Chapter 93
In its early days, the orphanage somehow secured a sum of money, but in the following years, funding came intermittently, barely enough to keep the orphanage afloat.
The Snow Off-road Vehicle came to a smooth stop at the entrance of the orphanage.
After the maid left the driver's seat and opened the door for K422, the Propaganda Department staff also got out of the cars behind.
Meanwhile, Cocolia, the head of the orphanage, was at the door to greet her.
K422 had no idea what complex emotions Cocolia was feeling as she smiled at him.
That wretched Welt!!
That wretched Gray Serpent!!
Cocolia cursed the two men in her mind and even gave them the middle finger.
She also watched the Schicksal Saintess's live stream.
Welt warned her not to act rashly, but she dared not move! Absolutely! You try moving!
Gray Serpent went even further, actually ordering her to obtain the DNA of the Schicksal Saintess.
Cocolia was completely stunned when she received the order.
"Welcome to Cocolia Orphanage, Lady Kiana Apocalypse."
Cocolia's eyes twitched slightly, and her smile became somewhat stiff.
As a former soldier, she could naturally tell from such a distance that the other person's weight was abnormal.
Judging from the live stream, the opponent was able to manipulate Honkai Energy to fight, but in reality, Cocolia thought the opponent might be more skilled in close combat.
It's important to know that in close combat, physical fitness and weight greatly affect the amount of power you can generate.
Speed depends on muscle explosiveness and body coordination and agility, while strength depends on muscle explosiveness, overall muscle coordination, and one's own weight, because human muscles are generally matched to one's own weight.
The person's weight is abnormal.
Cocolia could only estimate that the weight of at least two adults had been compressed into the body of this nine-year-old girl.
A punch with that kind of weight... could probably knock over a tank with a single blow.
Cocolia seemed to see the scene where enemies who believed the Schicksal Saintess's weakness was close-range combat were being crushed one by one with a single punch.
She instinctively tensed up her whole body.
"Hmm? Ms. Cocolia, you seem very nervous?"
K422 naturally noticed Cocolia's wary expression.
"Ah, that... Lady Kiana Apocalypse ..."
"Just call me Kiana, Ms. Cocolia. There's no need to be so nervous. Although I am the second in line to succeed the Grand Bishop of Schicksal and live in Schicksal Headquarters, you can treat me like an ordinary person."
K422 answered with a smile.
However, Cocolia broke out in a cold sweat.
With such a terrifying backing, how could they possibly treat you like an ordinary person?
"Well... Kiana, my nervousness is just a habit from my time as a former soldier. After all, I can sense Kiana's power."
K422 couldn't help but feel curious when she heard Cocolia praise her.
"I heard you left the military after the Second Eruption War, and it's been six or seven years now, but your skills don't seem to have declined at all..."
"I exercise regularly. Kiana has no idea how hard it is for an older woman like me. If I'm not careful, I gain weight. To maintain my current figure, I exercise for an extra three hours every day."
Cocolia started talking nonsense.
Of course, her reasons for making things up were also convincing.
Almost everyone who saw Cocolia, whether it was K422, the maid, or the Propaganda Department staff accompanying K422, subconsciously focused their gaze on the most magnificent part of Cocolia's body.
What defines a mature woman?
That's it!
What does it mean to have a curvy figure?
That's it!
What is the World Cup?
That's it!
"Okay, I can understand that."
Cocolia had the most outstanding figure of any woman he had ever seen, and of course, she was also the only older woman he had ever met.
K422 felt that among the people he knew, only Himeko looked like that.
Cocolia immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Her reason for exercising wasn't to maintain her figure, although of course, figure is indeed important, but mainly to prevent assassination.
Even as a former soldier, she still collected a considerable amount of information about corruption within the Russian military.
There were countless people who wanted to assassinate her.
Can I visit the orphanage?
"Ah, of course, please..."
Cocolia naturally received a call from the mayor, saying that the Schicksal intended to donate a large sum of money to her orphanage as a form of charity.
Cocolia never expected that even though she kept a low profile, she would still be targeted.
After all, part of the funds provided by Anti-Entropy and World Serpent were to be used for experiments, and part of them were to be used to maintain the orphanage, pretending to be sponsorships from kind-hearted people.
However, Cocolia she disguised it as being poorly managed.
This way, her orphanage wouldn't be targeted by greedy businessmen, politicians, or mercenaries, and she could use the excuse of attracting investment to travel around without arousing suspicion.
She almost created a story for herself about having a sexual encounter with a wealthy businessman to raise funds for the orphanage. Of course, the businessman was played by her subordinate, and it was impossible for them to actually have a sexual encounter.
This is a persona, you understand?
A former soldier, after leaving the military, even resorted to selling his body to run an orphanage.
But before her plan could be implemented, the Schicksal Saintess came to invest in the orphanage, Cocolia feel like she was choking on blood.
The Schicksal Saintess already attracted attention; not only were the various branches of Schicksal focused on her, but countries that wanted to form their own anti- Honkai forces were also certainly coveting the Schicksal Saintess's DNA profile.
Cocolia felt that her orphanage was unlikely to be peaceful any longer.
K422, upon entering the orphanage, naturally noticed the few little girls in Cocolia Orphanage who had not yet been adopted.
A little girl with short, shoulder-length black hair tinged with blue, a little boy with pink hair on the left and purple hair on the right, and a pair of shark teeth, oh, he also seems to be a little girl... and then there are two sisters who look very similar, with long hair in blue and pink respectively.
Then there were some little girls with black, blonde, and apricot hair; after all, their hair colors weren't very vibrant, so they didn't look very distinctive.
"... There are still more than a dozen left."
"Yes, because many children have already been adopted."
Cocolia did not lead K422 toward the group of children, but instead showed her around the main facilities of the orphanage.
K422 toured the only buildings in the orphanage and got a general idea of how the Cocolia Orphanage was run.
Orphanages like these are not supposed to be profitable.
Moreover, Cocolia's resume already details how hard she worked to raise these children.
Charity activities are originally the responsibility of the Propaganda Department, so K422 naturally had no intention of interfering. The Propaganda Department also began its investigation, mainly to check whether there were any safety hazards in the orphanage's current facilities. Part of the first batch of charity funds is expected to be used for new facilities at the orphanage.
Cocolia watched as the Propaganda Department staff inspected everything with their tools, and it was impossible not to be worried.
The funds from Anti-Entropy Aid and World Serpent were used to build a secret research lab in the basement of the orphanage. If that place is discovered, I might be doomed today.
Fortunately, the passage leading to the underground was well hidden, and the Propaganda Department people did not search her room.
After all, it was just an inspection of the living facilities used by the children in the orphanage. For example, the slide that Cocolia made herself in the activity room was inspected three times, for fear that such a homemade slide might cause problems and harm to the children in the orphanage.
Safety!
Seeing the people from the Schicksal Propaganda Department withdraw from the vicinity of the hidden passage, looking as if they hadn't discovered anything, Cocolia's lips instinctively curled into a smile.
"..."
As K422 walked across the grass outside the orphanage, his eyebrows suddenly rose, and his gaze fell upon the unremarkable lawn, as if he had pierced through the thick grass and discovered something.
"Oh."
After confirming that his senses were correct, K422 discovered that there was something wrong with the orphanage.
And it's a big problem.
She didn't believe that an ordinary orphanage would have such a large amount of Honkai Energy underground.
Whether the Honkai Energy was used to power research equipment or was used as a research subject, it proves that this orphanage is not as simple as it seems.
"Kiana?"
Cocolia didn't know why K422 was smiling at her.
His smile even carried a hint of sarcasm.
"Ms. Cocolia, those children of yours who were taken away by adopters, were they really taken away by the adopters? Or... due to some unspeakable accident, you can only say that they were adopted?"
As K422's voice grew colder, Cocolia a chill run through her body.
She didn't understand why she had been exposed.
K422 had read the information the Propaganda Department had given her, and naturally, she had a good impression of this former female officer who was full of a sense of justice.
A patriotic young woman who took her superior to a military court to report him for stealing military supplies is now secretly researching Honkai Energy.
K422 doesn't think that all people who research Honkai Energy are bad people.
However, the number of children in the orphanage continued to decrease, while the person in charge was secretly researching Honkai Energy.
This inevitably brings to mind the K422.
Human experimentation was naturally the project she abhorred the most.
"...Give me a reason not to kill you on the spot." K422 clenched his fist, exuding full power.
"Kiana, those children have indeed been adopted." Cocolia's voice trembled, her legs shook uncontrollably, and she finally knelt down.
She realized she had underestimated how terrifying K422 was.
He immediately cursed Welt and Gray Serpent several times in his mind.
Gray Serpent, in particular, has now become the main target of her angry outbursts.
How could she possibly extract DNA from someone who could make her kneel down with just the oppressive aura they exuded? This is no way to court death!
100. Don't you know I can't look it up myself?
On the grass in the orphanage's front yard, Cocolia's children were still playing. One child stretched out her arms as a protector, while the other children hid behind her. The two ghosts had to get around each other to catch the children behind them.
Amidst the laughter, several girls naturally noticed the sudden incident not far away.
Upon seeing their mother, Cocolia, suddenly kneel down, the girls immediately rushed over anxiously.
However, K422 looked at Cocolia with a half-smile.
"So, you're saying those children were really adopted, and not because they were used for some kind of human experimentation?"
"Kiana, I don't understand what you're saying."
"Don't understand? It's very simple to make it clear..."
K422 narrowed his eyes and smiled.
She brought the box containing the Black Abyss White Flower to the car when she arrived, but K422 wasn't worried that anyone could steal the Black Abyss White Flower.
Her maid is still guarding the carriage. The shotgun under the maid's skirt is quite frightening. The unique Honkai Energy of the Black Abyss White Flower has always been within her perception range. K422 doesn't think anyone can take the Black Abyss White Flower away from her right under her nose without her noticing.
Ever since I learned that my mother Cecilia's consciousness was dormant in the core of the Black Abyss White Flower.
K422 could no longer use the Black Abyss White Flower as a weapon and had to carry it with her almost everywhere she went.
This time, however, she needs to rely on the power of the Black Abyss White Flower.
"Liv, the box."