The next day, at the ARC City train station, the same place the Hyperion had departed from.
A train slightly shorter than the Hyperion was parked by the platform. Including the locomotive, it had a total of five cars.
A group of strong young men and women were methodically loading goods stacked on the platform into the last three cars of the train.
These supplies were food and water for the front lines, as well as medicine collected by the City Exploration Teams from various parts of ARC City, and other materials requested by the front.
This supply train ran only once every three days. Each time, a squad was required on board to ensure the safe transport of the goods.
Last time it was Raven's squad. This time, it was theirs.
Seeing them struggle to lift a large box between two people, Bianka wanted to go over and help, but Theresa grabbed her hand and kept her where she was.
"Durandal, that's not a place we should be," Theresa said. She was carrying the giant cross, which had now been painted and looked almost identical to the real [Oath of Judah].
"Lady Durandal, let's just wait here for the train to depart," Rita added persuasively.
Bianka's gaze shifted between the two before she finally nodded.
The three of them were standing in the far corner of the platform, away from the crowd. It wasn't because they were unsociable, but to protect the ordinary people who hadn't used a [Genesis] Key.
The armor they wore and the contents of the metal crates beside them were the first generation of Honkai Energy weapons and armor, capable of unleashing immense power by relying on Honkai Energy.
With these weapons, every front in Sapphire City would have the ability to defeat Honkai Beasts on their own.
But these were weapons rushed into service. Their power was guaranteed, but their side effects couldn't be contained.
The crude application of Honkai Energy caused a significant amount of stray Honkai Energy to linger around the weapons and armor. Normal living beings exposed to them for too long would suffer slow erosion.
The people loading the supplies were ordinary humans. If Bianka wanted to help, she would first have to remove her Honkai Energy armor.
It was fine to be kind, but there was no need to go through extra trouble just for the sake of kindness.
Before long, all the goods were loaded. After a few people helped open the doors to the first car, they led the crowd away from the platform area.
A large group of people returned to the ticket gate, craning their necks to look at the fully-armed squad.
"That little girl with the golden cross is Lady Judah? Hiss... she looks like she's only twelve!"
"It's incredible that she can carry such a huge cross..."
"Is that any more incredible than the Honkai itself?"
"Are those new members with Captain Judah? They look tough too!"
"Is that a maid? That's definitely a maid, right?! Are maids really that strong in combat?"
"And that blonde woman, she looks terrifyingly strong!"
"I've seen that girl. You can see her doing her morning run on the tenth basement level at six or seven every morning!"
"So diligent..."
The whispers from the platform reached their ears. Theresa, expressionless, waved a hand at the other two. "Let's go. We need to get this equipment onto the train."
Bianka nodded and turned to hoist a giant metal crate containing over a dozen sets of armor. A chorus of gasps erupted from the ticket gate.
"She lifted it?"
"She lifted it!!"
"She lifted it so easily?!"
"I bet she could knock me out with one punch!"
"Dude, where are you from?"
The various gasps from behind made Bianka a little embarrassed. Rita, holding a dozen Honkai Energy spears in her arms, smiled as she watched Bianka's somewhat awkward steps.
"Lady Bianka gets embarrassed so easily..." Rita mused.
"She'll get used to it..." Theresa sighed. Bianka really was improving in every aspect, even adapting to the praise from those around her. It wouldn't be long before Bianka grew strong enough to stand on her own. Once Shu returned with the [Genesis] Keys, Bianka would quickly catch up to... or even surpass them.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the train, named [Ollurius], started to move.
In the first car, Bianka sat in her seat, staring motionlessly at the scenery outside.
The view outside the window was constantly changing. In the unharvested fields, weeds and crops grew together, competing for the nutrients needed for survival.
"Lady Bianka, would you care for a drink?" Rita walked over to Bianka with a tray and asked with a smile.
Bianka snapped back to reality. She glanced at the tray and, after confirming it wasn't emerald-green bitter melon juice but a very normal-looking glass of hot milk, took one.
"Thank you, Rita." The milk was warm to the touch. She had no idea how Rita had managed to heat it in this environment...
"It is my duty," Rita said. She then walked over with the milk and placed the tray in front of Theresa. "Lady Theresa, please."
"Oh, milk. Thank you, Rita." Theresa, having finished organizing the weapons and armor, wiped the sweat from her brow, picked up a glass of milk, and drank it down, smacking her lips in satisfaction.
"This temperature..." The more Theresa savored it, the more she felt the temperature was off. She couldn't help but turn to Rita. "Rita, how did you heat this?"
Rita put down the tray and simply sat down with a smile, not answering immediately.
But Theresa had already seen Rita cupping a glass of milk in her hands, holding it between her thighs.
Her eyes widened. She looked down at the cup in her hand, then at the cup between Rita's thighs, and slowly put her own glass down.
"I have some quicklime packets among my supplies. I just used some to heat it," Rita said, waiting until Theresa's face had turned pale and she had turned away.
Theresa shot Rita an annoyed glare. She knew Rita wouldn't use her body heat to warm their milk, but that gesture was clearly meant to make her think just that!
"Did you bring quicklime just to heat milk?" By the time Bianka turned around, Rita had already picked up her glass and was starting to sip it slowly, as if drinking tea.
"Quicklime is very easy to use to generate heat. It can be used in emergencies," Rita said, sticking out her tongue to lightly lick away the milk from the corner of her lips before smiling at Bianka.
"Wouldn't a lighter or matches be more convenient?" Bianka thought for a moment. She still felt that fire was faster and more convenient than that.
"Please consider it a small habit of mine..." Rita said with a smile, placing a finger on her lips.
Bianka nodded earnestly. Beside her, Theresa's face was glum the entire time as she watched Rita.
Alright, now she really did suspect Rita's method for heating milk wasn't entirely conventional...