I am a hero of the former civilization.

To be honest, taking the data from him is on a completely different level of difficulty compared to destroying the satellite.

"But the risk of staying is very high."

Ryan glanced at Wilvi, who was whistling incessantly, then turned back to her: "There's no other way. Putting aside the time wasted these past few days, without data, you're dead."

Sakura immediately fell silent. If she couldn't bring down her employer, she would definitely be silenced. Once they had some free time, the first person they would look for was Rin.

"How about I lure them away for a couple of days?"

"Aren't you afraid of the risks?"

“I don’t want charity either, and even if I die, Rin can live on.”

The girl answered seriously, which drew Ryan's attention; he didn't dislike her personality.

"Don't worry, everything is still under my control. I said I didn't want you to die, so you won't die." Ryan patted Wilvi on the shoulder and told her to drive the car into an abandoned garage.

The three got out of the car, and several old men on the verge of death looked at them. Ryan was handsome, and Vilvie and Sakura were also top-notch beauties. Instinctively, they felt a surge of greed.

Ryan was too lazy to argue, so he waved his hand. Under the influence of an invisible mental force, these people were stunned for a moment and turned around unsteadily.

They were given a psychological suggestion, so they went home, packed their belongings, and fled.

Few could catch their breath. The scenery was novel at first, but after a few days it made people drowsy. Ryan climbed onto the roof, threw the tattered parasol aside, and began to observe the terrain.

The surrounding area is very open, which is not a good thing. It makes it easier for some people to observe from a distance. However, the wasteland to the south is blocked by mountains.

The barren mountain peaks were rugged and jagged, with a large rift valley running through the middle. There were no signs of civilization, and the feeling of Honkai energy was very clear.

"Isn't the Fire-Chasing Moths doing anything about the collapse happening in that wasteland?"

“There’s probably no value in protecting it. We don’t have enough manpower for the Fire Moth right now.” Sakura slowly walked up, a hint of disgust flashing in her eyes. “Besides, that place is only inhabited by barbaric and dangerous natives who don’t speak human language. Why do something so thankless?”

"you've been to?"

"Yes, Poison Chrysalis received a mission to infiltrate and explore that area. They were told that something had fallen from the sky, but apart from killing many natives, they found nothing."

Something fell from the sky? That sounds familiar.

Ryan frowned instinctively. In this pre-civilization, anything that fell from the sky was no ordinary thing. Before he could think about it, he saw some blurry shadows swaying around on the other side of the canyon.

"The Honkai Beasts don't seem to have much interest in this small town. Perhaps they think this place is already hell, and killing these people is a relief?"

Sakura remained silent. She was a human-targeting assassin and hadn't had many encounters with Honkai Beasts, but as an assassin, she was quite patient.

She watched Ryan deep in thought, and watched Wilvi humming a little tune as she went in and out of the various dilapidated houses, scavenging for scrap metal. She thought the pair was quite an odd combination.

'How did these two completely different people end up together? And that Wilvi doesn't seem like a subordinate at all; didn't she feel any pressure from this man?'

'And him too, do you trust me that much? Asking me for advice, aren't you afraid I'll set a trap and get rid of him?'

Sakura had been struggling with many things these past two days when she suddenly saw Ryan slap the table, and with a crash, the rotten square table collapsed completely.

"I've already come up with a new plan."

"Wait, are you sure you want to tell me?"

“If you doubt someone, don’t use them; if you use someone, don’t doubt them. I’ve explained the stakes clearly, and I believe you’re a smart person.” Ryan didn’t bother with nonsense and simply said, “I’ll have Velvet hide in this town. You and I will go to the desert to distract the pursuers. The Honkai energy concentration there is higher than normal, which can interfere with the ‘eyes’.”

"It sounds like an ideal battle location. We can also use the Honkai Beasts as cover, and once the data download is complete, we can expose it. Someone will come to deal with the pursuers." Sakura nodded and pointed downstairs to the girl who was piecing together a strange contraption: "Now there's only one question: Is she... reliable?"

How embarrassing, you've dragged me down with you.

Ryan couldn't bear to watch any longer and could only mutter, "Don't worry, Velvi is still very reliable in critical moments, especially in hiding and escaping."

"I agree that it was able to survive the pursuit of the poisonous pupae."

Ryan glanced at the girl, feeling that she and Hua would definitely get along. She was very methodical in her work, but her cold and unsmiling demeanor seemed more like an act than Hua's natural stiffness.

"Don't be nervous, it should still be safe tonight. Get some rest, you'll be busy tomorrow."

He paid no attention to Sakura's surprised look, nor to Wilvi fiddling with the machine. He only glanced at the Grand Canyon in the distance as he went down the stairs, revealing a hint of curiosity.

What exactly is over there?

Chapter 83 The Integrity of an Assassin

Ryan realized he had made a mistake: that Velvi was more dangerous than the enemy.

After finally getting my thoughts together, I came down from the roof and saw Vilvi proudly introducing her latest masterpiece.

At first he was very interested, until he discovered that this thing had nothing to do with combat, and it wasn't even a data download tool; it was just... an automatic barbecue machine.

It can automatically attract flying birds, then pluck their feathers, clean them, and roast them all in one go. Well, that sounds pretty amazing, enough to make it a sacred object in this small town. Even Ryan raised his fist in approval of this ingenious idea, revealing a gentle smile.

Vilvie is indeed a genius, but when will she be able to read the room?

But Vilvi insisted that she had been eating dry rations all the way and had long since run out of inspiration, and now she couldn't figure out how to make a signal receiver.

"You're threatening me?" Ryan narrowed his eyes, wanting to physically annihilate the 'Magician' and summon out the 'true self' that he could communicate with properly, Wilvie.

"No way, I'm being honest. If I can't do it, I can't do it." Wilvi put her head back and kicked at pebbles, saying nonchalantly, "The enemy won't appear until at least tomorrow. Are you suggesting we eat dry rations today, especially since you were the one who told us not to be nervous?"

As a wanted criminal, she was used to being hunted down and had even developed the skill of escaping while having fun.

Ryan thought there was some truth to that, while Sakura gave a wry smile, recalling a half-eaten chicken foot in a certain laboratory, which immediately caused the blood pressure of the group of poisonous pupae to skyrocket.

They've killed so many people, and no one has ever been as arrogant as Vervi.

"It's precisely this kind of whimsical thinking that makes her so elusive."

"What did you say?"

“I think she’s right. Even at work, you should remain calm, and that’s the sense of security you provide. If we were the weaker party, she would probably become a killing machine.”

Ryan turned his head and was surprised to see that Sakura had stepped in to smooth things over, and she did a good job. He didn't really have a way to deal with Wilvie anyway, so he went along with it.

“I didn’t expect you to be so considerate of others,” Ryan said casually. Seeing Sakura’s expression stiffen, he turned to Wilvi before she could retort and said, “Come on, start your performance.”

"Great! I've been waiting for you to say that!" Velvi cheered, displaying a natural flair for theatrics by spinning twice on the spot, patting her chest, creating a ripple of excitement. "So, ladies and gentlemen, as the gears turn, with thunderous applause—"

She paused for a moment, only to find the area deserted. The remaining two men stood with their arms crossed, staring at her expressionlessly. She pursed her lips and decided to skip this part.

Witness a magical miracle!

With a pull of the lever, the machine started running, and Ryan witnessed a magical scene:

Passenger pigeons flying overhead seemed drunk, staggering and falling into a giant funnel. Feathers and blood sprayed out from another funnel. As the conveyor belt turned, the poor pigeon automatically entered the electric furnace. Then, the seasonings that Wilvi had scavenged were automatically sprinkled on the meat, which was then moved out by the conveyor belt.

Just a moment ago it was a free pigeon, and in the blink of an eye it turned into a fragrant roasted meat.

Ryan twitched his nose and smelled a rich fragrance. Even with his knowledge, he couldn't understand the principle behind it. It really was like magic.

Wow, this Velvet is really a green-skinned guy. If she used all that technology for good, how amazing it would be.

'Forget it, Mei will handle these kinds of problems from now on.'

He decided to let himself off the hook, or rather, the source of Vilvie's brilliance lay in this ingenious idea; deleting it would make him seem utterly unremarkable.

After waiting for a while, he heard the electric oven 'ding', and then Velvet, carrying a tray in one hand, gracefully passed in front of the two of them, spinning in place.

"Stop with the formalities, why not just eat it directly?"

So where's the applause?!

Ryan licked his lips, but in the end decided to satisfy Wilvi's desire to perform. He thought to himself that with all this fancy stuff, it would be good enough if the junk he made was even edible.

clap clap.

As applause erupted, Vivi finally nodded in satisfaction, opened the lid to reveal the roasted pigeon, now golden brown. Sakura then took a dagger from the leg ring and cut off both wings.

She opened her mouth, carefully ate a piece, and then met Ryan's equally astonished gaze.

Wow, it smells really good!

This thing has an industrial aroma, and everything from the cooking time to the taste is a standard answer. While it's not amazing, it can be called 'delicious' from any angle.

"I love your expressions; it proves the performance was a great success. Please don't hesitate to give us a round of applause." Velvi said smugly. This was exactly the effect she wanted; Ryan had stolen the spotlight from her earlier performance.

clap clap.

The applause was a little more enthusiastic this time, but Ryan's eyes were full of regret. If Wilvi had been more serious, her achievements would not have been less than May's.

"Very good, I also welcome your challenge to CGMF-311."

"Wait, what is this thing?"

"It's just an oven, of course. But that name is too plain. How about something like 'Fire that Chases Pigeons'?"

What the hell is this "pigeon-chasing fire" thing? Aren't you afraid the "fire-chasing moth" will come after you? And this guy's getting cocky, shouldn't we put him down?

As Ryan was thinking, Sakura, who was standing next to him, stood up. All that was left on the ground were some bones that had been gnawed clean.

“I’ll challenge you, Velvi.”

"Oh? You assassin dare to challenge me on something like this?"

To be honest, Vilvi has a knack for manipulating people's minds. Sakura stood there coldly, raising an eyebrow.

"Please don't be too confident, and don't overthink it. I'm just returning the favor with a meal."

I was wondering why you suddenly got all worked up. Turns out you still don't want to owe anyone favors. You must have OCD.

Ryan didn't know what to say, so he just waited for her to go, lest he bother Wilvi. In some ways, this woman was even more tormenting than Mebius; at least, coercion and bribery were useless.

So he watched as Sakura built a stove, lit the thorns she had gathered, and took out another squab from the 'pigeon-chasing fire,' plucked its feathers, cleaned it, and slowly roasted it over the fire.

Compared to the cold machine, she was not very efficient, and her movements were careful and slow. She also lacked the slightly exaggerated movements of Vilvi. As he watched, he finally realized the biggest difference between Sakura and Hua.

One is still, the other is blank.

The phrase "still as a virgin, swift as a rabbit" perfectly describes her; that's quite interesting.

Ryan propped his head up, unable to vent his frustrations. It seemed his 'escape' had become bizarre as well, and he wondered if the pursuers would vomit blood at the sight of this scene.

But how should I put it? It seems more interesting than the monotonous journey of 'killing, saving, and killing again'.

He wasn't a masochist; the memory of his death battle with the Third Herrscher remained in his mind. If he had a choice, he would never want to experience that life-or-death feeling again. Unfortunately, the Herrscher wasn't as easy to talk to as the Poison Chrysalis.

At least this feeling isn't bad; it's as if I've returned to my original passion for raising birds and watching the sunrise.

With a self-deprecating laugh, Ryan was once again drawn to the aroma before him. Sakura had already silently walked up to him and picked up the pigeon that had been pierced by a wooden stick.

"Please have a taste."

Very polite, but lacking in emotion. Ryan didn't mind, picked it up and took a bite, and his eyes lit up.