And this was the main reason why Anti-Entropy's Conservatives had not completely fallen out with Cocolia.
Raiden Ryoma was, after all, an executor of Anti-Entropy. Even if the gimmick of fraudulently obtaining roughly 3.4 billion US Dollars under the pretense of financing the development of ultrahigh-frequency electromagnetic field confinement was indeed alarming, never mind whether he had actually done it—if it were true, would the uncrowned king of ME Inc. really be thrown in prison for embezzling a little waste paper printed by nuclear-powered money printers?
Then you were underestimating capitalism's sheer audacity. Look at Imperial Britain: it spent a full 27 billion pounds on a high-speed rail Line Two barely over thirty kilometers long—106 billion was the budget—and it still was not finished. The California high-speed rail project in the United States spent nine years building 476 meters and burned through 11 billion dollars. Did you see anyone involved go to prison?
Raiden Ryoma had merely been abandoned—abandoned by some among the Conservatives behind him, with the accounts balanced along the way.
Lisel Albert Einstein?
Frederica Nikola Tesla?
Cocolia admitted that the two were indeed exceptionally capable in scientific research.
However, Anti-Entropy had now developed for more than half a century. Its tangled web of interests ran deep, and its leader, who held absolute power, had been missing for a long time. The current Conservatives were no longer a one-woman show for founders like them.
Those people hiding in the back wanted everything. They wanted the benefits, but did not dare do something so outrageously defiant of public opinion.
But that was fine.
Cocolia gave a cold smile.
"I'll do what the Conservatives don't dare to do, and I'll handle what they don't dare to handle!"
Let the people of the Far East suffer a little. I'll bear the infamy.
She suddenly extended her hand toward Changkong City and slowly clenched it.
"Cowering in your own little patch of land, timid and hesitant, how could we possibly fight the Honkai alongside vermin like this?!!"
The thin mountain mist shimmered in the sunlight, dreamlike and fantastical as it curled around Cocolia.
The patterns on her clothes churned and drifted through the mist as though alive.
Even the sun probably knew better than to be rude.
Yae, who had been standing by nearby as the temporary deputy adjutant and female driver, could not help revealing a hint of adoration and longing in her eyes.
This was Lady Cocolia: proud and dashing, someone to be admired from afar but never profaned.
She had heard that Lady Cocolia was still single. She wondered which lucky person would have the chance to win her favor in the future.
Yae's thoughts, framed by golden hair and golden eyes, gradually drifted away until she did not even notice the suddenly ringing communicator.
Cocolia naturally would not be so careless. She composed herself and placed a hand on the earring-shaped communication device. "This is Cocolia... What did you say?!"
After exchanging a few words with the person on the other end, her expression changed sharply. Frowning, she muttered Bronya's name as she turned back.
She yanked open the car door, sat in the driver's seat, and sped away with one stomp on the accelerator.
Yae pressed a hand to her face, breathing in exhaust fumes with an intoxicated expression.
Ah~ As expected of Lady Cocolia. Even her departure was so swift and decisive~ Though it was not very nice to leave me here alone. This is the middle of nowhere, and I heard there was an earthquake and a mountain fire at the Yae Village ruins last night. Someone nearby even heard the thunderous roar of a mysterious monster. What if I get attacked? I'm just a weak little B-rank girl...
"Lady Cocolia, wait! Your subordinate is still here!!!"
The Yangwang U8 speeding down the mountain paused, then reluctantly pulled over at the roadside.
"Only Your Damn Eyes Have Lions Hidden in Them!"
As an international metropolis home to several million people, Changkong City's streets were normally not exactly bustling with voices, but they were at least packed with traffic.
Yet strangely enough, despite it being the afternoon rush hour, everyone had shut their doors and windows tight, huddling in their homes and shops instead of going outside.
—Separation between Immortals and Mortals, a D-rank technique developed and promoted by the unfortunate workers of the Shenzhou Supernatural Aftermath Committee.
By engraving specific Honkai script onto designated objects, it caused ordinary people within a certain range to think things like, The sun is really strong today, so I won't go out. It's cold outside, so I won't go out today. Why is it cold outside when the sun is so strong? I need to study the principles carefully, so I won't go out today (???). It was an effect that interfered with the mind.
Anti-Entropy purchased the rights to use Separation between Immortals and Mortals and engraved the technique onto mechanical creations. It could be activated with just a small amount of Honkai Energy.
Combined with Changkong City's temporary wartime drill notice, this meant that whenever they arrived somewhere, nearby pedestrians would actively or passively choose to avoid them.
Of course, the targets being hunted were an exception.
"We took out two Titan Mechs, dealt with six batches of drones, and there are twenty-seven soldiers left, but now there are even more firing solutions and Atrac-type unmanned machines..."
Running through an alley, Kiana counted the results of their battles along the way on her fingers. After counting for a long time, she painfully scratched her head.
"Damn it, don't they know I'm bad at addition and subtraction with numbers above two digits?!"
Despite the number of pursuers Kiana and the others had eliminated, Anti-Entropy's forces only seemed to increase.
No matter how the girls drove back the enemies attacking from behind, troops flooding in from every direction maintained an overwhelming numerical advantage and continued bombarding, pursuing, and encircling them.
Kiana now understood why Fu Li had laughed so gleefully before. Compared to a single enemy that could be dealt with once and for all, the violence of democracy was the hardest thing to guard against.
"Sorry..."
Mei's subdued voice came from behind her.
The girl's guilt stemmed not only from Bronya's words, "Hand over Raiden Mei, and I can let you leave," but also from the huge ME logos on those mechanical creations.
The products of her own family being used by enemies to beat her up—what kind of Iron Pagoda Cavalry joke was that?
"It's okay, Mei!"
"Biu!"
Seeing her friend hanging her head dejectedly, Kiana shot down an armed drone and hurriedly comforted her.
"These things are actually manageable. It takes some effort, but we can deal with them... The main problem is that I have no idea why they can always track us down. I remember the Far East doesn't have surveillance cameras all over the streets like Shenzhou does!"
The girl had always remembered Fu Li's instructions, and they had shaken off their enemies several times with their mobility.
Yet before they could even catch their breath, the roar in their ears would once again send them scrambling around in a sorry state.
Remembering the strange detail she had vaguely noticed during their earlier battles, Mei tentatively said, "Could it be... those barking sounds?"
"Barking?"
Unlike Kiana, who went "Biu! Biu! Biu!" with a gun, Mei, skilled in Hokushin Itto-ryu, spent most of her time fighting enemies at close range.
Coupled with a woman's natural attentiveness, it was only normal that she noticed details Kiana had missed under such circumstances.
Her beautiful rose-blue eyes flickered. Prompted by her friend, the white-haired girl suddenly understood. "I get it! Mechanical dogs!"
Kiana had bought her Soth at a black market near Changkong City. It was not that she had not saved enough money before; rather, tracking-type autonomous machines like that were scarce on the black market, and ordinary people could not get one without connections.
But she had indeed bought one. What did that mean?
It meant someone was clearing out these things in bulk, so even an ordinary customer like Kiana, who refused to pay extra and refused to sell her looks, could buy one.
Looking across all of Changkong City, there was only one force capable of mass-producing D-rank autonomous machines: ME Inc.
If they could dump large quantities of these things on the black market, then there had to be a massive stockpile at home.
"Mei! Follow me!"
Having figured it out, Kiana grabbed Mei, slammed on the brakes, and turned sharply around a corner, then charged straight into a KFC.
"Ah!!!"
The shopkeeper, crouching beneath a table with his hands over his head, let out a terrified scream. His already round body curled into an even tighter ball.
Fortunately, the bandits who had burst in only wanted money, not women. After ransacking the kitchen, they left in a hurry.
The trembling shopkeeper raised his head and found that the losses included, but were not limited to, Original Recipe Chicken, Deep-Sea Cod Burgers, Popcorn Chicken, Portuguese egg tarts...
Put together, it was enough for seven or eight Crazy Thursday sets?
And get this—the cash register was completely untouched!
Seeing this, the shopkeeper burst into tears.
Such conscience!
Then he saw a group of heavily armed people storm into the shop, muttering, "Those two wanted criminals are fucking terrible! They even plucked a feather from such an innocent shopkeeper!" as they hoisted the cash register and the store's valuables before running off.
The shopkeeper became outrageously furious! Fuck their mothers!
If every one of them had not been carrying those rat-a-tat-tat things whose names he did not know, he would have made those shameless thugs who slandered the two heroines understand why flowers were so red!
Some time later, inside a clothing store on another street—
"Mei, you know I used to travel all over the world, right? Once, I was waiting for a high-speed train at a station in Tianqiong City, Shenzhou, carrying a suitcase. A police dog sniffed my suitcase, then sat down in front of me."
Kiana chattered away in the corner. "That dog's fur was so pure! And it looked so cute with its tongue hanging out! I was just about to pet it when a bunch of police officers rushed over with a swish and immediately put up yellow caution tape around me!"
"It scared me so badly that I carefully asked them what they were doing."
"They looked at my white hair and said they needed to inspect my suitcase. Then, hehe~"
The girl rubbed her nose and said with a suppressed laugh, "Then they pulled out a Texas-style roast chicken that I hadn't gotten to eat yet~"
Even when it was time to board the train, Kiana could still see the policewoman scolding the dejected dog.
"You mean...?"
"That's right! We'll use these!"
Kiana looked pleased with herself.
Before entering the clothing store to rest, she had deliberately circled around the area three to five more times.
She had scattered all the looted Crazy Thursday food throughout the nearby streets and alleys. Large amounts of pungent seasoning lay scattered everywhere, giving off an enticing aroma that made one's mouth water.
"Even mechanical dogs will definitely be drawn to the smell of these things and overlook us, whose scent has been covered up! Hmph hmph, this is hiding in plain sight!"
Mechanical dogs were different from normal dogs...
Under normal circumstances, Mei would probably have helplessly complained about that.
But this time, she only nodded lightly, dragging her exhausted body as she leaned against the cold wall and slowly slid down.
Seeing this, Kiana walked over and sat beside her.
The girl had noticed from the beginning that her friend was in a bad mood. Most of what she had said just now had been meant to cheer Mei up.
But she only assumed Mei was worried about Fu Li. She could not see the delicate heart beneath the girl's full chest, filled with overwhelming guilt for dragging her friends into this.
Because in Kiana's eyes, "Hand over Raiden Mei, and I'll let you leave," was complete bullshit!
She would never abandon any companion, just as she believed Fu Li and Mei would never abandon her!
Thus, Kiana confidently said, "Mei, you don't need to worry too much about A Li. That guy never does anything he isn't sure about."
"What about pursuing you?"
The girl quietly asked in return.
"Gah?!"
The endlessly chattering white-haired girl immediately froze.
"Um, well..."
She guiltily turned her head away, looking at the mannequin beside her wearing a light blue-green kimono. With an indescribably complicated feeling, she awkwardly laughed.
"Come to think of it, this mannequin is really lifelike. Its face is all soft and squishy, its hair is implanted really well, even its features are exactly my type, and the more I look at it, the better it looks..."
"Is it fun?"
The mannequin suddenly spoke.
"Fun."
Kiana answered instinctively while rubbing his cheeks, then shot away with a whoosh.
"M-M-M-Mei!!!"
Her teeth chattering, she hid behind Mei with her face buried against her back, trembling as she pointed at him. "H-H-H-He's alive! Alive!"
The fearless Miss Kiana had only one weakness: ghosts.
"Don't be afraid, Kiana!"
Coming back to her senses, Mei swiftly pulled out her bat. Only after seeing the mannequin's face clearly did she cry out in delight, "Fu Li!"
Fu Li, dressed in a loose kimono, raised a hand. "Yo, ladies. Miss me?"
"Miss—"
"I miss your big-headed ghost!"
The suddenly raised voice instantly drowned out Mei's eager reply. Miss Kiana came flying at him with a sprinting NekoCharm! kick.
Before you continue