Starting as a Behind-the-Scenes Boss in the Honkai World

Indeed, if they hadn't been holding Shi Hen back, he would have escaped on his own long ago.

Although, without Shi Hen, they wouldn't have been targeted by nuclear bombs.

But unlike them, who had no choice, Shi Hen could have run away alone.

However, he chose to stay.

No matter how complicated the circumstances, she only needed to remember this one fact.

After a moment's thought, Raven looked at Leona and the others. "Valkyries of Schicksal, come up here too! If Bai returns safely, I'll let you go. But if he doesn't come back..."

Her red claw blades extended from her hands, and Raven didn't finish her sentence. Blood debts must be repaid with blood. She was never the type to forgive and forget, to repay evil with kindness.

Exchanging glances, Leona and the other Valkyries nodded slightly, offering no objection or resistance. Their positions were already adversarial; this was the best possible outcome. After all, Schicksal had dropped four nuclear bombs on them. If the other party had killed them all on the spot out of anger, they would have had no grounds to complain.

Seeing this result, Raven nodded slightly, the coldness in her eyes receding a little. If it were up to her, she would have already eliminated these troublesome Valkyries. But... Shi Hen wanted to keep them alive. She didn't want the young man to return and find that the people he had tried to protect had died for some ridiculous reason.

As the transport ship ascended, the standoff in the sky finally reached its conclusion.

Bang!

A swing of the bat instantly shattered the intensely expanding fireball, scattering it into countless flaming light particles. These were then swept into the upper atmosphere by the gale that followed, not a single one falling to the ground.

On this day, everyone in the city witnessed the shattering of stars.

Chapter 35: The Price of the Seven Thunders of Sin's Purge

Just as the transport ship was about to reach the encirclement of Schicksal's Far East Branch, Shi Hen finally returned.

"Hen!" On the deck, the moment the young man landed, Raven immediately rushed forward and hugged him tightly. "That's great! I'm so glad you're okay!"

Once again, she felt as though she was about to lose him.

Held tightly by the mercenary, feeling the soft mounds pressing against him, Shi Hen was momentarily flustered. But after a moment's thought, he gently hugged Raven back and said, "Yeah, I'm back."

Even with a thousand words unsaid, this one was enough.

Although, for Shi Hen, facing nuclear bombs, an act that sounded like dancing on the edge of life and death, wasn't actually that dangerous. Having ascended to the Heavenly Sovereign Realm, he now possessed strength comparable to a Herrscher. His final blow against the third nuclear bomb was no less impressive than Fu Hua's Tai Xu Sword God techniques. Or rather, Tai Xu Sword God was the Heavenly Sovereign Realm without the Stigmata, with both ultimately aiming to embrace Honkai through human will. In Shi Hen's current state, give him a Plague Gem, and he could transform into the fully powered Flame Herrscher on the spot, with every basic attack being a formidable strike.

Upon reaching the Heavenly Sovereign Realm, Shi Hen's admiration for Fu Hua deepened. Because compared to the nearly impossible-to-replicate Heavenly Sovereign Realm, the Sword God path had a complete cultivation method, although it also demanded extremely high talent. Regardless, Fu Hua had forged a path distinct from the Stigmata. And even if one didn't reach the Sword God realm in the end, the cultivation process itself was highly beneficial. In contrast, the Heavenly Sovereign Realm seemed extremely extreme. It required not only developing one's Stigmata to an exceptionally high degree, becoming powerful enough to leave one's own mark on the Imaginary Space, but also overcoming one's inner weakness and confusion. During this process, a single misstep could lead to losing oneself, trapping one's consciousness in the Imaginary Space forever. Comprehensively speaking, the difficulty was no less than that of a Feathered Herrscher. One could only say that Immortal Fu Hua was truly amazing.

"...Are you alright? Are you injured anywhere?" After a long while, Raven belatedly realized they had been hugging for too long. She quickly stepped back a few paces, carefully examining the young man to see if he was missing any limbs.

"I'm fine, just a little injured and quite exhausted," Shi Hen replied in a slightly weak voice, glancing at the blush on Raven's cheeks. He raised his arm, allowing the mercenary's fingers to poke and prod him.

"Just a little?" Hearing this, Raven's brow furrowed. "Do you know what you were doing!?" Although she found no obvious wounds on the young man, confronting a nuclear bomb head-on, was that something a person should do? Even if the young man was becoming less and less human.

For the first few years after joining World Serpent, she was recognized as a genius in the training camp. But compared to Shi Hen... was that even a valid comparison?

Raven glared fiercely at the young man.

"I definitely won't do that next time."

Shi Hen promised, lowering his head, his voice sounding weak.

Although, in reality, he had already used a Revival Armor and was at full health.

While fighting a nuclear bomb wouldn't cost Shi Hen his life, the excessive consumption of energy, high-temperature burns, nuclear radiation, and a series of other issues meant that, theoretically, he should have been bedridden for at least half a year.

Thus, Shi Hen spent 0.3 seconds thinking and then decisively used the Revival Armor.

The main story was not far off, and he didn't want to spend precious development time lying in bed.

But even though he was at full health now, to avoid appearing too terrifying, Shi Hen still had to pretend. This way, everyone would be much more at ease.

In a place like World Serpent, he wasn't foolish enough to flaunt all his trump cards.

However, after experiencing it firsthand, Shi Hen had a certain understanding of the power of nuclear bombs.

He could only say that this thing was just so-so, its destructive power was average, and it wasn't as fun as Durandal.

After all, the terrifying aspect of a nuclear bomb lay in its massive kill radius; single-target attacks were not its strong suit.

Even the radiation that ordinary people feared like the plague... in this world, Honkai itself was the most deadly radiation.

Hearing the young man's guarantee and seeing his extremely weak appearance, Raven felt a pang of heartache and could only sigh, choosing to forgive Shi Hen.

It was rare for her to take the young man on a mission, and this time it turned out to be even more dangerous than Sicily. Raven didn't know what to say for a moment.

Having been in the underworld for so many years, she had never encountered such an outrageous situation.

Could it be that they were naturally incompatible?

Raven fell into deep thought.

"Oh, right, there's this too." As he walked towards the cabin with Raven, Shi Hen took out a dull, purplish-black baseball bat from his person. "This thing is probably completely broken..."

As he spoke, Shi Hen secretly glanced at Raven.

If Seven Thunders of Sin's Purge were in perfect condition, he was even confident he could smash three more nuclear bombs. But this Divine Key was broken, and Raven had already drained it once before.

To unleash power capable of tearing apart a nuclear bomb in this state would be too much of a strain on Seven Thunders of Sin's Purge.

The result of forcing it was like this.

If the organization had no means of repair, then World Serpent would likely lose a Divine Key forever.

Even an armament of the Divine Key level could not withstand the relentless passage of time.

Moreover, Seven Thunders of Sin's Purge had been heavily damaged in the previous era and had been in a weakened state all these years, only to be completely drained by Shi Hen now.

"Seven Thunders of Sin's Purge..."

Taking the bat the young man handed over, Raven felt a heartache so intense she could barely breathe.

This thing... was very expensive!

Although this Divine Key had been kept by her side since she received it, she only had the right to use it.

Even if she wanted to unleash its full power, she had to write an application beforehand.

Even if she didn't have time then, she had to make up for it later.

But now, she probably wouldn't have to write such reports anymore.

Heartbroken to the point of almost fainting, but thinking of the young man beside her, Raven waved her hand, pretending to be nonchalant, and said, "It's okay, it's just a weapon. If it's broken, it's broken. Gray Serpent should have a way to fix it.

Yes, he definitely has a way, he definitely does..."

Seeing the mercenary queen looking almost possessed, Shi Hen couldn't help but sigh.

Forget it, he'd ask Gray Serpent how to compensate later.

No matter how many excuses there were, he was the one who drew the nuclear bomb, and he was the one who broke the Divine Key. Shi Hen wouldn't look for excuses to escape all this.

However, this mission was still a task assigned by the organization. Gray Serpent wouldn't be able to be too unreasonable, right?

Chapter Thirty-Six: Heavenly Sovereign and Jackal

"What was that state of yours?"

Not long after Shi Hen entered the cabin, Jackal, like a shark smelling blood, blocked his path, her amber eyes shining brightly.

Although she didn't know the specifics, she was certain that the state Shi Hen displayed when confronting the nuclear bomb was the ultimate goal of the Stigmata Project.

That kind of power could definitely surpass that of a Herrscher!

As long as she could thoroughly research Shi Hen's secret, she could undoubtedly advance the current Stigmata Project by a large margin.

"Jackal! Hen just got back, he needs to rest now!"

Raven blocked Shi Hen, her expression displeased.

Looking at the pale-faced Shi Hen and then at the threatening Jackal, Jackal hesitated for half a second before choosing to step aside.

She couldn't defeat Raven.

"If it's just a simple explanation, I can manage," Shi Hen offered a weak, strained smile. "Simply put, I went to the Imaginary Space and defeated the negative consciousness evolved from the Stigmata there, thereby gaining the power to fully control Honkai."

Raven & Jackal: "..."

It was indeed a very simple explanation.

Raven felt like she was listening to gibberish. She recognized every single word, but when they were put together, she couldn't understand.

Unlike Raven, who was utterly bewildered as an armed operative, the great scientist Jackal's eyes lit up, and she nodded solemnly from time to time.

Although, out of everything Shi Hen said, she only understood the part about the negative consciousness.

The Stigmata were a gift left by Moth to Fire for humanity in this era, but it was far more than just a purely beneficial gift.

As the power of the Stigmata continued to awaken, the host's negative emotions would also grow correspondingly.

If one could not fight against their own negative emotions, even a Stigmata awakener was in danger of being consumed by Honkai.

Once this situation occurred, it would often give rise to monsters a thousand times more terrifying than Meele.

Even though this guy made it sound easy, that battle must have been incredibly brutal, right?

Jackal looked deeply at the young man, a hint of admiration rising in her eyes.

Regardless of how Shi Hen achieved it, this was enough to prove his potential.

No, the young man could no longer be considered to have potential; he had already fully converted his potential into strength.

At this moment, Shi Hen was definitely a powerhouse that even World Serpent would have to treat with caution.

"How did you enter the Imaginary Space?"

Jackal couldn't help but press further.

After all, opening the portal to the Imaginary Space was an authority exclusive to the Void Herrscher.