Invited, In Honkai, Grinding Stats to Level Up

Those who engage in conspiracies are quite dissatisfied with having someone like Jackal in their own ranks, someone with lofty ambitions but little practical skill beyond limited scientific research. They've long considered putting him in his place.

In response, someone immediately voiced an objection:

"It shouldn't be. If Destiny had discovered the Serpent's existence, then what would greet us wouldn't be a simulated Heavenly Fire Judgment, but Destiny's fleets and Valkyrie forces."

After uploading the information to the Gray Serpent network, the Gray Serpent beside Raven ceased participating in the discussion and attempted to provide Raven with simple treatment... though it could only be simple treatment.

Of course, there was a medical kit on the plane, and Gray Serpent possessed sufficient pharmacological knowledge.

However, the problem was that the one who injured Raven was no ordinary weapon, but a simulated Heavenly Fire Judgment. Even if it was a knock-off, it was still a replica created by Void Archives, possessing the original's characteristics and most of its power.

And Heavenly Fire Judgment, hailed as the "Key of Destruction," while sacrificing the convenient and diverse abilities of entities like Void Archives and Feather of Dust, gained unparalleled lethality and possessed a characteristic that made wounds difficult to heal.

For Raven at this moment, this was undoubtedly fatal.

On Raven's side, a hideous and terrifying scorched wound caused her slender waist to nearly disappear.

The scorched wound continued to spread, not only rendering Raven's powerful physique's recovery ability useless but also continuously worsening the injury.

Even Gray Serpent, in such a rudimentary environment, was powerless to do anything about it.

"What, you can't do anything either?"

Sensing that Gray Serpent had stopped moving, Raven, whose face was pale, turned her head and asked Gray Serpent, who was considered a peer/other personality of her adoptive father. Her tone, though tinged with nervousness, was surprisingly relaxed.

Although Raven had chosen to live well because of her brother's words back then, she didn't have any firm life goals.

Coupled with the subtly misleading philosophical remarks that Gray Serpent would occasionally utter over the years since her childhood, Raven had come to view life and death with less gravity.

"Even a simulated Heavenly Fire possesses the characteristics of the Key of Destruction. The injuries on your body... might be fatal."

Gray Serpent explained concisely, but seeing the smile Raven forced onto her pale face, he softened his tone.

"In other words, you might die because of this."

"I say, World Serpent raised me for so many years, surely it wasn't just so I could die like this?"

Upon hearing Gray Serpent's words, Raven's heart involuntarily skipped a beat, but she maintained her teasing tone.

"…Of course not…"

Listening to Raven's seemingly casual words, Gray Serpent's blood-red electronic eyes flickered, and he slowly said, "The Serpent possesses technology far beyond this era. Saving your life is not difficult.

However, without the Black Abyss White Flower, you... might permanently lose some things..."

Gray Serpent's tone was heavy as he examined Raven's injuries, as if the Grim Reaper were asking humans if they were ready to face death.

"..."

Hearing Gray Serpent's words, Raven's anxious heart settled. After a moment of silence, a smile slowly curved her lips.

"So, I guess this counts as a work-related injury?

World Serpent should be responsible for lifelong maintenance, right?"

Having studied the knowledge of the Divine Keys, Raven easily understood Gray Serpent's meaning. Wasn't it just a matter of replacing a few parts with mechanical ones?

Intestines, stomach, kidneys, spleen... if they need replacing, so be it. Living is better than dying directly.

In comparison, Raven was more concerned about whether these replacement organs would require her to pay for maintenance.

"..."

Upon hearing Raven's unexpected answer, Gray Serpent remained silent for a moment before bursting into hearty laughter.

"Of course..."

Meanwhile, the brief commotion within the Gray Serpent network had ended, and rational discussion resumed.

The Gray Serpent in charge of intelligence provided the latest information, proposing a new possibility:

"Based on the description, Otto is using the clown costume he wore when he ambushed the leader of Anti-Entropy and Siegfried during the Second Honkai War.

Besides that, there are no other sightings.

From this, it can be judged that this is what Otto uses when he needs to do things that a Destiny Archbishop cannot.

Furthermore, the Ganesha corpse that is destined to be sent back to Destiny Headquarters, and the petty thief who came for it, are not worth him using this identity.

Considering that the ruins were originally urban areas…

We have reason to suspect that Otto arrived with that Valkyrie unit, hiding his identity to accomplish things that are inconvenient to do openly.

For example, actively triggering a larger-scale Honkai to train certain individuals.

Or, protecting certain individuals…

After all, human hearts are complex. Directly ordering protection might cause harm in another aspect.

However, direct protection from the shadows is much more convenient..."

"It's somewhat unbelievable, but not impossible..."

"Then who could that 'certain person' be?"

"That You Lan Dai Er?"

"Or that Gwen? Does he intend to cultivate a submissive Siegfried?"

"Let's investigate his information first. There are also large gaps in the intelligence about him."

The discussions among the Gray Serpents were bound to continue for some time until more information was obtained, settling the matter.

Meanwhile, at Destiny headquarters, Gwen, one of the focal points of the Gray Serpents' discussion, returned to his loyal... familiar hospital room after a series of checks.

More than a year had passed, and Gwen was back in this familiar hospital room. He no longer felt the bewilderment and helplessness of the past, but he still couldn't relax—

After all, no one could sleep soundly with an unknown voice or soul in their mind.

At least, Gwen wasn't that carefree.

Chapter 57: I am Kevin, Caslana means nothing to me anymore

"Hello, unknown sir?"

Lying on the familiar yet strange hospital bed, just like a year ago, Gwen tried to recall the feeling of conversing with the cold, unfamiliar male voice he suspected was Kevin. He attempted to greet the voice while concentrating, trying to locate its presence.

If the other party were an ordinary ancient Caslana, or even an Adam created by Dr. Mei through genetic technology, Gwen was confident he could prevent them from significantly impacting him.

However, if the other party were Kevin, the lonely savior...

Gwen felt he might need to have a good conversation with him.

"You should be resting right now."

The cold voice arrived as expected. Although cold, it surprisingly didn't make Gwen dislike it as much.

"I don't know why your mental strength can recover so quickly, but fatigue from the soul is best recovered through sleep.

Furthermore, the changes to your body from those two stones might also require sleep to adapt to."

Clearly, from Gwen's actions of hiding the two Light Shadow Stones, the owner of the voice had discovered that Gwen didn't want his secrets exposed.

Therefore, to facilitate a smoother exchange between them, the owner of the voice proactively revealed that he knew Gwen's secret before Gwen could probe.

"..."

Gwen was slightly surprised by the other party's frankness, and as a result, he relaxed a little—

Regardless, conversing with someone relatively honest was always better than scheming against a cunning individual.

"Thank you for the reminder, sir."

However, while the other party's honesty had somewhat eased Gwen's tense nerves, it still involved his life and many secrets, so Gwen chose to proceed cautiously.

"However, compared to resting, I still want to clarify some things—

To be frank, I'm not entirely at ease with your existence.

Who are you?

And... why are you in my mind?"

Although he knew the other party likely appeared due to the "Nourish Soul with Soul" aspect of his Spirit Awakening Scripture, Gwen still decided to keep a card up his sleeve, feigning ignorance.

"I'm not sure about that either.

Originally, when your mental strength reached a certain level and your body could support it, you would trigger the stigma on your body, unlocking the power hidden within the Caslana bloodline.

Perhaps in that situation, we could have established a short-term connection through the bloodline link, achieving quantum entanglement.

However, due to an unknown power, you bypassed the stigma and directly contacted me, who is not in this world."

The cold voice did not evade Gwen's questions and spoke directly.

"Is it really Kevin?"

While surprised, Gwen didn't reveal his thoughts. After a moment of silence, he slowly asked, "So... you're also from the Caslana family?

But you're no longer in this world for some reason?"

For Gwen, who had practiced the Spirit Awakening Scripture, hiding his thoughts and engaging in mental dialogue wasn't particularly difficult.

At the same time, although he had confirmed the other party's identity was most likely Kevin, Gwen was no longer as worried—

From Kevin's words, it wasn't difficult to infer that he was still in the Sea of Quantum, and it was through the effect of the Spirit Awakening Scripture that he had established a connection similar to Siegfried's during the Second Honkai War.

"I am Kevin, Caslana means nothing to me anymore..."

Upon hearing Gwen's words, the cold voice finally showed a slight fluctuation, though in Gwen's perception, it felt somewhat deliberate.

"..."

After a moment of silence, Gwen, pretending to ponder the meaning of Kevin's words, finally spoke with a sigh of relief, "Alright, if it means nothing to you, then it means nothing...

Let's change the subject— you mentioned earlier that I bypassed the stigma and contacted you directly.

This means I already possess the strength to develop the power within the Caslana stigma, correct?"

"..."

Kevin fell silent this time, perhaps due to Gwen's attitude, or perhaps because the topic of the Caslana's holy mark had been brought up.

"Based on your peak performance on the battlefield today, you have indeed met the requirements.

However, in your current state, it is too dangerous to come into contact with the power within the Holy Mark…

The Caslana bloodline has been passed down for over a thousand years, yet only half a person has successfully mastered this power.

You should understand what that means."

"Of course, I understand. Whatever one wishes to obtain, they must face corresponding risks.

When there is still a path forward, I will do as much preparation as possible to minimize the risks."

Sensing Kevin's goodwill, Gwen silently re-evaluated him and slowly shared his thoughts.

"A wise choice."

Kevin commented indifferently, but his tone sharpened, "But the world rarely waits for you to be ready before crises arrive."

"Then I will do my best."

Gwen responded calmly, but his plain words carried an unparalleled confidence.

"..."

Listening to Gwen's answer, Kevin fell silent again for a moment.

Perhaps he was reminiscing about himself at Senba Academy?

Or perhaps, the flame within this seemingly cold man had rekindled?