Do Not Believe / The Endless September

He felt he should admire Lin.

This feeling is hard to explain. If it's about sacrificing oneself for the Flame-Chaser project, then Kevin was the same, and he was a successful surgeon. If it's about Lin's contribution... then there are many different opinions and no certainty.

It was a very complex feeling, and the fact that she hadn't been able to get in touch with Lin only deepened the complexity of that feeling.

"...Hmm." After seeing Lin and Hua finish speaking, Erwin quickly turned around and started relentlessly attacking the desserts on the plate, afraid of being noticed that he was following Lin.

He followed Lin halfway through the ball and saw some... well, very strange scenes.

But none of that matters. It's just that the image of Lin in my mind and the reality of Lin are somewhat different, but it's not enough to be disillusioning.

Well... seeing that Lin was "okay," he breathed a sigh of relief.

It wasn't a twisted or fanatical emotion; it was simply that seeing a respectable person still alive and strong gave Erwin the courage to continue fighting.

But as he prepared to leave—

"Hey, wait a minute."

With a smile, Elysia pulled Pardo along, blocking his path.

"I have a feeling that Lin turned into a male succubus overnight." Vill-V pinched the straw between two fingers and took small sips. "Does a sad man exude a different kind of charm?"

"Normal people attract normal people, and abnormal people naturally attract abnormal people." Mei Ying added, reaching out her hand, "Dr. Vill-V, give it to me."

"Now? We're still at the ball, aren't we? It's not too late to wait until tomorrow."

I will review it tonight.

"You're really working hard."

From her...collar? From an odd angle, Vill-V retrieved a storage device and handed it to May.

Mei glanced at it and put it in her pocket.

"But Doctor Mobius's interest in things outside of her experiments and life goals is surprising. Logically, shouldn't Lin and her have a deep-seated ideological conflict?" Vill-V pulled an Ace from her deck of cards and placed it on the table, then skillfully shuffled the cards. "Could it be that Doctor Mobius isn't actually as devoted to research as she seems?"

"... People are powerless against 'resonance'."

Mei gazed calmly at the bustling crowd, her hands resting on the table.

"It was Mobius's obsession with her goals that made her 'resonate' with Lin, who had completely different ideas but was so similar to her."

"Hmm? Do Mobius and Lin look alike? I don't think so."

Vill-V drew another Ace blindly. This was just one of the tricks of the flower cutter, but Vill-V didn't seem to use those tricks. She found the card she wanted purely by memory.

"Eccentric behavior, unpopularity, unconventional personality... and coincidentally, Lin is someone who is willing to accept others even if they have different ideas, and is willing to accept the other extreme even if they insist on absolute differences. This should be an irresistible 'scent' for Mobius."

"An interesting statement."

The third Ace was snapped out of the hand by Vill-V and placed in the third position.

"And what about the Miss Assassin?"

"Cherry?"

Mei chuckled softly, "I'm not an expert in solving emotional mysteries."

"Judging from your tone, your analysis sounds very logical."

"Because I have a boyfriend?"

"... Speaking of which, haven't you only ever been in one relationship?" Vill-V looked at Mei with surprise. "Why do you know so much about it?"

"The skills required for my position."

"Oh... so shrewd and sophisticated?"

"To be precise, it's about... understanding people's hearts and manipulating favorable factors."

Mei gave a wry smile, "Let's get back to the main topic. Sakura is actually easier to understand than Mobius. She used to be an assassin, and her sense of identity makes her consciously place herself in a lower position compared to Lin, whom she is closer to."

While listening intently, Vill-V also stroked the cards, trying to find the last Ace from memory.

"Given that she unilaterally believes there is a conflict between her and Lin, it's not hard to imagine that Sakura actually feels mostly guilty towards Lin. Once Lin, as the main person in charge, alleviates her guilt, the relationship will turn positive."

"Wow, as expected of Doctor Mei, she is also adept at manipulating people's minds."

Vill-V drew the last card and placed it face down in the last position.

"Actually, you're quite sentimental, aren't you, Doctor Mei?"

"That's not a good word, Dr. Vill-V."

"Then... what about Elysia?"

Vill-V turned over the cards, and instead of the last Ace, it was the Joker at the top.

Chapter 124 Don't Believe

A crisis doesn't always brew for a long time, give warnings, and then suddenly erupt.

Just as true despair is not a naive script created by a sudden disaster, but rather by those small, unintentional, and overlooked "things" that converge into a stream, time and again, like river water carrying away the soil, crushing the heart.

When that unnoticed, tiny "that" appears.

It's all too late.

"I still find it strange that Herrscher consciousness exists in a certain way." When Vill-V interacted with Mei, she would ask a lot of questions. This was not because Mei necessarily knew more or was more knowledgeable Vill-V. It was simply that Vill-V wanted to know another way of thinking, like another solution to a problem.

"... The fact that Herrscher consciousness can be transferred is enough to set them apart from humans."

Mei's gaze kept shifting among the crowd.

She always felt that "something was wrong".

May's way of doing things means that all her actions are based on "analysis" and "reality," and she remains unmoved even when faced with things that have no basis.

But now, she had a strange feeling that something was "wrong".

It was as if something was about to happen; something indescribable enveloped her.

If I had to use a metaphor, it would be like a wild beast, its steaming tongue darting out of its fanged mouth and licking the back of her neck—a truly chilling sight.

She glanced at Vill-V, who seemed oblivious to anything.

Mei suppressed those unfounded intuitions, which were likely just natural bodily reactions from various sources, and it seemed she needed to rest.

"In the early days, we thought that Herrscher consciousness could be divided into two states: 'contaminated' and 'replaced', but now I think that it is very likely that they are just manifestations."

Time is passing, technology is advancing, and our understanding of certain things is constantly changing.

Mei's relentless research has given her an unparalleled understanding of Herrscher, yet a great many mysteries remain unsolved.

"You can imagine that the Herrscher Core is a 'database'. After being implanted into a human body, the data covers the human's consciousness, forming the Herrscher consciousness. Then the Herrscher consciousness is a 'modified consciousness' with the human as the carrier and the base." Mei calmly explained, "It's just that the modified consciousness can choose to express more of the 'human' aspect or more of the 'Honkai' aspect. In essence, there may be no pollution or replacement. It is just human consciousness, just in a different form."

"Oh~ that's really... a bold speculation." Vill-V said this, but there was no surprise on her face. "I thought you also thought that the Herrscher consciousness was something that couldn't be explained and was born from the Honkai."

"I heard you say before that you really like reading mystery novels, right?"

"Of course, please call me Detective Vill-V."

"Then you should know about the techniques of deceptive narratives, such as making two different points in time mistaken for the same point in time, or two different places mistaken for the same place. There is also a kind of supernatural disguised as science." Mei chuckled. "In fact, those myths in history can also be seen as using deceptive narrative techniques. The so-called gods are some natural phenomena, and by changing the wording, they can achieve the effect of creating gods."

She pushed up her glasses, a cold glint in her eyes. "And in my opinion, the Herrscher consciousness... no, the Honkai is the same situation."

The almost divine powers used by the Herrscher can actually be explained by science. What they can do, humans can also do through technology. So, the idea of altering human consciousness... perhaps humans can do that too.

To transform the Herrscher's consciousness back into human form...

Suddenly, "that" came.

Mei's eyes widened as something magnified infinitely, something indescribable, came to her side.

"Is there anything else?"

To be honest, what Lin finds most troublesome is seeing Elysia.

The second headache was that Elysia returned shortly after leaving.

"Get away... quickly..."

Lin suddenly looked up as a colorless gaze swept quickly past him.

"What's wrong, Lin?"

Elysia, who was about to play a trick on him, saw Lin react like a cat with its fur standing on end and asked in confusion.

"No..." Lin frowned. He didn't notice anything wrong. Everything around him was normal. People were dancing, drinking, and having fun.

Was that just my imagination?

It was as if someone stood next to his ear and whispered something.

"Oh... I want you to meet three people," Elysia said with a smile. "Then, I hope they can become your team members."

"... I am now a member of the Poisoned Cocoon Squad."

That's right, even though Lin has undergone the Hypervariable Surgery, he is still a member of the Poisoned Cocoon Squad, and that will not change.

Normal soldiers cannot join the Poisoned Cocoon Squad.

"It's okay, it's okay, you'll definitely leave the Poisoned Cocoon sooner or later anyway~" Elysia said confidently with a smile, "After you leave, just make them your team members."

"... What are you planning?" Lin realized something was wrong. Whenever Elysia seemed normal, that was when she was most abnormal.

"Uh...no." Elysia spread her hands innocently. "I just think you're lonely, so I let the three children join your team."

"..." Lin's sharp gaze swept over Elysia, and after pondering for a while, he finally spoke, "You want to join my team this way?"

Oh no, they've figured it out.

Lin coldly looked down at Elysia, who was starting to break out in a cold sweat. "The 'child' you're talking about, you wouldn't happen to have one of them, would you?"

Why are you so sensitive about this particular aspect?

"I refuse."

"Wait a minute! Teacher Lin! There are really two children who want to see you!"

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow, about to say something.

"Quickly... no..."

I felt a jolt all over my body, as if I'd been electrocuted.

Since losing his sense of touch, Lin has also lost most of his bodily responses.

What is this feeling...?

We're still at the dance, aren't we? Why do I have this feeling that something is approaching?

"Leave..."

"Forest..."

"..."

The intermittent sound drifted into his ears, and under Elysia's strange gaze, Lin kept shaking his head, trying to dispel the sound.

"Don't trust Lin."

A clear, cold voice slammed heavily into Lin's ears.

What?

At this moment, amidst the clamor of the ball, a pair of evil, blood-red eyes slowly opened.

He narrowed his eyes, as if mocking someone.

Chapter 125 Endless September

September 11th.

Not every story has a specific time frame, just as not every protagonist is an orphan.

But just as the orphan's identity often helps advance the plot, the timing of the announcement must also have its significance.