Chapter 157: Honkai Technology, Truly Shocking
[Resonance Interplay: Trailblaze & Elation]
A Knight-class Honkai Beast, indistinguishable from a human woman in form, hefted a heavy crate onto its shoulder with practiced ease. Nearby, two dockworkers paused their labor, wiping sweat from their brows.
"Brother," Dockworker A began, his voice uncharacteristically shy as he spoke to his companion, Dockworker B. "I think… I think I'm in love."
Dockworker B raised a curious eyebrow. "Oh? Which girl's caught your eye this time?"
"It's… it's one of the new girls working with us," he mumbled, gesturing vaguely towards the tireless figures moving cargo.
"Ah," Dockworker B sighed, a knowing look on his face. "Those girls. They're certainly pretty, and gods, are they capable. It's just… they're all work, all the time. Strong as an ox, but they never talk, never smile. Don't seem to have any hobbies besides hauling freight."
"Well, I haven't really thought that far ahead," Dockworker A admitted, a blush creeping up his neck. "I just… I want to try talking to her."
He rubbed his dust-caked palms together and took a deep, fortifying breath, his expression that of a brave warrior marching toward a fated battlefield. Straightening his tunic, he approached one of the silent laborers.
"Ahem," he cleared his throat. "Excuse me, miss. You've been carrying cargo for a while now. Aren't you tired? Would you… would you like to take a break over there? Have some tea with me?"
The Knight-class Honkai Beast froze mid-motion. It slowly, mechanically, turned its head. Its purple eyes, utterly devoid of light or life, stared straight at Dockworker A. There was no expression on its sculpted face, no blink, not even the subtle rise and fall of a chest drawing breath.
Then, just as mechanically, it turned away and resumed its work.
The intelligence of these beings, constructed from pure Honkai Energy, was limited to the commands programmed into them. The notion of interacting with them on any other level was an exercise in futility. Their skin, smooth and flawless as it appeared, was as hard as poured concrete.
Dockworker A remained petrified on the spot, his hand still outstretched in a hopeful invitation. The evening wind of Aurum Alley seemed to turn him into a statue of rejected affection.
His friend, Dockworker B, ambled over and gave his shoulder a sympathetic pat.
Not far off, seated at a small table and sipping tea, Rekka, Stelle, and March 7th had watched the entire exchange unfold.
"Don't you guys think that's a little too cruel?" Stelle asked, cracking a melon seed between her teeth with a decisive snap. "He finally worked up the courage to confess, only to find out she literally doesn't have a heart."
"What's cruel about it?" Rekka countered, taking a leisurely sip of his tea. "If we're being technical, they're monsters."
"...You really know how to kill the romance in a moment," March 7th said, her expression completely deadpan. She then leaned forward, her curiosity piqued. "But can these Honkai Beasts really not develop feelings? Not even a little?"
"Not the lower-class ones," Rekka explained. "Without some serious external influence, they're just pure aggregates of Honkai Energy. Think of them as very pretty, very efficient robots."
"It's like they installed the graphics card but forgot the entire operating system," Stelle quipped.
"But they have the faces of such pretty girls!" March protested, her empathy kicking in. "Look at that poor guy just now! His face was beet red, he finally managed to squeeze out a few words, and she didn't even give him a proper look! She just turned, shouldered a box, and walked off. That was heartbreaking to watch!"
Stelle fanned the flames with a grin. "Exactly! If you're going to create a labor force, why make them so good-looking? You're just setting people up for this exact kind of disappointment. It's practically entrapment!"
Rekka shrugged. "If I'd used any other type of Honkai Beast, I'd have to get them past the Xianzhou's inspection board. I can't just bring the Titan Mechs from my ship over, and if I used standard mechs, they'd be classified as Civilian Aurumatons, which are restricted."
Meanwhile, Dockworker A finally unfroze. He trudged back to his station, his shoulders slumped in defeat, and listlessly picked up a length of hemp rope from the ground.
"Brother," he moaned, "I'm heartbroken."
"You were never even in a relationship," Dockworker B pointed out, not unkindly.
"But my heart hurts."
"If it hurts, go move some cargo. Once you're done, it won't hurt anymore."
The Knight-class Honkai Beast continued its silent, tireless work—carrying, stacking, and tying, its movements perfectly uniform, its efficiency astonishing.
In a dark corner of the warehouse, a hushed, frantic whisper broke the relative silence.
"Mr. Scott, are we really going to place this here…?"
"What do you know! If you don't say anything and I don't say anything, who's going to find out?" Scott hissed back. "Shh! Someone's coming! Get in the box and hide!"
With a clumsy scramble, Scott and his two subordinates concealed themselves inside a large, empty shipping crate. Through the thin gaps between the wooden slats, they watched as the expressionless face of a Knight-class Honkai Beast came into view.
The creature bent down, gripped the edges of their crate, and lifted. It was shockingly effortless. The crate barely even shook before it was hoisted steadily onto the Honkai Beast's shoulder.
Inside, the three men held their breath.
Oh my god.
"Mr. Scott, what do we do now?" one of the subordinates whispered, his voice trembling.
"Wait," Scott breathed. "We wait for her to put the box down, then we slip out when no one's looking."
"But Mr. Scott…" the other subordinate stammered, his voice laced with pure terror, "that person… the one carrying us… there was no light in her eyes at all. It was like… like the eyes of a dead person!"
"Mr. Scott!" the first one yelped as the crate tilted precariously.
The Honkai Beast walked to a far wall at the very back of the warehouse and placed their crate at the top of a towering stack.
"What's the situation outside?" Scott whispered after a moment of disorienting silence.
"...We… we seem to be on the very top layer…"
Just then, voices drifted up from far below.
"Wow, this batch of goods is stacked really high. If there are any fragile items inside…" It was Stelle's voice, floating up leisurely. To Scott's ears, it sounded more menacing than a death warrant.
Rekka's voice chimed in. "Who cares if they break? This whole batch is unwanted junk anyway. We can just take them all to be burned later."
"Burn them?" March 7th's voice joined the chorus. "With this many boxes, the fire will be huge! I just hope there aren't any living things inside. If they start screaming while they burn, that would be so scary."
The three men in the box froze instantly, not even daring to breathe.
"Alright, enough chatting," Rekka clapped his hands together, his voice booming through the warehouse. "A few of you, come here! We're going to throw all of these into the fire today and burn them clean!"
Behind his small sunglasses, Scott's eyes were wide with panic. Cold sweat dripped from the bridge of his nose.
"Hey, Rekka, are you sure all these boxes need to be burned?" Stelle's voice echoed in the cavernous space. "I see the wood for these boxes is quite sturdy. It would be a waste to burn them. Why don't we leave them for now?"
The voice of an angel! Scott thought, his heart soaring with hope.
"That's true," Rekka mused, rubbing his chin as he walked around the pile of cargo. "This wood is indeed not bad. It would be a shame to burn it."
A collective, silent sigh of relief came from within the topmost crate.
"But—" Rekka continued, "this pile of boxes is so high, if it collapses and hits someone one day, that'll be more trouble than just burning them. Forget it, let's just burn them and be done with it."
Stelle and March 7th glanced at each other, both struggling to contain the laughter threatening to burst from their eyes.
"Alright, burn them, burn them," Stelle agreed with a theatrical sigh.
"Move all these boxes to the incinerator!" Rekka commanded.
Several Knight-class Honkai Beasts converged on the stack, their vacant purple eyes staring straight at the crates. The box containing Scott and his men swayed violently in the air as it was lifted.
Scott was thrown off balance, his head smacking hard against the wooden wall of the crate with a dull thud.
"What was that sound?" March asked from below.
"It seemed to come from this box," Stelle observed, pointing.
"Could there be rats?"
Rekka grinned. "A mouse? If it's a mouse, roasted mouse might actually be pretty good."
"Hey, March, have you heard the story?" he asked, his voice deliberately loud.
"Heard? Heard what?"
"About the people who tried to hide inside a cargo crate," Rekka said, his voice echoing with malicious glee. "Oh my, once they're caught, the ending is quite miserable~"
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