Delta: Who are you saying has suffered a loss of strength?

"Okay, okay, okay..."

Raven slumped against the sofa like a lump of mud. He tilted his head, looked at Han Che, and sighed.

"I'll honor my bet, okay? From now on, I won't lead the prisoners on escapes when you're not around, alright?"

Han Che stood behind the desk, arms crossed, his eyes beneath the mask fixed on Raven.

His eyebrows furrowed. "Don't give me that."

Han Che's voice was very dissatisfied, "I want you to cooperate with my prison guards in defense when I'm not around."

Raven lifted its head from the sofa, tilting it to look at Han Che. "Cooperate? How can I cooperate? Do you think your prison guards will take orders from me?"

Han Che walked to the sofa and sat down on another sofa, separated from Raven by a coffee table.

He leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees, and looked at the raven.

"While I'm away, you should communicate with Shi Ding. He'll coordinate with the prison guards."

Raven paused, then chuckled. "Shi Ding? Your shieldbearer? He's really become the executive deputy warden?"

Han Che ignored him.

Raven chuckled, and seeing that Han Che didn't respond, she pulled her legs back, sat up straighter, placed her hands on her knees, and looked at Han Che.

"Okay, I'll cooperate when I'm not around. What about when you are?"

"You have to cooperate when you're around," Han Che said.

The raven shook its head decisively, "No, I can't do that."

Han Che's expression turned cold. His eyes, hidden beneath the mask, narrowed, and his gaze sharpened.

He looked at the raven, and the raven looked at him. The two stared at each other across the coffee table for a few seconds, the air seeming to freeze.

"You're going to break the contract?" Han Che's voice was very low.

The raven leaned back leisurely and sank into the sofa again.

He waved his hand casually. "It's not a breach of contract, don't worry, I'll explain."

Han Che remained silent, waiting for him to speak.

"During the prison's open hours, I can't cooperate with you if I have a mission to perform."

Han Che's brow twitched; he remembered Operation Crow Hunter.

The task for that player is to kill ravens.

If the raven is asked to help him defend the prison at this point, what will happen to the mission?

The player comes in, accepts a quest to kill a raven, but the raven is on the side of the prison guard. Wouldn't that be a joke?

"I understand." Han Che nodded. "Except in mission situations."

Seeing that the warden had given in, Raven moved closer to him and lowered his voice.

"There's no need for us to be so ambiguous, is there? Since you're in prison, are you afraid I'll cause trouble?"

"I'm a prisoner, you know, so I have to act like one!" He grinned, showing his big teeth, his eyes narrowing into slits.

Han Che looked at him and thought for a few seconds.

Raven is right. Even if Raven caused trouble while he was in prison, he couldn't really turn the tide.

Although he was outmaneuvered by the raven this time, he still won in the end.

Moreover, Raven's performance this time truly impressed him.

This madman, mad as he may be, is truly capable. Rather than pushing him too far, it's better to leave him some room to maneuver.

"Okay." Han Che nodded.

Raven laughed even harder, then slumped onto the sofa, reverting to his usual carefree attitude.

He crossed his legs, swung them a couple of times, and then suddenly stopped, staring intently at Han Che.

"Hey, you still haven't told me."

"Tell you what?"

"How did you make the prison guards so strong?" Raven's eyes lit up. "How did your prison guards become so much stronger? Not to mention your personal guards, even the ordinary guards are much stronger than before. What method did you use?"

Han Che chuckled, the sound coming from behind the mask.

"Did you beat me? Why should I answer your questions?"

Raven's lips twitched. He thought for a moment, then leaned forward and braced himself on the coffee table with both hands.

"If you win, ask three questions; if you lose, a consolation prize will do." His tone was slightly ingratiating, unlike Raven's; it was as if he were a different person.

"Besides, if my prisoners continue like this, they won't be able to help you guard the prison. Didn't you want them to cooperate in defense? With their current level, how can they defend? When a player comes, they'll break at the slightest touch."

The raven leaned forward again, its chin almost resting on the coffee table. "Just tell me. I promise, my prisoners will cooperate better from now on."

Han Che was silent for a few seconds, then he spoke. "How many times have you resurrected your prisoners?"

The raven paused, blinked, and thought for a moment. "I didn't resurrect them. They all resurrected themselves after a day."

"To make them stronger, we need to manually revive the prisoners before they automatically revive. This way, we can preserve their memories and combat experience."

Raven's expression subtly changed. He stared at Han Che, who slowly sat up straight and withdrew both hands from the coffee table.

His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't. Finally, he said "Oh," and then stood up.

"I understand, I'll go back now."

Han Che observed these subtle actions and nodded slightly.

The raven took two steps toward the door, then stopped.

He turned around and said, "Thanks."

Then he pushed open the door and went out. The door closed, and his footsteps faded into the distance down the corridor.

Raven's reaction was pretty much what he'd guessed. As a map boss, Raven has the ability to revive NPCs, but he himself was unaware of it.

Or rather, he knew about resurrection, but never thought he could resurrect manually.

He thought that waiting for the automatic resurrection to happen in a day would be enough; he didn't know the difference between automatic and manual resurrection.

Furthermore, Han Che had been worried about something else. According to the background story in the game in his previous life, Raven was the prince of the Asara Kingdom and had been captured and imprisoned in Hafk's Tidal Prison.

He must have hated Hafk, hated the prison, and hated the warden.

But the raven now makes no mention of this hatred. He's simply doing his job and playing his role.

Han Che's fingers tapped rhythmically on the table.

There's no hatred? Then what is the relationship between Asara and Hafk in this world?

Han Che was at a loss. These problems might require him to approach them from a different angle. He would deal with them after he got out of prison, since it had been so long since he had been out.

The immediate priority was to get things settled inside the prison. He then pressed the communicator on his desk. "Shi Ding, come to my office."

A short while later, there was a knock on the door.

"I just spoke with Raven, and there are some things I need to tell you."

"I just made a three-point agreement with the raven."

"First, ravens will not suddenly lead prisoners to escape and attack prison guards."

"Secondly, when the warden is away, the raven will lead the prisoners to cooperate with the guards in defending Tide Prison."

"Third, if the mission is triggered while the warden is in prison, Raven and the warden will still engage in combat."