Finally, Jun An evaluated Vita's technique and set the price: one hour of service was equivalent to supplies worth forty yuan at market price, such as eight packs of instant noodles or twenty bottles of water per hour.
Jun An basically used standard factory wages, rounded down, meaning she owed Jun An about twenty days of time. Adding what she owed before, Vita now owed him twenty-eight days.
Vita looked at her time being quantified into boxes of instant noodles and bottles of water, feeling quite conflicted. On one hand, she wished her time could sell for more; on the other, she wished she had more time.
Jun An's response was, "You have no skills, no education, and the work content is just simple repetition. How do you expect me to offer a high price? If it weren't for your good looks, you wouldn't even get this much."
Jun An stated this matter-of-factly, looking exactly like a black-hearted merchant.
Vita surprisingly found herself speechless. Doing squats, she said, "I originally thought our relationship could involve some feelings."
Jun An remained unmoved, pressing down on her waist. "Don't. Even blood brothers settle accounts clearly. Our relationship is just occasionally negative one in distance. Besides, considering your beauty, the hourly wage I've given isn't low. Of course, your hourly wage is higher than most people in my world."
"Hm, is that so?" Vita suddenly felt Jun An actually made some sense.
"What else?"
Jun An said, "Look, I didn't even take advantage of the apocalypse, jacking up prices while solely controlling precious resources, like those apocalypse stories where a pack of instant noodles gets you a whole night."
Vita thought about it, but perhaps because her 'gate of life' was currently blocked, her thinking wasn't as sharp as usual.
—In his perception, exchanging one pack of instant noodles for someone's twenty-four hours during the apocalypse is normal. Yet, with me, he still uses normal prices. In fact, one hour of my work can exchange for eight days of someone else's workload. This exchange rate looks like a really good deal.
Thinking this through, Vita suddenly had a Paramecium-level epiphany.
Understanding dawned, and Vita immediately wrapped her arms around the Captain's neck, apologizing, "Alright, alright, I misunderstood you. How's this for an apology?"
As Vita spoke, she tensed her body diligently. Although she wasn't great at hip movements, she somewhat understood the concept of 'brute force overcomes tricky techniques'.
Yes, the price Jun An offered really was quite high.
Of course, that's assuming we don't discuss the work content.
Jun An nodded. "Faster."
After Jun An emerged from Griseo's room, Fu Hua and the others were still helping the Little Vitas distribute supplies and soothe emotions.
Clearly, the supplies Jun An brought were sufficient.
"Fu Hua, aren't you resting?"
Jun An waved Fu Hua over. "We're combat personnel. We'll have to face Sa soon."
Among those present, besides Fu Hua in her collapsed state, no one else was qualified to face Sa head-on alongside Jun An.
Although Fu Hua's usual stats were considered normal among MANTISes, after collapsing, she became the most outstanding MANTIS. In the original story, when Fu Hua activated collapse, even Kevin had to activate his own collapse to stop her.
"It's alright. I'm used to prolonged combat."
Fu Hua shook her head. "How about you, Captain? How was your rest? The burden of Artificial Houkai Collapse shouldn't be small."
"Oh, I rested very well."
Jun An nodded. "Not a drop left."
"??"
"I meant fatigue."
"Then next time, if you feel fatigued, you can come find me."
"?"
"I know the massage techniques of Shenzhou. They can effectively alleviate fatigue."
"Oh, I'll try it when I get the chance."
After sensing Sa was sufficiently close, Fu Hua and Jun An went to the highest point of the Ark to welcome Sa's arrival together.
"Captain, is there a battle plan?"
"Nope. Just the two of us stopping Her, plain and simple."
Jun An looked at the sea of stars above. "But actually, neither of us is the main DPS. Kiana is."
Fu Hua was puzzled. "Kiana? She came too?"
"She doesn't need to come."
Jun An said, "I told Seele my plan when I came here. Simply put, it's to cause a commotion here large enough to be observed from Earth, using that as coordinates for Kiana to fire a shot here."
"But even at the speed of light, getting from the edge of the solar system to Earth takes at least thirty days..."
Because of Sa's inherent cowardly nature, Froth was established at the edge of the solar system, making communication with Earth almost impossible.
"That's why I brought Prometheus, the quantum supercomputer."
Jun An said, "It takes her less than thirty seconds to send a message to the Second Divine Key!"
"Meaning, we still have to hard-control Sa for thirty seconds?"
"Leave that to me."
Jun An said, "I still have trump cards hidden, after all. Just believe in me."
"Okay, I believe you."
Fu Hua nodded. Watching the giant phantom in the sky gradually solidify, Fu Hua couldn't help but feel nervous. The last time she felt this nervous was watching the Captain fight Finality Kevin.
And thinking of that, the image of Sa killing the Captain flashed through Fu Hua's mind again, causing a pang in her heart.
"Um, Captain... although this isn't the first life-or-death battle, can you listen to me for a moment?"
Fu Hua looked seriously at Jun An.
"Huh? So serious." Jun An looked at Fu Hua's face, feeling a bit apprehensive, but seeing her chest immediately calmed him down.
"What is it? Just say it directly. We're master and disciple; we don't need such formalities, right?"
"I like you."
"Huh?"
"That's all."
Fu Hua had never felt her face burn so hot. She tried hard to maintain composure and said, "I... I don't want the regret from last time to happen again. There were so many things I didn't get to say, only for us to be separated by death."
"So, this time, I don't want to wait until everything is over. I wanted to tell the Captain beforehand."
"..."
Jun An hadn't expected Fu Hua to be so bold. Honestly, compared to Theresa, Fu Hua's confession felt much more impactful—if you ignored her chest.
After calming down, Jun An went straight for the kill, "Um, I have wives."
Fu Hua retorted, "Do they mind?"
"Huh?"
What kind of logic is that? Shouldn't you be disappointed first?
"Well... from their perspective, no."
"Then I will continue to like the Captain."
"No, shouldn't you be the one who minds?"
"Captain, don't underestimate the pioneers who have guarded Shenzhou until now. Three wives and four concubines, a harem of three thousand—these are values I must accept."
Fu Hua looked at Jun An, seeing right through him. "Besides, the wives the Captain mentioned should be more than one, right?"
"Huh? Wait, how did you know that?!"
Jun An was certain Fu Hua's Fenghuang Down was definitely gone, used up during the fight against Kevin with Herrscher of Sentience. And in this world, apart from Jun An who used the Core of Reason, no one could create a new Fenghuang Down!
"Just a feeling."
Fu Hua looked at Jun An and smiled helplessly. "So you wouldn't mind one more, right? Although compared to the others, I'm not that..."
BOOM!!
Suddenly, a huge crack split open in the sky above. The massive commotion interrupted the two's exchange.
"Looks like the confession ends here."
Jun An couldn't help but sigh. "But after She saw me with Her own eyes, She indeed descended personally."
Fu Hua: "After all, from Sa's perspective, the current situation equates to us outsiders bringing the Honkai, not only trampling Her experimental ground but also imprisoning the seven Little Vitas She cared about."
"Yeah, and more importantly, seeing me, who can block Her omniscient authority, being so weak, She naturally wouldn't miss this golden opportunity."
The giant phantom in the sky looked at Jun An's form and began condensing a massive, flower-shaped laser cannon, intending to destroy Jun An and Fu Hua along with the Ark behind them.
The seven Little Vitas shared the same origin as Her; they probably wouldn't be harmed by this.
[Unobservable unknown. Must be eliminated.]
Sa's voice echoed in Jun An's ears.
"Really impatient, aren't you."
Jun An took out a serum injection and unhesitatingly plunged it into his heart, accelerating his heartbeat to spread the serum throughout his body faster.
This was the second dose of metamorphosis factor Mobius had given him. However, the genes within weren't derived from Honkai Beasts, but from something closer to the Imaginary Tree—Imaginary Construct: Nihilism!
This was the large iron giant Mei had fought in Nagazora City, an external entity born directly from the Imaginary Tree, bypassing the Cocoon of Finality.
After Jun An finished the second fusion, he immediately devoured the entire Judgement-class Honkai Beast that had been wreaking havoc on Froth, replenishing the Honkai energy insufficient due to his recent power-up.
Sa also knew things had gone wrong and immediately fired the world-ending blast at Jun An.
"You really think I can't stop it?"
Jun An quickly raised his hand. A dozen ice walls formed a shield, directly refracting the attack away.
[Unexpected factor appeared. Retreating.]
Sa's voice sounded again. Then, large numbers of Paradise Sentinels and peacock-like monsters, "Buds of Wish," poured out from the crack, along with a giant mech rising from the ground.
Behind the crack, Sa's figure began to slowly withdraw.
"Hit and run? Who taught you that!"
Jun An almost laughed out of anger. As expected of the strongest point-farmer king. Even though Her power level far exceeds mine, She doesn't dare take any risks, preferring even to leave behind robots like the Star-Crosser just to escape.
Really doesn't take any risks at all.
"But that's fine too. My current Honkai energy is only enough for this one shot. If you had fought seriously, you might have had a chance."
Jun An had only eaten one Judgement-class Honkai Beast just now. Adding his original Honkai energy, it was still less than one-third of his full capacity.
In this state, if Sa had any guts, Jun An's fate would have been uncertain.
"Fu Hua, I might lose some combat power later. I'll leave the rest to you!"
Fu Hua quickly entered Artificial Houkai Collapse. "Captain, do whatever you want to do. I'll handle the rest!"
"Good!"
Jun An directly entered the Overloaded Metamorphosis state, his entire form transforming into a mix of Honkai Beast and Imaginary Construct features, his aura rapidly changing.
Jun An clenched his hand, and a greatsword made of ice appeared. Then, pushing off with both feet again, the entire Ark shook violently as Jun An's body rapidly approached the crack.
Jun An focused all his Honkai energy and authorities into this single sword strike!
"This sword illuminates ten thousand rivers!"
Sa's massive, bloated body was directly frozen solid in place by Jun An's sword strike. Simultaneously, Jun An imbued this strike with the authority of Imaginary Construct Nihilism—Time Stop!
At the cost of all Jun An's Honkai energy, it was enough to freeze Sa for over forty seconds.
If Sa had chosen to fight Jun An from the start, just consuming a bit more of Jun An's Honkai energy, Her chances of winning would definitely not have been low.
This time, Her cowardice doomed Her!
Prometheus and Kiana didn't disappoint Jun An either. Thirty seconds later, an attack spanning across the solar system descended directly, blasting Sa's giant body apart in one hit.