Shi Hen answered coldly and mercilessly.
If Peggy truly had potential, then with Honkai Energy enhancing her, she would be perfectly capable of outrunning a rabbit.
"..."
In an instant, the excitement on Peggy's face froze, and her whole body turned as stiff as flax.
Would You Like Another Mother?
After driving to a small town, Raven slipped into a bar for a look around. When she came out, she gave Shi Hen an OK gesture.
Shi Hen nodded and immediately pulled out several bills. "Go buy some snacks."
Looking at the crisp new bills the youth handed her, a trace of resentment appeared in Peggy's eyes.
But the girl was not delicate or spoiled, so she merely asked, "What do you want to eat?"
"Anything. Pick whatever you like. Keep the rest as pocket money."
Shi Hen did not care about that question.
Peggy's expression immediately became even more aggrieved.
With a clatter, the girl opened the car door and jogged out, her light golden, neck-length hair bouncing with every step.
"That child seems to like you quite a bit."
Having returned to the driver's seat, Raven teased him with a smile.
"That's only because I saved her."
Shi Hen shrugged.
"Isn't that enough?"
Raven stared directly at the youth and pressed him.
"It's nothing more than dependence." Ignoring the pressure in the mercenary's eyes, Shi Hen opened a bag of beef jerky and set it closer to Raven. "Want some?"
Mysterious, powerful, handsome... At thirteen, Peggy was at the age when emotions first began to bloom. Someone like Shi Hen was naturally as dazzling as the sun to her, not to mention that he had saved her life.
But Shi Hen, who aspired to become a great boss, had no interest in such childish games. Nor did he believe Peggy could keep up with his pace.
And most importantly, he did not like bean sprouts.
Glancing at Peggy, who had been talked into buying snacks, then at the beef jerky in front of her, Raven fell silent for a moment before picking up a piece. "Sure."
"Did you find everything out?"
Shi Hen asked as he stuffed a piece of beef jerky into his mouth as well.
He meant the matter concerning this mission.
Although training Peggy had delayed them somewhat, he and Raven still had a World Serpent mission to carry out.
"Mm. Not long ago, Cocolia fought several other warlords and crushed the coalition forces of five opposing factions." Raven ate her beef jerky as she spoke. "But unfortunately, several of them happen to be people we need to collect debts from."
"...This Cocolia is pretty impressive."
Shi Hen sincerely praised her.
Though his understanding of Honkai was somewhat shallow, Cocolia's capabilities were indeed remarkable.
"Yeah, which is why we're unlucky."
Raven sounded rather helpless.
Something like this would greatly affect her debt collection.
"Are those people dead?"
Shi Hen thought for a moment before asking.
"They're hiding." Raven sighed. "Oh, right. Those people we ran into before were deserters under those guys."
Shi Hen said, "The ones who destroyed Peggy's village?"
Thinking back carefully, those people had indeed looked rather bedraggled.
"Who else could it be?"
Raven replied irritably, her tone filled with disdain for them.
As a mercenary, she would not claim to be spotless, but she was not low enough to lay hands on a group of unarmed civilians.
And if they needed supplies, looting some things would have been one thing. Slaughtering an entire village clearly crossed the line of basic human decency.
"Then it looks like Siberia will be chaotic for quite a while."
Shi Hen could not help sighing.
He was certain that Peggy's experience was not an isolated case. Similar things must be happening elsewhere across this land.
"Only after destruction comes rebirth. Things will probably be more stable here afterward."
Raven seemed to have many feelings about it as well.
"Would Schicksal really just watch Cocolia take over this place?"
Shi Hen asked in surprise.
In theory, Siberia fell under the Far East Branch's jurisdiction. They could not possibly allow an Anti-Entropy operative to make trouble here unchecked.
"Who do you think backed those warlords in the first place?" Raven rolled her eyes. "And Cocolia didn't use Titan Mechs on the battlefield, so she technically didn't violate the agreement between the two organizations. Schicksal can't really say much either."
Not using Honkai Energy weapons on non-Honkai battlefields was a shared agreement between Schicksal and Anti-Entropy.
Of course, when it came to enforcement... as long as no evidence was left behind, it could be treated as though nothing had happened.
"There seems to be quite a story behind this."
Shi Hen's eyes lit up slightly.
On the surface, it was merely Cocolia crushing the allied forces of five major warlords and becoming the ruler of the Siberia region.
But behind the scenes, Schicksal and Anti-Entropy had certainly used plenty of methods. World Serpent might even have secretly dealt a few blows of its own.
Still, judging from the result, Cocolia really was capable. She was worthy of being the woman who had nearly become the Anti-Entropy Leader.
Of course, Cocolia's achievement was only a victory on the surface. As for what lay underneath... who knew how many pieces World Serpent had planted here.
One must not forget that Siberia's military industry secretly all bore World Serpent's mark.
Perhaps to Gray Serpent, this war merely meant changing investment targets.
And a few years later, once Schicksal could free up its hands, even Cocolia, by then Anti-Entropy's acting leader, was forcibly driven all the way to Haiyuan City. She could not even keep her orphanage.
"But none of that concerns us." Raven waved a hand. "What matters now is finding those rats hiding away."
Other people would handle World Serpent's subsequent plans in Siberia. Their task was merely debt collection.
"Big Sister Natasha must already have some clues, right?"
Shi Hen asked in a matter-of-fact tone.
He had great faith in the Mercenary Queen's abilities.
Besides, information as commonplace as what Raven had just gathered was not worth her personally taking action for.
"If I said no, would you believe me?" Raven shot him a coquettish glare. "No one likes boys who are too clever."
She had wanted to tease the youth a little longer.
"Then where is Big Sister Natasha?"
Shi Hen asked softly, a smile lingering at the corner of his lips.
Noticing his amused gaze, Raven could not help clicking her tongue before turning away. Pretending she had only just noticed, she called out, "Peggy's out."
In truth, after leaving the shop, the girl had spent a full three minutes dawdling along a path that took less than thirty seconds to walk.
But without Shi Hen and Raven's permission, she did not dare approach rashly.
Peggy was very sensible. She knew there were certain topics she was not supposed to hear.
So even after nearly ten days together, the girl had never asked about their backgrounds or purpose. She simply worked hard to fulfill Shi Hen's requests one after another, no matter how harsh those conditions were.
Glancing at the youth's helpless expression, Raven waved to Peggy. Having received permission, the girl immediately ran over.
Once she got into the car, Peggy eagerly opened the plastic bag and displayed the various snacks inside. "Shi Hen, which one do you want?"
"...This one, I guess."
Under the girl's expectant gaze, Shi Hen could not bring himself to be harsh. He reached out and took a chocolate bar.
As though her efforts had been acknowledged, Peggy immediately broke into a brilliant smile.
Eating the chocolate while looking at the thin, frail girl whose malnutrition was obvious at a glance, Shi Hen's eyes shifted. He smiled and asked, "Peggy, would you like another mother?"
As the most professional child-picker-upper in the Honkai World, Cocolia was someone he ought to go see properly. While he was at it, he could give those little ones a beating from the Anti-Entropy Leader.
"...?"
Peggy looked at Shi Hen, then at Raven beside him, who wore a smile. She froze before her expression turned as though she were about to cry.
The girl knew that some care institutions liked to make adopted children call them Father or Mother. So had she really been too late after all?
Collecting Debts at Their Doorstep
After leaving the town, Raven drove at full speed and finally reached an estate before sunset.
Shi Hen merely gave her the middle finger in response to that speed.
If he had flown himself, he was confident he could even catch an accelerating rocket.
But if speed were truly the goal, Raven, enhanced by Honkai Energy, could actually outrun a car as well.
But that would not be stylish enough.
So, when faced with the soldiers patrolling and blocking the road outside the estate, Raven floored the accelerator and casually flung out several black-and-red feathers.
Boom!
The feathers exploded violently upon hitting the ground. Scalding heat and spreading shockwaves sent dozens of soldiers flying.
"Tell Andre that Raven has arrived!"
Raven parked the SUV directly before the estate gates, rolled down the window, rested one hand on the steering wheel, and shouted inside. Her voice was not loud, yet it carried far.
A group of soldiers holding guns looked at one another, unsure whether they should open fire or pass along the message.
Though Raven had stopped the car and become a stationary target, they did not believe someone so arrogantly brazen would lack any support.
If they made the wrong choice, the price might be their lives.
Those dozens of patrol soldiers who had tried to stop her were still lying on the ground and howling.
They were only here to serve as soldiers. They did not want to die.
Watching Raven and a single vehicle cow the entire scene, Peggy's eyes in the back seat nearly sparkled with stars.
Shi Hen had displayed some abilities over the past few days, but how could that compare to Raven's simple and direct style?
Ignoring Peggy, who had already turned into a fangirl behind her, Raven simply tapped her fingers lightly against the steering wheel, completely unconcerned that her body was exposed beneath dozens of gun barrels.
Shi Hen, seated in the passenger seat, swept his gaze across the openly and covertly stationed gunmen around the estate, but he did not take the matter seriously.
If Raven could be taken down by such fodder, she would not be a World Serpent executive.
His gaze wandered casually, only lingering a few seconds longer when he saw the soldiers still groaning in pain.
In a sense, those patrol soldiers had suffered an undeserved disaster and were somewhat innocent. But he and Raven had not come here to reason with anyone, so Shi Hen would not complain that the mercenary's methods were cruel.
Everyone had their own way of surviving, and iron and thunder were the way Raven had chosen to survive.
Shi Hen's group did not have to wait long before a burly man, dressed more extravagantly than the others, emerged.
"Lady Raven, General Andre invites you inside."
The burly man opened the car door, lowered his head, and spoke respectfully.
"Where is he?"
Raven remained seated.
Before you continue