Starting as a Behind-the-Scenes Boss in the Honkai World Chapter 39

Shi Hen replied coolly and ruthlessly.

If Peggy truly had potential, she would have been able to outrun the rabbit with the boost from Honkai Energy.

"..."

In an instant, the excitement on Peggy's face froze, and her entire being turned ashen.

Chapter 43: Want Another Mother?

Driving to a small town, Raven slipped into a bar for a quick look around. When she came out, she gave Shi Hen a thumbs-up.

Nodding, Shi Hen immediately pulled out some cash. "Go buy some snacks."

Looking at the crisp bills the young man handed her, a hint of grievance appeared in Peggy's eyes.

But the girl wasn't one to be fussy, so she simply asked, "What do you want to eat?"

"Anything, just buy what you think is good. You can keep the change as your allowance."

Shi Hen wasn't interested in the question.

Peggy's expression grew even more resentful.

With a clang, the girl opened the car door and scampered out, her short, light-blonde hair flicking with each step.

"That child seems to like you quite a lot."

Back in the driver's seat, Raven teased with a smile.

"That's only because I saved her."

Shi Hen shrugged.

"Isn't that enough?"

Raven stared directly at the young man, pressing him for an answer.

"It's just dependence," Shi Hen said, ignoring the demanding look in the mercenary's eyes. He opened a bag of beef jerky and offered it to Raven. "Want some?"

Mysterious, powerful, and handsome... At thirteen, a girl's emotions are just beginning to blossom. Shi Hen, possessing these qualities, was already as dazzling as the sun to Peggy, not to mention the life-saving grace he had bestowed upon her.

But as someone aspiring to be a great boss, Shi Hen had no interest in such child's play and didn't believe Peggy could keep up with his pace.

More importantly, he didn't like bean sprouts.

Glancing at Peggy, who had been tricked into buying snacks, and then at the beef jerky in front of him, Raven fell silent for a moment before picking up a piece. "Eat."

"Did you find out everything?"

Popping a piece of beef jerky into his own mouth, Shi Hen asked.

He was referring to the mission.

Although training Peggy had taken some time, he and Raven were still on a World Serpent mission.

"Mhm. A while back, Cocolia had a fight with several other warlords and routed their allied forces of five factions," Raven said while eating the jerky. "Unfortunately, a few of them were people we were supposed to collect debts from."

"...This Cocolia is quite formidable."

Shi Hen praised sincerely.

Although his understanding of Honkai was somewhat superficial, Cocolia's abilities were indeed noteworthy.

"Yeah, which is why we're in trouble."

Raven sounded a bit helpless.

Such an event greatly affected her debt collection.

"Are those guys dead?"

Shi Hen asked after some thought.

"They've gone into hiding," Raven sighed. "Oh, right, the group we encountered earlier were deserters under those guys."

Shi Hen: "The ones who destroyed Peggy's village?"

Thinking back, those guys did look quite disheveled.

"Who else could it be?"

Raven retorted, her tone filled with disdain for those people.

As a mercenary, while she wouldn't claim to be entirely clean, she wasn't so low as to attack unarmed civilians.

Furthermore, if you needed supplies, taking things would be one thing, but a village massacre clearly crossed the line of human decency.

"It seems Siberia is going to be chaotic for a while then."

Shi Hen couldn't help but sigh.

He was certain that Peggy's experience was not an isolated incident; similar events must be happening in this land.

"New life comes after destruction. Things should be more stable here in the future."

Raven seemed to be filled with emotion as well.

"Can Schicksal just watch Cocolia take over this place?"

Shi Hen asked, a hint of surprise in his voice.

Theoretically, Siberia fell under the jurisdiction of the Far East Branch. There was no way they would allow an Anti-Entropy executor to cause trouble here.

"Who do you think propped up those warlords?" Raven rolled her eyes. "Besides, Cocolia didn't use Titan mechs in the battle, so she didn't technically violate the agreement between the two organizations. Schicksal can't really say anything about it."

Not using Honkai Energy weapons on non-Honkai battlefields was a mutual agreement between Schicksal and Anti-Entropy.

Of course, when it came to implementation... as long as there was no evidence left behind, it could be considered as if it never happened.

"There seems to be quite a story behind this."

Shi Hen's eyes lit up slightly.

Although on the surface, it was merely Cocolia defeating the allied forces of the five major warlords, thus becoming the overlord of the Siberian region.

But behind the scenes, Schicksal and Anti-Entropy must have employed numerous tactics, and perhaps even the World Serpent had secretly intervened.

However, judging by the outcome, one could only say that Cocolia indeed possessed some ability, truly worthy of being the woman who almost became the Alliance Leader of Anti-Entropy.

Of course, what Cocolia achieved was only a superficial victory. As for the reality... who knew how many pieces the World Serpent had planted here.

Don't forget that Siberia's military industry was secretly flying the World Serpent's flag.

Perhaps for Gray Serpent, this war was merely a matter of changing investment targets.

And a few years later, when Schicksal could finally spare the resources, Cocolia, who had already become the acting leader of Anti-Entropy, would still be brutally crushed, losing Haiyuan City and even the orphanage.

"But none of that matters to us anymore," Raven waved her hand. "What's important now is finding those few hidden rats."

The World Serpent's subsequent plans in Siberia were being handled by others; their mission was simply to collect debts.

"Sister Natasha must already have some clues, right?"

Shi Hen asked with a tone of certainty.

He had great faith in the strength of this mercenary queen.

Moreover, the common intelligence they had just gathered was not enough for Raven to personally intervene.

"If I said no, would you believe me?" Raven playfully chided, her beautiful eyes narrowing. "No one likes boys who are too smart."

She wanted to tease the young man a bit longer.

"Then what about Sister Natasha?"

Shi Hen asked softly, a smile playing on his lips.

Noticing the young man's smiling gaze, Raven couldn't help but let out a soft "tsk" and turn her head away, calling out as if she had just noticed, "Peggy is out."

In reality, after leaving the shop, the girl had been dawdling on this less than thirty-second walk for a full three minutes.

However, without permission from Shi Hen and Raven, the girl dared not approach rashly.

Peggy was sensible and knew that there were some conversations she shouldn't overhear.

So even after nearly ten days together, the girl had never asked about their origins or purpose, only diligently fulfilling Shi Hen's requests, no matter how demanding they were.

Glancing at the young man with a helpless expression, Raven beckoned to Peggy. Once permitted, the girl immediately ran over.

Getting into the car, Peggy opened the plastic bag like a treasure, displaying various snacks. "Hen, which one do you want to eat?"

"...This one, I guess."

Faced with the girl's expectant gaze, Shi Hen couldn't bring himself to refuse and reached out for a chocolate bar.

As if her efforts had been recognized, Peggy immediately broke into a radiant smile.

While eating the chocolate and looking at the thin, malnourished girl, Shi Hen's eyes flickered, and he asked with a smile, "Peggy, do you want to have another mother?"

As the most professional child-collector in the Honkai World, Cocolia's place needed a proper visit, and perhaps a little "punishment" from the acting Anti-Entropy leader for those little ones.

"…?"

Looking at Shi Hen, then at Raven with a smile, Peggy was stunned for a moment before her expression shifted to one of near tears.

The girl knew that some orphanages had children call their adoptive parents "Father" or "Mother," so had she been too late?

Chapter 44: Debt Collection

Driving out of the small town, Raven sped along, finally arriving at a certain manor before sunset.

Shi Hen merely gave a silent middle finger to her driving speed.

If he were to fly himself, he was confident he could catch up to a rocket after it had accelerated.

However, if speed was the priority, Raven, with the boost of Honkai Energy, could actually outrun a car.

But that would be rather uncool.

Therefore, when faced with the soldiers patrolling and blocking the entrance to the manor, Raven floored the accelerator and casually tossed out a few black and red feathers.

Boom!

The feathers exploded upon hitting the ground, and the scorching heat and expanding shockwave sent dozens of soldiers flying.

"Tell Andre that Raven has arrived!"

Stopping the SUV directly in front of the manor gate, Raven rolled down the window, placed one hand on the steering wheel, and shouted inside. Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried far.

A group of soldiers, guns in hand, exchanged bewildered glances, unsure whether to open fire or relay a message.

Although Raven had stopped the car, making it a stationary target, they wouldn't believe the other side had no backup, given their utterly arrogant actions.

Making the wrong choice could cost them their lives.

The dozens of patrol soldiers who had tried to stop them were still lying on the ground, groaning.

They were just soldiers; they didn't want to die.

Watching Raven, alone with her car, single-handedly dominate the entire scene, Peggy, seated in the back, had stars practically popping out of her eyes.

While Shi Hen had shown off some of his skills these past few days, none were as simple and direct as Raven's.

Paying no mind to Peggy, who had turned into a little fan girl behind her, Raven simply tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, completely unconcerned that her body was exposed to dozens of guns of all kinds.

Shi Hen, sitting in the passenger seat, glanced at the gunmen, both visible and hidden, throughout the manor, not taking the matter too seriously.

If Raven could be taken down by these grunts, she wouldn't be an executive of the World Serpent.

His gaze swept casually, Shi Hen only letting his eyes linger for a few seconds when he saw the groaning soldiers.

In a way, these patrol soldiers had suffered undeserved misfortune; they were somewhat innocent, but he and Raven weren't there to reason with anyone, so Shi Hen wouldn't complain about the mercenaries' brutal methods.

Everyone had their own way of survival, and Iron Blood and Thunder were the paths Raven had chosen.

Without making Shi Hen and the others wait long, a burly man, dressed more luxuriously than the others, soon emerged.

"Lady Raven, General Andre requests your presence inside."

Opening the car door, the burly man bowed his head and said respectfully.

"Where is he?"

Raven remained seated.