Rao was Lin Hao, whose heart was as still as water and as cold as ice. Hearing this, he was a little surprised, and with a little shock, he asked her in surprise: "Son of God, why did you have such an illusion?"
It would be fine if I misunderstood myself at first. This exposure was continuing, and so much content had been exposed. What exactly caused her to have this misunderstanding? You know, until now, no one even remotely similar to her had appeared.
Yae Miko looked like she understood: "After all, I am the chief priest of Narukami Taisha Shrine. I can understand that you would approach me like this, but... I cannot accept your love for the time being..."
"Wait!" Lin Hao didn't want the little fox to continue talking: "You think too much."
"Yeah?" Yae Miko looked suspicious. She carefully recalled the look in his eyes when the two met. She always felt that she was right, that look clearly contained deep emotions. Never mind! Maybe this was tsundere.
She shook her head and said helplessly: "You should indeed envy Otto. You should be as brave as him to express your love. With such a cold face every day, how do I know if you are sincere?"
Lin Hao: "..."
Lin Hao: "You should continue to watch the exposure."
"Hmph~!" Yae Miko snorted softly. She continued to look at the screen in the sky.
---
The time had come to the third day after the deal with Otto was concluded. The location was Changkong City.
Raven received a communication from Gray Serpent.
"Hey, it's me."
"How's it going?"
Raven replied: "Everything is normal. The Honkai energy in Changkong City is about to reach the critical point of explosion...the experiment can start as scheduled."
"Hehehe..." Gray Serpent sneered.
Raven frowned slightly: "Why are you laughing?"
"Is everything normal? I'm afraid not. I can see all your actions on your own initiative."
"...Hmph, did you find out?"
Gray Serpent said helplessly: "Natasha, Natasha, how many times have I emphasized to you? The Herrscher of the Void is a special individual. Any situation of K423 must be left to the Lord's personal judgment and must not be arbitrary."
"I'm really sorry...you didn't think you could be safe after doing something like that, right?"
The exposure system then showed the people of Teyvat what had just happened. It even flashed back to what happened not long ago very thoughtfully in a small window. Mei and Dr. Tesla finally came here to find Kiana's whereabouts. During the period, Mei encountered Raven and found Kiana who had fainted here.
Raven attempted to kill Kiana because of her own selfish desires, but was finally stopped by Mei and gave up the idea.
Now, facing Gray Serpent's question, Raven did not panic, but calmly said: "That's hard to say."
Gray Serpent had a rare doubt: "What do you mean?"
Raven said: "You must also have a headache. If Kiana Kaslana will always be this half-human, half-Herrscher, then what value does she have to the Serpent?"
"...But I found it."
"The power that the World Serpent really needs, the power that allows the Herrscher of the Void to complete its emergence, was found by me."
Gray Serpent was silent. Then he laughed again: "Hahaha, if the facts are as you said, the Lord will definitely fulfill your wish."
The communication hung up. Raven couldn't help but let out a long sigh. This Gray Serpent was really mysterious. She didn't expect that even her small actions could be caught by the opponent.
Didi! She was just about to leave when the communication rang again. This time there was only one sentence: "Your wish will come true, but the Lord will meet her in person."
Raven put away the communication. He started thinking about how to get Mei to agree to see the Lord. Before long, she had an idea.
---
Chang Kong City safe house.
Raven was here to accompany the children, preparing for their departure, and at the same time, waiting for Mei's arrival. Just as she expected, she didn't have to wait long before the woman arrived. In the room, she vaguely heard Sora and Mei talking about curry and the like.
She opened the door. Walked out.
"She really likes you. That kid kept talking about saying goodbye to you, and she slipped out when I wasn't paying attention."
That's what he said, but with Raven's strength, how could he not notice Sora leaving.
Mei didn't know all this. Instead, she asked: "Where are you sending the children?"
Raven said: "Don't show that suspicious expression. Don't worry, it's a very safe place. I've always wanted to take them out, and this time I finally got the chance... Ah, speaking of this, I also want to thank you."
She did not continue. Instead, she looked at Mei's current situation. "Looking at your depressed look, you must have fully understood Kiana's current situation. I'm not lying, right? Anti-Entropy will indeed try its best to treat her, but in the end it will be in vain."
"What are you going to use to save her, ideals? Hope? Or the feelings between people?"
"Shut up!" Mei roared angrily. This anger was not directed at the Raven, but more at her own powerlessness. She obviously cherished Kiana so much, but she couldn't help her at all and couldn't change this situation. Three months...three months at most...Kiana would be eroded by Honkai energy and die.
Raven still acted very calmly: "Ah, I'm sorry. Don't get me wrong, I'm not here to laugh at you, and I'm not interested in fighting with you. I just think... there are some things you might want to know."
She deliberately leaned close to Mei's ear. She lowered her voice and said: "Raiden Mei, World Serpent wants to make a deal with you... Don't you want to save that girl? Schicksal can't do it, and Anti-Entropy can't do it... but World Serpent can."
"What!" Mei was completely shocked.
"If you are interested in my proposal, come back here alone in two hours. I have some personal matters to deal with, so I'll excuse you." Raven ignored Mei's shouts. She closed the heavy iron door tightly to keep it out. She was sure that this girl would come here again.
The fact was just as Raven imagined. Mei, who returned to the spaceship alone, faced deeper despair. She saw Kiana holding on to her broken body, eating bell pepper curry but shouting that the spiciness was just right, and she felt her own weakness and helplessness. Nothing could be done.
To save her... Mei chose to come to the safe house again. And the time was exactly two hours.
"You came." After the Raven sent the children away, he sat alone and bored in the corner of the eaves, waiting for her.
"No more, no less, exactly two hours. I like you to be punctual like this. It seems that I don't need to ask any more questions. You are already ready. Come with me."
-------
PS: Rao, in this context, is likely being used as an intensive or emphatic particle, similar to "even" or "despite." It suggests that despite Lin Hao's usual calm and cold demeanor, he was still surprised by Yae Miko's statement.
Think of it like this:
* "Even Lin Hao, whose heart is as still as water and as cold as ice, was a little surprised..."
It emphasizes the unusualness of Lin Hao's reaction. It's not a common English word in this usage and seems to be a transliteration from another language, likely Chinese, where such particles are more common.
In the context of the first line, "Rao is Lin Hao, whose heart is as still as water and as cold as ice," "Rao" is being used as a **literary device to emphasize the quality or state of the subject, Lin Hao.**
It's similar to saying "Even Lin Hao, whose heart..." or "Despite Lin Hao having a heart..." It sets up a contrast to highlight how unusual his surprise was, given his normally calm and cold demeanor.