Remember to Use Your Hands Next Time

Peggy stared straight into the youth's deep, shadowed eyes and spoke with utmost seriousness.

Ever since she had escaped from that orphanage, she had prepared herself to live alone in this world.

It was only later, when she drifted to that village and met people who treated her with kindness, that she stayed there for so long.

But from Shi Hen's words, she could understand what he meant. To him, she was nothing but trouble and baggage.

Now that she had seen that clearly, how could she cling to him and refuse to leave?

Shi Hen had merely saved her life. He owed her nothing.

"Not bad. You're very strong."

Shi Hen nodded in satisfaction.

For girls from ordinary families, thirteen was still an age for acting spoiled in their parents' arms.

But for children who had grown up in hardship, thirteen already counted as mature.

As for those who were immature... they did not live to thirteen.

It was the era's fault. Even if Shi Hen's combat power reached the heavens, he could not change that.

The one at fault was not him, but the whole world!

Hm? Was I just thinking something outrageous?

No, no. I was a righteous partner who wanted to save the world now. How could I keep thinking about destroying it?

Shi Hen, a reserve World Serpent executive, hurriedly suppressed those mad thoughts in his heart.

Hearing Shi Hen's words, Peggy raised her head as well. A brilliant smile appeared on her thin, gaunt little face.

Creak—

The hunter's cabin door opened, and Raven entered through the wind and snow.

"Looks like the two of you are getting along pretty well."

Raven glanced at them with a smile as she removed her cloak covered in snowflakes.

Siberian winters had never been gentle.

"Not bad." Neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Raven's assessment, Shi Hen took the four rabbits from the mercenary's hands. He weighed them, feeling the weight of their lives, and could not help but smile. "Sister Natasha had quite a haul too."

Although there was plenty of food in the off-road vehicle, Raven insisted on catching rabbits herself and would not let Shi Hen help, saying something about it being an older sister's dignity—words he could not understand at all.

Hearing Shi Hen's praise, Raven smiled, her face full of pride. "It's been a long time since I last hunted. Looks like my skills haven't gotten rusty."

"..."

Watching Raven's proud expression, Shi Hen pursed his lips and said nothing.

With the enhancement Honkai Energy provided to the human body, even Durandal could become a top-tier hunter in the forest.

For the mighty Mercenary Queen who had roamed the underworld to seek validation from a few rabbits was truly a sad thing.

Shi Hen tossed the rabbits before Peggy and kindly reminded her, "Here, your favorite rabbits."

He swore he truly meant well.

After all, those rabbits would not be fluffy later.

Peggy: "..."

The girl widened her eyes, seemingly unable to believe that such a cruel person existed in this world.

Yet half an hour later, faced with rabbits that were no longer fluffy but instead bald and giving off a strong scent, the girl tearfully ate an entire one.

Heh, humans who could not resist temptation.

Shi Hen looked down on Peggy's shallow love and shared the last rabbit with Raven.

Mm, delicious. He loved little rabbits most of all.

Remember to Use Your Hands Next Time

Bang!

A gunshot rang through the forest. The metal bullet struck a tree trunk, blasting off a spray of wood chips. A snow-white rabbit nearby leaped up in fright and vanished into the snowy woods after a few bounds.

Failed again...

Peggy looked at the few splinters left in the snow, her face full of frustration.

As she thought, the girl looked around.

Nearby, the black-clad, hooded mercenary leaned against a pine tree and watched her as though observing something very interesting.

"Keep going."

The mercenary spoke flatly, her voice as cold as her attire.

"Yes."

Peggy replied softly and looked farther away.

There, the youth in white sat cross-legged in the snow, his hands resting motionlessly on his knees. Even his eyes were tightly shut. Only the faint rise and fall of his chest with each breath proved that he was still alive.

Yet strangely, unless she stared at him intently, the youth felt as though he did not exist in this world.

No, perhaps it was more accurate to say that he seemed to have merged with his surroundings, making it impossible to distinguish between him and the environment.

"Stop staring at him all the time if you still want lunch today."

Seeing the girl look toward the youth again, Raven could not help but say with a smile.

Caught by Raven, Peggy's little face reddened. She quickly looked away and quietly stepped deeper into the forest, searching for prey hidden in the snow.

Because the threat of no lunch was not an empty bluff, but a genuine punishment.

If she could not hunt anything with the pistol in her hand, then she truly would not have lunch today.

During their nearly week-long time together, she had once gone almost two days without any proper food, barely managing to hold on by digging up grass roots and wild vegetables.

But perhaps it was precisely because of that do-or-die mindset—no catch meant hunger—that her marksmanship had improved rapidly. She could now hit her target with one out of every five bullets on average.

Gathering her wandering thoughts, Peggy headed deeper into the woods, the soles of her shoes making soft rustling sounds against the snow.

On the other side, Raven patiently waited until the youth finished a stage of meditation before approaching and asking curiously, "Is this the Heavenly Origin you mentioned?"

"Yeah." Shi Hen opened his eyes and nodded. "After reaching the Heavenly Origin realm, consciousness can spread out beyond the body and gain a certain degree of control over the surrounding environment."

In cultivation terms, perhaps this was called spiritual sense?

Still, no matter what this ability was called, once Shi Hen possessed it, his perception in battle had practically doubled compared to before.

If he encountered Durandal now, he could completely hang her up and beat her.

Of course, Heavenly Origin was only a realm. It did not represent absolute combat power.

Once Durandal, who possessed Kaslana blood and two Stigmata, also reached Heavenly Origin, she would be able to turn around and hang him up for a beating instead.

That was determined by the gap in their base attributes.

But if that day truly came, Shi Hen was certain he would have already gone much farther. He would still be able to hang the girl up and beat her.

"Uh... sounds pretty impressive."

Left completely confused by Shi Hen's explanation, Raven could only offer that universal remark.

Whenever she was with the youth, she felt that her worldview was being refreshed again and again.

Forget it. She was used to it by now.

If Shi Hen ever started acting like a normal person one day, that would be what truly surprised her.

"By the way, Peggy... are you really just going to let her go on like this?"

Raven brought up the girl they had picked up on the road.

"We can teach her the skills she needs to survive. That's enough." Shi Hen nodded. "She can carve out the rest of her path herself."

From their brief time together over the past few days, he could tell that the girl was incredibly strong-willed.

When told that she could not eat if she failed to catch prey, she truly had never asked for even a bowl of soup. Even when hunger became unbearable, she only dug up grass roots and wild vegetables.

So on the third day, the girl had very "luckily" discovered a rabbit that was not quite right in the head.

People who could be ruthless toward themselves usually did not live too badly.

Shi Hen thought highly of Peggy's future.

Perhaps in a few years, Siberia would see a new legend.

For example... the Snow Rabbit Hunter?

"...When I applied medicine to her these past few days, I noticed that her wrists weren't swollen at all."

After a moment of silence, Raven spoke softly.

"Honkai Energy?"

Shi Hen rubbed his chin and guessed.

Although the pistol they had chosen for Peggy had relatively low recoil, it was still quite taxing for an underdeveloped thirteen-year-old girl after a full day of shooting.

But if Honkai Energy was involved, then anything unreasonable immediately seemed perfectly reasonable.

Was his luck really so good that anyone he casually picked up could have Honkai resistance?

No, it was more accurate to say that in this dangerous world, people capable of wielding Honkai power often found it easier to survive than others.

Therefore, those who survived longer often possessed more or less this sort of ability. Peggy had merely awakened her body's potential after experiencing a life-or-death crisis.

This was entirely in line with scientific principles. There was absolutely no foul play involving artificial cheats.

"Very likely." Raven nodded in agreement with the youth's guess. "Seriously, have you never thought of keeping her? I think she has a lot of potential."

Setting aside her possible Honkai resistance, her tenacious and resilient nature alone was enough to impress anyone.

If properly trained, this child certainly would not disappoint in her growth.

"What about Sister Natasha?"

Shi Hen asked in return.

"Me? Forget it, I've already planned to..." Raven paused abruptly, then hurriedly changed her words. "I mean, I don't have the time or energy to train a child."

Though theoretically, Shi Hen was only two years older than Peggy and was still a child himself.

"I'm not interested in raising children either."

Shi Hen nodded in deep agreement.

So what if Peggy's talent was high? Could she surpass him? Could she grow to stand alongside a Herrscher in the future?

The road to becoming the final boss was rugged and difficult. It could not even tolerate someone walking beside him. He was destined to have no companions.

"What a pity."

Raven sighed regretfully.

She truly thought highly of Peggy's potential and believed the girl could become Shi Hen's support.

But clearly, the youth was far more selective than she was. Or perhaps he had his own thoughts regarding companions.

Bang!

Another gunshot rang out through the forest.

Not long after, Peggy walked over carrying a rabbit with a bullet wound in its chest, blood still seeping down its fur. Her pale golden hair, somewhat dry and withered, was covered in snowflakes, and clumps of snow clung to her clothes as well.

Clearly, the girl had hidden herself in snowbanks to conceal her presence.

"Look, I caught one!"

Peggy looked up at the youth, her face practically begging him to praise her.

"Not bad." Shi Hen nodded, his gaze sweeping over the bloodstained rabbit. "How about trying without a gun next time?"

"Are you going to teach me how to make traps?"

The girl asked hopefully.

"No, you'll have to catch them with your own hands."