"Raven?"
Though it was a question, the man's tone was exceptionally certain.
Such an iconic outfit was one of a kind, with no other branches.
And to be able to sneak into the Far East Branch without alerting anyone—there was no one else but the famous Raven.
Brian hadn't expected that Cocolia would hold such a high position in the eyes of World Serpent, important enough to have a high-ranking World Serpent operative come to her rescue.
Without a doubt, he couldn't defeat this person; their combat strengths were not on the same level.
But to let Raven rescue Cocolia so easily would be too much of a loss of face for him.
"Sorry, this woman is a prisoner of our Far East Branch. You can't take her away."
"Whether she's a prisoner or not isn't for you to decide. Besides, according to the Geneva Convention, shouldn't your Schicksal organization treat prisoners well?"
"The Geneva Convention?"
The young Brian spread his hands and shrugged. "Did our Schicksal organization sign it? Why should we abide by it?"
Punching power is power. Schicksal's fist is the biggest, so naturally, Schicksal's rules are the world's rules.
Others may want to reason with Schicksal, but the reasoning is now in Schicksal's hands.
Obey or die. There is no third choice.
Raven: "I didn't expect your Schicksal organization to be so tyrannical."
"But it seems you don't represent Schicksal, nor do you have the strength to maintain these rules."
Cocolia's expression was one of ecstasy as she watched the mysterious woman in 18cm stilettos come to her rescue.
As expected, she was the chosen one of this world. Even when facing mortal danger, someone would come to save her!
*Clack, clack, clack—!*
The sound of high heels striking the floor was crisp. Having assessed the situation, Raven had no intention of wasting time.
After all, this was Schicksal's territory. Even if the Far East Branch was as leaky as a sieve, she still needed to be cautious.
Herrschers, Divine Keys, MANTISs…
This damned place was like a dilapidated thatched hut. If you casually kicked it, someone would run out and beat you so badly your own mother wouldn't recognize you.
"I'll be taking her with me now. If fate allows, let's meet again next time."
At this moment, Natasha Cioara still believed Brian was just an ordinary man, at most possessing a natural-born gigolo's body with the potential to live off a rich woman.
Immediately.
"Miss Raven, it's not polite for a guest to arrive uninvited and leave without saying goodbye."
"You're going to stop me?"
To be honest, considering this man was a Herrscher's boyfriend, Raven didn't want to offend him.
After all, who knew when she might run into a Schicksal Herrscher during a mission? Wouldn't she have to pay for her mistake today?
As a woman, she understood a woman's pettiness very well and didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble for herself.
She was just a humble mercenary, with the added identity of a World Serpent operative at most.
Although she could barely exchange a few blows with a Herrscher, it didn't mean she could retreat unscathed from a siege of Herrschers.
It was better to avoid trouble.
"That's right."
Young Brian grabbed Raven's wrist.
"Just you?"
"Yes, just me."
Hand of God!
↑↑↑↑
The young woman's eyes suddenly widened, filling with a seductive, watery light.
This… this feeling, how could it be even more pleasurable than the joy beans from when she was all alone and stressed out!?!
Her strong, shapely legs went weak, and Raven nearly knelt on the ground, lost in this supreme feeling of pleasure.
Once you get a taste of carnal pleasure, you always want more. The first time she enjoyed this kind of feeling, she had nearly developed an indescribable addiction.
And now, something even more pleasurable and profound was happening to her, almost turning Raven back into a 'greedy child,' demanding everything from this man.
But!
'Raven, your dream of a villa on a small island is not yet complete. You can't turn into a woman who can only get on her knees here.'
Her lifelong dream violently suppressed the feeling of shame. Raven, relying on her powerful willpower, actually suppressed her craving for pleasure.
"So close. I was about to be completely lost in it."
In the face of her villa and island dream, mere joy beans were nothing!
For her villa and island dream, she could abandon everything!!!
Foiled for the first time, young Brian was a little surprised and immediately decided to give Raven another round.
There was no woman he couldn't conquer. If there was, he'd just give her another round.
But the current Raven had seen through young Brian's true strength and naturally wouldn't leave him an opportunity.
"Goodbye, strange man."
Her hand went slack, and the person before her vanished into thin air.
...
After dropping off Cocolia, Einstein did not leave.
In front of the rapidly advancing Theresa, the blue-haired, naturally curly Einstein blocked the Principal's path.
"It's you, Schicksal's traitor!"
"Long time no see, Ms. Theresa."
They last saw each other at the last time they met, on the battlefield of the Second Honkai Eruption.
Although their stances were different back then, they were both fighting for the future of humanity.
And today, 14 years later, they would finally become adversaries due to their opposing positions.
With Cocolia as a precedent, Theresa only thought that this Schicksal traitor, Einstein, was here to stop her, just like Cocolia.
"Are you also trying to stall for time like that Cocolia woman?"
Her little Herrschers at home were confirmed safe. The remaining Key of Corruption absolutely could not be lost.
If it fell into the hands of an ambitious person like Cocolia, Theresa couldn't imagine what kind of problems it would cause; at the very least, her grandfather wouldn't mind starting a world war to reclaim the Key of Corruption.
Einstein's expression was relaxed, feeling no threat from a cute beast: "Ms. Theresa, I think you no longer need to worry about Cocolia."
Killing intent was spreading.
Theresa considered Einstein her enemy.
"Cocolia overestimated her own abilities and was eroded by the Divine Key's Honkai energy. She is now quite far down the path of zombification."
"If you want to treat her, you can head to the Divine Key's vault."
Theresa: "..."
She admitted that she was a fool who was easily manipulated by her grandfather, and she was a bit soft-hearted.
But for someone like Cocolia, it was better to let her die.
The best choice was simply to turn a blind eye, lest she want to gain more benefits and end up treating this person.
However, Theresa didn't intend to fully believe the words of this Schicksal traitor, Einstein.
Before the girl could make a decision, a communication suddenly connected to her ear.
"Auntie, Cocolia was rescued."
Einstein: "..."
Cold sweat trickled down.
She had thought that Cocolia, due to her ambition and recklessly touching the Divine Key, would lose her life and become one of the countless Honkai Zombies.
But she didn't expect this woman to have a backup plan, having someone rescue her from the brink of death.
What a huge mistake!
Immediately.
"Ms. Theresa, please let me explain!"
Fortunately, she had come to the Far East Branch with two preparations.
The plan on Cocolia's side was half-successful. Now it was up to the other half of the plan to save her own skin.
Theresa nodded, her gaze cold: "Speak, I'm listening."
There were no Titans or Herrschers by her side.
To the current Theresa, this woman Einstein was really no different from a weak chicken.
She would not kill wantonly, but she would not let her enemies go because of unnecessary mercy.
Cold sweat spread across Einstein's forehead.
Apart from the Battle of New York, this was the closest she had ever been to mortal danger.
"All communications here have been cut off by me using special means. Your grandfather will not be able to learn of our subsequent conversation."
"I came here this time not just for Cocolia's boring ambitions, but to make a deal with you."
Theresa: "You are from Anti-Entropy, and I am a Schicksal Valkyrie. I don't think there's anything for us to talk about."
"Is that so?"
The blue-haired, naturally curly woman wore a half-smile. "Then what if I show you this?"
As her voice fell, the door to the secret vault on their side swung open.
Countless culture pods entered their line of sight, but they failed to cause a stir on Theresa's face as Einstein had expected.
"If you're just talking about the Sirin Project, I already know about it."
The evil of the Schicksal Overseer was beyond imagination.
What Einstein knew, Theresa basically knew; what she didn't know, Theresa also knew.
Einstein: "Ms. Theresa, please take a closer look. Who exactly are the people in these culture pods?"
"..."
It was actually...
Cecilia!
...
Far East Branch, St. Freya High School.
The commotion during the night did not spread on a large scale and was quickly extinguished through the efforts of the Valkyries.
Although Anti-Entropy's offensive was fierce, it was quickly dismantled with the manipulation of certain individuals.
As midnight approached, the chaos in St. Freya High School had almost completely disappeared, and the students and staff who had taken refuge in their dormitories finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's finally over."
In a one-bedroom bachelor apartment, a gentle and refined man brewed himself a cup of calming tea, turning his attention away from the outside world.
The Far East Branch had completely dismantled Anti-Entropy's offensive, which was just as well, allowing him, the recovering Anti-Entropy Sovereign, to continue lying down instead of aggravating his injuries.
He had to admit, this nine-to-five life, like a salted fish, was very comfortable.
A woman's figure emerged from camouflage, sitting down opposite Welt as if she were an old friend.
"Long time no see, Yang."
"Long time no see, Ein."
"It seems you've recovered well during this time."
"It's just that there's been no opportunity or need to make a move, which is why I can sit here and talk with you properly."
The man's demeanor was still gentle and refined, but the weariness in his eyes could not be concealed no matter what.
The Second Honkai Eruption had nearly annihilated him, body and soul, and then the Earth was visited by an extraterrestrial guest a few years later.
His already overburdened body was made worse by these two successive events, even forcing him to use his original name, Joachim Yang, and recover here as a teacher at St. Freya High School.
"It's been hard on you all these years."
As this man's elder, yet unable to offer him much help, and even almost making him come out to clean up the mess, Einstein felt a little apologetic.
Welt was quite open-minded about it: "Everyone has things they are good at and not good at. Not everyone is born an omnipotent genius."
"You and Tesla have long been tied up with Anti-Entropy's affairs. It's been tough on you two as well."
The older generation of Anti-Entropy's high-level members was gradually aging, and only the two scientists, Tesla and Einstein, who had gained long lives due to Abyss Flower, survived.
They were not good at politics, yet they had to get involved in this field for various reasons.
Even when they were beaten to a pulp by the up-and-coming juniors, they could only persevere through the hardship.
Welt knew very well that the two of them never wanted to be leaders; they just wanted a research institute with a free budget.
Fortunately...
"Cocolia has paid the price for her ambition. The situation should be better from now on."
Without Cocolia as the leader, even if the radical faction didn't collapse, it would fall into a period of chaos while vying for the leadership position.
This gave them an opportunity to rescue Raiden Ryoma, who was controlled by Cocolia, and to reclaim the territory seized by the radical faction.
"That's good."
Welt said with a smile.
The topic shifted.
"I just completed the deal with Theresa. Although she didn't fully agree to our plan, she didn't reject it on the spot either."
Unsurprisingly, Theresa's reaction was completely within Welt and Einstein's expectations.
After all, she was the granddaughter raised by Otto himself. Before that man revealed his evil true face, she would not choose to rebel against her grandfather.
"Then we can only wait."
"Yes, the day Otto launches his plan will be the day we join forces. This time, no matter the cost, we cannot let Otto's plan succeed!"
Anti-Entropy didn't know what Otto specifically wanted to do, but in their eyes, Otto's plan was not a good thing.
From the clues gathered so far, K-423 was the core of Otto's plan. The most likely scenario was to resurrect the Herrscher of the Void, plunging the world into fear once again, and thereby achieve some ulterior motive.
"What about Siegfried? As that child's father, what is his opinion?"
"He agreed."
Siegfried's opinion was crucial.
Not only because of the man's combat power in his extreme state, but also because he was K-423's father.
Moreover, this man lost his wife and daughter in middle age and might see Kiana as his only spiritual support; without his consent, it could very well introduce unnecessary variables into the plan.
"That's good."
"Ein, it's been hard on you all during this time."
"It's fine. This is what we as elders should do."
Welt gave a wry smile: "Look at you now. I should be the one who's the elder, right?"
"Who knows."
Einstein stood up, preparing to leave.
"The Moonlight Throne Project will proceed as scheduled, and all preparations on the City of the Deep side have been made. Your time to rest as the Anti-Entropy Sovereign is running out."
"Yes, the wind is gradually picking up."
A cold wind blew in from the balcony, causing a green plant in the room to rustle and shed a few leaves in the chill.
When the nest is overturned, no egg can remain intact.
No one could stay aloof. It was just that people like them were the tall ones who had to face the storm head-on.
...
*Plop—!*
In some unknown place, a girl dressed in black casually threw the woman in her hands to the ground.
"Gray Serpent, I brought her back for you."
The android walked over indifferently. After confirming that the person on the ground was Cocolia, he paid her no more attention.
"Raven, you've completed this mission well."
A complete Cocolia, not a damaged one; for him, it would save a lot of unnecessary work.
"It was just a coincidence, thanks to this woman's cleverness."
"She's already started to zombify. The rest of the work is..."
Before she could finish, Cocolia, lying prostrate on the ground, suddenly moved, seemingly trying to get up to complete her great cause.
An 18cm stiletto stepped on her back, crushing the woman completely into the dust. Her pale arms clawed chaotically at the ground.
"Well, she's completely zombified. No need for rescue."
Raven almost thought her mission had failed.
Gray Serpent remained indifferent: "No matter, it's perfect for us."
When it came to human modification technology, if the World Serpent organization claimed to be second, no one in this world would dare claim to be first.
Even if she was completely zombified, Gray Serpent could bring 'Cocolia' back to the world.
It just so happened that this woman, due to her ambition, touched something she shouldn't have, and her body completed its zombification under the effect of high-concentration Honkai energy.
With her current identity and her current state, it was perfect for World Serpent to enter the stage completely under the banner of Anti-Entropy.
To use some internet slang, the current Cocolia was perfect for use as wetware.
"That's fine, then. Just don't forget my payment."
Tugging at the brim of her hat, Raven, feeling exceptionally uncomfortable, wanted to leave: "If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving. Come find me again next time."
Even after having left for some distance, that wet and sticky feeling still made her whole body uncomfortable.
She had to find a place to change her pants.
"Yes, a pleasure working with you."
The two deep shadows were gradually swallowed by the darkness, turning into an undercurrent of unknown origin, merging into the world hidden in the shadows.
...