About to Meet / Be a Little More Special to Me

He slowly explained, "Treat unwanted sounds as background noise, blur your senses, and you won't react to other people's behavior."

"Is this your experience?" Mobius said with a hint of sarcasm, influenced by Lin's words.

"Um."

"I thought you just didn't care about those gossips and were shameless."

"Everyone cares about this, but they all have different ways of dealing with it."

But anyone who sees Lin's seemingly unaffected demeanor, even if the sky were to fall, would probably think that he simply doesn't care about those words.

"Okay... but I can't." Mobius stared at Lin's extinguished helmet. "So block it for me."

"Good."

The music suddenly changed, and rousing music resounded throughout the venue. The overhead lights went out, and two or three faint starlights lit up instead.

"Huh? Who's controlling the lights and music backstage?" The person in charge of the party's expression changed. He ran backstage, only to see bewildered backstage staff helplessly dealing with the unresponsive control panel in front of them.

Prometheus stood in the corner of the hall, staring at the overhead lights, his eyes flashing with data streams.

Lin's dance moves were also expansive and dynamic to the music. He stayed close to Mobius, supporting her back, and moved quickly through the lights.

No one could see who was dancing under the lights.

Mobius looked up. She didn't need to hide her expression now. She couldn't see Lin, and Lin couldn't see her in the dim light either.

Therefore, she was able to fully cooperate with Lin and dance in the star-studded dance floor.

Yes, only at this moment could she not worry about Lin seeing her...

Chapter 112 An Imminent Meeting

A pink-haired girl in casual clothes sat on the edge of the dance floor. In the dim light, no one noticed that she was sitting on the steps, watching the two special people on the dance floor, a smile on her lips.

"Aren't you going over there, Eri?" Eden walked up to her without her noticing, holding a glass of red wine in his hand, but it wasn't provided by headquarters; it was her own wine.

"If I go over there now, Doctor Mobius will get angry~" Elysia stood up, came behind Eden, hugged Eden tightly, and put her head on Eden's shoulder. "Let's give them the time now."

"And you, Eri?"

"Me? Let me think... Have you heard of 'Elysia, the persistent one'? I can go find him anytime I want~" Elysia's smile was intriguing. "Besides, why bother someone else?"

"But he isn't now..."

"Oh dear~ My little Eden, you still don't understand Lin enough. He's the type who responds to other people's expectations. If someone is nice to him, he will definitely remember it, but it won't be in the same way or with the same feelings."

Elysia touched her cherry-colored lips. "For example... Lin once had an adoptive father who gave Lin two completely different ideas, and even after his death, he could not judge whether he was a good person or a bad person."

"Lin will be grateful for everything that person has given him, but he will not agree with what that person did."

At this moment, Elysia thought of the girl she called Little Seven, and her expression darkened.

Herrscher...

But she quickly cheered up. "Lin is just that kind of clumsy person when it comes to responding to kindness. He doesn't know how to express himself normally, so he can only respond in the way he thinks he can. That's why Lin doesn't refuse most requests, because that's what he thinks is the best response."

"It seems that Doctor Mobius was lying about Lin's poor health." Mei pushed the cup to the side of the icy figure. Even through the cold-weather suit, she felt a piercing cold upon contact. "And the rumors about their bad relationship also seem to be false."

Kevin, bundled up like a Zongzi in his winter coat, glanced at the dance floor. With his Flame-Chaser -like dynamic vision, he could easily spot Lin and Mobius.

He didn't offer any opinion, but instead glanced at the wine glass beside him, whose rim had already begun to freeze.

"Mei, I can't drink alcohol."

Kevin's body temperature is high enough to freeze anything he eats into an ice cube, so he is currently eating small, cold foods, and to replenish his fluids, he is using a special liquid with an extremely low freezing point developed by Mei.

"This is also a special liquid that I made; it just tastes like alcohol."

Kevin looked at May's smiling face, nodded, picked up his glass, and drank it all in one gulp.

It definitely only tastes like red wine; other aspects, such as the texture, don't feel like a liquid.

Doing things for someone that he would never normally do—if it were the old Kevin, he would definitely say that's love. Of course, he would still think so now, but... he would never say those words out loud again.

"Elysia has submitted an application to undergo the Hypervariable Surgery." Mei's casual remark made Kevin pause, his hand still holding the cup.

He raised his head expressionlessly, looked over May's shoulder, and gazed at Elysia at the edge of the dance floor.

She was watching Lin and Mobius on the dance floor with a gentle smile.

Kevin sighed and shook his head, "So, you agree."

He didn't even use a question; rather, he said that now, Mei would accept anyone who wanted to undergo the Hypervariable Surgery. Humanity needed a large number of Flame-Chaser, and Kevin alone was not enough.

Even most people who undergo surgery will encounter Lin's situation, or even... a situation worse than his.

"Why did the lights suddenly turn off?" Pardo, her face glistening with oil from eating, stammered and looked up at the off lights above her in confusion.

"Never mind, they're probably going to use the stage spotlights. I remember some big star is going to perform..." Qianqi was also eating non-stop, waved her hand with dead fish eyes. "It's so flashy."

"Oh... right, why did you join the Firemoth? We're not young... uh, we're here to find someone!" Pardo originally wanted to say that she had accidentally snuck in, but thinking that saying that might get her arrested on the spot, she quickly changed her story.

"Tch, I didn't want to join the Firemoth. I was kidnapped and forced to do hard labor." Qianqi licked the condiments on her hand and sneered, "Those two guys just dragged me in without saying a word, although I had my own reasons..."

"Those two guys?"

"A helmeted weirdo, a cold-blooded killer, two abnormal guys."

"Oh... that's probably not the person I'm looking for."

In Pardo's memory, although Lin was wrapped in bandages to cover his face, he never wore a helmet. And someone who could capture Qianqi must at least be able-bodied and conscious, right?

"Well... you're pretty weird too." Qianqi stared at Pardo, who was starting to break out in a cold sweat.

"W-What's so strange? I'm perfectly normal!"

"Your expression and movements are quite different from others. How should I put it... you have a kind of feeling that doesn't belong to the moth that chases the flame."

"I'm a newbie who just joined." Pardo's heart was in turmoil, but she forced a smile. "Then it's definitely different."

"No, even the helmeted man and the female assassin are outliers among the Fire Moths. They give me the feeling that they are members of the Fire Moths. But you... I have a feeling that I can't quite put my finger on."

This guy is so clever! Can't he stop observing so closely?

As Pardo was trying to figure out how to handle the situation, someone walked up to them, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Excuse me, do you know where Kevin is?"

"Hmm?" Qianqi turned her head away in confusion, while Pardo let out a long sigh of relief, as if a huge weight had been lifted from her heart.

"Excuse me, I'm a new guy at headquarters. I'm looking for my friend. His girlfriend texted me saying he's at a dance, but I can't find them."

"Another newcomer?"

Qianqi muttered to herself, "People have been joining all this time."

"Kevin ... let me think... oh, that successful Flame-Chaser, I remember he didn't attend the ball."

"Didn't participate? Um... okay, thanks."

The person left with a thank you and walked away. Qianqi shrugged, intending to turn back and continue chatting with Pardo, only to find that Pardo had vanished, along with two chicken legs...

Chapter 113 Only Special to Me

As the music ended, the crystal chandelier in the hall was brilliantly lit, and the dazzling light returned to this noisy place. When people looked again, everything seemed unchanged. They looked at each other blankly, not understanding what the "impromptu performance" meant.

Surely they're not going to... let them kiss their dance partners in complete darkness, are they?

Compared to the commotion throughout the venue, the disappearance of the two individuals would obviously go unnoticed.

"..."

"..."

They walked in silence, Lin Jing walking quietly ahead as if he had no weight, while Mobius followed behind him, staring at his heels. The two of them remained silent the entire way.

He seemed to have regained control over the weight of his steps, whether it was because the dancing earlier had really worked or because Lin had adapted over the past few days, was anyone's guess.

She wanted to ask, but it seemed like she was being too concerned about him, so she didn't say anything.

Mobius suddenly felt that her current state was like that of a high school girl in love whom Danzhu and Cangxuan had overheard talking about. She had a lot of things stuck in her throat and couldn't say them because of the heat on her face. She could only follow behind others in silence.

But Mobius wasn't a high school girl; she had never experienced a so-called school romance, let alone really understood what school life was like.

If she had to say something, she only heard Mei admit that she had a boyfriend, Kevin, when she went to the Chienyu Academy to find Mei.

By the way, isn't Lin Mei's classmate?

"What were you like with Mei and Kevin in high school?" If the three of you were asked together, it probably wouldn't seem like you cared too much, right?

Lin Dunbu shook his head and said, "It's about the same as now."

"Almost? I think you two have completely severed ties. Forget about deep friendship; sometimes May even seems eager to drag you down with her. Her little follower Kevin is on her side too." Mobius thought of the argument May had with him that morning and gave a cold smile, adding without any warmth, "You're not the only one who thinks you're still as close to them as you were in high school, are you?"

"... Do you think you've changed since we first met you?"

"I..."

Mobius nearly choked on her own words. She stared at Lin's back with suspicion, wondering if he had noticed something and that was why he asked the question. But in the end, it was all in vain; Lin's helmet blocked her from observing his expression.

So she put her hands behind her back, shook her head with a cold face, and said, "Nothing has changed. I am who I am."

"..." This made Lin turn his head and look at her strangely, but Lin didn't say anything either, just continued the previous topic, "People can't stay the same. Even if the future me looks at the present me, I will think that the present and the future are different."

"So the three of us are not the same as we were back then. That's an objective fact. No matter how much we try to ignore it, we will gradually become lost, cold-blooded, and paranoid in the process of fighting against the Honkai."

"What humanity needs right now is May. I understand her, Kevin understands her, and Kevin and May understand me in the same way. That's why I agreed to many things that seemed unfair to me."

"We understand each other now, just like we did in high school, so... things are pretty much the same now as before."

Mobius turned his head. "I see... I thought you were just an idiot who was being used without even realizing it... Well, it was convenient for me that way too."

"So you don't need to argue with Mei on my behalf."

"..."

Mobius's right eyelid twitched twice. She took a sip of saliva and glared at Lin's retreating figure. "Wait a minute, how did you know... No, I never argued with Möbius, much less for you..."

Lin turned around and waved the communicator in his hand, which clearly displayed the text communication between him and Mei.

Mei emphasized that Mobius said Lin was not in good condition and asked if it was true. Lin did not answer directly, but gave an ambiguous reply that he hoped to rest for a while.

That woman—

Mobius almost gritted his teeth and said she was talking nonsense.

She said she always felt that Lin Cong the beginning contained something meaningful, and now she understood.

"I just think you need some time to adjust. Even experiments need strong individuals, not sickly, half-dead Lab Rat, right? Besides, isn't there Kevin, the successful case? Why should we have to put you first... Why should we ignore the successful case and study the failed case first?"

After staring at her for a long time, Lin nodded gently. "... Okay."

"Don't try to fool me!"

Mobius was enraged by Lin's nonchalant attitude. She had realized that she was particularly prone to being provoked by Lin when she was with him. Even though he said the same things to her as he did to others, and even though she knew that was just the kind of person he was, she still couldn't help but get angry.

It's like a switch has been flipped, and I can't control my emotions at all.

Yes... there's no difference, and that's precisely the point about no difference!

She admitted that she was somewhat sharp-tongued and didn't like to agree with others. Lin's handling of the situation was fine; he could tell she was unhappy, so there was no need to press the matter further. But she was still annoyed! Annoyed by Lin, who always acted "correctly" and "sincerely"!

He was like her at the opposite extreme, doing completely different things, but outsiders had such similar views of them. Even though she thought Lin was doing absolutely nothing wrong, and no one could do better or more correctly in his position, he still faced ridicule from his own people.

Instead of doing things that are morally condemned like her, we should do the right thing.

What angered her the most was that even so, Lin didn't have any objections.

Yes, he had no opinion.

Even if someone who genuinely wanted to mock or ridicule Lin had said the same thing, she bet Lin would still have said "Okay."

This is... infuriating!

"Can't you keep asking why you think you need to make adjustments? Can't you keep asking why I didn't tell you about this? Are you just going to brush me off with something like 'okay,' 'yes,' or 'I understand'? Just like you brush off everyone else?"

"...I don't understand what you're trying to say." Lin stood face to face with Mobius, and the moment his questioning words reached Mobius's ears, her expression shifted from resentment to tranquility.

She spoke each word clearly and without any concealment—