Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

Noldrei stared silently at the 'young man' before him.

He looked up and asked, "Has his family been notified? You should at least ask for their opinion, you know."

'You son of a bitch, you didn't ask for our families' opinions when you did this to us!'

Everyone internally roasted Noldrei for his redundant question.

As if he already knew what they were thinking, Noldrei said without a care in the world, "You call those family? Get a grip. Your families aren't even as good to you as I am!"

Bronya felt the jab was aimed squarely at her. She'd remember this. She had never been on the receiving end of such a direct verbal assault in her entire life.

"I've notified his sister. His parents... their damn company wouldn't give them time off."

Noldrei's eyes widened. "They won't even give them leave for this?! Have bosses on the outside become this inhuman?" he asked in astonishment.

"..." Bronya was speechless. She was only beginning to understand the life of a corporate drone.

"What about Tesla?"

"She's creating the synthetic fibers for his new body. She's holed up in her lab and has no intention of coming out. It seems she's taken a liking to the toughness of Honkai Beast bodies and wants to find some inspiration related to the Honkai ICHOR Factor."

Noldrei nodded, looking at the "Hikigaya Hachiman" swimming happily in the nutrient tank. He was genuinely gratified that another person had shed their cruel human flesh and joined the grand army of evolution.

"Is his genetic information still preserved?"

"We collected it when he joined the team."

"Good. I'll restore his reproductive ability and build him a strong composite-material shenlong. Considering he's still technically a carbon-based lifeform, we'll use carbon fiber technology for now. We just need to redefine the genetic information he wants to pass down. Help him screen for superior genes."

Noldrei was actually quite considerate. Although he was turning the boy into a new generation of RoboCop, he didn't castrate him like in the movies. He even thoughtfully used his technical prowess to restore the original functionality.

Bronya really didn't know what to say. She instinctively felt she should avoid this topic, but then she started pondering the crucial question of whether a RoboCop even needed a reproductive system.

"A combination of biomechanics, then using some Honkai Beast life-organs to facilitate communication between the two. Aside from the higher energy consumption, it's a relatively advanced mobile system architecture. An antique from tens of thousands of years ago, I suppose."

"You know about this stuff too? I thought you were only interested in genetic modification!" Bronya looked at Noldrei in surprise, suspecting he had only ever wanted to work on genetic engineering projects from the start.

"Of course I know about it. It's just that this stuff is completely unnecessary. Eventually, we'll definitely move beyond what people currently understand as an organic life-form architecture." Noldrei thought for a moment and added, "Tesla didn't think of modifying this boy right away. I think she's still holding back a bit, even though she's so skilled at modifying herself."

Bronya explained, "Dr. Tesla can only turn into a goat right now. She can't do anything else. The abilities she uses most often still rely on the power that comes with being a Herrscher. Her own control over genetics is actually much weaker."

He didn't press the matter further.

As if a thought just occurred to him, Noldrei gave another order, "Once he recovers, arrange a commendation ceremony for him within the Security Patrol. Then, spread his heroic deeds far and wide through the news. Say he fought the villain for hundreds of rounds and nearly died in the line of duty to protect the lives and property of Academy City's citizens."

"Emphasize that we used our latest technology to transform him into a super-powerful combat form. RoboCop, Bionic Warrior, whatever you want to call it. The goal is to promote him personally. Say the materials on his body were meticulously crafted by Dr. Tesla. Not even a dump truck could send him to an isekai now; it'd be the dump truck driver getting isekai'd!"

Bronya had always thought Noldrei was a master fisherman, and now, wasn't he starting his grand fishing expedition?

Clearly, his goal was to use this publicity to see if anyone else would come after Hikigaya Hachiman.

It didn't matter if they couldn't find him. As long as the news was out, some people would definitely make a move.

You could say he was inhuman, but the guy was unusually good to his subordinates. But if you said he was human, he never gave any humane orders.

Bronya was worried this would alert the enemy. What if it brought chaos to Academy City?

"Bronya knows you want to see who will jump out, but won't this make it seem like a major terrorist attack has occurred in Academy City?"

Noldrei suspected Bronya had misunderstood something.

Gunned down a member of His Majesty the Emperor's Security Patrol in broad daylight—was that not a terrorist attack?

"So, are you doing it or not?"

"I'll do it! Bronya will definitely do it! Isn't it just giving him an award, a promotion, and a raise? A small thing like that won't affect Bronya's gaming time!" Bronya immediately supported Noldrei's idea, though she felt sorry for the unlucky guy getting a promotion and a raise this way.

"Right, one more thing," Bronya said, as if she had just remembered. "Nakamura Shin, the leader of that Holy Mother cult, also died. I don't know what he knew to deserve this. He was also killed by a Honkai radiation bullet."

"What's going on? How did Academy City become like this?" His Majesty the Emperor exclaimed in astonishment.

If they were killing each other because of the conflicts he had deliberately instigated, that would be one thing. But this was a random, inexplicable assassination.

If you were going to target a powerful figure, like Herrscher Tesla, fine. But to go after a mere Security Trainee... that was just classless.

Noldrei felt he had to give the young man a chance for revenge. Letting the struggle continue endlessly was the essence of repro-colonialism.

"Is the Kengan Tournament Arena not working? Or does someone want to specifically destroy the new social environment I've created?"

"This kind of gangster who indulges in private battles must be dealt with severely!"

---||---

At the same time, an official announcement from the Academy City Security Patrol was released.

The notice was sent via a pop-up message to every communication device in Academy City.

Shirogane Miyuki had just finished processing the registration for a transgender person when he saw a familiar name on the announcement.

[...Near the Konan District Post Office... a vicious shooting targeting a Security Trainee occurred...]

[...Hikigaya Hachiman... cardiopulmonary death confirmed...]

[The case is currently under further investigation.]

He put down his phone, rubbed his eyes, and reread the name on the announcement. Only then did he confirm that his bro had GG'd first.

"He's... just gone?"

Shirogane Miyuki was in a daze. He found it incredibly hard to accept.