The Final Arrangement

Because her smile, her words, were all performances designed to achieve her goal. Doing so would make it easier for her to defeat humanity, which was no different from her purpose in creating that Giant Tree.

That concludes the discussion...

"Bass!"

The Sixth Herrscher looked at his chest in confusion.

A short dagger was being held by a bloodstained hand, and the sharp end had completely penetrated her body, touching the Herrscher Core.

It was as if it had been prepared to stay there all along, just for this moment...

Accurately piercing the target.

With one hand releasing the dagger, and the other tearing off the Phase Transfer Device from the Sixth Herrscher's hand, Lin and Prometheus had already disappeared from the cockpit before she unleashed the Black Mist to engulf it.

She fell for it? And twice with the same trick?

There are only two ways to bypass the Herrscher's shield and hit the Herrscher's main body: one is to use a penetrating bullet with a similar principle to dissolve the Honkai Energy shield at the same frequency, and the other is for the Herrscher to deactivate the shield itself.

The latter, aside from the self-weakness caused by excessive use of power, will only take such dangerous actions when the Herrscher wants to touch something outside the shield.

He wondered if he would refrain from using the Black Mist in order to be fast enough?

That flaw was intentional on his part...

The Sixth Herrscher's smile faded, her humane expression vanished, and a doll-like, oblivious stillness appeared.

Like all Herrscher, he had an inhuman face.

Lin and Prometheus Unit 1 appeared above Kevin. Kevin caught them both with lightning speed, but he couldn't sense any sensation in them when he touched them.

"Forest...?"

Kevin's pupils dilated, and his previously indifferent expression softened.

The Prometheus Unit 1's body is just a simulated robot body, so it's normal that it doesn't have human life characteristics.

But he could no longer feel Lin's heartbeat or breathing.

This man, who had always hidden his face, only now glimpsed in his entirety by his close friend, had a calm expression and looked as if he were asleep, closing the only eye that still had a pupil.

Its weight was unusually light, and its incomplete limbs hung limply like a puppet with broken strings, as if the thing that was supporting this scarred body had disappeared.

This is already a corpse.

He didn't even have time to say his last words, to take one last look at the world, before he left in that empty space.

Just like when he arrived, there was nothing there.

He left with nothing.

I've walked a long way in the dark.

Lin continued forward tirelessly, having lost track of time in this place where he could neither see the sky nor the earth.

Perhaps it's not that important; the unchanging environment, the passage of a second or a hundred years, are meaningless to him.

However, when he occasionally stops to rest, he would think about why he had moved forward. Although he did not know where the road led, he firmly believed that he had never gone astray.

There was no light, no guidance, but that didn't matter; he didn't need any of that.

Mr. Lin wanted to leave something behind on this road to guide those who came after him, but he himself couldn't see the road clearly, and he didn't know what he could leave behind since he had nothing. So he could only walk forward with his head down.

Has anyone else walked this road? Is anyone else walking this road? Are there others on another road not far away?

He does think about these issues, so he often looks around.

Finally, there seemed to be a glimmer of light ahead. He thought this must be his destination, so he walked forward.

"Don't come any closer, Lin."

But someone blocked the light, and the face behind the light couldn't be seen to reveal any expression. Lin made eye contact with him, then silently nodded and walked past him.

The man stared at Lin's departing figure, reached out as if to say something but hesitated, and finally put his hand down.

Isn't the finish line here?

Lin's leg was a little sore. He thought it must be from walking too long and his muscles were aching, so he tried to rub it. But when he put his hand on that leg, he only felt empty space.

"..."

"Clatter".

With one leg missing, he collapsed to the ground in a daze.

Without saying anything, Lin crawled forward, using his hands to grip the ground. He had already gone quite a distance, so one leg was nothing to him.

Soon, another cluster of warm light appeared, which was probably his final destination.

But once he got closer and could clearly see the ball of light, Lin discovered that his vision was malfunctioning, as if it was missing half. He reached into his right eye socket and felt nothing.

"..."

Casting aside all distractions, Lin almost desperately wanted to get closer to the light; this was his destination...

"Uncle, don't stop here."

Upon hearing that voice, Lin's fingers seemed to freeze in the light.

So he nodded, scraped his way along the ground, avoided the light, and went back to his own path.

Gradually, the quiet space became no longer quiet, and many sounds appeared, some familiar and some unfamiliar.

They were all nearby, urging Lin on.

Keep going.

Carrying them on their backs, we continued forward.

"Smack."

Lin's head slammed against the ground. He stared in disbelief as his brain and blood flowed out of his ruptured skull and disappeared into the darkness.

My mind went blank.

The memories vanished along with it, but Lin remembered that she still had to keep going.

After walking for a long time, so long that Lin was about to forget who he was, the dim light appeared.

"This is your own path, walk it to the end, Kobayashi."

Sure enough, this was not the final stop.

Lin wanted to finish the journey, the end of which he didn't know, but he found that his body no longer supported him to continue.

Strange patterns covered his body, and his last bit of strength was taken away.

Lin lay on the ground, slowly wriggling and moving forward.

This is really too hard.

Lin thought of how those who came after him would also have to endure this suffering, wandering on this dark road without light, so he stopped, which was rare for him, and looked back.

Then, to his surprise, he discovered that some bright liquid had spread along the path he had walked, extending down to his body.

That was his blood.

Lin's lips curled up for a long time.

That's great. Even if he can't radiate light to illuminate the way, these bloodstains will surely guide future generations.

"This is the end."

He said to himself.

He turned around and spoke to the people behind him.

The bright sunlight hung in the sky, and Lin's feet sank into the soft sand, her nostrils open, breathing in the fresh air.

A sleepy-looking man in a white coat, oblivious to romance, a chestnut-haired girl with long, smiling chestnut hair holding a cold drink, and a shy girl with short, highlighted hair chatting, all sit on a beach chair not far away, enjoying the sea breeze and sunshine, contentedly savoring the hard-won peace.

A man walked up behind them. The man in the white coat yawned, turned around, and smiled.

"Long time no see, Lin. Do you have a lot to say?"

"Ah... I think there are many, and I can tell you about them slowly this time."

Lin stretched and sat down next to him, enjoying the gentle sea breeze.

Chapter 100: The Final Plan

"Happy birthday!"

Today is a memorable day. To others, it may not be a special holiday, but for a young couple, it is a joyous celebration of the second anniversary of the birth of their precious baby.

The usually assertive wife looked at her husband, who was holding the child, with gentle eyes as clear as an autumn pond. After seeing her husband lift the child above his head, she gently scolded her cheerful husband.

Celebrating their child's birthday in this small, family-run restaurant is one of the happiest things they've ever done as parents.

Perhaps their son, with his innocent mind, doesn't yet understand the meaning of this, but he will certainly feel his parents' love and the ordinary yet great happiness.

"Waaah—"

The unfamiliar alarm lengthened the expression on the husband's face.

The warm atmosphere vanished instantly. They looked around in confusion and found that the others were also bewildered and had no idea what the alarm meant.

"Waaaaah..." The alarm was piercing and urgent, and my son was quickly frightened by it. Unable to control his emotions, the toddler could only express his fear by crying.

"Ah, don't cry, don't cry, Mommy and Daddy are here..." The husband hurriedly comforted his son, but it was no use, because the alarm was still looping.

Earthquake or fire?

As everyone wondered what was going on, their phones rang, and at the same time, all the programs on the screens in the store switched to a single announcement.

"Leave Changkong City immediately and seek refuge at the nearest shelter... A meteorite?!"

At that moment, a loud explosion rang out over Changkong City. They stared in horror at the swaying rooftops, which seemed poised to collapse at any moment.

An ominous figure and another figure shimmering with azure particles swooped down from the sky...

"Prometheus, take Lin away."

While the Sixth Herrscher was drawing her sword to repair her body, Kevin placed Lin and Prometheus into the cockpit of the last Titan that hadn't been destroyed yet. He held Lin's lifeless body tightly, and the muscles in his face twitched violently the moment he let go.

The man's appearance was very different from his usual words and actions. Perhaps anyone would think that under that cold helmet that isolated everything, there was a face as cold-blooded as an assassin with necrotic muscles.

But at this moment, this person, who looked to be only a teenager, or even just a boy, lay calmly on the metallic floor, his head resting on his shoulder. His shoulder-length, thick black hair covered his blood-stained face. His face was gentle, and there was a warm smile on his lips. His appearance looked like a work of art that God had carefully sculpted so that everyone would like him.

This artwork is frozen in this moment; the bloodless, pale face is covered with stained purple spots, destroying all beauty, just like a reflection of his life.

He was motionless and breathless, as haggard as a glass sculpture.

Kevin stared at the smile he had never seen before. He had seen Lin smile before at school, but that was just Lin mimicking how the muscles moved in a smile. He had never felt genuine joy from Lin.

But now, why is he smiling?

His smile was so genuine.

"Kevin, Lin's vital signs have only been missing for seventeen seconds. She can still be resuscitated. Please return to the Fifth Branch immediately to perform surgery on Lin..." Prometheus helped Lin up. Her pupils turned into a scanning emerald green. After calmly scanning Lin, she said to Kevin.

"Take him back."

"Humans will enter a temporary state of suspended animation, which only requires timely..."

"Take him back..."

"..."

Prometheus mechanically repeated the records in her database, her stiff joints flailing about inexplicably, and bitter words escaping intermittently from her rusty vocal structure.

Kevin lowered his head silently, some bitter liquid flowing into his mouth.

Finally, Prometheus stopped.

Looking at Lin Tian's face, which appeared as if she were asleep, she stopped.

"Lin, I want to cry. Can you teach me how?"

The Sixth Herrscher threw away the dagger in her hand and began repairing the injury to her chest with a blank expression.