Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

"How about it?! Isn't it great?!" Tesla showed off her accomplishment, though it would've been better if she'd put some clothes on first.

"Dr. Tesla, shouldn't you put on some clothes?" Bronya kindly reminded her, trying to save some face for Anti-Entropy.

"Clothes, schmothes! Who cares about clothes at a time like this?!" Tesla was far too preoccupied to worry about clothing. She finally understood Noldrei's aversion to them.

I can shapeshift! Why bother with clothes? If I transform into a goat and go outside, do you think people will care that a goat isn't wearing clothes?

Tesla quickly grasped the future human's perspective on modesty. In fact, forcing someone like Noldrei to wear clothes was practically a violation of a mature future human's rights!

The thought of Noldrei being forced to do so many things he disliked filled her with sympathy.

"Noldrei, I understand you now. Clothes are superfluous for future humans! I won't ever force you to wear them again. Once everyone can transform, nobody will need clothes!" Tesla declared, clenching her fist as if she could already see that future.

'Oh really? That's how you want to play this?' Bronya suspected Tesla had an ulterior motive. She needed to talk to Cocolia and get this crazy Herrscher kicked out.

Kiana, still completely bewildered, asked, "What's going on? I just stepped out for a bit, and now you're all about going clothes-free?"

"So, you're planning to walk around naked? Give everyone in Academy City a glimpse of the Emperor's New Clothes?" Thanks to compulsory education, Kiana's verbal barbs had become noticeably sharper.

Dr. Tesla considered this for a moment, deciding it was best to be somewhat discreet, at least for now. She wouldn't even share her facial data, let alone her entire body!

Oppressing Noldrei was one thing, but oppressing others was perfectly acceptable.

"No, not yet. We need more people on our side. At least a million nudists before we can start changing the world's views on modesty." Having said that, Tesla immediately forgot about it. "Anyway, we have more important things to discuss. Thanks to Noldrei's gender-bender gadget, I've learned a lot about genetic information, which will help me research Honkai beasts."

"I even tried it on Bella! Guess what? Even she can turn into a dude. It actually works on Honkai beasts! That's incredible!"

Kiana stared at Tesla, wondering if she'd finally lost it. Bella was a pseudo-humanoid Honkai beast! How could she even…?

"The problem is, she can't change back! Noldrei, you have to help me change her back!" Tesla said, as if her request were perfectly reasonable.

Kiana frantically contacted Fu Hua, urging her to keep an eye on Bella. That little dragon called her "Queen," and Kiana was determined to protect her Honkai beast's rights, no matter what!

Bronya glanced at the panicking Kiana, finding her concern a bit much. 'It's a Honkai beast, for crying out loud!'

Noldrei hugged Tesla tightly. "Don't worry, I'll help you out. It's just a Honkai beast. I'll find you plenty more pseudo-humanoids to experiment on later."

Bronya wondered if she was imagining things. It seemed Tesla had somehow drastically increased her favorability rating with Noldrei.

She'd never gotten the Emperor's hug before; usually, it was just tentacle whips. Who knew human advancement could earn such rewards?

Still, two naked people hugging was… awkward.

'Wait, Dr. Tesla, why are you squeezing your legs together?! What are you thinking?!' To prevent things from going any further, Bronya interjected, "This is great news! But shouldn't we inform the research institute about Tesla's new… talent? And what about…" she pointed to the fleshy remains on the floor.

Noldrei, already thinking of their potential, said, "Tesla, you should give these to the research institute. It would be a great learning opportunity for them."

"Overseer Otto would probably be interested, too. Didn't Schicksal used to cultivate Honkai beasts?"

Tesla shook her head. "No, I have to dispose of them. These little guys came from me. Some even showed signs of life. But like you said, they're like those fragile organisms from ancient Earth. Too simple to survive. The environment would destroy them." She picked up a strange organ, her voice softening. "See? It's already oxidizing. It's kinder to let them go now. They're my children, after all. They deserve some dignity."

Kiana was utterly speechless. Tesla was radiating a disturbingly maternal aura.

"Bronya, something feels really wrong here. Shouldn't we stop them?"

Bronya stared back at Kiana, equally disturbed. 'You're just realizing that now?'

'Dr. Tesla, a Herrscher, acting like a human is weird enough. But this… maternal instinct is even weirder.'

"Before you worry about how weird they are, shouldn't you at least ask them to put some clothes on in front of me?"

Noldrei, completely unfazed, said, "This isn't real life. If you really want to create new life, I can help you."

Tesla's eyes lit up. "Really? Can you help me create a new life form that can control Honkai factors?"

This put Noldrei in a bit of a predicament. It wasn't impossible, but it would require the next Herrscher as a… vessel. Controlling Honkai factors still relied on Herrscher powers. He hadn't gathered enough genetic information related to Honkai factors yet.