Honkai, This Is My Vengeance

As everyone knows, a café is not a barbecue stall, a hot pot restaurant, or a family-style diner.

It's not that the former is more noble than the latter three.

Ling Ke actually prefers the atmosphere of the latter three.

However, depending on the nature of the service, generally, a café's environment should be quiet.

But right now, this café was extremely noisy.

Raiden Mei was even grateful for that.

Thanks to this environment, it was convenient for her to talk with May and Kevin.

And with that as the premise.

If the lack of peace and quiet could still be explained by the fact that the café was located on a busy road with heavy traffic...

Then ever since "Thunderbolt Mei, May, and Kevin" arrived at this place, only the original table of customers remained.

They had been sitting there for over an hour.

During this time, no other table of customers got up, nor did any new customers enter the café.

Even those who might have just ordered at the bar, picked it up, packed it, and left—there were none who lingered.

In fact, because the three of them were chatting too much, it was the naïve Kevin who first noticed that the order they had placed hadn't been delivered...

This situation didn't match the so-called "high foot traffic" outside.

And there was something unusual about it, something that—although not arranged by Ling Ke—

Raiden Mei still hadn't picked up on.

All one could say was—

"If you were a crow, you should've realized something was wrong a long time ago."

Ling Ke glanced outside the café and clicked his tongue a few times. "Tsk tsk~"

"In this context, 'innocence' is an insult, Miss Mei-i Raiden."

"Really.

"Aha!"

"Boom!"

Raiden Mei didn't wait for Ling Ke to finish before responding.

She directly pulled out the treacherous "blade" in her hand and made her current stance clear with real action.

Too bad, this sudden outburst—enough to slice the entire building in half, with shockwaves extending for kilometers...

Was blocked by a short-haired girl who suddenly appeared.

"Dominator Doll · Ambi"

As a character template originally obtained by Ling Ke from a game, she inherited the parry/block mechanics of "Zue · Zone · Zero" and could perfectly defend against any non-AOE "strike."

At this point, she gripped the Black Knife in reverse grip, slid to Ling Ke's side, and stared vigilantly at Raiden Mei, ready to engage again at any moment.

"Bang~"

"Bang~"

"Bang~"

As the protected target, Ling Ke didn't panic. He clapped rhythmically, "Not bad, not bad."

He looked at Raiden Mei, the corners of his mouth slightly lifted. "Quite decisive this time."

"Now that you're facing me again, you no longer hesitate like before—not entirely useless."

Hearing this—

"Because I no longer feel guilty about you."

With both hands gripping a blade the length of a nodachi, Raiden Mei stared hard at Ling Ke. "Now, you're just the enemy I hate."

Hearing her words—

"Oh?"

Ling Ke looked intrigued. "So, you're going to take revenge on me?"

"No, that's the real question."

He wore a mocking expression. "Can you?"

"Is the blade in your hand really equal to the one you obtained by sacrificing everything from the old days (now called the Era of Civilization)?"

...

Raiden Mei didn't answer.

She was ready to strike again.

She had long known that, when it came to words, she was no match for Ling Ke.

But just then—

"Bang!"

As soon as Raiden Mei moved forward, the café door was slammed open.

Immediately after—

"Boom~"

"Boom~"

"Boom~"

Several gas smoke bombs were fired into the shop.

In the face of this sudden development—

"That's why I said your awareness is lacking... even worse than before."

"The crowd outside evacuated long ago. We're clearly close to the international airport, yet the street's so quiet. Didn't you notice?"

Smoke filled the room.

Ling Ke remained unfazed.

He sneered, and after muttering to himself, his eyes left Raiden Mei and shifted to May and Kevin behind her.

"Ahem~"

The latter two were now just an ordinary pair of high school students from the Far East.

Faced with the gas, they couldn't hold their breath.

Soon, they began to cough violently.

Then, gradually losing consciousness, they both collapsed.

At this moment, even with his body going limp, the young Kevin still held May in his arms.

"Ta Ta Ta~"

Intense footsteps echoed from outside.

Through the café's floor-to-ceiling windows, the street was already filled with soldiers armed with live ammunition.

All of them had their weapons trained on the café.

However, for now, there was no next move.

Raiden Mei remained extremely cautious of Ling Ke.

She slowly adjusted her stance and turned her head... she also saw the scene outside.

Immediately, her gaze returned to Ling Ke.

Seeing this—

"Don't get the wrong idea."

Ling Ke raised both hands. "This group of uninvited guests wasn't summoned by me."

As he spoke, he turned and glanced to the side.

"Bang!"

With a snap of his fingers, Kevin Kaslana's disguise was removed.

"!!!" ×2

At that moment, both Raiden Mei and the Elder Kevin had shocked expressions on their faces.

But the two clearly didn't have time to dwell on the extremely subtle details stemming from the twisted tastes of "Dominator Doll · Hanabi."

And looking at Ling Ke—

...

Kevin Kaslana's face turned grim.

He stood up from his seat and immediately... reached into his top pocket and pulled out something slightly smaller than a ping pong ball.

That—a mechanical eyeball.

"You did this?"

Kevin stared at the eyeball in his hand, its "pupil" constantly expanding, his tone sharp and severe.

At his cold interrogation, the eyeball lit up with a dim red glow—sinister, yet not blinding.

This ominous light pulsed gently, like a kind of heartbeat.

"Your Majesty, please remain calm. 'Gray Serpent' is still your most loyal right hand."

A raspy electronic voice echoed inside the café.

"Even after thousands of years, your unwavering will—uncorrupted by the passage of time—has always been a figure I deeply respected."

"However—"

The red mechanical eye hovered in Kevin's palm.

Look—it suddenly rotated by itself... finally, its "gaze" landed on the young Kevin lying on the ground not far away, cradling the purple-haired girl in his arms...

May.

"In the past, you were like that cold ice—flawless and whole."

"We, the mediocre ones, naturally only had to faithfully fulfill our duties and follow in your footsteps."

"Gray Serpent" continued word by word: "But now, you have attachments... and 'weaknesses.'"

"Therefore—"

He looked back at Kevin. "I had to make my own decision... and find an alternative, just in case."

"And that backup plan is... the rebirth of my creator—"

"The coming of the 'Lord Serpent.'"