Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

The shouting match at the research institute raged on. Shirogane Miyuki and Shinomiya Kaguya were locked in a surprisingly even verbal duel.

Poor Valkyrie Susanna, caught in the crossfire of conflicting viewpoints, had finally collapsed, unable to take it anymore. She'd fainted and been unceremoniously dragged off to the side by her colleagues.

"Kaguya, where did the guy you were arguing with go?" A senior Valkyrie was puzzled by the sudden turn of events. It looked like Kaguya had won, silencing her opponent completely. But in reality, Kaguya had no idea why the other person had retreated so abruptly, wondering if there was some hidden strategy at play.

She couldn't back down now. She had come here with a simple goal: to become a Valkyrie and gain access to artificial Stigmata technology. Many governments were eyeing this tech, even though, compared to the Stigmata Battlesuits, artificial Stigmata were practically useless. Whether in terms of wider applicability or individual success rate, Dr. Tesla's Battlesuits were leagues ahead.

But the Japanese government was in a tough spot. They had to follow Schicksal's lead, even though Academy City's upper echelon was mostly tied to Anti-Entropy. They had to grit their teeth and play along.

With Academy City offering such a blatant opportunity, there was no stopping the Japanese government and the wealthy elite from inserting their own people.

Kaguya was undoubtedly one such pawn.

In contrast, her useless relative, Shijo Mafuyu, the eldest daughter of the Shijo family, had received her family's favor and taken the normal St. Freya Academy route. She was happily attending school, learning how to use Stigmata Battlesuits, without any worries about the risks of artificial Stigmata implantation.

While the Schicksal path under Overseer Otto offered faster advancement, it was also far more treacherous. More importantly, Overseer Otto favored Horikita Manabu, not some daughter of a Japanese conglomerate.

Thus, Kaguya had been filtered out, stuck in a rather awkward position.

She wasn't qualified to be a Valkyrie, and she wasn't even qualified to train with Stigmata Battlesuits. Because Horikita was better, superior to her in every way.

Kaguya knew that if this continued, her family's support would gradually dwindle. She had finally escaped her family's control thanks to this Valkyrie opportunity, and she was determined not to go back!

When the senior Valkyrie asked her question, Kaguya just scowled and shook her head.

"I don't know what he's planning."

But she soon found out.

A woman emerged, holding a megaphone and wearing the research uniform of the young man from earlier.

He had pulled out his trump card.

Shirogane Miyuki had decided to settle this ridiculous public opinion war once and for all.

'Idiots! I knew you'd cause a fuss, but this is all the resolve you have?! You don't even have the guts to try, and you dare compare yourselves to the spirit and will that birthed this technology?!'

Shirogane had been constantly bombarded by the excitement of Dr. Tesla's new inventions at the research institute. The unrestrained attitude of those mad scientists after every successful experiment had deeply infected him.

"I am Shirogane Miyuki. You think there's something wrong with Dr. Tesla's invention? Well, I've just become a woman! Do you think the male researchers around me feel any disgust or alienation towards me? Come on! Look at our relationship now!"

Shirogane, flanked by two of her fellow researchers, perched on their shoulders like some triumphant queen.

"You can't do this! Because if one of you becomes male, it would be considered a betrayal of your collective! So you are the ones who truly betray freedom, the beneficiaries of group interests! You're not speaking for women, you're speaking for your own selfish gains!"

"Come on! Prove to me that you women wouldn't ostracize a woman who became a man, that you would accept her living among you as a man!"

"We men dare to let men change their gender freely, do you women dare to give women that same right?!"

The researchers, having held their breath for so long, finally erupted in cheers.

"Shirogane's awesome! We'll transform and party with you when we get back!"

"Yeah! Show them! Show them!"

"Get her! Crush her!"

Kaguya was utterly dumbfounded. She stared in shock at Shirogane, who had transformed into a woman and come out to confront them.

His level of crazy was beyond her imagination. She never would have thought someone could pull off such a counter-offensive in this kind of public opinion war.

She instinctively looked at the senior Valkyries behind her.

The seniors seemed to understand Kaguya's unspoken question. If they had to accept a woman becoming a man and living among them as a man…

If they could accept it, they would've already. Why would they come here to protest and stir up a media frenzy?

"Come on, prove me wrong! I can accept living among men like this. Can you?! Can you accept a woman becoming a man and living among you as a man?! Your true enemy… is yourselves!"

Shirogane unleashed his ultimate move, completely crushing the opposition.

The Valkyries were stunned, never expecting such a wild move.

They wanted to retort, but they were completely outmatched.

Clearly, Shirogane had checkmated them, leaving these 'born women' completely 'brain-dead'.

"Yeah! We can support a brother who becomes a woman, can you support a sister who becomes a man?! Can you?! Hahaha!"

The researchers roared with laughter, mocking the women for their hypocrisy, for discriminating against their own kind.

This was huge news. Reporters immediately recorded this absurd scene.

The tables had truly turned. Many male reporters never thought they'd see such a reversal. They never dreamed it was possible to use this method to expose the flaws in the women's argument.

'Dr. Tesla, I'll build you a shrine when I get back, donate money to build a temple, and you'll be our Tesla Goddess from now on!'

Journalistic instincts kicked in. They were already drafting the story in their minds.

No, they shouldn't wait until they got back. They should be writing it now, on their phones, right here, right now.

They couldn't let Shirogane's sacrifice be in vain. They had to publicize this victory.

Shirogane wiped the cold sweat from his brow. She'd been waiting for this chance to turn the tables.

After all, these gadgets were from the research institute. He could use them whenever he wanted. For others, they were expensive, but for him, they were freebies to transform at will.