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Chapter 393 - The Lucky One and the Defective Product

Raven's car drifted precisely into the garage with a beautiful arc. Soon after, a slender, purple-haired girl ran over from another direction, following the sound.

"Teacher, you're back!"

Sora greeted Raven, who was closing the car door, politely. Then she also saw the other two who got out of the car. Her crimson eyes lit up slightly, and she moved a few steps closer to Lin Wei, saying sweetly in a low voice,

"Big Brother Lin Wei, you're back too? And this new big sister next to you..."

"...Hello."

Yuno's response was somewhat reserved, not only because the girl in front of her was polite, but also because Lin Wei had previously said that she too was a survivor of Nagazora City, which made her feel a bit taken aback.

"Sora, long time no see. Her name is Yuno. You'll get to know each other soon."

Lin Wei smiled and made a simple introduction, then walked up and affectionately patted Sora's head. He examined her carefully, then gestured with his hand and said with a smile,

"It's been half a year, you've grown a bit taller, looking more and more like a big sister~"

"Really? I didn't even notice myself."

Seeing Lin Wei wasn't being distant at all, Sora became even happier. She said, somewhat shyly yet with a touch of excitement,

"But Teacher prepared many new clothes for us during this time, saying that we're growing and developing, and our clothes might quickly become ill-fitting..."

At this point, she looked down with some confusion and mumbled,

"But, I don't feel any different from before..."

Lin Wei looked at Sora's slender, gaunt figure, as thin as ever, and said with a hint of pity,

"Too thin. You should eat more."

As soon as he said it, Sora blushed deeply and lowered her head, stammering.

"Alright, the more you talk, the more improper it gets. People who don't know might think I'm abusing children and not feeding them." Raven, in front of the children, was less sharp than usual. She pursed her lips to smooth things over, and even her tone seemed to have a touch of motherly gentleness. "Alright, Sora, take this new friend around, get familiar with this place, and interact more with the other children."

She was, of course, referring to Yuno.

"Mm, okay, Teacher."

Sora was as obedient as ever.

"Then what about Big Brother Lin Wei?"

"When an adult comes to visit, of course, an adult like me will entertain them!"

Raven smiled and bent down, gently patting her cheek.

"Alright, go on."

On the other side, Lin Wei also placed Yuno's hand in Sora's, patted her shoulder lightly, and smiled gently.

"Go on."

And so, Yuno was led away by Sora, hand in hand, looking back with every step.

Raven quietly watched the backs of the two girls, one big and one small. Only after they had gone far did she speak in a low voice,

"Looking at this little girl's pitiful expression, anyone who didn't know would think she'd been abandoned by you, you scoundrel..."

Although she was already very familiar with the character of this fellow beside her, Raven was still a little shocked by Lin Wei's shamelessness.

Remembering the brazen words Lin Wei had spoken not long ago, Raven couldn't help but want to find something to stuff into this guy's mouth.

What do you mean, I left a child behind?

Raven looked at Lin Wei with dark lines on her forehead. So all the children in Nagazora City are my responsibility? How come I didn't know that?

Trying to pin it on me, huh?

"Abandoned? How could that be? I'm just finding her a temporary place to stay."

Lin Wei smiled and shook his head.

"After much thought, your place is the most suitable. After all, people always need to make more friends."

Lin Wei actually felt a bit regretful in his heart because, for Yuno, St. Freya Academy was originally the most suitable place for her to live and grow. But since that place was no longer possible, he could only settle for the next best thing.

At the very least, apart from the shared identity tag of "Nagazora City survivor," there were no utilitarian schemes or deceptions among the children Raven had adopted, which would be very helpful for relaxing Yuno's constantly tense nerves.

"What, you think this is a daycare center?"

Raven shot her a glare.

"It's not impossible, but there's a fee."

"Do I look like I have money?"

Lin Wei spread his hands with a wry smile.

"If I had anywhere else to go, I wouldn't have come to trouble you."

Ever since his cover was blown, there really wasn't any place in the world where Lin Wei could settle down peacefully.

"Is that so?"

Raven wasn't really planning to ask Lin Wei for money; she just liked to needle him with words. Hearing him sound so pitiful, of course, she wouldn't miss this good opportunity. She crossed her arms and said teasingly,

"Clearly a great hero who just saved an entire region not long ago, why are you making yourself sound so pathetic?"

"You know about that too? But don't pin that title on me."

Lin Wei smiled indifferently.

"In this world, 'heroes' are always the first ones to die. I'm not willing to join in that excitement."

"Heh, how many times have you joined in the excitement? Who knows who it is that causes chaos wherever they go."

Raven sneered, then her expression became serious as she said to Lin Wei,

"I don't care what you're planning to do, I only have one request—don't involve these children in trouble."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I also just happen to need a short period of undisturbed peace, so I shamelessly came to bother you for a few days."

Lin Wei smiled and said frankly.

"After all, in this world right now, besides these children, only two people know my specific whereabouts: one is Gray Serpent, and the other is you."

As long as Gray Serpent didn't leak Lin Wei's whereabouts, he would still be as detached from the world as he was in the Elysian Realm. The reason he came to Raven's territory was also to subtly convey a message to him—"Don't act rashly."

"Oh, is that so? Then shouldn't I say I'm 'honored'?"

Raven pursed her lips. As long as it didn't involve the children, she had no interest in what Lin Wei was scheming. She just gestured with her chin in the direction Sora and Yuno had left and said,

"This child you brought... is she okay?"

With her sharp eyes, she could tell at a glance that the girl's constitution was extremely special, giving her a more dangerous feeling than even a MANTIS. If it weren't for Lin Wei's guarantee, she really wouldn't want this dangerous fellow near her children.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine. Yuno is a very well-behaved child."

Lin Wei smiled, speaking with confidence.

"She just hasn't interacted normally with people for too long. As long as..."

"Ah..."

Before he could finish, a series of startled cries suddenly came from the distance, as if something terrible had happened.

"..."

Lin Wei and Raven looked at each other for a second, then simultaneously sprinted towards the scene of the incident.

Raven was extremely fast. She scooped up Lin Wei and shot forward, leaving a blurry afterimage in the air, reaching the spot at top speed. Besides the afterimage, only an exasperated curse remained:

"I knew it! Wherever you are, there's bound to be trouble!"

When she anxiously brought Lin Wei over, she found that the "crime scene" wasn't experiencing the accident they had feared. Instead, it was surprisingly harmonious:

Yuno was sitting on the lawn of a small garden. Four or five vines extended from her body, each coiling around a little boy, playfully lifting them high and low in the air. The range of lifting and dropping was just a bit high, causing the children to shout and scream in the air.

On the ground, some bolder children gathered nearby, shouting along. A few timid girls, though hiding far away, couldn't help but follow the ups and downs of the children with their eyes, occasionally letting out a startled cry.

Sora stood a little further away from these children, her head tilted up, looking worriedly at her younger brothers and sisters being tossed into the air. Her hands rose and fell, as if she were ready to rush over and catch anyone who might accidentally fall...

"...Forget it, let the children play by themselves for a while."

Raven stopped far away and observed carefully for a while before feeling relieved. She put Lin Wei down and turned to leave.

"We spoilsport adults shouldn't go and cause trouble..."

"Who was it just now saying there'd be trouble?"

Lin Wei, who had been feeling dizzy from being tossed around, finally felt a bit vindicated and clicked his tongue in amazement.

"But it's really surprising that they could hit it off so quickly..."

How long had Sora taken her away? Probably not even ten minutes, right?

"Although they are just children, they also experienced difficult and even terrifying days in Nagazora City. They often deal with Honkai Beasts and Deadwalkers, so naturally, they aren't easily frightened."

Raven automatically ignored Lin Wei's initial jab and said with a strange expression,

"But the speed at which they hit it off is indeed too fast. Is Sora already so skilled at taking care of her younger siblings now?"

"Hmph, I guess that mischievous Lyle, who likes to act like an adult, is probably causing trouble in there too."

Lin Wei thought of the scene he had just witnessed and pursed his lips.

"Didn't you see that kid shouting the loudest and looking the most excited in the air?"

Where did these wild kids come from?

Was there too little homework assigned?

Lin Wei couldn't help but deeply reflect.

"...Are you thinking about something strange again?"

Raven caught the inexplicable curve of Lin Wei's lips at a glance and couldn't help but interrupt.

"Nothing..."

Lin Wei had to regretfully put away the thought that had been interrupted before it could fully form and changed the subject.

"Speaking of which, do you just live with the children in this remote place? On the drive here just now, I didn't see many inhabited places."

Although the population of North Africa wasn't as dense as regions like Europe, Shenzhou, the Far East, or Southeast Asia, nearly three hundred million people lived on this narrow yet vast land.

Raven clearly could have chosen a densely populated place with a beautiful environment for the children to live, yet she chose such a remote corner near the sea, which truly surprised Lin Wei.

"Some things, there aren't many choices. Sora and the others have special constitutions. Their incompletely awakened Stigmata mean they can only live in environments with a certain amount of Honkai energy, so naturally, they can't go to overly prosperous places—including what you said earlier about Sora being too thin, that also has a lot to do with their halfway-there constitution..."

Raven said calmly, with no hint of regret in her tone.

"In North Africa, there hasn't been a Great Honkai Eruption, but there aren't many small-scale Honkai disasters either. There are abandoned towns like this one after another. It's not too difficult to find a place with a suitable climate and relatively beautiful environment among them."

Lin Wei quietly looked at Raven's serious face as she spoke, wondering if people who had endured too much hardship were generally good at finding joy amidst suffering.

Suddenly, something flashed in his mind, and he couldn't help asking,

"You said the Stigmata of these children you adopted are all very incompletely awakened. Is it such a coincidence?"

Lin Wei hesitated for two seconds but still couldn't resist asking,

"Could it be that those whose Stigmata awakened relatively completely were lured away by Gray Serpent or someone else?"

Although this question might be a bit impolite, Lin Wei thought it was quite in line with World Serpent's style.

"..."

Raven stopped abruptly, her gaze somewhat cold as she stared at Lin Wei for two seconds. Then the coldness quickly faded, and she gently averted her gaze, sneering.

"The way you are now, compared to when you came out of the Elysian Realm, is more like when I first met you..."

"What do you mean?"

Lin Wei asked, puzzled.

"Bold and reckless, not knowing life from death."

Raven glanced at him mockingly and said.

"Since you know World Serpent isn't made up of kindhearted people, can you just ask such questions randomly?"

"Just curious. Besides, haven't you already resigned?"

Lin Wei, however, smiled indifferently.

"So, I guessed right?"

If that's really the case, then are those chosen children lucky, or are these somewhat flawed children luckier now?

Lin Wei couldn't help but think.

"Can you just say whatever you want after resigning?"

Raven sensed a trace of indescribable pity in Lin Wei's eyes and couldn't help but soften. She swallowed the mocking words she was about to say and changed her tune.

"However, on this question, you guessed wrong."

"Oh?"

Lin Wei was surprised. He hadn't expected Raven to actually answer this question.

"A fully awakened Stigmata, how can it be so easy? Of the children I found back then, apart from a few who were too weak or too severely injured and couldn't be saved, the rest are all here..."

Recalling these past events, Raven felt a little sad. It wasn't a good feeling to watch a child die helplessly in front of her.

After a moment's pause to compose herself, she continued,

"This is also very normal, isn't it? People whose Stigmata genes cannot awaken have no way to survive in a Honkai Eruption. So it's also very normal that the children I managed to find alive are all like this, with this special characteristic, right?"

"...So, there's no one whose Stigmata has fully awakened?"

Lin Wei said thoughtfully.

"Maybe there are, but at least I haven't met any. After all, those fortunate enough to be chosen by fate are always a minority among minorities."

Raven suddenly tilted her head slightly, her crimson eyes hidden under her hood seeming a little lost as she gazed into the distance.

"The vast majority of people who have a chance to survive always have to walk forward, lonely and faltering, laden with injuries and pain, until they can no longer walk, and then they are forgotten in some lonely corner..."

"..."

Lin Wei silently looked at her slightly fragile appearance. Was she thinking of herself, or her brother who was probably long dead?

After all, back then, she herself was the "lucky one" chosen, spotted by Gray Serpent at a glance, taken away, and meticulously cultivated into the "Raven" she was today.

And her brother, who had also survived the Second Honkai Eruption, was, like most other survivors, ruthlessly abandoned in that icy wasteland...

Her "luck" was also the wound in her heart that could never heal. It was precisely because of this that she cared for those children so much.

In Raven's heart, she also wished that when she was young, someone could have stood up to protect her young self and her brother, instead of cruelly separating them...

"Speaking of which, don't you have such a lucky one right beside you? That girl named Yuno..."

Raven's body trembled slightly. She recomposed herself and said with a calm smile.

"It's really hard on you, to actually be able to bring such a person out of Nagazora City. With her kind of talent, Gray Serpent would definitely like her very much."

"A lucky one? In a sense, you could say that. But this 'luck,' I'm afraid not many people in the world would want to possess."

Lin Wei's tone was equally calm.

"Besides, the defects in Yuno's body are no better than incompletely awakened Stigmata, maybe even more troublesome..."

"Oh?"

Raven was slightly surprised. She only knew some general things; details like these were beyond her knowledge.

After Lin Wei briefly explained Yuno's situation, Raven couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"It's really hard on you. You actually dared to provoke that Mobius fellow for her? I really don't know whether to praise your courage or laugh at you for being 'reckless'?"

Back when she was in the Elysian Realm, the trouble that strange green-haired "little girl" Flame-Chaser caused her was like a nightmare. It took a lot of effort to get rid of her. It was precisely because of this that she found Lin Wei even more incomprehensible.

"Mobius? She's alright, I guess."

Lin Wei said sincerely.

"She's actually quite easy to get along with, really."

"..."

Lin Wei's pretentious appearance left Raven speechless. After scrutinizing him for a long time and confirming that Lin Wei indeed wasn't lying, she said, both speechless and emotional,

"If that's the case, then maybe you're the real lucky one..."

"Lucky one?"

Lin Wei thought of his own Stigmata, thought of Yae Sakura, and smiled helplessly, mocking himself.

"This so-called 'luck,' in the end, actually highlights another fact even more—I myself am just an insignificant 'defective product'..."

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