I Am Honkai

In the evening, at the back entrance of Workshop No. 1 in Destiny Research Institute, Second District.

Under the setting sun, Selene ignored the various patrolling robots around her and leisurely observed the vastly changed environment of the Destiny Research Institute, her expression relaxed.

"Impressive, Shuji Matsuzaki actually discovered a way to manufacture 'Soulium.'" Although what he produced was a low-grade version, barely scratching the surface, how could Selene not dream big?

By injecting Honkai energy, extremely powerful weapons could be created.

While ordinary materials cannot withstand it, Honkai energy weapons could only be made using Soulium from the Honkai world, and Soulium could only be made by the previous civilization of the Honkai world. Currently, neither Destiny nor Anti-Entropy can produce it and can only rely on excavation.

But this doesn't stump Selene. No rush—one step at a time. The inability to create suitable materials is only temporary. She can take a step back and first create lower-performing products to accumulate technology, especially since her core is almost ready, allowing her to explore new worlds for materials.

With this foundation, can true Soulium be far behind?

"I've already instructed Aoki to pack all the technical materials. It's important to develop them properly." Selene felt the mountain of materials and some production lines within her storage space and nodded in satisfaction.

"Hmm... Am I forgetting something? Oh right! My car."

...

With the sun setting, in a parking lot, Mikoto Misaka finally found the parking spot for Harumi Kiyama after great effort. Watching as Kiyama drove away in a blue Lamborghini, Misaka glanced at the sky and sighed, speechless.

"Seriously, how did she manage to forget where she parked?"

"Why did I exhaust myself so much? It's all that guy's fault. The next time I see him, he'll be sorry..." Dragging her weary body, Misaka thought of a certain spiky-haired boy, and her temper flared.

"Ahhhh!!!"

At that moment, a heart-wrenching scream came from the corner, instantly grabbing Mikoto Misaka's attention. Most importantly—the voice was familiar.

Following the sound, she quickly arrived to find a certain spiky-haired unlucky fellow sitting dejectedly before broken eggs, a look of misery on his face, "All ruined, my vital source of protein... I queued for two hours for this."

Sensing someone behind him, Kamijou Touma instinctively turned around. "Ah?"

"Huh?"

"Found you! You left me and ran off earlier, dumping your troubles on me to buy things?" Seeing the one who caused her to be busy all day, Mikoto Misaka immediately accused him.

"For a poor student like me, buying discounted items is a matter of life and death, something a Tokiwadai lady couldn't possibly understand." Raising a box of broken eggs, Kamijou Touma retorted.

"I went through a lot too. First, she stripped off her skirt in public, then I had to wash it for her, and in the end, she called me proud..." Perhaps seeing Kamijou Touma made Mikoto Misaka overly excited, leading her to say things she didn't mean.

...Silence...

"Proud?" Kamijou Touma asked with a puzzled look.

Realizing her slip, Mikoto Misaka blushed deeply, steam almost visibly rising from her head.

Just as Mikoto Misaka was at a loss, a cold voice broke the awkward atmosphere.

"What proud?" At that moment, Selene's puzzled voice came from behind the two, and she approached, looking at them with curiosity, "What are you doing?"

Seeing Selene, Mikoto Misaka breathed a sigh of relief and quickly changed the topic with a dry laugh, "Haha, nothing much. By the way, Selene, what are you doing here?"

"What else to do at a parking lot but get my car and go home? Speaking of which, isn't this Kamijou, the pervert? Why are you sitting on the ground looking all miserable?" After saying that, Selene gave both of them a strange look.

"Just to clarify, I'm not a pervert! It's a misunderstanding. The perverts are Tsuchimikado and Aogami Pierce. I'm an innocent bystander pulled into this mess."

Feeling Selene's judgmental gaze, Kamijou Touma quickly explained, unhesitatingly throwing his friends under the bus.

"Hmm? You two know each other?" Seeing Selene's familiarity in teasing Kamijou Touma, Mikoto Misaka didn't know why but felt a sense of crisis, glancing at Selene's chest and then her own, and sighed inwardly.

"Yeah, sort of. We've crossed paths a few times," Selene said, answering Misaka's question, while noticing the broken egg carton and spilled groceries on the ground.

"I see." Hearing the answer she wanted, Mikoto Misaka calmed down.

Looking at Kamijou Touma's pitiful state, Selene laughed, "Touma, did you fall again? What a jinx you are. Adding the two times I saw you fall at that high school, this is the third time. Do your groceries ever make it home safely?"

"Darn it! Even if I know I'm unlucky, you didn't have to give me a nickname. What do you mean my groceries never make it home safely? Although it's true, you didn't have to be so blunt about it!"

Recalling the scene where he slipped twice while buying groceries after shaking off Tsuchimikado and Aogami Pierce, Kamijou felt a wave of sadness.

A shout that seemed to penetrate fate echoed through the alley.

"Such misfortune!!!"

Shaking her head in disbelief, Selene thought such a jinxed person was rare. Just as she was about to bid Misaka farewell and leave...

Misaka surprisingly pulled Selene aside, her tone mysterious, "Selene, have you heard of the [ability to nullify any power]?"

"Hmm? I've heard of it, urban legend, right?" Selene couldn't just say she knew the guy with the ability was Kamijou Touma, so she acted puzzled and guessed, "You mean him?"

Mikoto Misaka gazed at Selene, speaking earnestly, "Yes, it's him. I've encountered him a few times, and my attacks were nullified. This time, I intend to have a real fight with him."

Selene turned back to Kamijou Touma, slightly bewildered. Was Mikoto really trusting her this much? Was she really willing to share such private information?

Despite some emotional turbulence, Selene's expression remained indifferent. She glanced at Kamijou Touma, her eyes betraying disbelief, as if suggesting he was too weak to pique her interest.

"Don't be skeptical. You'll see soon enough." With that, Misaka straightened and approached Kamijou Touma.