Chapter 128: Such Good Luck?
Oceania Branch
Wendy held the communication terminal in her hand, a turquoise whirlwind swirling beneath her. At this moment, she was high in the sky, a bright moon hanging above.
Wendy looked at the bright moon. The whirlwind beneath her gradually changed shape to envelop her entire body. Then, she cautiously approached the cloud layer below.
Well, it wasn't quite like what she had seen in some anime or manga. The clouds didn't offer any sense of support or a fluffy feeling.
But this novel sensation still filled Wendy with joy. How long had it been since she felt this happy? She couldn't count the days, nor did she want to reminisce about them.
She hadn't expected that the difficult problem that had troubled her for so long would become as natural as a fish in water after a bit of guidance. The range in which she could manipulate Honkai energy through the gem was still very small.
However, forming a whirlwind to lift herself up was a simple task.
After being lifted up, Wendy wanted to try the feeling of flying high in the sky, or rather, she just wanted to see what it felt like to move freely.
It had been far, far too long since she experienced the sensation of moving freely without relying on a wheelchair. Thus, she flew high into the sky, completely ignoring the base's automatic detection and defense systems.
But somewhat strangely, even though she had stayed in the clouds for so long, the base remained dead silent. It was as if they hadn't noticed the incident at all—that she was missing, or that there was a flying object high in the sky.
However, these thoughts only circled in Wendy's mind for a moment before she cast the base aside. Whatever happened there was none of her business. This base had never treated her well anyway.
If it had been at the very beginning, she might have still cared. But now, after enduring their cold stares and experiments for so long, her affection for this base had dropped straight to zero.
If they didn't notice, they didn't notice. It just meant some sensory system was broken, and that was absolutely none of her damn business. Right now, she just wanted to properly enjoy this weightless flight and the feeling of freedom for a while.
Beep, beep.
The mobile terminal in Wendy's hand chimed twice. She picked it up and glanced at it, initially thinking that those guys down there had finally noticed her disappearance.
But obviously, that wasn't the case. It was another message from her 'other self'. Wendy was basically certain now that this so-called Future Comms was definitely an illusion of her own making—a channel through which her other self wanted to communicate with her.
Because she had tried connecting the mobile terminal to a computer and used its privileges to access the system, but she couldn't find this so-called Future Comms in the system at all.
She also couldn't transfer this Future Comms to any file. It was impossible for some super virus to exist that could completely breach Schicksal's firewall.
Moreover, this super virus would have to be able to counsel her, know her, be aware of a huge pile of her dark history, and simultaneously provide a method on how to manipulate the Herrscher's Authority.
How could there be such a coincidental thing, right?
[The Knower of Fate: Are you having fun? How does it feel to stay high up in the sky?]
[Wendy] still understood herself very well. Once she comprehended what wind was and realized the wind could carry her in flight, she would definitely choose to fly high into the sky.
There was no need for Little Corruption's Corruption virus to remind her at all. Of course, Little Corruption's Corruption virus still helped a bit through Wendy's mobile terminal.
Little Corruption's Corruption virus had already quietly uploaded itself into the entire network of the Oceania Branch. That was why no one had noticed Wendy sneaking off and flying high into the sky.
As for the night, no one would notice such a tiny target anyway. Furthermore, Wendy was above the cloud layer, making it even more impossible to spot her.
Wendy looked at the tablet in her hand and smiled. Other than her other self, who else would understand her so well? "Of course, there is no feeling better than this."
Wendy flipped over and looked down at the Oceania Branch base, which was brightly lit amidst the darkness. Freedom, relaxation, and ease—such emotions swirled in Wendy's heart.
It was as if the dark clouds that had plagued her for the past few years were completely swept away in this moment, leaving behind only a sense of liberation.
[The Knower of Fate: That's good. I imagine you probably wouldn't want to tell the Oceania Branch about this kind of thing, right?]
[Wendy] still had to be a bit wary of her other self. She couldn't be stupid enough to inform the Oceania Branch about her newfound ability to manipulate the Herrscher's Authority right now.
After all, they were already preparing to bring Wendy back. Telling the Oceania Branch at this juncture wouldn't that just provoke them into stubbornly holding onto Wendy?
If an accident happened then, it would be hard for anyone to handle. If it could end peacefully, a peaceful resolution was naturally the priority. There was absolutely no need to cause extra trouble.
Causing something like a Great Eruption was completely unnecessary! Ultimately, there were still some innocent people in Oceania. Moreover, triggering a Great Eruption would cause many innocent personnel to be injured or even killed.
[Wendy] couldn't accept that kind of situation; otherwise, she wouldn't have chosen to seek death back then. As for her subsequent ideological shift—hoping to use her own efforts and the Herrscher's Authority to atone for her sins—that was a matter for later.
Wendy looked at the message her other self sent on the screen and fell silent for a moment before smiling. She might have originally harbored a tiny bit of that thought.
Although she had no affection for the people in the Oceania Branch, she had lost her face here, after all. Their cold stares were entirely because she couldn't master the Herrscher's Authority.
If she could now prove her ability to master the Herrscher's Authority, their attitudes would definitely undergo a 180-degree turn. At the very least, it would allow her to feel a bit of vindication. But upon seeing the reminder from her other self, Wendy fell silent again.
There was a saying about changing from arrogance to deference—thinking about it made one laugh. After she mastered the Herrscher's Authority, what exactly would those who came to treat her well be coveting?
However, remaining like this made Wendy feel uncomfortable all over. She was a Valkyrie, after all. If she maintained this state, it would be impossible for the Oceania Branch to arrange a proper role for her.
Could she really imitate those masked heroines from novels, covering her face and going out to fight for justice? But the problem was, wouldn't the Authority of the Herrscher of Wind be a bit too obvious?
She'd probably be exposed immediately upon arriving. This wasn't a novel or a TV drama where wearing a mask was like turning on a facial obfuscator, making it impossible for anyone to recognize her.
Unable to come up with an idea, Wendy looked at the mobile terminal in her hand and typed an inquiry: "Then, my other self, do you have any suggestions?"
[The Knower of Fate: Then do you want to go back? Go back to St. Freya Academy.]
Setting aside the fact that Irene and she were currently at St. Freya Academy, [Wendy] herself had a good impression of St. Freya Academy. After all, her alma mater from which she graduated was St. Freya.
Moreover, the atmosphere at St. Freya was more than ten times better than in Oceania. Not to mention whether they would conduct experiments; even if they did, a situation like the one in Oceania would never occur.
Principal Theresa was also desperately trying to help her extract the Core from her leg back then. If it hadn't been for the fact that she had already achieved deep fusion with the Core, making the surgery extremely risky, Principal Theresa definitely would have extracted it.
Furthermore, she herself hadn't wanted to extract the Core at that time. She needed the power granted by this Core to complete her atonement.
Wendy, looking at the words and suggestions of her other self, also fell into deep thought. Go back to St. Freya Academy?
She had thought about whether to go back in the past, but ultimately suppressed the idea. Deep down in her bones, Wendy was still a bit proud.
This pride was also partly why she had agreed to implant the Gem of the Herrscher back then. She believed she was the unique candidate. And at that time, as the person in all of Schicksal most likely to become the fourth S-Rank Valkyrie, she had the capital for this pride.
Even though the experiment failed and she became a piece of trash, she had wondered if she should go back. She believed that Principal Theresa and Teacher Himeko wouldn't treat her coldly just because she had become useless.
But she didn't dare to go back. She was afraid of experiencing disappointment. She wanted to try, and so she held on until now. But now, her heart had long been chilled by those cold stares, and she could no longer remember the possibility of returning.
And now, reminded by her other self, Wendy began to harbor these little thoughts again. However, transferring a Valkyrie wasn't that simple. Not to mention, she still had the Gem of the Herrscher in her leg, making leaving even more difficult.
[Wendy: I will consider it. Thank you, my other self.]
[The Knower of Fate: You just said it yourself, I am your other self. What's there to thank?]
Wendy looked at the words flashing on the screen and felt a surge of warmth in her heart. Then, she put the mobile terminal away. It was getting late, and she also felt a bit tired. It was time to go back and rest.
As for the matter of transferring branches... hmm, she would figure out a way later. If worst came to worst, she would call Principal Theresa to see if Principal Theresa could come up with a solution.
Wendy quietly floated down from the high sky. What made her somewhat curious was that the surrounding perimeter security net still didn't react to her movements, but right now, Wendy couldn't be bothered to care about these things.
She looked around to confirm there was no one nearby, then quietly sneaked back into her room and threw herself onto the bed.
She tossed and turned in bed.
"No need to conduct further experiments? What are the higher-ups trying to do?" A researcher in a white coat looked at the task board in her hand, then looked up at another researcher with some confusion in her eyes.
At this moment, apart from one final routine test, the task board in her hands had no other experiments scheduled. This was something that had never happened before.
Weren't the higher-ups extremely anxious to research some kind of result? The experiments had been getting more aggressive each time. If they hadn't been worried about breaking Wendy, the researchers probably would have been thinking about directly pumping Honkai energy into her.
"What else could it be?" The researcher waved the tablet in her hand. "It's not like you don't know that Lord Overseer is dissatisfied with our research progress."
"So Lord Overseer decided to send the Gem of Desire to another branch for research. The higher-ups probably feel that we won't be able to research anything significant out of it anyway."
"...Is there really someone who understands the Gem of Desire better than us?" The researcher curled her lips in disdain. Even if they hadn't researched anything, could others manage to do it?
"Hasn't Headquarters also made no progress with the Gem of Serenity? At least we found a way to properly store the Gem of Desire."
"Rumor has it that the Far East Branch needs the Gem of Desire for something." The researcher put down the tablet. "Moreover, it was approved by Lord Overseer."
"They even asked us to coordinate. I reckon they'll be coming over in the next few days."
"Hmm, the Far East Branch. Oh, that Wendy came from there, right?" The researcher also put down the tablet in her hand. Hearing this, she understood what the higher-ups might be considering.
The director of the Far East Branch was named Theresa. As one of the only three S-Rank Valkyries in Schicksal, even researchers knew a bit about her. This included St. Freya Academy, or the Far East Branch, under Theresa's management.
Of course, neither being an S-Rank Valkyrie nor the Far East Branch was the key point. The key point was that Theresa's name was Theresa Apocalypse.
Her grandfather was Otto Apocalypse, their respected Lord Overseer. In other words, she was the only legitimate successor to Schicksal HQ in the future.
It was likely because of this point that the higher-ups didn't want to offend their possible future boss.
Even if they didn't offend Theresa, they might offend Otto. This was unacceptable to the higher-ups. Since that was the case, and it was a thing that couldn't yield research results anyway...
Then, since the Far East Branch wanted such a burden, they should just let them take it. Although it meant one less excuse to ask for funding from Headquarters.
After figuring out this logic, the researcher shrugged. If that was the case, it would be best to treat Wendy a bit better recently, at least to ensure she wouldn't file a complaint directly to the Far East Branch.
Although they hadn't treated Wendy well before, for the sake of their future prospects, it was naturally best to part amicably if possible.
The researcher looked at her companion: "Since that's the case, should we just skip the final experiment tomorrow? It's unlikely we'll get anything out of it anyway."
"Let's just go through the motions. I bet that's what the higher-ups mean anyway."
"Hmm, that works." The other researcher nodded, then suddenly remembered something. "Speaking of which, does Wendy know about this yet?"
The researcher shrugged. "She is still a former Valkyrie. This counts as normal personnel transfer. She's probably already received the notification, right?"
"They want to transfer me away?" Wendy set down the tablet in her hands in confusion. On the tablet was the transfer notice sent by Headquarters, ordering her transfer from the Oceania Branch to the Far East Branch.
This... Wendy scratched her head and picked up the tablet to glance at the transfer order again. Just yesterday, she had been thinking about how to leave the Oceania Branch, and today it was already settled?
Is it really this coincidental? Several question marks flashed through Wendy's mind. She had been wondering whether she should swallow her pride and secretly contact Principal Theresa.
But she never expected the matter to be resolved on the very second day. Principal Theresa was coming over to pick her up?
Although the transfer order mentioned that she was going along with the Gem of Desire, treating her almost like a shipping container for the Gem of Desire. But the order also stated that she would return to the ranks of St. Freya Academy.
This luck was truly incredible, wasn't it?
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