A Gift or... a Disaster? / Two Porcupines

She immediately tensed up. "W-what's wrong?"

"No... it's nothing." Lin slowly put down his chopsticks. "It's just that I rarely see people from the Far East say this so politely before starting to eat."

The last time I saw them was when we were having dinner at Sakura's house, and the two sisters said the same thing.

"Um... is that so?"

Sakura didn't really understand why Lin would say that. It was basically a personal habit, and it wouldn't be surprising if other Far East didn't say it.

"I grew up in the Far East, but no one taught me to do this. Even Kevin, who I'm close to, is a transfer student from Northern Europe."

"You grew up in the Far East ..." Sakura hadn't realized that Lin had grown up in the Far East. His behavior and his name had a strong Shenzhou influence, and she once thought he was a pure Shenzhou. "But you don't have to follow these etiquette rules. You can do it your own way."

"No... I just wanted to try it out."

Lin clasped his hands together, solemnly closed his eyes, and said, "I'm starting."

Only then did he pick up his chopsticks and start eating noodles, while Sakura, completely bewildered, also started eating.

Would you like to take a picture?

Just as she took her first bite of noodles, Lin's sudden remark almost made her spit them out.

"Cough cough cough..." The spiciness swirled in her throat. Lin calmly pushed a glass of water over, and only after drinking it did she feel the unpleasant spiciness subside a little.

Lin then explained, "I see you're looking at my previous team photo."

So that's how it is. Even such an inconspicuous action was discovered?

"Sorry, I was just curious..."

"Um, so, do you want to take a picture?"

"..."

Sakura still didn't understand Lin, but through his straightforward conversation, she gradually felt at ease.

After Lin Zaiying left, she took the photos out of the Polaroid camera, put them in a frame, and placed them on the table.

Then, he went to the storage room in the corner of his room and turned on the light.

"..."

"..."

Are you awake?

The faint light from the window illuminated the "thing" that had crawled out of the bag and was wriggling on the ground.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Gift or... Disaster?

"So you still have a month of surveillance?"

The man stared strangely at Lin, who was carrying food, and at Mobius was standing next to him with an unfriendly expression.

His intuition, one of the few married men among the Moths that chases fire, told him that something was very wrong between Lin and Mobius.

"Surveillance? Even if he really had a problem, his heart would be blown off. It's just research and house arrest." Mobius scoffed disdainfully.

The stronger intuition brought on by Mobius's words made Hen tremble a few times, his gaze constantly shifting between Lin and Mobius.

It's not that he's against it. Firstly, he himself is a Moth-Chasing soldier who married young and whose children can even walk and draw. Secondly, he doesn't seem to have the right to interfere in other people's private lives. It's just that his wife, Bianca, was originally Mobius's assistant and was about the same age as Mobius, while Lin was a much younger colleague who had been in the workforce for a much shorter time than him...

How should I put it? It's like a junior student marrying his girlfriend, a teacher...

Of course, it could also be his imagination, because Lin and Mobius gave him the feeling he had with Bianca back then, but looking at Mobius's unintentional little actions and disdainful expression, he felt that the relationship was much more complicated than he thought.

However, seeing Lin alive and well still made Hen very happy.

"Is it another mission?" Lin saw Hen fully armed, which clearly indicated a new mission.

With Hen busy with his mission and Bianca frequently going out, Griseo was left without anyone to take care of her for a long time. At this time, Mobius, a lab geek who was so stable that he might not leave the lab even once a month, became the "Mobius Kindergarten" where they placed their child.

"Yes, this time we're going to Western Europe..."

Hen's expression was not good. After the Sixth Honkai War, the birth of Honkai Beast reached an unprecedented speed. The birth of Upper-class Honkai Beast explosive. The abnormal Honkai phenomena reported from all over the world made the already struggling headquarters even more overwhelmed.

Forced by circumstances and also to change their strategy, the various branches of the Fire Moth, including the headquarters, have a new batch of "newcomers." Most of these people are small Armed Puppet, while the rest are recruits who were barely recruited.

These new recruits were far less skilled than the previous soldiers, but their numbers were twice the total, forcibly reviving the paralyzed fire-chasing moths.

The idea is simple: use quantity to make up for the lack of quality. In the past, a soldier could take down a hundred Honkai zombie by himself. Now, two new recruits can take down a hundred, or even three or four, soldiers... The world may lack talent, but it is definitely not lacking in "people".

"I'm leaving Griseo in your care. Sigh, Bianca and I both really want to have time to spend with Griseo, but we just can't..." Hen looked at Griseo was sitting in the chair drawing, with a heavy heart.

As I've said many times, Hen is an excellent soldier. Like Lin, he sees himself as a soldier, and his cold-blooded execution of orders is perhaps the most profound impression he leaves on others.

After seeing this man, who was usually expressionless even in the most intimate moments, reveal a tender side, Lin thoughtfully observed him for a while.

"If it weren't for Bianca, I wouldn't have time to help you with the kids." Mobius turned away impatiently and walked towards his private office. "Tell him what you need to say. I have other things to do."

She emphasized the word "something happened" especially, indicating that she was not entirely happy about the couple frequently entrusting her with taking care of Griseo.

However, Mobius never showed Griseo any ill will. She might twitch her face when called "Aunt Mobius," but at other times she was indeed a kind Aunt Mobius.

"Lin, thank you for your trouble."

"No, it's nothing... I wanted to ask you something."

"Um?"

After Lin asked his question in a neither loud nor soft tone, Hen's surprised expression immediately appeared. Then he smiled reassuringly and patted Lin's shoulder like an elder, "You'll know about these things when you get married."

The fact that Lin would ask such a question finally relieved Hen, who had always felt sorry for Lin for not cherishing himself.

"Marriage? I understand."

He overlooked one thing.

Lin is a man of action. When he says "I understand," it doesn't mean he really understands, but rather that he is ready to do what he needs to do immediately.

So, after Hen left, a marriage advertisement appeared on the internal forum of the Fire Moth, laying the groundwork for the farce that followed.

"I am a male seeking a wife. Requirements: female, not long pink hair."

"Doctor Einstein, the expedition team has found the location, and the situation here may require your personal decision."

"Okay, I'll be right there."

While browsing the data transmitted back by the Armed Puppet of the expedition team in the command room, Einstein's usually leisurely face became so serious that it was almost dripping with water.

She sat on the soft chair, the fabric and cotton filling as soft as skin, yet it felt as hard as beef jerky that had been dried for dozens of days.

The ceiling light dispelled the darkness in the room, but she stared motionless at her own shadow.

The invisible pressure made her feel like she was filled with molten lead.

After a long while, she finally sauntered out the door.

This discovery is significant and could be an archaeological miracle that rewrites human history. Its appearance signifies a reassessment of the history of human development and even the history of Earth's civilization.

And this may very well be related to the true history of Earth and its Honkai.

The deep pit unearthed by the archaeologists led downwards to the dark depths of the earth. Einstein stood on the anti-gravity levitation elevator that was constantly descending, not knowing whether she would sink into it and never be able to return to the surface.

Soon, in less than two minutes, she arrived at the site of this archaeological discovery.

Prosperity? Desolation?

She couldn't find a single accurate word to describe these dusty, historically-laden ruins. She preferred to use the God she didn't believe in as a metaphor, but at this moment, only one sentence came to mind.

This is simply a joke played by God when he was studying model architecture.

At that eerie central point, the archaeological team stood there, neither daring to approach nor stray far, until Einstein arrived.

"Huff..." Einstein suppressed his pounding chest, his legs trembling as he walked past the crowd and arrived at a place that resembled a world-famous painting.

A mechanical humanoid that has survived countless years without decaying, it has lost its left hand, legs, and head, leaving only its torso and right hand, which are clenched in a fist.

The "thing" in his hand captivated Einstein, making it impossible for him to look away.

A crystal-blue, blocky gemstone contained in a mechanical container.

The Moths of Fire had discussed what to call this type of "object," and ultimately decided to name it directly after its original owner.

They are called "Herrscher Core".

And this flawless gem also exists in the distant headquarters of the Firemoth.

This is another core of the Herrscher of Reason.

Chapter Thirty: Two Porcupines

"The properties and structure of Honkai Energy are no different from those recorded in the data."

Einstein was sweating profusely, her sweat trickling down her forehead and into her collar. She told everyone else to stay away. One person's fingers flew across the keyboard as they observed and analyzed the Herrscher of Herrscher of Reason's core, which had been placed in the testing container, from multiple angles. The conclusion was that this core was exactly the same as the core of the First Herrscher.

In a place unknown to them, a similar large-scale Honkai caused by the Herrscher of Reason occurred.

Wrong.

Because along with the Herrscher Core, the metal humanoid figure and the metal container that restrained the Herrscher of Reason Core were also discovered.

The Herrscher Core cannot be directly exposed in normal space. They need special containers to maintain their shape and contain the continuous Honkai Energy. The seemingly inconspicuous container structure is so ingenious that even Einstein was amazed. The technology contained in that metal can that is only fifteen centimeters in length, width and height is more advanced than the storage technology of the Fire Moth.

The metal used in both the container and the metal doll is of the same type. Structurally, it is 99% similar to the Soul Steel that Mei is currently testing, equivalent to a large, stable, pure piece of Soul Steel that can be further processed.

Einstein had a conjecture about the technology of humanoid and container forms.

Long before the birth of human civilization, there existed another civilization on Earth. They were more prosperous and traveled farther than humans are today, but they also suffered Honkai.

The two civilizations may have been in a highly consistent historical trajectory. After discovering the Honkai, they set out to deal with Honkai. Soul Steel and containment technology were both products of the struggle against the Honkai. However, even with such advanced technology, they could not prevent the destruction of their civilization.

"Wait a minute, the structure of these two..."

Just as Einstein was preparing to proceed with the next step of her investigation, she discovered something that seemed to be... between the mechanical humanoid and the Herrscher Core.

Soul Steel is a metal that can perfectly adapt to Honkai Energy, which is why it was chosen as the material for the Divine Key. After countless births and destructions of life and millions of years of environmental changes, this Herrscher Core and the humanoid figure that was completely empty inside showed some signs of fusion.

But this is also an abnormal situation. Soul steel should remain in its original state and not be corroded when it is not deliberately processed, unless... someone intentionally fuses the two together.

"The core of the Herrscher of Reason still retains consciousness." She swallowed hard; even the most composed person would be shocked by this result. "It wants to revive itself by fusing with the Soul Steel..."

The Herrscher of Reason's power is to reproduce something after thoroughly "understanding" and "interpreting" it. Like the Herrscher of Death, her ability leans more towards abstract concepts. Theoretically, she can reproduce all of humanity's technology and replicate it ten or a thousand times more to retaliate against humanity.

Fortunately, she was the first Herrscher to be born. Due to the negative effects of the Honkai not being able to fully analyze the civilization of this generation and the Herrscher of Reason not having much knowledge reserves, humanity killed her without paying a particularly high price.

However, the consciousness within this Herrscher of Reason Core was completely different. Its autonomy far surpassed that of the well-behaved First Herrscher Core. Einstein even suspected that if it weren't for the container that restrained it, it might have already reconstructed its body with its powers.

Even with the Soul Steel binding it, it still relentlessly used its meager powers and consciousness to erode the humanoid form over thousands, tens of millions of years, until now a connection similar to that between body and consciousness has formed between them.

No wonder this core is exactly the same shape as the First Herrscher's core, but the color is somewhat different...

However, Lady Luck was on humanity's side. They discovered it before the Herrscher of Reason from the previous civilization revived using Soul Steel. Now, they could not only gain another Herrscher of Reason core, but also inherit the legacy of the Previous Civilization. This Soul Steel could also be used to create Divine Key.

"Phew..." Einstein wiped her sweat, her curly blue hair a mess from all the pulling, and connected to the outside communication, "You can come in now."

"Send these to headquarters for safekeeping. They must be transported separately. The container of the Herrscher of Reason Core must not be opened, and the Soul Steel body and the core must not be allowed to get too close."

"Give me the A4 drill bit."

Mobius put down the pliers in her hand and beckoned to Lin, who picked up the A4 drill bit and placed it in her palm.

She was dissecting a small Honkai Beast with a fibrous shell. The armor of the Fire Moth was mostly inspired by the shells of Honkai. These armors, which existed purely for defense, were surprisingly practical in many ways.

After handing over the tools, Lin casually asked, "What do you think about marriage?"

"Wait a minute." Mobius impatiently retorted to Lin, as she hated being disturbed when she was doing her research.

Although the things added after "most hated" can change at any time, at least for now, what she hates most is...

Hmm? Wait a minute.

Mobius froze for a few seconds, as if she had overlooked something significant. She then suspiciously put down her tools and asked Lin, who was standing calmly by, "What did you just say?"

"It's nothing, you go do your thing." Lin also felt that it was inappropriate to talk about unimportant things in a serious setting.

Mobius thought he might have misheard, and after a moment's thought, he finished the rest of the work.