Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

Kiana saved the little girl's contact information.

She then moved on to the next area, planning to check out some of the research departments.

Shirogane Miyuki's work was tiring, especially since many of Dr. Tesla's documents needed to be handled by someone like him, essentially an errand boy.

But the rewards were plentiful.

Almost every student who came in was taken care of, and among them, one girl in particular received special attention from Dr. Tesla.

However, Dr. Tesla was off today, seemingly transferred to other work, finally giving Shirogane a breather.

He was rarely able to leave the research institute before 10 pm.

The people at Anti-Entropy were genuinely good. Compared to the jerks Shirogane had encountered before, these people truly had a sense of scientific dedication.

Perhaps Tesla herself possessed a similar quality, as the people she trained often shared this spirit of scientific devotion.

"Huh? Futaba-san, not playing with your clones today?"

Shirogane saw another student in a lab coat as he was leaving.

This student seemed obsessed with lab coats, insisting on wearing one every day, leading one to suspect their closet was filled with similar attire.

His question brought a bead of cold sweat to Futaba Rio's forehead.

What did he mean by "playing with clones"? Did he think having clones was a good thing? That was a result of Honkai energy effects. If something went wrong, Futaba Rio didn't think she could withstand the Honkai energy corrosion.

Shirogane said enviously, "I'm so jealous of you sometimes. If I had the ability to clone myself, I'd definitely work two jobs, attend two schools, and hold two positions at once."

"Uh, this..." Futaba wasn't good with words today; she was completely bewildered by Shirogane's reaction.

"You're a strange person," she finally concluded.

"Haha, am I? By the way, do you know how Dr. Tesla's been lately? I heard she was forced to stop working?"

Shirogane was still a bit worried about Tesla's situation. After all, 99% of the jobs at the research institute were in Tesla's hands. Anyone could have problems, but Tesla absolutely couldn't.

"I contacted her. She said she was forcibly kept at home by 'a certain bastard, son of a bitch, psychotic snot-nosed slug mud tentacle monster pervert.' She finished with 'motherfucker' and informed me that I could take a break from work for a while."

Futaba's answer was so specific that Shirogane didn't know whether to believe her.

Well, I'll just assume it's true.

Shirogane didn't think too much about it; he wasn't interested in prying into Dr. Tesla's personal life.

"Futaba-san, if Dr. Tesla comes back, please let me know in advance."

Futaba was silent for a moment and then asked, "Are you going to tell your friend?"

She knew Shirogane had a friend named Hikigaya Hachiman, who worked as a security student and was usually quite busy.

The two had met when they enrolled and had even worked together, so they had a decent relationship.

"He's run into some trouble lately, so I'm wondering if I can find a chance to ask Dr. Tesla, see if she knows anything."

Shirogane was indeed quite worried; he couldn't shake off the unease he felt after hearing about Hikigaya Hachiman's situation.

Some evil cultists hiding within the academy city would make anyone apprehensive.

That was the advantage of staying at the research institute—he had access to the upper-level researchers of the academy city at any time. If he could get some valuable information, he could avoid a lot of unnecessary danger.

While the two were discussing this, the white-haired Tuna arrived at the gate of the research institute.

Kiana looked up at the dark research institute, wondering what Tesla usually did inside.

Perhaps her black leather jacket and pants were too eye-catching, as the two students doing odd jobs immediately noticed her.

The white-haired Tuna definitely had a strong presence, whether it was her personality or her appearance.

Huh? I feel like I've seen her somewhere before...

A flicker of doubt arose in Shirogane's mind. Various images flashed through his head, but he couldn't recall when he had seen Kiana.

He had seen her before, back when she was still a small, white-haired Tuna.

"Excuse me, the research institute is closed. If you have any business, please come back tomorrow."

Shirogane kindly reminded her.

Kiana then noticed the two of them and asked in surprise, "Aren't you students? Why are you leaving so late? Does the research institute hire child laborers?"

Shirogane resisted the urge to retort, calming himself before explaining, "No, we're just student helpers. It's like how teachers always make students do chores at school."

"So as long as you don't pay wages, it's not considered child labor? What an advanced governance strategy!"

Kiana's sarcasm darkened Shirogane's face even further.

Where did this strange woman come from?

"Do you need something? I see you've been looking inside."

Shirogane quickly brought the conversation back on track.

Kiana shook her head and said, "No, I'm just curious about what's inside. I've never been in before, and I'm always a little worried about it just sitting here."

Shirogane found the girl's words a bit amusing. The people in the research institute weren't worried; why should an outsider be?

"Don't worry, this place has the latest scientific achievements, the top scientific talent, not to mention military-grade protection. What could possibly go wrong?"

Shirogane's reassurance didn't ease Kiana's mind; instead, it made her expression even stranger.

"Don't you think you sound like an extra in a disaster movie? Usually, when someone says that, something's bound to happen inside."

As Kiana spoke, she pointed at the research institute. She decisively pulled out the flag Shirogane had just planted.

Can we communicate?! Can we even communicate?! How can there be such a strange person?!

"Well, it's good that you don't seem as troubled as I imagined. It's hard to listen to people complain all the time. Sometimes, when I can't help, I just have to cover my ears."

Kiana had indeed peered into many people's thoughts within the Kaslana Stigmata Space, but these thoughts were mostly emotional and negative. These had to be filtered through her before they could gradually be cleared out.

Now, it seemed the situation was somewhat different. People's behavior in reality far exceeded their own random thoughts when alone.

A disconnect emerged between reality and dreams.