Golden Light in Instant Noodles

Lost in memories of her former glory, A-Quan paid no attention to the two beside her, outright ignoring them. After crying a bit to vent her emotions, she felt a little better.

But as her mood lifted, her stomach growled. As a member of the Kaslana Family (at least physically), A-Quan's instincts—inherited from the greatest instant noodle enthusiast fifty thousand years ago—drove her to grab a cup of noodles.

"Wah~!" With a sob, A-Quan tore open the cup. The moment it opened, the noodles seemed to transcend, bursting with a dazzling golden light. Yes, you read that right—A-Quan... hit gold on a single pull!

[Silver Wolf: Whoa~ Golden Legend!]

[Theresa: What kind of noodles are those? They even glow?]

[Seigfried: It's a flashbang! Definitely a flashbang!]

[Kiana: Stupid dad! Who puts a flashbang in noodles?! Better yet, why would you even think of adding a flashbang to food?!]

[Seigfried: Why not? It looks so cool!]

[Xiangling: Don't just toss weird stuff into cooking! Show some respect for the craft!] o(*≧д≦)o!!

[Hu Tao/Xingqiu/Chongyun: So you do know that!] Σ(?д?|||)??

[Xiangling: What do you mean by that! Slime Condensate is an ingredient, not some weird thing!] o(′^｀)o

[Hu Tao/Xingqiu/Chongyun: We didn't even mention Slime Condensate...] (?￣?д￣??)

"Huh?" A-Quan stared at the golden card she pulled from the noodle cup's glow, which had a character with the word "Wei" written on its face. "What's this?"

Himeko and Ai Yi saw the card A-Quan had drawn from the noodles and curiously leaned in.

Himeko felt like she'd seen this card before, but couldn't quite recall it. "This, this is..."

Ai Yi studied the card for a moment, thinking. "I think I've seen this somewhere..."

From who-knows-where, Ai Yi pulled out a super-thick book titled Archive 001 and meticulously searched for information on the card.

"There it is!" Soon, Ai Yi found what the card did.

"This card was from the custom noodles Big Brother Wei ordered when he first founded the company. Back then, everyone lived on instant noodles every day."

"To surprise the employees, Big Brother Wei stuffed these noodles with all kinds of prizes."

"At first, everyone was excited, but after the meals improved, no one touched these noodles anymore."

"And this gold card..." Ai Yi took the card from A-Quan. "It was the top prize Big Brother Wei set back then—fulfill any wish within the company's power!"

"What? So that means..." A-Quan processed Ai Yi's explanation with her "lightning-fast" little brain and summed it up:

"Doesn't that mean these noodles are expired?" ?????????

[Silver Wolf: Shouldn't the point be that you can make a wish?] Σ(????)?

[Bailu: This lady's thought process is something else!] (;￣д￣)

[Bronya (Honkai Impact): But according to this Big Ai-chan's explanation, theoretically, couldn't you just wish to replace this boss called 'Big Brother Wei,' make him a receptionist or something, and become the company's boss yourself?]

[Theresa: Eating noodles for prizes... sounds like a great idea!]

[Murata Himeko: Principal, you're not planning to implement this at St. Freya, are you?]

[Theresa: What's wrong with that? If we swap the noodles for snacks like Bitter Gourd Juice or bitter gourd cake, students get more nutrition, cut down on junk food, and the academy gets extra revenue! It's a win-win-win!] ???(●˙?˙●)???

[Theresa: As for the prizes, how about waiving homework?] (?ω?)

[Murata Himeko: That kind of makes sense, but why is it all bitter gourd?] [?_??]

[Theresa: What's wrong with bitter gourd? It's very nutritious!] o(′^｀)o

[Kiana: But only Auntie likes bitter gourd stuff.]

[Bronya (Honkai Impact): Indeed, according to Bronya's analysis, if this actually happened, those bitter gourd foods would probably all end up in the principal's stomach. St. Freya Academy would just end up with a huge bill for buying bitter gourd.]

[Murata Himeko: Wait, Principal, you're not planning to use this as an excuse to buy bitter gourd with public funds, are you?] (*???)!!

[Theresa: Th-this... how could that be~ Do I look like that kind of person?!]

[Theresa: Do I seem like the kind of principal who'd embezzle funds just to have unlimited bitter gourd?!] ヾ(￣□￣;)ノ

Watching A-Quan start crying and fussing again, Ai Yi remarked, "Are you sure she's not drunk?"

Himeko: "Uh..."

A few days later...

"Why do we have to be called out on our day off?" Under the blazing sun, Kiana, forced to work overtime on the weekend, let out a working-class complaint! (｀へ′)=3

Bronya, also forced to work overtime and holding a script, answered Kiana's question. "I heard Big Brother Wei is fulfilling A-Quan's wish, and there might be a free meal afterward."

"Eh! Really, all we can eat?" At the mention of a free meal, Kiana perked up. (,,?????,,)

[Kiana: @Sirin, see that! It's me!] (*σ′?`)σ

[Sirin: I see it. So what? ☆]

[Kiana: I showed up, but not as 'A-Quan'—doesn't that prove something?]

[Kiana: Obviously, that crying and fussing A-Quan was you!] (?＞?＜?)

[Sirin: Impossible. I absolutely refuse to admit she's me. ☆]

In truth, Sirin had felt it when A-Quan first appeared—A-Quan was her from another world. After all, Kiana's eyes were blue, while A-Quan's were gold. When she'd used Kiana's body before, she naturally knew her own eye color.

But who is she? The one who brought endless terror to humanity during the Second Great Honkai, the first multi-core Herrscher in history, the strongest enemy humanity (the current civilization) has ever faced—the Honkai Queen, Sirin!

Before, they could blame Kiana since they shared the same body, but now Kiana appeared alone in the video, and she wasn't there. Anyone with eyes could tell that she was A-Quan.

[Sirin: I don't care, I don't care! Anyway, that's not me! ☆] {{|└(＞o＜)┘|}}

[Kiana: Aww~ You're upset, you're upset!] (σ°?°)σ

[Sirin: I am not! ☆] (?｀ω′?)

[Kiana: Alright, alright, you're not, you're not. This young lady won't stoop to arguing with a crying, tantrum-throwing little kid.] (〃￣ω￣〃)

[Sirin: Who are you calling a little kid? I became a Herrscher in the year 2000! To me, you're the brat! ☆] (???皿??)??3??

[Kiana: Heh, at least I don't cry and throw tantrums.] (〃￣ω￣〃)

[Sirin: I told you, that wasn't me! ☆] ヽ(#`Д′)ノ