In Wendy's view, Chen Ran no longer had the strength to stand and was forced to lie on the ground.
His wrist artery had actually been cut open, and the wound would not heal.
At this rate, dying from excessive blood loss was only a matter of time.
"Chen Ran, Chen Ran, are you okay?"
She painstakingly crawled toward where he was.
Chen Ran slowly opened his eyes and grinned. "I'm fine. I'm tough as nails. I won't die."
"Your treatment isn't over yet. I promised I'd get you back on your feet."
"Whew... It's so cold in the middle of winter."
The sky had already begun to pale at the horizon. In another two hours, night would leave the Far East.
But Wendy only felt as though darkness would shroud her forever.
Craving Storm
By the time Himeko arrived, Chen Ran had already collapsed on the ground.
She had still come a step too late.
Rage blazed in her chest, and without much hesitation, she swung her blade at Raven. As a former member of Schicksal's assault squad, Himeko's combat skills and abilities needed no explanation.
Yet the longer she fought, the more alarmed she became. This person's combat techniques and strength far surpassed her own.
This was definitely not someone from Anti-Entropy.
As someone from Schicksal, Himeko knew a little about Anti-Entropy.
Because of its principles, Anti-Entropy did not approve of using Valkyries in battle, instead relying on mechs. Although Anti-Entropy now also possessed a complete Valkyrie training system, it had not trained a single Valkyrie.
In other words, there was a third force between Schicksal and Anti-Entropy.
However, this was not the time for Himeko to think.
Relying on her battle instincts, she predicted several places Raven would dodge to.
And Raven did indeed land exactly where Himeko had predicted, but the fierce counterattacks she unleashed against Himeko's strikes left Himeko struggling to cope.
Himeko's combat skills were excellent, but her body was not in good condition.
She had only received an artificial stigma when she was nearly twenty years old, and the early artificial stigmas had been imperfect, causing severe rejection from the body.
Over the years, her body had constantly endured the erosion of the artificial stigma. On top of that, when she had gone to Changkong City some time ago to retrieve the Herrscher of Thunder, she had directly donned a prototype fourth-generation armor.
After returning from Changkong City, Theresa had outright told her that she needed to stay in bed for at least a month. But because of Wendy, Himeko had forcibly gotten out of bed and headed to the Oceanic Branch.
Under normal circumstances, she should not have taken part in these battles.
The sound of weapons clashing repeatedly tore through the sky. Once Himeko realized her opponent would not be easy to handle, she temporarily changed her strategy.
She decided to wait until Theresa had dealt with the enemy over there, then join forces with her against this person.
For now, all she could do was stall for time.
With that in mind, Himeko's attacks naturally became more conservative.
Raven also noticed Himeko's intentions. She sneered. "You think stalling for time will work? How ridiculous."
She did not want to kill anyone, but she did not mind using lives as leverage.
"I don't really care, but if that one lying on the ground doesn't receive treatment, he'll die."
Himeko ignored the enemy's threats.
To her, they were merely distractions outside the battle.
She held the Greatsword of Sunfire like a valiant female knight.
What Raven said was naturally true, but the only solution now was to wait for reinforcements, not for the enemy's charity.
She would not choose between Chen Ran and Wendy.
However, just as Himeko was grimly holding her ground, Wendy suddenly spoke. "Ms. Himeko, take Chen Ran and leave."
"No."
She said, "That person came for you. I can't just abandon you."
"I'll be fine."
Wendy felt the chill of the night wind, yet a gentle smile appeared in her eyes. "After all, what they want is a living Wendy, isn't it?"
"That's right."
Raven raised an eyebrow. "A dead you would naturally be worthless to me. A living you is what matters most."
"One person alive or two people alive—this is a very easy choice, isn't it?"
Himeko's gaze sharpened.
How could someone as experienced as her fail to realize that Raven was putting psychological pressure on her?
It was a very clever psychological trick: Raven was clearly the one taking action, yet the choice had been shifted onto Himeko.
That way, if Chen Ran unfortunately died, the primary responsibility would shift from Raven to her. Likewise, if Wendy was taken away because of this, she would also become the one primarily responsible.
What should she do?
If she continued stalling, Chen Ran would not last much longer.
But if she handed Wendy over to Raven, what would Wendy suffer?
Himeko hesitated for half a minute.
"You win."
In the end, she chose the expedient option. Saving Chen Ran first was more important.
Raven's voice was flat. "The correct choice."
She slowly approached Wendy. Himeko hesitated for a moment but ultimately did not attack.
Her opponent was obviously powerful, and now she was even close to Wendy and Chen Ran. Himeko could not act recklessly.
Raven carefully examined Wendy and found that the latter was glaring at her with hatred.
That was a normal reaction. After all, nobody liked being kidnapped.
"You have a good boyfriend. I've handled so many commissions, but there aren't many people with that much courage and responsibility."
After saying that, she ignored Wendy's wishes and lifted her one-handedly. "Let's go. This night is freezing too."
Wendy instinctively looked at Chen Ran on the ground.
A trace of reluctance appeared in her eyes.
"No... don't..."
Chen Ran lay on the ground, murmuring deliriously.
However, his words could not change anyone's resolve.
The night wind was cold.
Raven took Wendy away from St. Freya, where a craft had long been prepared.
She did not treat Wendy as she would a prisoner or captive. Much of the time, Raven was rather gentle.
She settled the girl into a seat in the craft and fastened her seat belt.
Only after doing that did she let out a slight sigh of relief.
"Although there were some unexpected complications, the process went fairly smoothly. I know this is unfair to you, but there's no helping it. This is only a temporary measure."
Raven paused, looked at expressionless Wendy, and said, "Eat something. I prepared some liquid food and canned goods. Don't worry, I won't do anything to you."
However, Wendy suddenly spoke. "We're already pretty far away, right?"
"What?"
"I mean, we should be far enough from the Far East Branch and human cities by now, right?"
Wendy's question left Raven somewhat confused.
She said flatly, "If you're hoping someone will rescue you, that's nearly impossible. We're over the ocean now. There's almost no chance of anyone intercepting us."
"After all, Schicksal hasn't planted spies in our organization."
After saying that, she could not help feeling pleased with herself.
Schicksal was the world's largest organization fighting Honkai, yet it was now being toyed with by the Serpent.
That feeling was actually quite nice.
But Wendy suddenly smiled.
"That's good."
"Then I won't have to worry about implicating anyone, and I won't have to fear that he'll see this ugly side of me."
Raven suddenly had a bad feeling.
The storm called craving erupted at that very moment!
--
Flame-Chaser, First Research Institute.
No. 666 was handing Mobius a scalpel.
After realizing that Honkai Energy adaptability was also connected to thought, Mobius began preparing an experiment to transcribe genetic information.
Simply put, it meant transcribing memories of fighting Honkai into genes.
Thought was derived from information carriers.
And genes were essential information carriers for living organisms.
It was an incredibly delicate, ingenious, and even extremely complex experiment. Yet to Mobius, it might very well be the key to opening the gates of human evolution.
P.S. All my saved chapters have been posted. Votes, where are my votes!
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P.S. I recommend a very good Honkai fanfic. The author has great character and definitely won't go on hiatus.
"I, the Herrscher of Domination, Can Do Anything"
First Simulation Scenario Cleared?
When Chen Ran woke up again, he was in the infirmary of the Far East Branch.
The strong smell of disinfectant filled his nose. His mind was sluggish for a moment before he belatedly realized his situation.
Wendy had been taken away by Raven.
And Himeko had rushed him to the infirmary.
"So I survived."
There was no joy in his eyes at having survived.
If he had died then, at least time could have gone back an hour, allowing him to make arrangements calmly. But now...
His mind felt muddled, and he could not help closing his eyes again.
I'm so tired...
Anti-Entropy's attack had been repelled. Fortunately, although some had been injured, not a single person had died.
Before you continue