Shrike Squad

Sheng Jiu quickly finished the instant noodles in his bowl, set down his chopsticks, and quietly watched Kiana slurp up her noodles across from him.

"W-what... what are you looking at?"

"Nothing. I just think you're pretty, so I wanted to look at you a little longer. Is that a problem?" Sheng Jiu said with a smile, stirring the cocoa in his cup.

Kiana lowered her head, a faint blush crossing her cheeks. "...Pervert..."

Sheng Jiu grinned cheekily and didn't deny it.

After the meal, Sheng Jiu got up to take away the empty bowls on the table, but Kiana reached out to stop him. "Go on, go play. I'll wash them for you!"

"Seriously? Our young lady actually knows how to do this?" Sheng Jiu exaggeratedly pinched his chin, pretending to ponder. "These bowls aren't pressure-plate mines. They won't survive being dropped."

"Get lost!" A dishcloth flew at him, and Sheng Jiu caught it. "I'm very domesticated, you know!"

And so, Sheng Jiu lounged comfortably on the sofa, watching Kiana clumsily scrub the used dishes in the kitchen, an unfamiliar feeling welling up inside him...

A little while later, Kiana finished washing the dishes and said goodbye to Sheng Jiu. "You big dummy, I'm heading out. Thanks for the meal~"

"Oh? You're going back this late?" Sheng Jiu glanced at the clock in confusion. The hands pointed to two in the morning.

"What else am I supposed to do? Sleep outside?" Kiana shot Sheng Jiu an exasperated look.

"If you really can't get back, you can sleep in my dorm for the night," Sheng Jiu blurted out, without considering how his words might be misunderstood.

"What, are you trying to take advantage of me? No way! I've got Yae Sakura in my heart!" Kiana folded her arms over her chest and took two steps back, pretending to be afraid.

"?" Sheng Jiu looked at Kiana as if she were an idiot. "If I wanted to take advantage of you, why wouldn't I just put knockout drops in your instant noodles and wait until you passed out, so I could have a good look?"

"It's so late. Who do you expect to wake up and let you in? Yae Sakura or Bronya?"

Kiana stared at Sheng Jiu with extreme suspicion for a long time before slowly asking, "You have two beds here?"

Sheng Jiu pressed a button beside the sofa, and it instantly unfolded into a standard single bed. "There's another one upstairs."

"I sleep upstairs?"

"Either way is fine."

"Do you have pajamas, bathrobes?"

"If you want to take a shower, go ahead. I'm not going to peek."

Kiana backed into the bathroom, then shut the door with a bang. "Then I'll go shower first!"

"I left a towel, bathrobe, and pajamas by the door for you." Sheng Jiu carried the toiletries to the bathroom entrance, set them down, and returned to the living room.

Hearing the water running in the bathroom, Sheng Jiu felt strangely restless.

He shook his head, trying to push those odd thoughts out of his mind.

Sheng Jiu called Theresa and told her that Kiana would be staying over.

"You're not planning to take advantage of Kiana, are you?"

"Why does everyone keep saying that? I really can't take it anymore!" Sheng Jiu shouted frantically into the phone. "I'm a gentleman! How could I do something like that?!"

"Don't get worked up, don't get worked up. I was only joking," Theresa quickly backtracked when Sheng Jiu seemed about ready to storm into the principal's office and drag her out. "I believe you. If you really were planning to take advantage of Kiana, you wouldn't have gone out of your way to call me. Anyway, I'll leave Kiana in your hands. I've got something to do, so I'll hang up now..."

A little later, Kiana came out wearing Sheng Jiu's pajamas, her hair still damp and dripping.

"Then I'll head upstairs?" Kiana pointed.

"Mm. Get some rest."

Sheng Jiu turned to switch off the lights.

"Wait," Kiana called out to him.

Sheng Jiu turned back to look at her. "What is it?"

"Um... thanks." A trace of shyness showed on Kiana's face.

Sheng Jiu smiled. "It's nothing. Good night."

After washing up, he turned off the lights and lay down on the sofa bed, but no matter what, he couldn't fall asleep.

Upstairs, in the bedroom, Kiana was tossing and turning too.

She thought about everything that had happened that day, an indescribable feeling in her heart. I hate this, I hate this! What's wrong with me? Kiana angrily smacked the Homu cushion beside her.

The night passed quietly, and Sheng Jiu soon fell asleep.

In the morning, Sheng Jiu woke promptly to his alarm. He yawned, got up, washed, and then went to the training room for his morning exercises.

After doing a hundred inverted crunches and a hundred push-ups, Sheng Jiu wiped the sweat from his forehead and took a hot shower. Compared to when he'd first arrived at St. Freya Academy, his physical fitness had improved by more than just one level. He'd now built up a strong, muscular physique.

Sheng Jiu walked out of the bathroom in a tank top and ran straight into Kiana.

Kiana's first reaction was to cover her eyes. "Aaaah! There's a pervert! (?_?)"

"Come on, lady, take a closer look..."

At his words, Kiana slowly lowered her hands, only then noticing the tank top Sheng Jiu was wearing. "What? You're wearing clothes after all..."

"(???.???)??? Could you not say something so embarrassing in such a disappointing tone?!"

"Forget it, let's not talk about that." Sheng Jiu gave a light cough. "Why are you up so early today? Yae Sakura used to say you never got up before lunch."

"Not true! I'm a very hardworking person, okay?" Kiana protested, but the rumbling of her stomach cut off her feeble defense.

Kiana's face turned bright red. "All right, um..."

"Got it. Go sit at the table and wait. Breakfast will be ready soon!"

"Yay!" Kiana didn't wait for Sheng Jiu to remind her. She obediently sat in a chair, holding a knife and fork.

Sheng Jiu quickly fried two eggs and brought them to the table with some toasted bread and bacon. "There. Should I say, 'Please enjoy your meal, miss'?"

"Get out of here!" Kiana picked up a sandwich and shoved it into her mouth. "Delicious! It's so good!"

"Slow down, or you'll choke. Have some milk. Nobody's going to steal it from you!" Sheng Jiu pushed the hot milk toward Kiana with an exasperated look.

"Any girl who marries you will have a very happy life," Kiana suddenly remarked.

Sheng Jiu's hand froze as he lifted his coffee cup, but he quickly recovered and smiled as he took a sip. "Who knows..." A hint of loneliness flickered in his eyes, too subtle to notice. In the end, he still hadn't asked that question.

After breakfast, Sheng Jiu accompanied Kiana back to the girls' dormitory. When they passed the airfield, something inside caught Sheng Jiu's attention.

"Could you wait for me a bit? I want to take a look."

"Let's go, then. I want to see, too."

The two of them headed to the airfield, where they found Yae Sakura, Bronya, and Himeko as well.

"Well, look who's here~" Yae Sakura covered her mouth as she looked at Kiana with a teasing smile.

Kiana and Sheng Jiu exchanged puzzled glances. "Is there something on our faces?"

"Nothing, right?" Kiana was just as confused.

"Did you sleep well last night?"

"Yeah, we did. Why?"

Yae Sakura stared at them with a very strange look. "Did nothing happen between you two?"

Kiana's face turned bright red in an instant. She pounced on Yae Sakura and tickled her under the arms. "Oh, stop it, Yae Sakura! We didn't do anything!"

"All right, all right. I was only joking." Yae Sakura smiled and wiped the crumbs from Kiana's mouth. "I know Sheng Jiu was just worried something might happen to you on your way back so late, and kindly let you stay the night. Sorry to trouble you, Sheng Jiu."

"Not at all. It was no trouble." Sheng Jiu wiped the sweat from his forehead with an awkward smile, then turned to the dozen or so assembled mechs in front of them. "What are these? I remember the mechs I saw at headquarters looked a little different."

"Heh heh, that's right." Himeko confidently snapped her fingers. All the mechs in front of them raised their heads at once, blue lights flashing in their head-mounted cameras. "These are our Far East Branch's exclusive mech unit—the Shrike Squad! Their entire setup is far superior to that bunch of nobodies at Schicksal Headquarters!"

"Come on, I'll introduce them. The Shrike Squad has twenty-four units. As for why there are four more than when the initial supplies arrived from headquarters, that's because our own Research Department has figured out how these things are built and can mass-produce them!"

Himeko pointed to the six mechs at the front. They were pure white, with thick armor and enormous blast shields. "These are the Heavy Assault Shrikes. These beauties can withstand the impact of any Honkai Beast below Emperor-class. See the armor on them? It's no joke! A single Heavy Assault unit offers far better protection than a main battle tank. And with this compressed blast shield, they can even withstand one charge from an Emperor-class Honkai Beast!"

"And these..." Everyone walked over to the second row of mechs, painted in a mix of sky blue and black, with two absurdly large wings. "These are Aerial Combat Types. They'll be assigned to the Hyperion as carrier-based aircraft. The sky is their domain. Their top speed reaches Mach 2.7, fast enough to catch up with most human aircraft. These 10.8-caliber electromagnetic cannons are their main weapons, capable of punching straight through a Tank-type Honkai Beast's skull with a single shot!"

"Okay, Himeko, get to the point. Can we use these on our next mission?" Sheng Jiu interrupted Himeko, who was about to introduce the aquatic and ground-combat Shrikes, and got straight to the point.

"...That depends on the mission's terrain. Their performance is better than that of most reserve Valkyries, but considering the Far East Branch's current budget... it shouldn't be a problem!"

"So, about my God-Slayer Armor..."

Himeko shot Sheng Jiu a sidelong glance. "All right, all right. I know you've been thinking about your armor. Come with me."

Himeko led everyone into the Research Department building and into a small room.

Himeko pointed to the four wristbands on the table. "Here. Put them on and give them a try."

Sheng Jiu picked up a black wristband and fastened it around his left wrist. "Like this?"

Himeko's lips curled into a grin. "That's only the beginning~"

"Hm?" Sheng Jiu was confused when a strong tingling sensation suddenly spread from the spot where he wore the wristband, coursing through his whole body.

"Ow, what is this thing? It's so itchy, I can't stand it!" Sheng Jiu reached out, trying to scratch the itchy spots all over his body.

"Wait," Himeko stopped him. "It'll be over in a moment."

The other three watched Sheng Jiu without blinking, ready to administer first aid at the first sign that something was wrong.

Half a minute passed, and the burning sensation across Sheng Jiu's body slowly faded. The wristband chimed mechanically. "Beep—System binding complete. Welcome to the 'Achilles' system, Mr. Sheng Jiu."

"That's it?" After Himeko confirmed that it was, Sheng Jiu started fiddling with the wristband. He tapped its LCD screen and opened the "armorloading" button. One entry immediately caught his attention: Mustafa System.

"Just as I thought. The right way to use this thing should be—" Sheng Jiu pressed the virtual button labeled "Mustafa" with a mischievous grin.

In an instant, a white light enveloped Sheng Jiu's clothes. The light was as soft as silk, tracing the contours of his figure perfectly. Rings of light appeared within it, sparkling like jewels embedded in Sheng Jiu's body.

The rings quickly encircled Sheng Jiu. In the blink of an eye, the white light and rings vanished, and a suit of black armor had appeared on him.

"Whoa, this is so cool!" A cold electronic voice came from inside the helmet. Then the helmet slowly unfolded and retracted into the armor plate on the chest. Sheng Jiu's eyes shone as he examined the armor he was wearing. "Does this mean I've got the strength to match an S-rank Valkyrie now?"

Himeko smiled and shook her head. "Dream on. The Branch rushed this armor together for you, so its functions aren't fully developed yet. We've only installed some of the essential equipment. So, during your next mission, you'll only be able to use this armor for five minutes, and you can't push it beyond its limits."

"Damn! What a rip-off!" Sheng Jiu changed back into his school uniform, looking ready to cry. "I thought I was about to take off, but it turns out I've only got a trial version..."

"Ahem." Himeko cleared her throat, then turned to the other three. "Anyway, that's what the 'Achilles' system does. With these wristbands, you can load whatever armor you own at any place, at any time. But I recommend staying still while it loads. The system is still in development, and if you change armor while moving, a positioning error could leave an arm or leg outside the armor."

"Bronya thinks this is a very useful tool. The principal has been very thoughtful." Bronya quietly put the wristband on her wrist.

"You should be grateful," Himeko said with a smile, glancing at the glum Sheng Jiu. "Back when I served in the Valkyrie Vanguard, we didn't have any high-tech equipment like this. We had to put on every piece of armor ourselves, one by one."