Delta spoke with the lazy expression of a capitalist.
In fact, far from being just okay, it felt ridiculously awesome.
As the Thousand-Person Ruler, when had she ever felt such surging Honkai Energy? Not to mention the formidable authorities within arm's reach! If Anqi and the others hadn't known there were many experts in this world capable of beating her to a pulp, they would have already started acting up wildly.
Wendy squatted in front of the wheelchair, cupping her face in both hands, and stared straight at Delta with clear, pretty eyes.
Wendy had painful personal experience regarding the horror of the Gem of Desire, so naturally, she didn't believe Delta's excuses at all.
Thus, Wendy's eyes softened all at once, and she gently took Delta's hand, saying:
"Remember to call me if you wake up in pain in the middle of the night. I'll rush to the scene the very first second to mock you."
"...When I become a complete Artificial Herrscher, the very first thing I'll do is hang you from the highest point of the base to let the sea breeze blow on you."
"Mm, well, if it's me who succeeds, I'll do the same."
"Wendy, I'll remember this promise."
The two of them looked at each other with smiles, able to feel a thick "friendship" flowing between their gazes.
Chapter 67: Prelude
The third week after making the promise, under the watchful eyes of Wendy and the researchers, Delta emitted an invisible and sharp blade of wind, tearing a test barrier composed of 16 layers of special alloy steel plates into pieces.
"Boom!!!"
Amidst the sweeping violent wind, Wendy pressed the dark green hair fluttering wildly at the side of her head, her eyes widening blankly.
"How is that possible?"
Clearly, when she carried the Gem of Desire, all she got was a life-threatening burden at every moment; let alone authorities, she couldn't even stand up.
Just how did Delta manage it?
Was the gap between Valkyries really so unreachable?
When Delta operated her wheelchair at a uniform speed to come beside Wendy, what met her eyes was a cute, dazed little face in deep doubt about life.
Delta blinked innocently and said pityingly:
"Turns out the gem damages more than just the body, it damages the brain too. How terrifying~~"
"Are you calling me brain-dead?"
Wendy didn't even need a response to know the answer, so she directly reached out to knead and pinch Delta's face.
So smooth, so soft.
The moment she reached out, the nature of this action shifted from venting to somewhere else.
With a brilliant smile, Wendy kept kneading and pinching, turning a blind eye to Delta's increasingly dissatisfied deadpan stare.
"If I couldn't stand up, I'd definitely hook you up with a set of bone-dislocating kung fu."
"Get over it, you dead salted fish! You might not even be able to pull yourself together by the end of the world, and I'd be scared of you? Take this, the Wendy-secret-tradition tickling art against Delta!"
The pleasing, aesthetic scene was ultimately broken by the clueless research personnel.
Wendy pushed Delta away to deal with the upcoming inquiries and tests, and was only able to leave the experimental area after quite a long while.
"Sigh, looking at it this way, I really might not be needed anymore. I didn't expect that after consuming so many resources and cruel experiments sacrificing numerous comrades, success would be attained on a salted fish like you. Truly, things are unpredictable."
"Are you ready to be hung up by me to feel the sea breeze? As a friend, I'll allow Wendy to pick out a pair of favorite panties."
"Tch! If you really can pull it off... I'll accept being hung up."
Wendy's voice suddenly turned low. She stopped, and from behind the wheelchair, slowly hugged Delta's petite body.
Delta paused, looked back, and saw that Wendy's eye rims were red, looking at her while desperately holding back tears.
"Hey, is this pouting look wanting to cry because you're jealous or because you're starved?"
"It's not that! Do you know how terrifying Herrscher gems are? I carried it for over half a year... I'm so scared, Delta."
"You don't have to anymore now..."
"That's why I'm scared! I'd rather it be me, I'd rather this person be myself, do you understand?"
Wendy gripped a lock of Delta's dark hair tightly, her small hand trembling, her fingers pinching until they turned red.
This was a topic Delta couldn't explain.
She couldn't tell Wendy that she herself was a Herrscher, nor could she tell Wendy that the Gem of Desire posed zero threat to her.
All Delta could do was gently stroke Wendy's face, displaying a rare gentle smile as she quietly looked into her tear-filled eyes.
After a long while, Wendy wiped her own tears, forced a smile, and said:
"Don't look, it's so utterly humiliating. Still crying and weeping like a Valkyrie, I'm definitely going to be mocked by you every day from now on!"
Yet, being mocked together every day was already Wendy's greatest dream right now.
Delta smiled silently, reciting her apologies in her heart as she sighed helplessly.
Wendy pushed the wheelchair, continuing down the road home. At this exact moment, she only hoped this road could be a little longer, hoping the date of the next experiment could be postponed a little bit—even if just a little—and that would be enough to make her endlessly grateful to the gods above.
Two weeks later, the Oceania Branch conducted an experiment transferring the Gem of Desire from the tibia to the femur.
That day Wendy had no smile until Delta slowly drove the wheelchair out of the laboratory, waving at her with a face as pale as paper.
"You... um... is there anything you want to eat tonight? How about I cook for you?"
"Hmm? Are you better at cooking than the cafeteria chef?"
"Idiot! At a time like this, you should nod with a heart full of gratitude!"
"Fine, fine, fine, Wendy calls the shots."
Delta slumped limply and bonelessly in the wheelchair, her eyes squinted almost completely shut, her voice filled with a listless weakness.
Wendy couldn't tell whether this was the usual decadence or if the gem was deeply corroding and damaging Delta's body. But Wendy didn't dare ask; she could only uncontrollably let her lips tremble, walking along as she silently shed tears.
After this, Wendy moved into Delta's room and slept with her.
Just like back then when Wendy was limping and Delta was still healthy, when Delta egoistically moved into Wendy's room.
In the subsequent tests, Delta demonstrated even stronger authority power.
Thus, the experiments escalated further, and the Gem of Desire was moved from the femur to the pelvis.
Delta was injured in an experiment for the first time. It had nothing to do with the gem; it was purely because the researcher's workmanship was too crude, leaving a gruesome scar on her waist and abdomen.
That night, Wendy washed the completely immobile Delta's body with a relaxed smile, yet in the middle of the night, she curled up under the covers and secretly cried all night.
Soon after, the research personnel reported the good news to Delta with extreme joy:
"Lord Archbishop has given high praise to our experimental progress! Listen up, the final step of the experiment—the step where the Herrscher gem completely merges with the body—headquarters will come to witness it! That means the Archbishop will witness our success! The time is scheduled for a month from now, get yourself prepared, we will definitely succeed!"
"Bang!"
Amidst the messenger's startled expression, Wendy expressionlessly crushed the wheelchair armrest.
"You..."
"Piss off if there's nothing else, we're very busy right now."
"Ah? Oh, right, anyway, you two recover well during this period and get prepared, don't mess up when the time comes."
The messenger still wanted to nag a few words, but under Wendy's gloomy gaze, he ultimately left with quickened steps.
Delta gently touched the back of Wendy's hand.
The warm, smooth, familiar tactile sensation caused Wendy's gloomy expression to gradually dissipate.
Delta said:
"Worried about me?"
""
"Why aren't you speaking?"
"Delta, let's refuse the experiment, okay?"
Wendy forced a smile, holding Delta's weak hand.
Delta shook her head.
"You know it, we can't refuse."
"If you can't refuse, why did you come! A salted fish like you who just drifts along seeking comfort, why come participate in any Herrscher experiment? Wouldn't it be fine for you to go to a remote branch and be a logistics Valkyrie? Why did you have to come, you idiot!"
Wendy collapsed to her knees beside the wheelchair, crying out loud and accusing her.
Seeing the experiments escalate step by step, seeing Delta grow weaker each time. Although Delta never said it hurt, in Wendy's eyes, that was already a fact that didn't need stating.
She felt like she was watching Delta throw herself into a mountain of blades and a sea of fire with her own eyes, watching everything around her—including Wendy herself—pushing Delta toward the Grim Reaper's sickle.
"How do you expect me... to be able to do this..."
"Don't... Delta... don't go!"
"I'm begging you, let's stop here, or let me do it! I can do it, I've fully recovered, I can definitely do it! Right, I'll go find them right now to swap people!"
Wendy got up, intending to walk out of the room.
Then, the corner of her clothes was lightly hooked by Delta.
What a feeble force that was, one where probably a slight gust of wind could blow it away, but precisely because of that, it was like unbreakable steel, making Wendy completely unable to take another step.
"Why participate in the experiment... how should I put it, I also have things I want to do. I don't want to leave, I want to keep going. Don't worry, I will absolute-ly, absolute-ly not die, I promise you, Wendy."
The ultra-soft voice carried a certain determination Wendy didn't understand, binding Wendy's trembling heart like a spiderweb of iron wire.
I suppose I will probably never forget this day.
Thinking this, Wendy turned her head, facing Delta with a disheveled, crying face.
After a long while, Wendy forced out an ugly smile, squatted down, and carefully hugged Delta, just like holding a precious treasure that could shatter at any moment.
Finally, Wendy nodded.
"Okay... I'll accompany you..."
"Thank you, Wendy, you're my best friend."
"You too, Delta..."
So, please, change your mind. As long as you change your mind, I'm willing to do anything for you, Delta.
Wendy closed her eyes in agony; at this moment, she couldn't even breathe.
Chapter 68: Delta's Secret Little Diary DA☆ZE
Beneath the blue sky and white clouds, a stealth transport ship was rapidly tearing through the sky, speeding toward New Zealand across the ocean.
Inside the comfortable and luxury cabin, Rita Rossweisse added drinks to the blond-haired girl and blond-haired youth sitting opposite each other. What she prepared for the girl was refreshing and delicious sparkling water, and what she prepared for the youth was a deep red 82-year premium cola.
"Black tea is fine, thank you."
Otto Apocalypse flipped through a diary without raising his head.
Rita thought it a pity inwardly, replacing the drink as instructed while thoughtfully placing a straw into Durandal's sparkling water.
Durandal thus bit the straw, took a gulp of the sparkling water, and then, with some hesitation, said to Otto:
"Lord Archbishop, is it necessary for us to make such a big deal out of it? If it were just me and Rita, fine, but you are of supreme and precious body—do you need to personally go to the site of that kind of experiment?"
Durandal wasn't afraid of anything happening to Otto; first of all, she had confidence in her and Rita's strength, and secondly, she was somewhat aware of Otto's tens of thousands of spare lives.
However, the Archbishop's majesty was something that needed meticulous maintenance. The New Zealand Herrscher experiment could be called unprecedented with far too many variables, and Durandal believed Otto was not suited to make an appearance on such an occasion.
Otto continued to intently flip through the diary, saying with a calm smile:
"Durandal, Rita, the significance of this experiment is far greater than you imagine, and it is very necessary for me to witness it in person."
"?" × 2
Facing the incomprehension of his two trusted generals, Otto provided an explanation while turning the pages.
Before you continue