What Lies in the Mist...

Mei remained expressionless, looking down at the two people on the sea.

"Hahahaha... hahaha..."

Suddenly, without warning, as if a switch had been flipped, Qianqi smiled.

She laughed so heartily.

It's always like this...

Sad.

Kevin's gaze had cooled to a temperature even lower than his body temperature, and shards of ice were constantly emerging from Lin's body, stripping Lin of his life force.

"This world never gives people a chance to be sentimental."

Mei turned around leisurely, facing the dark muzzle of the gun, and Qianqi, who lowered her head and gradually suppressed her smile.

"It is cruel, cold-blooded, and rational, so people like you will always die young."

Qianqi took a deep breath, the bitterness at the corner of her mouth melting away. Her fingers gradually closed, and she said softly in a hoarse voice, "Perhaps that's how it is."

"Bang!"

Kevin's pupils contracted, and the panic he had almost forgotten about from a long time ago resurfaced on his face. He let go of her and rushed toward the plum falling from the gap.

The moment he let go, the grappling hook hidden under Qianqi's wrist was launched, piercing Lin's shoulder and pulling him back.

"Whoosh—"

Kevin caught Mei's body, and the moment his fingers touched her skin, the cold air began to seep into her. Seeing the pain on Mei's face, he hurriedly put her down again.

"Plum..."

"Phew... I'm alright..."

Mei calmed herself down from the shock of falling from a height after being shot, and shook her head at Kevin to reassure him.

Her shoulder was pierced by Qianqi, but there were no other wounds.

After checking on her condition, Kevin immediately stood up to chase after Lin and Qianqi, but Mei stopped him and shook her head again.

The black-haired woman stared at the now empty gap above her, saying nothing.

Guy...

"Ha ha..."

Panting heavily, Qianqi supported herself with her heavy arm, which felt like it weighed a ton, and struggled forward step by step against the wall.

The stain on her abdomen widened, and blood gushing from the laceration soaked half of her clothes, dragging her into the abyss.

The lights seemed so distant, so far away that even a distance of just a few dozen meters felt like an insurmountable chasm.

Lin was no longer able to speak. He felt that his consciousness was no longer in this body, and his blurred senses had very little time to remind him.

"Did you know that back in high school, there was a girl who would often secretly watch you?"

"In her ordinary life, you were probably the most special person she met. You never socialized with others, always alone, and seemed to be hiding a big secret that no one else knew."

"Just like you were misunderstood in Moth to Flame, you were the same at school, criticized but completely unconcerned and doing your own thing."

"Heh, and her grades too, she's often several places ahead of hers. Those rankings she works so hard for are easily surpassed..."

Footsteps sounded behind her. She was still several meters away from the light, but she was too exhausted to go any further.

Qianqi's pale face, already pale from blood loss, looked even more fragile. She collapsed to the ground, helped Lin up, and leaned against the wall.

Is she reminiscing about something?

"Of course, you wouldn't notice her because she's too ordinary. Even if she stood right in front of you and looked at you, you probably wouldn't recognize her."

Who is that girl?

Lin Hunzhuo subconsciously tried to recall, but just as Qianqi said, he couldn't remember such a person at all.

An extremely ordinary person.

A girl who can impersonate others simply because she is ordinary.

"I really... still..."

Warm.

Lin, who should not have felt any temperature, felt some warm liquid dripping onto the back of his hand.

The string of pearls shattered.

"Bang!"

A gunshot rang out, seemingly coming from a very distant place.

Lin watched in disbelief as the girl in front of him fell to the side, and a hole suddenly appeared on her temple.

The jet-black blood spread through the air in a falling arc.

Her smile froze at the last moment, along with her tears, her warmth, her unfinished words, and everything about her.

Chapter 155 What's in the Mist...

The girl's body stopped convulsing.

Color vanished from his completely dissipated pupils, his often smiling lips stiffened, and his nimble fingers fell limply to the floor.

Lin just stared at her like that, his breath seemingly stopped.

He heard Him laughing, a laughter that pierced and ravaged his consciousness, constantly rushing in from all directions.

Tear him apart, cut him in half, crush him.

That's incredible, isn't it?

"Traitor MSA-999 has been killed and confirmed dead. Traitor MSA-079 is in critical condition and incapacitated. Prepare for emergency treatment."

Some "voices" appeared in Lin's ears.

An error is occurring.

He heard the grinding of his stiff, decaying bones. An incredible force made him lift his head and see a "person" standing beside Qianqi's corpse, holding a pistol. After confirming Qianqi's death, the person turned to look at him.

Prometheus.

"Why..."

Why is all this happening?

Where does the collapse begin?

The mechanical girl remained as indifferent as ever, raising the gun in her hand to prevent Lin from retaliating.

"Because you are a traitor."

Am I a traitor?

I am a traitor...

No... the traitor is clearly Kevin...

Lin's confused pupils saw no light, and he meaninglessly extended his finger toward Prometheus.

But she simply took a step back.

"At 3:17 a. m. on September 12, you hacked into the database, copied and destroyed data from WM—I to WM-IV, and someone helped you interfere with the monitoring equipment."

Lin's eyes widened.

Something absurd yet real crept into my heart.

"At 5:40 a. m. on September 12, you murdered Dr. Vill-V."

"Bang!"

Something exploded beside my ear, a dazzling, multicolored mess that made me dizzy and disoriented...

Screams, roars, wails.

After talking with Lin, Vill-V prepared to leave the Spiral Workshop. Even though she was skeptical of Lin's words, she decided to hide for a while and try to find the mastermind Lin had mentioned, just to be on the safe side.

Just then, a slight, barely perceptible sound came from the doorway.

"Clatter."

The door to the Spiral Workshop was pushed open.

Vill-V suddenly turned around, her usually calm expression changing drastically.

"Who are you--"

He wasn't wearing a helmet.

A strange smile graced his face.

Lin, who left and then returned...

When Vill-V saw the smile on his face, an alarm bell rang in her mind. Without thinking, she reached for the Soul Steel longsword she had placed under the table. It was an experimental tool for creating the Divine Key, but even as an experimental tool, the Soul Steel had already endowed it with extraordinary power.

But before she could even grip the hilt, another hand grabbed it faster.

The man drew his long sword, and as soon as it flashed before Vill-V's eyes, a chill ran down her neck.

She collapsed to the ground in a daze.

Immediately afterwards, some warm blood flowed out from the cut wound.

"You... so... you were aware..."

Vill-V's pupils dilated, and she murmured, her mouth opening and closing, but she couldn't form a complete sentence.

Lin, however, didn't even glance at her again. Holding the long sword, he turned and left the Spiral Workshop unhurriedly.

"At 7:08 PM on September 12th, you and MSA-999 hacked into the monitoring center, where you destroyed some evidence and created the illusion that it had been attacked in an attempt to frame others."

Lin drew his pistol, aimed it at the darkness ahead, and pulled the trigger.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three bullets struck the ground, ricocheting at bizarre angles and bouncing back. He nonchalantly sliced through two of them, then used his body to catch the last one.

As he fell to the ground, he incredibly quickly removed the empty magazine, loaded it with a magazine containing only three bullets, and then casually tossed the spent cartridge cases forward.

"Lin?" Qianqi asked worriedly.

"...Um."

A twisted smile flashed across his lips.

"On September 15th, you approached Kevin and conveyed the information that Doctor Einstein might be a traitor, but at that time Doctor Einstein had already returned to headquarters and was carrying out a comprehensive upgrade of the Armed Puppet."

"After confirming with Kevin, Doctor Einstein initially confirmed your suspicion and decided to have Kevin protect you."

"On September 18, MSA-999 attacked the Fire Moth's main system, uploaded virtual surveillance footage, and distracted headquarters."

"Go to Doctor Einstein's room and kill him."

Lin easily pushed open the door. Einstein's eyes widened in surprise the moment she saw him, but before she could utter a sound, Lin was already in front of her in an instant, presenting her with a long knife.

"Bass!"

The terrifying force easily pierced Einstein's neck, pinning her to the wall and directly nailing her to the knife. Her feet dangled in the air as she desperately looked at the smiling Lin.

He slowly picked up the helmet, put it on his head, and concealed his expression.

Einstein's final struggle before his death was insignificant and vanished in the reflection of his viewing window.

"Despair."

Amid the sound of dripping blood, he stepped outside, then turned back and closed the door behind him.

Then, a familiar footstep sounded, and Lin was startled. Kevin walked out from around the corner behind him.