Mornings in ARC City were bustling.
Today was the fifth month since the Great Honkai Eruption. Nearly half a year was enough time for people to forget many things.
Things like the city's former prosperity, the boisterous crowds that should have filled the memories—all of these had gradually faded over the past five months.
But some things... could not be forgotten.
"Are you kidding me?! The 'Teriri Fan Club Supreme' found this lab first! All the equipment and experiment materials inside should be ours!" Early in the morning, the pleasant chirping of birds in ARC City was replaced by a different kind of noise.
A young man, looking no older than twenty, pointed a red-faced, thick-necked finger at several burly men carrying equipment, his words a friendly and enthusiastic greeting.
"Saw you guys here yesterday. Figured you'd already moved out everything valuable," one of the burly men, who looked to be in his thirties, replied nonchalantly to the youth's furious finger-pointing.
"If we'd already moved out the valuable stuff, what are you still doing here?!" The young man had truly never seen someone so shameless. His face was as red as a tomato, making one fear he might spontaneously combust.
The older man hadn't expected the youth to take such an obvious excuse so seriously. He gave an awkward cough. "We were just checking to see if you guys missed anything..."
He then put a hand on his hip, the ten-year age advantage kicking in. "We older folks don't have the same stamina as you young'uns. We can only poke around the base."
"Are you saying I'm not working hard?!" For some reason, the older man's words seemed to strike a nerve. The youth and everyone with him exploded.
"What do you mean 'not working hard'?! If I didn't work hard, you wouldn't even have scraps to eat!"
"You work hard, you're amazing~ Like a dung beetle, just following behind others, waiting to eat what they've already digested~"
"Civilization has collapsed, and you're still trying to get me to buy an eyebrow pencil? You're the damn pencil!" [T/N: "Eyebrow pencil" (méibǐ) is a pun on a vulgar insult.]
"Are you kidding me?!"
At first, it was only the one young man shouting. But after the older man's comment, everyone with him, guys and girls alike, who had been trying to calm him down, now joined the fray.
Some shouted insults, some tried to argue logically, and others were just plain sarcastic... It was a hundred flowers blooming, a true symphony of verbal abuse.
The ten years of experience were useless now. It only took a few seconds for the older man to see red. After spitting out a few curses he hadn't used in a long time, he found the opposing side only grew more energized.
Just as both sides were rolling up their sleeves, ready to throw down, a whistle suddenly pierced the air.
In an instant, everyone present calmed down a little. The tense, sword-drawn atmosphere dissipated significantly.
Everyone turned to see several figures who had appeared at some point, silently watching the two opposing groups.
At the lead was a small, white-haired girl with a yellow, rabbit-shaped cartoon whistle in her mouth. Beside her stood another young girl with a sword on her back, arms crossed in a haughty pose that everyone could see was a forced attempt at looking cool.
The combined age of the two newcomers was probably less than that of the young man who had started the shouting. At first glance, it looked like their maid was taking two young ladies out for a spring picnic.
Standing beside them was an impeccably dressed maid. She wore a gentle smile, standing respectfully a step behind the white-haired girl, parallel with the girl carrying the sword.
The group was strange, but in truth, the moment they appeared, the breathing of everyone present had slowed by several degrees.
Theresa opened her mouth, and the Homu whistle dangling from a cord around her neck fell from her lips.
"Ahem, we've received reports from the public," Theresa began, her voice sounding a bit weary, laced with an air of helplessness, "that some people are confronting each other here, suspected of intending to start a brawl."
"It's you guys again..." Theresa looked at the group of young people, raised a hand to her forehead, and sighed. "Don't tell me this is another one of your schemes to lure out the security team..."
These people were repeat offenders...
As small factions began to form within the Fire MOTHs, conflicts and contradictions started to surface and intensify. The most classic example was the disputes arising from "uneven distribution of spoils" among the city exploration teams.
The internal security of the Fire MOTHs was a pressing issue. Otto looked around and, in a backhanded move, pulled members from the special squads to work overtime.
It was called overtime, but in reality, these special squads were just there to be the mascots and public face of the security team.
A chance to work alongside the warriors (your idols) who protect you on the front lines, without the risk of going to the front lines yourself! What are you waiting for? Sign up for the Fire MOTHs Security Force now!
Yes, that was literally what the recruitment notice Otto posted on [Spark] said. Rumor had it that the unreleased poster even featured a winking Theresa in a magical girl outfit.
Also a rumor, the reason the poster was never released was because a certain magical girl discovered her secret photos had been leaked and went door-to-door to "personally eliminate" everyone who had a copy.
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["Good morning, Lord Overseer. Is your arm injured?" Rita smiled at the bandage wrapped around Otto's arm.
"Heh, it's nothing serious. A good opportunity to get some rest." Otto took a sip of the coffee Rita had brewed, glancing at the bite mark on her leg, which her garter couldn't quite cover. "But Rita, you should be more careful. Getting attacked by a zombie even within the base?"
"My head hurts so much... Is it a hangover?" Himeko muttered, rubbing her head as she passed by the door.]
---||---
And yet, this completely absurd-sounding announcement had actually attracted a heaven-defying wave of applicants.
So much so that when it was later replaced with a more formal document, people were less enthusiastic. A story even began to circulate within the base about a brave fan who, out of love, risked everything to sneak in some personal flair and was ultimately fired for it.
Who was this zealous, contraband-smuggling fan? Nobody knew.
Everyone guessed that the fan had probably been discovered by Overseer Otto and sent to stand guard at some remote defensive line.
But with such a flood of applicants, the quality of the security team candidates was very high. Some were chosen, and naturally, some were not. So, what were those who encountered heretical fans and couldn't win them over to do?
And thus, this organization, which relied on staged incidents and acting to boost the security team's performance metrics, was born.