Honkai Impact 3rd: My Days as a Captain in Schicksal

"I knew it... how come there's so little stuff..." Keng Huo muttered to himself. Although the transport ship was so huge that it was almost as big as the floating battleship Hyperion, it couldn't fit all the expansion modules he had requested.

After all, he applied for six building packages, four of which were infrastructure projects that were built almost from scratch, and the number of components and building modules included was extraordinary.

"Please sign here. Once you've signed, we'll begin the expansion immediately," the middle-aged man urged Keng Huo to sign quickly.

Although Keng Huo was surprised by the other party's eagerness, it did not stop him from signing the acceptance form without hesitation. After all, there was nothing wrong with the form from any angle, and the other party would definitely not dare to play any tricks on the territory of an S-class Valkyrie.

Seeing that Keng Huo had finished signing, the middle-aged man turned around with a sigh of relief and shouted to the entrance of the transport ship passage connecting to the hub port: "Start construction immediately!"

After shouting, the middle-aged man turned around and asked Keng Huo very urgently, "Excuse me, where is the restroom here?"

Keng Huo's expression suddenly became quite interesting: "You don't have a restroom on your transport ship?"

"No! The airship is so fast, it only takes a few hours to circumnavigate the globe, there's absolutely no need to design a restroom there." The middle-aged man's expression revealed a hint of helplessness and frustration. "So where's the restroom?"

“Oh… go straight there and turn left…” Keng Huo looked at the middle-aged man with the eyes of someone looking at an alien, “Right…”

"Excuse me!" The middle-aged man didn't even listen to what Keng Huo was about to say. He dashed off like a gust of wind in the direction Keng Huo was pointing, his agility unlike that of an office worker.

"There's only a women's restroom here..." The middle-aged man finally managed to utter the rest of his questioning sentence after he disappeared into the end of the passage.

Watching the middle-aged man's disappearing figure, Keng Huo's eyes were filled with admiration.

"People from headquarters are different. As an ordinary person, you dared to solo Valkyrie's toilet. That courage deserves me to offer you a bouquet of flowers at your grave next year."

After a while, the middle-aged man walked out from the other end of the passage with a satisfied look on his face, and thanked them again, completely unaware of Keng Huo's admiring yet slightly regretful gaze.

"What a pity. If a Valkyrie were in the restroom right now, I could use the excuse of inspecting the riot to openly barge into the women's restroom..." Keng Huo sighed inwardly, "Even if it were the Valkyrie's restroom!"

"Let's go down first. The transport ship is about to begin deploying its expansion modules. It's safer not to stay in the hub port." The middle-aged man was clearly unaware of Keng Huo's ulterior motives, nor did he realize that the restroom was the women's restroom.

That makes sense; restrooms with only one gender don't need gender labels at all...

Fortunately, there weren't many people in the hub port at the moment, only a few technicians maintaining daily data, so the evacuation was very quick.

When everyone arrived at the bottom of the hub port, they were suddenly surprised to find that the area below the hub port was already surrounded by the newly recruited Valkyries who had no classes or missions. They were excitedly pointing at the transport ships in the air and chattering away. The sound was like a thousand sparrows having a meeting, which assaulted Keng Huo's ears. Even with his hearing, he could only barely make out a few words.

"Something seems off about the Hyperion today?"

"Isn't that the Hyperion?"

"It must be because we gathered too much material during this sortie that the ship's hull is stretched to its limit!"

"Wow, that makes sense!"

"That's not the Hyperion!"

"Wait a minute, didn't the Hyperion just set sail yesterday? It won't be back until tomorrow, right?"

"They must have had too much cargo from the hunt and couldn't fit it all, so they came back early! Look, the boat's flanks are bulging!"

"So that's not the Hyperion!!"

With a slight headache, Keng Huo gently pushed aside the excited Valkyries who had gathered around him, giving each of them a melon seed to crack open.

"Your branch's Valkyries..." the middle-aged man wiped his smooth forehead, "are quite energetic... and have quite a vivid imagination too..."

Keng Huo looked around and spoke of other things.

Just as Keng Huo was struggling to figure out how to respond, the huge transport ship slowly moved to the top of the hub port.

Then, its enormous, pregnant-looking hull opened with a creaking sound, like a giant mouth, and slowly sank. Just when Keng Huo almost thought that the transport ship was about to swallow the hub port, it stopped.

Then, like rain, large and small building modules, like packed luggage, kept falling from its hangar. As these modules fell, they seemed to hit an invisible deceleration net, and their descent speed slowed down until they were completely suspended in mid-air.

Some building modules landed directly on the ground. After they touched the ground, their smooth metal shells suddenly and slowly cracked open, unfolding like flowers. The metal plates of the shells were laid on the ground, while the central machinery automatically assembled along the tracks inside the metal shells, forming a larger mechanical structure like building blocks.

Keng Huo stared in disbelief as the building modules assembled on their own as if they were alive, doubling the size of the hub port's foundation in just a few minutes.

“This is a unique technology of our branch,” the middle-aged man said with a hint of pride. “We break down the entire building into countless distinguishable small modules. After dropping them from the air, we use an anti-gravity controller to precisely adjust the position of each module. Once they are placed in the correct positions, they are unfolded in sequence, creating an effect like magic that brings the entire building to life. Therefore, our building modules are also known as magic modules.”

Keng Huo did not answer the man, but continued to stare at the architectural modules that were beautifully unfolding.

Yes, blossoming—only this word can describe everything Keng Huo sees before him at this moment.

Keng Huo watched as the modules suspended in the air deftly assembled themselves, connecting with the main body of the hub port. The metal shell expanded outward to form a platform, while the adjacent modules unfolded their internal metal structures, becoming the connecting and supporting structures between the various floors.

This kind of construction is simply challenging people's values.

Normal expansion usually involves demolishing the original building and rebuilding it, or building more infrastructure around the original building.

But the expansion of this hub port opened Keng Huo's eyes; it could even be said to have challenged the entire field of human architecture.

The modules, like snowflakes, adhere to the building itself and connect to the pre-installed external interfaces. Like a snowball rolling downhill, the scale of the entire building is growing larger and larger as more building modules are assembled.

It's like being reborn.

"No wonder it's called an expansion pack..." Keng Huo muttered to himself, his expression suddenly becoming excited. "Do you guys have any building modules that you can stack together, then use one module to form the head, and turn it into a robot that can move, fly, and whose ultimate attack is a planet-destroying cannon?"

"...I'm sorry, Destiny doesn't have that much in-depth research on mecha."

"Do you guys have those kinds of building modules that you can install on a vehicle, where you can unfold the truck bed to create a base, throw in wood and gold to create farmers, and then have the farmers kneel on the ground and frantically pound the ground with small hammers to create a building module that can continuously produce soldiers by throwing in steel and gold?"

"...I'm sorry, but judging from the level of science fiction you described, I don't think so..."

"Tsk, don't you guys have any decent skills to show for yourselves?" Keng Huo's face was full of disappointment.

"..." The middle-aged man's face stiffened noticeably.

"By the way, how about buying some construction accident insurance?" The middle-aged man quickly broke the silence and continued to chat with Keng Huo.

"Insurance?" Keng Huo stared in disbelief. "What did you say?"

“Insurance, of course,” the middle-aged man said matter-of-factly. “Our Siberian branch not only undertakes expansion projects, but also provides insurance for all kinds of building repairs. We offer a one-month free return policy and a three-year warranty on the facilities we build. If you purchase our building accident insurance, we can also give you a 10% discount on future expansion projects…”

"Stop, stop, stop, stop! Didn't we apply to headquarters for expansion support?" Keng Huo looked horrified, feeling as if he had vaguely stumbled upon some incredible inside story. "Why is it the Siberian branch? And what's with selling insurance? Can a branch do this kind of work?"

"Yeah, making a living is so tough these days, which branch doesn't do other work? After all, the materials extracted from Honkai Crystals and Honkai Beast corpses are the hard currency within Schicksal. Branches like ours with no source of income should definitely expand into other businesses... Oh, and how about buying some insurance?"

"Wait, wait... I'm a little confused," Keng Huo interrupted the middle-aged man. "Isn't headquarters going to take care of this?"

"Why should headquarters care? We're not bothering them with our business." The middle-aged man curled his lip. "Why don't you just buy some insurance?"

"How much?" Keng Huo asked tentatively.

"Not expensive, two hundred units of refined Honkai Beast tissue fluid, and eight hundred units of roughly processed Honkai Beast structural joints." The middle-aged man stared at Keng Huo with hopeful eyes. "Buy it, buy it!"

Keng Huo did a rough calculation and immediately flew into a rage: "You call this not expensive?"

There aren't that many materials in the entire St. Freya Academy right now!

Of course, this is also inevitably related to the fact that St. Freya Academy is extremely poor...

Even with her persuasive eloquence, it took her a lot of talking to deal with this middle-aged man. The two argued from the beginning of the expansion to its completion, but they still couldn't reach a conclusion.

"Which bastard came up with the idea of ​​having the Siberian branch sell insurance? Is there anyone in this world who can cause more trouble than me?!" Keng Huo roared in fury. "I refuse to accept this! I'll see who the real king of troublemakers is!"

Chapter Fifty-Two: The Completely Renovated School

Keng Huo ultimately didn't buy that insurance policy.

Since the other party also said that the Siberian branch has no source of income, then naturally there is no money to compensate in case of an accident, so what is the use of buying this insurance?

Moreover, St. Freya Academy can't afford insurance right now.

"Are the other branches also doing business?" Keng Huo interrupted the middle-aged salesman, asking with great interest, as a startling idea was unfolding in his mind.

“Yes,” the middle-aged man answered without hesitation, “In Africa, we sell all kinds of rare minerals and offer mercenary services; in West Asia, we build large-scale collapse furnaces; and in Europe, we open supply crates and contract shipbuilding businesses…”

"What? Open the supply crate on my behalf?" Keng Huo's ears caught a strange piece of information.

"Yeah, you know perfectly well that when a branch submits a supply request to headquarters, headquarters just randomly sends over a bunch of crates. If there's anything good, you're in luck; if not, you're in for a world of hurt. Requesting a supply crate requires submitting 280 units of Honkai Crystal Ore to headquarters, something only found in the Endless Abyss..." The middle-aged man said matter-of-factly. "It's said that the head of logistics at headquarters is a philistine... named Nicholas Wei, who says luck is also part of strength... I think he's just trying to line his own pockets, pocketing all the weapons and equipment headquarters issues to the branches and then selling them on the internal black market..."

"Wait, this is a lot of information, let me catch my breath..." Keng Huo felt that there were always people more capable than him and mountains beyond mountains. He realized that he had always been narrow-minded and complacent about his small achievements. He never expected that the Destiny was actually run by such a group of people with screws in their heads.

"Come, come, brother, I see you have an extraordinary bearing and are no ordinary person. Why don't we come over here and have a chat?" Keng Huo felt as if the person in front of him was an inexhaustible treasure trove. With a look of surprise and admiration, he pulled him to a corner and squatted down. "Let me ask you first, what's the deal with the European branch opening supply boxes on your behalf?"

The middle-aged man scratched his head, seemingly a little embarrassed: "No need to be so formal, my name is von Tolovsky, Mr. Keng, just call me by my name... As for that supply crate opening service, it's really a mystery. It's said that supply crates touched by people from the European branch have a high chance of yielding good anti-Honkai weapons... Of course, it's all just mystery, and I don't know if it actually works... But I heard that the African branch's biggest expense every year is spending on commissioning the European branch to open supply crates, but over the years, the African branch hasn't made any progress. I've heard that the branch council there is now divided into two factions, one believes that they should continue to commission the European branch to open crates, and the other believes that the money should be saved for something else..."

Keng Huo pulled out a small notebook at some point and quickly jotted down what von Tolovsky had said: "I've learned a lot... What is that internal black market you mentioned earlier? Can our branch join it?"

Von Tolovsky smiled mysteriously: "Of course, it's not difficult at all, but your branch hasn't joined the black market trade? That's unlikely, isn't it? The research centers of various branches often sell their independently developed weapons and equipment on the black market, don't they?"

Keng Huo smiled shyly and honestly: "Well... you see... our superiors here are crazy, they're very strict and won't let us participate in this kind of underground business... Can I join as an individual? You see, there are so many girls in our branch, I also want to settle down here... I should at least get some good stuff to give away, right?"

“No problem, I’ll help you with this! There are plenty of people trading in the black market on an individual basis,” von Tolovsky thumped his chest loudly, pulling out his communicator. “Take out your communicator, I’ll send you an invitation code…”

Invitation code? Keng Huo almost fainted when he drew it.

But Keng Huo still took out his communicator, and with a grin, he completed the handover of the invitation code with von Tolovsky, and also left their private contact information on each other's communicators.

“You should register an account first…” Von Tolovsky carefully instructed Keng Huo from the side.

"Wow, my friend, you've really been a great help!" Keng Huo patted von Tolovsky on the shoulder with a beaming smile. "If you ever need my help again, just let me know!"

"Then how about buying some insurance?"

"Hey, look, isn't the hub port finished? When will the other transport ships arrive?" Keng Huo asked excitedly, glancing around the subject as he happened to see the large transport ship slowly putting away its hangar.

"Hmm... this kind of basic expansion should be done in a few tens of minutes. The other transport ships have also been scheduled, they should be arriving soon..." Von Tolovsky squinted, looking at the transport ship against the light. "Brother, are you really not going to buy some insurance?"

"...Well, I'm sure you've noticed, our branch here is still under construction, and we simply can't afford that much money." Keng Huo sighed, feigning dejection. "We're practically starving right now... If it weren't for headquarters paying for it this time, we wouldn't even be able to build the hub port."

“Hey, we’ve all been there, I understand your pain.” Von Tolovsky patted Keng Huo on the shoulder with empathy. “Our Siberian branch was also forced to rebuild before. I heard that the energy peak of this Honkai outbreak here was very high… Hey, never mind, it’s all sad stuff. Hey bro, why don’t you buy some insurance?”

Von Tolovsky believed that the Far East Branch was in such dire straits because it had lost most of its infrastructure in the collapse, but Keng Huo did not point this out.

"Didn't I say I had no money?!"

"Ahem, sorry, it's an occupational hazard, it's just a verbal tic, a verbal tic." Von Tolovsky coughed twice, embarrassed, to cover up his awkwardness.

When the subsequent transport ships arrive one after another, the spectacle will be so spectacular that it could be submitted to the Cannes Film Festival without any editing and win the Best Special Effects Award. If filmed from a different angle, it could win another award next year. Over the years, St. Freya Academy might become wealthy by selling trophies...

Following the architectural plans that Keng Huo had previously prepared, the transport ships found the construction sites of the venues they were responsible for and began construction at almost the same time.

The construction method of these transport ships is somewhat different from that of the previous expansion of the hub port. They do not open the hangar in the air, but first dock at the hub port, transport all personnel off the ship, and then fly directly to the predetermined construction site in an automatic program, slowly descending to a height of about two stories.