I Clone

Welt Yang returned to the Anti-Entropy base at this time. He saw the blue, messy hair float past his eyes. Einstein was holding a cup of coffee and poured one for Welt Yang.

After taking a sip of coffee, he glanced at a certain red-haired lady with twin tails who was working hard, and asked in surprise, "Isn't it the premiere of Alahato today? Tesla, aren't you watching it?"

"Please, as the producer, I finished watching it long ago. Besides, I'm also moonlighting as a screenwriter." Tesla flicked her twin tails and looked at the screen in front of her impatiently.

Welt didn't say anything. He simply conjured a screen in his hand. The movie playing was "Heavy Armor Alahato." Welt was watching it with great interest. He also chatted with Einstein about some matters concerning the academy, so that Einstein wouldn't be completely clueless when he returned.

"By the way, Ein, the student from Schicksal that Ryoma recommended has arrived. When are you going to meet him? I've already arranged for him to be in your lab."

"Hmm, I'll go take a look in a few days. Oh, and lately, the H&K company has been too active. I initially thought it was Destiny making a move, but it seems more like their own actions. Their methods are a bit clumsy," Einstein said calmly, sipping her coffee without any panic.

Seeing that both of them were so idle, Tesla became a little annoyed. "Hey, messy hair, come on, get to work. There are some strange fluctuations near California. I just captured the parameters."

"Alright, alright." Einstein reluctantly put down her coffee and helped Tesla calculate the parameters. For a moment, the base was quiet, with only the sound of Welt watching the movie.

Everything seemed peaceful, but as Welt was nearing the end of the movie, Tesla couldn't hold back anymore and roared, "Don't you see we're all working? How can you just sit there?!"

Welt Yang looked up at Tesla, bewildered. "Aren't you and Ein here?"

"If you're not going to work, then get lost! We don't need you here. Go be a professor!"

Seeing that he had missed some parts of the ending, Welt Yang rewound the playback. Just as Welt saw the female protagonist being rescued, her right hand being fitted with a prosthetic, and the male and female protagonists confessing their feelings...

At this moment, Tesla sent another telegram attack, "Those H&K scumbags, those *******, actually pirated my Titan and made it look so ugly. Why don't they go ****!"

A barrage of telegrams flooded his mind. Welt Yang hadn't clearly heard what the male and female protagonists had said. Just then, Einstein spoke up, "Stop the noise, there's important news."

She clicked on the screen, and a tall figure appeared, at least two heads taller than Einstein and Tesla. A charming laugh was heard, "Still so cheerful. But now is not the time to be idle. Something has happened."

Everyone put down their work and listened to her. "Just as I was cooperating with the [Ⅰ Clone] to gain full control of all the subordinate branches of the H&K company, the HK organizations in Houston, California, and Las Vegas broke through the blockade by some unknown means and forcibly took the mechs away. Furthermore, two [Ⅰ Clones] have gone out of control. The HK organization has already sent Ryoma to handle it with the Titan Mech troops. Now, the main priority is dealing with the [Ⅰ Clones] in California and Las Vegas."

Hearing her finish, the atmosphere in the base became heavy. Organizations going out of control was not a big deal, but the [Ⅰ Clones] going out of control was no small matter.

"Alliance Leader, it seems you'll have to go yourself," the figure on the screen said, looking at Welt. Einstein hesitated, as ever since the Second Honkai War, Welt Yang's injuries had never fully healed. Dealing with two at once would be too much.

Tesla also spoke up at this time, "I can pilot the Alahato test unit to deal with one [Ⅰ Clone]. With the danger level of that [Ⅰ Clone] not exceeding a Temple-level Honkai Beast, it's perfect for testing Alahato's performance."

Hearing this, Welt's mind was made up. "No, it's not time to reveal Alahato yet. I'll take care of both of them at once. Tell me the coordinates, Cocolia."

"Perhaps you won't have to act twice. After checking the database, it seems there's someone in California who can deal with the [Ⅰ Clone]."

Cocolia's tone was somewhat subtle at this moment. After all, she hadn't expected such a coincidence, or perhaps it wasn't a coincidence at all.

Einstein and Welt were both surprised. Tesla, unable to pilot Alahato, was a bit dejected but still listened intently.

"It's the student Li Ming that Ryoma recommended to you, Dr. Einstein."

Einstein hadn't met Li Ming, so she didn't react much. Welt, however, was incredulous. Seriously? You're telling me that timid, cheeky student I just met can handle an [Ⅰ Clone]? Are you kidding me?

"Ryoma's data stated that Li Ming cooperated with Ryoma in Qinghe City, Schicksal, to deal with an [Ⅰ Clone]. I've already notified the combat team in California. With the cooperation of the local security team and protective suits, they can completely handle one [Ⅰ Clone]. Moreover, for some unknown reason, those [Ⅰ Clones] are moving towards Li Ming's location."

"That's all we can do for now."

This is the first time I've encountered an [Ⅰ Clone], and now it's heading towards him on its own. Is he some kind of monster magnet?

Never mind how Anti-Entropy was making arrangements, let's go back in time ten minutes.

American California region, Dreamworks Cinema.

Mint Candy found the movie rather boring. Chewing on a lollipop, she scanned her surroundings, but then noticed something was off. She quietly disappeared from her spot.

Himeko, who had finished crying, also composed herself and looked at Li Ming's half-smiling, half-smirking gaze. She felt a bit embarrassed but still glared at Li Ming. "What are you looking at!"

However, Himeko was angry, and she replied in Japanese. To her surprise, Li Ming responded in Japanese, "Alright, the movie's over, and it's still early. What should we do now?"

"Huh?" Himeko's eyes widened. "You know Japanese?"

"Shouldn't I?" Li Ming looked confused. Himeko's words seemed to spark something in him, and he suddenly grinned. "Arigato, Mei Yangyang-san!"

Himeko frowned. Li Ming's Japanese before was quite standard, but now it sounded a bit rustic. Also, who was Mei Yangyang-san? Li Ming chuckled, "It's a slang phrase. My teacher once said to answer with 'You idiot, baka yarou' like Fei Yangyang."

Hearing this, Himeko immediately understood that Li Ming was teasing her. Seeing Li Ming grinning so hard that it looked like he had opened a third eye, Himeko raised her hand and slapped him. "Li Ming, you baka yarou!"

However, Himeko's gentle slap couldn't possibly hit Li Ming. Li Ming simply jumped up to dodge and ran out of the screening room. Himeko chased after him. The people around them showed amused, aunt-like smiles, mistaking their actions for playful bickering between a young couple.

Himeko chased Li Ming out of the cinema. After finally catching up to him, Himeko gave Li Ming a hard slap on his back.

Bang!

An explosion echoed through the entire street. Suddenly, a nearby building exploded. Li Ming turned his head to look at Himeko helplessly. Himeko was now extremely flustered. "No, I didn't do that! It has nothing to do with me..."

The sudden turn of events startled Himeko into incoherence, especially with Li Ming looking at her. She felt a sense of guilt.

"Who said it had something to do with you? I just wanted to say we should run," Li Ming said, looking at the silly girl with a hint of helplessness. Himeko then realized what he meant and was pulled by Li Ming into an alley, where they hid behind trash cans.

The street was filled with smoke and dust, and buildings collapsed. The smoke and dust instantly covered the entire block, and people screamed and fled.

The once lively and orderly street suddenly descended into chaos. Local security vehicles in California appeared sporadically, but when they fired their weapons, it only agitated the panicked crowd.

Some people, overwhelmed by fear, even drew their guns and aimed at the security personnel, further escalating the chaos. Although the security forces' primary target was the person who caused the building to collapse, they wouldn't hesitate to act if they felt anyone posed a threat to them.

Li Ming, hiding behind the trash cans with Himeko, felt speechless. "Is this the 'happy every day' America? I can feel the intense atmosphere!"

Meanwhile, Mint Candy, floating in the air, looked down at the suddenly collapsing building with confusion. "Such dense Honkai Energy. No, I have to tell Ryusuke."

A wormhole flashed and Mint Candy disappeared into the air.

After the guards temporarily stabilized the street, a blue-haired man holding a black sphere appeared on the ruins of the building, his azure eyes devoid of any emotion.

When the man appeared, Li Ming's heart sank. He no longer cared about propriety between men and women, hoisted Himeko onto his shoulder, and ran.

Before Himeko could react, she saw Li Ming leap off the wall several times, scaling to the top floor. However, upon a glance, she realized it was only four stories high. After some thought, she still felt it wasn't safe. She scanned her surroundings and, thankfully, found a storage room on the top floor. He then took Himeko and hid inside. "Hey, Li Ming, you bastard, what are you doing, you..."

Suddenly brought here by Li Ming, Himeko was more panicked than usual. This panic intensified when she realized Li Ming wasn't an ordinary person, as she felt she couldn't stop him at all.

"Sorry, Himeko, it's very dangerous outside right now. Let's hide here for a bit." After putting Himeko down, Li Ming leaned against the doorframe, listening to the sounds outside. Suddenly, he felt a surge of Honkai Energy sweep through the area, and Li Ming's heart skipped a beat.

He quickly ran out. Himeko, leaning against the wall, hadn't caught her breath yet. Li Ming peered over the railing and saw that the dense Honkai Energy covered at least the entire city block. Some who were already injured and had weak willpower were being eroded by the Honkai Energy, and some were even beginning to transform into Mantis.

Of course, there were also those who couldn't withstand the erosion of the Honkai Energy and simply turned to dust.

Li Ming frowned. He never expected that just by coming out to watch a movie with Himeko, he would encounter a bootleg Boss Yang again. Could it be that Boss Yang and I are destined to clash? Otherwise, why would a bootleg Boss Yang appear every time there's a major incident?

Li Ming secretly made up his mind. From now on, he would skip Welt Yang's classes whenever possible, and if he couldn't, he'd find another way. Otherwise, Li Ming was afraid that while he was researching in the laboratory, a bootleg Old Yang would suddenly walk in and say to him, "Today, I'm taking her away. Let's see who dares to stop me."

However, these were just Li Ming's personal thoughts.