Handsome, but He Actually Speaks

"Tell me everything about that little brother of yours... I can give you shares. No, you can be the future boss of Shencheng Pharmaceuticals."

"..."

Natasha's first reaction was that Jackal had gone insane. She had really drunk too much medicine and fried her brain.

But then came her second reaction: Damn it, what if she was tempted?

Natasha began waging an internal battle.

She and Liu Bai had known each other for less than a week.

They were only fake siblings in the proper sense, with no real feelings between them.

Jackal, on the other hand, had been her good sister-in-arms for so many years, having gone through life and death together with her...

No, she couldn't keep beautifying it. "Through life and death together" meant this bastard made her clean up her mess every single time.

"Damn it!"

Bang—!

"Now that bastard owes me a company worth ten billion."

Watching Jackal spiral through the air, Natasha's heart bled.

"...What are those two doing?"

Gray Serpent looked expressionlessly at the two women beside him—well, he couldn't make much of an expression to begin with.

"When did their relationship get so good?"

"Good, my ass! Gray Serpent, is something wrong with your brain too?"

Natasha heard Gray Serpent's jab loud and clear.

"From what I can tell, there is no problem." Gray Serpent slowly walked over to them. "So, what happened?"

Gray Serpent wasn't curious about Jackal causing trouble. That woman was simply capable of courting death anywhere.

But Raven making a move was worth wondering about.

Raven might have been the martial type, but she was far more mature and steady than Jackal. Outside, she acted instead of talking; inside, she talked instead of acting. That was the biggest reason the two had managed to work together until now.

Now Raven had knocked Jackal flat inside Shencheng Pharmaceuticals. Gray Serpent was rather curious about why.

"This idiot has gone crazy and wants to fall in love. Wait until she wakes up and ask her yourself—I suggest locking her up for a week to knock some sense into her."

Having missed out on a ten-billion company, Natasha clearly had no interest in chatting anymore.

At the same time, Natasha had helped Liu Bai cover up the matter of the Elixir of Love. Honestly, Jackal rushing to throw money at her was the good kind of Jackal.

On the other hand, compared with the usual Jackal, Natasha truly didn't know which version posed a greater threat to Liu Bai.

If the old Jackal had set her sights on Liu Bai, she definitely would have been after slicing him up and conducting forbidden experiments.

If the current Jackal had set her sights on Liu Bai, she would most likely lock him in a little dark room and beat him until he knelt and became... that.

"I'm leaving early today."

Natasha waved her hand and decisively clocked out early—she really had no motivation to work anymore.

Ah... my Shencheng Pharmaceuticals...

Oh, right. Before leaving, she still had to check Jackal's office and see if she could find a few vials.

"Jackal wants to fall in love?" Mobius raised an eyebrow upon hearing Gray Serpent's report. "Wasn't Blanca the last one to say something like that?"

"...Yes."

Gray Serpent nodded.

Blanca, the Highlord's former assistant. Her current status was... that she had run off with a man.

He also knew that Blanca's situation had left his Highlord quite troubled over matters of love, which was why the assistant position still remained vacant.

Of course, in the end, his Highlord hadn't stopped her. She had respected Blanca's wishes and personally let her go.

World Serpent might have operated in the shadows, but the atmosphere within was quite relaxed.

"...Honestly, Gray Serpent, are you sure today isn't April Fools' Day? That joke... well, it's actually pretty funny."

Jackal falling in love?

That was about as absurd as Raven working for free.

Although Mobius had privately complained before that Jackal seemed to be lacking brains outside of research, there was nothing to criticize about her ambition or dedication to science.

—Well, that was how she had viewed Blanca before, too.

"Are you sure Jackal's idea of wanting to fall in love doesn't mean 'wanting to dissect this person'?"

"...Perhaps you can ask Jackal personally after she wakes up."

Handsome Guy, but He Actually Talks

"Here, the medicine you wanted."

When she returned home, Natasha placed a box containing fifteen neatly arranged vials on the desk in Liu Bai's room.

"Don't go wandering around Shencheng Pharmaceuticals for the next few days. Jackal is currently looking for experimental materials."

"Okay."

Liu Bai didn't particularly care when he saw the fifteen vials on the desk.

He wouldn't have gone to Shencheng Pharmaceuticals anyway. As long as he had obtained the Elixir of Love, that was enough.

Liu Bai put down his book and called out to Guinaifen, who was lying on the living room sofa watching television. "Little Gui, let's go out!"

"Sure!" Guinaifen leaped off the sofa. "Can I use the money we make this time to get a full streaming setup, Boss~?"

"Wait, you're going to find Deathless for testing already?"

Natasha hurriedly stopped Liu Bai.

"Why not? It just so happens that there's nothing else to do right now."

"...Take me with you."

Natasha thought about it, but she really didn't know how to persuade Liu Bai.

In that case, she might as well go with him. It would keep Liu Bai from getting himself killed—and keep him from running into Jackal by some unlucky coincidence.

That boy's talent for attracting trouble was no joke.

Natasha had become a temporary party member.

"Hey, Natasha, can you beat an Emperor-class Honkai Beast?"

"Huh? Why are you asking that?" Natasha, who had been wandering around with Liu Bai like a headless fly, wore a strange expression. "I can definitely beat one, but it'll make quite a scene."

"What about two at once?"

"Just tell me you want me dead."

"I see..."

Liu Bai shifted his gaze away from the crimson-purple Calyx before him.

Dungeon: Twin Elephants' Wild Dance

Enemy Composition: Pavanti, Ganesha

Special Ability: Shared Health

Forget it. Better not court death for now.

Let's go somewhere else.

An abandoned building.

Dungeon: Ancient Legion

Enemy Composition: Dormant Spirit Deathless, Nether Spirit Deathless, Annihilation Dormant Spirit

Special Ability: None

Quantity: Large

"Sis, get ready."

"Is there really any need to keep up the act at a time like this?"

Natasha extended the sharp claws of her combat suit.

"So where are the enemies?"

"They'll be here any moment."

From Natasha's perspective, Liu Bai reached out and clenched his hand in midair. The next moment, she felt a powerful reaction of Honkai energy.

"Hey, hey! What is this?!"

Pairs of Deathless floated out from the shadows in the air, all dressed in black and white.

"The white ones are Dormant Spirit Deathless. The black ones are Nether Spirit Deathless of the same kind. They're all good stuff."

"I know they're Dormant Spirit Deathless... but aren't these rare creatures that only appear in Schicksal textbooks? There are way too many of them!"

Natasha was clearly struggling to keep herself together.

"If I remember correctly, these things have crowd-control abilities, right?"

"But they have no offensive power."

Compared to the support abilities of the Dormant Spirit Deathless, their offensive abilities were almost negligible. They only had threads and death explosions.

"Still, Sis! Leave the one at the very back to you! Feed her the medicine directly!"

Liu Bai pointed at the last individual, who looked almost indistinguishable from a Nether Spirit Deathless.

Only she stood alone—the boss unit of this dungeon, the boss from the original game's Memorial Arena, the Annihilation Dormant Spirit.

A powerful Deathless with both offense and defense.

If they had come to kill them, the phasing ability of the Dormant Spirit Deathless would definitely have been troublesome.

But... he was here to feed them medicine.

"Got it! Little Gui, protect your boss!"

"Don't worry! Leave Boss's safety to Little Gui!"

The Dormant Spirit Deathless wouldn't wait patiently for them to discuss tactics. As they spoke, they slowly raised their hands and began attacking.

But... they were too slow.

Even an ordinary person could avoid the Dormant Spirit Deathless' thread attacks as long as they didn't panic.

The windup was far too obvious.

"Waaah!"

Well, perhaps it wasn't that obvious to Guinaifen.

"They're coming!"

Liu Bai ran toward Guinaifen.

Guinaifen was fairly capable. Even on her first encounter, she wouldn't be instantly defeated.

Besides, the two were standing close together. Liu Bai reached Guinaifen in two steps, scooped her up, and started running.

"E-E-Eh?!"

Guinaifen clearly hadn't expected that one day, she would be carried in a princess hold.

And by...

"You're a little heavy, Little Gui."

"Is that something you can say out loud, Boss?!" The tiny spark of girlish excitement Guinaifen had just felt was smashed to pieces by Liu Bai's words. "As an entertainer, I've always worked hard to control my weight! You're just the one who doesn't exercise enough!"