Chapter 101

So there's nothing to worry about; just drag it out. How long to drag it out is another matter entirely. As long as I'm still useful, I'll be able to do whatever I want.

As for the guy who tied himself up here...

Then there's even less to worry about.

"Weight?" MEI pushed up his glasses and said, "Total weight is 50kg, not including load."

"No..." Raven was angry but held back; this doctor was clearly being unreasonable. She still remembered when she took the doctor away.

That Jackal actually set off fireworks and threw a banquet!

This couldn't possibly be for moving, could it?

Now I think I've come to my senses; I must have been unable to tolerate this PhD student's unreasonable behavior.

"Doctor, please don't do this," Raven said calmly. "There are children watching."

"It's not good for your image."

"Huh?!" MEI instantly calmed down.

She really hadn't expected this.

Self-indulgence doesn't mean indulging in it all the time, especially when there are many onlookers. That's a form of public execution!

MEI instantly adopted a cold and aloof stance.

She pushed up her glasses, looking both wise and somewhat unsatisfied; her previously goofy gaze had become sharp.

"This doesn't look like a base," MEI said, adjusting his glasses and glancing at the group of young kids watching. "It does look a bit like..."

"A welfare home," Raven chimed in. "You could also call this an orphanage."

"I am the dean here, and also a teacher here," Raven said. "These are all children whose families were taken away by the Honkai."

"In an instant, all my relatives were gone."

Can you understand this feeling?

"PhD?"

"Of course~" Raven seemed to smile, but the smile was so weak and forced.

She simply made a smile by moving the corners of her mouth with her facial muscles and said, "Those who have experienced it know that it's not that scary. It's just that in a certain instant, everyone dies except yourself."

The Raven looked at its hands as if telling a story, "When I stood up again and saw the devastation all around, no matter how I shouted, I received no response. I searched desperately, dug through the ruins, and my hands became covered in wounds, but in the end, all I found was a cold corpse."

"It's not even complete yet."

"The only thing that keeps you going may be the last words from your loved ones."

"Live well."

Live well.

Raven looked at Doctor Mei. She had considered countless ways to force him to conduct research and bring the Lord back, but ultimately chose to abandon those approaches.

She only hoped that here, the doctor could truly understand the terror and despair that the Honkai brought to this world.

To be able to understand her thoughts, to be able to agree with them, or even to be able to empathize with them.

She should then understand the significance of bringing the Lord back.

It is also the hope that she and the World Serpent have been pursuing at all costs.

Can...

What's appealing is the lack of commonality.

Just like in that little broken ball, at first, no one cared about this disaster. It was just a wildfire, a drought, the extinction of a species, the disappearance of a city, until this disaster became closely related to everyone.

To put it bluntly, you won't feel pain unless an iron fist lands on your face.

MEI from the previous era will understand.

But MEI of this era will not.

For her, the so-called "Honkai" was just a game on her phone that she could admire, spend money on, and enjoy playing. Even here, she had never truly experienced any disaster caused by the Honkai.

So the Raven was destined to be disappointed!

MEI is able to sympathize and understand.

Pity.

"Reject moral blackmail." MEI pushed up his glasses and said, "Wouldn't the world be at peace if you just took down Brother Dawei?"

In some ways, this is the world created by Brother Dawei and his Mihoyo!

This is truly awesome!

"I don't understand what you're saying," Raven said, shaking her head. "But the Honkai is related to each and every one of us."

Raven was disappointed, but not to the point of despair. At least this Mei seemed quite naive and innocent, even though there wasn't much information about her in this life.

However, judging from some of her behavior, it seems that she has never been exposed to any Honkai in her entire life.

She was just like a very well-protected young lady.

This is really a bit unbelievable.

Despite being a doctor researching Honkai, he had never been exposed to Honkai before.

"It's alright now," Raven said with a sigh. "You can walk around and take a look around here."

"This is the nest, and it is also the home of these children."

"It's not as bad as you think."

"You are welcome to walk around and explore."

You'll understand eventually.

Chapter 131 Verbal Battles

Some people may appear to be a gentle dean.

In reality, he was a cadre of the World Serpent.

"So..." MEI pushed up his glasses and muttered to himself, "How exactly does the World Serpent work?"

Getting familiar with the orphanage was a simple matter; apart from a few restricted areas that seemed inaccessible, there was almost nothing particularly familiar about the rest of the place.

It's simply a living area, an activity and entertainment area, and a study and reading area.

Raven, the executive officer of the World Serpent, is the only teacher and the only dean here, but certainly not the only staff member.

For an organization to function properly, it's impossible for one person to perform multiple roles: managing finances, managing the library, logistics, and facility maintenance.

Each task requires manpower.

Therefore, there is no shortage of adults here.

What MEI found most interesting was that everyone here knew about Raven, knew the code name 'Raven,' and almost everyone knew about World Serpent.

So how exactly does this World Serpent operate to become a 'secret' organization?

If this were the Jackal's Research Institute...

Well, that's fine then. In every sense, that place is a subordinate research institution of the World Serpent, a research institute within the World Serpent system. It's not surprising that people there know about the World Serpent.

But orphanages are different.

The orphanage was established entirely by Raven himself and has no organizational affiliation with the World Serpent.

However, most of them also know about the World Serpent.

So how does such a secret organization operate?

Could it be that these so-called secret organizations are things everyone actually knows about, but they're just pretending not to know? Is World Serpent pretending to be a secret organization or something...?

"Isn't it a bit like a brewery?" MEI complained. "Actually, everyone is an undercover agent, but they all pretend to be loyal employees?"

"Such a secret organization really makes you feel like the world is full of wonders."

"This world is not wonderful at all." Raven, who had somehow appeared behind MEI, complained, "This world makes you feel hopeless."

"There is absolutely no hope."

Over the past two days, Raven has also been carefully observing this doctor named MEI.

I always felt that although this guy seemed aloof on the surface, he was actually incredibly sassy inside... what a joke. This guy has a slight tendency to be a bit like a husky.

He's clearly a highly intelligent person, but he seems so unreliable!

Didn't she see anything at all?

Didn't you feel it?

Despair at the cost of Honkai?!

"What are you trying to say?" MEI pushed up his glasses and asked, "How so?"

"You should talk about these orphans."

"Even without the Honkai," MEI said, "There would still be orphans."

"There are many reasons why orphans are born; they are just one of millions."

"What's special is the reason they became orphans."

"It's because of the Honkai."

"Isn't this enough?!" Raven was immediately enraged. She was clearly a highly intelligent person, a capable person, and a person who researched Honkai.

Don't you feel anything at all?

"You bastard!" Raven roared angrily, "If it weren't for the Honkai, these kids wouldn't have to be here!"

"They could have had a perfect family and a perfect life."

"They could have been with their families."

"Them..."

"They could have had a perfect family?" MEI said without any emotion, "Are you so sure? Maybe their parents didn't have a good relationship to begin with."

"Perhaps in the future they may face their parents' divorce, with neither of them willing to take on the responsibility of raising them."

"They may become members of single-parent families, or even become the targets of their parents' negative emotions."

"Some children might even be beaten to death or driven to suicide by their own parents."

"A perfect family? A perfect life trajectory?" MEI scoffed. "Real society can beat down idealists at any time. If the world were really that wonderful."

"There won't be any of those bizarre things anymore."

MEI shrugged and said, "If you look at more negative content, you'll understand."

Is there anything worse than being alive?

"Even without the Honkai," MEI pushed up his glasses and said, "Many people still have to fight tooth and nail to survive. The Honkai is just one of the worst things they have to do in their lives."

"It might not be the worst of all."

"Why would you think that?!" Raven stared wide-eyed, unsure whether to be angry or helpless, and said, "Is there anything worse than Honkai?"

"Do you even have any humanity?!"

"Like this," MEI rolled her eyes and said, "You can imagine it."

"When you work hard to earn money and just receive your monthly salary, before you've even had a chance to enjoy it, you're already being pressured to repay your loans from Jiebei, Huabei, credit cards, mortgages, car loans, and rent."

"Then you still need to make a living, and if you're married, your family also needs to make a living."

"If something unexpected happens at this time."

"For example, when an elderly person gets sick, when you get sick, or when your child gets sick."

"At this point, the little bit of debt you finally managed to pay off is not only being lent out again, but you might even be borrowing more."

"What if I lose my job or something else happens at this time?"

"What exactly are you trying to say?!" Raven had no idea why MEI was saying all this.