I'm Here!

Li Ming sighed and put the book back into his bag. If he hadn't read it, he might have been upset for a day at most, but now he'd be miserable for a lifetime.

Li Ming could only dejectedly drink his coffee, feeling incredibly depressed. Otto's actions had made Li Ming want to bury him six feet under again. Damn it, was he really trying to stab him in the heart?

Not long after, the boarding announcement was made. Li Ming sat in his seat, looking at the mark of Honkai Energy erosion on his wrist. It looked like a scar from a suicide attempt.

He couldn't help but rub it a couple of times, feeling a sense of peace within. Just then, Li Ming's communicator suddenly rang. He took it out and saw it was a message from Raiden Ryoma.

Raiden Ryoma: "I'm very sorry to have dragged you into this, young brother Li Ming. The chaos at the airport this time was caused by an illegal organization within Schicksal collaborating with the HK organization. The HK organization is a subordinate of the H&K Company and often uses the company's power to disrupt order elsewhere.

My [Modified USP] was developed by that company. They used the [Modified USP] to track my location. This attack was premeditated, not only targeting me but also aiming to shake the position of Schicksal's headquarters.

I tried to find the connection between them and H&K Company to catch them all in one go, but unfortunately, I had no evidence. Instead, it alerted them, causing them to launch this attack.

However, all the members of the HK organization have come to Changming City this time. So, if this operation is successful, it will be a huge blow to H&K Company, and the relationship between Schicksal headquarters and ME Company will be further strengthened.

I've already contacted the Changming branch, and they will resolve all the issues this time. Protect yourself. Yae and I have entered Safety Zone 53. Don't worry, you can come find me too."

Not long after, the airport alarm suddenly blared. Everyone was confused at first, then started to move. Li Ming, knowing the inside story of this sudden situation, obediently prepared to follow the crowd and leave.

"Dear passengers, please do not worry. Please enter the safety zone in an orderly manner, keep an eye on your belongings, and follow the staff's guidance to evacuate..."

Then Li Ming saw a giant shadow engulf the airport. A warship flew in from the distance, and many mechs were deployed from the air. Three or four beams of light shot down from the sky, and then Li Ming saw Valkyries with slender figures, wearing uniform combat armor, descending from the heavens.

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

Seeing that he wasn't called, Li Ming continued to follow the crowd. After all, there were six Valkyries and nearly nine mechs. The people who were called over were likely from the relevant branch.

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

"Ah, yes, I am. Is there something?" As a citizen of Schicksal, to have a staff member come looking for him, Li Ming knew it had to be him.

"Please come to the command center, Mr. Li Ming. We need your help." The staff member's smile was a little strained, but it was understandable. Having to venture out for such a major incident, being able to smile was a sign of professionalism.

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. After all, this matter is difficult to speak of."

"We are all citizens of Schicksal. If Schicksal is in trouble, I will naturally help." His voice was neither humble nor arrogant. The person in charge nodded repeatedly.

However, the person in charge still said with a smile, "If you help, we will naturally not treat you unfairly. You can make any requests to the branch later, and the branch will give you corresponding rewards based on your contributions."

"Thank you very much. But what do you need me to do?" Although he had agreed, the person in charge hadn't said what exactly he needed Li Ming to do since he arrived.

"My apologies, my apologies. We invited Mr. Li here mainly because the Chiyou organization is too rampant. They not only have a lot of firepower support but also possess more than 20 mechs. The Valkyrie team only has six members, and we only have 9 mechs. It's very difficult to deal with them. Furthermore, five of them are Sky Guard · Guardian Type, used to protect the civilians. So, we need the help of chivalrous individuals like you from the civilian sector."

The person in charge explained the current situation. Li Ming frowned after listening, "I need more detailed information, as well as a set of weapons and armor. Don't misunderstand, I just want to protect myself. After all, confronting mechs with my bare body is still too difficult."

"That is natural. However, the weapons and armor on the warship are only standard issue. If there were better weapons, I wouldn't be stingy. As for the information, I can resolve that immediately and have it delivered to you shortly. Is that acceptable?" The person in charge seemed hesitant but still agreed to Li Ming's request.

"Only standard weapons and armor?" Li Ming looked at the person in charge and knew he couldn't produce anything better. However, he just wanted to ensure his own safety. After all, he didn't know the Iron Shirt technique to go up against mechs with his bare body.

Seeing Li Ming agree, the person in charge breathed a sigh of relief. After all, he was trusting Li Ming's rather impressive background information. If an additional individual like him appeared, it would be very significant for the current situation.

"This is all the information." The person in charge handed the information he had to Li Ming. "Someone will take you to the armor room later. By the way, what kind of weapon do you want?"

"Are there any gauntlets?" Li Ming looked at his palms and slowly clenched his fists.

"Gauntlets? That's unfortunate. They're too niche. We only have C-class common weapons." The person in charge shook his head. Li Ming wasn't surprised, as gauntlets indeed had short attack ranges and relied mostly on personal strength for damage.

"Only standard weapons? That's fine, then let's go with that." Li Ming took the information and followed the staff member into the armor room.

When Li Ming emerged from the armor room, he was wearing a sleek, all-black tight leather suit. His legs and arms were equipped with lightweight, thin armor. Li Ming had chosen armor with a high agility rating and excellent offensive capabilities, prioritizing the fire control system which had superior shooting performance and the impact system which had superior defense, over the impact system's defense.

However, it was more like an exoskeleton than armor. Armor was attached to the outside of the leather suit. Li Ming vaguely remembered that before 2006, Destiny didn't seem to have specific armor, only combat suits that had a certain effect in protecting against Honkai Energy.

So, this armor was actually a private modification developed by Schicksal itself.

He clenched his fist, and the information for the gauntlets appeared in Li Ming's equipment slot. Clicking on the weapon revealed its stats.

[Protective Bracers]

Standard issue bracers for the Valkyrie force, composed of knuckle dusters and arm guards. Even those without combat experience can easily use them. However, as weapons, their relatively weak destructive power and short attack range prevent them from being a versatile choice. Perhaps only in the right hands can they unleash their true potential.

Two stars, Level 10, Attack 78, Critical 8

Level 10 was already the final level for a two-star weapon. The staff member's comment about calibration was indeed correct; this was likely the highest level of standard weapon they had.

After reviewing the information, Li Ming directly boarded the warship's deck. To help the Valkyries sortie quickly, the warship was equipped with a rapid combat system. Once each Valkyrie boarded the bridge, they could select their destination, and the combat system would provide combat objectives. If the combat objective was within five kilometers, they could be directly launched using the propulsion system. However, the opponent's mobility had to be considered, so precise guidance was rare.

Entering the combat room, the muffled sound of the elevator made Li Ming feel a bit suffocated.

Honestly, this was Li Ming's first time participating in such a combat operation, and he wasn't very familiar with some things. A pop-up panel appeared before him.

The entire panel was a floor plan of the airport, precise down to the location of every corridor, with real-time synchronized cameras.

Through those cameras, Li Ming finally focused his attention on a Titan Mech. The difficulty of dealing with a Titan Mech lay in its light armor and energy shield. Its two-and-a-half-meter height allowed it to operate within cities, making it a versatile mech for dealing with Honkai due to its high maneuverability and decent defense.

Moreover, the mech was equipped with an overload system. When its armor sustained too much damage, activating the overload would sacrifice all its energy to strengthen its armor and mobility.

However, Li Ming wasn't targeting this Titan for no reason. After all, as long as it was dismantled quickly, this Titan posed no threat.

But wasn't the Titan an Anti-Entropy mech?

Looking at the flashy paint job and some rather ugly modifications, Li Ming guessed that this Titan was likely smuggled from the black market and then self-modified. Whether it even had an overload system was still unknown.

However, now that he had mastered Azure Dragon Emerging from Water, he had learned new moves that were perfect to test out now.

He secretly gathered strength beneath his feet, bent his body slightly, his muscles relaxing and tensing with each breath.

"The propulsion system will complete energy accumulation in ten seconds. Three seconds after completion for launch preparation. Please maintain protection."

"Three, two, one, launch!"

After the skylight of the combat room opened, the floor beneath his feet suddenly pushed upwards, followed by the secondary launch of the thruster temporarily equipped on Li Ming.

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

Yellow energy swirled around Li Ming. As the thruster on his body detached, Li Ming used this force to twist his body and descend from a height of six meters above the ground.

"What is that?"

"Looks like someone else has come to die."

"Hahaha, with Zhu Yan here, who are we afraid of?"

"Old Liu, blast him!"

When they saw Li Ming falling from the sky, the people from the organization showed no fear, clearly mistaking Li Ming for an ordinary combatant sent to die.

After all, they were aware of the Valkyrie squad from Changming City, and three people had already been sent out one after another just like that.

And right now, those three were being suppressed and beaten by two mechs!

However, it wasn't long before they realized their mistake. They heard a shout, "Azure Dragon Emerging from Water · Skyward Scale!"

With a flash of yellow light, the figure landed on their Zhu Yan, causing the Zhu Yan's body to dip.

A crack ten meters in diameter appeared on the ground, and the people around were blown away.

After the dust settled, Li Ming's figure appeared within. "Your great master has arrived!"