Honkai, I became Duck Daughter at the Start?

"It's done."

Yomi tossed over a dozen purple, shimmering crystals from her sleeve, causing Raven's gaze to shift.

"You..."

When Emperor-class Honkai Beasts died, they would stably leave behind complete, high-purity cores similar to Honkai crystals. Honkai Emperors, however, would leave behind only a small, incomplete core.

These cores could generally be used to craft weapons or to power them.

Looking at the dozen or so crystals before her, Raven fell silent for a long time.

She arranged the crystals one by one, counted them, and then looked at the purple-black haired girl with a complex expression.

"How is it?"

Yomi spread her right hand, her purple-pink eyes unperturbed.

"You're qualified..."

Ten-plus Honkai Emperors and over two hundred Honkai Beasts eliminated in twenty minutes...

The distance between here and the three Honkai Beast strongholds wasn't short. Did she spend most of that twenty minutes just traveling?

Raven felt like she had recruited someone extraordinary...

World Serpent

Jackal looked at the golden-haired, purple-eyed woman in the medical bay and sneered.

"Cocolia, a mere retired Russian army captain..."

"We, the World Serpent, provided you with technology, enabling you to become an Anti-Entropy executor..."

"Yet you used our trust in you, expending vast resources on your foolish experiments, nearly ruining our plans."

"Taking our food while smashing our bowls..."

"What right do you have to still be alive?"

Facing Jackal's interrogation, Cocolia closed her eyes, remaining silent.

"Heh... Not talking? Don't rush. If Grey Serpent hadn't wanted to spare your life, would you still be alive today?"

Jackal crossed his arms, a sly glint in his eyes.

Because the World Serpent needed to remain hidden, Jackal's experimental subjects were never abundant. He had just happened to encounter someone like her.

Grey Serpent had said to spare Cocolia's life, but it hadn't said Jackal couldn't use other means.

The technologies Cocolia played with were essentially things Jackal had already mastered.

She had many ways to merely survive.

"Remember, at the very least, ensure she can continue to serve us. Her identity as an Anti-Entropy executor cannot be lost..."

Grey Serpent, who had been observing the entire time, shook his head and turned to leave.

Because of Cocolia, the World Serpent had nearly been exposed. Cadre Raven was severely injured, requiring significant resources to heal, and the Sin Mallet Thunder of Seven God Key was lost.

Cocolia's identity as an Anti-Entropy executor was arguably the only reason she was still alive.

After communicating with Raven, a day later, Grey Serpent received biological samples and a photograph of "Yomi" from Raven.

A strand of purple-black hair, about two centimeters long.

"Yomi, is that a pseudonym?"

Grey Serpent accessed his database but found no matching personnel information. He could only start with her DNA data.

"Appearing so suddenly, and in Changkong City..."

Grey Serpent considered if Schicksal or Anti-Entropy had discovered something. However, it was clear that Anti-Entropy was currently trying every means to investigate the Sea of Quanta in Haiyuan City, while Schicksal was vying with the World Serpent for the Second God Key.

They wouldn't have the time or reason to do this.

The World Serpent had been in hiding for many years, with personnel placed in high positions across various countries. In terms of information retrieval, they were even faster than Schicksal.

Soon, the identification results for the gene sample came back.

"No completely matching genetic data found?"

Now it was Grey Serpent's turn to be puzzled.

To conceal Honkai energy while simultaneously identifying and controlling individuals corrupted by it, most people's genetic data within a country would normally be entered into the system.

Since no exact match was found, Grey Serpent had to settle for the next best thing: finding related genetic data.

"MEI Corporation, the Raiden family..."

Upon seeing the match rate of the retrieved data, Grey Serpent discovered that the closest match was a girl named Raiden Mei, who had recently turned eighteen.

"Their relationship is... parental? Mother and daughter?"

Grey Serpent was a bit bewildered.

"Raiden Mei is the daughter of Raiden Ryoma, and the gene sample matches a parental relationship..."

"So, Yomi is Raiden Mei's daughter?"

Grey Serpent's mechanical CPU nearly overloaded as he reached this conclusion.

Judging by the degree of genetic differentiation, even though both were eighteen years old, Yomi's genetic differentiation was clearly higher.

This meant Yomi was likely born before Raiden Mei, unless she was rapidly cultivated through special channels.

However, Grey Serpent didn't dwell on it too much. Instead, he became interested in another part of Yomi's genes.

This portion of her genes seemed to harbor a peculiar, mysterious power that couldn't be analyzed.

Grey Serpent had a feeling he'd seen a similar genetic report somewhere before.

It was likely also unanalyzable and uninvestigatable.

Perhaps due to slight differences in the databases possessed by different Grey Serpents, he couldn't find any relevant records for now.

Two days later

"Yo, Grey Serpent, we're back."

Raven removed her hood, walking in with the dark-haired, purple-haired girl behind her.

"This is Yomi. I'm recommending her as a new executive for World Serpent."

"Hello."

Yomi looked at the mechanical being with crimson eyes before her and nodded.

"Your name is Yomi?"

Grey Serpent stared at the purple-pink streaks in the dark-haired, purple-haired girl's hair, and her purple-pink eyes.

His crimson mechanical eyes flickered continuously as he gazed into her pupils.

Sometimes, one could discern much from a person's eyes alone, even without considering their appearance.

It was true that people shared similarities, but some individuals possessed a distinctiveness that was immediately apparent.

Yomi's eyes were a prime example.

Raven merely found Yomi's eyes beautiful and didn't think much of it. But Grey Serpent, having existed from fifty thousand years ago until now, had witnessed far more than Raven could comprehend.

"Very well, you are now an executive of World Serpent."

To Raven's surprise, Grey Serpent admitted Yomi's identity with barely any tests or examinations.

"Wait, where are you going, Grey Serpent?"

Raven, who had been staring at Yomi since her appearance and then admitted her without much explanation, started to feel confused.

Seriously, when did World Serpent's trials become this easy?

"Raven, take Yomi to familiarize herself with World Serpent's structure and the other executives. I have important matters to report."

Grey Serpent left without looking back.

"Important matters to report? Who are you going to report to?"

Raven was a bit bewildered.

It could be said that within World Serpent, Grey Serpent was the most senior executive. Aside from the Honored Master, Grey Serpent managed almost all of World Serpent's affairs, big and small.

Now, Grey Serpent suddenly claimed he had matters to report. Who was his direct superior?

Besides the Honored Master Kevin, there shouldn't be anyone else, right?

And why did Yomi need to learn about the other executives and World Serpent's structure?

Didn't Raven bring her in to fight?

Meanwhile, Grey Serpent transmitted a digitized photograph of Yomi to a small, armed puppet with green hair.

"Please record this into Elysium Everlasting... Confirmation..."

Grey Serpent remembered why the other half of that genetic sample felt familiar. It was because that record had been destroyed before, and Grey Serpent was one of the witnesses to its destruction.

That's why he thought of it.

However, Grey Serpent still couldn't be completely certain. It was only a guess for now. Although the Honored Master was currently in the Sea of Quanta, there were other ways to confirm it.

Soon, Grey Serpent received a reply. Upon seeing it, Grey Serpent was completely relieved, even feeling a sense of turning misfortune into good fortune.

The reply was simple, containing only two words.

[Origin]

Chapter 53: Mobius: Unfortunately, the child doesn't resemble you.

"What can I say about World Serpent? It has a very long history, but from..."

Raven explained as she guided the dark-haired, purple-haired girl through the World Serpent base.

Yomi listened thoughtfully.

It wasn't until Raven stopped and began introducing the executives of World Serpent that she paused.

"Hmm... if possible, I actually don't really recommend you have too much contact with the other executives of the World Serpent."

Raven shrugged and leaned against the wall by the laboratory door.

"Although the World Serpent is a large organization, the actual number of our executives isn't particularly high, and most of them are quite, well..."

"Unique."

With that, Raven looked at the girl with purple-black hair.

"Since you've joined the World Serpent and Grey Serpent has approved of you, you should also come up with a codename for yourself."

"Within the World Serpent, we executives usually refer to each other by our codenames."

"Is that so..."

Yomi nodded gently.

"Then my codename will be [Yomi]."

Hearing Yomi's words, Raven froze.

"Your... real name isn't Yomi?"

"I've lost my memory..."

Yomi said earnestly.