"Haa—achoo!"
Michael covered his mouth with his hand, leaning back in his chair so far he almost tipped over.
He quickly realized this was a serious eting and straightened himself up.
Sure enough, across the horseshoe-shaped conference table, Ato, Hiko, and the Karabis siblings were all silently observing him—and the loli-sized Mobius beside him.
i, standing in front of the projection screen, tapped a pointer lightly in her palm. She winked at Michael, her expression not entirely without a hint of amusent.
"Uh... sorry, i, please continue."
Just then, Michael heard a soft voice whispering beside him—childishly innocent yet also sharp and cold, like a snake hissing.
"..."
Michael stomped his foot hard to the side, but he missed—her legs were too short to reach the ground.
He twitched his lips and, under the gaze of everyone present, covered his forehead with one hand while pinching the soft flesh of Mobius's waist with the other.
"Ah!"
Michael quickly pulled his hand back, covering his twitching lips—but it was too late.
The Mobius beside him was already gritting her teeth, hissing in a low voice, "Michael..."
"Ahem!"
i coughed loudly twice, her gaze shifting between Michael and Mobius with a mix of confusion and amusent.
"Okay, let's get back to the topic."
i's voice cut through the air, bringing the eting back on track.
"I believe that with the integration of Anti-Entropy, our unconventional combat force—Herrscher and MANTIS Warriors—has reached six people. This ans we can now form two minimum-sized combat teams.
And with Dr. Mobius's return, our MANTIS Warrior project will undoubtedly advance more smoothly and rapidly. So, I believe it's necessary to adjust our combat deploynt."
"How so?"
The one who spoke wasn't Michael, but Vasak, still slumped over at the head of the conference table, looking utterly defeated.
Beside him, Lezlun, sporting dark circles under his eyes, seed to have finally decided to quit drinking. He was gently blowing on his goji berry tea, seemingly oblivious to everything happening in the conference room.
Despite all the surviving advisors being present, over half of the seats in the conference room remained empty.
After the recent riot, those who remained were strangely docile—not making a sound or disrupting the proceedings. Everyone understood that this was practically Michael and i's show now. Vasak only spoke up to make the eting appear more natural.
"Ahem, I think the specific adjustnts should be explained by Michael."
Sure enough, i handed the floor to Michael.
Well, it wasn't exactly handing it to him—Michael had been the one working overti to finalize the plan in the first place.
"My opinion is that, from now on, Fire Moth's internal tasks should be reclassified into execution tiers."
Michael's voice was steady as he continued.
"The main categories are: battles against lower-level Honkai beasts, battles against Emperor-class and higher Honkai beasts, and battles against Herrschers.
The original rapid response squads will be reduced in size and reorganized into eight Anti-Honkai Battalions. Each battalion will be assigned a fully equipped Fire Moth-class Sky Carrier and stationed as a garrison force on the seven continents. The remaining battalion will act as a reserve unit.
With this configuration—along with support from local ch units and aerial forces—they should be more than enough to handle disasters caused by lower-level Honkai beasts.
Correspondingly, all MANTIS Warriors should be grouped together, specializing in fighting Herrschers.
I want to point out that while we technically have five MANTIS Warriors, plus myself as a Herrscher, and Kalpas—that makes seven people total—our actual combat strength is more limited.
Mobius is a researcher; she's more valuable in the lab. Aponia's abilities are also sowhat unique and not suited for direct combat.
As for Emperor-class Honkai beasts, the Anti-Honkai Battalions should attempt to handle them first. If they can't resolve the situation, they should report to headquarters. After HQ evaluates the threat, it will quickly deploy suitable MANTIS Warriors using the Second Divine Key.
Judgnt-class and Apocalypse-class Honkai beasts, naturally, should be handled by MANTIS Warriors. To avoid unnecessary losses, ordinary soldiers should not participate in combat operations against Emperor-class Honkai beasts or higher."
Michael's speech wasn't rushed, nor did he slow down for anyone.
After he finished, i lightly tapped the pointer twice before speaking in her usual neutral tone.
"I personally think this plan is good. Commander, Chief of Staff, Dr. Mobius, and everyone else—what do you think?"
What could they think? It was obvious that this was sothing you two had already discussed. You just brought it up to go through the motions!
Aside from Mobius letting out a cold huff—giving no clue as to her opinion—the rest simply muttered, "Yeah, sure."
Even if they had their own thoughts on the matter, no one was crazy enough to voice them at this mont.
"Okay, next, let's talk about the funding issue."
i's expression remained unreadable. anwhile, Michael pressed his lips together, trying not to let a smile creep onto his face.
Mobius's eyes lit up. First, she kicked Michael's leg excitedly. Then, when he didn't react, she poked him in the waist with her finger. Still no response.
So, she pinched him—hard.
This ti, whether out of revenge or pure mischief, the pinch ca with a faint green arc of electricity.
Michael felt a snap at his waist and almost jumped out of his seat.
It seed Dr. Mobius had quite the funding gap—especially after acquiring so many experintal samples.
i gave a small, apologetic smile, silently signaling her old friend to calm down.
"First," she began, "two-tenths of the original budget for the Poison Cocoons will be temporarily allocated to finalize Fire Moth Numbers Six to Nine.
Six-tenths will go to [Anti-Entropy]. Yes, that's right. [Anti-Entropy]—a na just as glorious in spirit as Fire Moth—will not be abolished. Instead, all MANTIS Warrior-related matters will be transferred under [Anti-Entropy], including Dr. Mobius's funding.
I won't interfere with the specific allocations—Michael can distribute those as he sees fit."
"What about the other two-tenths?" Mobius pressed.
"Hmm, that's what I'm about to get to."
i waved her pointer across the screen, bringing up two docunts.
The cover pages ca into view—
[Project SELENE]
[Project Protheus]
Michael: ???
i glanced at the ti in the bottom-right corner of the screen and frowned slightly.
"There isn't much ti left, so I'll keep these plans brief."
Her gaze swept across the room before she continued.
"[SELENE]. Do you all rember the [Moonlight] engine on Fire Moth Number One? It was a failed attempt. The predecessors tried to directly harness Honkai energy, but it wasn't stable or reliable.
[SELENE] is different.
It's not just another Honkai energy engine—it's a converter. It absorbs Honkai energy and transforms it into electrical and thermal energy that can be directly used by humans."**
She stopped speaking.
A sharp inhale spread through the room. Teeth clenched.
No one here was an idiot—they all understood the implications.
As i had emphasized, this wasn't just an engine. Sure, its most obvious application would be propulsion. But if it had enough power—if there were enough of them—it could convert all Honkai energy into a usable form.
Wouldn't that solve the Honkai problem entirely?
Michael's eyes t i's briefly before he quickly looked away.
i, unfazed, moved on.
"As for Protheus..." She tapped the pointer against the screen.
"The na, taken from mythology, will be given to an artificial intelligence project.
You all know my Zero, right? It was salvaged from Fire Moth Number One. Even now, it can control over 4,000 unmanned chs simultaneously while handling most of my calculations.
My idea is to upgrade its processing power again. Add a human-like emotion module. Then increase its numbers.
This would be invaluable—for both research and combat."
Michael quietly lowered his head.
Compared to [SELENE], this so-called "artificial intelligence" project failed to draw much attention.
But to praise i, the advisors clapped their hands loudly, their palms reddening.
Yet only Michael understood the true aning behind [Protheus].
The na—taken from Kosma's hotown myth—wasn't chosen at random.
It was his request.
All to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
"So, the remaining two-tenths of funding will be invested into these two projects. Once all the Fire Moth-class ships are completed, that funding will also be transferred.
Does anyone have any objections?"
Mobius certainly had an objection.
She was about to jump out of her seat in frustration—until Michael pressed her back down.
The others? Naturally, no objections.
Without further discussion, i took the eting minutes from a nearby secretary and placed them before Vasak and Lezlun.
Vasak, without hesitation, signed his na.
Lezlun, moving at his own pace, retrieved a beautiful sandalwood box from his pocket, pulled out a small ivory seal, and pressed it gently onto the docunt.
i followed suit, signing her na at the end.
And just like that—billions in funding were allocated within monts. The efficiency was almost frightening.
i wasted no ti.
She practically sprinted out of the conference room—having just taken over Fire Moth, there were far too many things demanding her attention.
In contrast, Vasak and Lezlun remained relaxed.
Adjusting their collars at an unhurried pace, they stood, left the room, and disappeared into a crowd of advisors.
"Let's go too. Haa—"
Michael stood up, stretching. He ant to pat Mobius on the shoulder—
—but his hand landed on her head instead.
For a mont, he froze.
Awkwardly, he pulled his hand back, hoping she wouldn't react.
Then—
A flash of crimson appeared before him.
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