Here I Come!

After sighing, Li Ming put the book away in his bag. It would have been better if he had never read it—at most, he would have felt bad for a day. But now that he had read it, he would feel bad for the rest of his life.

For now, Li Ming could only drink his coffee in frustration. Otto's stunt made him want to bury Otto in the ground again. Damn it, was Otto really twisting the knife like that?

Before long, the boarding announcement came on. Sitting in his seat, Li Ming looked at the Honkai Energy corrosion mark on his wrist. It looked like a scar left behind from slitting his wrist.

His fingers unconsciously rubbed it twice, yet it gave him a strange sense of reassurance. Just then, Li Ming's PHS phone rang. When he took it out, he saw that it was a message from Raiden Ryoma.

Raiden Ryoma: I am deeply sorry for dragging you into this, little brother Li Ming. This disturbance at the airport was caused by an illegal organization within Shenzhou working with the HK Organization. The HK Organization is subordinate to H&K Company and often uses H&K Company's resources to disrupt order elsewhere.

My Modified USP was developed by that company. They used it to track my location. This attack had been planned for a long time. It was not only aimed at me, but also intended to undermine the status of Shenzhou Headquarters.

I tried to uncover their connection to H&K Company so I could wipe them out in one sweep. Unfortunately, I found no evidence and only alerted them, provoking them into launching this attack early.

However, every member of the HK Organization came to Changming City this time. If this operation succeeds, it will deal H&K Company a major blow, and the relationship between Shenzhou Headquarters and ME Company will advance further.

I have already contacted the Changming branch. They will resolve everything this time. Protect yourself well. Yae and I have entered Safe Zone 53. Do not worry. You can come find me as well.

Not long after, the airport alarm suddenly began blaring. Everyone was confused at first, then started moving one after another. Since Li Ming knew what was going on, he obediently prepared to leave with the crowd.

"Please do not worry, passengers. Enter the safe zones in an orderly fashion, keep an eye on your belongings, and follow the staff's instructions as you leave..."

Then Li Ming saw a massive shadow blanket the airport. A battleship flew in from afar, deploying numerous mechs from the air. Three or four streaks of light shot down from above, followed by slender Valkyries in uniform armor descending from the sky.

"Wang Tianhu, Ma Changqing, and Liu Yu, please report to the command center immediately. The airport requires your assistance."

Since he had not been called, Li Ming continued following the crowd. Six Valkyries had arrived, along with nearly nine mechs. The people summoned just now were probably personnel from the relevant branches.

After he reached the safe zone, a staff member came specifically to notify him. "Excuse me, are you Mr. Li Ming from flight HZ9600?"

"Ah, that's me. What is it?" As a citizen of Shenzhou, Li Ming knew the staff member had come looking for him.

"Please come to the command center, Mr. Li. We need your help." The staff member's smile was somewhat forced, but that was understandable. Facing such a major crisis and still having to risk his life, being able to smile at all showed professional dedication.

When Li Ming followed the staff member to the command center, the person in charge said to him, "Mr. Li Ming, we had no choice but to ask for your assistance. This is not an easy matter to bring up."

"We are all citizens of Shenzhou. If Shenzhou is in trouble, I will naturally lend a hand." His tone was neither humble nor overbearing, and the person in charge nodded repeatedly at his words.

Still, the person in charge smiled and said, "Naturally, we will not let your help go unrewarded. You may make any request to the branch afterward, and we will compensate you accordingly based on your contributions."

"Thank you, then. But what exactly do you need me to do?" Though the man had promised him that much, he still had not explained why Li Ming had been called here.

"My mistake, my mistake. We asked Mr. Li to come because the Chiyou Organization has become too brazen. They not only possess considerable firepower, but also more than twenty mechs. The Valkyrie squad only has six members, while we only have nine mechs. We are struggling to handle them, and five of those are Sky Guard · Guardian Type units used to protect civilians. That is why we need the help of righteous people from the civilian population like you."

The person in charge explained the current situation. After hearing it, Li Ming frowned. "I need more detailed information, as well as a set of weapons and armor. Do not misunderstand—I only want to protect myself. Fighting mechs with a human body is still far too much to ask."

"Of course. However, the battleship currently only has standard-issue weapons and armor. If we had better equipment, I would not be stingy with it. As for the information, I can arrange that immediately. It will be delivered to you shortly. Will that be acceptable?" The person in charge hesitated, but still agreed to Li Ming's request.

"Only standard-issue weapons and armor?" Li Ming could tell from the man's expression that he could not provide anything better. Still, Li Ming only wanted to ensure his own safety. He did not know Iron Shirt, after all—he could not just fight mechs with his bare body.

Seeing Li Ming agree, the person in charge let out a sigh of relief. He was trusting Li Ming's rather impressive records, after all. Having another person like him would be a tremendous help in the current situation.

"This is all the information." The person in charge handed the materials to Li Ming. "Someone will take you to the armory shortly. Oh, right—what weapon do you want?"

"Do you have gauntlets?" Li Ming looked at his palm and slowly clenched it.

"Gauntlets? That may be difficult. They are too niche. We only have ordinary C-rank weapons." The person in charge shook his head. Li Ming was not surprised. Gauntlets had short reach, and their damage mostly depended on the user's own strength.

"Only standard-issue weapons? Fine, that will do." Carrying the materials, Li Ming followed the staff member into the armory.

When Li Ming emerged, he was clad in tight black leather armor, with light thin plates covering his legs, shoulders, and arms. To avoid impairing his movements, he chose the more agile and offensive Critical System armor over the Fire Control System armor, which excelled at shooting, and the Impact System armor, which provided stronger defense.

Still, rather than armor, it looked more like an exoskeleton. Armor was mounted over the leather suit. Li Ming vaguely remembered that before 2006, Schicksal seemed not to have specialized armor yet—only combat suits with some resistance to Honkai Energy.

So this armor was something Shenzhou had developed for itself.

He clenched his fists, and the information on the gauntlets in his hands appeared in his equipment inventory. Opening the weapon tab showed its stats.

Protective Bracers

Standard wrist armor issued to Valkyrie troops, consisting of knuckle guards and arm bracers. Even those without combat experience could easily use it. However, as a weapon, its relatively weak destructive power and short attack range prevented it from being a versatile choice. Perhaps only in the hands of the right person could it display its true strength.

Two-star, Level 10, Attack 78, Critical 8

Level 10 was already the maximum level for a two-star weapon. The staff member had not been wrong about the tuning—this was probably the highest grade of standard-issue weapon available here.

After reading the materials, Li Ming headed straight onto the battleship's deck. To help Valkyries deploy quickly, battleships were equipped with rapid combat systems. Once each Valkyrie boarded the bridge, she could select where she wanted to go, and the combat system would provide combat objectives. If the target was within five kilometers, the propulsion system could launch her directly there. However, the target's mobility also had to be considered, so precise guidance was rarely possible.

After entering the combat chamber, the elevator's heavy rumble made Li Ming feel somewhat stifled.

To be honest, this was Li Ming's first chance to participate in such an operation, so he did not know much about many things. A pop-up panel appeared before him.

The entire panel displayed a floor plan of the airport, precise down to the location of every passageway. It also showed live synchronized camera feeds.

Through those cameras, Li Ming eventually set his sights on a Titan Mech. Titan Mechs were troublesome because of their light armor and energy shields. Standing two and a half meters tall, they could operate inside cities. Their high mobility and decent defense made them versatile mechs for dealing with Honkai.

They were also equipped with overload systems. When their armor was too badly damaged, activating overload would sacrifice all energy reserves to strengthen their armor and mobility.

Still, Li Ming had his reasons for targeting this Titan. As long as he dismantled it quickly enough, it posed no threat.

But weren't Titans Anti-Entropy mechs?

Looking at the gaudy paint job and the rather ugly modifications, Li Ming guessed that this Titan had probably been smuggled in through the black market and modified afterward. Whether it even still had an overload system was unknown.

Now that he had mastered Azure Dragon Emerging from Water, it was the perfect time to test the new move he had learned.

He secretly gathered strength in his legs, bent his body slightly, and let every muscle in his body loosen and tense with his breathing.

"The propulsion system will complete energy accumulation in ten seconds. Launch preparation will begin three seconds afterward. Please take precautions."

"Three, two, one, launch!"

Once the combat chamber's skylight opened, the floor beneath him suddenly thrust upward. Immediately afterward came the second launch from the temporary thrusters mounted on Li Ming.

"Let me show you my new move—Azure Dragon Emerging from Water · Skyward Scale!"

Yellow energy coiled around Li Ming's body. As the thrusters on him detached, he borrowed that force to twist in midair and dive down from a height of six meters above the ground.

"What was that?"

"Probably another idiot coming to die."

"Hahaha, we've got Zhu Yan here. Who are we supposed to fear?"

"Old Liu, blast him!"

When they saw Li Ming falling from the sky, the organization members did not panic at all. They had clearly mistaken him for an ordinary combatant sent here to die.

After all, they knew all about Changming City's Valkyrie squad. Three people had also been launched out like that earlier.

And now, those three were still being beaten down by two mechs!

But it did not take long for them to realize they were wrong. They only heard a shout: "Azure Dragon Emerging from Water · Skyward Scale!"

A flash of yellow light streaked past, and that figure landed atop their Zhu Yan. The Zhu Yan's body sank.

A web of cracks ten meters wide spread across the ground, and everyone nearby was blasted away.

When the dust cleared, Li Ming's figure appeared within it. "This great me has arrived!"