"..."
Delta pointed at Elysia, while Lin spread his hands, indicating that there was nothing he could do either.
"I posted a betting pool about Lin's true identity on Fire Moth's internal network. After removing the most popular guesses, 'girl' and 'robot,' the remaining options include a rational zombie, humanoid Honkai Beast, hyperrealistic projection..." Elysia rattled off every one of her mischievous ideas. With every option she named, Lin's expression darkened another shade. By the end, he would not even need bandages around his face—the shadows alone could hide it.
Delta immediately grew interested as well. She took out her communicator and found the post. "Really? Then I'll place a bet too."
Leaning against his wheelchair, Lin had nothing left to say. Even Delta was joining in the nonsense. He truly did not know what to say anymore.
"Alright, I'm betting a month's salary. Lin, don't let me down."
Delta laughed, patted Lin on the shoulder, and left to look for something to eat elsewhere.
"Huh? Why hasn't the vote ranking changed?" Elysia searched through the interface but did not see Delta's vote. Then, at the very bottom of the betting pool—the option with the fewest votes—she found it.
"This option is... a breathtakingly handsome guy? Only three people voted for it in total."
"..."
Lin's expression did not change.
Throughout the ball, Lin quietly watched the pairs dancing in the ballroom. By chance, he spotted Squad Four's captain, Hen, dancing with Mobius's assistant, Bianca. Seeing the smiles on their faces, his iceberg-like expression softened slightly.
Days like this were rare for warriors whose lives hung by a thread.
"Does it look nice?"
"..."
The girl's hair brushed against his neck, gently sweeping over the back of it. A soft voice drifted down from above his head.
"This scene is what everyone is striving for, and it's also why Lin fights. So it must look beautiful in Lin's eyes."
"...And you, Elysia?"
"Me? Of course I'm beautiful too."
"..."
She deftly avoided the question.
Glasses clinked, and music rang out.
The dancing figures spoke of humanity's brief respite.
Lin gazed at them in a daze.
They were so far away.
Lin's fingers twitched. He wanted to reach out, but halfway through, his hand froze in the air. He stared at his bandaged fingertips, shook his head, and prepared to lower it.
"Smack."
A hand clasped his palm.
Just like back then.
"Oh my, a maid will carry out her master's orders strictly."
Elysia exerted a little force and pulled Lin up from the wheelchair. With her other hand supporting his waist, she helped him barely stand.
"I'm Elysia. May I invite you to dance?"
"...Alright."
The girl's smile looked so radiant beneath the lights.
Like a March breeze brushing over his face.
Humanity's Despair
Lin's body was softer than Elysia had imagined.
Based on what Lin's physical examination report said, Elysia had imagined that his entire body would be covered in firm muscle lines, nearly as hard as metal to the touch. Perhaps if she knocked on him, she might even hear an echo.
But perhaps because he was currently weakened, when she touched this boy who usually felt almost like a robot, the sensation beneath her hands was exceptionally soft.
Lin could not raise his arms beyond ninety degrees. His hands and feet were weak, his limbs limp, and even moving his legs took effort. For him now, dancing was practically a fantasy.
But none of that was a problem for Elysia. She easily held Lin's left hand with one hand and supported his waist with the other. Using only her hands, she steadily bore his entire weight, allowing Lin's free hand to hook firmly around her waist to keep his balance. Then she took the lead, controlling their advance and retreat.
After stepping onto the dance floor, Lin, who had never learned to dance, wanted to watch the others' steps and imitate them. With his learning ability, he should have been able to pick up the basics after watching a few times. But before his gaze could move away from Elysia, she softly said, "Lin, when you dance with a girl, you should look into her eyes~"
Lin looked into her eyes, which held a pool of autumn water. "...I don't know how to dance."
"It's alright." She moved a little closer.
Why?
Those captivating pink eyes kept the question from leaving Lin's lips. There was a kind of magic in them that made him instinctively believe Elysia's words.
In the shadows beneath the dim lights, no one noticed two people quietly joining the dance floor, dancing gracefully amid clusters of swaying "petals."
"Tap—"
With a forward step, Lin drew closer to Elysia. A faint fragrance lingered in his nose.
Perfume? Probably not. He had never seen Elysia use cosmetics.
He held her slender hand, delicate enough to fit in one grasp. When Elysia stepped forward, he stepped back; when Elysia stepped back, he stepped forward. Their movements were coordinated and fluid. Coupled with Elysia's elegant, standard posture, even the most basic slow waltz was quite pleasing to watch.
It was strange. He clearly had no foundation in dance, and his lower body could barely exert any strength, yet Lin instinctively followed Elysia's steps, as though he had been born a dancer.
Lin quickly understood why. He was merely instinctively matching Elysia's movements. Every one of her steps was precise enough to be written into a dance textbook, allowing Lin's feet to land in the correct places. Elysia also subtly helped him adjust his posture.
His awkward steps became practiced. Just as Lin had expected, he learned quickly.
As more people joined, the tempo of the music quickened, and the dance changed from a slow waltz to a quick one. Lin felt the strength around his waist increase slightly.
Turning, swaying, tilting, rising, falling—every movement flowed together seamlessly. On this girl, crystalline as a Crystal Flower, everything was so natural and moving.
Lin stared into the girl's pink eyes. His lips moved as he asked in a nearly inaudible voice, "Back then... was it you who spoke to me?"
The voice that had told him to live sounded exactly like Elysia's.
But why had Lin been able to hear her call in that place where there was nothing? And why had she said those things to him?
"When was that?" The girl gave a sly smile, her ambiguous expression impossible to read.
"When I fell into the abyss."
"Lin." Her long pink hair traced a perfect arc as she danced. Beneath the shifting lights, the girl's thin lips looked delicate and enticing, curving into a smile. "Secrets add a touch of mystery to a girl, don't they?"
"..."
Everything before him felt like an illusory dream. Lin could hear people laughing. They had forgotten their pain, buried their tears and sorrow in this ball, and once more walked resolutely toward a new sunrise.
Yes, to Lin, all of it was unreal and beyond reach, as though it could shatter at any moment.
Including the girl before him.
"But no matter when or where, Elysia will be here. That, at least, is no secret."
The girl blinked, her smile sparkling like stars.
"Is that so?" Lin murmured, coming to a stop.
The song had ended, and a new one had begun, but the two of them were nowhere to be seen.
"Splash."
The night sky above the sea stretched clear and blue for thousands of miles, like a galaxy scattering stardust over people's heads.
By moonlight, Lin wiped down the pistol in his hand. This standard-issue gun had only fired a few shots, yet after several battles, it had inevitably gained scratches. His fingers traced the rough marks as thoughts surged in his dark eyes.
"Click."
A flash captured Lin's profile, freezing the moment in place.
Lin glanced at Elysia as she pulled the photo from the instant camera. The night breeze brushed through her hair, spilling down like a waterfall.
"Not a bad photo. We can put it on Fire Moth's promotional posters someday and label it Fire Moth's Thinker." Elysia turned the photo over so Lin could see his pensive appearance.
Lin quietly asked, "Does Fire Moth have promotional posters?"
"Of course. We have to consider everything, so we predicted that one day Honkai and Fire Moth would inevitably be exposed to the whole world. We made preparations for publicity and recruitment in advance."
If that day came, it would mean Fire Moth could no longer conceal the disasters caused by Honkai. By then, human society might collapse in an instant like a sandcastle battered by the tide.
How far away was that day? Would it come after he died, or before? Or would it be tomorrow?
The future was filled with terrifying unknowns.
"Lin, how long until the next large-scale Honkai outbreak?" Elysia looked back at the brightly lit base, tucked the hair by her ear, and asked Lin.
"I don't know." Lin raised his head to look at the sky. Beneath that curtain of twinkling stars, he vaguely felt as though something was watching him. "But I believe humanity can keep winning."
"'Winning'..." Elysia savored the word. She murmured, "Lin, do you believe in humanity because you believe in yourself?"
"No." Lin exhaled. "On the contrary, I believe in myself because I believe in humanity."
"I can always see it."
"What?"
Elysia smiled. "Lin always looks so rational and shrewd, yet you say things that are emotional and impulsive."
"This is a judgment based on reason." Lin lowered his head and looked at the pistol.
"Then what if humanity disappoints you one day?"
"Then it would only mean I had disappointed myself."
Lin's fingers brushed over the pistol's grooves. Then he turned the muzzle, aiming that dark opening at himself.
Once humanity fell into despair, it would block the road to the future.
He believed humanity would not be so foolish.
"But if that day really comes..."
The finger on the trigger slowly tightened.
"That day will never come. I promise you."
A pink finger blocked the barrel.
Daily Life Begins Flowing Again
"Good morning, Lin."
"..."
At 8:05 in the morning, Lin was doing rehabilitation exercises in the Second Gym. Kevin entered wearing a towel around his neck, a short-sleeved shirt, and athletic shorts. After greeting him naturally, he began his morning workout.
"I thought I was the only one who knew about this gym. I've had it to myself for a month."
Kevin jogged on the treadmill, the muscles across his body rising and falling rhythmically under his control. In just one month, his physique had already surpassed what it had been during his student days.
Perhaps his extraordinary Honkai Energy Adaptability had begun changing his body after he came into contact with Honkai Energy. At the very least, ordinary soldiers could not undergo such earth-shaking physical changes in such a short time.
Lin withdrew his gaze and continued his simple, effective rehabilitation exercises. "Before you came, I was the one using this place."
"Oh, no wonder."
After joining Fire Moth, Kevin had heard nearly all of the strange rumors surrounding Lin. In summary, Lin was some freak whose right hand could erase Honkai Energy, whose left hand had a Gatling gun installed that fired three thousand six hundred rounds a minute, whose eyes could shoot petrifying rays, and whose legs could transform into acceleration wheels that could turn a day into twenty-five hours.
There was even a book dedicated to introducing Lin, called One Hundred Questions About the Silent Helmet. It was already on its second edition.
"Lin, yesterday I... um... no, that's not right." Kevin wore a strange expression, as if he wanted to show something off but felt it was inappropriate. So he casually asked, "Where did you and Elysia go last night? A girl with hidden streaks has been looking for you everywhere."
"I..."
"How did you know Mei and I secretly went up to the deck to admire the moon?"
"..."
Lin stretched his joints expressionlessly and said nothing.
The wisest thing for him to do now was get up and leave immediately. Otherwise, based on what he knew of Kevin, what would follow would be an indiscriminate barrage of meaningless sentences made up of useless words, assaulting people's brain cells until they had no choice but to listen even if they did not want to.
Before you continue