The Seven Thunders of Retribution Have a Rather Odd Vibe

Raven admitted that the other party's plan to win people's hearts and minds was very successful.

Wait, now that I've already got the money, is it still necessary to stay... well, it is necessary.

Raven silently suppressed her slightly overconfident thoughts.

The biggest taboo for mercenaries is taking money and not doing any work.

Such people usually either die a terrible death or are on their way to a terrible death.

She was able to leave World Serpent back then because she had done enough work and had essentially severed ties with World Serpent... plus Gray Serpent was very open-minded.

If it were a less enlightened person, they might be floating in the ocean trench right now.

Besides, she's not the kind of heartless person. Since she took a hundred million dollars from someone, she should do a hundred million dollars' worth of work before leaving. That way, she can leave happily.

... But then again, a hundred million dollars, how long will it take me to pay it back?

Excluding the odd jobs I did as a child, I earned about ten million in four or five years. There's not much difference between euros and dollars.

In that case... oh, forty or fifty years should be enough.

—What a ghost! This has been a lifetime, okay?

"Alright, stand up and take a break. We have important business to attend to."

Liu Bai pointed to the demolished gate in front of him.

"So, how did Kiana and that kid Shibao suddenly end up here?"

"The term 'Shibao' is quite peculiar," Rita remarked.

Meanwhile, the Raven beside them was working on its brain at a rapid pace.

"It should be Gray Serpent."

Raven analyzed the situation very calmly.

"The only person in the entire Sky Dome City who would notice this place is that guy Gray Serpent, and the two of them just happened to be able to find Gray Serpent... but I don't know why they came here."

Fine, let's leave it at that. At worst, I'll be at the forefront from now on and take a few more cuts for the adults.

Raven sighed inwardly.

Besides, all the people around me... including that most annoying Rita, are much better than Jackal.

She and the Jackal were completely incompatible in terms of values; if they weren't colleagues, Raven would have turned against them long ago. As for her and Rita, it was simply that their personalities clashed.

Aside from Rita, Raven gets along quite well with Durandal, Mei, and Mei who are currently by her side.

So Raven actually quite likes the atmosphere around Liu Bai right now.

"What's with Gray Serpent throwing them over here?" Liu Bai complained. "Does he want Kiana to spar with you?"

"Well... okay, it's barely acceptable."

Having taken the money, Raven stopped expressing his dissatisfaction with Kiana.

"But I always had a feeling things wouldn't be that simple—a mercenary's intuition for trouble."

"Whether it's troublesome or not, let's go in first. I haven't seen Kiana for a while."

Mei reached out and pulled Liu Bai, who was possessing the doll, into her arms, and went inside first.

"The footsteps are still going in."

"It should be in the backyard." Raven followed closely behind. "Although this place looks like the middle of nowhere, it still has enough space—otherwise, it wouldn't be able to accommodate the children. I'll lead the way."

This time, Raven took the lead, and soon Liu Bai and his group heard Kiana, Shibao, and a group of children making a fuss.

"Drop, drop, drop the handkerchief, gently place it behind the child, everyone don't tell him, hurry, hurry, catch him, hurry, hurry, catch him..."

"You had a lot of fun inside, didn't you?"

Hearing the voices inside, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"It looks like it's a game for children from Shenzhou."

"It's not just a feeling, it is." A hint of recollection appeared on Liu Bai's face. "Let's go in and take a look."

"Hmm." Mei nodded and quietly walked into the backyard, where she saw Kiana sitting on the ground with the children, clapping and singing.

Kiana also sensed Mei's gaze and subconsciously looked up.

" ——Mei!?"

Kiana jumped up with joy and ran to Mei's side.

"Mei, what are you doing here? What? You're holding something in your hand... wait, what's this?"

Kiana then noticed the Liu Bai doll in Mei's hand.

In that instant, some ominous memories from before flooded back—"Although I don't know what's going on, I'm sorry, Miss Kiana, I already have a lover."

Chapter 173 The Art Style of the Purging Thunder is a Bit Off

"Um... Mei, you're not going to say anything weird to me, are you?"

"Strange words?" Mei looked at Kiana, who had suddenly stopped, with a strange expression on her face. "Kiana, what do you mean by 'strange words'?"

"Um... I mean... I mean... I mean strange things like this guy."

Kiana simply didn't have the courage to recount what happened, so she could only point to Mei.

"I?"

"Dr. Mei, did you say something strange to Kiana?"

Mei gave Mei a strange look. In her memory, Mei was a bit eccentric when it came to things related to Liu Bai, but she was quite reliable when it came to serious matters.

"Strange words?"

Mei stroked her chin and thought for a moment.

"No, I don't remember inviting Miss Kiana to the experimental table yet."

"I see..."

Mei's expression didn't seem fake, and coupled with the fact that the other person's face was almost identical to her own, Mei subconsciously believed Mei's words.

"Kiana, don't cause Dr. Mei any trouble."

"I... gulp..."

Kiana hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

Does this guy even realize how much hurt his words caused me back then?!

During this period, I dreamed about that scene every night, and even the appearance in my dreams gradually changed from Mei to Mei —although the difference between the two was not very obvious.

But for her, this was a complete nightmare, wasn't it?

(It's more accurate to say that Kiana was too hasty. If you had just observed a little longer, I would have recognized that this wasn't Mei.)

Fu Hua added insult to injury in her mind.

Mei and Mei now are the kind of people who look like the same person at first glance, but the more you look at them, the less they resemble each other.

The difference in temperament is too great; once you spend enough time together, it's impossible for them to mistake one for the other.

"Hmm... okay, but Mei, could you please let go of this slightly... um... slightly silly doll you're holding?"

Kiana really wanted to say that Liu Bai was ugly, but... to be honest, Liu Bai's looks made it impossible for Kiana to find fault with him against her will, so she immediately changed her words.

But... Kiana, who gave you the courage to call others stupid?

"Huh? What?"

Kiana's adjectives left Mei momentarily confused, unable to find a target.

"The Liu Bai you have!"

Kiana stated bluntly that although she usually had a good impression of Liu Bai because of Fu Hua, Kiana was now panicked when she saw this combination, having learned from Mei's experience.

It's already a psychological trauma.

"Huh? You mean Brother Liu Bai?"

"Liu... Liu Bai... Brother?"

Kiana suddenly covered her head, a sense of foreboding washing over her.

"Wait, Mei, why are you calling him that?"

"It's because... um... Brother Liu Bai is Brother Liu Bai."

Mei's face inexplicably turned a little red when this was mentioned.

"No... Mei, do you have some kind of leverage over this guy?" Kiana looked incredulous. Don't blush! "Or have you fallen into their hands and been brainwashed?"

"...If we were that kind of people, the first person we'd brainwash would be you, okay?" Liu Bai was speechless.

Mei next to him, inexplicably drifted off into thought.

"Coercion... brainwashing... it feels like Seele... cough, it's nothing."

Mei coughed lightly twice as she came to her senses.

"No, Kiana, what are you thinking? It's just that I've known Brother Liu Bai for a long time."

"Relatively... early?"

"Um... I was 15 years old when I first met Brother Liu Bai."

"Hmm... the age when love first blossoms." Rita next to her made an ambiguous humming sound.

I have a feeling that Rita is adding fuel to the fire, but is that just my imagination?

Sure enough, Kiana's face darkened immediately upon hearing this.

Damn it... Does she not even get a chance to be first?

Isn't this a complete defeat?

"Mei, why didn't you mention this before?" Kiana asked, still unwilling to give up.

"Huh? Because this happened during the Anti-Entropy period, I can't bring it up unless someone asks." Mei scratched her face.

Although it seems my sister Edison has some dirty dealings with the school principal, I can't just say things like that, can I?

"During the Anti-Entropy... does that mean Bronya knew about it too?"

"...Um."

"So, I'm the only one being excluded?"

"Well, you can't say that..." Mei thought about it carefully, and it seemed to be true.

But how exactly to explain it... you can't exactly say it's because you two read the same book together, can you?

"...I see."

Kiana took a deep breath.

"I'll snatch Mei back from this guy's hands!"

"Huh? Huh? Huh?"

Wait a minute? Robbery?

"Um... I think maybe we don't need it..."

"This idiot is unbearable to look at..."

Liu Bai floated out of Mei with a helpless expression, ignoring Kiana's declaration of war.

"So, what are you two doing here?"

Liu Bai looked at Shibao beside him.

"Huh? This... um..."

This stumped Shibao.

Although their original intention was to "catch someone in the act," wasn't it inappropriate to say that in front of Teacher Liu?

Will telling the truth anger Teacher Liu?