Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

Theresa's fear of Noldrei was gradually fading. After he healed her tongue, the ageless loli had recovered her sense of smell and subsequently fallen in love with sweets.

As a result, she was easily bribed with any desserts Noldrei bought her.

With no pressing work today, Theresa had asked Noldrei to take her to the Kengan Association arena. She planned to open up a new avenue for her Valkyrie students, to make it easier for them to find jobs in the future.

Many Valkyries already participated in the Kengan Association on their own, some had even earned the title of Stage 3 Martial God.

"So this is the Stigma Battle suit system? Why are the points split into blue and red?"

Theresa was full of curiosity. She had never taken a close look at this place before.

"The blue points are bound, and the red ones are tradable. Point trading used to be rampant, so Bronya modified some of the facilities. Although some people still trade privately, it no longer affects the iteration of the Stigma Battle suit, so we let them be."

As Noldrei explained the changes to the point system, Theresa felt it looked vaguely familiar.

She clapped her hands in realization. "Isn't this just how currency is divided in video games? I never knew you could handle it like this. Bronya is so smart!"

It wasn't that Bronya was smart; she had just copied the idea directly, without a shred of innovation.

But it was surprisingly effective, which explained why this kind of currency division was so popular in online games.

Theresa then saw a special room in the Kengan Association. A large glass window displayed its contents: hands, feet, arthropod-like limbs, and even tentacles.

Theresa looked nervously at the unusual organs. "What... what are those?" she asked, a mix of curiosity and fear in her voice. "Those strange things floating in the nutrient solution."

Noldrei glanced over. "They're modular system tools for Stage 3 Stigma Battle suit and above, designed to enhance the Battle suit's operational efficiency. See those arms and legs? Don't they look a bit strange? They're for people who don't want to undergo direct body modification."

"As you know, Stigma Battle suit is essentially a living organism. It can link to a human's sensory and motor nerves, so theoretically, it can be fitted with external limbs and organs. They provide a significant boost in both combat and work."

"Only those who have passed the Stage 3 Stigma Battle suit trial have access to this."

Theresa was amazed. She never thought they'd sell in-game-style equipment upgrades. It was a classic video game system.

Don't let her small size fool you; Theresa's mind was quite sharp. She immediately said, "This must be Bronya's idea too, right?"

"Indeed. Bronya seems to have a special talent for earning points this way... She's become so depraved, doing nothing all day but thinking about video-chatting naked with Seele."

Theresa felt like she'd just heard something she shouldn't have. Why would that young girl Bronya pick up such a terrible habit?!

'Why do you know about this in such detail?'

Noldrei didn't just know about that; he also knew that Theresa often asked her niece to transform into Homu to play with her. It was less like an aunt playing with her niece and more like Kiana babysitting a child.

Theresa might seem dignified now, but it was all an act she put on when handling official business.

Otto, oh, Otto, how did you manage to raise a forty-year-old like this?

Noldrei wanted to ask Otto for parenting tips. Why was it that the children he raised were all more wicked than the last?

Every single one of his "children" was trying to fleece His Majesty the Emperor!

Theresa continued her tour with great interest. A few curious passersby occasionally glanced her way but didn't dare approach.

Theresa was a celebrity in Academy City.

In Academy City, there are four types of people you don't mess with: the old (Fu Hua, Otto), the young women (Kiana, Sirin, Durandal), the children (the Olenyeva sisters, Bronya), and the perverts (this one goes without saying).

Theresa happened to occupy three of those categories, making her one of the more formidable "not-to-be-messed-with" individuals.

After all, her backers and her fans were all top-tier.

"Um... um..." Theresa suddenly became a little embarrassed. She whispered, "Um, I remember you can customize Stigma Battle suit, right? Is it possible to make it look like Homu?"

Noldrei thought for a moment. "Not in the Far East, but you can in Shenzhou." (because they don't care about copyright)

"Why not?!" Theresa asked anxiously.

Noldrei gave a rather blunt reason: "Because we don't have the copyright. But don't worry, we can just go and... acquire it."

Theresa's face paled, terrified that her favorite anime company would be destroyed. She quickly waved her hands in refusal. "Never mind, never mind! I don't want it that badly!"

"Don't worry, as long as I'm discreet, that thing will soon be copyright-free. You're a key minister in my future administration; I'm counting on you to be the prime minister for my heir! A small problem like this is nothing."

Noldrei's guarantee was very moving, but Theresa really wasn't cut out to be any kind of prime minister.

'Prime minister? Why don't you just make me the emperor?'

Theresa mentally roasted Noldrei for his impulsive and arbitrary appointments.

A thought suddenly occurred to her. "By the way, what does a prime minister do?"

"Hm? Isn't it just a minister who handles all the troublesome stuff, takes the blame when things go wrong, and acts like a happy fool crediting the emperor's brilliance when things go right?"

"Similar roles include prime ministers, chancellors, secretaries of state, and so on."

Noldrei's frankness instantly made Theresa's face darken.

His understanding of administrative systems was... disturbingly accurate.

So he just wanted to trick me into being his workhorse? How can someone be so awful?! I've never met anyone like him before.

As they walked on, Theresa noticed something was out of place.

She looked back to confirm she hadn't seen it wrong.

Theresa tremblingly pointed at the head floating in the nutrient solution and asked, "Wh-whose head is that? Why does it look so big?"

Noldrei was shocked. "Holy crap, isn't that the cerebral cortex replica Tesla was researching? Why is it up for sale?"

Theresa stared at the brain, too stunned to speak.

He explained, "Tesla felt her own brain wasn't enough, so she had the wild idea of building an external proxy brain. But it lacked an external cognitive system, so it couldn't be properly developed for use. It can only function as an external neural accelerator. I can't believe she's actually selling it to recoup her costs..."

Theresa looked at the giant brain and felt a wave of nausea.

'So you've all completely turned into mad scientists, haven't you! Is anyone in your family mentally stable?'