branches are fighting to complete this experiment, and even Anti-Entropy is competing with us. Whoever succeeds first becomes the turning point that changes human destiny, a monument destined to be recorded in history books. Those who obstruct the experiment are, on a minor scale, harming the fundamental interests of the Oceania Branch, and on a major scale, holding back Schicksal's grand cause, or even hindering the future of humanity... Trust me, getting your entire family wiped out in a puzzle game for that kind of crime is getting off light."
Delta gestured across her neck with her hand, causing some of the hotter-tempered Valkyries to involuntarily take a step back, feeling a faint chill run down their necks.
Wendy blinked blankly, then nodded, finding herself completely unable to refute it.
Delta chuckled softly and said:
"At this stage, the crime of assassinating a branch director might not even be as heavy as touching the two of us. Put your heart at ease; even if we threw a grenade right into the middle of them, in the end we'd be faultless while they took the punishment."
And so the surrounding Valkyries retreated a few more steps in unison.
It wasn't that they were cowardly; it was truly because Delta's indifferent, sweeping gaze looked as if she were genuinely searching for a gap to throw a grenade through.
Thus, Wendy and Delta moved slowly like this toward the entrance.
Along the way, Delta continued to leisurely unleash her sharp tongue.
"Come to think of it, the two of us will also appear in the history books in the future. It should be recorded like this: The selfless and great Schicksal Valkyries Delta and Wendy became the earliest humans capable of bearing Herrschers' gems without dying. Through their fearless dedication, Schicksal obtained a large amount of precious preliminary data, making indelible contributions to the success of this great experiment."
"Future rookie Valkyries, or even elementary school students, will definitely curse their teachers while painfully memorizing the deeds of the two of us."
"Guess how history books will record those idiots behind us?"
"Hahahaha! The answer is that no one will record these insignificant maggots at all! At most, some history enthusiasts will discuss on forums that there used once to be a group of short-sighted, timid, and shameless Oceania Valkyries who actually pointed fingers at the great devotees..."
"There will definitely be a bunch of netizens leaving comments on forums asking how people could be so stupid and evil, saying they tainted the glory of the Valkyries and that they deserved to be hanged amidst universal condemnation!"
"It's definitely going to be like that, hahahahaha!"
The clear and melodious laughter gradually faded into the distance, yet it felt like one loud slap after another landing on the faces of those Valkyries.
With mixed expressions, they watched the two wheelchairs retreat, watching them disappear into the sunlight. Afterward, various gazes gradually converged upon those Valkyries who had been whispering just moments before.
Then, some people turned red in the face, yet couldn't stop even more whispers from echoing all around.
Chapter 65: Delta, You Big Idiot!
Morning sun, ocean waves, and a cool breeze.
Two little lolis wrapped in warm sweaters slouched like salted fishes in wheelchairs, opening lifeless, feeble, dead-fish eyes to watch the sunrise while holding identical, plain insulated mugs.
"Ah, cozy~~" ×2
Wendy and Delta let out synchronized exclamations.
Afterward, they unscrewed their insulated mugs in tandem, poured out goji berry hot water, and began to sip it slowly.
Wendy cast a sidelong glance at the salted-fish Delta, who seemed too lazy to even lift her eyelids, and said lingeringly:
"It's really hard to imagine that it was you who left those fellows speechless the other day. It ought to be something worth admiring, but seeing you like this, I suddenly can't feel moved at all."
"Stay calm. Wendy, the most important thing in life is to be comfortable. Are you comfortable right now?"
"Honestly, my dreams these past two days have been freaking amazing! I've wanted to fall out with them for a long time, but I have a good temper and couldn't say those things."
"You just care too much about face. Even after all that, you still thought they'd be your good colleagues. Stop it, ripping their faces apart fiercely is all it takes to feel great!"
Delta spoke with the weathered tone of someone who had seen through worldly affairs, sipping her hot tea and letting out a comfortable sigh—she possessed the body of a loli and the heart of an old man.
Wendy pouted.
"Tch! It's not like I don't understand the reasoning you're talking about, but with an attitude like yours, you won't have any friends in the future."
"I have Wendy, so that's enough. What other friends do I need?"
Delta said it as a matter of course, casting a puzzled gaze at Wendy as if questioning why she would even have such doubts.
Wendy couldn't help blushing, raising her insulated mug to block Delta's line of sight as she said loudly:
"Ah! Delta, you're doing it again! Always saying things like this and making me not know what to do anymore!"
"Hmm?"
"Don't look at me with that confused gaze; the one who should be confused here is clearly me?!"
"Wendy is really weird."
Delta said slowly, pouring another cup of goji berry tea and handing it to Wendy.
Wendy took it absentmindedly, only to hear Delta say with a hint of triumph:
"The old Shenzhou goji berries I specially had shipped oversea have better efficacy and a sweeter taste. Have a taste."
Wendy took a sip instinctively, and then, looking at the damp rim of the cup, suddenly realized that this was the cup Delta had drunk from.
This isn't right! This is so not right!
Sharing a cup between good friends should be a completely normal thing, so why is your heartbeat accelerating? Why is your face burning? Why are the corners of your mouth stubbornly trying to turn upward?
Wendy, you're not acting right!
"???"
Delta looked at Wendy, suddenly clutching her head to "shout" and "hesitate," then fiercely banging her forehead against the insulated mug, and then pushing her wheelchair in crazy circles. Then, Delta slowly tilted her head, popping up one little question mark after another.
"Wendy, is the medicine's effect too strong?"
"No, nope, I'm fine."
Wendy came to an abrupt halt. Her strange short hair—black on the outside and green on the inside—looked somewhat disheveled, but aside from the flush just spreading across her forehead, she returned the cup to Delta as if nothing had happened.
Then Wendy shifted her gaze to Delta's high-tech electric wheelchair and changed the subject:
"Speaking of which, why do you get an electric wheelchair while mine is a manual one?"
"You didn't know? Like I said, the two of us are valuable assets to Schicksal now. Getting an electric wheelchair is just a matter of telling those assistants, isn't it? Forget an electric wheelchair; if you wanted to mount a gaming handheld on it and strap a heavy machine gun to the front, it wouldn't be a problem."
"Ah?"
"You really didn't know? I was wondering why you kept using a manual one, thinking you just liked the manual kind."
Delta said with a baffled expression.
Wendy covered her face with both hands and cried out in a breakdown: