The Conspiracy Resurfaces / Lin's Regrettable Youth

Sitting on a cloud.

The crowds below were bustling and noisy.

A warm beach.

People laughing.

Why... is it always so unattainable...?

Lin looked at the Fifth Herrscher, who was also barely clinging to life, his familiar face and unfamiliar face gradually becoming blurred in the glow of the fireflies.

"Anna ...Lin..."

It's unclear whether it's an illusion or the words spoken by the Herrscher.

A soft rustling sound reached Lin's ears, and she felt the Fifth Herrscher lying on the ground crawling towards her, slowly, weakly, and deadly coldly approaching her.

Lin remained motionless as the icy reaper approached him, its body, colder than ice, pressing down on him.

Two hands gently pressed on his helmet, trying to take it off, but were stopped by the helmet buckle.

After a long period of fumbling, she found the helmet buckle, clumsily untied it, and then pulled the helmet off Lin's head.

Bloodstained hair froze into ice in the cold air, and her left eye, which could close at any moment, stared at the Fifth Herrscher.

After a long while, the Fifth Herrscher reached out and grabbed his neck.

"Lin..." she murmured.

Lin's left eye slowly widened after hearing her words.

"Bang!"

A spurt of blood gushed from the Fifth Herrscher's chest and landed on Lin's cheek.

It wasn't frozen into ice crystals by the cold; it only had the warmth of a normal human being, radiating heat that rose from Lin's face.

He watched as the Fifth Herrscher's eyes gradually lost their luster, only to turn to him at the last moment, and then those hands still reached down towards his lower body.

"Smack."

His fingers gently traced Lin's cheek, as warm as a spring breeze in March.

The Fifth Herrscher collapsed onto him, and under his gaze, the eyes that had once given warmth to the children slowly closed, and she quietly fell asleep.

"Lin! Are you alright?!"

Elysia's voice rang out from afar, growing louder as she approached Lin and hurriedly helped him up from the ground.

The gun barrel behind her was still emitting white smoke, indicating that she had just shot and killed the Fifth Herrscher.

Elysia injected Lin with some unknown medicine, and he let Elysia help him to kneel on one knee on the ground.

Elysia examined the horrific injuries on Lin's body. His right eye and right leg had completely disappeared, and lines of Honkai Energy were entwined around him. His scattered left eye could not be reconstituted.

But Lin is still alive, even though he is now no different from a dead man.

"This is Elysia. The Fifth Herrscher has been confirmed dead."

Lin's right eye, which could see nothing, looked at the Fifth Herrscher lying on the ground, blood still flowing.

She was no longer cold; she had returned to being the Nun named Binai, and was simply sleeping peacefully.

The cold clouds that had been hanging over Tran dissipated.

The children, waiting for their families, hugged each other.

Chapter Fourteen: The Reappearance of the Conspiracy

Mei always finds it extremely difficult to pry information out of these Flame-Chasers. She feels like a primary school student who hasn't grown up in decades, dealing with these inhuman guys all day long, deducing the information she wants, and then having to verify it with Elysia.

The only consolation is that at least Elysia never uses riddles when Mei asks her for confirmation.

Mobius is somewhere between telling riddles and not telling riddles. Sometimes she puts on airs so that Mei can immediately understand what she's trying to say, but other times she suddenly throws a tantrum and sends people away with just a few words.

But there is one thing that Mei and everyone else firmly believe.

If you want anything from Mobius, you have to agree to her experiments that are even more terrifying than the creation of Frankenstein.

"Where are we going?" Mei followed behind Mobius, looking at her sitting on that strange device and the increasingly eerie environment, and asked.

"Didn't you want to know who knows those three conditions?" Mobius smirked, turning back with a slight smile. "It's simple, just ask him."

"..."

"What kind of expression is that? Do you think I'm like Chrono, with a brain as smooth and solid as the back of a fist?" Mobius sneered. "Of course I'm not telling you to ask him directly. That guy, whose mouth is harder than a rock, is, in Elysia's words, a total tsundere. You can't get anything out of him by using the normal methods."

"Wait a minute, you wouldn't be thinking of..." Mei looked at Mobius hesitantly, as if she had already guessed who the "person" Mobius was referring to was.

As she expected, Mobius replied, "Heh, it seems you've already met him."

Is it really that murderous "Lin"?

Although it was only a very brief meeting and exchange, the silent yet deadly "Lin" left a deep impression on her. Moreover, based on her impression alone, "Lin" seemed to be a mindless puppet that only listened to Lin's words.

"That 'person' doesn't seem to have the wisdom to answer the question," Mei asked Mobius, still skeptical.

The man walking ahead, Mobius, gave a barely perceptible, wicked smile, "That's just because you didn't have enough power to make him answer before. He's like a supercomputer. Apart from Lin, who has the final authority, only those parts of Flame-Chasers who have been vetted and granted authority can command him."

"Part... So that access control is 'strength'? Because not everyone can beat him, so not everyone can command him."

"That's right, so it's very simple for you to gain access. Of course, if you can't beat him the second time, then I really can't help you."

"Hmph, you don't need to worry about that." Having been trained by Hayashi himself Mei naturally wasn't afraid of this supercomputer. "But what about your experiment? Aren't you afraid I'll go back on my word and refuse to agree after it's done?"

"Oh dear, how could the Herrscher be so mean? I never expected you to deceive me like this~" Mobius turned her head with teary eyes, wiping away tears and sobbing.

"'Supercomputer'... Hahahaha..."

Elysia laughed and rolled around on the ground. Lin coldly stared at her unruly behavior for a long time before she finally stood up sheepishly.

"Ahem... Pfft... Hahaha..." Elysia had initially tried to be serious, but she couldn't help but burst out laughing as soon as she opened her mouth. She patted Lin's shoulder hard, "Our dear Doctor Mobius is really good at joking~ I think I should take out my unfinished 'One Hundred Collections of the Elysian Realm Jokes' and continue writing it~"

"..."

"But then again, describing it as a 'supercomputer' seems quite fitting, it's just that Mobius's serious-looking nonsense is really hilarious." Elysia said to Lin, unable to suppress a laugh. "By the way, Lin, aren't you going to stop them this time?"

"... It doesn't matter. Right now, Raiden Mei needs to solve my problem. Even if she wins, it won't benefit her at all."

Ultimately, this was a scheme set up by Mobius, and it made no difference whether Raiden Mei won or lost.

"What about Mobius? Lin, are you really that confident that Mei can beat Mobius? Although I think so too!"

"Mobius will know what he's doing," Lin shook his head.

"We're here. The problem with the Elysian Realm is that Klein is in charge. Last time she said there was an error in the Elysian Realm that connected this passage to other anchor points, causing it to appear where it shouldn't be." Mobius stopped in front of a wooden door and turned to Mei, who had been doubting him all the way. "This is what it really looks like."

Is this seemingly simple wooden door the anchor point?

To be honest, if it weren't for the stairs she encountered last time, Mei really wouldn't have believed Mobius.

But everything related to Lin was rather strange, so this time she only believed it halfway; the other half would have to be verified once she went inside.

"By the way, consider this a gift from me. Just in case, please accept my blessing."

Suddenly, Mobius gave Mei all the power of the [Infinite] mark at once. Mei didn't say much, but after glancing at the smiling Mobius, she accepted the "gift" and reached out to open the door.

"Whoosh—"

After a dizzying spin, Mei found herself standing in a familiar spot, the same empty and desolate space where it was raining. There was nothing in sight except for a distant figure sitting on the ground, with a black spear and a white lance placed beside him.

Unlike the eerie incident last time, this time "Lin" was surrounded by a chilling atmosphere. While Mei was watching him, he silently stood up, drew two guns, and then merged them into one in front of Mei.

"Click".

The complete form of the Black Abyss White Flower is only Divine Key when the Abyss Flower, which possesses the power of creation, and the Black Abyss, which possesses the power of decomposition, are combined.

Under Mei's puzzled gaze, "Lin" did not grasp the Black Abyss White Flower after recreating it. Instead, he casually waved his hand, causing it to disappear into the void.

He doesn't intend to use weapons?

Then, Mei understood why he didn't use it anymore.

A giant sword engulfed in flames appeared in his hand. Its terrifying destructive power caused the surrounding space to become unstable, and Mei's expression changed.

Heavenly Fire... Holy Judgment?

Before Mei could figure out what was going on, the strange armor on Lin's body turned crimson red under the influence of the Phoenix!

I still feel unwell today, I'm sorry.

null

Chapter Fifteen: Lin's Regretful Youth

"It's finally warm."

The girl sat on the cushion, sipping hot water from her cup, her beautiful sapphire blue eyes gazing out the window at the snowdrifts melting in the spring breeze.

This unprecedentedly cold winter seemed to have been abruptly cut off, disappearing without a trace. The temperature dropped from its historical low to normal in just about a day. This huge temperature change caused many people to fall ill during this season, but she remained safe and sound, hiding in this house the whole time.

After the temperature warmed up, she wanted to leave. After all, even cats know when to stop stealing food, and if she stayed any longer, something terrible might happen to her.

To have survived in this Dusk Street until now, the girl can be considered to have been adept at navigating social situations, adapting flexibly, and finding contentment in simple things.

But the man's words from last time were still ringing in her ears. If she didn't do as he said, wouldn't she get into even bigger trouble? She also didn't know if her "background" could scare him...

"Ugh... really, I'll leave as soon as the boy in the photo comes back!" The girl hesitated for a long time, but finally decided to see it through.

Consider it repayment for the person who discovered he was stealing and still living in his house but didn't arrest him!

Thinking this way, the girl felt much more at ease. Right, it's not bad to do good deeds occasionally.

"By the way, when will he come here..."

"Clatter".

"Meow—"

The door was abruptly pushed open. The girl, who had been eating and drinking well here for a month and had not only gained a lot of weight but also become less vigilant, was so frightened that she jumped up from the ground.

A person sitting in a wheelchair with their face covered pushed the wheelchair in.

"..." The girl looked at him nervously, ready to run away if he tried to grab her.

The man seemed not to see the girl at all. He entered, closed the door behind him, and began pushing his wheelchair around the room, not even glancing at her as he passed by.

What? What do you mean? Who is he? Isn't he the same man from last time?

The girl noticed that the person in the wheelchair was missing a right leg, so it couldn't be the man from last time.

"Let me make this clear first, I'm staying here on someone's behalf. I'm waiting for someone. Are you that person?" The girl followed behind him, watching him slowly push his wheelchair across the creaking wooden floor, like an old man returning to his hometown, a distant aura emanating from him.

But looking at the skin on his hands, he looks very young; he shouldn't be an old man.

"Yes, I know." At this moment, the man suddenly turned his head and said to the air next to him.

His voice possessed a maturity beyond his years.

The girl let out a long sigh, "Phew, good that you know... My name is..."

The man continued, "Perhaps so, but I can't cook right now."

"Huh? There's food, no need..."

"It's okay, I have a change of clothes."

"..."

The girl tilted her head and looked at the man who was talking to himself in a secluded spot.

Who is he talking to?

"You've completed the task you gave me, and you've also done what that man asked me to do. Now it's time for you to fulfill your promise."

Sakura had been waiting in the Deepest Place for a long time. When Mei and Kevin appeared there together, she stood up, her long hair no longer flowing gracefully like before.