Honkai Diary: Start With Picking Up A White-Haired Treasure

"So, you called me late at night just to discuss this self-defense system?"

"It's the Hive System."

"No, why are you so insistent on using that name?"

"You don't understand. Advanced technology deserves an equally sophisticated name. Consider the Divine Keys - they have names like Void Archives, Fenghuang Down, Abyss Flower, and Judgment of Shamash. My Fourth-Gen Valkyrie Armor is part of the Moon Knight series... 'Self-defense System' sounds too bland, completely lacking soul!"

On the screen, Otto spoke eloquently with a highly professional demeanor.

Zeke, however, could only shake his head in exasperation and turned to address the silver-haired beauty standing behind Otto within the video feed:

"Miss Amber, you truly have my utmost admiration for enduring this."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all. It's simply what I should do."

Otto glanced at his trusted assistant, then back at Zeke on the screen, looking utterly puzzled:

"Are you two badmouthing me?"

"No," replied Zeke.

"Not at all, Lord Bishop," echoed Amber simultaneously.

Sighing, Zeke continued:

"Fine, let's stick with the Hive System then. Well, that's enough for now. I'm going to sleep. Unlike you, who seems to have transcended human concerns, I am still mortal and need rest; lack of sleep affects my growth."

"Oh! Wait, there's so much more I wanted to discuss! Don't worry about development—you shouldn't concern yourself with height or length issues. If needed in the future, I can always arrange adjustments for you. My body modification technology is second to none!"

"Length..." Zeke's lips twitched.

As a 500-year-old man, suddenly dropping innuendos before someone young like me—speeding up, crashing into it—is this appropriate? Absolutely not!

Unfazed, Otto replied, "What are you thinking? As someone who has lived over five centuries, I've long surpassed worldly desires. I was merely discussing scientific matters quite seriously."

Zeke rolled his eyes.

Yeah right, I don't believe a word!

"So, what exactly do you want to say? Spit it out quickly—I need to get some sleep!"

"Young man, don't be so irritable! If your temper flares, feel free to use K-423 as desired, just ensure no fatal accidents occur. It doesn't bother me."

"...That's not funny." Zeke composed himself, sitting upright.

Then, Otto stroked his chin and smiled, saying:

"It seems you've already made your stance clear."

"Yes."

Zeke nodded calmly, without any hint of hesitation.

If he couldn't even dare to express his position, there was no point in competing with Otto for control. Moreover, this wasn't something that could be hidden from Otto.

Otto smiled and nodded, acknowledging Zeke's stance. He showed neither anger nor regret for not acting earlier, and there was no indication of intending to eliminate future threats now. Instead, he found it intriguing. After five centuries, few things still captivated him or piqued his anticipation.

This might also explain why, in the original history, he often went overboard with his schemes.

"So, shall we continue discussing matters related to the Hive?" asked Otto.

"Please go ahead," replied Zeke.

"Hmm, let me think... where should I start..." Otto pondered aloud. "We've discussed issues like controlling the power limits of laser weapons, the composition and substitution of advanced materials, as well as the automation programming logic for production lines. Initially, I thought you aimed to establish a highly efficient production base once you had secured your footing. But now it appears that you've essentially turned every worker bee into a producer!"

"Worker bees? Do you mean individual units?" Zeke paused momentarily before pointing at the spherical mechanism, roughly palm-sized, hovering above his hand.

Otto's eyes lit up, and he nodded, saying:

"You finally understand, don't you? That's exactly what I meant! Imagine thousands upon thousands of worker bees, undaunted by sacrifice, stinging enemies together just to protect you, their sole king! The Hive System and Worker Bee submachines—what fitting names indeed! You should thank me for these, you artless fellow!"

"...Well then, thank you."

Despite Zeke being taken aback by Otto's sudden change in demeanor, he had to admit the names were suitable. He decided to use them as is.

Otto continued his analysis: "Ahem! Back to the main topic. With controlled laser output, it can serve not only as a laser cannon but also as a cutting tool or even an engraver. By equipping the worker bees with manipulator arms and employing sufficiently advanced programming... provided there are ample raw materials, each worker bee could autonomously produce new machines, effectively cloning itself for propagation, correct?"

Zeke remained silent, but from within the spherical machine on his hand, several slender silvery-white tentacles slowly extended, waved gracefully in the air for a moment, and then gradually retracted.

This gesture clearly indicated agreement.

"A clever approach. Turning every worker bee into a producer minimizes the risk associated with fixed production bases—it's quite brilliant!"

In front of Zeke, Otto applauded appreciatively.

Then, he continued:

"I looked into it, and recently, there have been cases of armories and steel factories being inexplicably emptied in distant cities you've never visited. Due to their far-off locations, I hadn't even noticed. Now, thinking back, you must have released invisible worker drones under my watchful gaze, quietly expanding your population where abundant raw materials were available. What I'm seeing now is likely just a portion of all the worker drones; many more must be lurking beyond my sight, right?"

"Who knows? Perhaps even at this moment, thousands upon thousands of worker drones may still be tirelessly laboring beneath the Mediterranean Sea floor."

Schicksal's headquarters floated above the Mediterranean region.

Zeke's response was undeniably laden with tension.

Zeke smiled, and Otto smiled as well.

Standing behind Otto, Amber couldn't help but feel that on the other side of the screen, it seemed like there should have been one of Otto's clones instead.

Otto asked, "After implementing this system without any concealment, blatantly displaying it before me, is it meant as a deterrent?"

Zeke replied, "No, merely a little surprise between friends."

"You consider me a friend?" Otto queried.

"Why not," Zeke responded.

Otto stroked his chin and nodded.

"Well, this is certainly... no wait, not really fresh. I've had old friends who turned hostile or even openly antagonistic before."

"Admiring you doesn't diminish my wariness of you. Being friends also doesn't preclude a life-or-death struggle in the future. Is that unacceptable?"

"Not at all! Absolutely welcome, my new friend!" Otto spread his arms wide, his face beaming with joy.

Then, with overflowing enthusiasm, he asked, "As newfound friends, would you like any gift, Zeke?"

"Next time when browsing the Schicksal System, could you allow me to delve a bit deeper?"

"Certainly! I always felt you were too restrained; why limit yourself to basic information each time? Apart from a few private matters, dear friend, all data here is open for your exploration."

"In that case, I won't hesitate to accept. Oh, and let's see if you can guess what the next step for the Hive System is."

Otto raised an eyebrow, paced briefly on the spot, and then turned back to say:

"This is... a little game between friends?"

"Yes."

"Is there a reward?"

"If it's a good guess... perhaps a worker bee submachine?"

"That's too little."

"How about... samples of cells from myself and Sin?" Zeke proposed seriously.

A one-sided exchange was not a normal way to maintain a relationship. He didn't want Otto to lose patience, so offering occasional returns on topics of interest seemed prudent, despite the inherent risks involved.

"Deal!"

Smiling broadly, Otto rubbed his hands together and continued, "Next, since automatic production is possible, implementing self-modification seems logical as well. As your knowledge continually evolves and upgrades, the body designs will inevitably need updates. However, individually upgrading thousands upon thousands of worker drones would be excessively cumbersome. Therefore, the next feature you should aim for is to allow worker drones to operate in batches. When modifications are required, one group can maintain regular defense while another enters dormancy, and a third batch performs the upgrades on the dormant units. This rotational approach ensures all drones undergo periodic renewal..."

As he spoke, Otto suddenly noticed Zeke's amused smile.

He paused, stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and then shook his head:

"No, I'm being too unimaginative. With sequential upgrades, there would be extended periods of weakened defensive strength, and the host machine's data processing load would spike significantly. Coordination between new and old models could also become problematic... It must be self-upgrading! The worker submachines should autonomously modify themselves. Within a short span, thousands upon tens of thousands of submachines simultaneously upgrade from their older versions to the new ones. That's the true next step you need to achieve."

"Bravo!" This time, it was Zeke's turn to applaud Otto.

"You truly understand me, Mr. Otto."

"Next, comes the enhancement with Honkai Energy. After all, conventional physical energy is significantly weakened against Honkai Energy. The only way to counteract this is by using Honkai Energy itself. For targets related to Honkai, attacks without Honkai Energy are essentially ineffective... I assume you're already working on this, otherwise effortlessly penetrating Titan armor wouldn't have been possible."

"Mm-hmm, please continue."

"Furthermore, what currently limits the number and efficiency of worker bees is the host's computational power and signal transmission speed... Hence, you approached Cocolia for research on quantum phenomena? To address issues of signal transmission and stealth?"

A look of surprise finally crossed Zeke's face. Wait, Cocolia hasn't even conducted any experiments related to quantization yet. How did he deduce that?

"It seems my guess was correct."

"Just a guess?"

"Are you questioning my intellect?"

"Not at all. You've nailed it, impressive," Zeke responded, somewhat flustered. Then, seeking favor, he added, "So, esteemed Mr. Otto, if problems arise during implementation, may I consult with you?"

"Anytime, my friend." Otto replied warmly.

Despite knowing full well that their future likely held a life-or-death confrontation, Zeke eagerly sought guidance from Otto, willingly revealing parts of his own expertise. In turn, Otto was more than happy to instruct him, accelerating Zeke's progress.

Ultimately, both were equally confident individuals.