The Man of Miracles, Part Four / The Man of Miracles, Part Five

"What Mei said..."

"...no."

"You don't believe me?" Mei immediately realized the problem.

"Produce sufficient evidence, otherwise you'd better not go to the Deepest Place."

Kosma left after saying that.

Meanwhile, the "painting" that had been beside him unnoticed by Mei suddenly came to life.

It transformed into a ferocious monster and pounced on Mei.

Chapter Sixty-Five: The Miracle Man, Part Four

Helping humanity?

As the girl gazed into the distance at Kevin and Elysia talking, a sudden thought made her stop chewing for a few seconds before she returned to normal after swallowing the food in her mouth.

This is a subtle point. What does it mean to help humanity? What is the scope and content of this definition?

But she would not deny that she is helping humanity.

At least... not now.

After taking one last look at the two people who were still talking and hadn't noticed her at all, the invisible girl turned and left the corridor, gradually fading out of her invisibility when no one was watching.

"You are... MSA-970?"

The hesitant voice made her stop; Kosma was standing not far away around the corner.

"... Kosma." She naturally recognized this person as well.

"..."

"Speak up, don't think a lot and then remain silent." The girl interrupted Kosma's complicated inner thoughts directly. After their first encounter, she could tell that this person was used to overthinking. She wasn't usually the type to be too lazy to talk unless asked, but having to guess what Kosma was thinking was just too tiring.

Kosma was startled. This person saw through his divergent thinking in an instant. No wonder he was trained by Captain Lin.

"Last time... I'm sorry, I was too emotional." Kosma wanted to apologize to the girl. He could understand her thoughts, after all, he was the same way. However, even after staying in the Fire Moth for several years, he still couldn't control his emotions and argued with others about such trivial things, which was really inappropriate.

So this time, I went to see her to make up for my mistake, and I believe Kevin would do the same if he were in the same situation.

The girl tilted her head. "It doesn't matter."

"Oh..."

The conversation between the two reached another impasse. Kosma simply didn't know how to start the conversation, while the girl spent most of her time interacting with Lin, who rarely spoke. They could understand each other's meaning without needing to communicate.

"Want to go get something to eat?"

The girl asked abruptly.

"Shenzhou's wonton noodles... Lin said he would make them for me, but before I could eat them, we went our separate ways to carry out our missions."

The girl broke apart the disposable chopsticks, picked up a piece of evenly thick noodles, lifted her helmet, brought the noodles to her mouth, and slurped them up.

"Uh, you..." Kosma saw that most of the bowl of noodles had been eaten in an instant, and he suddenly didn't know how to comment on the girl.

How come you look so refined while eating, yet you eat at an alarmingly fast speed?

The girl raised her eyelids and glanced at him. "Say something, don't give me the silent treatment."

"... This isn't passive-aggressive behavior, is it?"

"You neither eat your noodles nor say a word, you just sit there without any expression." The girl put down her chopsticks and let out a soft burp. "Isn't that just giving me the silent treatment?"

"..."

In the blink of an eye, the girl had finished the bowl of noodles. Kosma didn't even see how she finished it, while the noodles in front of him were still steaming hot and he hadn't even started eating them yet.

To put it simply, this girl reminded him of Vill-V, whom he had only met a few times. Her thinking was too unpredictable, even more so than Vill-V's. At least Vill-V had a basis in reality and logic, while this girl seemed to act on a whim. One second they were talking about serious matters, and the next second she was asking if they wanted to go get something to eat.

Kosma sighed, broke off his chopsticks, and started eating his noodles.

Because he was originally a resident of the Mu Continent, he was not familiar with how to use chopsticks. The headquarters canteen also served cuisines from various countries, so he did not learn how to use chopsticks, which caused him to use them like forks when eating noodles.

"Don't you know how to use chopsticks?" the girl asked.

Kosma could answer directly, "No."

"Oh, I'll teach you." The girl nodded seriously. Under Kosma's incredulous gaze, she picked up the chopsticks and showed them to Kosma. "If you don't use chopsticks to eat Shenzhou noodles, the taste will drop a level."

"This... isn't that necessary?"

"Of course I do. Chopsticks are very easy to use. Lin taught me once and I knew how to use them."

Kosma, completely bewildered, followed the girl and began learning how to use chopsticks. He spent the entire afternoon learning, and even when the whole bowl of noodles had cooled down into a lump, he still hadn't managed to eat a single bite.

The girl was exceptionally serious about this matter. She wouldn't give up until she taught Kosma how to eat noodles, and she would forcefully stop him whenever he tried to use his half-baked chopsticks technique.

"Okay, sure."

The girl nodded in satisfaction. With her tireless efforts, Kosma finally learned how to use chopsticks, and at least his posture was quite decent.

Kosma looked at the chopsticks in his hand, which he used as if they were his own limbs, and felt a sense of accomplishment. He laughed along with the girl.

"Gurgle..."

Kosma's stomach let out a sickening growl.

"..."

"..."

Kosma and the girl both looked silently at the now completely dark doorway, then at the empty cafeteria, before finally focusing their gaze on the completely frozen wonton noodles.

Then came an awkward stare.

The girl suddenly pointed at Kosma seriously and said, "It's your fault. If you had learned faster, you could have eaten the noodles."

"Ah?"

The two sat bored at a small table with two buckets of instant noodles simmering on it.

In the end, the girl had no choice but to take Kosma to her room to eat instant noodles. Since she was also looking for a late-night snack, she decided to let the hungry Kosma eat with her.

What frustrated Kosma the most wasn't that the girl treated him to instant noodles, but that he ended up using a fork to eat them...

"You... you don't just eat like this all day, do you?" Kosma couldn't help but ask when he saw the "tip of the iceberg" of the girl's food reserves.

"Yes, but Lin always makes a lot of delicious food for me, so I don't need to buy snacks." The girl admitted frankly, "Eating makes people relax, and the process of chewing and swallowing is satisfying, so it's the healthiest and most normal form of entertainment."

Eating too much doesn't necessarily make you healthier... Kosma thought to himself.

However, Kosma had to admit that being around this girl made him feel inexplicably relaxed, as if there were no obstacles in communicating with her, and she would sincerely express her inner thoughts.

Even though he didn't even know the girl's name.

"By the way, Kosma, do you have a lover?"

"No."

"Oh, I don't think you'd be likely to be."

"..."

Chapter Sixty-Six: The Miracle Man, Part Five

"But I have a childhood sweetheart," Kosma retorted, unconvinced.

Dessidobia entered the Firemoth with him.

"Two cats and dogs that grow up together can be called childhood sweethearts, two worker bees that are born and die together can be called childhood sweethearts, and two dung beetles that push a ball together can also be called childhood sweethearts." The girl propped her helmet up with one hand. "Childhood sweethearts are not lovers."

"..."

Speechless after being refuted, Kosma couldn't think of anything to say for a moment.

Kosma broke his silence. "Why did you ask that question?"

"I just want to get to know people other than Lin."

The girl stared at the instant noodles and replied indifferently.

"Then you should ask something more... meaningful."

"Meaningful? What exactly constitutes meaning? Does something concerning a person have no meaning for that person?"

Kosma paused for a moment, realizing that what the girl said made a lot of sense.

The common goal of those who chase after the flame is to save humanity; under this lofty ideal, everything else becomes meaningless and pale in comparison.

But for an individual, he himself is everything.

"Then let me ask you a meaningful question: Do you believe in 'miracles'?"

"What?" Kosma thought he had misheard.

The girl patiently repeated, "Do you believe in miracles?"

What kind of leapfrog question is this?

Kosma was stunned for several seconds before he realized what was happening. It wasn't until the girl silently lifted the lid of her instant noodles and started eating that he belatedly followed suit.

This time, the girl ate the noodles much slower. It was unclear whether she thought instant noodles weren't as good as wonton noodles, or if she was already full, but it gave Kosma some time to think.

While eating his noodles, he was still pondering what the girl meant by "miracle".

This naive question is like a primary school teacher telling the children to have hope. But for Kosma, who has witnessed numerous large-scale Honkai and the sacrifice and death of countless people, this word is as unfamiliar as his knowledge of the female anatomy.

However, the girl neither explained nor added any further details. We couldn't tell what expression was on her face under her helmet; all we could hear was her slurping as she ate her noodles.

This attitude of throwing the problem out there and then ignoring it is very much in line with Lin's style.

"What is a miracle?" Kosma asked, lifting his head from the instant noodle cup with a puzzled expression.

"Eri said miracles are magic, turning the impossible into the possible." The girl looked up, which meant she had finished her noodles. "So, do you believe it? The impossible can become possible."

"..."

When faced with this question, Kosma realized that he still believed in miracles.

Just like during the Fifth Honkai War, he believed that the deserters would return, and that they should be heroes.

Even if the orders from the High Council- ups of the Fire Moth were to send them to their deaths, the reason those deserters returned was only because of Lin's support. All his beliefs were overturned, and his once naive ideas were nothing more than paper boats teetering on the brink of collapse in the torrent of reality.

He still believed in his own naiveté, even though his reason was trying to deny it.

"Believe in miracles, humankind. There have been people who have gone further than you, and they still believe in the miracles that human emotions can bring."

"The miracles he created still exist in this world at this moment."

"Is there only one-third of the world's population left...?"

The man stared at the fluctuating numbers on the screen, then turned and left the empty room.

The once bustling base has become deserted, with countless people losing their lives in various incidents. Even those engaged in scientific research may perish tragically in experiments.

Over time, those faces he used to know disappeared without him even realizing it.

The remaining people also became expressionless and lifeless.

Technology continues to advance, but this is accompanied by a sharp decline in the human population.

The Ninth Honkai War could come at any time, and large numbers of humans live scattered lives in areas filled with Honkai Energy and Honkai creature. Even though he has established containment facilities around the world, some people are still unwilling to enter them to live.

Chaos and disorder, just like at the beginning of humankind, only at the end, it returned to its original state.

"Hey, A, interested in grabbing a coffee? I just designed a really interesting coffee maker..." The man greeted someone walking towards him, instinctively wanting to call out to him.

But all the man received was a cold, indifferent reply, "Doctor Lin, please don't waste headquarters' resources designing useless things."

"... Well, I don't think making coffee is necessarily useless, since you like drinking it, don't you?"

"..."

Without uttering a single word, not even a disdainful glance, the person walked away with the same wooden expression as everyone else.