Shrike Squad

Sheng Jiu quickly finished the instant noodles in his bowl. He put down his chopsticks and quietly watched Kiana, who was sipping her noodles across from him.

"Wh-what are you looking at?"

"Nothing, can't I look at you a few more times because you're pretty?" Sheng Jiu chuckled, stirring the cocoa in his mug.

Kiana lowered her head, a blush creeping across her cheeks. "...Pervert..."

Sheng Jiu grinned cheekily and didn't argue.

After the meal, Sheng Jiu stood up, intending to take the empty bowls from the table. Kiana reached out and stopped him. "Go on, go play. I'll wash them for you!"

"Really? Our young lady actually does chores?" Sheng Jiu exaggeratedly pinched his chin, pretending to ponder. "These bowls aren't anti-personnel mines, they're fragile, you know."

"Get lost!" A dishcloth flew over, and Sheng Jiu caught it. "I'm a very virtuous woman!"

And so, Sheng Jiu lounged leisurely on the sofa, amusedly watching Kiana clumsily wash the used tableware in the kitchen. A strange feeling welled up inside him...

A short while later, Kiana finished tidying the bowls and chopsticks and bid Sheng Jiu farewell. "Big dummy, I'm leaving now. Thanks for the meal~"

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

"What else? I'll have to sleep in a field!" Kiana shot Sheng Jiu an annoyed glance.

"If you really have nowhere else to go, you can sleep in my dorm for the night," Sheng Jiu blurted out, not considering for a moment that his words might be misunderstood.

"What, are you trying to take advantage of me? No way! I already have Yae Sakura in my heart!" Kiana crossed her arms and took two steps back, feigning fear.

"?" Sheng Jiu looked at Kiana as if she were an idiot. "If I wanted to take advantage of you, why wouldn't I just slip a sleeping drug into your noodles and then take my fill once you passed out?"

"Going back this late, who do you expect to wake up to open the door for you? Yae Sakura or Bronya?"

Kiana stared at Sheng Jiu with extreme distrust for a long time before slowly asking, "Are there two beds here?"

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

"I'll sleep upstairs?"

"Either is fine."

"Do you have pajamas and a bathrobe?"

"If you want to shower, go ahead. I won't peek."

Kiana backed into the bathroom and then slammed the door shut. "I'll go wash up then!"

"I've put the towels, bathrobe, and pajamas by the door for you," Sheng Jiu said, holding the toiletries as he walked to the bathroom door and placed them down before returning to the living room.

Listening to the sound of water from the bathroom, Sheng Jiu felt a strange restlessness.

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

Sheng Jiu dialed Theresa's number and informed her about Kiana staying over.

"You're not planning on taking advantage of Kiana, are you?"

"Why is everyone saying that? I can't take it anymore!" Sheng Jiu exclaimed frantically into the phone, "I'm a gentleman, how could I do something like that?!"

"Calm down, calm down, I was just joking," Theresa quickly changed her tune when she saw that Sheng Jiu seemed genuinely tempted to storm into the Headmaster's office and drag her out. "I believe you. If you really wanted to take advantage of Kiana, you wouldn't have called me specifically. So, I'm entrusting Kiana to you. I have things to do, so I'll hang up now..."

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

"Shall I go upstairs then?" Kiana pointed.

"Mm, get some rest early." 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... thank you," Kiana said with a hint of shyness on her face.

Sheng Jiu smiled. "It's nothing. Goodnight."

After washing up, he turned off the lights and lay down on the sofa bed, but he couldn't fall asleep.

In the bedroom upstairs, Kiana was also tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

She thought about everything that had happened today, a feeling she couldn't quite describe welling up inside her. Hate, hate, what's wrong with me! Kiana huffed, patting the Hovos plushie beside her.

The night passed without incident. Sheng Jiu closed his eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep.

In the morning, Sheng Jiu was woken up on time by his alarm. He yawned, got up, washed up, and then headed to the training room for his morning exercises.

After completing a hundred hanging crunches and a hundred push-ups, Sheng Jiu wiped the sweat from his brow and took a hot shower. Compared to when he first joined St. Freya Academy, Sheng Jiu's physical fitness had improved by leaps and bounds. He had developed a strong, muscular physique.

Sheng Jiu walked out of the bathroom wearing a tank top and ran right into Kiana.

Kiana's first reaction was to immediately cover her eyes. "Ahhhhhhh, a pervert! (?_?)"

"No, big sis, take a closer look..."

Hearing this, Kiana slowly moved her hands away, finally noticing Sheng Jiu's tank top. "What the heck, you were wearing clothes..."

"(???.???)? ??? Can you not say something so embarrassing with such a mood-killing tone, hey!"

"Never mind, let's not talk about that." Sheng Jiu coughed lightly. "Why are you up so early today? Yae Sakura used to say you wouldn't get up before lunch."

"No way! I'm a very hardworking person, okay!" Kiana retorted defensively, but the rumbling in her stomach interrupted her weak protest.

Kiana blushed, "Okay, that..."

"Understood, go sit at the table obediently, breakfast will be ready soon!"

"Hooray!" Without Sheng Jiu needing to remind her, Kiana was already sitting obediently in her chair, holding a knife and fork.

Sheng Jiu quickly fried two eggs and served them with toasted bread and bacon: "Here, should I say 'Miss, please eat'?"

"Get lost!" Kiana speared a sandwich and shoved it into her mouth: "Delicious! So delicious!"

"Eat slowly, don't choke. Have some milk, no one's going to snatch it from you!" Sheng Jiu unceremoniously pushed the warm milk towards Kiana.

"The girl who marries you in the future must live a very happy life, right?" Kiana suddenly blurted out.

Sheng Jiu's hand froze as he lifted his coffee cup, but he quickly regained his composure. He smiled and took a sip of coffee: "Who knows..." A hint of loneliness flashed in his eyes, imperceptible to others. He ultimately didn't ask the question he wanted to.

After the meal, Sheng Jiu accompanied Kiana back to the girls' dormitory. As they passed the hangar, Sheng Jiu was captivated by something inside.

"Wait for me for a bit, okay? I want to go take a look."

"Let's go, let's go, this young lady also wants to see."

The two walked to the hangar and found Yae Sakura, Bronya, and Himeko already there.

"Yo, you guys are here~" Yae Sakura giggled, covering her mouth as she looked at Kiana.

Kiana and Sheng Jiu exchanged a strange glance: "Is there something on our faces?"

"No, right?" Kiana was equally confused.

"Did you guys sleep well last night?"

"Very well, why?"

Yae Sakura stared at them with a very peculiar look: "Didn't anything happen between you two?"

Kiana's face instantly turned red. She pounced on Yae Sakura and tickled her: "Stop it, Yae Sakura! We didn't do anything!"

"Alright, alright, I was just kidding," Yae Sakura smiled and wiped away some crumbs from Kiana's mouth: "I know Sheng Jiu was worried about you coming back so late and kindly let you stay over. Thank you, Sheng Jiu."

"No, no, it's a small matter." Sheng Jiu chuckled and wiped the sweat from his forehead, then turned to the dozen or so assembled mechs in front of him: "What are these? I remember these mechs don't look like the ones I saw at Headquarters?"

"Heh heh, that's right," Himeko snapped her fingers confidently. The mechs in front of them all raised their heads simultaneously, their head-mounted monitors flashing blue: "These are our Far East Branch's exclusive mech unit – the Shrike Squad! All their configurations are far superior to those scrubs at Schicksal Headquarters!"

"Come, come, let me introduce you. The Shrike Squad has 24 models. As for why there are four more than when the initial supplies arrived from Headquarters, it's because our own Research Department has figured out the structure of these things and has the capability to mass-produce them!"

Himeko pointed to the six pure white mechs in the front row, equipped with thick armor and a massive blast shield: "These are the Heavy Assault Shrikes. These darlings can withstand the charging attacks of all Honkai Beasts below Emperor-class. See the armor on them? It's not for show! The protection of one Heavy Assault unit is far greater than that of a main battle tank. And this compressed blast shield, they can even withstand one Emperor-class Honkai Beast's charge!"

"And these," the group moved towards the second row of mechs with exaggeratedly large wings, painted in a mix of sky blue and black: "These are the Aerial Combat Types. They will be equipped on the Hyperion as carrier-based aircraft. The sky is their domain, their maximum speed reaches Mach 2.7, capable of catching up to most human aerial vehicles. These 10.8 caliber electromagnetic cannons are their primary combat weapons, capable of piercing the skull of a Tank-type Honkai Beast in one shot!"

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

"...That depends on the terrain and environment of the mission. Although their performance is indeed superior to most reserve Valkyries, considering the current funds of the Far East Branch... the problem shouldn't be too big!"

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

Himeko glanced at Sheng Jiu: "Alright, alright, I know you're thinking about your armor. Follow me."

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

Himeko pointed to four bracelets on the table: "Here, try them on."

Sheng Jiu picked up a pure black bracelet first and put it on his left wrist: "Like this?"

Himeko grinned: "This is just the beginning~"

"Huh?" Sheng Jiu was confused. Suddenly, a strong tingling sensation spread from where he wore the bracelet throughout his body.

"Ouch, what is this? It's so itchy, I can't stand it!" Sheng Jiu reached out, trying to scratch the unbearable itch.

"Wait," Himeko stopped him: "It'll be over in a little while."

Kiana and the other two stared intently at Sheng Jiu, ready to provide emergency aid if anything abnormal happened.

Half a minute passed. The burning sensation on Sheng Jiu's body slowly subsided, and a mechanical prompt sounded from the bracelet: "Beep—System binding complete. Welcome to the 'Achilles' system, Mr. Sheng Jiu."

"Is that it?" After receiving Himeko's affirmative reply, Sheng Jiu began to fiddle with the bracelet. He tapped the LCD screen on the bracelet and clicked the "armorloading" button. One entry instantly caught his attention: Mustafa System.

"As I expected, the correct way to use this thing should be like this—" Sheng Jiu smirked and pressed the virtual button labeled "Mustafa."

Instantly, Sheng Jiu's clothes were covered by a white light. The white light, like soft silk, perfectly showcased Sheng Jiu's figure. Then, circles of light emerged from the white light, like brilliant gems, embedded on Sheng Jiu's body.

The halos quickly enveloped Sheng Jiu. In the blink of an eye, the white light and halos disappeared, and a set of black armor was already worn on Sheng Jiu's body.

"Hoo hoo, this is too cool!" a cold electronic voice emanated from the mask. Then, the helmet slowly retracted and disappeared into the armor plate on Sheng Jiu's chest. Sheng Jiu looked at the armor on himself with shining eyes: "Does this mean I already have the strength to rival an S-class Valkyrie?"

Himeko smiled and shook her head: "Go to sleep. This armor was rushed for you by the branch, so its functions are not yet perfect. Only the necessary equipment has been installed. Therefore, you will only have five minutes to use this armor on your next mission, and you cannot operate it beyond its limits."

"Damn! This is such a rip-off!" Sheng Jiu was on the verge of tears as he transformed back into his school uniform: "I thought I was going to soar, but it turns out it's just a trial version..."

"Ahem," Himeko cleared her throat and then addressed the remaining three: "In short, this is the purpose of the 'Achilles' system. By wearing this bracelet, you can load your owned armor at any time and any place. However, I recommend you remain stationary during the loading process. This system is still under development. If you try to change armor while moving, you might encounter position errors, causing your arm or leg to not be armored and remain exposed."

"Bronya thinks this is a very practical tool. The Headmaster has put a lot of thought into it." Bronya silently put the bracelet on her wrist.

"You guys should be happy," Himeko said with a smile, looking at the dejected Sheng Jiu: "When I was serving in the Valkyrie Vanguard, we didn't have such high-tech equipment. I had to put on all my armor piece by piece."