As If There Were Only One Person / Prayer

Take care of?

Does it mean taking care of someone like a friend?

Lin nodded firmly upon thinking of this, "I will. Everyone who trains with me will take care of Ying."

"...Together?"

Ling's expression froze, and she asked incredulously, "Brother Lin... could it be... that there are... a lot of people you're training with now?"

"Of course." The gym couldn't be too deserted, and the people Lin was referring to as working out together were actually Kevin and his friends, so he said calmly, "We learn from each other and improve our skills."

"This... this can't be done!"

"Why not?" Lin frowned, thinking that Ling must think that exercising with a large group of people would be smelly, and that women and men exercising together could easily lead to misunderstandings. So he thought for a moment and said, "Actually, they are all women about the same age as your sister, so you don't need to worry about your sister."

"... What? Then Brother Lin, you're the only male?" Ling's tone had completely lowered.

"Yes." If you're going to lie, you have to tell the whole story. Lin replied without hesitation, "It's just me."

"Scum...scum..." Ling's chest heaved rapidly. She gritted her teeth, wanting to say something, but she held back.

Sakura, who was standing to the side, didn't notice anything wrong with what Rin said, but she could tell from Rin's tone that Rin was not in a good mood, so she quickly winked and gestured for Rin to end the conversation.

"If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now."

"Wait a minute! I won't allow it! I won't allow my sister to be with you! How could you do this? What happened while I was away?!"

Lin was stunned and didn't know what to say. He felt that Ling's tone had suddenly become much more aggressive. Why wouldn't they allow each other to exercise? But after thinking about the conversation just now, he realized that there shouldn't be any problems. So he continued to "coax" her, "Actually... if we exercise together, the gym will give us an extra group allowance."

"For money?! You used money to scam my sister?! You scum! I trusted you so much before!"

"..."

"Waaaaah... Give me back my sister... You scumbag..."

Sakura snatched the communicator and rushed in front of the camera. "Ring! What's wrong!"

"Sister... how could you do such a thing for money... I thought... I thought you had finally found someone to rely on... but..." Rin cried with tears streaming down her face, while Sakura and Rin were completely bewildered.

However, even if Sakura didn't know the exact situation, she wouldn't allow her younger sister to cry in front of her. She quickly comforted her, "Actually, it's not what you think. Lin and I just met by chance, and we're currently discussing when to have her visit us again."

"Really..."

"Real!"

"Isn't it... exercise?"

"Look at me, I'm not sweating, and I'm not out of breath!"

"Hmm? Then just now..."

Lin and Ying exchanged a bewildered glance.

They didn't know what had just happened either.

Chapter Seven is like having only one person.

"So, you're planning to go to the house of that female assassin named Sakura?"

Kevin, who was bench pressing, stopped and glanced at Lin standing next to him, his expression unchanged.

The only person who could make Lin Qieti truly understand the changes that followed the Cleansing Incident and the Sixth Honkai War was probably Kevin.

It's unclear when, but the boy who used to laugh heartily with his bright white teeth has now become an expressionless young man, exuding an aura similar to Lin's, as if no emotion can be seen in him.

Unlike Lin, who covered his face so others' perception of his indifference was limited to his sparse words, Kevin's exposed face completely conveyed his coldness to others.

While Lin was still in the hospital, Kevin would visit him occasionally, but Kevin rarely said much to Lin. Their communication seemed to have reached a stalemate, even less than the conversations between Lin and Ying. Sometimes when he visited, they didn't say a word to each other, just looked at each other for a while before Kevin left.

Kevin became a man with no money, no job, and no income in the conventional sense.

Kevin about how a communication misunderstanding led to him having to visit Ying's house.

"Rin is Sakura's younger sister. She doesn't know that Sakura is in the Fire Moth. I need to go out to dispel her suspicions."

"Oh."

Kevin nodded upon hearing this, and then continued with his workout.

It's been half a day already.

Kevin's workout time was nonstop from six in the morning until noon, which was longer than the time he used to train with Lin. And it wasn't just today; whenever he didn't have a mission, he would spend all his time in the gym, like a machine that never felt tired.

Lin Mo stared at Kevin for a while, then turned to leave. Just then, Kevin spoke up from behind.

"Lin, are you feeling any better?"

"...fine."

"When I first joined the Fire Moth, I saw the changes in you and Mei. You became the taciturn person you were before we became friends, and Mei smiled more and more but had less and less emotion. I was very apprehensive at the time, but I had to accept it because I knew that these changes were inevitable, and that I would also undergo some changes that I did not want to undergo sooner or later."

"..."

"Lin, you've changed again. I hope this change... is good for you."

"You too, Kevin."

The two once incredibly close friends didn't even turn back to say goodbye. Lin opened the door and glanced at Kevin with a slight turn of his head. Kevin didn't look at him again, his eyes as cold as a block of ice.

"Hahahaha... Lin, what do you think? Doesn't our First Generation Girl now perfectly match your aesthetic?"

"..."

If we're talking about who Lin can't do anything to besides Elysia, then it's probably only Vill-V.

Her unconventional thinking and mindset, which are never on the same wavelength as others, mean that even when she does something outrageous, Lin sometimes can't do anything about it.

"Look, I designed this outfit. Don't let my appearance fool you, my aesthetic sense is comparable to that of a professional fashion designer. And since Artificial Intelligence doesn't need to wear uniforms, it can dress however it looks good. It's really great." Vill-V put down her writing board and admired Prometheus, who was standing there in a daze.

"..."

Ultimately, Artificial Intelligence doesn't need to wear uniforms or have a physical body. Lin didn't really understand Vill-V and Prometheus's ideas, but fortunately, he now had plenty of time and interest to ask them these questions.

"Why did you want to give Prometheus a body in the first place?" Lin asked without hesitation.

"At the beginning? At the beginning, Prometheus wanted to take care of you because you couldn't move on your own at the time, so he gave you a body."

"But you made your bodies before I became paralyzed."

"Let me think..." Hearing Lin say that, Vill-V put down her pen, closed her eyes and thought carefully for a moment, "Oh right, the first time I tried to make a bionic body was even earlier. Eh? Do you know how that happened?"

"That's exactly what I'm asking you."

"I forgot."

"..."

"Hey, if you had asked me before, I probably could have answered, but I'm so busy now, who remembers things from so long ago?" Vill-V was more easygoing; she chuckled sheepishly. "Who would have thought you'd ask now?"

"..."

Now... Shall I ask?

Yes, if it were before, Lin probably wouldn't have asked such a meaningless question, but back then, Vill-V was very free, so free that she could make a bunch of strange things while still remembering her original intention of equipping an Artificial Intelligence with a body.

Now that Lin has asked this question, Vill-V has already forgotten it.

"However, Prometheus should still remember the information she stored in the database..."

"The database was damaged in the Sixth Honkai War, and this part of the record is missing." Prometheus's face, which had remained unchanged for millennia, showed little sign of change.

"Really? Let me see... Uh, never mind, I have a ton of things to do!"

Vill-V looked somewhat dejected. After the Sixth Honkai War, her status and authority had been elevated, and she was in charge of the crucial Divine Key Project. However, this was undoubtedly an unacceptable constraint for someone as lazy as her. From the free and even neglected Minister of the Engineering Department to the person in charge of the future direction of the Firemoth weapon, the change was so great that she hadn't been able to adjust her mindset immediately.

"In short, I've checked on Number One three times. Her body is a good fit, even better than the previous one. You can take her now. If there are any problems, just come find me." Vill-V picked up her whiteboard and started to urge people on, clearly planning how to allocate the time ahead.

Lin looked up and surveyed the drastically changed Spiral Workshop. Compared to the small workshop that used to be filled with all sorts of Vill-V's own trinkets and had a somewhat cluttered feel, it had now expanded to twice its original size. The useless works were piled up in the corner, and the dimly lit atmosphere had been dispelled by the bright chandeliers that shone like direct sunlight.

Because of a shortage of personnel, Vill-V worked alone until the initial plan for the Divine Key was completed. Only after the basic prototype was completed would headquarters assign people to assist her, although the venue had already been set up for her in advance.

"Hmm? Aren't you leaving yet? Is there anything else?" Seeing Lin still standing there, Vill-V asked in confusion.

"Want to come to the party?"

"The kind of thing I did before? Um... I don't seem to have much time lately..."

Lin shook his head without saying anything, just as he remained silent when Kevin shook his head.

Chapter Eight Prayer

How long has that person been gone?

One month? Or two months?

I can't remember. She never really had a sense of time. She just slept and ate all day, and when she had nothing to do, she would go out for a stroll. A day would disappear in the blink of an eye.

Pardo lay bored on the rooftop sunbathing, surrounded by stray cats from Dusk Street. They had all come to the house on their own initiative, and were some of Pardo's few companions.

Since the person who was missing an eye and a leg left, Pardo has not been bothered by anyone living in the house. In the first month, she went out to find food, steal and sell things, and secretly delivered some things to the sanatorium, just like before. Her life was simply that she went from being homeless to having a house to live in.

However, in the second month, she noticed that there would often be extra food in the kitchen of the house for no apparent reason.

Moreover, these foods are not the dry rations we're tired of eating or the unpalatable and spoiled food, but rather a variety of fresh and high-quality ingredients, including plenty of fish, meat, vegetables, and fruits. The meat is so tender it looks like it was just cut from a cow.

At first, she thought that someone else was using the house as a base or secretly sending things to the poor, just like her. Later, she found that the food was just the right amount for her for a week. It would not spoil the ingredients and make them taste bad if they were left out for too long, nor would it make her too stingy to eat meat. The amount was just right.

Pardo immediately thought of Lin, who had left, and instinctively realized that these things were secretly given to her by Lin.

So she had a bold idea.

Today happened to be the day when the food was replenished, and she was lying on the roof sunbathing to let the person who delivered the food know that "she is not in the house right now".

She actually had her eyes closed, but she was listening to the sounds of the cats around her.

Wild cats are generally more alert than domestic cats. Their senses, honed in harsh environments, allow them to perceive things that humans cannot, which is why Pardo specifically brought them here.

"Tick-tock..."

Time marched on, Pardo was actually quite uncertain. If she were to simply sunbathe without thinking about anything, half a day would pass quickly. But now, with her mind preoccupied, time seemed to drag on remarkably slowly. Her patience was being worn down, and unlike the patience she had when she infiltrated a mansion to steal treasures, she had very little patience for things that were uncertain.

Meow~

A cat meowed.

Pardo opened only one eye and cautiously glanced at the tabby cat licking its paws and meowing softly.

Was it just a casual shout?

"Meow~" "Meow—"

Pardo suddenly opened her eyes and warily looked at several cats standing on all fours with their fur tied up. These cats were among the most capable stray cats, and she had learned some skills from them. They must have sensed the movement in the house.

She moved quietly and silently on the roof, pressing herself against the outer wall and climbing backwards while holding onto the railing.

She squinted and cautiously observed the inside of the window. She couldn't tell anything was wrong unless she looked closely, but this time she had deliberately tampered with the front door.

Before leaving the house, Pardo turned the doorknob down two centimeters, but it didn't straighten itself. Now, the doorknob had straightened to its normal 90-degree angle.

Someone went in!

Pardo quickly returned to the rooftop. After thinking for a moment, she chased away the cat, then leaped onto the wall, landed lightly on the ground, and walked away without looking back until she disappeared around the corner.

"..."

There was no sound coming from the quiet room.

About ten minutes later, a person came out of the house. He glanced at the list in his hand, made a final check to make sure everything had been delivered, and then left the house in another direction.

But he didn't notice that the girl who had already left to carry out her Robin Hood-like activities was watching him from around the corner with a shard of mirror on the ground, and that she had quietly followed him after he left.

Pardo didn't know why she did this. She just felt that the house was too spacious when she changed her habit of sleeping on the floor and started sleeping on the bed. She felt empty sleeping alone on a bed that could fit three people rolling around in.

Just consider it a visit to see the person who helped me, at least to say thank you. As for whether it's Lin or not... we'll see.

"Are you sure you still want to take her in? There are already more and more people here."

The masked man put down the miscellaneous items in his hands and glanced at the Nun who was talking to a dirty little girl with purple stripes on her face.

"... Yes, this is..."