Even if Li Wu was a Herrscher, Gray Serpent wouldn't be this polite, would he?
He even used the Second Divine Key. Doesn't that thing require approval every time it's used?
Besides, she hadn't mentioned what kind of Herrscher authority Li Wu had, only his name...
Wait?!
His name?
Could it be that this kid has some kind of background?
Didn't he have no background at all?
Raven slowly turned around, removed her black hood, leaned forward until her face was almost right in front of Li Wu's, and scrutinized him carefully, unwilling to miss a single detail.
Unfortunately, she didn't find a familiar face in Li Wu's features.
"Hey, still alive?"
Raven asked.
She waited for a long time but got no answer. She only saw Li Wu's mouth slightly open, his breathing rhythm chaotic.
Raven glanced back at the heavy rain outside, then at Li Wu's soaked clothes. Realizing something, she immediately placed her hand on Li Wu's forehead. It was burning hot, far exceeding normal body temperature. This wasn't just a mild fever.
It takes time for the whole body to heat up like this.
Did this guy carry Raiden Mei here while running a high fever?
"..."
Raven couldn't understand.
This wasn't the first time.
What exactly is driving him to be so desperate?
I can't figure it out... Could it be mutual sympathy between Herrschers?
Raven couldn't help but take a few more looks at Li Wu. Then, she hoisted him and Raiden Mei onto her shoulders, opened the door to The Nest, and walked in.
"Little Wan, help me get some fever medicine."
Just as Raven finished speaking, a blinding white light flashed outside the window. The entire remote suburban area was instantly illuminated by this unparalleled brilliance.
Gray Serpent had arrived.
Rapid footsteps sounded from the doorway—incredibly heavy, the pace chaotic and disorganized.
His iconic uniform was stained with rain. In the shadow beneath his hood, the red light in his pupil flickered at a very high frequency.
"You're here. Li Wu and Raiden Mei have fevers. I put them on the bed and was about to give them fever medicine..." Raven turned around, intending to greet Gray Serpent.
He ignored her completely and rushed straight to Li Wu.
Click—
The mechanical click of gears turning sounded. Under the fearful gazes of the children, Gray Serpent popped out his own left eyeball without hesitation. It hovered over Li Wu, conducting a full-body scan.
Gray Serpent was almost entirely made of mechanical parts, and his eyeball had a scanning function; Raven knew this.
But usually, it was used to scan enemies for weaknesses to deliver a fatal blow. This was the first time she had seen it used for "medical" purposes.
The mechanical eye scanned Li Wu from top to bottom.
"Identity confirmed... Flame-Chaser Rank One."
"Scanning vital signs..."
"Bio-field spectral analysis..."
"Cellular activity and metabolic rate assessment..."
"Deep neural state mapping..."
With each segment the mechanical eye scanned, Gray Serpent mechanically recited the analysis results, his voice stiff as iron.
"Conclusion: Target has a high fever of 41.8°C, approaching the limit for neural damage; gunshot wound on the left shoulder deeply infected by cold rain, early symptoms of sepsis triggered; severe hypothermia and dehydration..."
Gray Serpent's voice remained devoid of emotion. Raven couldn't stand it and pointed to Raiden Mei lying nearby. "That's a Herrscher too, the Herrscher of Thunder."
"Not responsible for testing irrelevant personnel."
"Damn, irrelevant personnel?"
666. That cracked Raven up. The Herrscher of Thunder had become "irrelevant personnel"?!
Whether it was Schicksal or Anti-Entropy—especially Anti-Entropy—a Herrscher was a unique, perfect experimental subject created by gathering the entire organization's power, requiring the right time, place, and people. How did she become "irrelevant personnel" in Gray Serpent's mouth?
What surprised Raven even more was that Gray Serpent took out a storage vessel from his coat. Inside, bright red blood boiled ceaselessly, surging endlessly as if it were still inside a living body.
"Holy Blood? That vial must be worth tens of millions of euros at least. I remember another World Serpent cadre—Jackal—nearly died on a mission, hanging on by a thread, and I didn't see you bring this out. Why so generous today?"
Raven ushered the children back into their room, then leaned against the wall, watching Gray Serpent inject this priceless "Holy Blood" into Li Wu's body. She still couldn't figure it out, nor could she connect Li Wu with that legend.
As a World Serpent cadre, she knew a bit about the Previous Era. The story of the Number One Flame-Chaser had been mentioned countless times.
Flame-Chaser Rank One?
But Li Wu is clearly a modern person. The two eras are separated by fifty thousand years. And he's a Herrscher. No matter how you look at it, it's impossible for them to be the same person. Could it be that he just looks similar and happens to have the same name, leading to a misjudgment?
Then this guy is really lucky.
Survived thanks to his name and looks.
No, that's too much of a coincidence!
Gray Serpent ignored Raven's internal monologue, still fully focused on checking Li Wu's physical condition.
"Body temperature dropping..."
"Left scapula repairing rapidly..."
"Cellular activity and metabolism returning to normal..."
"'Holy Blood' efficacy at 100%... No, 1200% efficacy..."
"Abnormal activity in neural network... Target memory storage area suspected to be sealed, 'Holy Blood' is activating..."
Gray Serpent analyzed meticulously. The more Raven listened, the more wrong it sounded.
What does 1200% efficacy mean? Isn't that a full 12 times the effect?
Are you kidding me!
Raven had been on missions before; she had seen those dying tycoons lying paralyzed in hospital beds.
Holy Blood exerted less than 20% efficacy on them at most, yet it was enough to make a critically ill tycoon instantly lively and vigorous in a short time, without any side effects, their bodily functions undergoing a qualitative change, reverting from sixty or seventy years old back to forty or fifty.
What level would 1200% efficacy reach? I don't even dare to imagine...
"Hey, Riddler, since he's mostly fine now, spare a little 'Holy Blood' for the Herrscher of Thunder, yeah? This little girl is pretty pitiful. Bullied by classmates, then by her own..."
"Herrscher of Thunder, worthless."
Raven had been rambling, thinking of explaining Raiden Mei's background to get her some "Holy Blood" treatment too.
But she was met with Gray Serpent's ruthless mockery.
Worthless?
It seems that's actually true. World Serpent didn't lack experimental data on Herrschers. Unlike Schicksal, which focused on "Holy Blood" and "Herrschers," or Anti-Entropy, which focused on "technology," World Serpent focused more on "Stigmata" research.
Moreover, there were quite a few Flame-Chasers who had survived from the Previous Era to the present, each possessing combat power comparable to or even surpassing a Herrscher.
Especially the World Serpent Lord, Kevin Kaslana. It was said he had the power to fight that Schicksal Overseer.
To determine which organization the Second Herrscher would ultimately belong to, the two had fought during the Second Honkai Eruption. But in the end, the World Serpent Lord was defeated and left, giving up control of the Herrscher of the Void.