CM-000

"I was supposed to take good care of her, but I failed to do anything."

Elysia felt Lin's gaze fall on her shoulder, then quickly look away. He seemed to be preparing to say something, remaining still and resolute.

"I knew she was Herrscher the day after I met her." Lin had a lot to say, but what came out was something else entirely. "Perhaps I should have told Mei about her existence back then, even if she had to face endless research and experiments."

Take good care of her? Lin knew it wasn't Elysia's fault at all.

Perhaps he was wrong; he violated the rules instead of strictly following orders, which led to the series of events that followed.

"I never used to have any illusions about Herrscher. The way Herrscher were born meant that they would only have malice towards humans. But after her, I started thinking about something."

"Do Herrscher with humanity... truly exist?"

Elysia's fingers trembled slightly, but Lin, who had no sense of touch, did not feel her momentary struggle.

"I think there are some. Maybe there are already Herrscher, like ordinary girls, enjoy wearing pretty clothes, eating delicious sweets, and being happy every day..." Her eyes shimmered like sparkling Amber, "And there are people they like."

"Yeah..."

"Thump."

Lin, who was about to continue speaking, abruptly stopped, and the lights in the ballroom went out again, which made the others grumble in dissatisfaction.

"What's going on?! Do you even want the dance to continue?!"

"What are you dancing in the dark! Turn on the lights!"

"Where's the backstage? Where's the backstage...?"

It was then that Lin realized something.

People seem very irritable.

This was not an illusion; ever since he heard about the upcoming ball, a sense of unease had been lurking beneath the surface of celebration throughout the headquarters.

It was as if they were expecting a full-blown "party" rather than a dance.

Enjoying the wine, food, and hormones, they couldn't wait to forget the sorrow of the Seventh Honkai Eruption and wanted to ignore the sword of Damocles hanging over their heads.

But... what can he do?

This is their shared pursuit, and also the fastest way for them to escape the shadows.

No matter who it is, this kind of approach must be allowed to exist.

"Smack."

Suddenly, a light was turned on in the dark dance hall, shining above the stage.

Everyone stared intently, and when they saw the figure walking gracefully towards them in the light, they all held their breath in unison.

Like a woman emerging from a masterpiece painting in an art capital, the crisp sound of her high heels echoed in the now-silent ballroom, while her sorrowful eyes gazed ahead where no one was.

It was as if they were looking at some people who couldn't come here.

It's as if I'm looking at people who can no longer come here.

In the long silence, the woman raised the microphone in her hand, gently opened her mouth, and sang a song to the melody.

There were no vocal techniques involved, nor was there any deliberate attempt to project compassion.

She was simply singing with her most authentic voice, her melodious song telling a story.

Gradually, those impatient voices disappeared.

Lin heard sobbing beneath the singing.

He looked up and met the singer's eyes. She always had a friendly smile on her lips, and Lin couldn't tell that she was crying.

The sobbing gradually grew louder.

Those things that should have been forgotten have returned to where they belonged.

The sound of weeping gradually drowned out the singing in the quiet dance hall.

"Eden".

Lin called out to Eden, who was about to leave from backstage. Eden had already removed her makeup and was carrying her things.

"What's wrong, Lin?" Eden's smile remained unchanged. She stood there, looking at him like a painting. "By the way... I'm so glad you came, my friend. Have you made up with Eri yet?"

What are you going to do next?

Lin had asked Eden this question before.

At that time Eden chose not to join the Moths of Fire.

"Are you asking me if I'm going to leave the Firemoth?"

"Um."

"..."

Eden smiled calmly and asked without hesitation, "What does Lin think?"

Lin paused for a moment, and after seeing Eden's indifferent eyes, he said, "Your art can indeed do things that only you can do."

"So..."

"So I hope you can stay."

Eden gave a faint smile and nodded.

People need to forget; that's their privilege.

But they, too, need to be remembered...

Chapter 118 CM-000

Lin stood backstage, where the place was completely empty except for him.

He seemed to see many things at this ball.

Some were from headquarters, some came from the past, and some were from his side.

It seems like everything has changed, but some things have remained the same.

Are you relieved now?

Lin nodded subconsciously.

But the next second, his eyes widened.

These words didn't come to mind, but rather to his ears.

"Thump."

Something like the sea overwhelmed him.

"The Honkai Energy concentration has increased by 5%, and it is still 16% away from the critical point. Continue to inject."

Lin stood expressionless in the familiar place, not much different from when he last came here.

As always, it was narrow and pitch black.

This time, however, he heard a voice that wasn't his own, a voice from Parallel World, according to Mobius, even faster than before.

But this was not some completely unfamiliar instruction; it was an instruction he had heard given during a surgery.

Hypervariable Surgery.

"Sizzle—"

The scene shifts to an operating room where a surgery is in progress, and Lin discovers that he is no longer just "outside" the frame, but is actually standing on the floor within the scene.

What's going on here...?

Just as Lin was still pondering, a strange alarm sounded during the ongoing surgery.

"Wait! Stop!"

"Bang!"

A massive explosion engulfed him.

"..."

When Lin Cong his coma, his mind was racing with unprecedented activity.

Did he fall into a coma during observation after losing consciousness?

A conscious being, can actually lose... "consciousness"?

He got up from the ground, on high alert, his nerves on edge from the recent explosion and the unusual events.

Upon getting up, all that could be seen were ruins. Lin frowned and looked around, quickly figuring out where he was.

As expected, this place was an operating room.

Lin could never forget the location where the Hypervariable Surgery was performed.

But there was no explosion during Lin and Kevin's surgery. Could this be an accident caused by some future Hypervariable Surgery?

A drop of blood dripped from his forehead, and Lin Xufu's eyes became fixed.

Blood...?

That crimson color was undoubtedly the blood surging in his veins.

His senses of touch, smell, taste, and color returned to his body, but this body, which should have been a conscious being, was actually... injured.

Are you alright?

A clear, cold voice appeared, accompanied by a strong hand supporting him. Lin reached out and wiped his aching forehead, his hand covered in bright red blood that was extremely glaring.

"Are you conscious? Do you know your own name?"

Only then did Lin turn his attention to the person who had approached him.

The uniform of the Moth Chaser is correct, and it's a soldier's uniform.

She had long, black hair; I felt like I'd seen it somewhere before.

"I'm fine..." Lin steadied himself, brushed her hand away, and nodded indifferently.

His vigilance was still high; the memory of that terrifying hand almost grabbing him last time was still fresh, and now he was very likely to be found by that unknown "person" again.

"It's good that you're alright. Do you know what happened?" The black-haired woman also looked around warily, which caught Lin's attention.

"No... what about you?"

"I..." The woman clutched her head in pain, shaking her head with a slightly ferocious expression, "I can't remember."

"Can't remember?"

Lin scanned his surroundings once more. Why was it so quiet after the explosion? Were there no other soldiers checking the situation?

And what about this woman? She was near the operating room when the explosion occurred, and she was unharmed, but she lost her memory?

Do you remember your name?

Lin took the initiative and asked the question.

"My name is..." The woman shook her head violently, as if trying to shake something out of her mind. After a while, she looked at Lin with a blank expression and murmured, "I don't know..."

"But I have a badge with a number on it."

Lin watched as she pulled a familiar Firemoth badge from her pocket, but the serial number on it was completely different...

CM-000.

Lin jolted awake from his dazed state. His consciousness seemed to return to his body from a distant place, and a strange sense of alienation came from all over his body, making him momentarily return to the unbalanced state he had just lost his senses in.

However, after the first time, he quickly adapted to controlling his original body the second time.

"..."

He tried to shake hands, and the body, devoid of tactile sensation, moved according to his will under the control of his consciousness.