Sitting in the black luxury car, watching the rapidly changing streetscape outside the window, Kiana's face was filled with undisguised surprise.
"I didn't expect that after just a few days, you've already made it this far, Ming Yu."
Looking at the obviously expensive formal wear on Ming Yu and Hiyokumaru, and then thinking about her and Fu Hua's experiences in Singapore these past few days, a hint of sourness couldn't help but creep into Kiana's tone. It was only then that Kiana realized Ming Yu's status as an A-rank Valkyrie, and that he was already the captain of a Valkyrie squad.
But soon, this sourness turned into deep joy, and the girl's sky-blue eyes began to shine with an exceptionally bright light.
"A state banquet in Singapore... there should be a lot of delicious food, right?"
"Probably."
Turning back to look at Kiana in the back seat, who was looking expectant, a kind smile appeared on Ming Yu's lips.
Although he had long known that Fu Hua and Kiana had arrived in Singapore, it was only today that Ming Yu officially appeared before them. Firstly, his injuries needed rest, and secondly, he was waiting for Singapore to make a move.
Before the cooperation between Anti-Entropy and Singapore was exposed, it was already quite impressive for Fu Hua to have locked onto the Queen's Hotel's location in such a short time. If Ming Yu hadn't known the future in advance, he probably would have been looking for a needle in a haystack, searching for traces of Anti-Entropy in this city.
Shifting his gaze from the Kaslana foodie who had started to grin foolishly while listing off delicacies, Ming Yu's eyes fell on Hiyokumaru, who was seriously checking the banquet itinerary beside him, and a wave of emotion rose in his heart.
The girl's gaze followed the text on the screen intently. Although there wasn't a single bead of sweat on her fair and smooth face, Ming Yu knew that the girl had devoted her entire mind to the report to ensure that there would be no mistakes in the upcoming banquet.
As the wielder of the Key of Corruption, and with the two of them being so close, the slight and rapid fluctuations of Honkai Energy had already told him everything.
Even though he felt a bit of pity, Ming Yu ultimately did not speak up to stop her.
As the team sent by the Far East Branch took over the liaison work with Singapore, the burden on Ming Yu's shoulders lightened considerably, but the arrangement of personnel and tasks all fell onto Hiyokumaru's shoulders.
When it was just Ming Yu and Hiyokumaru, it was just an infiltration and reconnaissance mission. But as the event developed, the mission content had changed to a joint operation between the Far East Branch and Singapore. And the direct undertaker of this mission was Ming Yu's "Inverse Feather Squad."
The so-called A-rank Valkyrie refers to an elite who can stand on their own. And an elite Valkyrie squad had enough authority to hold a dialogue with a small country.
In fact, most of the time, the area guarded by an elite Valkyrie squad far exceeds that of a single country, let alone a small country with only one city like Singapore.
It was precisely through this opportunity that Theresa established the Inverse Feather Squad, so that this squad was no longer just an empty shell.
The matter of Singapore joining them could be said to be the very first mission of the Inverse Feather Squad after its official establishment.
Although there was no lack of experienced veterans in the team sent by the Far East Branch, if Hiyokumaru wanted to secure her position as vice-captain, she had to demonstrate her abilities.
With his own strength, Ming Yu's position was naturally unshakeable. The thick stack of battle records and merits was enough to quell all doubts, and the Lunar Abyss armor personally bestowed by the Archbishop was the best proof.
But as a newcomer, on what basis could Hiyokumaru serve as the vice-captain of an elite Valkyrie squad?
Even though all Valkyries saw it as their duty to save the world, factions and power struggles were inevitable within the Valkyrie forces. Humans are social, intelligent beings, and this is something that cannot be avoided no matter what.
In terms of merit, in terms of seniority, there were plenty of more suitable candidates in the Inverse Feather Squad. How could Hiyokumaru's thin resume convince those veteran Valkyries?
With the combat merits accumulated over more than half a year, coupled with overwhelming strength, Ming Yu, as the absolute core of the team, could do as he pleased, even pulling in the originally unrelated Kiana to make up the numbers. But Hiyokumaru could only arrange everything with caution, trying her best not to let anyone find fault.
In this aspect, Ming Yu couldn't help Hiyokumaru much either. Although the Inverse Feather Squad was his squad, the Valkyries in it were free, and he couldn't control everyone's thoughts.
Even if he forcefully suppressed the opposition, the squad would only be united in appearance but divided in heart, its morale scattered.
A squad like that would be worse than Ming Yu working alone.
All he could do was provide Hiyokumaru with a stepping stone, a stage to display her abilities. But how far she could go in the end would depend on the girl's own capabilities.
In a normal Valkyrie squad, three people form a combat unit.
But for someone like Ming Yu, who stood at the pinnacle of A-rank Valkyries, it was too difficult to find a teammate of similar strength. These individuals were often already the ace of a certain branch, and it was unrealistic to ask them to disband their original squads.
The only successful example was the Snow Wolf Squad, an absolute elite unit formed at the end of the last century by gathering the aces from HQ and various branches. It was the brightest star of its time.
Even as the threat of the Honkai grew stronger day by day, the Snow Wolf Squad could still pierce through the darkness of the Honkai and bring light to the world.
Even by today's standards, the Snow Wolf Squad is still an incredibly brilliant existence.
Perhaps the only thing that can be compared to it now is the Immortal Blades led by the strongest Valkyrie, Durandal.
The main purpose of an elite squad composed of a single core, like the Inverse Feather Squad, is to provide logistical support for that core.
The one that took this to the extreme was Murata Himeko's Squad 5. It could even be said that Squad 5 and the Hyperion were designed and modified around Murata Himeko alone.
When Murata Himeko and the Hyperion combined, Squad 5 even possessed the power to briefly contend with a Herrscher.
Although the Inverse Feather Squad has only recently been established, its most likely direction of development is to serve as Ming Yu's logistical support, handling all miscellaneous tasks for him, so that he can fully unleash his combat abilities on the battlefield.
Although the enhancement provided to him by the Inverse Feather Squad and the Nemesis is unlikely to reach the level of the Hyperion and Himeko, it will still be Ming Yu's most important logistical support.
Battlefield medical aid, armor and weapon maintenance, intelligence support... all these tasks will be undertaken by the Inverse Feather Squad.
The squad organization Otto gave Ming Yu was, in fact, also a kind of promise and transaction.
By placing the logistics in Ming Yu's own hands, Schicksal also gave him the opportunity to build his own team.
In return, Ming Yu must also assume the responsibilities of the squad and complete the missions arranged by Schicksal.
Among the group of people the Far East Branch handed over to Ming Yu, there were not only veteran Valkyries but also many newcomers who had just left St. Freya.
This not only allowed the squad to operate normally but also gave Ming Yu the conditions to cultivate his own trusted subordinates, so as not to be out of place and be suspected of usurping power.
Perhaps it was because she realized this that Hiyokumaru was unwilling to give up the position of vice-captain.
As Ming Yu's most trusted person, she had to steer this team in the direction that was most beneficial to Ming Yu.
Looking at the banquet itinerary that she had already memorized, Hiyokumaru's mind continuously pondered various situations and the corresponding ways to deal with them.
Although Ming Yu didn't take this meeting with Singapore very seriously, even changing into his formal wear only after she had persuaded him for a long time, as the second person in charge of the squad, Hiyokumaru had to strive to achieve the results the Far East Branch wanted in this meeting.
Only in this way could she prove that she was qualified to stand by Ming Yu's side, and not just be a dispensable ornament.
Thinking of what Wraith had told her, a blush crept onto the girl's cheeks, but the conviction in her eyes grew even firmer.
After an unknown amount of time, Hiyokumaru suddenly noticed that the car's speed was slowing down.
Looking at the brightly lit manor outside the car window, the girl's heart suddenly tightened.
She understood that they had arrived at their destination.