Chapter 75

I'll give you Mei underneath.

If you know what kind of Mei is good at making, you can launch a new instant noodle based on that.

It doesn't have to be a huge hit; having just one long-term customer is enough.

"Noodles?" Mei seemed a little stumped. After thinking carefully for a while, she said, "Um, would spaghetti count? Or a dessert?"

"Pasta and desserts?" MEI shook her head and said, "That doesn't count."

"I mean noodles, ramen is fine too."

"I'm not really good at this," Mei said, shaking her head. "But I'm more confident when it comes to cooking."

"I see..."

Mei was a little disappointed. If Mei were to cook, it would definitely be Area 11 cuisine; if she were to make noodles, they would be Area 11 noodles. Let's leave the cooking style aside for now.

It seems that the noodle culture in Area 11 isn't very developed.

In China, there are many varieties of noodles, including knife-cut noodles, cat's ear noodles, hand-pulled noodles, belt noodles, pulled noodles, and scissor-cut noodles. If categorized by the soup and toppings, there are also mutton soup noodles, tomato and egg noodles, braised noodles, and minced meat noodles, among others.

But in Area 11...

Okay, MEI doesn't want to comment. It's rather unobjective to rashly judge a culture that you don't understand.

However, judging from anime and film works...

It seems that the noodles in the Area 11 are indeed not many.

If Mei doesn't know how to do it, then this will be a bit troublesome.

"I can learn!" Mei noticed Mei's disappointment and immediately added, "I can learn it, and I'll definitely do a great job!"

'Learn? Who will teach you?' MEI thought to myself. 'Me?'

I can't ask, but judging from Mei's eyes and her expression, she probably wants to learn from me.

Hmm, she must have misunderstood something. I didn't ask her if she knew how to make noodles because I wanted to teach her how to cook!

It seems I can't refuse.

"Hmm," MEI replied, "But you two didn't come here just to mooch a meal, did you?"

"Oh, right!" Kiana quickly replied, "Can't I? Dr. Mei Mei. Mei said that your cooking is delicious."

"So I wanted to come and try it too."

Mei must have just made up a story because she couldn't find anything else to talk about, so let's just confirm it.

Knowing Mei's personality, she definitely wouldn't bring it up again, and considering she might cause trouble for others, she probably wouldn't come back either. How could such a thing happen?

Doing things this way will only lead us further astray; we might as well take advantage of the present and solidify the matter now.

"Is it okay?" Kiana asked, feigning concern. "The food in the cafeteria isn't very good, is it?"

"Of course you can!" MEI said. "Why not?"

Anyway, if you want to make instant noodles with a cute girl flavor, it has to do with these two people.

This might be considered a major issue, or it might not. In any case, Mei's request, made in a moment of desperation, received a response; she said a few simple words and left.

"Um..."

Kiana was still whining a bit after leaving MEI's lab.

"What's wrong, Kiana?" Mei, noticing Kiana's strange behavior.

Is this the legendary case of the emperor not being worried while the eunuch is? She felt that being able to visit more often was already quite good, and there was no need to rush. But judging from Kiana's expression, she still seemed somewhat dissatisfied.

"It just feels..." Kiana said, arms crossed, "Something's not quite right."

"Strange?" Mei didn't think anything was strange. She shook her head and said, "I feel it's already pretty good."

"I guess I should thank Kiana too."

"Some things will not get any results if they are not said."

"I am very satisfied with the current situation."

"Hehehe~" Kiana chuckled and scratched her head, saying, "Oh, no, I only did a tiny little bit of work."

"This matter..."

'Have we misunderstood something?' Kiana suddenly felt that, well, it seemed like everyone's understanding of this matter had been somewhat off from beginning to end.

Or is it just my imagination?

Kiana looked at Mei, who seemed quite satisfied.

She suddenly felt that she shouldn't dwell on this issue too much.

The surprise brought about by this culture is not something that can be easily resolved, and even if it is a misunderstanding, let's just treat it as a beautiful mistake.

As for MEI...

"System A-Meng! You have to fill the hole you dug!" MEI quickly entered her system and said, "Mei is coming over for dinner."

"You can't cook?" the system retorted. "Didn't you work in the Mess Hall Squad before?"

'Don't you know how to do it at all?'

"Speaking of cooking," Mei said, "After being in the Mess Hall Squad for so long, I can't say I know absolutely nothing. The foreman did teach me how to cook."

"My knife skills are passable; I can easily cook a couple of dishes."

'But Mei's from Area 11!'

"And let's be honest," MEI said. "I definitely couldn't answer Mei's mother's question."

"So, you're planning to complete the 'motherly love' task?" the system seemed to understand MEI's meaning. "So you want to use cooking as a pretext to cause trouble?"

"Do you think I had a choice after all this fuss?" MEI retorted.

Everything happened so smoothly, as if she had no choice. She felt like the system had forced her onto this path, and now that the system had dug a pit, she had jumped in.

Isn't it a bit unreasonable to ignore it?

"Don't tell me things have come to this point," Mei said. "You really have no way to do anything about it."

Cooking is a skill I already possess; it's just a matter of improving the flavor.

'There shouldn't be a lottery required, right?'

"Why aren't you willing to try MEI's learning abilities?" the system countered. "I feel you're underestimating this character."

No wonder the rating is so low.

This system cannot give you any skills, nor can it change your skills without a lottery.

'However, this system can provide you with a recipe, which you can then research yourself.'

'Maybe we can get through this.'

'The process will be a bit difficult.'

Chapter 104 The World Serpent Assembly

Will humanity unite as one to fight against the Honkai?

The answer is yes.

Meeting!

But will humanity always stand united in fighting against the Honkai?

The answer is yes.

Won't!

Humans are incredibly complex beings, and expecting them to remain rational indefinitely is a pipe dream. Furthermore, from another perspective, what exactly constitutes rationality?

This is itself a very worthwhile question to explore.

But there is one issue that doesn't need to be discussed.

Even if there's a Damocles' sword hanging over our heads that could fall at any moment, as long as that sword doesn't actually fall and plunge human civilization into a huge crisis...

Human beings will never stop fighting amongst themselves!

Honkai.

This is like a Damocles' sword hanging over humanity's heads; the Honkai once destroyed human civilization. Yet, humans often mock fish for their seven-second memory, but in reality, human memory isn't much better. The destruction of the last civilization's era is far too distant now.

That's how it is, at least for the new generation of humans.

They may have completely forgotten what Honkai should truly look like. In many people's eyes, the so-called Honkai is nothing more than a wildfire, a drought, the extinction of a species, or the destruction of a city.

You'll never truly understand what's Honkai until all the disasters have become relevant to you.

Therefore, even when facing the Honkai, everyone knows that we must fight against it and unite as one.

However, division and internal strife have always dominated the true course of world history, just like the main theme.

Humanity's greatest enemy seems to be not the Honkai, but humanity itself.

The organization that once fought against the Honkai split up, and they created an organization called 'Anti-Entropy'.

Although in theory everyone is still cooperating, the actual confrontation has become increasingly apparent and intensified. The struggle has gradually evolved from a covert competition into a violent conflict.

Even the smallest thing can lead to unexpected consequences.

It could be a conflict, or it could be a conspiracy.

It even attracted the attention of other people.

World Serpent.

There are more than just Schicksal and Anti-Entropy dedicated to fighting the Honkai; smaller organizations aside, there is another, most mysterious organization also dedicated to combating the Honkai.

Their organization is more secretive than Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, and their strength is no less than that of those two organizations.

Furthermore, the World Serpent is connected to both Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, and the relationship between them is exceptionally subtle.

They are not enemies, nor friends; they are partners and collaborators, but also people to be wary of and competitors.

The current leader of the World Serpent knows these things.

They disregarded the competition and defensiveness from both Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, viewing cooperation more as a matter of pity. They had their own goals and ideas.

And strive for it.

Now, for the first time, they feel so close to their first small goal.

"This woman." Gray Serpent crossed his arms in front of his forehead, staring intently at the photograph. The photograph showed a woman wearing glasses, a white lab coat, and holding a cup of coffee.

Is the information accurate?

Gray Serpent dared not say how excited he was, but at least the appearance of this woman gave him a clear, or perhaps not so clear, direction to achieve his small goal.

"It's not entirely clear," Jackal said. "We received this news unexpectedly."

"She seems to be mistaken for Raiden Ryoma's wife and Raiden Mei's mother."

"But Doctor Mei looks a lot like Raiden Mei's mother," Gray Serpent said. "That's undeniable. If she really is Doctor Mei, that would be for the best."

"But what if it isn't? If we capture her, it will have a very serious negative impact on our relationship with Anti-Entropy and Schicksal."

"The probability is over 50%," Raven dropped his intelligence.

This was a high-level meeting, a rare gathering of the top brass of World Serpent to discuss such an important matter. If the outcome wasn't very certain, it would certainly be disappointing and a waste of time.

"Why do you say that?" Gray Serpent asked.

"Because of this person," Raven said, tossing out another photograph. "Because of him."

Gray Serpent glanced at the photo; it showed an ordinary young man. The photo was taken secretly, and his profession could be immediately guessed from the things he was holding and his clothing.

"A janitor?" Gray Serpent sneered. "Raven, Jackal, you are responsible for your intelligence."

"The World Serpent doesn't have that many extra resources to waste on a useless cleaner."

"If this were just an ordinary cleaner," Jackal said, flexing his well-developed pectoral muscles, "I wouldn't even bother with this person."

"He appears to be a cleaner," Raven said. "In reality, he is Valkyrie King Arthur, the reincarnation of Cecilia, the Valkyrie."