Falling In / The Metamorphosis Surgery

During the battle, Lin could hardly find an opportunity to get close to the Honkai Beast. It controlled the distance between itself and Lin, constantly interfering with his actions with its abilities. The precision of its control made Lin think for a moment that the Honkai Beast was controlled by AI.

Furthermore, the battlefield was not suitable for Lin's fighting style, and with Sakura unconscious, he was greatly restricted.

So Lin gave the Honkai Beast an "opportunity".

This Honkai Beast's attack pattern is very "restrained".

Lin speculated that it was trying to prevent him from obtaining its combat intelligence, and therefore chose a safe but not efficient way to attack.

So Lin deliberately exposed himself to its attack range, so that it could bite through him in one bite. At that moment, he silently squeezed a Collapse Bomb in his left hand.

It is precisely because of this caution that one becomes rigid.

Lin destroyed its body cavity and then destroyed its three cores at top speed.

Rescue teams are on their way.

He had already sensed that there was something fishy about the origin of this Honkai Beast, but even with all his doubts, they still had to undergo treatment.

What Lin didn't realize before he fainted was that this Honkai Beast was just the beginning.

Chapter Seventy-Six: Falling into

"Bass!"

The monsters fell to the ground. Mei watched the monsters disappear into ink-like matter with a mixture of emotions on her face. After sheathing her sword, she looked at Pardo, who was hiding to the side, trembling and practically ready to dig a hole and bury her head in it.

"So you really can't fight?"

"I... I've already said it... it was always Brother Lin, Chrono Brother, and Sister Ying who took the lead before me. As for me, I wasn't really that useful." Pardo breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the monster completely eliminated, then scratched the back of her head and laughed without the slightest embarrassment. "Everyone says Brother Lin protected me too well, but I really don't think I could fight Honkai Beast..."

"You used to be in the same squad as Lin?"

Mei knew that the Previous Civilization's Firemoth adopted a team system, just like Schicksal. Logically, Lin should be the front-line team, so why would a member like Pardo, who was completely incapable of fighting, join Lin's team?

"Hehe, this is my proudest way to be lazy."

"... Slacking off?"

Just then, Kosma emerged from the anchor point again and said calmly, "Switching between teams with different job functions is Pardo's way of being lazy."

"Um, Amo, how did you know...?"

"You told me yourself, right when we were assigned to the same team as Sakura."

"..."

Mei wasn't there to hear them dredge up the past. She placed her hand warily on the hilt of her sword, looking at the boy who seemed to have an extraordinary aura. "What did you mean just now?"

"Have you seen the Chrono?" Kosma didn't answer her question directly, but instead asked her a question in return.

"... What does this have to do with Chrono?"

"You should already be familiar with Chrono's communication style, so there's no need to be surprised that other Flame-Chasers are experiencing similar situations."

That's not wrong. After witnessing the extraordinary debut of Chrono, this level seems acceptable.

But Mei still wants to ask, can't you just appear as calmly as Elysia and Rin?

"Consider it passing my trial. I will grant you the mark of the Radiant Sun. So, go back." Kosma still had that same deadpan expression as Kevin and Lin.

"Didn't you hear what I said? I didn't come here to find you and your mark..."

"You're the one who didn't listen, aren't you? Didn't I already say so?" Kosma's tone suddenly turned cold. "The Deepest Place is not a place you can go. You say you came for Lin, but you can't provide any evidence."

"Kevin can testify."

"Kevin?"

Kosma paused for a few seconds, seemingly calculating something.

"Where is Kevin now?" he asked again shortly after.

"... He is in the Imaginary Tree, but he has separated from us and gone to investigate on his own."

"... No, there's no way anyone can believe what you're saying."

"You--"

"However, Lin asked me to do something."

Kosma abruptly interrupted Mei, coldly saying, "If a visitor has a strong desire to enter the Deepest Place, then let me give this to the visitor."

Mei took the thing from Kosma's hand in a daze.

Cross?

At this point, a small cross pendant is like a cheap handicraft that can be bought at any roadside stall.

"I'm giving you a piece of advice: that was given to Lin by Aponia, but I'm keeping it safe for you now. You'd better not lose that cross."

Kosma's seemingly unintentional remark brought up the words "Aponia" once again.

"Don't worry, even if I lose it, I'll find it!" Pardo rubbed her hands together, beaming. "You can get a 20% discount if you ask someone you know for help, Mei."

This guy really never forgets to do business, no matter what.

Mei shook her head; she had more important things to do. "Kosma, Aponia..."

No comment.

"..."

After a thorough vegetarian meal, Mei only temporarily took Pardo away from that strange space and returned to the lounge.

"Speaking of which, Pardo, you don't seem so worried about Lin anymore since just now." Mei was very curious about Pardo's seemingly indifferent attitude towards Lin, after all, it had only been a short while before Pardo went from being anxious to being nonchalant.

"Because I feel like Ah Mo is... not wrong." Pardo waved her hand. "Hey! Mei, I'm not saying you're lying, but Ah Mo is right. Brother Lin is the most powerful person here. Even Serpent Sister is completely under his thumb. And he often does some strange things, like suddenly disappearing. So maybe you were just... tricked by Brother Lin."

Mei didn't think that the situation was fabricated by Lin to tease her, but since there was no evidence, it was indeed difficult to explain. So she didn't bother to explain and simply looked at the pendant in her hand.

Upon closer inspection, the pendant seemed quite ordinary; she couldn't see anything special about it that would lead Lin to specifically request Kosma to deliver it to the visitor.

"Pardo, do you recognize this?" Pardo, who is well-informed and likes to collect things, should know what this is.

"This was given to Brother Lin by Sister Aponia. I don't know exactly what it was meant to express, but it seems that Brother Lin and Sister Aponia did something back then, and Sister Aponia gave Brother Lin the pendant that she always wore around her neck."

A token of love?

The first word that popped into Mei's mind made her want to facepalm.

That's probably unlikely... Lin never seems to have mentioned Aponia.

Wait a minute, she seems to have forgotten something.

Since we can't ask Kosma about Aponia, we should be able to ask Pardo and the others, right?

"Pardo, who exactly is Aponia? Why did Lin want me to find her?"

"Aponia... I remember she was in third place."

Third?

Only lower than Kevin and Elysia?

Mei knew that although the ranking and strength of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers were not directly related, they were definitely connected. And there must be a reason why this person named Aponia could be ranked higher than Eden, Chrono, and Mobius.

"I..."

Just as Mei was about to ask another question, a wave of dizziness struck. She could barely resist, and her consciousness went dark amidst Pardo's panicked cries of "Mei, what's wrong?"

Tick-tock.

A distant sound, like liquid dripping, startled Mei awake.

She got up from the ground and saw roads lined with iron bars on both sides, like an endless prison.

"Tick-tock".

"Mei, please come here."

At the end of the road, an ethereal voice robbed her of the rest of her consciousness.

"You came here for Lin, didn't you?"

Chapter Seventy-Seven: Hypervariable Surgery

There are many sensations during a coma. Some people experience a meaningless period of time as they open and close their eyes, while others experience sensations such as drowning, running, or falling. And then there are others...

Reaching out, it felt as if you could touch the sky.

Lin's drowsy consciousness awoke in the darkness. He had experienced this strange feeling of his body and consciousness not matching each other during simulation training.

Therefore, after thinking for a second, he figured out his current situation.

He fell into a deep coma.

His memory was very clear, and his consciousness was also very clear. This situation was somewhat like a lucid dream, except that he estimated that his body had suffered serious injuries, which was why he could not wake up now.

But it's still strange. He's been in a deep coma quite a few times before, but this time he's in this situation for the first time. Is it because of the effects of Mobius's drug? Or... is it the change in his consciousness after entering the Herrscher Core?

The subsequent effects of entering the Herrscher Core were greater than Lin had imagined, but consciousness is an extremely difficult concept to define, so even if he could sense the changes, he didn't know what those changes were like.

On the other hand, why is it just pitch black and there are no images at all? This is his own consciousness, so why can't he move at all in this pitch black place?

Perhaps his thinking had an effect, like the sun breaking through the clouds, and the surrounding environment gradually changed.

"How is Su doing?"

This is his own voice.

His feet were gradually replaced by the metal floor of the Moth of Fire headquarters. He stepped on solid ground, and the realistic feel made him feel somewhat uncomfortable, as if he had really returned to headquarters.

The two people standing outside the laboratory were him and Mobius. Lin could tell at a glance that Mobius, whose white coat was stained with blood, had just performed surgery. She leaned against the wall looking slightly tired. After hearing what the person in front of her said, she waved her hand impatiently. "It went very smoothly. The smoothest Hypervariable Surgery so far."

Hypervariable Surgery...?

Lin, off-screen, searched his memory upon hearing this unfamiliar word but found nothing that matched it. Moreover, he and Mobius were talking about Sue? Kevin's friend, whom he'd only met once?

What's going on? Shouldn't this be a scene from his memory? Why doesn't he have any recollection of it at all?

"... What about the aftereffects?"

"Aftereffects, hehe..." Mobius chuckled coldly upon hearing this. She didn't answer directly, but instead stared at Lin with a sly smile and her pale gray eyes.

Wait a moment... light gray?

Lin focused his attention on Mobius's pupil color and confirmed that it was a light gray mixed with some bright green that looked like it had been injected with a drug, exactly the same as his own eyes now.

Mobius's original eye color was light blue, so this change is definitely not normal.

Moreover, Mobius's eyes... are now completely snake-like.

It's not an illusion; before, Mobius only gave the impression of being a snake, but now his pupils have become vertical pupils like those of a venomous snake.

What exactly is this...?

Mobius laughed, "Are you really that concerned about the aftereffects? I saw you were in a hurry to get to the operating table back then."

"..." Lin neither denied nor confirmed.

"Hmph, how boring. Don't worry, he won't have the problems that we 'generation' had... at least not the serious problems that you and Kevin had." Mobius didn't seem to be in the mood to tease Lin, or rather, she didn't want to continue the topic. "And Spasi has the same attitude as you... since you're so worried, why send Sue to my 'executioner's' operating table?"

"...Thanks."

"..."

Lin's sincere thanks caused Mobius's face to fall completely. A hint of anger flickered in her eyes, and her pupils even began to emit a faint, luminous green light.

"Why thank me?" she asked rudely, seemingly trying to suppress her nausea. "Do you think I went to great lengths to make the surgery successful? Or that you 'accumulated' enough experience and 'made good use' of it to make the surgery a success? Let me tell you, it has nothing to do with any of that. It was just his good luck."

"I see."

"You understand? You say you understand every time! Do you really understand? Have you even listened to what I've said? You..."

"..."

Perhaps seeing that Lin didn't retaliate, and that the more he cursed, the angrier he became. After angrily shouting a couple of sentences Mobius could only grit his teeth and swallow his anger. Finally, he coldly uttered, "It's because of people like you that I think humanity is hopelessly stupid."

"..."

"The Gray Serpent has been active in your area lately?" Mobius tried to change the subject, turning her head to the side, not wanting to look at the cold, aloof shell of Lin's helmet.