Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

"That means we are finally safe now."

"Yes, it's safe now."

There was silence for a while.

“That child named Mebius… seems to know you, Pandora.” Rita sighed and could only start a new topic. “It seems that you two were quite close, so close that she named you fifty thousand years ago.”

“You already know I’m not called Pandora, so why are you pretending?” Shen Liang casually found a platform and sat cross-legged. “I don’t know either. I’ve only been in the Valkyrie world for a year, and I don’t understand anything… I only learned about the so-called pre-civilization in the last few days. If you ask me these questions, I can only say I have no comment.”

"These are all mysteries about your past, aren't they? Is it really okay for me to know these secrets?"

"What do you mean?"

“Rita means that if Rita survives what she saw today, she will definitely report it to the higher-ups of Schicksal, and then your easy and pleasant daily life may come to an end.” The maid struggled to maintain her posture with Honkai energy, coughed up a mouthful of blood, and smiled bitterly, “For your own safety, you should keep these secrets and kill Rita.”

"Are you really looking for death?" Shen Liang said helplessly.

“If given the chance, Rita certainly wouldn’t want to die, but…” Rita gave another bitter laugh, “Mebius purified Shesa’s body before he left, leaving me with no blood at all. With my injuries, I can only last for ten more minutes at most, and there’s no way I can survive.”

Shen Liang glanced at her sideways.

"Ahem... Although Mr. Shen has the ability to save Rita, you and Rita are mortal enemies, so it's understandable that you wouldn't intervene. Yes, even if it means coldly watching a young girl's bones shatter and her death be utterly tragic. Even if this beautiful girl once tried to be a hero in front of him with her brave and fearless demeanor. But who can blame us for serving different masters, for hating each other? What a lamentable and heartbreaking fate! Nevertheless, while you remain on the sidelines, Rita still sincerely wishes you well, may you..."

"Enough!" Shen Liang rubbed her forehead, both amused and exasperated. "Stop playing the victim! Are all Valkyries of Destiny as shameless as you?"

"I hope Mr. Shen can save me."

What if I don't want to save them?

“Mr. Shen, you must save me today.” Rita placed her hands on Shen Liang’s shoulders, looking at him with a smile in her eyes. “You are a great hero who has personally killed a Judgment-level enemy, don’t bother with a weak maid.”

A maid is a maid, as expected of someone in the service industry. Even a grown man like Shen Liang would be ashamed of his thick skin.

However, as Rita approached, the two realized their situation was actually quite awkward. Shen Liang was shirtless, and Rita's maid outfit was tattered. If it weren't for their injuries, it would be impossible to imagine anything erotic between them; in fact, they were quite exposed.

"Can't you get enough of looking at me, Mr. Shen?" Rita said with a smile. "I can understand the boundless energy of teenage boys, but Rita is about to faint from blood loss. Could you please save Rita first, and then enjoy the view slowly, little by little?"

"Don't make me sound like a freak, okay?" Shen Liang pouted and reached for the Divine Key that Möbius called "Black Abyss White Flower." "This Divine Key is divided into two parts. The White Flower is the outer lance, and the Black Abyss is the inner black knight's sword. According to Möbius, the White Flower has the power of 'creation' to heal the body, and the Black Abyss has the power of 'decomposition' to destroy the structure of matter, understand?"

Shen Liang gently pressed the Divine Key against Rita, and a soft white light enveloped the two of them, rapidly healing their injuries.

“Healing my physical body isn’t enough…” Rita whispered. “My biggest problem is the corruption of Honkai energy. Even if my external wounds are healed, if this Honkai energy isn’t neutralized, I’ll eventually lose control and become a suicide soldier…”

She suddenly laughed, "Forget it, at worst I'll never use Honkai energy again. I can live the rest of my life as an ordinary person. The retirement fund that Destiny gave me is enough for Rita to live a comfortable life. Mr. Shen, come visit Rita then."

"Stop talking nonsense." Shen Liang said helplessly, "The treatment isn't over yet. I'm just using this thing to save myself some effort."

He reached out and pressed his hand against Rita's chest, activating the Transformation of the Sea Moon. The healing secrets from another world irrationally crushed Earth's medical understanding. Rita felt a pleasant warmth emanating from him, almost intoxicating. She subconsciously squeezed her legs together, unable to suppress a soft pant, immersed in the warm breath.

The activation of the Transformation Sea Moon technique was indeed quite comfortable. Shen Liang would often do it to himself whenever he had free time, and he could completely understand Rita's enjoyment.

The snake venom that had seeped into her body was gradually neutralized by the warmth. Rita obediently knelt in front of Shen Liang, quietly opening her beautiful wine-red eyes to look at him.

—What a beautiful child.

—His eyelashes are long and neatly arranged. In terms of sheer length, even Lady Durandal might not be able to compare with him. Is this what people in China call a man with feminine features, which is said to bring wealth and good fortune but also attract unwanted romantic entanglements?

—That makes sense. Come to think of it, this is the second time she's been saved.

—We've never met before, and we even have a grudge against each other, yet somehow I owe him... two lives?

Then she saw Shen Liang suddenly open his eyes and stare at her coldly.

"W-What are you doing?" The maid's face was flushed. What happened? Did he find out she was peeping? Is it okay? You looked at me too, so what's wrong with looking at yours?

"The more I think about it, the angrier I get," Shen Liang suddenly said. "I'm saving your life, and you're trying to get back at Tianming by messing with me. We're not really friends. It seems like I'm getting nothing in return for helping you out, don't you think?"

Rita suppressed a laugh. "Yes, but you're a great hero."

"That doesn't stop me from asking for some compensation." Shen Liang decisively lifted her chin, and because of their sitting posture, their eyes were level. He didn't give the maid any time to react and kissed her cleanly and neatly.

Rita was so surprised by the boy's decisiveness that she stopped breathing.

"It's pretty fun being a hooligan, so consider this the price you paid to save your life. We're even now." Shen Liang released her, giving a cold, domineering smile. "It's actually sweet. Are you still wearing girly lipstick at your age? But it tastes good. Is this your first kiss? Why are you so surprised?"

Rita touched her lips, remained silent for a moment, and then squinted her eyes.

"Nothing to owe you? Is Rita's life only worth a kiss?" She laughed coldly, with the same domineering female CEO style. "Do you think too little of the life of an S-class Valkyrie?"

Chapter 158 They're not quite lovers, though.

It was nine o'clock in the morning, and the lights in the ancient tomb, more than 150 meters underground, were flickering.

Shen Liang's exceptional logical thinking ability instantly set off alarm bells in his mind, but when an S-class Valkyrie who had already recovered from her serious injuries got close, who could possibly resist?

Rita's maid outfit was practically ruined, with only a few scraps of good fabric left. Her black lace silk petticoat was torn beyond recognition during the fight. She lunged forward and unreasonably pinned Shen Liang to the ground.

"Wait, wait, wait, what do you want to do?" Shen Liang's expression was a little stiff.

"A little," the maid said with a mischievous smile.

She pressed down on the boy's chest to prevent him from getting up and resisting, brushed aside the ends of his gray-gold hair, and leaned down with a graceful and decisive movement. Shen Liang only struggled symbolically for a moment, then helplessly closed his eyes, surrendering to the maid's advances.

The two embraced and kissed in the empty, dimly lit tomb.

In fact, neither of them expected their relationship to develop to such a wonderful and stable point. Just three hours ago, they were still considering being wary of each other, but now Rita was deliberately acting childish in front of him. In a sense, it was like a couple who had just been separated for a year and were picking each other up at the airport, and the next second they were ready to go to a hotel to enjoy a wonderful holiday.

Shen Liang suddenly felt that Rita's soft little hands seemed to be getting a little restless. He tried to turn his head away and quickly grabbed her arm to stop her from doing anything else.

Rita didn't seem to mind. She lazily licked her lips, crossed her arms over her chest, and remained lying on top of him, chuckling softly, "What's wrong?"

"Isn't this your first kiss? How come you're so skilled?" Shen Liang sighed deeply and said with a wry smile, "Where did you learn these messy techniques?"

"Oh? Are you jealous?"

"How can it be."

"Please don't worry." Rita smiled. "Rita is a professional maid certified by Destiny. Learning how to better serve boys is one of the compulsory courses for maids, and Rita got A's in all of them."

Please be sure to tell me where you are pursuing your professional development.

"Hmm? Isn't Rita enough?" The maid drew circles on his chest with her hand and said with a smile, "But Mr. Shen, do you really not want to continue? Rita seems to be having a hard time enduring Mr. Shen's appearance."

Shen Liang's fair face immediately flushed red, and she stammered.

"Don't joke with me! I'm just... You're seriously injured and need to recuperate. My healing abilities can't restore you to full health right now. You'll need at least half a month of recuperation and follow-up treatment. Aren't you afraid of overexcitement triggering your internal injuries?"

Rita's smile widened.

She finally got up and knelt on his lap in a duck-like position, smoothing her disheveled hair. Then she tilted her head and looked at him, teasingly saying, "Are you worried about me? Are you worried that since we've been here for so long, your group of cute little sisters might come down at any moment, causing your image in their eyes to collapse?"

Shen Liang, having his thoughts exposed, scratched his head and said, "If you know, don't say it out loud."

“Sigh, Mr. Shen, Rita has always been very confident in her charm, but she's fallen for you. It's truly sad.” Rita shrugged. “So, is Miss Anna your girlfriend?”

"Of course not, what merit do I have to have a girlfriend from the Shaniat family?"

"What do you think, Narita?"

Shen Liang was taken aback, but when he looked up and saw the maid with a mischievous grin, he was unsure of Rita's thoughts.

“Just kidding.” Rita observed his expression, quickly dropped her teasing tone, and smiled slightly. “Mr. Shen looks like a destined womanizer, a philandering scoundrel. Rita doesn’t want to be easily taken advantage of by Mr. Shen. Besides, since I didn’t die, Rita’s life is still reserved for Lady Durandal. I don’t have time for you.”

Shen Liang was also slightly disappointed. It would be a lie to say that he wasn't even slightly moved by Rita's charming and lovely appearance, but ultimately it was just a fleeting thought that a man had when he saw a beautiful girl.

Rita ultimately has her own life to live. They were strangers to begin with, and their relationship was just a fleeting affair based on sharing life and death. There's no reason to force it.

Tch, I'm actually feeling a little reluctant to part with it...

"If you don't mind that I'm a scumbag, come find me when you retire. I'm quite rich, and it'll be easy for me to keep a maid," Shen Liang joked.

But to his surprise, Rita gave him a deep look, then smiled and nodded. "Rita will remember this. If Mr. Shen goes back on his word, he will swallow a thousand needles."

"Okay."

Shen Liang and Rita sat down side by side, snuggling together like lovers, chatting lazily. The harmonious atmosphere was strangely wonderful; it was as if they weren't just acquaintances, but rather already intimately familiar with each other.

They took clothes from the light screen and changed, trying to avoid being misunderstood by the girls who would come in later. Both of them were exhausted. Rita said there was still a Destiny rescue team outside, and they should be able to get things settled soon. Shen Liang had done a great service by saving Rita this time; even if he went against Destiny, they probably wouldn't do anything to him. At most, he'd just come into Destiny's sights, making it a bit more difficult for him to cause trouble later.

“However, I’m sorry.” Rita sat against him, her left hand clasped in his right, and said with a smile, “Although you saved me, since Rita is still alive, the Black Abyss White Flower cannot be taken away by you. This Divine Key belongs to Destiny, and is more important than Rita’s life. I cannot give it to you under any circumstances.”

"Oh."

"Don't be angry with me. Giving the Black Abyss White Flower to the organization will definitely be more beneficial to humanity than having it in your hands. At worst, Rita can compensate you." The maid coaxed the boy, "Rita's annual leave from last year hasn't been approved yet. How about we take half a month off to spend with you? Mr. Shen, Rita is in a completely safe period during these days."

Shen Liang was just taking out a bottle of cola to drink when he heard this, and the cola choked him so much that it came out of his nose.

"I think it's you, you worthless maid, who's full of useless ideas, not me!"

"Rita is very happy to be described like that by Mr. Shen."

She understood him all too well. Shen Liang felt like he was the one who couldn't handle her. He took a swig of cola to calm the blush on his face, and with a cold smile, he regained his aloof demeanor and changed the subject, saying, "I knew you would turn on me after I saved you. I thought of this before I came. Did you think I didn't have a way to deal with it?"

"Oh?" Rita leaned closer, intrigued.

"Of course, I can't compete with you guys for the Key of Gods by myself, but the point is to annoy your Destiny so that you can't get it either. Whether I get it or not is secondary." Shen Liang snapped his fingers. "Anna reminded me that there's more than one Destiny in the world, so why shouldn't I seek help? Before entering the tomb, I sent the location of the Key of Gods to the public internet. Do you think how many forces have arrived in Tallinn in the past three hours?"

Rita stared at him in astonishment.

After a long silence, she finally smiled helplessly, "You're really something."

"Isn't your biggest worry that the discovery of the Divine Key will be found by other countries? As long as you understand this, I won't lose." Shen Liang stared at her mockingly. "If the Black Abyss White Flower can't be used by me, at least I won't let you get it so easily. We'd all be dead."

"You really are..." Rita looked exasperated, then leaned on his shoulder and couldn't help but laugh along with him.