A Step-by-Step Plan

"Huh? You think I'm the kind of woman who would sell my dignity? Let me tell you, I would never..."

"Ten million."

"There will absolutely be no personal feelings involved in the mission! Considering that excessive water usage might arouse unnecessary suspicion and expose the location of the safe house, let's take showers together for the next few days—just showers, don't get any ideas, nothing else is possible!"

The Raven spoke with righteous indignation.

Anyway, we're all women, so as long as it's not too outrageous, a little looking and touching is fine—the main thing is to maintain good working relationships and ensure the completion of the task, it has nothing to do with ten million or anything!

Well, how should we spend this ten million?

Raven tried his best to control his facial expression, lest he accidentally laugh out loud because of this unexpected windfall.

They ate, lived, and slept together for two days.

The Jackal's extremely calm and composed demeanor allowed the Raven to get used to her natural approach.

The Raven had no doubts.

After all, Jackal was a high-ranking officer and a researcher, so there was a certain distance between them. Jackal had no interest in cultivating relationships with Raven, and Raven was well aware of the World Serpent's mystical ways, never showing any unnecessary curiosity. Therefore, before this mission, their contact was limited to occasional encounters at the base, and they were not familiar with each other.

The Raven simply assumed that the Jackal La Signora had always had a particular hobby, and that it had finally matured and entered her hunting range.

Although he disliked such hobbies, Raven could tolerate it because he had a mission to complete and could earn some extra money.

"Hey, Rita Losweiser really came to the London. Are you sure you don't need me to do anything?"

In the morning, Raven looked at the maid girl appearing on the surveillance screen, turned his head and said to the Jackal that was resting on his shoulder.

The Jackal lay limply on the Raven's back, a lazy, alluring, and indifferent smile playing on its lips.

What can you do? Kidnap or assassinate?

"Fine, whatever you want. I'm just following orders this time."

The Raven replied indifferently.

At the same time, I moved around uncomfortably. I was reluctant to admit that the squeezing sensation and amazing elasticity on my back were quite enjoyable!

Jackal looked up at the surveillance video, his gaze lingering on Rita's ample breasts and fleshy thighs for a moment, before his smile widened.

What can she do?

Are we really going to block Otto's way?

He'll kill them! Without a doubt, he'll take the Raven with him and crush them to pieces by Schicksal!

The Second Divine Key cannot be preserved. Otto valued it too much. The World Serpent cannot be preserved, and the Jackal will not risk his life to preserve it for the World Serpent.

All she can do is seek benefits beyond the Chikai Ichijo Vehicle, nothing more.

"Durandal... Lady?"

Rita bumped into Durandal, who was flipping through a travel guidebook, while sitting on a bench on the street.

It wasn't actually a coincidence.

Rita had inquired about Durandal's itinerary beforehand, knowing she would be coming to the London, and then kept track of her movements, which led to their encounter on the scenic long street of Western Europe.

"Rita? What are you doing here?"

"Rita is naturally on a mission, so this is a question that Rita should ask Durandal."

"I'm here on vacation, didn't I tell you that before? You haven't forgotten, have you?"

Durandal frowned, showing some dissatisfaction.

As the saying goes, Durandal's displeasure, Rita, disregarding her own Xiao You, could only explain with a smile:

"Actually, I've been thinking about Durandal, so Rita found out about your schedule and came to see you before the mission started."

"I see... Then you should hurry up and carry out your mission; official business is more important."

"Well, there's no rush. How about I act as your guide?"

"Really? Uh, no, no, the mission is more important!"

Durandal's eyes lit up at first, then her expression turned serious. Suppressing her joy at traveling with her close friend, she made a gesture to drive him away.

Rita smiled knowingly, shook her head, and said goodbye to Durandal.

Even if they can't travel together, and even if Rita doesn't rely on Durandal's power, just knowing that Durandal is in the same city makes this mission feel especially reassuring.

Chapter 127 A Step-by-Step Plan

Rita found the British Museum as planned and met the mature and intellectual curator, La Signora. Catherine.

She was a stunningly beautiful woman. Her explanations of the museum were clear and detailed, and her enthusiasm when discussing the Arthurian Legend demonstrated that she was a knowledgeable and highly capable curator.

With a meticulous mindset, Rita listened attentively to Catherine's various accounts of history and legends.

Unfortunately, once the other person started talking about their profession, their thoughts wandered and they became quite talkative, readily spouting all sorts of obscure professional terms and historical anecdotes. Although Rita was somewhat prepared, she was ultimately not a scholar, and halfway through, her head started buzzing, and she could no longer understand the detailed implications of Catherine's words.

"Well, it's getting late. I've learned a lot from you today, and it's been very beneficial. But Rita has other important matters to attend to, so I must take my leave, Miss Catherine."

"Eh? Okay, then I'll see you off. I still have some records about Celtic mythology, and I can take you with me on the way..."

"No, no, no, I've already bothered you enough today. I won't disturb your work any longer. I'll leave on my own. Goodbye."

Rita stood up, offering a graceful smile, and politely declined Catherine's invitation.

Stop reading it, La Signora. If you keep reading it, I won't be able to do anything else today.

With a regretful and dissatisfied expression, Catherine stared intently at Rizzonta's departing figure.

"Ding-a-ling~"

Until a clear and melodious copper bell rang out.

Catherine turned around and saw a kitten sitting gracefully on the table, its beautiful deep red cat eyes scrutinizing her as if admiring something.

Its tail hooked a round communicator, which it gently placed on the table, emitting a lazy, almost whimpering sound from Jackal:

"Well done, your eloquence is quite good, Catherine."

"You flatter me. It's just my duty, Lord Jackal. What should I do next?"

"Next, it's time to lay the bait. Stan, it's your turn."

Meow~~

Catherine watched as the beautiful gray cat leaped off the table and, with light, graceful steps, headed in the direction Rita had gone.

Museum exhibition area.

Rita walked through the well-protected and lavishly decorated Arthurian Legend exhibition area.

In this world, the Arthurian Legend is a completely verifiable historical fact. For example, this exhibition area displays ancient stone slabs unearthed from the British Isles, depicting the scene of King Arthur's coronation.

"A task like uncovering historical truth? Are you overestimating me, or are you making things difficult for me, Lord Otto?"

Rita observed the carvings on the stone slab and let out a helpless sigh.

However, a mission is a mission. Even if it's a headache, I still need to continue seeking advice from La Signora. Catherine and exploring clues about the Second Divine Key.

Rita rubbed her forehead, which ached from overthinking, and turned to leave the museum.

"Ding-a-ling~~"

Just then, a clear bell rang from behind.

Rita turned around and saw a gray cat slowly walking out from the shadows.

"Um?"

Meow~~

"Oh, little kitty, are you lost? Would you like me to help you find your family?"

Rita's heart softened, and she squatted down, reaching out her hand to the kitten.

Judging from its clean and tidy fur and the delicate bell around its neck, this kitten should be a domesticated animal, so it's not surprising that it got lost in the museum.

"Wait a minute, I remember this museum doesn't allow pets?"

Rita sensed something was wrong.

Then, a sharp gust of air rushed towards us.

"Call out!"

"Boom!!!"

Rita a nimble cat leap to reach a higher position, avoiding the attack.

Looking down, I could see the cat's silhouette faintly visible in the dust.

Meanwhile, where she had been standing, a deep, giant cat claw mark had torn through the museum's marble floor, a shocking sight.

"Honkai Beast? No, that bell looks domesticated. What are you? Who sent you?"

A blue and white maid armor covered the original ordinary maid outfit, and a long scythe with a dark blue wind blade appeared in her hand. Rita stood on high, with a dangerous smile on her face.

Meow~~

"That's true. What can you possibly communicate with a cat like you? As long as we catch you, we don't have to worry about the people behind you showing up."

With her hands spinning the scythe, Rita slightly bent her knees and then flew away.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

"Ring ring ring~~"

The hard blade and the equally hard cat claws clashed rapidly in the dust, the crisp metallic sound intertwining with the ringing of bells, like the prelude to a chaotic and urgent piece of music.

After a brief struggle, Rita sensed something was wrong.

Generally speaking, fighting with a bell is equivalent to telling the enemy your location.

Rita had initially mocked the cat's owner for not knowing how to fight, but now she realized that the urgent ringing was not meant to detect enemies, but rather to disrupt her hearing and reason.

"It's so noisy!"

"Boom!"

The scythe swung down, its energy cleaving half the exhibition hall floor and separating the person and the cat.

Rita frowned slightly.

Stan, however, wagged his tail and stood opposite, leisurely licking his paws.

'This is bad; I'm not used to cats' fighting style.'

' Rita is indeed at the pinnacle of humanity, possessing extremely rich combat experience and keen, flexible judgment in the face of adversity. She has many admirable qualities that are worth learning from.'

'The stone slab is destroyed. Should we hone our skills further, or retreat?'

Beneath his relaxed exterior, Stan hesitated.

On the other side, Rita was deeply shocked.

'Are you kidding me? I'm an S-Rank Valkyrie! What is this cat—no, this unknown creature—that's been able to entangle me for so long? It doesn't seem to be Anti-Entropy technology, so what is it...?'

This was the first time Rita had felt a shadow fall over her heart since receiving the mission to find the Divine Key, sensing the difficulty and danger.

"Hey! What's going on?"

"What appliance exploded?"

"That area is about to collapse. Protect the artifacts in the exhibition area; those things are very valuable!"

"Check if anyone is injured, and call an ambulance and the fire department!"

As the man and the cat faced off, the gasps and noisy footsteps of the crowd finally drew closer.

Without further hesitation, Stan slowly retreated with his cat paws, disappearing into the dust and smoke before quickly leaving the scene.

"Wait! Stop right there!"

Rita knew this could be a major breakthrough, so she was naturally unwilling to let it go easily.