Alex chatted a little more with Koko, answering her questions. The most intriguing thing to her was how he knew the martial art that, according to Kensei, had been lost long ago and then completely destroyed to erase the legacy of Qin Shi Huang.

Alex didn’t go into detail and started fabricating a plausible story—that he had accidentally stumbled upon ancient records during one of his jobs and learned the martial art out of pure curiosity. Koko looked at him with suspicion, clearly believing only half of his story.

Alex could only shrug—there was no way he was going to tell her that he had mastered Chi-Yu in a battle against the First Emperor of China, who was seeking revenge. Any sane person would have just rolled their eyes and asked if everything was alright in his head.

Similarly, if he had claimed to be the Demon King but showed no magic, people would have just shaken their heads and accused him of “mixing genres” again.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Alex returned to working on the modification of the HMMWV. He had already forgotten how boring it was to carve runes manually without magic. To make the process a bit more bearable, he occasionally talked to Koko.

Taking a small break for a smoke, Alex looked at the partially assembled HMMWV. By his calculations, the work was only about twenty percent done. He quickly estimated the remaining time and realized he would be able to finish it before arriving in Tanegashima. Alex didn’t plan to stay there for long—his goal was to gather everything necessary and continue to Okinawa.

Deciding to check if the people from Ma’s dojo had reached the shelter, he approached Koko, took her phone without ceremony, and said, “I’ll return it soon. I need to contact your brother.”

“Just make it quick, I’m at the most interesting part of my show!” she huffed, tapping his leg.

Alex shook his head, watching her reaction with a slight smile. The world was literally fighting for survival, and Koko’s biggest worry was missing her favorite series.

Putting aside unnecessary thoughts, he dialed the satellite phone number of Kasper. Beep… one, two… on the third ring, someone finally answered.

“Hey, Kasper, how’s it going?” Alex asked, leaning back in his chair.

“Kasper’s a bit busy,” came Chiquita’s voice from the other end of the line.

Alex raised an eyebrow in surprise, not understanding what could possibly be keeping Kasper busy at this time. Koko, hearing the response, also tensed up.

“Let me guess… he’s started slacking off again and demanding something, so you just kicked him out and made him fend for himself? Harsh, Chiquita. He’s so fragile, so weak… How could you do that to poor, defenseless Kasper?” Alex said dramatically.

There was a pause on the other end of the line, followed by laughter. Chiquita was clearly stunned by his words, but soon couldn’t hold back. Even Koko snorted in response when she heard Alex calling her brother “helpless.”

Alex himself smiled slightly, but the question still lingered in his mind: what exactly was Kasper busy with that he couldn’t answer the phone?

“Alright, enough joking around. So what’s he busy with?” Alex finally asked when the laughter subsided.

“Well… not exactly busy… He’s just unconscious right now,” Chiquita replied with a slight tone of amusement in her voice.

Alex decided not to speculate and just asked why Kasper was unconscious at this moment.

“And why is he knocked out?” Alex asked cautiously.

“When you sent the message about a group of martial artists arriving, Kasper started acting like an impatient child. And when they finally arrived and the group was led by a woman… let’s just say, Kasper tried to flirt with her. The result was inevitable—she knocked him out,” Chiquita informed him, clearly amused.

“Oh, poor guy. He doesn’t even know that the woman’s husband is a great master, and that Mrs. Ma is far stronger than her husband. He should be grateful she didn’t break his third leg,” Alex smirked, trying not to laugh.

“Huh, that strong?” Chiquita asked with a note of curiosity.

Alex smiled and began explaining how dangerous Mrs. Ma could be and why she was always so irritable. Chiquita listened attentively, and soon understood why she had reacted so sharply to Kasper’s attempt at flirting. When Chiquita learned the true reason for Kensei’s escape, she fully realized the extent of Mrs. Ma’s fury and that Kasper had simply been an unfortunate victim, caught by the angry woman’s hot temper.

After finishing the story, Alex reminded her that after Okinawa, they would head straight to China to pick up the people. After a brief conversation, Alex said his goodbyes and returned the phone to Koko, who had been laughing at her brother the whole time.

Then another thought crossed Alex’s mind—Koko and Kasper’s father had switched sides to the Evil Corporation. Their paths would likely cross soon. Alex decided to leave Floyd Hekmatyar’s fate in the hands of his children. If Koko didn’t forgive her father, Alex wouldn’t hesitate to dirty his hands once more and send Floyd to the grave.

Not wanting to continue working on the HMMWV, Alex decided to rest or do something else. He picked Koko up in his arms (since she was once again completely absorbed in her series) and headed for the deck, greeting everyone he passed along the way.

From a distance, Alex noticed Brunhilde, standing with a frown on her face. Koko, glancing at her, quickly jumped off Alex’s shoulders, kissed him on the cheek, and wished him good luck before tactfully retreating.

Alex didn’t need to guess what the conversation would be about. He understood perfectly well that Brunhilde was displeased. And not without reason—after all, he had deliberately sent Kaname and her subordinates to her. Who, if not Brunhilde, could drill some sense into these girls calling themselves Valkyries?

As Koko walked past Brunhilde, she pretended she didn’t exist and disappeared into the control room, where all the girls had already gathered to hear how Brunhilde would scold Alex. Settling in among them, Koko too prepared to enjoy the spectacle.

Alex sighed and confidently walked toward Brunhilde.

“My love, don’t you want to explain anything to me?” Brunhilde asked in a calm tone, but there was a clear threat in her voice.

Alex noticed her eyelid twitch—an obvious sign of irritation. She had just gotten rid of the need to train the group of survivors, and now Alex had thrown a new problem her way in the form of a group of girls eager for training.

When he reached her, Alex gently wrapped his arm around Brunhilde’s waist and looked into her emerald eyes.

“I just thought that since they call themselves Valkyries, you’d be the best candidate to mentor them,” he said, gently pressing his forehead to hers.

Brunhilde met Alex’s gaze and understood that arguing was pointless. She was also irritated that these girls dared to call themselves Valkyries. When they approached her, Brunhilde had contacted Alex through their spiritual bond to find out what they were all about.

Upon learning that they were just a group of school delinquents, she made a decision—she would take their training seriously. Whether they wanted it or not, she would turn them into true Valkyries. Moreover, Brunhilde had discovered that the girl in the pink outfit was the one Takashi had taken a liking to.

Alex felt her thoughts and knew she was already ready to start training. She was just annoyed that her free time had now become even more limited.

“Alright, I’ll take care of their training,” Brunhilde finally said with a frustrated sigh. “It bothers me that girls like them call themselves Valkyries. But now there’s another question, my love… What’s this request from Alice about training?”

Her gaze grew stern, and Alex couldn’t help but smile.

“Little Alice wants to train to become stronger. I think I’ll help her out a bit. Maybe she’ll change her mind about becoming an Adept of Sororitas,” he replied, nodding.

“And what exactly are you going to train her in?” Brunhilde raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll turn her into a shinobi. That’s definitely better than being obsessed with the Adepts of Sororitas,” Alex sighed, his voice tired.

Brunhilde couldn’t help but agree. When she first learned about Alice’s dream, her heart nearly leaped out of her chest. Imagining the kind and sweet girl as a fanatical Battle Sister, mercilessly punishing heretics in the name of the Emperor… She already had G.I.R., M.I.M.I., and Stitch, who were all about that. The last thing she wanted to see was Alice joining their ranks.

Alex, sensing her worries, pulled her close and kissed her gently, making her relax. Brunhilde rolled her eyes but said nothing.

When they entered the control room, they saw a group of girls who had clearly been eavesdropping on their conversation. Realizing they had been caught red-handed, they immediately pretended to have just happened to be nearby.

But the one who stood out the most was Rebecca, who, with a sly grin, was taking the winnings from the girls.

“You girls!” Brunhilde squinted.

In response, the girls innocently smiled and reluctantly handed over the winnings to Rebecca. It was obvious that she had bet with them that Brunhilde wouldn’t scold Alex and, as usual, would quickly succumb to his charm.

Alex noticed Alice, who seemed nervous, and winked at her, giving her a thumbs up to reassure her that everything was fine. Alice instantly beamed—her dream of training with Alex was finally coming true.

Evening arrived, and it was time for dinner. As Alex and the girls began eating, Jonah approached him.

“We need to talk,” he said seriously.

Alex set down his utensils and walked out with him.

Like a caring older brother, Jonah bombarded him with questions about Malka’s training, wanting to make sure his sister wouldn’t get hurt.

Alex reassured him that Malka would train alongside Alice and Honoka, with gradual increases in difficulty.

“Don’t worry, I’m not planning to make it hell for them like the others,” he said with a slight smile.

“Alright… Take care of her,” Jonah finally nodded and left.

Alex watched him go, then returned to the table.

As soon as he sat down, the girls immediately started asking what John had come for.

“We discussed Malka’s training,” he explained briefly.

Satisfied with the answer, the girls returned to their meal.

Alex, finishing his food, began thinking through the training plan. He understood that they couldn’t overload Alice, Malka, and Honoka from the start. They were still kids, so the best approach was to gradually increase the load.

The first step was to unblock the chakra in their bodies so they could start getting used to it right away.

He also had to train Renka and Kisaru. But there were no issues there—Saeko, Rei, Valmet, and Beatrix also trained with the main group, focusing on refining their skills and stances at the end of their sessions.

The next day, as Alex had predicted, the head of the Shirahama family appeared. As soon as he stepped out of the control room, the overly protective father and family head, Mototsugu Shirahama, materialized in front of him. Alex briefly wondered if this overly caring father would shoot him with a gun to protect his daughter, but to his surprise, the conversation went surprisingly calmly.

Most likely, Saori Shirahama had spoken to her husband and convinced him to allow Honoka to train. Alex couldn’t help but note that Honoka was quite a clever child. She had first approached her mother, and then Saori had found a way to influence her husband. At some point, he even wondered who the real head of their family was: Mototsugu or Saori.

To calm the overly protective father, Alex detailed the training plan, explaining exactly how the sessions would proceed. After receiving satisfactory answers to all his questions, Mototsugu reluctantly agreed to let Alex train Honoka. However, as he left, he didn’t forget to issue a warning: if anything happened to his daughter during the training, Alex would deeply regret it.

Once alone, Alex sighed. The day had barely started, and already he was being threatened.

The training for Honoka, Alice, and Malki began the same day, but Alex only provided basic exercises for now to help the girls get accustomed to the workload. Several days passed, and the ferry gradually approached Tanegashima.

Alex was with the girls in the control room, watching as the port slowly came into view.

“And here it is, the last stop before Okinawa,” Rei said, peering out the window.

“Hmm, this has been such a boring trip. But just a couple more days, and we’ll be in Okinawa, then back on the road again,” Kiriko mused, chatting with her daughter.

“I’m already tired of sleeping on this ferry,” Rika grumbled, lazily stretching out on the mattress. “Everything’s uncomfortable, there’s even nowhere to have some privacy!”

Alex just glanced at the girls but didn’t comment. He, too, was tired of the monotonous journey. The only available entertainment on the ferry was talking to the girls and working on his crazy projects. The routine had become so boring that he even considered tying himself to the ship with a rope and swimming alongside it just to speed up the journey.

And judging by the mood of those around him, he wasn’t the only one feeling this way.

“Alright, there are about ten minutes left until we reach the port. I’ll go warn the others to start preparing,” Alex said, standing up. “Yuriko, could you quickly make a list of everything we might need? In case we missed something.”

Receiving an affirmative nod, he went to notify the raiding parties about the city’s approach and the need to prepare for disembarking. Once done, Alex headed to his motorcycle to pick out weapons for the upcoming raid for supplies.

This time, he decided to go alone so he could gather as many useful things as possible, including soil and fertilizers, which would surely come in handy once they reached Alaska.

Opening the motorcycle’s weapon compartment, Alex began picking out equipment, but like a girl in a clothing store, he couldn’t make up his mind.

Then, suddenly, a lightbulb seemed to go off in his head.

“Göndul, my dear, would you like to help me?” he asked with a smile, mentally reaching out to the valkyrie.

“What can I help you with, darling?” came Göndul’s soft voice, and then she appeared behind him in her spiritual form.

Alex shared his thoughts on the armor he was interested in. He was curious to see if Göndul could take on the appearance of such a suit of armor. After receiving his images, the valkyrie paused for a moment, and soon Alex’s body was enveloped by shimmering shards of light. In an instant, he was standing in his new combat suit.

Alex stretched a bit, testing how comfortable the armor was while moving. He had wanted Göndul to take on the appearance of Excalibur’s armor from a game, and it seemed she had succeeded. Summoning a mirror in front of him, he carefully examined himself from all angles, nodding in satisfaction.

Next, he drew two pistols and strapped them to his sides, followed by securing a revolver to his belt at the back. Finishing the look, Alex pulled out his favorite katana, Muramasa. Once the gear was fully set, he touched the mask, and it instantly vanished, revealing his face.

“Göndul, have I told you how much I love you?” Alex asked with a grin, continuing to admire himself in the mirror.

“More than once. But I’m happy to hear your confessions forever, darling,” Göndul replied, appearing in her spiritual form and gently wrapping her arms around his neck.

Alex smiled broadly. He never imagined he’d one day get to wear armor of the Ténno race. Even if it was just an imitation, he was still incredibly pleased. But then another thought crossed his mind.

“Reginleif, use Völundr too. I want to check if there’s synergy when two Valkyries activate Völundr at the same time, or if nothing changes,” Alex said thoughtfully.

“Hmmm, an interesting theory. I think it’s worth checking,” Reginleif agreed.

The part of Alex’s armor covering his arms began to glow. When the light faded, he noticed that Reginleif had taken on a completely different form. This meant his theory about the synergy between two Valkyries was correct. Using Völundr with multiple Valkyries at once allowed their powers to merge, creating new effects.

Alex carefully inspected the changes. Now, the armor covering his arms had sharp knuckle-like protrusions resembling brass knuckles, and small claws had formed on his fingers.

“So it’s true… Your theory about synergy has been confirmed,” Reginleif noted, adjusting her glasses and examining the new details of the armor.

“Do you feel anything unusual? Does it affect you a lot?” Alex asked, concerned about the Valkyries’ well-being.

“Everything’s fine,” Reginleif replied. “It feels like I’ve gotten closer to my sister on a spiritual level. No unpleasant sensations.”

“I’m fine too, darling,” Göndul added, hugging Alex tighter. “Although I’d rather become closer to you than to my sisters.”

Alex sighed with relief, realizing that the synergistic Völundr didn’t harm the Valkyries. But soon, there was a commotion in his spiritual space — the other Valkyries wanted to try the new Völundr too.

Before anyone could materialize, Alex quickly stowed the mirror away to avoid unnecessary questions. He then sat on his motorcycle, waiting for the others, while also checking the new armor.

After a while, the girls were the first to descend. Seeing Alex in unfamiliar armor, they immediately rushed over, bombarding him with questions.

“Where did you get this armor? It looks so futuristic!” Saya said, admiring the armor closely.

“I’ve had it for a while. Just never wore it. It’s one of my old projects,” Alex said coolly, lying without going into details.

“Well, handsome, get up and spin around!” Rika said with a smile. “Your girlfriend wants to enjoy the sight!”

Alex just smirked, but didn’t rush to follow her request.

Alex glanced at Rika and decided to simply fulfill her request. He knew she would get her way regardless. Sighing, he stood up from the motorcycle so the girls could get a better look at his armor. His eyes met Brunhilde’s, and he silently signaled her to restore the spiritual connection.

Brunhilde squinted slightly and obediently did as Alex had asked. As soon as the connection was restored, her eyes widened in surprise. She hadn’t expected Völundr to work this way. While the other girls continued inspecting Alex’s armor, he sent a mental message to Rebecca, instructing her not to accidentally say anything that might give him away as lying.

Upon hearing his thoughts, Rebecca immediately gave him a thumbs-up, signaling that she could handle it. Brunhilde, on the other hand, was deeply intrigued by the Völundr synergy. She even began to ponder what would happen if all of her sisters used Völundr simultaneously.

“Cool armor. In this armor, your ass is just amazing,” Rika said, giving Alex a playful slap on the backside to tease him.

“She’s right, the armor’s really cool, and your ass—well, it’s amazing,” added Rei, agreeing with Rika.

Alex’s eye twitched at their comments. He couldn’t quite understand what his backside had to do with anything. Saya, however, wanted to know how the armor was created, and Alex skillfully lied, saying it was one of his experimental projects and that the creation of the armor was an incredibly labor-intensive and resource-consuming process, making it difficult to replicate.

Saya could only give up, though her curiosity remained piqued. After a while, the rest of the group started descending, and everyone immediately noticed Alex’s new appearance, slightly surprised by his armor.

Ignoring the looks from the others, Alex noticed that even the Ryozenpaku masters had come down, including Renka and Miu, who, for some reason, looked irritated. Alex was curious about what could have upset Miu so much. He didn’t see Kenichi, but piecing things together, he immediately guessed that her mood had something to do with him. However, he didn’t want to interfere in their drama unless either of them spoke up.

Approaching the table where the briefings usually took place, Alex pulled out a holographic device and opened a map of the city of Tanegashima.

“Welcome to another day in Zombieland. This is our last stop before Okinawa. All the lists have already been sent to the holographic devices of the group leaders. A quick reminder: be cautious around regular people. We don’t know if these survivors are infected with the Las Plagas parasite, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. To identify if someone is infected, just check their eyes and behavior. Infected people will have red irises and their behavior will be slow and sluggish. I repeat for those who don’t listen well: make sure to check every survivor you encounter. And for the newcomers who just joined the raid teams — one rule: don’t split up, listen to your group leader, avoid narrow spaces, and don’t enter dark rooms. If you have any questions, ask them now or later to the group leader,” Alex said, finishing the short briefing.

“I have a question, where did you get that armor?” R asked with a curious tone.

“Bought it on sale at a store,” Alex replied casually.

“And seriously?” Takashi asked, watching Alex closely.

“Seriously, I’ve had this armor for a long time, just never worn it,” Alex said, locking eyes with Takashi.

“Can you make one for us? I’m not hinting at anything, but that armor is damn cool,” R said, inspecting the armor Alex was wearing.

“No problem, if you can bring my supplier back to life, and then stop time so I can create the armor,” Alex said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

“You could’ve just said ‘no,'” R waved off Alex’s response.

Alex just smiled and asked everyone to get into the transport. The Ryozenpaku masters decided to stay on guard at the ferry in case of an emergency. Alex didn’t mind this arrangement; people like the martial arts masters could definitely protect the ferry if an attack happened.

He noticed that Renka and Miu decided to travel with the girls, and he became curious about how Hayato and Kensei had allowed that. He also wondered why Miu and Renka were in such a bad mood. Alex decided to ask the one who was always hovering around his granddaughter.

“Old man, what’s up with Miu? Why is she so irritated? Everything seemed fine yesterday,” Alex asked, approaching Hayato.

“Hmm, hard to say,” Hayato replied thoughtfully.

“What’s so hard about it? That fool Kenichi decided to play with my daughter’s feelings. I’ll give him a fun training session tonight,” Kensei said, his tone irritated.

Alex raised an eyebrow in surprise. He couldn’t understand how Kenichi had managed to mess things up since everything seemed fine yesterday. Kensei explained that girls had started flocking around Kenichi, and because of his good-natured personality, he couldn’t turn them down without pushing them away.

Alex paused for a moment, but soon remembered that Rei had mentioned one of her students, Miku, who had gathered similar girls around her. And it seemed they were looking for a guy capable of taking care of them. Kenichi, with his soft nature, was easy prey for such girls. Alex sighed, feeling a brief moment of pity for Kenichi— but in the end, it was his problem, and it was his fault for not being able to say “no.”

Pushing thoughts of Kenichi aside, Alex headed to the HMMWV to talk to the girls. Approaching, he knocked on the window to have someone open it. Saya opened the window and allowed Alex to peek inside. The first thing he saw was two irritated girls, Miu and Renka. Alex turned to the other girls and asked them to give advice to these two. He hoped they would understand him correctly and not start convincing Miu and Renka to give up on the weak-willed Kenichi.

“Handsome, aren’t you coming with us?” Rika asked, noticing Alex wasn’t planning on getting into the HMMWV.

“Nope, I’ve got other things to do. Plus, I don’t want old man Hayato and Kensei starting to bug me, saying I’m hitting on Miu and Renka. So, you’re going without me today,” Alex said with a light smile.

The girls laughed because they had already noticed how Kensei, like a hawk, watched Alex when he was training Renka. And as soon as it came to any physical contact—like when Alex adjusted Renka’s stance—Kensei would jump out, yelling and getting upset, which would usually end with him getting a punch from his daughter.

“Miu, Renka, listen to Valmet or Kiriko. Don’t try to be the heroines. Although you’re martial arts masters, there could be dangers lurking in the city. Be careful,” Alex instructed the girls.

“Why Valmet and Kiriko? What about me? I know the zombie apocalypse better than anyone else. No one knows how things should be like I do!” Rebecca huffed, trying to reach Alex.

“You, my sweet gremlin, can only behave like that with those as reckless as you,” Alex teased, tugging on Rebecca’s nose.

“She’s right, Rebecca. You’re the craziest one here,” Rika laughed.

All the girls chuckled because they knew exactly what kind of “gremlin” Rebecca truly was. Miu and Renka’s moods lifted a little, and their irritation with Kenichi’s actions faded. Before the HMMWV left, Alex walked around to the other side and asked Kiriko to talk to Renka and Miu once more. It was better to get advice from another girl than from old men like Hayato and Kensei. Kiriko agreed, but she needed the details.

Alex whispered to Kiriko about the situation with Renka and Miu, and she immediately understood what was going on. They had all expected that Kenichi’s relationship with these girls would lead to this kind of result. Kiriko agreed to talk to them and started the engine.

Alex watched as everyone left and thought that he would be heading out soon as well. He had a lot of places to visit in the city to gather supplies for the upcoming trip to Alaska, where, as he knew, problems with shortages of important items could arise.

To be continued…

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep