Chapter 160
The true hiding place of the World Serpent is in this Pre-Civilization Ruins.
"It seems the Xiao Er has underestimated our Great Ancestor."
Kiana's lips curled up slightly. Recently, in the consciousness space, her sulking sister still didn't seem to care about her. Although she talked about her daily experiences, she was clearly hiding something big from Kiana.
Siegfried and Kiana continued forward, leading their camels, but soon a man in black carrying an umbrella appeared in front of them.
Upon seeing Kiana, the man in black trembled slightly, but quickly regained his composure.
He folded his black umbrella, placed his right hand on his chest, and bowed to Kiana.
"The World Serpent welcomes you, the Lord's representative— Kiana Kaslana. And welcome to our guest, Siegfried Kaslana."
Gray Serpent was not surprised by their arrival. Although Kevin, trapped in the Sea of Quantum, had difficulty interfering with reality, it did not mean that he could not make contact with Gray Serpent.
After receiving Kevin's instructions, Gray Serpent naturally knew that Kiana was a leader who had been parachuted in.
But he would not refuse this leader.
After all, the culprit who drove World Serpent to such a predicament is none other than Kiana's sister.
Of course, that's Kevin's version of events.
An actual investigation revealed that the other party was likely a clone created by Otto.
After all, the real Kiana Kaslana is the Lord's disciple, so naturally she wouldn't attack World Serpent. Originally, Gray Serpent wanted to use the fact that she was a clone to attack her.
But Kevin forbade it, clearly because Kevin didn't want the World Serpent to wage a full-scale war against Schicksal.
After all, his disciple revealed quite a few unconventional weapons possessed by Schicksal.
Three thousand Honkai Energy fission bomb were simply beyond the World Serpent's capacity to withstand. In the end, the World Serpent did indeed become a rabble after Kevin was trapped in the Sea of Quantum.
With no clear leader, the top official at the time decided to lie low and wait for an opportunity to act.
This also led to the Schicksal gaining a moral high ground by fight against Honkai, and acquiring political resources that the World Serpent Organization could not even imagine, as civilization progressed.
Otto also transformed this political resource into the image of Schicksal to the outside world.
In the eyes of most people in the world, the Schicksal is a righteous organization that protects humanity. Many victims and survivors of the Honkai incidents have also returned to normal life with the help of Schicksal's subordinate agencies.
Political resources can represent channels, Otto deserves much credit for the Schicksal's transformation from a weak organization that failed in its Eastern Expedition to its current state.
His plan enabled the Schicksal to successfully enter the hearts of most people, becoming a benchmark organization representing justice.
Those who oppose this benchmark are terrorists, accomplices of the Honkai.
In fact, even if Shencheng Medicine hadn't released the Honkai Beast, Schicksal would have still tried to smear them in that direction.
World Serpent is not without technology to fight against Honkai.
Rather, there are far more than that.
The wrong decision made back then has left the World Serpent as a lurking terrorist, while Schicksal has become the guardian of all mankind.
Yes, the World Serpent members captured by Schicksal were arrested by Freya as terrorists.
"Are you the Gray Serpent?"
Kiana looked at the man in black in front of her.
177. This kind of thing is too difficult for the Kaslana Family.
"Yes, I am the Gray Serpent."
The Gray Serpent kept its head down.
Although Kevin, the leader of World Serpent, did not blame him, he knew that it was his own decisions and overly optimistic attitude toward the war that had led World Serpent to such a predicament.
"Is that so? It seems that our Great Ancestor has already explained everything to you."
"Yes, Kiana..."
"Wait, don't use names, use code names. Hmm, let me think... what kind of code names do the members of this organization use?"
Kiana looked up to stop her. Although she wasn't wearing a wig now, she would disguise herself every time she entered town to resupply.
Upon hearing Kiana's question, Gray Serpent paused for a moment before answering.
"Like Gray Serpent, Raven, Jackal..."
Gray Serpent used several code names, but most of them were related to animals.
Kiana narrowed her eyes. It seemed that the title of World Serpent had a fixed pattern. After thinking for a moment, she decided on her own title.
"I'll also use snake as my code name. You can call me 'White Serpent,' and my father 'Black Serpent.'"
"Yes, Lord White Serpent, Lord Black Serpent."
The Gray Serpent saluted Kiana and also greeted Siegfried.
Of course, Siegfried preferred codenames like Black Dragon, Black Overlord, and Black Qilin to Black Serpent.
"Mr. Gray Serpent, do you still believe in the 'Lord'?"
"Yes, I still believe in the Lord."
The members of World Serpent are more like Kevin's followers.
This organization, which uses the snake as its totem and belief, still follows Kevin's ideals to this day, and this has not changed even thousands of years later.
Snakes are creatures that exist in nature and are well-known to humankind. Regardless of the number of species, beliefs and legends about snakes can be traced back to many parts of history.
The most typical example is the myth of the serpent tempting Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, which led to divine punishment.
However, this story can also be seen as a story in which, guided by the snake, humanity gained wisdom and civilization, and the destruction of the gods (the Honkai) followed in quick succession.
Besides these, there are many myths related to snakes.
Anyone who traces this back to its origins will find that the belief in snakes is deeply rooted in every corner of the world.
It has existed from the very beginning, and humans have held snakes in awe since the dawn of time.
It is the oldest symbol. It is the prototype of countless minds and thoughts.
"This creature doesn't have eyes, because there's nothing around it to look at."
"It also has no ears, because there is nothing around it that needs to be heard."
"It is a self-devourer, an immortal being, a creature of perfect form, and the embodiment of the infinite universe."
This is the symbol of the World Serpent belief, World Serpent that encircles the world from head to tail.
"Lord White Serpent, I understand that the World Serpent's current predicament is due to my flawed decision-making and misjudgment of the war's outcome. I am prepared to accept any punishment, but before that, I hope you will allow me to introduce you to the remaining members of the World Serpent."
"Never mind, Mr. Gray Serpent. Even our Great Ancestor —well, let's just call him Lord—is more appropriate in front of you. Even Lord praised my sister's wisdom highly."
If we were to name the MVP in this war without gunpowder between Schicksal and World Serpent, it would undoubtedly be the traitor, Jackal. Even Kevin, who had maintained his composure throughout, couldn't help but feel a hint of murderous intent towards her.
However, it was her sister Freya's strategy of ending the war in less than ten days that pushed the World Serpent to this point. Of course, the Gray Serpent's optimistic attitude was the biggest contributor to this war.
In other words, the MVP is Jackal, her sister is the killer, and Gray Serpent, as a bad teammate, successfully assisted the enemy.
Of course, this conclusion was drawn up by her emotional younger sister in the realm of consciousness.
To be honest, Kiana is really desperate.
One of the only reliable top officials now seems to be having second thoughts.
He optimistically believed that the all-out war would last for more than six months, that World Serpent could slowly transfer its equipment, and then... the war would end in ten days.
They didn't even have time to destroy most of the data, and in the end, they could only evacuate to the shelter that Kevin had left for them.
The equipment and data that were not destroyed were successfully acquired by Schicksal, meaning that Gray Serpent successfully used the World Serpent's scientific research technology to aid the enemy.
Even though the important core technologies have been destroyed, there are still too many equipment and scientific research technologies left behind. Now, Schicksal has become completely fat.
Don't think that Schicksal doesn't want to take action against the remaining 300,000-plus members of the World Serpent. It's just that Schicksal is too full right now, and Schicksal current leaders want to weed out the dross and keep the good, which is why they haven't seriously searched for the World Serpent's hiding place.
After all, the evacuation of more than 300,000 people could not be kept secret from the Schicksal that was determined to find them.
Kiana was helpless when she discovered that Gray Serpent seemed ready to die immediately after introducing himself.
"Mr. Gray Serpent, even if the remaining members can accept me, you are still one of the top executives, and I need to rely on your prestige."
Kiana wasn't optimistic that she, as the newly appointed leader, could win over all the remaining members of World Serpent. The main reason was that she was too small. Even if she later disguised herself with a mask and black clothes like Gray Serpent, she would still find it difficult to project an aura of authority.
In this respect, she was far inferior to her younger sister Freya.
With her younger sister holding a high position, the authority emanating from her superiors is growing stronger. As her power to control Schicksal increases, some of the Valkyrie are already calling for her to become the Grand Bishop.
It should be noted that Theresa is the heir to the position of Grand Bishop, and Freya's promotion would only be to the position of Grand Bishop's Aide.
"Lord White Serpent, what are you saying? My decision..."
"Everyone makes mistakes. The Lord doesn't mean to blame you. You did a good job before, but you need to change the way the World Serpent does things next."
In fact, Anti-Entropy does a very good job in this regard.
By appealing to the greater cause of fight against Honkai, they gained support from some countries. In a small number of countries, they welcomed Anti-Entropy more than Schicksal.
After all, Schicksal monopolizes all scientific research and technology, while Anti-Entropy has held numerous academic conferences, and the nuclear weapons possessed by multiple countries were successfully developed thanks to the technology shared by Anti-Entropy.
Incidentally, Otto used disguised Soul Steel clones to infiltrate academic conferences multiple times.
In fact, Schicksal also possessed a considerable number of nuclear weapons. However, compared to the pollution caused by Honkai Energy fission bomb, the pollution from nuclear weapons was far more severe, so Otto did not mass-produce them.
"Next, I'll trouble Mr. Gray Serpent to introduce me to the remaining members."
"Yes, Lord White Serpent."
Seeing the Gray Serpent lower its head and speak sincerely, Kiana secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
In 2008, when she was ten years old, she wanted to gain the trust of an ancient organization. It wasn't enough to just be a parachuted leader; she also had to show tolerance while demonstrating authority.
Her younger sister had originally prepared Jackal for her, something to be used as a sacrifice to the heavens.
If she sacrifices the Jackal to the heavens in front of the remaining members, and then forgives the Gray Serpent in the name of the Lord, then most of the remaining 300,000 members of the World Serpent will pledge their allegiance to her.
Of course, this was also something her younger sister taught her in the realm of consciousness.
Unfortunately, when she left Schicksal, she released the Jackal and did not take such action.
However, I still showed tolerance as my sister suggested.
After all, Gray Serpent, as one of the top executives, played a significant role in the evacuation of World Serpent.
However, this was also within her sister's calculations. In the later stages of Schicksal, the organization only surrounded the World Serpent without eliminating them, which was to continuously build momentum for the Gray Serpent and create the impression that it was because of the Gray Serpent that the remaining members were able to escape the Schicksal's capture.
Next, all she needs to do is use the Lord's name to subdue the Gray Serpent, thus transferring the prestige the Gray Serpent has built up among the remaining members to herself, and gradually eroding the organization's power.
I have to say, my younger sister is really cunning.
"..."
Siegfried, codenamed Black Serpent, naturally had incredibly complex feelings at this moment.
The two tied the camel to a nearby tree and then followed the Gray Serpent to a refuge deep within the oasis.
This is one of the few remaining shelters after the Finality the Previous Civilization's war. Compared to the ruins developed by Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, this shelter also possesses the most advanced scientific and technological research of the Previous Civilization.
However, the researchers, led by Jackal, either betrayed the organization or were captured, and most of them were not so loyal to World Serpent.
Especially given their pessimistic outlook on being hunted and captured by Schicksal, many researchers surrendered directly to Schicksal.
Therefore, the World Serpent currently only has a few senior researchers, but their research level is not even as good as that of the Jackal, and some of them are still not in good health due to the long journey.
It's important to understand that Jackal practically represents the scientific and technological capabilities of the World Serpent. Although she's a traitor and has dragged down the overall prestige of the World Serpent, we can't deny her 'genius'.
After all, she was responsible for everything: artificial Honkai Beast, the Super Emperor Honkai, anti- Honkai Energy infection drugs, Stigmata Project.
Even if the ruins contain a large amount of Previous Civilization scientific and technological research, the remaining researchers of the World Serpent are still slow in their research. The most critical issue is the lack of experimental equipment. Without laboratories and research equipment, how can researchers conduct their research?
The main function of this site was as a refuge, with a self-sufficient ecosystem, as well as numerous plantations and greenhouses.
Not to mention providing food, drink, and shelter for over 300,000 members, we could easily provide for another 300,000.
However, the comfort of the shelter could never compare to the original living environment of the members, and they still hadn't shaken off their status as stray dogs.
A few hours later, Gray Serpent gathered everyone together and introduced them to the parachuted leader codenamed White Serpent.
The Lord's disciples and spokespeople are both good gimmicks.
This indeed led the remaining members to quickly accept the existence of the White Serpent.
However, their morale remains very low.