NIKKE, When the Milky Way Blossoms

Why did the main characters suddenly go to the power plant on a mission?

Just as Helen was inwardly screaming in frustration, Phoenix was also racking his brains, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall Anderson's original intention in sending the main characters to the power plant.

He vaguely remembered Anderson saying afterward that he went to the power plant to obtain enough energy to supply the Ark for two months.

Ha, for energy?

This is clearly an insult to the protagonist's lack of extracurricular knowledge.

The ark is located several kilometers underground. According to the geothermal gradient table, the average temperature 3km underground exceeds 100 degrees Celsius, which is more than enough to boil water.

To understand the true nature of humankind's use of coal mines and nuclear fission to generate electricity, it is essentially just boiling water.

Therefore, there's no reason for the underground ark to lack energy.

Even if we take a step back and assume that it can survive for a long time in an environment of over 100 degrees Celsius, it can also ensure that the temperature of the bedrock underground is maintained at around 20 degrees Celsius, so that Master Kansi's brains won't be burned when he's digging the tunnel.

With such a high-tech temperature control device, would the Ark still lack energy?

Phoenix would rather believe that humanity has mastered micro-nuclear fusion than believe the nonsense that the underground ark would lack energy.

Of course, it's true that Ark is short of junk.

Living several kilometers underground, many of the raw materials needed by human society are simply unavailable. They can only rely on collecting garbage from the surface and transporting it underground, where it undergoes a series of complex processes for reuse, allowing citizens to live a life no different from that on the surface.

and so……

The Ark doesn't actually lack energy; Anderson is definitely misleading the protagonist. So what are the prerequisites for a power plant?

Unable to understand this, Phoenix felt as if his heart was being patted back and forth with a feather duster, stinging and itchy, extremely uncomfortable.

After a long while...

Suddenly!

As if he had received guidance from a master, or as if he had been hit by an apple, the man who had been obsessively thinking about something and almost wore his head out finally saw the light.

If you forget about it, then forget about it.

This is a thing of the past, and it's related to Anderson anyway, so why don't I just ask Farin directly?

What's there to be conflicted about?

"By the way, why was Huaerqiulei sent to the power plant?"

The lieutenant didn't bother to hide it; after all, everyone present except Helen was one of his own, and he himself had an official mental illness certificate.

So what if Helen reports the scene of her directly communicating with Farin through the void to Burning?

I'm mentally ill!

Are we not allowed to have mental illness episodes?

Helen: "?"

Upon hearing the lieutenant's unexpected question, Captain Helen, who couldn't see the ghost sister, naturally assumed that Phoenix was asking her about Waltham.

"Well... I overheard this at the banquet on the Praise, and I don't know the specifics, Lieutenant."

Meanwhile, the captain was awkwardly explaining the source of the information.

Over there, the Ghost Intelligence Chief had already recounted the entire reason why Anderson had sent Walter to the power plant.

With Farin explaining in detail, Phoenix, whose memory had been blank, finally managed to sort out his thoughts.

Despite the script being a complete mess, Anderson still proceeded with the original plot, arranging for the protagonist to go to the power plant, with very simple prerequisites.

—The higher-ups suspect that Huaerqiulei also possesses extremely rare and unusual abilities.

Ever since this girl left MMR Affiliated High School and began carrying out missions on the ground as a commander, she has attracted the attention of various vice commanders in the command headquarters in just half a month with a 100% mission success rate.

Such remarkable achievements have truly ignited the excitement of everyone involved.

The upper echelons of the Ark have suffered under the Second Lieutenant for too long!

Now, another commander has emerged who seems to be able to rival him, but he lacks assertiveness, is not good at strategy, is easily fooled, and has almost zero political wisdom.

what is this?

These are the future combat heroes of Ark!

Thus, under the swift arrangement of the command center, Commander Huaerqiulei of Ark Heroes carried out a high-difficulty virtual operation in the simulation room.

After the combat footage was reviewed by various experts, including Burningham, they all agreed that the young girl was incomparable to that crazy lieutenant.

Forget about the expected affordable alternative, it can't even come close to a lower-tier alternative.

Yet this commander, who theoretically wouldn't survive his first mission, managed to complete multiple ground missions, and even successfully reported on a challenging reconnaissance operation.

This unusual phenomenon naturally drew the attention of all high-ranking officials once again.

After a heated discussion, the vice commanders unanimously agreed that Commander Valerie and Commander Phoenix still had things in common.

—They all possess extraordinary abilities.

Moreover, the extraordinary abilities that Huaerqiulei displayed were far superior to those of that lieutenant.

She seems to be able to unconsciously enhance the temporary combat capabilities of the Nikis.

Especially in situations that threaten her life, this amplification effect can force Niki's prosthetic power to exceed its theoretical power limit.

To prove whether this viewpoint is correct or not.

The higher-ups immediately slammed their fists on the table, ordering the new commander to take Niki to a power plant far beyond her capabilities, to see if she could return alive from that power plant.

Chapter 182 What is that guy doing now?

“Anderson…Waldjohn…her mental fortitude and her overall perspective…do not meet our expectations.”

According to the latest reconnaissance, the Lechers in Region K are... their numbers... are migrating northward...

At the command post, Burningham, leaning on his cane, arrived alone at Anderson's office.

At this moment, there were a few wrinkles etched between his eyebrows, and his stuttering was much smoother than usual. Not only that, but even his shifty-eyed demeanor had inadvertently dissipated somewhat.

All these details undoubtedly show Anderson that Vice Commander Burningham was very anxious and impatient.

Nearly ten thousand Lechers migrated en masse from Region K toward the polar regions like a herd of bison. Even if the purpose of these mechanical spiders was unknown, their sheer size was enough to attract the attention of the Ark's upper echelons and cause tension among the powerful and wealthy.

"Let...let Lieutenant Phoenix track down Lecher. This isn't just my opinion...it's not just my opinion, Anderson."

"All the various factions on Ark are stirring, even the military... they want to dispatch ground intelligence... special squadrons, teams... teams, to investigate the Lecher Group."

At the table, Anderson patiently waited for Burningham to finish his rambling. Then, he slowly closed his eyes, touched his cufflinks, and asked:

"What's that guy doing at MMR High School now?"

Regarding the fact that the short, fat man forcibly stuffed the Aegis forces into the special squadron, everyone, including the intelligence department, knew that this was because the command was determined to plant spies around Phoenix.

Therefore, Anderson didn't bother to check the surveillance footage and instead directly asked Burningham about news about someone from the past two days.

"Lieutenant Phoenix..."

The moment the chubby deputy commander recalled the intelligence Helen had sent in the early hours of the morning, his facial features became increasingly contorted, even displaying a rare bitter smile and speechlessness.

"He..."

……

"I'll say it again! There's no rule that you have to play to the core when fighting Lecher!"

On the playground of MMR High School, about a hundred students, including Niki, were sitting obediently on the artificial turf.

Pairs of eyes, subtly conveying their affection, would glance at the instructor on the platform one moment, and then follow the ruler in the instructor's hand to look at the 1:1 replica of the Selfless-level Lecher "figure".

Phoenix grabbed a ruler, pointed it at the feed belt of the Lecher cannon, and said loudly:

"You'll have ten more minutes to review. After that, everyone will begin drawing the ammunition supply systems for the five 'Selfless' Lecher aircraft we'll be studying today! The exam will last six hours!"

Those who fail are not allowed to return to their dorms; they will have extra training at the shooting range tonight!

Those who don't get a perfect score aren't allowed back to the dorm; they'll be sleeping on the playground tonight!

As soon as the man finished speaking, all the girls below the stage, including Mihara, Yuni, Marian, and other members of the special squadron, lowered their heads and solemnly began to peruse the Lecher anatomy data on the tablet.

It's been three days.

It's been three days.

Throughout the entire MMR affiliated high school, apart from the two top students, Labi and Maruchana, who consistently achieved perfect scores, the other girls, even Marian, whose practical experience was not much weaker than Labi's, failed to obtain perfect scores in the first two theoretical exams.

According to the rules, if you don't get a perfect score, you can only camp and sleep on the playground, and even your wife is no exception!

This is a sacred high school; no one is allowed special privileges!

As a result, the lieutenant slept exceptionally well these past two days, and even his complexion recovered to half of its original level!

Whenever Phoenix thinks about the three mass-produced levels above the "Selfless" level Rachel—the Servant level Rachel, the Transcendent level Rachel, and the Master level Rachel—he feels that his kidneys won't suffer for the next two months.

It's considered the "Selfless" level, with a total of four levels of Lecher, and nearly a hundred models in total, enough to keep the wives obediently camped on the playground for dozens of days.

If the requirements were even stricter, it could easily take half a year to complete.