Honkai, why do you only throw me into high-level battles?

Yae Sakura, kept somewhat in the dark by Lin Wei, cautiously walked into the lush green path. She gently stepped on the pebble-paved road, and under the dappled shade of the trees, her appearance subtly shifted.

"...Really knows how to order people around."

She lightly complained about Lin Wei, who always gave her difficult problems. Then, she carefully recalled every detail of Raven's behavior when interacting with Lin Wei.

After a moment, she took a deep breath. Like the real Ms. Natasha, she slammed the hood onto her head, pulled the brim down low, and strode towards the bio-lab with an ancient Egyptian flair.

"Are these guys using ancient Egypt as their business card? Isn't this too blatant..."

Seeing the extravagant decorations up close, Yae Sakura couldn't help but feel a sense of disbelief—just like Lin Wei had. The grandeur of it all was almost absurd.

Aren't you really afraid of being targeted?

No... that's not right.

A strange look flickered in her usually cold eyes. Or rather... they're already this arrogant, and yet, they haven't been discovered?

That was even more unbelievable.

Lin Wei had mentioned that World Serpent's infiltration ran much deeper than most people imagined. Perhaps this absurd display was just another piece of evidence proving that point.

While thinking, Yae Sakura stepped out of the tree-lined path. She gritted her teeth, then strode calmly towards the main entrance.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly raised her head to meet the camera on the lintel. The dappled sunlight illuminated half of her face—just enough to make her identity clear.

I, former Raven, Natasha Cioara.

Open the door for me.

Yae Sakura believed that, given Raven's secretive nature and her detached status as a World Serpent executive, she wouldn't need to say much here.

Then, she was rejected—

"Dr. Cleo is busy and doesn't have time to see guests."

The voice from the loudspeaker delivered a clear and cold refusal. Yae Sakura immediately understood what "out of sight, out of mind" truly meant.

"..."

She was a bit surprised by this outcome. A mix of relief and unwillingness stirred inside her, along with a hint of sympathy for Ms. Raven, who was far away.

World Serpent, aren't you guys a bit too cold-blooded? she thought. It's only been a few days since she resigned, and you won't even let her meet anyone? Maybe she'll come back in the future!

While feeling indignant on Ms. Raven's behalf, Yae Sakura turned to leave. But just as she was about to move—

Clang.

The tightly locked door in front of her suddenly cracked open.

"..."

Wasn't I just rejected? Why is the door opening now?

Confused, she hesitated for a moment. If she turned around and left now, it would seem suspicious. So, keeping her guard up, she cautiously pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The moment she entered, a staff member greeted her with a warm smile.

"Dr. Cleo is waiting for you in her personal lab."

Without further explanation, the staff led her to an elevator, pressed the button for her, and waved goodbye.

Yae Sakura didn't respond. She had already noticed that the staff member didn't have permission to go underground.

She also observed that the above-ground laboratory was quite busy. Several people were hard at work, deeply focused on their research.

Are they teachers and researchers from this school? she wondered. Or World Serpent members in disguise? Maybe... both?

She silently took note of this detail.

Then, she waited.

The elevator ride was shorter than expected. It didn't feel like a deep underground secret base, like the one at Coral Island. Instead, it seemed more like an ordinary underground facility.

As the elevator doors slowly opened, a familiar black-and-red construct stood motionless at the entrance.

"Please follow me," it said in a slightly electric, hoarse voice.

Then, without waiting for a response, it turned and led Yae Sakura down a dimly lit corridor.

"So these things can talk?" Yae Sakura thought, feeling a bit surprised.

She walked cautiously, secretly observing the corridor's every brick and tile. Before long, they turned a corner and arrived at Jackal's laboratory.

Yae Sakura took a quick look around, assessing the lab's layout. Her gaze then settled on the only person inside.

"Why is she alone?"

She had never met this woman before, but the signs were unmistakable—brown skin, waist-length curly brown hair, and an aura of arrogance that filled the room.

"Jackal?"

Jackal frowned. Something about Raven seemed... off.

Her golden, emotionless eyes studied the figure in front of her, scrutinizing every detail. What was it that felt strange?

That gaze made Yae Sakura uneasy.

Acting quickly, she slipped deeper into Raven's persona. She shot Jackal a glare and spoke in a displeased tone.

"What are you staring at me for?"

Jackal narrowed her eyes for a second, then looked away.

Maybe I was overthinking it.

Instead, she asked with mild suspicion, "Why are you here?"

"Don't even mention it..." Yae Sakura waved her hand lazily, mimicking Raven's mannerisms. "Gray Serpent told me you were having some trouble and asked me to check it out if I had time."

She let out an exaggerated sigh and muttered, "Ugh... that guy, he really knows how to make trouble for people, doesn't he?"

Pausing for effect, she glanced left and right, feigning curiosity before asking the question that truly mattered:

"Where's Gray Serpent?"

Her voice remained casual, but she was already preparing herself for a fight.

"I thought he would have told you I was coming. What, isn't he with you?"

If Gray Serpent was here, she needed to be ready for a direct confrontation.

"Gray Serpent? Hmph!"

Just hearing that name made Jackal's irritation flare up.

"That guy—ever since he agreed to my operation plan, he's completely vanished! What, are my requests beneath him?"

She shot another glance at Raven but felt much calmer this time.

"At least he had the sense to send a helper. You've worked hard, Raven."

Whatever strangeness she'd felt earlier had faded—she was now fully convinced that the girl in front of her was the real Raven.

Yae Sakura, on the other hand, felt relieved. So Gray Serpent isn't here.

That was one less problem to worry about.

However, something else caught her attention.

"Plan? What plan?" she asked, latching onto the keyword.

Realizing her direct questioning might seem suspicious, she quickly waved her hands and added,

"Let's get one thing straight—I only agreed to come take a look for Gray Serpent. I never said I'd help! Don't dump any dangerous work on me. I'm a former employee, remember?"

Jackal narrowed her eyes but didn't seem to doubt her. Instead, she let out a displeased snort.

"Hmph... Never mind troubling your esteemed self. Go back and take care of your child."

Yae Sakura, still acting as Raven, gave a helpless smile.

"Well, since I'm already here, I might as well figure out what's going on, right?" She waved a hand dismissively. "We know each other, after all. If I can help, I should."

Jackal chuckled darkly.

"Heh, you do have a conscience after all. But no need, thanks for the concern."

Raven's apparent sincerity seemed to please Jackal. With a dismissive wave, she continued,

"Gray Serpent is just making a mountain out of a molehill. Acting like catching a couple of people is such a big deal? Hmph. He's really getting worse as he gets older. Just wait until the Lord returns..."

Her resentment toward Gray Serpent was obvious after get 'abandoned'.

"Catching people?" This answer was a bit unexpected.

She quickly followed up, "Isn't this where you're experimenting with the Stigmata Project?"

This was Lin Wei's previous guess. Could he have been wrong?

Yae Sakura suddenly felt that her "infiltration" this time was the right move; otherwise, that wrong conclusion would definitely mislead Lin Wei in the wrong direction.

"Huh? Stigmata Project? Experiment?" Jackal looked at "Raven" inexplicably.

Didn't she know that the time for large-scale experiments wasn't ripe yet? She couldn't help but feel a little suspicious. "Is that what Gray Serpent told you?"

"...No, Gray Serpent didn't tell me the specifics of your situation here. He just asked me to come take a look," Yae Sakura waved her hand, explaining.

"After all, with such a big operation, it's hard not to think the worst. And you're here alone—it's hard not to worry..."

Judging by Jackal's appearance, she didn't seem to be lying.

Then the Honkai in Manila must have had another cause?

Yae Sakura felt it necessary to remind Lin Wei about this after returning.

"Oh, is that so..."

Jackal didn't think too much about it, only internally complaining once again about Gray Serpent's cryptic way of speaking. Couldn't he just be straightforward? Acting mysterious and wasting time were the behaviors she hated most.

That was why she always answered every question—often ten sentences for every one asked. Truly a breath of fresh air in World Serpent.

"No, you're overthinking it."

"You know, large-scale experiments for the Stigmata Project need to be approved by the Lord himself before they can be carried out. Right now, we can only conduct some small-scale experiments in the lab..."

She let out a sigh. "Low efficiency is unavoidable."

Jackal glanced back at the dozen or so culture tanks neatly arranged against the wall, her tone tinged with regret.

"Right now, all we can do is try our best to collect more test subjects..."

Yae Sakura followed her gaze and immediately understood.

"So, you're saying... catching people?"

Was this airhead really this easy to trick?

It felt almost unrealistically smooth.

Or was she the one being tricked?

A sense of unease crept into Yae Sakura's heart.

"Yes, I've been keeping an eye on an interesting fellow for a long time."

Jackal huffed, arms crossed. "Hmph, the approval permit was delayed for quite a while..."

Recalling those past frustrations annoyed her, but then, as if flipping a switch, her mood brightened.

"But recently, I discovered another good test subject. We can catch them both together."

"...The test subject you mentioned, is it a Valkyrie from Schicksal?"

Yae Sakura was somewhat speechless. All this big fuss, just for this?

"Oh? You know too?"

Jackal raised an eyebrow, though she wasn't too surprised. Nothing in World Serpent ever truly shocked her.

"Ordinary Valkyries are, of course, worthless. But that C-rank Valkyrie who came here from Schicksal headquarters? Different story."

She let out a short, mocking laugh.

"Heh, C-rank? Those idiots at Schicksal headquarters are truly blind!"

As Jackal spoke, she grew more excited, muttering to herself.

"Hmph, at Schicksal headquarters, I naturally can't do anything. But since she's come before me... I absolutely can't let her get away!"

Stan's miserable state was proof enough.

Her enthusiasm surged, burning with an intensity that was hard to extinguish.

"Alright..."

Capture a Schicksal Overseer? Great!

Yae Sakura had no objections—in fact, she could wholeheartedly support it. But when the time came, who would be capturing whom was hard to say…

Maybe, when things went south, Jackal could ask Master Lin Wei to save her?

Suppressing a chuckle, Yae Sakura pressed on while the iron was hot.

"But that's just one. You said there was another?"

"Yes, that's right!"

Jackal smiled smugly.

"That Valkyrie was just an accidental discovery recently. My real target is someone else… and this person, you also know. In fact, you're quite familiar with them…"

Her tone turned playful. She even glanced at "Raven" expectantly, eager to see a surprised expression.

"I know?"

Yae Sakura's heart skipped a beat.

No—Raven should be the one who knows.

After a moment of thought, the answer was obvious.

Still, she put on a look of shock, staring at Jackal in disbelief.

"...Are you saying—?"

You're joking, right?

Did she see through my disguise? Is this her way of exposing me?

"You guessed right!"

Jackal burst into laughter, clearly pleased with Yae Sakura's reaction.

Her voice dripped with delight and smugness.

"That guy… That guy who dared to provoke the Serpent's majesty… That guy who dared to humiliate me time and time again… He must pay the price!"

"...Are you serious?"

Yae Sakura couldn't help but think: You should just go capture Otto. Maybe he'd die more comfortably that way.

Her heart was filled with mixed feelings. She struggled to suppress the urge to cleave this detestable woman in front of her in two.

Trying to digest this overly shocking news was no easy feat.

She still couldn't understand—how big of a heart must one have to despise Lin Wei so much?

Even Gray Serpent didn't dare to provoke him excessively. Didn't Jackal know that?

Knowing that, she still dares to provoke him?

Yae Sakura seemed to understand why Gray Serpent had disappeared without a trace at this time. If not for that, he'd probably get caught up in this mess too!

His timely disappearance, waiting for the dust to settle, might even save Jackal's life.

Yae Sakura tried her best to process the thousands of thoughts racing through her mind.

She raised a pair of complex eyes and locked gazes with Jackal.

Please, tell me you saw through my disguise and are just deliberately insulting my intelligence to humiliate me, right?

At this moment, Yae Sakura desperately hoped that her disguise had already been exposed, because if it had, at least it would just turn into a fight.

But she was disappointed.

From those arrogant golden eyes, the only emotions she read were smugness, anticipation, and even a hint of pleasure—the pleasure of revenge being achieved.

But there was no "provocation" or "mockery"—the very things she hoped to see.

In other words...

She was truly enjoying the joy of success in advance.

In other words...

She really saw both Lin Wei and Otto as prey, completely within her grasp.

Yae Sakura wanted to speak—then stopped, then wanted to speak again.

But in the end, she decided against it.

She composed herself, turning the thousands of words in her heart into a single, resigned sigh.

"Jackal, you're insane..."