37. Holiday and Miss Mercenary.
It's been about two days since arriving at Arc City. Gao Qi gave himself a holiday.
Although called a holiday, he seriously fulfilled his duties as a member of Schicksal and the logistics officer for the Immortal Blades squad.
In less than a night, he and the Valkyries, using engineering machinery, set up a fully-equipped marching tent in an area designated by the Shenzhou authorities.
The interior was a spacious and multifunctional temporary dormitory with a metallic theme, while the exterior was disguised by optical camouflage as an ordinary construction site. Dozens of Valkyries were stationed here.
Just based on his knowledge of the original story, Gao Qi knew that many events would happen in Arc City. The Immortal Blades squad would stay here for a long time and would suffer quite a few casualties.
These Valkyries were all excellent young women, each holding the belief to fight against the Honkai for the world. Gao Qi felt that if he could help and protect them, he should try to be as serious as possible.
Moreover, as a logistics personnel, Gao Qi's workload wasn't heavy.
These Valkyries were easy to please; they didn't complain even eating energy bars every day. Feeling a bit sorry for them, Gao Qi started cooking large pot meals in the camp to improve their diet, even using his experience making milk tea. He quickly received positive feedback from the Valkyries.
The Valkyries worked during the day. They would disguise themselves as different types of girls – high school students, office ladies, even little delinquents – all kinds of uniform-inspired disguises to gather intelligence throughout the city. Rita would undertake the most dangerous missions.
And Gao Qi... found himself somewhat idle.
Gao Qi's real holiday meant skipping simulation training for two days.
"Whew— Alvitr, I'm going out to buy groceries. Is there anything you want me to get for you?"
Stepping out of his dorm room, Gao Qi called out to Alvite, who was in front of her computer.
"Hmm, maybe buy a pizza? I'm trying to hack into that Shencheng Pharmaceutical Group's internal network— Ha, their security is tight! There's an expert in this company! Be careful, if you encounter danger, sound the alarm."
Alvitr typed away furiously, not even having time to turn her head, just waving at Gao Qi. She was only wearing a white shirt and shorts, a completely casual home outfit.
Fortunately, Gao Qi had seen Mobius's even more... liberal home attire during the last simulation, otherwise, he might not have been able to handle it.
"Alright, do your best. I'm heading out— Ai, a girls' dormitory again."
Having lived in a lab with a group of girls for years in the last simulation, and now serving dozens of Valkyries, surrounded by all these charming women, Gao Qi felt the pressure was immense.
[There are not two suns in the sky. My heart holds only Mobius as the one sun. I absolutely will not be unfaithful— wait, there's also little Hua... She counts as the moon!]
Walking out, passing through the defensive network of several mechanical turrets, Gao Qi stepped through an optical barrier. The high-tech Schicksal base behind him instantly turned into an ordinary construction site.
Although Schicksal was on a covert mission, on the surface, they could still move around freely. While the Valkyries hadn't returned to base, Gao Qi planned to go out to buy groceries and relax a bit.
Physically and psychologically, Gao Qi needed a good rest.
The incomplete MANTIS surgery had caused him many obstacles and pains within the simulation system. Mobius had modified Gao Qi multiple times but never achieved complete success.
In a sense, if the MANTIS surgery was a well-written program, then the MANTIS surgery on Gao Qi was a pile of shit code, held together by countless bugs, yet somehow functioning miraculously.
Even Mobius admitted that if she tried to replicate it, she probably couldn't recreate the miracle that was Gao Qi. As for the secret of his resurrection, Mobius couldn't figure it out no matter how hard she thought.
Right before leaving, Gao Qi had left this question with her. He knew that with Mobius's curiosity, she would definitely continue forward, seeking the answer.
History proved this true. Regardless of what the Mobius memory construct in the Elysian Realm might have done, the real Mobius never abandoned her ideals and dreams.
And after returning to reality, those erroneous "bugs" were directly cleared by the system— although Gao Qi no longer needed regular painkillers, this actually damaged the integrity of the original modifications, reducing his power as a MANTIS.
Not to mention comparing to an overpowered guy like Kevin, Gao Qi's current strength was probably less than half that of an ordinary MANTIS.
But even so, the change was enormous. In reality, Gao Qi had genetically fused with a Honkai beast named "Brahma". It took him a long time to adjust.
Psychologically, the problems Gao Qi faced were even more critical. Elder brother, father, lover— in three days, Gao Qi's identity changed three times. Returning to his real self again gave him a sense of detachment from reality.
Therefore, these past two days, Gao Qi had been adapting to his new strength and adjusting his mindset.
The sun was setting, nearing evening. A corner of Arc City was exceptionally quiet.
BOOM—
With a loud noise, a large pink-and-purple Honkai beast leaped high from the ground, pouncing fiercely towards a man wearing a black mask.
A Charger-type Honkai beast. This type of Honkai beast has two thick forelimbs, nearly impervious frontal armor, and a roar that can blast or stun Valkyries. It's a particularly troublesome presence on the front lines.
But—
Slap.
Gently reaching out his hand, Gao Qi faced the pouncing Honkai beast and opened his palm.
Thud—
As if catching a basketball, Gao Qi easily stopped this blow that could crush an armored vehicle, not moving an inch from his spot. Then, treating it like a basketball, he slammed it into the ground.
Crash—
Without even much resistance, the Charger Honkai beast was directly smashed into fragments by the powerful blow, dissipating into countless purple light points.
Relying solely on brute force, without activating his Schicksal exoskeleton armor, Gao Qi easily dealt with a large Honkai beast.
This was the seventh Honkai beast Gao Qi had eliminated these past few days. Due to the presence of a Herrscher, numerous Honkai beasts were spawning nearby or following the Herrscher to this city.
However, before destroying this Honkai beast, Gao Qi had "battled" it for several minutes, only finally using his full strength to eliminate it completely— all to put on a performance for a certain someone.
"Ai, so much weaker."
Feeling his clearly weakened self compared to in the simulator system, Gao Qi couldn't help but sigh. Then, he raised an eyebrow.
Although he was weaker, it was only weaker compared to a MANTIS. Gao Qi's keen senses hadn't degraded. He instinctively felt someone watching him from the shadows— it was the gaze of a hunter.
The person he was waiting for had finally arrived.
"Hmm..."
Without reacting, Gao Qi pretended nothing happened and walked towards the direction of the watcher, as if it were just a coincidence.
The watcher didn't realize Gao Qi had detected her, continuing to hide among the alleyways, jumping between rooftops, always maintaining a certain distance from Gao Qi.
"Found you."
Gao Qi walked nonchalantly through the alley, occasionally buying some fruit from street vendors, covering his ears waiting for the traditional popcorn to pop, and even bought a few baked sweet potatoes, as if he was truly focused on shopping.
However, Gao Qi could sense that the vendors' calls lacked a certain liveliness, and their positions, the intervals between them, were unusually regular. It seemed they appeared one after another, intending to lead Gao Qi in a specific direction.
Soon, Gao Qi's hands were full of snacks and fruit as he reached the end of the alley.
There, Gao Qi saw a small bar, very small, with an old sign above it that read "Raven's".
Gao Qi raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth curling up slightly. He had been a bit worried about not being able to find this excellent mercenary lady, but now it seemed it wasn't as difficult as he imagined.
Thinking about it carefully, it made sense. After all, a male Schicksal logistics officer with not particularly high combat power, relying only on an exoskeleton and weapons, wouldn't be too difficult to deal with, and was the most suitable "tongue" to capture.
Entering the bar, Gao Qi looked towards the front counter. A tall, curvaceous female bartender in staff uniform, with short gray hair, greeted him with a smile. Her bright red eyes were captivating.
"Hello, sir. Would you like something to drink? You're our first customer today."
Gao Qi, carrying his bags, walked up to the counter and politely returned the greeting to the lady. His face was hidden under his mask and hood, only a faint smile visible.
"Two 'Midnight Absinthe', please. One is for you, Miss Natasha Cioara. You've been following me for two days, and I haven't had the chance to share a drink with you. What a pity, right?"
The bartender— no, the mercenary, World Serpent's senior member— Raven's pupils constricted sharply.
The roles of hunter and prey are always easily reversed.
Note: I'm new to translating so please be kind and tell me any mistakes you all find, I will try to release a chapter a day but don't expect much
Please support the original author: warboss
Raw: 崩坏模拟器,你找的人是我么?