PNB Chapter 379 The World Snake, the Scapegoat Snake, the Accounting Snake
Chapter 379 The World Snake, the Scapegoat Snake, the Accounting Snake
"Miss Raven, please sit down! Why won't you sit down?"
Qiong sat with a smile on his face in one of the only two chairs in the interrogation room (solitary confinement cell), looking at Raven, who had been disarmed and was still wearing ripped overalls. Of course, for some reason, Ms. Kojima Bakuro was not going to sit down at the moment, so he was just being polite.
"You bastard..."
Knowing full well what was going on, Raven, gritting her teeth, subconsciously touched the back of her work clothes. There, hidden were the last few "feathers" that the man who had pinched and groped her earlier, and the two girls, hadn't been able to find. If she could, she really wanted to stick the lit feathers into the buttocks of the man in front of her who looked ten or even nine parts like the Lord—just like he had done to her before.
But she held back because she felt she couldn't win.
Moreover, even if she won, she wouldn't be able to break through that blast door. Even if she did, she would be blocked by the swarming Valkyries of the Far East Branch. If she could rely on these few feathers to break through the entire Far East Branch and escape—why would she still be working for the World Serpent?
More likely, he launched a sneak attack, and at the moment he tried to subdue Qiong, this kid turned into a Venerable Lord, giving him another chance to roast him—to take it to an extreme, it seems like he's alone now, but actually, there are a group of Fate experts lying in ambush outside the door, from Theresa Apocalypse to that Fate expert who looks remarkably like Sakura, just waiting for him to make a move, and then those Fate experts will immediately rush in, pin him to the ground, and then use various methods to legitimately avenge their Bishop Otto, whom they shot… A granddaughter avenging her grandfather's gunshot wound, isn't that reasonable?
Having given up on a forced breakout, Raven stared at the "torturer" in front of her who had pulled out instant noodles from somewhere and started eating them without preparing any food for her.
"Let's be frank, what do you want? Just say it!"
Raven stared at the gray-haired girl eating behind the table and asked in a emotionless voice—she was very cooperative now, and in order to fulfill her brother's words to her, "Nata, live on," she didn't mind revealing most of the information except for World Serpent, even if... compared to living, basic dignity and humanity were worthless (but it doesn't seem that way yet, Theresa's Far East branch probably wouldn't?).
But the World Serpent is different. If the World Serpent is sold, the Gray Serpent will definitely not let her off easily.
Thinking of this, Raven couldn't help but complain about her master and her colleague Gray Serpent, who had no redeeming qualities other than being generous with money—she was truly unlucky. The villa was almost finished, and she was just planning to pull off a few more heists to earn some money for her future living expenses and house renovations, maybe even adding some funds for the "House of Hyora" she was still imagining, when Gray Serpent dragged her to meet her boss and assigned her this seemingly simple but actually low-paying, high-risk mission: "Chasing the whereabouts of the Herrscher of Charlie"...
If she had a choice, Raven would really like to go back to that day and point the Seven Thunders of Purification, transformed into a slingshot, at Gray Serpent's forehead and tell her, "I will never accept this mission where the reward is not commensurate with the level of danger. I won't do it even if the Lord summons me!"
Unless you pay more, much more.
Qiong had no idea what the raven in front of him was thinking. He simply picked up a mouthful of noodles, a pleasant smile on his face.
However, Raven wasn't afraid of Sora's wicked grin, or rather, she wasn't afraid after the initial intimidation.
Once she calmed down, she regained the level of a skilled mercenary. Her keen intuition told her that Qiong simply wanted revenge—was he angry? Yes, and very vengeful, but he had no intention of killing.
If there's no murderous intent, that makes things easier. According to the rules of the underworld, I can pay a ransom that will break her heart or reveal some invaluable information, and I'll regain my freedom. Even if it's Destiny, seeing my cooperative attitude, they should improve my treatment. Afterwards, I can find a way to spread the word. That seemingly kind-hearted March 7th who visited Changkong City might find an opportunity to visit her through this kid, perhaps even trying to persuade her to "abandon the darkness and embrace the light," spouting nonsense about transferring Xiao Kong and the others out of Changkong City for treatment to be taken over by Destiny. Then I can use that naive girl's kindness to escape…
Or, to be more passive, it won't be long before the gray snakes, realizing she's messed up, will find a way to bail her out—and that's the reward...
"Raven, Natasha Ciora, right? Are you hungry?"
"You actually know about me..."
Raven blurted it out almost immediately, instinctively taking a half-step back and pressing her back against the metal wall of the solitary confinement cell.
Okay, let me correct you: This is a job no amount of money could earn! The people of Destiny have all found out your real names. Gray Serpent kept World Serpent quiet for so long, but they found nothing by catching the mole. They even claimed with certainty that "Destiny at most caught traces of the snake, but could never catch its tail."
Given this situation, it's likely that Destiny has already infiltrated the organization to the point of being riddled with holes—although Destiny and Anti-Entropy have also been infiltrated to the point of being riddled with holes by World Serpent.
Qiong took another sip of noodles.
"Yeah, I know! But let's not go into details about that... How about this, I'm a kind-hearted person, you hand over the Third Divine Key to me, and I'll let you go."
"You're dreaming!"
The Third Divine Key, the Seven Thunders of Purification? My god, how did this kid know that? Um... okay, it seems like even Destiny could analyze it... but even if Otto told him, how dare he say it?
Even if that thing were truly in her hands, it would never be a bargaining chip to exchange for her life... That's a Divine Key! For World Serpent, it's far beyond what she, a "high-level employee," can compare to—at least that's what Raven herself thinks.
"Then a map of all the strongholds of your World Serpent will also work."
"If you want me dead, just say so!"
Raven felt like her back teeth were about to break. Her fingers, hidden behind her work clothes, gripped the stiff "feathers" tightly. The drafty backside slightly brought her back to her senses—no, she couldn't let this kid lead her by the nose!
Raven took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, her red snake eyes sharply fixed on the sky.
"Maps aren't something someone my level can access. I'm just a mercenary. My superiors might know, but I've probably already failed my mission and been abandoned..."
Raven was trying to show that she was just a cannon fodder and had no value, in an attempt to lower Sora's expectations. At the same time, this was also a test—to test Sora's understanding of the World Serpent.
"I see..."
Qiong nodded thoughtfully. Just when Raven thought he believed him and was going to follow the usual procedure to persuade him to confess and be lenient, or resist and be punished severely, Qiong's smile turned somewhat dangerous.
"That's a shame. I had a lot of ideas for dealing with you: something like the KGB's Great Memory Restoration Technique, a kind of authentic Siberian homeland 'Cthulhu,' but..."
Qiong put down her instant noodles and shrugged—it seemed her plan to torture Raven by making her go hungry and eat by herself had failed… It didn’t matter; after that poke and giving Danheng directions on March 7th, they were even now.
And then there's that feeling of a shadow... But there are other more important things to do now.
"Just a friendly reminder, unlike me who insisted on coming, the person in charge next is an expert from the Destiny Headquarters—but before that, I'd like to talk to you about something else. Like, your villa that's almost finished? I heard the location is good, an island villa?"
Raven's heart sank.
A villa! How did he know? The people of Destiny have investigated her so thoroughly... No, this shouldn't be Destiny's information, it must be visitors from those "nests," right? It must be!
Since that's all there is to it, the raven doesn't care.
That retirement home she painstakingly saved up for and meticulously planned was one of her thoughts while on missions, and also her biggest motivation besides her children, for her life of constant danger (although a certain kobold within World Serpent scoffed at her dream). If anyone wanted to talk about it, she'd be quite happy—of course, she wouldn't reveal the specific location, otherwise she might find out tomorrow that the Destiny Logistics Department's demolition office had come to her private island to prepare for demolition, and then give her a live broadcast, saying that if she didn't serve Destiny like a slave, her house would be torn to shreds, and so on...
"Here's a piece of advice, Miss Raven: if you have the chance, you'd better cash out that island and the ocean-view room as soon as possible. Otherwise, you'll regret it..."
The raven's pupils contracted sharply, but then it let out a sneer.
"What, has fate become so arrogant that it's threatening to demolish a single woman's private property?"
"No, no, no, you've misunderstood."
Qiong waved his hand, revealing a meaningful smile.
"It has nothing to do with fate. It's just that, as far as I know, your island might be destroyed by a disaster like a typhoon, earthquake, or tsunami... I advise you to be careful. I simply don't want what you've worked so hard for half your life to be blown to smithereens, but if you really don't listen and the disaster still happens..."
"Would you feel sad for me?"
Since it was about his island villa, Raven wanted to call Sora a "jinx," but he seemed serious, so Raven just asked casually.
"No, not at all."
Qiong grinned, picked up the instant noodle cup, and strode away.
"I'd probably watch you wail and cry your heart out, rolling around on the ground, and then drag the others along to pretend to mourn for you while secretly laughing... After all, rolling around on the ground would be quite amusing, wouldn't it?"
Raven frowned, a surge of anger rising within him.
That's alarmist! Absolutely alarmist! She checked the geological and meteorological conditions there; there wouldn't be any major disasters! Unless a real cataclysmic event occurs, it won't damage her villa at all!
crunch--
After Qiong left, the door to the confinement room was slowly pushed open again. Raven, who had been secretly gathering strength to escape, immediately deflated. Two people entered. One was Theresa Apocalypse, who looked like a child, and the other was an elegant maid, who was undoubtedly the S-rank Valkyrie Rita Losweisse.
"Good evening, Miss Raven of the World Serpent. It's a pity to meet you in this way."
Rita smiled politely, her voice gentle and pleasant. An ordinary person would probably have lowered their guard—but Raven didn't. She watched the two warily, without saying a word.
These two are not as easy to deal with as that kid who wore his heart on his sleeve.
“I think we can talk this out calmly. You know that continuing to resist will not do you any good—do you think it would be better to start by preventing Schicksal from obtaining the Second Divine Key, or by having your people attack Schicksal headquarters?”
Rita spoke slowly and deliberately, but her eyes revealed an unwavering determination.
"What are we talking about? I'm just an employee... wait?"
The raven sensed something was wrong.
"We're going to attack the Destiny headquarters?"
Rita chuckled softly.
“Miss Raven, why be so stubborn? We have plenty of information. You should know more about the World Serpent than I do. I never imagined that there were so many hidden talents within the seemingly unknown World Serpent…”
Raven felt a chill run down its spine, but outwardly remained feigning ignorance.
"What do you mean? I don't understand what you're saying. Can you repeat it?"
Rita walked up to Raven, sighed softly, and pulled out a photograph from under her skirt—a photograph of the "World Serpent Clan" after being identified by Sora.
Do you know them?
Raven stared at the photo in surprise—she recognized three of the five people in the photo…aren’t these the three guys who found the “nest” that day when they were looking for Qiong?