A Person in Honkai, But Integrated Strategies Activated

After a private conversation with Theresa, Himeko and Theresa agreed that Xia Ling, due to her past, might have a tendency towards self-destruction.

During a subsequent, secretly conducted psychological test, Xia Ling's results indeed confirmed this.

However, Xia Ling seemed quite innocent about the outcome.

If you could be resurrected without paying too great a price, would you allow your friends and family to walk into danger or die before you? Of course not.

Yet, it was precisely this series of coincidences that finally put Himeko's mind at ease about Xia Ling.

During her off-duty hours from regular missions, Himeko began teaching Xia Ling some combat techniques and experiences.

As for Welt, due to the private cooperation they had reached, Xia Ling no longer had to avoid him every day. Besides their normal work, they had many more opportunities to interact.

Xia Ling's background and experience from her previous world made her a perfect fit for the identity of a well-traveled wanderer. Her occasional insights often provided Welt with extra inspiration.

Meanwhile, Welt's knowledge thoroughly satisfied the curiosity of Xia Ling, a fan of lore and backstory.

As they interacted more, their relationship even improved considerably.

At night, Xia Ling would spend three to four hours sparring with Flame Willow in the training grounds every day.

Due to the special nature of the system space, Xia Ling's body entered a sleep state when her consciousness entered it. Her mental fatigue could be relieved by sleeping for only two to three hours after training.

In addition to training, she could also enjoy the pleasure of cuddling with Elysia at any time, which was quite a comfortable life.

Xia Ling's time slowly passed in this fulfilling routine. On the other side, Raven had also completed her current mission and returned to headquarters to report.

While handing over the mission, Raven also revealed everything about Xia Ling to Gray Serpent.

"Traveler... that identity, to be honest, has low credibility," Gray Serpent said slowly after a moment of silence, having listened to Raven's account.

"As expected, she was lying to me?" Raven wasn't too surprised by this judgment. After all, it was unlikely for someone to reveal so much to a person they had just met, especially one with whom there was some initial hostility.

"Lying to you? No, no, no..." Gray Serpent shook its head. "She probably didn't lie to you. If she wanted to deceive you, there would be countless more credible reasons than these."

"I believe she didn't intend to antagonize you. This information might not be entirely false, or rather, it's not the complete truth."

"When I say the credibility is low, I mean the credibility that the truth is limited to this."

"Is that so?" Raven shrugged indifferently. She completely trusted Gray Serpent's judgment because, among its many individuals, Gray Serpent was one of the few specializing in psychology.

"Then how should I interact with her next? If she's still in Changkong City."

"Just communicate normally. Do as you see fit," Gray Serpent pondered for a moment, then added, "If the other party continues to show goodwill, you can also offer some small assistance depending on the situation."

"Assistance? Like what?"

"Just go along with her intentions. For example, since she's a traveler, upon arriving in a new world, accommodation, identity, and common knowledge would likely be issues."

Gray Serpent tapped its terminal and sent a mission reminder to Raven's phone.

"With this mission voucher, you can apply for some funds. Don't be stingy with this; for World Serpent, money is the least valuable thing."

Chapter 21: Officially Accepted?

"Teacher, you're back!"

As soon as she entered the nest's gate, Raven was surrounded by the children she hadn't seen in nearly a month.

"Teacher, teacher, how long will you be staying this time?"

"Did Teacher finish her mission?"

"Teacher seems to have brought back a lot of delicious food!"

"Hey, hey, break some off for me!"

A genuine, warm smile spread across Raven's lips as she bent down to interact affectionately with the children.

After a while, the children dispersed at her and Little Kong's urging.

"Little Kong, have you all been doing well recently?" Raven ruffled Little Kong's head. "Did you encounter any danger while out searching for supplies?"

"About that... Teacher," Little Kong replied hesitantly. "We actually encountered several unexpected situations."

"But, there was always a mysterious person secretly helping us!"

"A mysterious person?"

"Mhm, mhm," Little Kong nodded heavily. "When Teacher returned last month, Lyle and I encountered a dead soldier while out looking for supplies."

"But before that dead soldier could pose any threat to us, it strangely self-immolated."

"Because Teacher returned not long after we did, I initially thought it was you who saved us..."

"But several times this month, when we were almost in danger, this kind of monster self-immolation phenomenon also occurred."

"Once could be a coincidence, but we've encountered this situation at least four times this month, so I'm sure someone is protecting us from the shadows."

"At least four times..." Raven mused. "Meaning the actual number might be even higher."

"Mhm... that mysterious person seems to not want us to discover them, and their methods of intervention are becoming more covert. Especially the last time; if I hadn't found a clump of familiar burnt black ash in the room, I wouldn't have known there was a dead soldier hiding in that room."

"I see..."

"Teacher, do you know that mysterious person?" Little Kong looked up at Raven with her big, purplish-red eyes.

"Mhm, I suppose I know them," Raven sighed, recalling their first, relatively pleasant meeting. "Perhaps I could reluctantly call them a friend?"

"Teacher, the next time you see her, please be sure to convey our thanks from me and the children in the nest!" Little Kong said happily. "That mysterious person really saved us many times. It's a shame we haven't been able to thank her, even though we've been keeping an eye out..."

"Alright, I got it," Raven patted Little Kong's head. "It's getting late, you should go to bed. I'll keep an eye out for that mysterious person. She's so elusive, I'm not sure I'll even be able to find her."

"Now, I need to go clear out some Honkai Beasts around the nest first."

"Okay, Teacher, be careful!" Little Kong nodded obediently and then returned to her room.

"Sigh, honestly, another troublesome thing."

Raven sighed and looked out at the night sky.

Two days later, in an abandoned residential building in the eastern district of Changkong City.

"I say, even if you gave me the codename Raven last time, you don't have to actually climb through the window like a raven."

Hearing the thump thump thump of someone knocking on the window from outside, Flame Willow, who was slurping instant noodles, sighed helplessly and walked over to open it.

"Is it possible that your door is welded shut?" Raven asked speechlessly.

"If your hideout had a normal door, I wouldn't have to come up through the window."

"Hiss, it seems that's really the case." Flame Willow was suddenly startled, only then remembering that both her room door and the building's main entrance seemed to have been welded shut the moment she casually melted the locks.

Raven didn't dwell on this for too long. She casually found a place to sit and frowned as she looked at the messy room and the instant noodles on the table. "You're eating this?"

"Just a quick meal for now," Flame Willow said nonchalantly. "I haven't eaten this stuff in a while, so I found a few boxes to try. Don't let my appearance fool you, my cooking skills are actually quite good."

"What about you, how long will you be staying this time?"

"What, can't wait to go be a bodyguard for Little Kong and the others?" Raven raised an eyebrow.

"So that girl's name is Little Kong," Flame Willow nodded thoughtfully. "It's a nice name."

"I'll be here for a while longer. I'm bored every day, and your children are quite sensible and cute, so I've been looking after them."

"Of course, if you don't want me to, I can leave. It doesn't really matter where I stay."

"Oh? May I ask what you're looking for?" Raven's interest was piqued.

"World peace, does that count?" Seeing Raven's disbelieving look, Flame Willow sighed. "Alright, it seems you won't give me even a little bit of trust."

"But I can tell you, I'm waiting for an opportunity. Until that time comes, it doesn't matter where I am or what I'm doing."

"Where did you learn to talk like a riddle?" Raven quipped. "But it doesn't matter, so you're helping those children out of boredom and kindness, right?"

"Well, why else? Am I lusting after your beauty?" Flame Willow pouted.

"If I really wanted to take those children hostage or something, I could have done it long ago. As for you, I'm curious why you left those children here."

"Even if I take a step back and firmly believe you're a good person and have no ulterior motives towards me, aren't you worried about the children encountering danger when they go out exploring?"

"Everyone has their own difficulties, you wouldn't understand. I just don't want these children to have too much contact with my organization..." Raven gave a casual explanation and then changed the subject. "Since you're idle here anyway, how about I give you a job?"

"Oh, tell me about it?"

"While I'm away, go to the nest and look after my children, including their safety and living arrangements. The salary is monthly, around this much." Raven held up a number of fingers. "You might not have a concept of this amount yet, but don't worry, I definitely won't cheat you."

"Yo, am I getting a formal position now?" Flame Willow chuckled. "Are there any employee benefits?"

"If you want them, there can be."

To Flame Willow's surprise, Raven nodded very seriously.

"Interesting," Flame Willow's interest was piqued. "I originally thought this was just your spontaneous idea, but it seems not."

"You might not have a good understanding of your own strength," Raven sighed. "With your level of power, you're someone who needs to be taken seriously in any organization."

"Fine, I accept. I'm bored anyway." Flame Willow held up two fingers. "But, I have two conditions."

"Tell me about them?"

"First, help me get an identity. It needs to be real, something that can withstand investigation."

"I can only promise to try my best," Raven answered crisciously. "There are no secrets that can be kept forever, you should understand that."

"It doesn't matter, just do your best." Flame Willow wasn't too surprised by this outcome. "Second, I might need to leave for a while at any time. This job of yours needs to give me some privacy."

"That's not a problem either. You can rest assured, World Serpent doesn't have that many people to keep an eye on you every day."

"So, deal?"

"Deal. By the way, what should the children call you?"

"Hmm... let them call me Sister Reed Grass."

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Calm Daily Life Begins Again

"Ahem, children, I've called you all here today to announce something."

The next day, Raven gathered the children in the nest, ready to introduce them to their new teacher.

"I believe many of you have already heard rumors. That's right, it's the mysterious person who has protected you several times when you went out searching."

As Raven finished speaking, the children erupted in cheers.

Young children often have a simple judgment of good and evil. They had a very high level of affection for Flame Willow, who had helped them so much and done good deeds without seeking recognition.

Especially her mysterious aura of appearing and disappearing without a trace, along with her powerful abilities, further enhanced Flame Willow's image in the children's hearts.

"Mm, seeing you all so happy puts my mind at ease. It was worth searching for her for two whole days."

Seeing the children's joyful expressions, Raven nodded with satisfaction and then called out towards the entrance, "Reed Grass, come on out."

However, there was no response.

"Hm? Reed Grass?"

Raven walked over, looking puzzled, and then pushed Flame Willow out from behind the corner.

"How old are you and you're still this shy? Where's that confident demeanor you had when you spoke to me?"

"That's different. I'm just not good at handling these kinds of situations..."

Upon seeing Flame Willow pushed out by Raven, the children erupted in even louder cheers.

"So the mysterious person is a beautiful big sister!"

"A big sister who can use fire, does that mean we can have barbecues anytime now?"

"Ahem, quiet down, everyone. This is my friend. At my request, she'll be responsible for your safety and well-being here in the nest. You can call her Sister Reed Grass."

"I won't say more. If you have any questions, feel free to ask her yourselves."

Under Flame Willow's stunned gaze, Raven left a look of "good luck" and then quickly departed the scene.

"Wait, Raven, you..."

Before she could finish speaking, the enthusiastic children swarmed around Flame Willow.

"Sister Reed Grass, thank you for helping us before!"

"Sister Reed Grass, can you cook... Teacher's cooking is so weird..."