I'm No MOTH Hero

The captain of an operation squad indeed held much more authority than ordinary soldiers, but they weren't exactly high-ranking officials. The reason captains were assigned to these roles was simply because they had the capability to effectively lead their respective squads.

"What about you? Which squad are you in?" Lin decided to make small talk with Kevin. Since his current body couldn't dance, no one was inviting him, and even if it could, he wouldn't have accepted. He might as well chat with Kevin to learn more about his situation after joining MOTH.

"Squad One. I'm mostly doing odd jobs now."

"Squad One..."

Lin's squad currently only had Hua as a member. Logically, Kevin, having been rescued by Squad Five, should have been assigned to either Squad Five or Squad Seven. Yet, he ended up in Squad One, which hadn't lost any members.

Lin immediately guessed that the higher-ups must have transferred Kevin to Squad One so he could be near Mei and protect her, essentially as a form of protection.

The most suitable person for this role should have been Lin himself. However, the outcome was that Lin was reassigned to rebuild Squad Seven, a more challenging mission. From this perspective, it seemed someone might have deliberately kept him away from the two of them.

Were there disagreements or factional splits in the upper echelons' decisions... Different approaches to Mei and her protection, and the reason for this situation was likely what Kevin had mentioned Mei was "busy" with recently.

Lin narrowed his eyes, and Elysia also smiled, but neither of them said anything to Kevin.

Human organizations, almost without exception, develop differing viewpoints once they reach a certain stage. This often becomes the fuse for their downfall. The cause of destruction is rarely external; it stems from within.

"Lin, what do you plan to do after you've recovered?"

"Do missions," Lin replied nonchalantly.

"That's not what I mean, I'm saying..."

"Do more missions."

Elysia couldn't help but chuckle. She gently pulled Lin back and said to Kevin, "He's a workaholic. No matter how much you ask, you'll only get those answers."

Kevin crossed his arms, looking puzzled, and watched Lin, who seemed as calm as ever. "Even though I know the reason for Lin's change, this transformation is still quite hard for me to accept. He used to be the person who hated working the most."

Upon hearing this, Lin inwardly cursed his bad luck.

Elysia's eyes lit up as she rushed in front of Kevin, her words tumbling out like a rapid-fire barrage. "Huh? What? What? What was Lin like before? What were his hobbies? Did he have a girl he liked? And most importantly, what does he even look like?"

"Uh? Uh..." Kevin blinked, then instinctively started to answer.

"Kevin, shut up."

Lin immediately stopped the conversation. He didn't want Elysia to know too much. Her insatiable curiosity combined with her sharp mind, which was often misapplied, made her a human gossip machine. He dared to bet that if Kevin said anything today, the top headline on MOTH's internal network that evening would be "Shocking! The Faceless Helmet Man Actually Had This Side to Him! Let's Dive into Squad Seven Captain Lin's Inner World!"

"Lin didn't like showing his face before either. He often wore a hood at school. His hobbies included arcade games, novels, and music. His favorite was probably Eden."

Another clear, cool voice interjected into their conversation.

Mei, now dressed in an evening gown, pushed up her ever-present glasses and walked over from behind Kevin. She smiled at Lin, whose face had darkened completely, seemingly conveying, "You told Kevin to shut up, but you didn't tell me to."

"It was Eden? Heh heh..."

Elysia's smile sent a shiver down Lin's spine. She had probably already devised a plan to tease him.

And Lin probably couldn't have guessed that Elysia actually knew Eden.

"Mei, why are you here?"

"I couldn't handle things over there, and I also wanted to see a friend."

"..."

Lin shook his head and was about to say something when the lights overhead suddenly dimmed.

Click.

A spotlight lit up in the center of the dance floor.

The ball had begun.

Chapter 25: Interludes Aren't Always Pleasant

Lin slowly chewed and swallowed the food in his mouth. His esophagus was not damaged, but he had been warned not to eat too quickly. Elysia supervised him the entire time, and her smiling eyes significantly diminished his appetite.

It was strange. Just a few months ago, he had been annoyed by this ever-present pink-haired woman. Now, he could calmly call them friends and accept her care. Humans were indeed creatures of habit.

Elysia seized an opportunity while Lin was eating to strike up a conversation. "Speaking of which, quite a few people bet you were a robot on that betting pool. Haven't you considered actually replacing yourself with mechanical prosthetics or something?"

Was this the usual conversation topic among MOTH warriors? Elysia, being a squad captain, was practically the prime culprit in spreading gossip.

"Honkai Energy corrodes metal just as quickly as it does the human body. Besides, the body's coordination is something prosthetics can't match. Even with more powerful mechanical limbs, they might not necessarily be stronger than a natural body," Lin replied in detail, indicating he had indeed considered such matters. The inherent flaws of humans regarding Honkai Energy were difficult to compensate for with external means.

Inhibitors could only slow down the rate of corrosion. Even though Lin was only in the early stages of corrosion, the inhibitors could only prolong the time before complete corrosion and death. Furthermore, their effectiveness would decrease with each use. In essence, it was merely changing a death sentence to a suspended sentence.

"I thought I might see you with a hundred wheels attached, speeding through the city," Elysia said, shaking her head with regret.

"It seems only a Cybertronian could fulfill your request," Lin replied expressionlessly.

He found a relatively quiet spot and watched from afar as Kevin, sweating profusely, awkwardly followed Mei's lead in a waltz on the dance floor. His movements were as clumsy as a fat duck that had just waddled out of a coop.

Many people were dancing on the floor, including some Lin knew. For instance, a certain red-haired woman was attracting a large crowd with her sexy and elegant dance moves, causing Hua, who was dancing with her, to blush profusely.

"That girl is... Hua, right?" Elysia had some impression of her. She was a survivor Lin had brought back from Canghai City and was now a member of his squad. She was a rare new recruit with a remarkably steady personality.

Hua's father's city had also been within the scope of the Third Honkai War's impact, suffering damage comparable to Canghai City. Naturally, her father had become an unremarkable name on the list of victims.

"She's recovered so quickly. What a strong child."

"Hua has merely accepted a goal given to her by others; she hasn't truly emerged from her trauma."

Lin had told her that if she had no goal to live for, then live for him. By the time he died, she would likely have found a new direction.

"Hmm? Like a completely different person?"

Elysia looked at Lin with a knowing glint in her eyes.

"...I don't understand what you mean."

"Lin, sometimes even subconscious actions are the deepest desires of your heart. So it's okay if you don't understand."

Elysia smoothly changed the subject. She picked up a slice of cake, carefully scraped off the cream with a fork, and offered it to Lin's mouth. Under his stern gaze, she sheepishly retracted the fork and ate the cream herself.

"Mmm... Calories are a girl's worst enemy," she said with a pained expression as she swallowed the delicious cream, then began to eat the exquisite cake.

"Didn't you claim you could eat anything and maintain a perfect figure?" Lin was still quite impressed by Elysia's shamelessness. He remembered when she often came to bother him at the second gym, she had casually mentioned how she could never gain weight no matter how much she ate, and how frustrating it was.

He believed that if another woman heard that, someone with a worse temper might have smashed the window and thrown her out.

She puffed out her chest indignantly, "But a girl's 'size' isn't just her waistline."

"..." Lin had underestimated her Versailles ability.

But it had to be said that Elysia's confidence in her own beauty was not unfounded. Even in her maid outfit, many people still invited her to dance, all of whom she smilingly refused.

"If a cute girl invited me, I wouldn't refuse~"

She said this with a smile, and it was unclear if she meant it.

It was also thanks to Elysia that Lin was spared a lot of trouble. Most people who came looking for him were engaged in conversation by Elysia. Many forgot their original purpose and ended up chatting enthusiastically with her.

But some trouble came out of nowhere, impossible to block.

"You're Lin?"

A tall, burly man with brown hair ignored Elysia and walked directly up to Lin, looking down at him with a scrutinizing gaze mixed with inexplicable disdain.

"..." Lin didn't recognize him, nor did he know the source of the man's animosity. Lin's attitude towards strangers was usually singular—

A cold sweep of his dark eyes over the other person.

"That's Sigma from the tactical department. He was the overall commander for the Third Honkai War," Elysia quietly informed Lin, whispering in his ear. Upon hearing Sigma's identity, Lin's gaze towards him softened considerably.

Lin nodded gently at him and sincerely praised, "The operations during the Third Honkai War were very impressive."

But this statement instantly ignited Sigma's rage. In his ears, the words were no different from mockery.

Because the initial operations of the Third Honkai War had been completely ineffective. However, after Lin arrived on the battlefield and rescued Mei, the battle with the Herrscher ended within half an hour. Lin's contribution was minimal, even less than that of a monitor.

He bent down, pointing at Lin's bandaged face, and growled menacingly, "Impressive? How impressive are you? Don't you have Delta's technical support? Why can't you even stand without those advanced pieces of equipment, needing someone to push you? Or are you always like this, just 'riding in a wheelchair'?"

"..."

The music masked the faint sounds, and Sigma's suppressed voice meant the commotion in this area went unnoticed.

Elysia's expression turned serious. She stared at Sigma, who looked like he wanted to rip Lin apart. He was even more muscular than Lin, and the scene looked like a lion roaring at a fluffy rabbit.

This was genuine anger.

Lin faced Sigma, and from the man's slightly reddened pupils, Lin could clearly feel the burning rage.

"So many comrades sacrificed, and in the end, you became the hero. You must be secretly pleased with yourself, thinking you're so great. You even came to this so-called celebratory ball with a broken leg, just so everyone could admire your heroic posture?"

"But I'm telling you, you're nothing. If either you or Delta had been willing to share that equipment and technology with other soldiers, the casualty rate wouldn't have been so devastating."

"You are the one responsible for the deaths of those comrades, understand?"

Elysia's face had completely darkened. She rarely made such an expression. If she did, it meant she was either joking or genuinely angry.

But Lin turned his head and gently shook his head at her, signaling her to remain silent.

He turned back, about to speak, when another weak voice cut him off, "Oh? Then why are you looking for Lin? According to you, I'm the selfish one, right?"

Delta, wearing his usual oil-stained work uniform, yawned and rubbed his dark circles as he walked to Lin's front, blocking their line of sight.

He tilted his head up and smiled at the stunned Sigma, "Yelling at an injured person, are you on your period or going through menopause? Or are you pregnant?"

Chapter Twenty-Six: An Invitation to the Ball

"Yelling at an injured person, are you on your period or going through menopause? Or are you pregnant?"

Delta's jab was masterfully crafted, implying that only a weakling would pick on an injured person. Paired with Sigma's burly image, the insult was doubly effective.

"Delta, what are you doing here?" Sigma narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint flashing in their depths.

"If you can come, why can't I?" Delta leisurely picked up a nearby wine glass, took a sip, let out an unrefined burp, and sighed, "Then again, I'm the selfish one who didn't provide technology and caused soldiers to die. Of course, I can't compare to the overall commander who directed operations on the front lines."

Sigma's aggression subsided slightly at Delta's blatant sarcasm. Even though their positions were different, they were ultimately equals. He snorted, "Hmph, what do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is..."

Delta smiled at Sigma, but there was no mirth in his eyes. He looked up at the burly man, who was a head taller than him, and said coldly, "Don't use dead soldiers as weapons to attack Lin. You're just desecrating their sacrifice. Talk to me if you have something to say. I guarantee you'll get it all out."

There was not a trace of emotion in his voice, only a bone-chilling coldness.

"Delta, you're very good..." Sigma laughed in anger. He nodded, clenched his fists, but ultimately said nothing. He glared fiercely at Delta and Lin before turning and leaving the venue.

Only after Sigma's back disappeared through the main entrance did Delta slowly put down his wine glass and sigh at the impassive Lin, "Sigh, Lin, you're too much of a shut-in. You actually waited for him to finish all that garbage. If it were me, he wouldn't even get a chance to say the first word."

Lin calmly replied, "Were you planning to stab a knife into his mouth to shut him up?"

"Maybe a gun?" Delta shrugged.

Elysia, standing behind him, couldn't resist reaching out again to pinch Lin's cheek and pull it to the side. She said irritably, "Lin, even I was a little angry just now."

"…Sorry."

"That's just too despicable, you always apologize so directly, how am I supposed to react?"

"Sorry." Lin shook his head.

He didn't intend to let Elysia speak further, because at least half of what Sigma had said was correct.

"Don't take what he said to heart. The words of someone who has been directing with rigid thinking for years, whose brain wrinkles have been smoothed out, are not worth considering," Delta waved his hand, the unusual mechanic's uniform stirring up the scent of machine oil.

"Those pieces of equipment were made based on your ideas after all, they're custom-made weapons. Does our R&D department forbid others from customizing their own effective weapons?" Delta sneered, curling his lip. "Besides, the set you use is something ordinary soldiers can't handle at all. If the items are all stored in the warehouse, anyone can take them. That helmet even has lower technical requirements than the others. Since you didn't require the information simplification function, I just removed the simplification function of the ordinary system."

"If you really want to talk about exclusive technology, it's only the weapon I gave you, but are the weapons of other soldiers that much worse? If I dared to hoard technology, MOTH would have raided my house long ago…"

"Enough, Delta." Lin stopped the R&D department head, who was always working overtime, from his rant.

If he continued, it would never end. This guy could analyze the structure and operation of even an ordinary cannon and then explain it all in words. Lin didn't want to be accompanied by mosquito-like nagging in his ear.

"Uh, alright." Seeing that Lin didn't really want to hear him continue, Delta uninterestingly shut his mouth. His gaze shifted to Elysia, and he curled his lip, "Have you gotten used to spending time together now?"

He remembered when Lin was unhappy about Elysia following him to the R&D department.

"...Some things can't be solved just by refusing," Lin was weary of this question that almost every acquaintance asked.

"Haha, that's true. After all, I've never seen anyone who could refuse Elysia."

"…" Lin really had no response to that.

Thinking back to the topic just now, Elysia asked with great interest, "Dr. Delta, you often ask Lin to test new equipment. What's your reason?"

"What's your reason for always being around Lin?" Delta picked up a piece of grilled meat, swallowed it down in a few bites, and wiped the liquid from the corner of his mouth, unsure if it was fat or machine oil. "My reason for looking for him is about the same."

Elysia covered her mouth in surprise, "Are you also interested in Lin's true face?"