Raven's New Mission / Kiana: You Don't Touch Your Friend's Wife

After all, Gwen was merely a pawn in Otto's hands, and Schicksal was only relatively believable to him.

In this situation, if Gwen were to reveal the truth directly after approaching Raiden Mei, he might be able to take her away from Changkong City, but that Raiden Mei would be turning to Schicksal, not to Gwen.

Having personally experienced Otto's charisma, Gwen didn't want to gamble on whether Raiden Mei, who had joined Schicksal, would stand on his side or against him...

Although it might seem despicable, Gwen believed he could bring about a better outcome.

In the bedroom illuminated by the bedside lamp, time flowed slowly with Gwen's long breaths, with only the golden Crystal Flower, quietly shimmering, silently witnessing it all.

While Gwen was silently training and accumulating power, atop the ME Company headquarters building, which towered over the entire Changkong City, Cocolia frowned as she looked at the report in her hand.

After using her extraordinary wisdom and the scarce data to conclude that excessive accumulation of negative emotions in one's heart is more likely to induce Herrscherization, Cocolia hinted to those forces that had been currying favor with her that they were targeting Raiden Mei.

Those who clung to Cocolia, this newcomer, hoping to snatch a piece of the delicious fish from the storm stirred up by the Raiden Ryoma, did just that, even better than Cocolia had imagined.

But now, the plan seems to have run into some trouble—

Looking at the report on what happened at the Senba Academy today, and then at the information about Gwen, Cocolia for a moment, then curled her lip—

"Oh...

"A spoiled brat who's already made it impossible for him to survive in Europe, and now he's causing trouble in the Far East..."

Based on the information revealed by the class monitor, Gwen's record against the disciplinary committee members targeting Raiden Mei, as well as the mess left behind after transferring to the Senba Academy, prevented Cocolia from having any further doubts, leading her to believe that he was just an incompetent spoiled brat.

Just as Cocolia was about to have her men investigate Gwen and, if there were no problems, get rid of this sudden variable to avoid letting this spoiled brat affect her plans, her extraordinary wisdom suddenly gave her a brilliant idea—

Since someone is going to accidentally become Raiden Mei's light in the darkness, why not let him have that chance?

Ideally, they should become a couple, experience the beauty of life, and perhaps even have a child together.

Then... just when Raiden Mei thought she had found love and regained hope for life, she utterly crushed that beautiful feeling!

The precious love that was painstakingly found after losing her father's protection was shattered in front of her. This despair would likely be more conducive to the birth of the Third Herrscher than simply being bullied...

Furthermore, if she were pregnant, the strength of the Third Herrscher would likely be greatly affected, making her capture plan even more foolproof.

Furthermore, the Herrscher's child... must be quite worthy of research...

In an instant, a beautiful blueprint for the future appeared in her mind, Cocolia's breathing quickened, her eyes burning.

Although Cocolia has never had a successful romance and thinks that so-called eternal love is complete nonsense.

However, Cocolia also knew that young men and women, driven by hormones, would value so-called love above all else...

Just as Cocolia the feasibility of this brilliant plan, a sudden ringing of a bell interrupted her thoughts—

"..."

Cocolia expression darkening from being interrupted, glanced at her phone, her expression shifting before finally adopting a formulaic smile and answering the call.

Before Cocolia speak, Gray Serpent's hoarse voice came through the phone:

"The goods have arrived."

Chapter 142 Raven's New Mission

"Okay, I'll send someone to receive it."

Although she guessed that Gray Serpent had contacted her for this reason, Cocolia's lips still curled up slightly and her voice was pleasant when she actually heard Gray Serpent's words.

After all, this was a crucial piece in her grand Great Achievement, and now that it was finally complete, Cocolia was naturally overjoyed.

As for the mercenary who arrived with this shipment, who was most likely Nail of the Gray Serpent, he was nothing more than an insignificant nobody to Cocolia.

Moreover, Cocolia came from a warlord background, knew all too well what kind of people mercenaries were. They were people who would do anything for money.

Cocolia thought to herself that she had offered a large sum of money, and she didn't believe the man wouldn't be tempted.

Even if the so-called mercenary identity is fake, and he is actually a Serpent's Honkai zombie, Cocolia doesn't care; at worst, she'll just take his life.

Can a mortal body, no matter how strong, withstand the fist of a Titan?

After plundering Raiden Ryoma's resources, Cocolia is now rolling in money, with new Titans coming off the assembly line every day.

Furthermore, the quantum technology that Cocolia obtained from the X-10 experiment gave Titans unpredictable mobility, which greatly reduced Cocolia's fear of the mysterious World Serpent.

However, although she didn't think much of Gray Serpent's method of planting spies, Cocolia still chose to accept it personally since it involved the foundation of her grand plan.

Twenty minutes later, Cocolia arrived at the old place where she traded with Gray Serpent, accompanied by two teams of elite soldiers and a team of researchers.

In this old warehouse, besides the equipment covered by canvas, there was a figure completely shrouded in a black combat suit, with no skin visible, leaning against the machine.

"You're here?"

This is the list of this batch of equipment; please take a look.

Upon seeing Cocolia and the others, the newcomer straightened up, took out a list from the lining of his combat uniform, and placed it on the instrument he had just been leaning against. He then took a few steps back to show that he had no hostile intentions.

"Um..."

Seeing that the other party was so sensible, Cocolia nodded in satisfaction and raised her chin to signal her subordinates to begin receiving the goods.

The researchers, protected by a squad of soldiers, stepped forward, pulled down the canvas, and inspected the equipment, while Cocolia chatted casually with the mysterious mercenary.

The man didn't coldly reject Cocolia's advances; instead, he was quite talkative and Cocolia got along very well.

Half an hour later, after the researchers finished checking the equipment, Cocolia nodded and signed off, preparing to have it loaded onto a truck and sent back to the research institute. She then invited the mysterious mercenary to leave with her, but to her surprise, the mercenary refused.

"As for accommodation, I still prefer to arrange it myself—"

Please excuse this as it's a professional habit.

You can reach me anytime using the contact information I gave you before. As long as I'm alive, I'll answer immediately.

Raven, whose upper body was shrouded in shadow and whose voice was deliberately blurred by a voice changer, said this.

"In that case, we'll take our leave."

Although Cocolia lust for power was growing stronger, was somewhat displeased with the other party's refusal, she still nodded slightly and waved for her people to move the equipment away.

Seeing this, the Raven said nothing more, its figure disappearing into the darkness as it left.

Half an hour later, a woman named Natasha Xiola, carrying a briefcase and dressed in a sophisticated business attire, checked into the hotel where Gwen had stayed the night before.

However, since Kiana had already left the company, Natasha didn't encounter this enemy.

Even without the future villa island incident, Natasha, whose only brother died in the Second Honkai War, still harbored considerable hatred towards the Second Herrscher.

However, Natasha may have already learned to let go and embrace a new life, thanks to her brother's final words and a deeper understanding of the Honkai.

After her new life (a villa island) was destroyed by a tsunami caused by the Queen's Arrival, Natasha, fueled by both old and new grudges, developed a strong hatred for Kiana.

However, for Natasha now, in addition to the villa island, there is another expense that needs to be included in her budget—

After taking a bath, Raven lay on the bed, gently stroking her smooth skin, which was still slightly damp, and feeling the hardness beneath the skin that seemed no different from the surroundings. She sighed softly.

That day, after stealing Ganesha's genetic sample, Raven was injured by someone suspected to be Otto using Mimic Heavenly Fire Sacred Judgment. Raven survived thanks to the World Serpent's technology, but lost many organs in the process, which were replaced with artificial ones.

Although Natasha has faith in World Serpent's technology and product quality, she must also prepare for the possibility that these organs might be damaged during future missions or wear down over time and require replacement.

Therefore, in addition to the money to buy a villa island and the necessary living expenses, Natasha also needs to save enough money to replace these organs before she retires.

Fortunately, for Natasha, a member of World Serpent, there's never a shortage of missions if she wants to.

This time, monitoring Cocolia's actions in Changkong City, allowing Snake to gain a better understanding of this pawn whose actions had surprised Snake, was a good task. Just occasionally visiting Cocolia's laboratory and observing the equipment's operation would provide the answers one wanted—easy and simple...

On this ordinary night, a sudden gust of wind quietly joined the storm that was gradually gathering in Changkong City...

While Gwen was completely unaware of this quietly increasing variable, he was also gathering the strength to fight against this storm...

The next morning, after washing up and preparing to leave, Gwen didn't immediately put away the box containing the four Crystal Flower. Instead, when putting away the safe containing the four Crystal Flower, he took out the golden Crystal Flower separately and placed it in the box he had bought the night before, carrying it with him.

After observing for a period of time, Gwen discovered that the golden Crystal Flower was flashing more and more frequently, and he also summarized some patterns during this period.

For example, if the Crystal Flower is taken out after being stored in the store's inventory for a day, the shimmering light inside will be much dimmer and the frequency will decrease.

This suggests that the shimmering of the golden Crystal Flower must be due to some kind of change that has occurred in the world.

Therefore, Gwen decided to try carrying the golden Crystal Flower with him to see if he could accelerate the change and achieve the result more quickly.

Good morning, Mei.

Ignoring the strange looks from the students, Gwen went to the classroom and waved to Raiden Mei, who had arrived at her seat early.

Chapter 143 Kiana: A Friend's Wife, Not to Be Deceived

Good morning, Chisey- kun.

Seeing Gwen's exceptionally bright smile in the early morning sunlight, Raiden Mei's lips couldn't help but curl up slightly as she smiled back at Gwen.

Seeing the two people who hadn't seen each other for half a day already greeting each other by their names so warmly, the students in the class looked at them with a more unusual gaze.

Both Gwen and Raiden Mei chose to ignore it.

However, the malice from all directions would not disappear just because the two ignored it.

On the contrary, as Cocolia's new plan unfolds, the malice towards Raiden Mei and Gwen at the Senba Academy is growing stronger. If it weren't for their individual combat abilities, they would probably find it difficult to move an inch in this school.

Meanwhile, rumors such as "Yuzuru is just an unreasonable barbarian who uses a noble surname, and he is a complete delinquent" and "Raiden Mei has revealed her true nature and has become in a bad relationship with the rich transfer student in just one day" have been circulating on campus as Gwen's conflicts with the bullies have increased and the two have grown closer.

However, these rumors had little effect on Raiden Mei, who was already mentally prepared thanks to Gwen's reminder.

As for Gwen, he was completely oblivious to it. After he used some ruthless tactics in a conflict, confirming his identity as someone who "used to be involved in organized crime in Europe," he immediately made the buzzing in his ears disappear without a trace.

The malice that persisted even after all this confirmed the possibility in Gwen's mind that "Cocolia was behind the scenes orchestrating the bullying of Raiden Mei."

While Gwen was puzzled by Cocolia's astonishing wisdom in arriving at the conclusion that Raiden Mei should be driven into a negative emotional state, he did not abandon his plan to take advantage of her vulnerability.

Just as Gwen had initially envisioned, despite the pervasive exclusion and bullying around him, Gwen's favorability towards Raiden Mei grew rapidly after he was implicated and chose to stand by her side.

The cold shell that Raiden Mei had woven for herself after her father, Raiden Ryoma, went to prison was melted away by the rapidly warming emotions she felt for him.

Kiana, who had formed a small group with Gwen and occasionally displayed a certain charm towards him, was quite moved. However, she could only remind herself, "One should not covet a friend's wife," and hide her slight sense of loss, blending into the group with her carefree and Kiana personality...

"Mmm... I'm so full..."

At Gwen's house, Kiana sprawled on the sofa without any regard for appearances, happily rubbing her slightly bulging belly and enjoying the feeling of fullness.

"Mei's cooking skills are getting better and better!"

"It's all thanks to the practice over the past six months. I was only at the level of just passing the home economics course before I started cooking for myself in the last six months. I've been cooking even more in the last month, and my skills have improved even faster."

Upon hearing Kiana's praise, Raiden Mei, who had just finished wiping her hands, smiled gently and responded humbly to Kiana's compliment, but her gaze secretly drifted towards Gwen in front of the refrigerator.

And Gwen did not disappoint Raiden Mei, praising her with a smile:

"While humility is a virtue, excessive humility is not a good thing, Mei."

"Hehe, Mei, look, everyone thinks so..."

Kiana, upon hearing this, also chuckled and echoed, which made Raiden Mei's smile deepen.

Although the betrayal she suffered six months ago made Raiden Mei think she would never believe in friendship again, her recent experience of facing bullying at school with Gwen and Kiana has changed the underlying "Raiden Mei" mentality in her mind.

Hearing Kiana's endless praise for Raiden Mei, Gwen quietly approached the sofa and poked Kiana's forehead:

"So you're saying that only Mei's dishes are delicious, but my soup isn't good, right?"

Kiana, who drank half a pot of soup by herself?

"Ugh... I hate it..."

Kiana waved her little hand away from Gwen's fingers, pouted slightly, glared with her azure eyes, and huffed.

"I was originally planning to say a few words of praise to you, but not anymore!"

"Mei, it looks like we can buy less groceries next time."

Upon hearing this, Gwen looked at Mei, who was smiling at him, and said with a smile.

"Mei, he's bullying me!"

Upon hearing Gwen's malicious suggestion, Kiana's ahoge (cowlick) suddenly stood up, and she looked at Mei pitifully, trying to charm her.