The Return Journey / Superstition

Mobius was about to throw herself back into the experiment when a hazy image flashed through her mind.

"Gene Modification ..." the green-haired woman murmured to herself. She recalled seeing similar words somewhere before, probably when she was researching. "Gene Modification ... I've got it."

The Moth Chaser also has an organizational predecessor. Its establishment was largely for the common goal of fighting against the Honkai. In order to build such a behemoth, in addition to funds, power, and talent, historical background is also needed.

Just as religions have a long history, the several predecessors of the fire-chasing moths can be traced back more than a thousand years. Together, they built this Noah's Ark under the Apocalypse.

However, the complex composition of the Moths of Fire is not entirely comprised of historical organizations spanning centuries; it also includes emerging groups in modern times.

One of them is the "Human Research and Protection Association," which operates in the Far East.

"The records of the Human Research and Protection Association mention a couple who performed Gene Modification on living human subjects, resulting in more than 100 injuries and deaths. After their experiments were exposed, the couple fled the Association and were eventually executed by the Moth of Fire."

Indeed, Mobius remembered seeing this unremarkable document when he was looking through it.

The database of the Moth of Fire is the most comprehensive in the world, encompassing almost all literature and materials from all fields. Records of mad scientists like this being executed are common, but for some reason, this particular record caught Mobius's attention.

"It's too vague," Mobius commented. "The details of the experiment, the location of the execution, the names of the executioner and the two scientists are not recorded... Someone is deliberately concealing something."

Lin's "ordinary" parents, his unusual genes, and the obscure literature...

Mobius felt as if the clouds had parted and the sun was shining through; she realized that there was definitely an important connection between these things.

"The last person to edit this document was..." Mobius logged into the database to check, wanting to know who had tampered with the document.

"...No?"

There is no information on either the donors or editors of the documents.

"So it must be those people... I hope they won't already be corpses when I find you."

"Has there been no progress yet?"

With a worried look on her face, Himiko her head and said, "There are too many unclear aspects to this. We are currently discussing whether to transfer the other High Council to the branch, but no one knows who the murderer is. If we disperse the people, it is very likely that we will never be able to catch him again."

Soul sighed upon hearing Himiko's description, "If only Team Member Lin were here, his specialty is information gathering and analysis."

"He... never mind, I don't know where he is now." Lin is suspected of being the murderer of the three High Council, and if he appears here, it will only make the situation worse.

"But there are just too many men who meet the criteria. More than two-thirds of the men at headquarters meet the physical requirements. Can we really find the murderer?" Soul was at a loss about the current situation. "Can we identify the murderer by searching for the hidden weapons?"

"It's difficult. The headquarters has been searched almost entirely, but we still haven't found those claws."

Their cunning was comparable to that of a loach in muddy water. The search personnel at headquarters could only observe those almost dried-up traces repeatedly all day long, like old monks in deep meditation. Himiko even wondered if they were about to attain enlightenment.

Without a direction, searching aimlessly is futile.

At that moment, Dessidobia walked in from outside the conference room, carrying three exquisitely packaged boxes, which she placed on the conference table.

"Dessidobia, what are you holding?" Soul asked curiously.

"These were originally intended as gifts for you at the party, but given the current atmosphere, it seems we can't hold the party, so I thought I'd give these gifts to you directly." Dessidobia smiled warmly as she picked up a relatively large gift box and Himiko.

"Huh? It's for me?"

Himiko stared suspiciously at the slightly larger gift box in front of her, the ribbons as fiery and passionate as her hair.

Dessidobia smiled gently, "Yes."

"Alright, then I won't stand on ceremony." A chance to relax in the tense atmosphere wasn't bad, Himiko, as she took the gift box. After untying the ribbon and opening it, the contents made her blink, momentarily speechless. "Um... why... why is it a pair of high-end wine glasses? Shouldn't it be wine?"

"Captain, you'd better drink less. I gave you this pair of wine glasses hoping you'll find a partner soon. Captain Hen's child can already paint, and you're still single."

"What a worrying nonsense! I... it's not like I can't find one!"

After making a couple of jokes, Dessidobia handed the smallest gift to Soul.

"Soul, open it and take a look. You'll like it."

Without much hesitation, she opened the blue gift box, and the contents inside made her eyes widen in surprise.

"This is... a hairband?"

Soul has short hair and never wears a headband, so why would Dessidobia give her a headband?

"Hehe... Actually, I found out from the captain that Captain Lin likes Doctor Mobius's type. You see, Doctor Mobius has long hair. Maybe Captain Lin likes mature women with long hair?"

Hun's cheeks flushed red instantly, and she shook her head, stammering, "Team Member Lin wouldn't want me to do this..."

"Really? I have a feeling you're looking forward to it, Soul?" Dessidobia looked at Soul with a mischievous smile, her face almost as red as a cherry, so luscious it looked like it could be squeezed for water.

"Then, what about the last gift?" Hun quickly changed the subject.

"This... this is Captain Lin's share."

Soul paused for a moment, then Dessidobia stopped smiling and handed the gift to Soul as well.

"Give it to him next time we meet, and don't say it was a gift from me."

"..."

Soul accepted the gift.

Her mind was in turmoil.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Return Journey

Pardo enjoyed the comfort of stretching her body in the warm breeze, not in a smelly garbage dump, nor in a cold alley, but on a rooftop where the sun could shine.

With no one watching, she made her judgment, leaped into the wind, and landed silently on the ground like a cat.

"So what should we do next?"

Once people relax, they tend to overthink, and Pardo spends her free time either sunbathing or daydreaming, or both at the same time.

For some reason, Pardo thought of the photos of the boys in the bedroom. There were photos of boys of all ages, but none of them were of young men. An empty photo frame sat forlornly to one side.

An empty picture frame... Yes!

Pardo suddenly remembered something and quickly walked over the wall and outwards.

She ran back to her former residence, which was actually just one of the places she stayed. There were several similar spots on Dusk Street, and she would change her sleeping place every few days.

Pardo has a habit of hiding things, burying them or stuffing them into crevices, whether they are stolen or found. She will keep anything she thinks is valuable and cannot be sold.

"Found it, phew..." She took out a yellowed piece of paper from the small box, a smile spreading across her innocent face, her eyes sparkling.

This is her arrest warrant, which has her photo on it.

Pardo had never taken a photo before. She would only occasionally see people who she considered rich and powerful taking selfies, and she found the technique of freezing people in that moment very interesting.

It's as if age and appearance are sealed away in the instant the shutter is pressed and the flash goes off, keeping worries and hunger at bay.

This photo was taken by chance, and after she saw it, this wanted poster became her only photo.

She had always wanted to frame her photos, but for various reasons, she could never do so.

"He won't refuse, will he? I've taken care of him for so long, he should at least give me something in return, right? But wait... maybe he's not even the person in the photo. Hmm, it's okay, it's okay."

Pardo grinned. She couldn't wait to show Lin her photos. Showing off was ingrained in her instincts; she was simply following them.

Hopefully, he'll be sober by the time we get back... at least we can discuss what to have for dinner, right?

With a joyful heart, Pardo hurriedly ran back. Seeing the wall, she leaped up and easily climbed over it. Then, she went to the door and unceremoniously pushed it open.

"I'm back!" she shouted excitedly, not caring that Lin Buxing couldn't hear her.

"..."

However, the room was quiet, the lights were off, and it was pitch black.

Pardo shuddered.

The room suddenly felt much colder.

"Strange, did he push his wheelchair somewhere else again?" Pardo tilted her head, turned on the light, but didn't see Lin.

She suddenly felt a tightness in her chest, as if she had foreseen something was about to happen, as if Lin... had disappeared from this world.

"No way... Where could he have run off to..." Pardo chuckled dryly and started looking for Lin's trail. She figured Lin must be in this house, maybe he'd fallen down in some corner and she was there to help him up.

Pardo was panicking. She didn't realize that she had always wanted to send Lin to a sanatorium but had always put it off for various "reasons." Having never had anyone accompany her since childhood, she hadn't noticed anything unusual about herself, even though that person was a mental patient who hadn't spoken more than ten words to her in over a month.

After searching the entire house, she couldn't find Lin, but instead found a note and a key on the dining table.

[Pardofelis, thank you for taking care of me. Please forgive my abrupt departure. I have very important matters to attend to, so I must leave today. I may never return. I have left the key; you are welcome to use this house as you wish. —Lin]

The handwriting is fluent and elegant.

The words were brief, and even though Pardo struggled to read them, she could tell from them that Lin had left.

He left without saying goodbye.

Nothing was left behind except this key.

"But...but he can't walk, and he often hallucinates, doesn't he?" Pardo stammered, her hair disheveled in frustration as she paced back and forth in the room. "Why...why does he have to leave?"

A sense of loneliness slowly filled her entire being.

A man leaned against the window, listening to Pardo's hurried footsteps from inside the room, and shook his head. "Leaving only the key... that's too heartless, Lin."

She wrote the note; Lin left only the key and then left, decisive to the point of being indifferent.

He didn't want Pardo to get involved in anything related to the Honkai.

Meow~

As she was pondering where to go next, she heard a soft meow at her feet. Looking down, she saw a tabby cat rubbing against her ankle.

"What's wrong, little kitty?" She smiled and squatted down, stroking the cat's head. The soft fur felt wonderful to her.

Meow~

"Bite."

The tabby cat opened its mouth and spat out a key, which clattered to the ground. She paused for a moment, then picked it up.

"This is..."

Lin rolled up his sleeves, bit the cuffs with his teeth, and revealed his ugly left arm filled with purple stripes. The abnormal muscle swelling and blood vessels made it look deformed. Even without any decoration, it could be used as a scary prop in a test of courage.

The bag contained six syringes, the same number as the medicine Mobius had given him, but this time both the dosage and the consistency of the liquid were superior.

The large syringe contained an abnormally flowing, bright green liquid, as viscous as honey; it was hard to imagine that this was a drug that could be injected into the human body.

The needles are also thicker, but fortunately, you don't need to look for veins. The veins bulge in the gaps between the cramping muscles, so you can find them at a glance.

He took out a reagent, inserted the needle into the vein, and the syringe automatically pushed the medicine into the blood vessel.

The bright green substance disappeared little by little from the syringe.

"..."

The excruciating pain spread from my arm to my whole body, as if fire was raging through my veins. A strange, shimmering green light appeared in my eyes, and a heavy hammer slammed into my head.

"Huff... huff... huff..." Lin's breathing became heavier, and his heartbeat became rapid and heavy, as if it was about to burst out of his chest.

Every cell was burning; something was fiercely battling inside his body, and the aftershocks of that battle could tear him apart at any moment.

After half an hour of muscle spasms and convulsions, the excruciating pain finally subsided. Lin raised his arm, which had returned to its normal size, and the purple stripes had faded slightly.

Banishing the chaotic thoughts from his mind, Lin embarked on his return journey.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Superstition

The speaker played with the somewhat old bullet, enjoying the crisp sound of the bullet casing tapping against the table.

The rhythmic sound was so pleasant to hear.

"Is it fun?"

"Rationally speaking... it's meaningless." The speaker waved his finger and picked up the bullet from the table. "It's probably more interesting to sit here and contemplate life."

"I often see you playing with bullets and coins, and you seem to enjoy it even when it's not interesting."

"Because it's purposeless, people need things without purpose..." The speaker put the bullet back into his breast pocket and yawned. "It reminds me of when I used to smoke. The pleasure of inhaling nicotine is still unforgettable. Smoking a cigarette every now and then is like completing a not-so-important task. It's pretty good."

"..."

The speaker propped his head up with one hand, and after a while, when no one behind him asked a question, he said, "Hmm? Shouldn't you be asking why I'm not smoking anymore?"