Spare the Rod for Three Days, and They'll Tear Off the Roof Tiles

Even Anna, who considered herself a deserter, actually had a change of heart and returned to the battlefield.

"The Schicksal organization is truly the retirement organization I've always dreamed of."

The Raven stretched.

"If it weren't Gray Serpent who picked me up back then... Ah, I don't mean anything else. Gray Serpent is actually a decent guy. I have no complaints about risking my life for him back then. You can just take this as my hindsight."

"Okay, go ahead, I'm listening." Liu Bai was also quite interested, after all, he didn't often have heart-to-heart talks with an "outsider" like Raven. "Who do you most want to pick you up?"

"If I had to say, it would definitely be Lady Cecilia —but unfortunately, Lady Cecilia was already dead by then."

Raven sighed first, "If we take a step back, it will definitely be Anti-Entropy. If you want to learn martial arts, you can learn martial arts; if you want to learn literature, you can learn literature. The environment is much more enlightened than that of Schicksal and World Serpent. My brother and I probably won't be separated."

"Secondly... although I don't want to admit it, the Gray Serpent are pretty good too. Although they're gloomy, they're inexplicably tolerant, and I can actually accept some of the dirty work—in that respect, I'm quite similar to Rita. What's that saying... necessary evil."

Raven felt that a large part of the reason why he and Rita were able to become such close friends was because their values were somewhat similar, but not entirely similar, making it hard to say whether they were compatible or mutually exclusive.

As for Gray Serpent... Raven withdrew from the World Serpent twice and was fine, Gray Serpent is indeed quite tolerant in some inexplicable ways.

"Finally, it's all about Schicksal. It's neither good nor bad. Maybe I can make it to S-rank or something, but in the end, I might either defect or get killed. In terms of blending in with the world, I'm actually not as good as Rita, although I don't know why Rita didn't become a nobody."

"... Rita is actually more ruthless than you think." Liu Bai's expression was subtle when he heard Raven's remark. "Although Rita seems very busy all the time,...aside from her maid work, Rita only puts in seven or even five out of ten effort when it comes to things other than anti- Honkai."

The Raven in front of us is the kind that spends all day idly with its long feathers, but when it does work, it is diligent and puts in its best effort.

"...grass."

The facts Liu Bai stated left Raven silent for a long time before he finally cursed.

"You said Rita is better at blending in than you—pretending to be hardworking is also part of blending in."

Rita isn't really enthusiastic about killing people unnecessarily. Of course, she's a hero when Honkai Rita, the kind of person who'd risk her life for it. But when it comes to humans fighting humans... well, if the other side is an extremely evil person, then it's one thing. But when she was capturing Tesla and later chasing the Far East Branch, Rita was all talk and no action.

"... That's true. Rita was doing this under Otto's nose, so it's understandable that she's more skilled."

It took Raven a while to accept that its seemingly hardworking rival was actually a super procrastinator who could slack off even better than itself.

"But now that you mention it, I suspect this person doesn't even exert a fraction of his strength normally."

"Who knows?" Liu Bai shrugged.

At this moment, the Raven suddenly began to look at Liu Bai.

"Speaking of which... Boss, aren't you going to address your current relationship problems?"

"Why are you suddenly bringing this up?"

"Hmm... I just suddenly thought of it."

Raven would never say that she had just suddenly realized that the best possibility for her back then might have been that she was picked up by her own boss.

Maybe I'll... never mind, it's nothing.

"After all, seeing you like this makes me, the one being kept, feel exhausted. You could be enjoying life in a tangible way, but you're still so careful all the time."

"Who doesn't want to solve this? But right now, it seems we can't solve it."

"... Boss, although it's not nice to say it like this, I think you're actually just coasting along."

The Raven's face turned slightly red.

"I think if you time it right at night, find a big room, and spend ten hours over two days, you could at least conquer half of it, if not all of it, right?"

"Um... well, while I'm very grateful that you made this suggestion despite your shyness, Raven, have you considered that one-to-many would require queuing? And how would the time be allocated? Would you exhaust the other person to the point of being unable to get up, or would you each take one turn?"

Liu Bai's expression was quite subtle. Did he really think he hadn't considered this approach? The problem was, it just wouldn't work!

He and Rita proved that even if his stamina bar was infinite, "resisting" for three hours wouldn't be a problem for a top-tier Valkyrie... Of course, those scientists might be a bit easier to control.

If it were just one person per session... then it would truly leave you wanting more.

If you're still not satisfied, it's better not to do it at all...

"But it's not your fault. After all, Raven, you have no experience... Well, although I only have one experience myself, the best solution for now might be to wait until after we get married and have them come in batches every day? A large group is impossible, but two or three at a time... Tsk, wait, does that make me sound like a gigolo?"

As for why marriage is necessary... of course, it's because a formal status can alleviate anxiety, similar to registering for an appointment and waiting for your number to be called.

Moreover, Liu Bai estimated that after marriage, apart from those who wanted to be number one, most others would likely settle down.

As for those who want to be number one... Liu Bai felt that they would only be able to settle down when these people got pregnant.

As for the melodramatic plot of the Nine Princes vying for the throne Liu Bai wasn't worried at all—those people were fighting for first place to prove themselves. This wasn't like the imperial harem where seniority was a source of profit. Besides, to be fair, putting aside the methods, most people had high moral standards.

Unless everyone suddenly becomes incredibly stupid, there's virtually no chance of problems in education...

There are plenty of experienced teachers in the family, professors and PhDs are everywhere, and there are also many reliable women who can take care of children. There are even people like Liu Bai and Planck who can be both teachers and children... although Planck's students and children are all flat-chested.

Well, that's all in the future, after the Honkai. Liu Bai is just imagining the future right now.

"..."

Raven nodded indifferently, barely suppressing the urge to cover his face.

I finally mustered the courage to offer my suggestion despite my shyness, only to be subtly looked down upon by my boss.

I'm not going to survive this time. I really am not going to survive this time.

The two chatted all the way, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the square.

There weren't many people in the square today, except for a few staff members who were either slacking off or taking a break, so Liu Bai and Raven's arrival didn't cause any commotion.

"Looks like we haven't encountered any fully armed Valkyrie along the way." To cover up her embarrassment, Raven abruptly steered the conversation back to the previous topic. "The security situation in Schicksal is a bit better than I expected."

"Who knows if those guys went to exercise or found a place to fight."

Liu Bai has given up on meticulous management of his girls. They all know what's important anyway, so he treats the fights as practical training.

"Ah, isn't that Jackal?" In the somewhat deserted square, Raven glanced around and found that his old partner was sitting on a bench feeding pigeons.

"... By the way, why are there pigeons on Schicksal Sky Island?"

"If you're asking about its purpose, it's obviously for the Valkyrie to keep entertained. As for why pigeons can be kept at this height... although I don't understand biology, intuitively it doesn't seem like a difficult task, and isn't there a biologist right in front of you?"

Seemingly hearing someone talking about him, the Jackal, sprinkling breadcrumbs, looked up in confusion.

Upon seeing the Raven, the Jackal merely tilted its head in confusion. But upon seeing the man beside the Raven, the Jackal jumped up in fright, startling a flock of pigeons.

"Lord Liu, Lord Liu Bai? What are you and Raven doing here...?"

"Just taking a stroll during this busy time." Liu Bai gestured to the Jackal not to be so reserved. "You know, Raven is very safe."

Liu Bai's words made Raven melancholy again, reminding her of the scorn she had just suffered in that area.

So what if you have no experience and no guts!?

"Raven ..." The Jackal glanced at the Raven and chuckled, "It's quite safe."

The familiar mockery actually calmed Raven down a bit after being ridiculed by the Jackal.

"I heard you're 'unemployed'?" Liu Bai gestured for the Jackal to sit down and talk, then he and Raven sat down next to him.

"Yes, Dr. Mei has a more suitable assistant now, and Schicksal doesn't have any biological projects. Sigh, this is the first time I've had some free time since being discovered by the Gray Serpent. With nothing to do, I can only feed the pigeons."

As he spoke, Jackal stretched, his former dangerous aura as a mad scientist almost completely gone, replaced by an inexplicable languor.

"However, it wasn't so empty; on the contrary, it gave me time to think about some philosophical questions."

"For example, how do you turn a pigeon into Honkai Beast?" Raven said to her old partner, who had changed quite a bit.

"... You see, I really have nothing in common with this kind of illiterate person."

"..."

To retract my previous statement, this guy hasn't changed at all.

Chapter 377 If you don't discipline them for three days, they'll climb onto the roof and tear off the tiles.

"... Jackal, do you really want to fight?"

The Jackal merely shrugged at the Raven's threat, as if to say, "There's no point in talking to a brute like you whose mind is filled with nothing but fighting and killing."

This guy's sarcasm skills haven't diminished at all.

"I feel like Raven, you seem to have some misunderstanding about my job. Do you think my job is to inject various creatures with Honkai Energy and then watch them turn into Honkai Beast?"

"Isn't that right?" Raven retorted, slightly annoyed.

"Hmm... you really don't have much of a brain." Jackal scratched his head. "Didn't you use my optimized Honkai Energy Suppressant?"

"Really?" Raven pondered for a moment, indicating that he had absolutely no memory of it. "Perhaps it's just that such a thing is too insignificant in your kind of dangerous invention."

"You... okay."

Jackal sighed. This girl could even forget why he was captured in the first place. It seemed he couldn't rely on her brain anymore.

"Creating Honkai Beast and Death Soldier is just a byproduct of my work—okay, I admit it's a bit inhumane. My actual work is the Stigmata Project —to be honest, the Stigmata Project itself isn't exactly a humane project. To put it simply, it's about coexisting with the Honkai."

The Jackal's words made the Raven look thoughtful, and seeing this, the Jackal continued speaking.

"Do you remember what Shencheng Pharmaceuticals was doing before, when Lord Liu Bai didn't show up? A city-wide Honkai, using it to determine various parameters. Of course, calling it the whole city sounds pretty scary. Maybe it would be easier to accept if we did it one by one and collected equal samples?"

"... That's right." Raven remembered this. If Kiana and Schicksal hadn't gotten involved, and Liu Bai hadn't come along later, the plan would definitely have gone through.

"Actually, even if Dr. Mei came, it wouldn't make a difference. After all, the two civilizations are different... human species are different, plus there are thousands of years of natural evolution. Without a large sample size, who would dare to do this? I admit I'm ruthless, but I never kill people without a reason."

The Jackal shrugged.

"I am a scientist who is against human morality, not a scientist who is against humanity. I accept your enumeration of evils, but I will fight you if you say that I am in cahoots with the Honkai."

Jackal has some predictions about his future.

The worst outcome would be life imprisonment, since she chose the right side and her interests were not biased. Her level of expertise in biology is among the top three in the entire modern civilization. In addition, with the current convergence of the three parties, she will most likely not be purged.

The convergence of the three parties has led to many awkward situations. Take Otto, for example. If he were to be tried, it might be a bit unfair to execute Otto a hundred times, but it would certainly be fair to execute him fifty times.

And Mei, this guy is the mastermind behind the Stigmata Project. If you're going to settle accounts with Jackal, the executor of the Stigmata Project, but not with Mei, the initiator, do you think that's reasonable?

Kevin, the accomplice, is arguably the one who devised the current strategy for the World Serpent.

Next up is the Gray Serpent, and after the Gray Serpent comes the Jackal.

And what about Raven? Are their hands clean? It's like they're saying necessary evil isn't evil at all.

And then there's Rita, you Otto the Black Glove, you may not have dealt with many Valkyrie, but do you dare say they all deserved it?

As they went on like this, many people were purged, and the purges even reached Liu Bai.

Furthermore, since there are essentially no losers in the three-way alliance, and there is no such thing as the winner taking all and the loser being condemned, it is highly likely that there will be no reckoning. The events of the Honkai Era will be forgiven, and future events will be handled fairly. This is the normal approach. The so-called worst-case scenario actually refers to Liu Bai losing his mind and carrying out a purge...

However, Jackal figured the probability of his boss having a brain fart was probably lower than the probability of him himself having a mental breakdown in the future.

"Tsk," the Raven grumbled.

Indeed, this guy's stance is not biased; Raven doesn't even want to mention what the world situation was like three months ago.

Everyone was doing their own thing, each thinking the other was an idiot or a villain and wanting to kill the other, but they all genuinely wanted to save the world in their own way... At the time, it didn't seem like much, but looking back now, Raven thinks that the three major organizations... no, maybe all of humanity was under a brain-degrading buff.

To describe what happened back then, it was like on a stage that should have been a battle between humans and Honkai, only humans were fighting each other, while the Honkai were just there as spectators cheering and occasionally making their presence felt...

Raven's assessment of everyone back then was that they were all idiots—including herself.

"My experiments back then were actually quite complicated, and you probably wouldn't understand them. If you'd like to hear them, Lord Liu Bai, I can explain them in detail."

Jackal greatly respected Liu Bai, who was superior to him in both talent and status.

"I have a general understanding, but I won't need it in the future, so there's no need to explain it."

"Yeah, we won't need it in the future..." The Jackal stretched, looking somewhat lost.

His life's work came to an abrupt end, cut short before he even saw the results. This is truly absurd for a scientist.

But it was Dr. Mei's decision after all, and I couldn't object to it.

However, Jackal surprisingly felt that he wasn't too angry... well, maybe the world's incredibly fast pace had washed away his anger.

Before she knew it, the world had changed so fast that she didn't even have time to be angry or resentful.

What kind of nonsense is this...?

"Forget it, instead of thinking about the past, I'd rather look at these pigeons of Schicksal."

The Jackal scattered a handful of breadcrumbs.

"I understand the logic, but why are the pigeons so big?" Liu Bai muttered a meaningless joke without thinking.

"Because things appear larger when closer and smaller when farther away... Ah, why are you suddenly saying this?"