Even Raven herself had never imagined that she would return to the old path of "working for the world Serpent" so quickly and so confusedly.
"I'm just doing this to taste..." Raven thought angrily, her heart filled with mixed feelings.
While efficiently packing her things, she went to World Serpent with a sour face to find her familiar "work station," constantly muttering her principles in her heart:
"I'll just do a few jobs to earn enough, enough money, and then leave!"
Obviously, she could comfort herself by saying that she was just temporarily finding a side hustle from her old employer and didn't really want to go back to playing the role of "Raven" in World Serpent.
After all, she was just a mercenary, and she could earn money anywhere, right?
But in fact, even she knew that this was probably just a futile act of self-deception—after all, some things, once they start and cross the line, will probably slide down into the deepest, most rotten whirlpool sooner or later...
In short, a certain guy's unexpected disruption had dragged the entire world into it, causing chaos and resentment everywhere.
But that disruptive guy had already left, and even the biggest storm would eventually subside.
As the ripples gradually faded away, the lake that had been stirred up by him would eventually return to calm, as if everything had returned to its original state.
But, just like every "victim" who had been swept up in this storm and made to suffer, how could they really forget everything and pretend that nothing had happened?
Since some things had already happened, they would inevitably bring about indelible changes.
No one knew whether it was good or bad.
They could only, either actively or passively, continue to move forward along this slightly deviated track.
Just like every day in the past, they would welcome a new dawn at the next sunrise...
---||---
A few days later...
Southeast Asia, Singapore.
Footsteps were light and elegant. Rita, who had rarely put on casual clothes, walked down the gangway gracefully, passing through the dense and crowded crowds at Changi Airport without looking sideways.
It wasn't the first time she had walked this path.
She remembered the last time she came here, she had accidentally met Hua, who was also leaving from here.
At that time, she had happened to be on a mission to investigate, and her usual deep-seated suspicion had subconsciously regarded the other party's strange behavior as a strange clue. And then...
"Sigh... excessive curiosity easily causes problems."
Remembering the series of events that had followed that, Rita couldn't help but shake her head and reflect. "Maybe, at times, I really should learn to play dumb..."
To be troubled because her work ability was too strong was truly a laughable matter. She thought with a touch of self-deprecation.
Unlike last time, she had come here on a long vacation this time, and her mindset was naturally much more relaxed than before...
After the battle surrounding the Second Divine Key, Fu Hua had rushed back to St. Freya Academy without stopping, while Otto had very thoughtfully granted Durandal and Rita a small vacation.
"This is thanks to Lin Wei..." Rita thought with some helplessness.
With the Second Divine Key safely in hand and Lin Wei banished as hoped, before the two sides' plans officially started, she, who had been constantly running around, had finally gained this rare moment of leisure.
Before leaving, she and Durandal had had a brief conversation.
"Rita, are you really not coming to St. Freya Academy with me?" Durandal had asked, a hint of confusion on her face. "I remember you used to go there often to visit Lady Theresa, right?"
Visit?
Remembering the way Theresa always looked at her in front of her, helpless and unable to speak her mind, Rita couldn't help but smile.
"If two S-rank Valkyries went to inspect, it would probably put a lot of pressure on Lady Theresa and her students. Lady Durandal, your intention isn't to bring them extra trouble, is it?"
Durandal wanted to get to know, become familiar with, and care for that junior she had never met. In this situation, it was indeed not appropriate for her to show up.
"Uh... what you said seems to make sense," Durandal scratched her head and said with a smile. "It's just that it's rare for both of us to have free time together. It feels like something's missing without you by my side..."
She didn't seem to realize how ambiguous her words were, as simple and pure as wanting to share a delicious candy.
"It's alright. Even if I'm not there for the time being, I'm sure Miss Fu Hua will take good care of her," Rita said, smiling teasingly. "It's just, Lady Durandal, you must remember to watch your words and not bring any unnecessary trouble to Miss Fu Hua."
Otherwise, in front of everyone, Durandal blurting out "Senior Fu Hua" would be explosive!
"Uh..."
Her expression stiffened. This was indeed Durandal's weakness. She couldn't help but pause, then shake her head and smile.
"Forget it, I'll contact Senior Fu Hua first and listen to her advice before making any decisions..."
She was never stubborn, always free and composed, and could always quickly find the most appropriate solution. She also believed that with that senior's wisdom, she would definitely get the most reliable advice.
"Alright, let's talk about you, Rita."
As the previous topic ended, Durandal asked with some curiosity, "What do you want to do, where do you want to go, now that you have a few rare days of leisure?"
"Me? I'll probably go to Singapore again..."
After thinking for a moment, Rita smiled lightly.
"That gentleman hasn't been home in a while. The doors and windows of his house don't seem to have been closed properly. I think it's probably necessary to go and help him clean up."
"..."
Durandal was silent for a second, helpless that the topic had turned back to that person again.
"In the end, I'm still a little ashamed, it can be considered a small, insignificant compensation..." Rita shook her head and smiled lightly.
"At least, when he returns to his home next time, he won't come home to a total mess, right?"
And so, without any reluctance, Durandal and Rita "split up." One went east like a shooting star, and the other quietly boarded a flight to Singapore.
---||---
Revisiting the old place didn't bring much of a nostalgic feeling, but in the end, things were not what they used to be...
Stepping out of the airport, she hailed a taxi and politely told the driver her destination.
Soon, she arrived at the entrance of the neighborhood where Lin Wei had once lived. It was still full of life, with many old people chatting in the shade and children running around, a very pleasant scene.
Rita didn't look sideways, turned and walked into a building.
The crisp sound of her footsteps echoed in the narrow stairwell and soon reached the floor where Lin Wei's apartment was. Although she didn't have a key, she easily opened the seemingly sturdy anti-theft door.
It was just like the first time she had come here to help Hua...
Inside the door, it was still the same familiar sight, but it was a mess—the few pieces of furniture were scattered on the floor in pieces due to the sudden fight, and the floor was covered with a thick layer of dust.
The north-south facing windows were still wide open, still in the same state that Lin Wei had left them in. Time seemed to have stopped.
A gust of wind blew through, stirring the rustling pages on the floor and bringing down more dust.
"Ah... this is quite a project," Rita waved her hand lightly in front of her nose to fan away the fine dust in the air. She stepped lightly into this frozen space, muttering to herself, "If it's such a mess, he'll be so angry..."
What had been turned into a mess, was it just a small room, or something else?
No one could say for sure.
Anyway, after that guy was forced out of this room, the whole world had almost been turned upside down...
Rita recalled this extremely dramatic and absurd change, thinking with some helplessness. She skillfully put on a mask and began her "cleaning work," which was more familiar to her than fighting.
For her, who had maxed out her housework skills, this amount of work was nothing. It only took a short time for her to clean the chaotic interior spotless—it was truly spotless.
All the things, including sundries and broken pieces, were completely removed, leaving not even a trace of dust or scars.
It was as new as a newly renovated house...
"Done." Rita looked at her work with satisfaction.
"I'll find some time to add some new furniture," she thought before habitually spraying a bit of air-freshening perfume and then turning to leave.
She had come here for this one thing alone, and she had no other purpose. Now that she had completed it, there was no need for her to stay any longer.
After all, she also knew that Lin Wei would not return here, neither now nor in the future. Even if he returned from the Sea of Quanta, it would probably be difficult for him to return to this narrow space again.
So, was she doing this for him, or was it to make herself feel at ease?
Even Rita herself couldn't find the answer to this question...
"Brother, is this the place?"
Walking out of the neighborhood gate, Rita accidentally heard a familiar voice. Following the sound, she saw a thin boy with gray hair, leading a small girl, walking from not far away.
The small girl looked around curiously, asking strangely, "Brother, does Mr. Lin Wei really live in this place? A person as amazing as him, shouldn't he live in a very amazing place?"
"...Are they?" Rita was a little surprised.
"Why are they here?"
These were siblings she remembered well—the brave boy who had driven a motorcycle with his sister out of the hellish beast horde in the ruins of Manila, and had brought her the truth that allowed the terrifying tsunami to suddenly dissipate.
"Although it's surprising, this is indeed the place, Wenwen," the boy, Chen Tianwu, said patiently and with some regret. "It's just that Mr. Lin Wei is probably not here..."
"Ah? Is that so?" The girl, Chen Wenwen, was disappointed when she heard her brother say this. She asked innocently, "Why?"
"Because..." Chen Tianwu smiled wryly and thought for a moment before saying, "Because Mr. Lin Wei has gone on a long trip and won't be back for a long time..."
He could only tell his sister this, otherwise, the cruel reality that even he himself found hard to believe—that Schicksal, which had saved them, had pushed the man who had saved the world into the abyss...
He had joined World Serpent and knew these major events that had just happened, which was why he was still somewhat mentally dazed.
Why? He didn't understand.
As a boy, he didn't indulge in reckless heroic dreams.
But this dream had just begun, and it seemed as if he, along with that real hero, was going to be torn into the abyss...
"Brother, brother, it's that Valkyrie sister from that time!"
Just as Chen Tianwu was lost in thought, Chen Wenwen saw Rita standing not far away and pulled her brother's hand in surprise, pointing her little finger at her.
"Look, she's right there!"
"!"
Chen Tianwu was stunned, thinking it was a hallucination. But following the direction his sister pointed, he saw the person who was Rita, an S-rank Valkyrie, and instinctively pulled his sister behind him!
"..."
Rita had originally thought that the relationship between them and the two siblings who had a relationship with Lin Wei was not a bad one; but the meaning represented by the brother's action was too obvious.
Rita's eyes narrowed involuntarily, scrutinizing the tired-looking young man, her gaze lingering on his metallic arm for a long time.
A metal prosthetic limb, although rare, was not uncommon.
After all, in Shenzhou, the residents of one city had almost all undergone such modifications. Chen Tianwu had lost an arm in that Honkai Eruption and might have had it replaced to compensate.
Rita hadn't felt there was anything to suspect, but Chen Tianwu's deliberate and wary actions made the event itself a subject of suspicion.
After all, logically speaking, as someone she had once saved, he should treat her with gratitude, unless...
"Miss Rita, long time no see."
Chen Tianwu didn't know why Rita would suddenly appear before him. He forced down the wariness and panic in his heart, squeezed out a smile, and said, "I never expected to meet you here..."
"An old friend of mine lives here. I happened to have some free time today, so I passed by here to take a look. You guys..."
Rita wanted to ask something more, but saw the little girl peeking out from behind the boy.
She looked back at the neighborhood where Lin Wei had lived, gave up the thoughts that had just risen in her heart, gave the boy a deep look, and left a meaningful sentence.
"Alright, you can do it yourself..."
After saying that, she turned and left without another word—some things, it was better to play dumb.
"..."
Chen Tianwu watched Rita's receding figure deeply, the tension in his heart gradually easing. At the same time, a hint of guilt couldn't help but rise in his heart.
He could see that Rita had been suspicious of him just now, but had chosen to let him go.
Thinking about it, Lin Wei and Anna were certainly the saviors who had rescued their siblings, but wasn't Rita, who had been on the front lines of the battlefield at the time, one of their saviors as well?
At that moment, he felt that he was a little ridiculous—he had actually been wary of his former savior. It was truly absurd.
"Brother, what's wrong?"
Chen Wenwen noticed the moisture seeping out of her brother's hand. He never used that cold mechanical arm to hold her. She couldn't help but ask with concern.
"...It's nothing," Chen Tianwu shook his head, shaking off those conflicting thoughts. After thinking for a moment, he said to his sister with a smile, "Wenwen, Mr. Lin Wei used to live here. Come on, brother will take you in to take a look."
"Mm."
The little girl nodded. She was an obedient and sensible child. If her brother didn't say anything, she wouldn't ask.
"Mr. Lin Wei has gone on a long trip and probably isn't here now, but he will definitely come back in the future," Chen Tianwu said in a low but earnest voice as he led his sister into the neighborhood.
"Wenwen, you have to remember this place. Remember this road..."
"Mm," Chen Wenwen nodded heavily, though she didn't quite understand.
"I'll remember it."
"Mm, Wenwen is a good girl," Chen Tianwu said, gently stroking his sister's hair.
"If—one day, brother isn't here, you come to this place. Mr. Lin Wei, he will definitely take you to find a new home..."