Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

Having just returned from the brink of death, Hikigaya Hachiman was immediately hit by the harsh reality.

"What?! My parents quit their jobs to come see me?!"

Hachiman almost GG'd a second time, nearly spitting out the last few ounces of brain matter he had left.

This was bad. The whole family now relied on him to provide. His meager school salary wasn't even enough to support himself, especially with his boss Bronya even trying to implement some kind of volunteer police system.

This explosive news didn't make Hikigaya Hachiman happy at all. In fact, he felt his family had chosen a dead-end path.

How could they come to Academy City? This was the demon's den of the Far East!

He, a perfectly normal person, had been turned into a giant brain that could scale walls and vault over eaves. If Academy City didn't have some crazy stuff going on, that would be a real joke.

Who would throw their beloved sister into a place like this?

"You were in such a big accident. Isn't it only natural to notify your family?"

Noldrei's explanation seemed reasonable, but having his family see him in such a pathetic state, Hikigaya Hachiman felt it would have been better not to notify them at all.

Also, why quit their jobs so suddenly? Hikigaya Hachiman didn't think his status at home was that high before.

'Komachi, oh, Komachi, you've come to the wrong place!'

Hachiman's heart ached. He was terrified that Komachi would also learn something she shouldn't know here.

"Don't you worry! I've already processed your promotion and raise. Soon, you'll be one of the ten most touching figures of the Nagazora Empire."

Noldrei was very gratified. He felt that this kind of medal should be awarded to people who actively participated in evolution.

"Where did you plagiarize that award from?! Can't you just give me some money on the down-low?" Hikigaya Hachiman felt he was better suited to lying low. Otherwise, he'd be dragged to his death by these bastards sooner or later.

"I remember you had a thing with Nakamura Shin. His luck wasn't as good as yours. He's dead..." Noldrei asked with some curiosity, "Did you two have some secret deal? He died from the same thing as you. It was probably a targeted assassination against you people."

Hikigaya Hachiman fell silent. He wanted to know why too.

If he knew the reason, would he still have been shot in the back?

"The person who attacked you was probably something like a robot, and it could also control Honkai Energy. The surveillance around the crime scene was destroyed. Tesla followed the molecular trail but couldn't find a trace."

The more Noldrei spoke, the more Hachiman broke out in a cold sweat.

No, wait, he didn't have sweat glands or a back right now.

"I don't know. Shouldn't this be a question for you top brass who control Academy City?"

There was an uncontrollable resentment in Hachiman's voice, but Noldrei didn't care about it.

"You're really unlucky. It's rare to see someone so unlucky. But your luck is also pretty good. You managed to run into me when you were down on your luck."

Noldrei considered himself to have a lucky constitution. Otherwise, he wouldn't have arranged to save the other person's life by accident.

'You're right about everything...'

Hikigaya Hachiman's head was bubbling in the nutrient tank, probably from the red-hot steam of his anger.

"You two, stop talking! I spent a great deal of effort piecing together this new body. What do you think?!"

Tesla pushed out the new mechanical body she had prepared, as if showing off her merits.

She said proudly, "Muscles, blood vessels, activated Honkai ICHOR factors, and all sorts of special organs are all included. It's enough to support his less-than-dual-core brain. I even integrated the Kaslana Stigma Battlesuit into it. If he can pass the fourth stage, he will unlock this body's ultimate ability."

"I even incorporated the Honkai Beast genes of Benares, borrowing its lightning and fire abilities to give this body extremely excellent recovery capabilities. So, how does it compare to the bodies of you future people?"

Tesla tilted her chin up smugly, as if to say, "I can do it easily if I want to."

Noldrei looked the new body up and down and said with understanding, "So it's a similar production method to the living Stigmata. I didn't expect you to have made such progress in this area. First, you create the living body completely, then you replace the fragile body structures with fiber-composite metal materials. Impressive. I didn't expect you to have such skill in such a short time... It's just..."

"Why didn't you make a shenlong? Wouldn't he become asexual then? Didn't you say people in this era discriminate against such people?"

Tesla's face turned slightly red. She explained in a low voice, "I, I haven't seen one before. Mainly... ahem, I originally tried to make one, but I accidentally made a tentacle, so I couldn't bring myself to install it on him."

Splat.

Hikigaya Hachiman's two eyes were pressed against the glass of the container. Did he just hear these two discussing adding something new to his new body?

He wailed, "Don't refuse to restore that important part for such a reason! Dr. Tesla, I'm begging you! Even a silicone fake would be fine!"

Noldrei was instantly furious.

What kind of nonsense was Hikigaya Hachiman spouting! Was he, the Emperor, the kind of tyrant who disregarded the needs of his subordinates?

"Insolence! What are you saying! How could I possibly ignore the needs of my subordinates? If I can give you the best, I will absolutely not give you anything less!"

"Look, I've already prepared it for you. Considering the boring special hobbies of your era, I'll let you develop its other functions yourself!"

Tesla felt her face flush. She felt this was not a good time for her to stay.

She had never been this embarrassed even when telling dirty jokes with Einstein while drunk. How could Noldrei say such things so naturally?

People from the future were terrifying.

Hikigaya Hachiman was the one who was truly terrified. He had no idea what Noldrei was planning to do to his new body.

He begged, "Please, don't make this thing in front of me. I don't want to see how it's born."

But Noldrei had already reached into the new body. He pulled out a small elephant from it as if kneading clay.

Hikigaya Hachiman repeatedly told himself not to look, not to look, but his eyes couldn't move away.

The more he told himself not to, the more he wanted to see how it was born.

In Noldrei's hands, as if he were God creating a human body, a new little elephant with a rubbery texture and fiber-composite material was created.

Noldrei was very satisfied with his work. He even said to Hikigaya Hachiman, "Young man, remember to wear sturdy pants in the future. I've restored your neural sensory regulation. It should perfectly match the pursuit of the original paternal lineage."

He looked like a salesman explaining the instruction manual to his customer.

Tesla watched this scene in shock. She immediately looked at Big Brain Hachiman to see his reaction.

The big brain was bubbling with hot steam in the nutrient tank, floating up and down without moving.

She exclaimed in surprise, "He fainted! He fainted! You can even pass out with just a brain! You can even pass out with your eyes open because you don't have eyelids to close them!"