Indifference

"Let me think... it's been fifty years, hasn't it?" The old woman revealed her missing teeth and chuckled, tilting her head with a smile. "You really haven't changed at all."

"My body ages at a different rate than yours, and I can live forever if I want to."

"Hahaha... Unlike me, I've already become an old woman."

"If you want, I can help you restore your body to its prime."

"No need, I'm old, so be it. Everyone dies eventually, and I'm just facing my inevitable end..." The old woman seemed to have not spoken to anyone for a long time, and now that she had someone to talk to, she was overjoyed. "Did you meet them?"

"What? Who did you run into?"

"You mean... the humans who left their home planet for space... the people on Earth have already gone to space."

Lin's eyes widened.

May Day Special: Cosmic Drifting Diary Completed

"Going to space? You?"

The old woman's words left Lin momentarily speechless.

It is important to know that a civilization takes at least hundreds of Cosmic Era to grow from its inception to its childhood, and it takes even longer to graduate from childhood and go into space than it takes from the inception to childhood stage.

But she said that it only took humanity on Earth fifty years to go from fighting the Honkai to going to space.

This is no longer a legendary evolution; it's something that doesn't even have a theoretical possibility.

"Haha... It seems even... aliens would be surprised..." The old woman's spirited laughter reminded Lin of the confidence she once had when she rejected him.

"I've said it before, I'm not omnipotent, so of course I'll be surprised."

After hearing what the old woman said, Lin's doubts about coming to Earth vanished instantly. However, what followed was his interest in how the humans on this planet overcame the Honkai and left their home planet.

"Hmm... Although I really want to hear you tell me what happened, it's more interesting to leave it as a mystery for me to deduce myself." Lin stroked his chin, his mind racing. After living for more than half a Cosmic Era, his experience was different from before. Although his personality hadn't changed much, he was actually more mature inside.

"At that time, you were only a few tens of thousands of people struggling to survive under the Honkai. Logically speaking, even if you barely won against the Honkai, it would be impossible for you to develop to the level of reaching the universe in such a short period of time. So you must have been studying how to leave in the middle of the battle."

"This is also your strategy, imitating the second strategy I provided, to escape Earth, except that you chose to leave together."

"A technological explosion occurred in a short period of time, enabling you to create starships or spaceships capable of accommodating tens of thousands of people to live off Earth. You couldn't have done it on your own. After that, someone helped you, and they were also extraterrestrial beings."

"I see. When I sent the coordinates to the Interstellar Alliance, they actually came and provided you with assistance, which is quite unusual."

After listening to Lin's words, the old woman remained silent for a long time, but her face was full of kind smiles. It wasn't until Lin looked at her with a puzzled expression that she said weakly, "It's a pity... most of it is correct... but only a part is wrong..."

A portion?

Lin was stunned for a moment, then suddenly remembered that this was a spacetime after Quantum Disturbance, but the old woman said that the past fifty years had passed in the same amount of time as the time he was originally in...

Could it be...

Lin asked hesitantly, "Do you... know what year it is in the Cosmic Era?"

The old woman gave a year.

"..."

"What's wrong?" This time it was the old woman's turn to ask the silent Lin.

"So that's how it is... So that's how it is... No wonder we lost contact with the Interstellar Alliance back then..." Lin murmured softly, then stared at the old woman with a complicated look in his eyes, "Was it also Quantum Disturbance back then..."

When Lin arrived on Earth fifty years ago, he was unable to contact the Interstellar Alliance. At the time, he thought it was because the star system where Earth was located did not have a signal for long-distance communication.

In reality, the ultra-long-range communication signals at that time were not compatible with the Interstellar Alliance.

The reason is that the Interstellar Alliance updates its communication signals every ten Cosmic Year. At that time, Lin actually entered Quantum Disturbance and arrived on Earth, which was not in that time and space, so he could not make contact.

Based on the year the old woman gave him and the environment he was investigating at the time, he made a bold conjecture.

This place is actually Earth, the home planet of his ancestors. He has come to the Earth where his ancestors once lived. The old woman in front of him is one of his ancestors.

After humanity migrated into space, Earth gradually deviated from its original course due to various events. Over time, its coordinates became far removed from their original coordinates, which is why the Interstellar Alliance has not found anything.

"This is truly... the wonder of the universe," Lin exclaimed sincerely. "I think you created human ships after studying my spaceship."

"Hehe... you guessed it..." The old woman nodded without any attempt to hide her surprise.

"After all, humans are among the best in the universe when it comes to learning..." Lin smirked. "But to be able to traverse vast stretches of time and terrifying technological gaps to find a way to survive, one has to admit they are worthy of being called humanity's ancestors..."

Humanity rejected his two proposals because they had secretly studied Lin's spaceship. He had specifically warned them not to have any ill intentions towards his spaceship. However, they were willing to take the gamble for the survival of all humanity, even if it meant being destroyed by Lin.

So they gambled correctly. Not only did they fail to trigger the spaceship's automatic counterattack system, but they also learned a part of the spaceship's technology. Even if it was only a very, very small part, it was enough to give their technological level a qualitative leap.

"They all left then, but I chose to stay." Memories welled up in the old woman's cloudy eyes. "The Honkai with the decline of civilization, and I was left to live alone on Earth. Because you helped us, I must stay and apologize for stealing your technology..."

"An apology? Hahahaha..." Lin couldn't help but burst into laughter upon hearing that word. "No, no, no, I had no intention of helping you. You earned this yourselves, so why should you thank or apologize to me? Besides..."

Moreover, that technology should rightfully belong to humankind.

"Do you know? I separated from my race and drifted alone in the universe in order to see the strange and wonderful species, events and phenomena in the universe. Although I have witnessed a lot over the decades, I have never been involved in any of them."

Lin stopped laughing and looked at the old woman, "Now, I have personally experienced a cosmic miracle. Perhaps I have witnessed the greatest miracle for me."

Is there anything more extraordinary than guiding one's ancestors onto the right path?

"You're right, and I was right back then. I have indeed met your descendants, and this history will become a legend in the universe."

"In any case, this is the result of human beings' own efforts. I used to think that the Honkai of a civilization was nothing more than this, but the fact that humanity has broken free from its childhood can indeed be considered a case of success achieved through courage."

Perhaps that was fate; humanity bypassed the automatic counterattack system it set up for itself thousands of years later and thus gained a chance to survive.

That vitality, in turn, created Lin, bringing him to this place.

"I think I should go home too."

Lin smiled and extended her hand to the old woman.

"Would you like to witness the magnificence of humanity in the universe?"

One holiday per month

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Chapter 103 Indifference

Each loss was greater than the last, and each casualty was more severe than the last. The moth that chases the flame should have been facing another period of decline, but instead, it was radiating another wave of vitality.

Because humanity has finally found its hero, a warrior capable of defeating the Herrscher.

The atmosphere was one of peace and prosperity, as if humanity had already achieved victory.

It's as if those tragedies never existed.

Sakura's stride was short, a habit she had developed over a long time. As she strolled through the headquarters of the Firemoth, she moved like a silent ghost through the crowd.

She glanced at the people engaged in a heated discussion and at the festive decorations being set up, then looked away.

She didn't linger anywhere and arrived at her destination.

Mobius's laboratory.

Since the success of the Flame-Chaser project, Mobius's laboratory seems to have become more lively. As one of the main participants, Doctor Mobius is facing more projects and constantly improving the Flame-Chaser project, so there are more people coming and going.

But today is destined to be an extraordinary day... at least for Mobius's laboratory and its owner.

Mobius's distinctive voice could be heard from the doorway. "I told you, he needs more time to rest. Anyone else in his situation would have gone crazy long ago."

"But his message back to Prometheus Unit 2 was that he had almost fully recovered." Another calm voice sounded like Doctor Mei.

"Tsk..."

"Doctor Mobius, even if you and Lin are close, you shouldn't do this. You're just delaying the Flame-Chaser project and Lin..."

"Who is on good terms with him? However, the poor condition of the test subjects can also affect the results of the experiment. Even when selecting Lab Rat, the strongest ones are often chosen."

"Hmm... alright, then let's put the research on Lin on hold for now, and hopefully Doctor Mobius can come up with the solution we've agreed on as soon as possible."

"If you hadn't kept making me change it, I would have taken it out long ago."

It wasn't exactly an argument, but sparks flew between the two as they exchanged words, and the discussion about someone only came to a reluctant end after Mei gave in.

Sakura thought for a moment and decided not to go in, but to wait for Mei to come out on her own.

Mei stepped out the door and saw Sakura dressed in a formal suit. She nodded calmly and said, "Miss Sakura, you've arrived."

The people in the Mobius's Laboratory all swallowed hard, lowered their heads, and quietly sized up the gloomy-faced Mobius.

Even when Mobius was in a bad temper and spoke coldly, he had never been so frightening. It was as if he were treating worthless experimental subjects in a laboratory, with an ominous cold light flashing in his eyes.

After standing there for a moment, Mobius put away her expression. She seemed unaware of Danzhu and the others' gazes. After a moment of contemplation, she walked towards the laboratory door.

"Huh? Doctor..." Klein hesitated before speaking.

Mobius stopped and turned to look at her. "What's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing."

Mobius glanced at her questioningly, then ignored her, walked out of the laboratory, and headed in the direction she remembered.

What Klein really meant was that Mobius never left the lab alone; even going to the cafeteria by herself would be a nightmare for her. Klein.

So today, she didn't act coy like a shut-in girl who was about to die of boredom; she went out without a second thought, which surprised Klein somewhat.

"Doctor seems a little different today." As soon as Mobius left, Danzhu began her slacking-off work. After peeking around and observing for a while, she realized that Mobius was really gone. She took her cup to the water dispenser to make milk tea and said to Cangxuan, "This is the first time I've seen her so excited."

"The Doctor was also quite agitated when he discovered that Danzhu's data sheet was filled out incorrectly," Cangxuan remarked, tidying up the paper documents in his hand.

"That's different! The professor might make sarcastic remarks at me, but he never raises his voice."

Cangxuan shrugged and turned to Klein: "Senior Sister Klein, what do you think?"

"...I think..." Klein usually didn't want to engage with these two, but today she did feel that Mobius was acting strangely. "Doctor, she seems particularly... resistant to Mr. Lin's matter. Do you remember the experimental data we were asked to process yesterday?"

"I can't remember," Danzhu replied predictably.

"Hmm... the one about the Hypervariable Surgery?" Cangxuan still had some memories of it. She frowned and said, "The part where we had to process some of the useless data during the Hypervariable Surgery and then organize it?"

"Later, when the doctor asked me for the data I had organized, I saw that she took out some of it and made some changes to it. I guessed that was Mr. Lin's experimental data."

"... But hasn't the professor always pursued the authenticity of data?"

"I don't know. Maybe those data weren't good for her, or for Mr. Lin." Klein shook his head and said in a worried voice, "Doctor Mobius isn't quite herself anymore."

Regardless of what others were saying, Mobius didn't care. She chose a path that few people walked on and arrived at Lin's room.

This is her second time here; the first time was not long ago.

Without knocking, she took out an identification card, opened Lin's door, went inside, and locked the door from the inside.

The room was quiet. She smelled a musty odor, but didn't know what it was.

Clothes? Food? Or... people?

She turned on the light, and her blue eyes immediately spotted Lin sitting at the table, holding a pen.

He wasn't wearing a helmet or concealing his face. Although his fair face lacked the disheveled look of a scruffy beard, the black hair at the back of his head was longer than before, unkempt, and resembled loose down.

"..."

Lin seemed not to hear Mobius enter; he was still holding his pen, intently writing something on the paper.

But Mobius knew he must have heard her arrival; however, he had now reverted to his former indifferent attitude towards everyone.

Just as I don't want to hurt anyone, just as I don't want to hurt myself.

Mobius stepped forward, glanced at the crooked words on the paper, and found none of them legible. They looked like something a child would scribble on a piece of paper.

It's hard to imagine that this is something written by Lin, who used to have beautiful handwriting.

She said nothing, sat at the table, and stared down at Lin's hand as he slowly wrote on the paper with a pen.

"..."

"..."

After a long, long time, Lin, who had finished writing on a single sheet of paper, looked up and met Mobius's gaze.