Kiana and the Captain's Bizarre Adventure

Chapter 182 The Gray Serpent is Dead Again!

"This is it, Mei, watch your surroundings!"

This is an unnamed alley in Sky City, where Theresa and Mei are carefully observing their surroundings.

Of course, what they didn't know was that this was actually the place where the captain and Gray Serpent had met before. The reason they chose this place was simply because it was close to the apartment that the captain and Kiana rented. Even if the negotiations failed, Gray Serpent could quickly escape to a safe place.

Seeing that Theresa and Mei had arrived, Gray Snake, who had been waiting for a long time, came to the two of them with a black umbrella.

“Ms. Theresa, this seems a bit different from what you said before!” Gray Serpent said. “Didn’t I tell you that you were coming alone? Why did you bring your student along?”

"Since you know that Mei is my student, you should understand that Mei is mine. When we made the agreement, we agreed that there would be no third party involved, but Mei is not a third party, so the deal continues."

"Hehe! It seems Ms. Theresa isn't as tongue-tied as the rumors suggest," Gray Serpent chuckled. "Since Ms. Theresa has said so, have you brought what I requested?"

"Don't worry, the money has already been transferred to you. Not a penny less. You can check the account you provided right now if you don't believe me."

Indeed, just as Theresa said, a huge sum of money had just been transferred to Gray Serpent's account. The amount, of course, was exactly the same as the price agreed upon earlier.

Gray Snake looked away from the transfer information and said, "Yes, I did receive it."

"Then hurry up and tell us information about Kiana!"

"Don't rush. Do you remember what we agreed on? No third party could be present during the transaction, so this deal is now void. Am I right, Miss Rita?"

"Hmph! I didn't expect to be discovered after all. I thought I had hidden it well enough."

"what?!"

Theresa looked in the direction of the sound and, sure enough, saw Rita sitting on an external staircase. As soon as she finished speaking, Rita jumped down the stairs and, after regaining her footing, immediately began apologizing to Theresa.

"I'm so sorry, Lady Theresa. It was Rita who interrupted your transaction. Rita only wanted to find out about Lady Kiana from you, but I didn't expect to be discovered by an information broker. It seems that Rita has been neglecting her training."

"At least my employer didn't find out, did he?"

Rita glanced at the humanoid machine behind the gray snake and immediately understood. She smiled and said, "It seems that this gentleman didn't find Rita on his own. That puts Rita at ease."

With that, Rita gave a maid's bow to Gray Serpent and Theresa, then drew her weapon and summoned her mechanical dog—Carbon-based Hunter—into battle mode.

"Now I can safely get rid of you!"

After saying that, Rita lunged forward and slashed at Gray Snake's neck, but Gray Snake was not nervous because he knew someone would come to protect him.

"clang!"

That was the sound of Rita's scythe colliding with Theresa's cross, while the mechanical dog codenamed Carbon-Based Hunter was stopped by Mei.

Rita naturally knew why Theresa and the others were stopping her—they simply wanted to get information about Kiana from Gray Serpent. But what they didn't know was that Gray Serpent wasn't important; the humanoid robots beside him were the most crucial.

Because that humanoid machine is the source of Gray Serpent's intelligence. As long as they control that humanoid machine, they will have no shortage of sources of intelligence. According to Rita's observations over the past few days, the highest level of access to the humanoid machine is hidden in Gray Serpent's prosthetic eye.

In other words, as long as you obtain the Gray Serpent's prosthetic eye, you can obtain all the information related to Sky City, including Kiana's whereabouts.

But as mentioned before, Theresa and the others didn't understand this, so they rushed to protect Gray Snake after seeing Rita make a move. However, this also gave Gray Snake a chance to escape safely.

Just as Theresa and her group were locked in a fierce battle, Gray Snake abandoned the humanoid machine and left on its own.

Anyway, he could have as many of these humanoid machines as he wanted, and he still needed to go to Kiana's place later to assign tasks to Kiana and the others. To avoid unnecessary trouble, Gray Serpent abandoned the humanoid machine without hesitation.

By the time Theresa and the others came to their senses, the gray snake had already vanished. Rita, seeing that the gray snake had already retreated, simply chose to retreat as well, leaving Theresa and the others to deal with the humanoid machine.

Theresa and the others then took the humanoid robot back to the Hyperion. After Tesla's inspection, they learned that the humanoid robot was not a pure robot, but a cyborg.

According to the humanoid machine's own account, she was originally a victim of a collapse. If the gray snake hadn't happened to pass by and saved her life, she would have been a victim, not a victim.

But this rescue came without a price; by the time Gray Serpent discovered the humanoid machine, she already had multiple necrotic tissues all over her body. Even if she were rescued from the rubble, she wouldn't live much longer, so in order to survive, she agreed to Gray Serpent's conditions.

At this point, she abandoned her former name and underwent extensive modifications to become the half-human, half-machine she is today.

Perhaps out of sympathy, after hearing her story, both Theresa and Tesla said they couldn't just abandon her, let alone Mei.

Meanwhile, in Kiana and the captain's apartment, Gray Serpent stopped Kiana and Raven from arguing. The atmosphere between the two can hardly be described as harmonious; it can be said to be irreconcilable.

Of course, these are not things that Grey Serpent wants to concern himself with. The main reason he came this time is to talk to Kiana about something.

"for you."

Gray Snake handed the syringe to Kiana.

"This is…?"

"This is APTX4869, a product that Jackal developed specifically for you based on the data principles of the Godslayer Spear. Its function is to stabilize the Honkai energy in your body and keep it at a safe threshold, so you don't have to worry about the Herrscher of the Void's consciousness suddenly escaping from your body."

"That's amazing? Does that mean as long as I keep using this drug, I can keep suppressing her consciousness indefinitely?"

"Of course not, the drug can only play an auxiliary role. The activity level of the Herrscher's consciousness is positively correlated with the concentration of Honkai energy. APTX4869 can only keep it in a low-activity state. In reality, it still depends on whether your personal willpower is strong enough."

"That's enough." Kiana subconsciously tightened her grip on the syringe in her hand. "At least I can use Honkai energy to fight now, right?"

"Although I really don't want to dampen your enthusiasm, I still have to remind you. This potion only lasts for thirty minutes, and the duration will gradually decrease depending on the intensity of the battle. So I suggest you don't use this potion casually, and only use it in emergencies or when carrying out a mission."

"I understand. So you didn't just come here to deliver medicine, right?"

"Hehe, it seems Miss Kiana has started to use her brain after leaving her comfortable environment," Gray Serpent teased. "That's right, we do have a mission for you this time."

The ravens nearby also pricked up their ears to listen.

"You may not know this, but just now the Hyperion arrived near Sky City, and Theresa and Raiden Mei appeared inside Sky City. You all know what this means, right?"

"..."

Both the captain and Kiana knew what Theresa and the others were doing in Sky City, but for them, who had now joined World Serpent, this was not good news.

"So, is our mission related to them?"

The captain asked cautiously, while subtly glancing at Kiana.

Gray Snake was well aware of the captain's little scheme. For someone who had just joined and was already familiar with the team, it was best to just state the mission objective directly. Gray Snake wasn't some kind of riddle teller, was he?

"Don't worry, this mission has nothing to do with them. On the contrary, I hope you can leave Sky City as soon as possible, so your mission is to bring back the Heavenly Fire Judgment."

Then, as if remembering something, Gray Serpent reminded her, "Of course I wasn't talking about the one the captain has, but your father's. So, Kiana, what are your thoughts on the upcoming reunion with your father?"

"This is really unpleasant. Can't we change the mission?"

"Of course, I can fulfill any task you desire."

"Just kidding! Who said I didn't want to take this mission? This is a perfect opportunity for me to teach this heartless old man a lesson for abandoning his child and leaving him to fend for himself!"

Kiana was already getting excited as she spoke, "But you guys probably won't do anything to him, right? After all, he's still my dad, and I won't allow you to do any experiments on him!"

"Don't worry, we won't do anything to your father. On the contrary, we can give him the opportunity to gain even greater power!"

"Then I'll be fine."

"As for the captain," Gray Serpent turned to the captain, "as agreed, I request that you accompany me to the Sea of ​​Quanta to help the Lord return to the real world!"

The captain nodded to indicate that he understood, after all, these were the conditions agreed upon at the time, and the captain would not break his promise.

"So, Siola, what's your answer?"

"I'm fine with anything."

Seeing that no one present had any objections, Grey Serpent announced that the group would be disbanded. After handing over Siegfried's coordinates to Raven, Grey Serpent left.

After all, Kiana was Siegfried's adopted daughter, and Grey Snake dared not gamble on whether Kiana would secretly go to that coordinate to inform Siegfried of the situation, so he did not give the coordinate to Kiana.

On the other hand, Kiana naturally knew what Gray Serpent was worried about. In fact, just as Gray Serpent thought, although Kiana said she couldn't wait to beat up Siegfried, she actually wanted to notify Siegfried as soon as she got the coordinates so that he could leave quickly.

After all, it wasn't a big deal for Kiana to see her own father get a beating; what she feared was Kevin obtaining the Judgment of Heavenly Fire. The Judgment of Heavenly Fire was originally designed for Kevin, and having it would undoubtedly elevate his power to a new level.

Knowing that she would be facing Kevin in the future, Kiana tried everything she could to weaken Kevin's power, and preventing Kevin from obtaining the Judgment of Heavenly Fire was the simplest method she could think of.

What Kiana didn't know was that the reason only Kevin could use the Judgment of Heavenly Fire was because he had the power to break it. In Kevin's hands, the Judgment of Heavenly Fire was just the most convenient weapon, and its presence or absence didn't have much impact on Kevin's strength.

Therefore, the captain had become indifferent to whether Kevin possessed the Judgment of Heavenly Fire of this world; what he couldn't accept was Kevin using his own Judgment of Heavenly Fire. After all, his Judgment of Heavenly Fire had been enhanced by Kiana, resulting in fewer side effects and significantly greater power.

Therefore, the Heavenly Judgment in the captain's hands not only carries the captain's promise to Kevin, but also the blessing from Kiana. For both reason and emotion, the captain does not really want Kevin to use his Heavenly Judgment.

However, the captain is currently on his way to Abyss City alone. According to Gray Serpent, he has some things to take care of and will meet the captain in Abyss City later. In any case, for Gray Serpent, an integrated consciousness, it is no different from another individual meeting the captain.

The captain, of course, knew what Gray Serpent was talking about; it was simply about whether they could retrieve the humanoid machine.

Despite Gray Serpent's casual abandonment of the robot, the cost of creating a replica was considerable. Gray Serpent was somewhat reluctant to rebuild it, and adhering to the principle of saving every penny, he resolutely embarked on his journey to infiltrate the Hyperion.

However, before the gray snake could reach its destination, it was intercepted by Rita.

"What a coincidence! I never expected to meet Mr. Gray Snake here~"

"Yes! It's quite a coincidence, but to be honest, I didn't want to see you here, Miss Rita."

"Unfortunately, I'm a very difficult woman to deal with. Those I set my sights on usually don't end up well."

Compared to Rita's relaxed and carefree demeanor, Gray Snake appeared somewhat disheveled.

After all, he was just an intelligence officer, not a combatant. He was completely powerless against an S-class Valkyrie like Rita. From the moment he met Rita, Gray Serpent had already started simulating escape routes in his mind.

Unfortunately, Gray Snake's escape route was destined to fail, as Rita arrived behind Gray Snake at a speed far exceeding the dynamic vision of his prosthetic eye.

He then gently patted the gray snake's shoulder with his right hand and said, "So please leave here."

As she spoke, Rita put the scythe she had taken out at some point back into the quantum channel and teleported away. Gray Serpent looked down at the wound on his chest that had almost split him in two, and then his consciousness fell into boundless darkness.

After brushing off non-existent dust from her maid outfit, Rita kicked the pistol out of Gray Serpent's hand, then crouched down and removed the prosthetic eye containing the highest level of humanoid machine authority from Gray Serpent's body.

"I didn't expect this prosthetic eye to look so good."

Rita, observing her prosthetic eye under the moonlight, uttered this exclamation before carefully putting it away and slowly leaving the scene.

As for the gray snake's corpse, it was handed over to the carbon-based hunters for disposal, and soon the last trace of the gray snake completely disappeared from this world.