It must be said that the efficiency of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy was remarkably high.
Over the course of three days, Warships from all over the world continuously landed at Nagazora City, unloaded their cargo, and then hurriedly took off once more.
Those nearby would head back for another trip, while those further away were unified to transport supplies from Shenzhou.
Shenzhou was left quite dazed by this windfall falling from the sky; with such a geographical advantage, it was unmatched, as no one else in the vicinity could stockpile more grain.
They took this opportunity to acquire a considerable amount of technology. Of course, beyond the technology, the actual stock of grain was provided on a basis that was essentially half-bought and half-gifted.
After all, with such a major event occurring, a great power ought to show its own sense of responsibility, should it not?
Xia Yu stared blankly at the manifest in her hand.
Just the rice alone was counted in millions of tons.
This was only because the schedule was so tight; three days was simply too short, and being able to mobilize this much was already the result of Shenzhou's full cooperation.
Because an incident had caused a day's delay in North America, Anti-Entropy simply mobilized all sorts of shelf-stable canned foods. Aside from rice, the traditional staple of East Asia, this was the most common variety of food sent over.
From fruits to various meats, it was a dazzling array.
Even Siberia mobilized a batch of cans dating back to the Soviet Union era, to say nothing of other places. There were modern products and Cold War stocks; in short, the mountain-high piles of cans truly left her dumbfounded.
It wasn't that the various factions were cutting corners; it was mainly that canned goods were shelf-stable with a long expiration date, making them the most suitable for a mission where the exact purpose was unknown.
If it were for disaster relief, cans were perfectly usable; for emergencies? No problem at all. In the Marshall Plan where the United States aided Europe after World War II, aside from various infrastructure, it was all sorts of canned food from the United States that once dominated European dining tables.
Many French people grew up eating Spam, to the point where a large portion of average French households once lost the habit of cooking.
Thus, in this situation, cans seemed the perfect choice. After all, not every place treated rice, which has an extremely long shelf life, as its staple food like East Asia did.
Xia Yu was quite satisfied with Schicksal and Anti-Entropy being so proactive, but there was still one problem.
The Painting Scroll Dusk had given her... was barely enough to hold this much stuff. Items supposedly enough to feed thirty million people for three years... looking at the containers piled like mountains at the port of Nagazora City, this had already far exceeded expectations.
She had originally intended only to get as much as possible for free, never imagining they would actually manage to bring this much.
What she didn't know was that to complete this task, Warships across the globe had been mobilized, and Shenzhou, being closer, sent cargo ships over one after another.
The port of Nagazora City had long since been overwhelmed. As for port dispatching? Don't be ridiculous; they couldn't manage it even if they worked themselves to death.
Operations had completely stalled on the first day. The cargo throughput... no, the volume of intake alone had already exceeded Nagazora City's total for the past decade. With the limited staff at the port, how were they supposed to coordinate anything?
Nagazora City was hardly a famous port city.
Consequently, the containers that arrived later could only be stacked higher and higher until they reached the limit, after which they were simply placed in any open space outside the port. It was no exaggeration to say that Nagazora City's current food stock was enough to feed the entire Far East population for a year...
But what else could she do? She had chosen this path herself, so she could only swallow the consequences.
Taking advantage of the dark night and high winds, she came over quietly. Whenever she saw a container, she shoved it into the Painting Scroll Xi had given her.
Now Xia Yu felt she was truly brilliant; without this Painting Scroll capable of collecting items in bulk, if she had to rely on the Tarnished's ability—which was huge but had a sluggish efficiency—it would take her forever.
Yet even as she held the Painting Scroll, collecting whatever she pointed at, the efficiency was still visibly slow. She had been busy for an hour, but the containers flooding the port showed no sign of decreasing.
There was too much, simply too much. If I had known, I wouldn't have run my mouth like that...
Was the execution power of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy really this terrifying? It had only been three days. Xia Yu had originally felt that getting roughly a quarter of what was here now would already be a lot.
She never expected, despite various people dragging their feet, that they would be this capable.
It truly made Xia Yu look at them in a new light.
Of course, the existence of floating Warships was primarily what made this operation possible. If they didn't have those and had to rely solely on sea transport... then forget it; forget a quarter, they would be lucky to have one percent.
And that would only be if they scoured the grain depots of the Far East until they were empty.
What? You think the grain reserves of a nation with over a hundred million people shouldn't be so low?
Heh, before she crossed over, there was a rice shortage here. Guess where that rice went?
It couldn't have all been hoarded by the JA, could it?
Most of it had already been exported; the lords wanted to make money too. To them, selling at a lower price domestically was worse than being killed. Compared to lowering prices, exporting made much more money.
Furthermore, the situation of people dragging their feet wasn't as severe as Xia Yu had imagined. She had heard Theresa complaining about the Far East Government and Welt raging at the North American pests, so she thought most people wouldn't want to cooperate.
But in fact, the vast majority of clear-headed people were eager for her to take more. Just look at the Moon in the sky, which looked like a teapot with a crooked lid. With such a powerhouse appearing on Earth, who would dare to cross her?
Let me be clear: once you've taken our grain, you can't hit us anymore.
Moreover, Schicksal and Anti-Entropy were hinting that the one who received the items would be leaving, so everyone else became even more proactive.
What? You ask why the JA and the big three grain traders still dared to play tricks in that case?
(Laughs) Naturally, it was because for everyone else, since they weren't in the grain trade, it was equivalent to cutting someone else's meat or using government funds to handle matters, so of course they were a hundred percent willing. But the big three grain traders and the JA were different; they actually had a cow in their own house.
Of course, all these were digressions. At this moment, Xia Yu was still quite miserably collecting those boundless containers bit by bit.
After all, she had made a big boast, and if they over-delivered while she lacked the ability to take it away... that would be too pathetic.
Sigh, after working hard for the better part of the night, it wasn't until a sliver of dawn appeared on the horizon that Xia Yu finally finished the job.
Excellent. She looked with satisfaction at the empty port and streets around her.
A whole night! An entire night!
Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, you did well. This was far too capable!
Xia Yu lightly patted her waist. Although this work wasn't enough to tire an Emanator's body, she was mentally exhausted...
Repetitive work without any novelty was like that.
Schicksal and Anti-Entropy had been quite disciplined; no one came to spy on her.
She stretched and turned into a streak of crimson lightning, returning to Mei's small villa in the blink of an eye.
The three little ones hadn't woken up yet.
Seeing this, Xia Yu sighed and silently walked into the kitchen.
She began to tinker around.
Damn, I wanted to leave them with a beautiful parting memory, but no matter how I made it, I wasn't satisfied...
In the end, Xia Yu simply abandoned the pot, opened the window, and leaped out.
In Mei's room, the Herrscher of Thunder opened her eyes and looked out the window. She hesitated for two seconds, finally remembering Mei's words.
Then she buried her head back under the covers.
Xia Yu flew all the way up to the Hyperion in the sky.
"Who! ...Ah, it's you, Ms. Acheron." Rita, who had been working overtime through the night, suddenly felt a chill down her spine. She instantly drew her weapon and turned around, only to find those indifferent eyes watching her.
"Has... something happened?" she asked tentatively.
"...Help me cook a meal," Xia Yu fell silent for two seconds before finally speaking in self-abandonment. "I'm really not good at this."
So a home really does need a maid.
Hearing this, Rita glanced at the work at hand, then resolutely set down the forms. "To the villa?"
"Mhm," Xia Yu nodded.
"Shall we go now?"
"Let's go!"
The moment the words left her mouth, Rita's figure had already vanished from the office.
"Rita, I have one more thing here..." Not long after, Theresa pushed open the door only to find the room empty.
"Hmm? Where did she go?" Theresa looked at the forms that had clearly been put down in a hurry and fell silent for two seconds.
Then she turned back to the main control room and pulled up the surveillance.
Yes, since Rita was her grandfather's person, Theresa had kept a guard up. As for how much use this surveillance was... one could only say it served as a bit of psychological comfort.
Then she saw the scene where Acheron suddenly appeared inside the Hyperion and asked Rita to cook.
Seriously, just to call her to cook a meal?
Theresa found it a bit hard to keep her composure.
But thinking about it carefully, who told her to be strong enough? So what if she was an S-Rank Valkyrie? When it was time to cook, she still had to cook.
Thinking of this, Theresa looked at Acheron's cold face on the monitor, then thought of that theory, and then of the gentle expression on that child Raiden Mei's face...
This child... if that's true, how much must she have gone through to become like this?
Theresa didn't know. She sighed and tidied up her appearance; she hadn't combed her hair in a long time because of the overtime.
What? Why not comb it?
Because she hadn't slept at all...
After finishing her grooming, she took the Oath of Judah and arrived on the ground, walking toward the Raiden Family villa.
There were still many things to do. Just now, she had been notified that the cargo at the port had all disappeared. Needless to say, this was definitely Acheron's doing.
It seemed her time was indeed urgent.
She still had many things she wanted to learn from her, so she had to hurry.
But when she arrived outside the villa, she saw that indifferent figure already standing there.
"Ms. Acheron," Theresa walked forward and gave a greeting. "Do you have a moment? I have some matters here..."
Before she could finish, she saw the other party wave her hand, staring into the villa.
Theresa also looked over curiously.
"Miss Mei, Miss Mei..."
A familiar voice woke Mei from her slumber.
"Oh, Rita... Rita?" Mei's sleepy eyes instantly widened. "Why are you here?"
"It is time to get up, Miss Mei," Rita did not answer, instead offering a slight smile. "Everyone is waiting for you."
Hearing this, Mei was dazed for a moment, then silently went to wash up before following Rita into the living room.
Kiana and Bronya were already waiting there, but unlike usual, the two weren't bickering. Instead, they sat silently at the dining table.
Mei also instantly realized that a certain someone was missing.
Seeing this, she bit her lip and pulled out a chair to sit down.
Before her was a piping hot breakfast.
And a note.
No, rather than a letter, it was a small note with only a few brief sentences.
"Eat well, sleep well, and get along well with the other you."
"Mei, the universe is boundless, and we will have a chance to meet again."
"One day in the future, I hope you can come before me with a smile."
There was no signature, nor was one needed.
"Sister Acheron," Kiana's fingers kept rubbing the note that belonged to her. "I didn't even get to say a proper goodbye."
Bronya held her yellow Homu plushie, her head hanging low.
"...Kiana," hearing this, Mei suddenly revealed a smile.
"Let's eat first. Aunt said we must eat well."
"Didn't Aunt say it? She's just going on a trip, it's not like she's never coming back."
If it really comes down to it, one day in the future, I can also set out on a journey.
Outside the villa.
"Aren't you going to say a proper goodbye to them?" Theresa looked at Xia Yu and asked.
"I do not like partings," Xia Yu shook her head. "They have already occupied all of my future."
"Do you absolutely have to leave?" Theresa asked softly.
"Theresa, this universe is wonderful, but also dangerous," Xia Yu sighed. "A conspiracy large enough to affect the entire universe is breeding, and Heroes are resisting its birth at an unimaginable cost."
"Earth is special, Theresa, very, very special," Xia Yu reached out to pat her head; it had to be said, the feel was practically on par with Kiana. "Here, we can easily observe the Tree and the Sea, whereas outside the Solar System, this is a privilege belonging only to the Aeons standing at the thresholds of their Paths."
"Do not interact with outsiders carelessly, Theresa. You should understand the principle that 'an ordinary man's innocence is no defense when he holds a treasure.' Unless one day someone defeats the Honkai, wears that crown of godhood, and obtains power rivaling an Emanator. Otherwise, without the power to protect yourselves, given Earth's uniqueness..."
She shook her head at this point.
"Even with your existence, it won't work?" Theresa was somewhat unwilling to give up.
"I am an Emanator of Nihility, Theresa," Xia Yu sighed and said, "You might not yet understand what that concept entails, but normally speaking, no civilization is willing to have me stay within their territory."
Well, they weren't willing, but whether they dared to say so was another matter entirely.
"Furthermore, the great enemy of Destruction will eventually find me. If he wants to challenge Nihility, he cannot bypass me, an Emanator. This fragile star system simply cannot withstand a battle between me and him."
"Paths... they are just that cruel and helpless, Theresa. Until that God of Earth who bears that crown appears, be wary of the universe."
"Then when can they be born?" Theresa asked urgently.
"Help me take good care of Kiana and the others," Xia Yu blinked and said, "Children are the future of civilization."
As soon as the words left her mouth, her entire being scattered into countless points of light and instantly vanished between heaven and earth.
Only Theresa was left, instinctively reaching out toward the points of light.