Book 5: Chapter 41:1: Kal’tsit: Kisses, Hugs, and Lifts, Part 1
Cecilia was initially furious. She had finally struck a deal after considerable effort, only to be informed that it was, in fact, a different deal. Was this not a trick? However, Chen Heng’s mention of the past civilization’s legacy kept her from acting impulsively.
Although Cecilia was generally disinterested in scientific research, she was well aware of the importance of the last century’s civilization in the fight against the Honkai. After all, Schicksal had established itself by unearthing the relics of ancient civilizations.
“Why didn’t you clarify this earlier?” she asked.
“I simply enjoy watching your displeasure, knowing you can neither hit me nor defeat me,” Chen Heng replied.
“…” At this moment, even the usually patient Cecilia wanted to stab Chen Heng. He was infuriating.
Chen Heng continued, “Your Schicksal, of all organizations, should understand the value of these ancient legacies. The relics I’m speaking of are the things on the dark side of the moon, which I have now collected.”
Indeed, before leaving the moon, Chen Heng had gathered every piece of the palace, including the pillars. Moving these objects had been no easy task.
“Can we inspect the objects before proceeding with the transaction?” Cecilia needed to see the relics to finalize the deal; otherwise, the trade could not proceed.
“Of course! Inspecting the goods before completing a transaction is quite normal,” Chen Heng replied, gesturing grandly. An engraved stone pillar materialized before them, covered in text—the essential legacy of the ancient civilization. After displaying the stone pillar for ten seconds, Chen Heng put it away.
“How did that look, Miss Cecilia? Are you satisfied with the information on the pillar?”
“Absolutely. So, the objective of this trade is all relics of the previous century’s civilization on the moon?” This time, Cecilia agreed to the deal without consulting Schicksal’s Overseer.
Cecilia understood the significance of these relics and the benefits they could bring to Schicksal. She trusted that Otto, the Overseer, would agree with her decision.
The subsequent negotiations left both parties satisfied. Schicksal’s only regret was that it had to share this information with Anti-Entropy, which only had to part with some Einstein’s Tori and AE Imaginons—completely disproportionate to the substantial price Schicksal paid.
[TL Note: I am unable to find the plural form of Einstein’s Torus, so we went with Einstein’s Tori. Here are links to more information about Einstein’s Torus and AE Imaginon: /wiki/Einstein%27s_Torus and /wiki/AE_Imaginon.]
Chen Heng justified this imbalance by pointing out that, while Schicksal did not have any Einstein’s Torus, Anti-Entropy did. However, Anti-Entropy also possessed the resources that Schicksal was contributing.
Schicksal had no counterargument, primarily because Cecilia had never heard of anything like Einstein’s Torus. Just from the name, it was clearly something made by Einstein.
In any case, there was nothing Schicksal could do. After all, Chen Heng held all the power in this situation. His primary aim was to extract a heavy price from Schicksal. Also, both organizations were fighting the Honkai. It would be better for the two organizations to progress together.
Schicksal and Anti-Entropy had all their materials ready that day and left them 20 kilometers from the lightning zone for Chen Heng to collect personally.
Although Chen Heng was initially delighted, his mood soon soured. The reason? Cecilia and Siegfried were openly flaunting their relationship.
It was absolutely outrageous. The two were practically glued together.
“Darling, is our dear Kiana behaving at home?”
“Kiana is very well-behaved at home, although she misses you.”
“Really! The Overseer had to send you here. Who’s looking after Kiana at home?”
“Don’t worry, dear,” Cecilia assured Siegfried. “Amber arranged for someone to look after Kiana. Besides, this gave me an excuse to see you.”
[TL Note: Amber is a mechanically enhanced bionic based on the genes of Kallen Kaslana. She serves as Otto’s assistant. Here is more information about her: /wiki/Amber.]
“Darling…”
“Dear…”
Emmm
Chen Heng began to suspect their public displays of affection were revenge for his previous dealings with Schicksal. This was despicable! Flaunting affection in front of singles was utterly outrageous behavior!
“Professor Einstein,” he said with a hint of annoyance, “I’ve already moved all the ancient relics from the moon to Babylon Labs’s warehouse. Would you please remove Siegfried right now? Let him decipher the damn Soulium. I can’t stand their flirting anymore. Only the descendants of the Kaslana family can replicate the Soulium data.”
Out of sight, out of mind. Chen Heng had thrown all the relics into the warehouse even before Schicksal and Anti-Entropy delivered the materials; that would prevent Siegfried from flaunting affection in front of Chen Heng. He had done it primarily to get Siegfried, who kept showing off his relationship with Cecilia, out of his sight. After all, only the Kaslana descendants could read the Soulium information.
Chen Heng was not concerned these organizations might not deliver the promised materials. In fact, he would be quite pleased if they did not. That way, he could use his failed fishing plans for the Arknights world in the Honkai Impact 3rd’s world.
“Great minds think alike. Siegfried, let’s go. It’s time to work.”
Chen Heng observed that even Professor Einstein was not fond of this couple showing off their affection here. It made Chen Heng recall that Professor Einstein would be a granny-class bachelor. Snicker…
“Ah? Is it really that urgent?”
“Yes, it is that urgent.”
“Alright, then. Darling, let’s go together.”
“Alright.”
The couple left with Professor Einstein. Chen Heng was taken aback by their unwavering commitment to staying together, even during work. However, the fact that they were no longer distracting him was somewhat reassuring. That was a consolation for him, but it meant Professor Einstein had to bear the burden.
Once they had left, Chen Heng could finally focus on Cheng Lixue. “You’re Cheng Lixue, Fu Hua’s disciple, aren’t you?” he asked.
“Do you know my master?” Cheng Lixue looked at him suspiciously. Her master was a mysterious person, and few knew her. Unexpectedly, she met someone who knew her master here.
“I think we could consider ourselves friends,” Chen Heng replied, although colleague would be a more accurate description. Of course, he could not say that. After all, Fu Hua worked for Schicksal now. More importantly, Cheng Lixue would not believe him if he said that.
“Why do you want to be enemies with Schicksal?”
“Please, Schicksal made itself my enemy, not the other way around. If not for giving face to your master, I would have sent Schicksal’s headquarters crashing to the ground long ago. Don’t bother doubting whether I am capable of that.”
“…”
“That’s right. I called you over not to speak about this. Rather, I want to tell you this: the Void Sword’s heart essence has four layers. You should be on the second layer now, right? According to the Chinese explanation, you must be struggling with an inner demon.”
“How did you know?” asked Cheng Lixue, her gaze fixed warily on Chen Heng. It came as a shock to her that someone had seen through her level and pointed out her inner demon.
Chen Heng replied, “Well, I mentioned earlier to your squad leader that I know a little about swordsmanship. Surely, you didn’t take that literally? You see, we people from China have this habit of being humble, downplaying our own abilities. To be frank, I would be considered a genius in swordsmanship and can easily defeat you with one hand.”
To demonstrate his point, Chen Heng manifested a strand of sword qi on his right fingertip and imbued it with a withering sword conception. Sword conceptions could be developed as long as one had achieved the right level of swordsmanship, independent of one’s cultivation level. The sword qi whirled forth, blasting a bottomless small hole into the floor of Babylon Labs.
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