Elysia laughed so hard she could barely catch her breath. Only after Mei's gaze had turned cold from all the laughing did she finally gasp out, "That was Highly Concentrated Mustard made by Mobius. Dilute it one-to-one-hundred with drinking water, and it's about the same as regular mustard."
"Mobius gave Lin Highly Concentrated Mustard? Is this... because she hates him?"
"Lin's something of a fundamentalist. His ideals run completely contrary to Mobius's, so in a sense, they really are the pair that gets along the least." Having finished her prank, Elysia began answering Mei's questions. "But this mustard is actually Doctor Mobius's way of being gentle with Lin."
"...May I ask whether the Previous Civilization's definition of 'gentleness' is the same as mine?"
"Of course it is."
"..." Faced with another incomprehensible explanation and inexplicable behavior, Mei decided to assume Mobius simply loved mustard.
"Lin gave it to you so you could keep it on you. If Mobius sees it, she might restrain herself a little."
"Then I really should thank him. It makes me feel like I'm carrying yellow paper to ward off demons." Mei suppressed the urge to complain and put away the vial of medicine... Highly Concentrated Mustard. Then she turned to what she considered more important clues. "Mobius is also one of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers. She's the Dark Side of MOTH, right?"
"Calling her the Dark Side of MOTH is a little too broad... but it's basically correct. What else do you know, Mei?"
"Flame-Chaser designation CM-003. She belonged to the first batch of Flame-Chasers alongside Kevin, you, and Sakura. And she was the one who created the Flame-Chasers."
"Wow, you looked into even that much?"
"...Other than the designation, you told me all of that yourself."
"I'm happy that Mei remembers what I said~" Elysia glossed over the fact that she had leaked information. "But saying she 'created the Flame-Chasers' isn't quite accurate. That technology was actually the result of many people's combined efforts. Still, Mei has worked very hard, so there's no need to worry about such a small mistake."
Mei hesitated. Looking at Elysia's smiling face, she slowly voiced her final conclusion. "All the signs indicate that Mobius doesn't have a good relationship with either you or Lin."
The Highly Concentrated Mustard in her hands had especially convinced Mei of that.
"How could that be? We all see one another as irreplaceable companions. And Mei, you'd better not tell Mobius that her relationship with Lin is bad... uh, don't say it's good either. In short, it's best not to mention anything between them. It's a very delicate 'balance.' If you break it, you'll be punished."
Mei raised her slender brows. "I couldn't tell that the helmet guy would ever clash with anyone. I thought whenever he encountered a conflict, he either kept silent or turned around and left."
"Not Lin. Mobius."
"...I understand even less about how you people get along."
"It's actually very easy to understand. You just know nothing about what happened back then. Given the effort you've put into seeking the truth, I'll give you a special secret."
Elysia's expression gradually flattened. It was impossible to tell whether the emotion brewing in her voice was wistfulness or something else as she slowly said, "There were indeed only four initial Flame-Chasers. Kevin was the first successful case of Hypervariable Surgery, so his designation was CM-001."
Mei noticed Elysia's wording. "The first 'successful' one..."
"That's right. Being the first success doesn't mean Kevin was the first person to undergo Hypervariable Surgery." Elysia raised one finger. "The first person to undergo the procedure was actually Lin. His Flame-Chaser designation was forcibly set as CM-000 because his surgery failed."
"As expected, that guy wasn't as simple as he claimed." Mei furrowed her brows. She had entertained some suspicions before, and now Elysia's words had confirmed them.
"There were some minor complications when Lin joined the procedure. Someone opposed giving him a surgery with a success rate practically equal to zero, but he insisted on becoming the first volunteer. Thinking back on it now, it really is moving."
"Someone objected? Who was it? Kevin? Hua? Or you?"
Elysia lowered her head, hiding her expression behind her bangs as she softly said—
"It was Mobius."
She Swore
"There aren't many elites in MOTH right now. You barely count as one, so MOTH won't approve any mission requests from you until your injuries have fully healed." Mobius brushed aside the earring by her ear, its golden lacquer gleaming beneath the lights. She casually set her cup on the table and pulled a document from the messy stack of files to look through.
Mobius understood those people's thoughts all too well. Letting Lin recuperate was merely an excuse. Soldiers were expendable goods. From the way they had forced Lin to search for and rescue Mei, it was clear that their attitude toward these so-called "elites" was no different from that toward slightly more advanced riflemen.
The reason they were pretending to protect Lin now was probably because the High Council was divided over Mei. Lin's interests were neither insignificant nor especially important, and he was currently at the height of his rising reputation as a major contributor after the Third Honkai War.
Besides, they couldn't quite figure out what Lin was thinking. Compared to everyone else, Lin lived like an ascetic. He neither smoked nor drank, and his daily routine was precise to the second. He never bought anything beyond daily necessities, never socialized with anyone, and rarely even logged into the intranet. They had no idea how to curry favor with him or recruit him.
Could he really be a saint wholly devoted to humanity? But before joining MOTH, he had merely been an ordinary high school student. With no parents, he supported himself through part-time work. There was no sign that he possessed the resolve to sacrifice himself for some grand cause.
He definitely had an ulterior motive.
So after some discussion, they decided to begin with Lin's Honkai Sickness.
"Mei and her little assistant will soon be assigned to the Fifth Science Department for research into Honkai Energy Adaptability. You'll most likely be sent with them. If there's anywhere most likely to develop a drug that can treat Honkai Energy erosion, it would be there."
Mei had joined MOTH too recently, so it still wasn't appropriate to throw her directly into work. Although she had already proposed some... shocking theories, the conditions and practical work supporting those theories were insufficient. For the time being, she would study Honkai-related fields in places where research results were more mature.
With her abilities, she should be able to begin working officially in less than two months. By then, no one knew how the MOTH High Council's opinion of her would change.
"I'm going too? But right now, I..."
Lin suddenly noticed something. He glanced at Mobius, who was intently reading through the documents. Seeing that she did not look up, he cautiously touched the floor with his toes, then frowned and exerted some force to press his sole firmly against the ground.
A solid sensation.
The curve of Mobius's lips widened as she looked down.
Lin thought for a moment, then pushed himself up with both hands, left the operating table, and stood on the floor.
"..."
He took several steps forward, and his gait was steady.
His entire body still felt weak, but compared to the state where even standing had been difficult, he was much better now. At the very least, basic walking was possible.
This could not have been some sudden miracle.
Lin looked at Mobius. She had just put down the paper file in her hand and revealed a smile that sent chills down his spine.
So it was the reagent she had injected earlier?
"Muscle Atrophy isn't much of a problem for living creatures. Stimulating muscle tissue and restoring it to its previous condition is even less of a problem for me." Mobius's explanation was simple and direct, as though directly using a drug of unknown composition on a human body were only natural.
Lin stretched his arms where he stood, testing how much he had recovered. "What are the side effects?"
Mobius sneered. "What do you take me for, some trash who hasn't even graduated from university? Would a drug of this level have side effects? It's just that if you come here in a wheelchair every time like some cripple, I'll find it annoying."
Lin pondered for a while before looking up. "Anything else?"
Mobius had known he would ask that. She pointed at several syringes in Sealed Bags on the table. "Once a day. Let me remind you: don't think using them all at once will cure you. I don't want rumors spreading again that everything produced by Mobius's Laboratory is poison."
Lin silently accepted the bag of medicines, whose colors alone screamed Mobius's malicious sense of humor.
In a sense, that wasn't a rumor.
"If there's nothing else, leave. The knowledge involved in the next experiment is beyond anything you can help with."
The laboratory was fairly well-lit. Beneath the predominantly white walls, however, papers and files were strewn everywhere in a complete mess. Only the experimental equipment was arranged neatly. Cups, instant coffee, packaging bags, empty instant noodle containers, and even bedding were piled together in disorder.
Although the laboratory smelled vaguely of Formalin, Lin felt the stench of spoilage rush straight up his nose when he saw the mess.
Mobius casually picked up a cup of instant noodles and glanced at Lin, who was standing still. "What? You want instant noodles too?"
"Instant noodles?" Lin's impression of those words came from when he had visited Kevin's home and Kevin had said he would cook for him.
He clearly remembered Kevin bringing out two identical piles of black sludge from the kitchen, calling one tomato scrambled eggs and the other stir-fried pork with green peppers.
Then, helplessly, Lin had eaten instant noodles for the first time in his life alongside Kevin.
Lin asked expressionlessly, "...Why don't you eat in the cafeteria?"
Mobius curled her lips disdainfully. "It wastes time and energy, and besides... I don't want to be watched like a monkey."
Mobius rarely left the laboratory, yet her infamy and distinctive green hair had spread far and wide. Even MOTH's rats dared not approach Mobius's Laboratory. The moment she went outside, she caused a commotion, even though that was not what she wanted.
Lin nodded. "I'll cook."
"...What did you say?"
"What I promised you before."
Mobius froze, then remembered that he really had said he would cook for her.
"And this." Lin pointed at the indescribable pile of garbage, his eyelid twitching. "Doctor Mobius, what do you think you and Honkai Beasts smell like?"
"What do you mean?"
"I think you probably smell about the same." Lin took an imperceptible half-step back.
Mobius's expression froze on her exquisite face.
This was the first time Lin had said something so harsh.
"Director? Director? Director!"
"Don't come any closer!"
Delta suddenly opened his eyes and sprang off the ground with a shriek, jumping ridiculously high as he pointed the screwdriver in his hand at the bewildered department members before him, his head drenched in sweat.
"Huff, huff, huff..." He panted. His muddled mind had yet to grasp the situation as he squinted at the scene before him.
What was going on?
"Director, are you all right? You suddenly passed out just now. You really should go rest." The subordinate at the front looked worriedly at the clearly unwell Delta and spread his hands in persuasion.
Delta stared blankly at the screwdriver in his hand. "I... passed out...?"
After the ball last night, he had immediately thrown himself back into research without stopping. The prolonged high-pressure work had finally crushed his body.
He put down his tool, his mouth dry, and sighed. "But Titan's development is still at a standstill."
"But Director, there's no need to be in such a hurry, is there?"
"...Disasters never stop and wait for you."
Delta lowered his eyes, his gaze dark. A silhouette flickered before him, then vanished into the light.
Being Unreasonable but Still Confident
Pinching his nose, Lin picked up a loose piece of SiZhi fabric. "What is this?"
Mobius's face was sour as she gloomily replied, "Stockings."
"From last week?"
"From last month."
Lin casually tossed them into the trash can.
It was hard to imagine that someone as intelligent and methodical as Mobius could live in such a mess. Perhaps it was because she ruled supreme within the laboratory, and because she had always immersed herself in experiments and surgeries. Her private space was practically identical to Kevin's house. Even the instant noodles were placed somewhere she could grab them at any time.
Things she needed and did not need were all piled together. Once something had been used, she simply replaced it with a new one. She hoarded possessions like a hamster, and the entire place looked crammed full at a glance.
Lin was not exactly a clean freak, but in order to keep his body in proper condition, he kept his living environment and routine meticulously organized. Having lived alone since childhood, his habits were healthier than those of most people. So in his eyes, Mobius's dark, damp little nest, like a snake pit, was no different from a mass grave.
After briefly clearing away the garbage, Lin looked at the still-messy room and asked, "Where do you keep your cosmetics?"
"I never use cosmetics." Standing by the door, Mobius crossed her arms disdainfully, feeling that Lin's question was completely unnecessary.
"You never use powder puffs, blush, perfume, or anything like that, but you occasionally use cleansing cream, eyeshadow, and lipstick. The colors are all rather light, and since your hair and eye color are more noticeable, people generally can't tell."
"You..."
Goosebumps rose all over Mobius's skin.
What was wrong with this person? How had he observed her so clearly after meeting her only a few times? Other than herself, even Bianca could not tell that she occasionally wore light makeup.
Before long, Lin found the cosmetics he had mentioned in several corners. He arranged them all neatly together so she would not be unable to find them when she needed them.
"Busybody." Watching him work so diligently, Mobius felt an inexplicable fire rise in her heart.
Lin's injuries did not reduce his efficiency. In just over ten minutes, he had thoroughly cleaned Mobius's private office, put everything in order, and organized the documents on the desk.
Mobius silently stared at the refreshed office. Perhaps it was an illusion, but even the lights in the room seemed brighter.
It was... not bad?
But he was not finished yet. After resting for a while, Lin picked up the cleaning tools again and began cleaning the entire laboratory, much to Cangxuan and Danzhu's horrified expressions.
"Why are there hobby knives and cutting pliers in a laboratory?" Lin frowned as he picked up an unpainted GK Figure. "Does your laboratory also outsource figure production?"
Everyone in the laboratory turned in unison toward Danzhu, cold sweat running down her temples.
"Danzhu, I told you not to bring your personal hobbies into the laboratory." When Mobius narrowed her eyes, she resembled a venomous snake flicking its tongue—terrifying and dangerous.
Danzhu's pupils were unfocused as she muttered, "This, this..."
Like leader, like followers. None of them were much better.
Lin shook his head.
"Unbelievable. That helmet guy actually came to the laboratory as an assistant. Isn't he called the Ruthless Honkai Resistor who only knows how to kill soldiers and Honkai Beasts?"
Before you continue