Unfinished Business / Top Secret-Do Not Open

To the Nun's surprise... the man was wearing a mask.

Having seen Chrono's mask so often, this was the first time she had seen someone else wear it, and the man's mask was just as good as Chrono's crudely made and ridiculous one.

He Ultraman Ultraman.

A man who sneaks in at midnight, armed with dangerous weapons, ruthless and taciturn, with a cool and aloof demeanor, wearing Ultraman mask.

"Um... that..." The man did the most hilarious thing with the most serious demeanor and attitude, so much so that the Nun was so shocked that she couldn't speak for a moment, and even wondered if there was a mistake.

"... I would like to know some information about the sanatorium."

The man quickly returned to normal; at headquarters, he had already appraised far too many extraordinary people whose appearances did not match their extraordinary qualities.

As for the mask... he found it at his base. It was probably some useless stuff that Pardo had collected before he left. Investigation missions usually take a long time, and he couldn't possibly be walking around the Dusk Street all day wearing a helmet.

"Huh? Eh..."

"Didn't you say you were coming to find me?"

Urged on by the man, the Nun remembered what she had said the night before. She suddenly realized that he had indeed not gone to see anyone else, and that his investigation was indeed related to the entire sanatorium.

"Excuse me... um..." The Nun was about to say something, but then suddenly stopped.

What should she call this man? A killer? But is he really a killer? And calling him a killer seems rather impolite, doesn't it?

"How?"

"What should I call you? Can you tell me your name?"

"... Whatever you want."

"Then..." The Nun looked at the mask on his face and smiled faintly, "Mr. Ultraman?"

"..."

Seeing the man's depressed look, the Nun couldn't help but chuckle. They both seemed to be masked men, but the man and Chrono were two completely different kinds of people.

The man glanced at the Nun's smile but didn't object, since he was the one who had told the Nun to call him whatever she wanted.

After a soft sigh, the man continued, "Do you know everyone who works at the sanatorium? Are there any people of unknown origin or who behave strangely?"

Unknown origins? Strange behavior?

The Nun immediately thought of someone, but she didn't say it directly. When Chrono came to ask her today, she had concealed it, and now that the man was asking her again, she couldn't just reveal Chrono's identity.

"Can you tell me why you're looking for people in the nursing home? And if you find them, what are you going to do to them?"

The noise suddenly stopped.

The man and the Nun looked at each other.

The moonlight was hidden behind the clouds.

Chapter Four: Unresolved Matters

The Nun, draped in her coat, rarely stepped out of the sanatorium. Once she crossed that door that kept out the cold, it was as if she had crossed an insurmountable chasm and arrived in a chaotic world of suffering.

The streets were deserted. In the freezing weather, no fool would dare to wander around in his tattered clothes and fall into a stinking ditch, shivering in the filthy sewage.

The Nun would choose to go out at this time to check if there were any people in need of help from the nursing home.

Neither the sanatorium nor the Nun can help everyone, but they will do their best to help anyone who comes to the sanatorium for help. Those who are unable to survive on their own will be taken in by the sanatorium.

There are also some children on Dusk Street who have lost their parents at a young age and are unable to live on their own. They are most likely to die in the cold winter. Most of the children in the sanatorium, including Chrono, were taken in by the Nun.

Traveling alone in the notoriously dangerous Dusk Street can be dangerous, but the Nun is an exception. This is not only because it's a tacit agreement in Dusk Street to never target sanatoriums or Nun —after all, no one can predict whether they might need the sanatorium's help someday—but also...

"Um?"

The Nun heard a commotion coming from an alley. She went closer and found that normal "work" was underway inside.

Several people were confronting a masked man. Judging from their positions, they were blocking the man's way. Their sleazy expressions were an innate skill on the Dusk Street, while the man just watched coldly as they pressed him.

"We... we won't make things difficult for you. Just hand over your clothes and money, and we won't need that ridiculous mask of yours." The leader shrank his neck, shivering from the cold wind, and couldn't help but reveal a greedy look in his eyes when he saw the warm clothes on the man's body.

Sometimes, money isn't the most important thing.

"You look unfamiliar, you must be new to Dusk Street and don't know the rules." One of the men echoed, shouting menacingly at the masked man with his hands in his pockets, "We're teaching you how to walk properly on Dusk Street! Learn your lesson, and don't be so ostentatious next time!"

This didn't seem like a robbery, because the difference in their demeanor was like night and day. The man remained silent throughout, his solemn aura surrounding him, while the robber was cornered, his dry, cracked lips and thin, bamboo-like fingers like ears of wheat about to be blown down by the next cold wind.

Just as the group grew increasingly anxious, their eyes growing more lifeless, the man withdrew his cold gaze and reached for his clothes...

"You..."

A cold voice broke through the group, and the robbers turned around in a panic and saw the Nun standing at the alley entrance.

The Nun looked them over and the man, who silently lowered his head after seeing her.

Call...

These kinds of things will always happen.

People with nowhere to retreat go to harm others, then turn others into people with nowhere to retreat, and then it becomes a vicious cycle.

She will protect the weak from harm, and this time will be no exception.

"If you need help, you can go to the nursing home and ask the porters there to distribute some simple clothes to you, or if you have nowhere to go, you can stay at the nursing home for now." The Nun's voice was gentle, an innate ability of hers that allowed her to easily persuade others and soothe their emotions. "Even if you could get a piece of clothing, you wouldn't be able to distribute it, would you?"

The group exchanged glances, involuntarily swallowing hard. As members of Dusk Street, they naturally understood what the status of Nun meant.

Can you really get help by going to a nursing home?

After hesitating for a moment, the first person tiptoed past the Nun, then waved to the others and walked toward the sanatorium. The others hurriedly followed, when the Nun suddenly called out to the last boy.

He was the youngest of the group, his still-childish face covered in grime, and his thin clothes made his skin pale and bloodless.

The Nun took off her coat and draped it over him. The boy was stunned for a moment, then was led away by his companion, who was still in a daze.

Perhaps this is just a small favor, but the Nun still hopes to get these people, this boy, back on the right track.

The environment may not necessarily force a person to become a bad person, but it will certainly prevent a person from becoming a good person.

Suddenly, only the Nun and the man remained standing in the alley.

The white snowflakes fell on the Nun's shoulders and veil. She pursed her lips, and the ice flowers melted on her collarbone, which was not covered by her clothes. Her snow-white skin appeared even more crystal clear, and her body trembled slightly.

The man watched the entire process in silence. Instead of leaving immediately, he stared at the Nun with his calm, dark eyes behind the comical mask.

"If I hadn't come... what would Mr. Ultraman have done?"

The Nun looked at the man, who stood in the snow and in the shadows, separated by a long, narrow passageway.

The man seemed to be a man who didn't like to talk and remained silent most of the time.

Seeing that he remained silent, the Nun's eyes showed disappointment. Just as she was about to leave, the man spoke, "The resources of the sanatorium are not enough to support so many people. What do you plan to do?"

The nursing home is currently operating at a very precarious level. Most of the residents are unable to work, and the imbalance between income and expenditure is causing the meager savings accumulated over the years to be continuously depleted. Continuing to take in other people at this point will only exacerbate the nursing home's "illness."

It is foreseeable that by then, the nursing home may collapse catastrophically.

"..." The Nun was also seriously considering countermeasures at this time. The cold wave had brought down many people. Would the sanatorium be next?

It's getting colder and colder.

Whether it's the body, or...

Suddenly, a garment still warm from her body was draped over her. The Nun looked up in bewilderment and saw a mask with only the whites of the eyes and no pupils, shaped like a duck egg.

It was a black coat, and it's no wonder those people were drawn to it; it was indeed very warm, able to cover most of the Nun's body and keep out the chilling cold.

"Mr. Ultraman?"

"Go back," the man said calmly.

After he gave his coat to the Nun, he was left with only a thin long-sleeved shirt, but he remained motionless as if he felt no cold at all.

The Nun was about to speak when the man turned and walked into the alley, disappearing from sight.

The man returned to his base, where he had searched through the things the speaker had left behind the day before and found several replies from the sanatorium.

After carefully reading through the letters, he sat down at the table and picked up a pen...

Today, he understands what the "conspiracy" was that person who funded the nursing home back then.

A simple...

Chapter Five: Top Secret (Unlocked)

Before dawn, the Nun was already up. She hadn't slept well the night before, only getting two or three hours of sleep on and off. She simply sat on the edge of the bed and closed her eyes to rest until dawn was approaching when she opened them and glanced at the coat hanging on the bedside.

I didn't come last night.

No, it's normal that he doesn't come. It's impossible for someone to go to the Nun's room every night, right?

It's a pity I couldn't return the clothes to him...

Chrono's workday began. As one of the few sources of income for the sanatorium, his work efficiency was astonishing. He could carry heavy objects taller than himself with one hand and walk steadily without any tremor.

At this time, the children were still sleeping, but the nursing home staff had also gotten up and were working. Some of the others were afraid of Chrono, so even if they passed by, they would quickly leave, keeping their distance from the masked man whose eyes and tone made him seem like he was about to kill... or had already killed someone.

The children all seemed to like Chrono, including the Corrugated Paper mask on his face, which was a gift from the children at the sanatorium.

He shook the snow that had melted before it fell on his head from his white hair, glanced in the direction of the Nun's room, and was about to go to do the next task when he suddenly stopped. His sharper eyesight than an eagle's spotted a letter stuck in the mailbox at the entrance of the sanatorium.

There hasn't been a postman on Dusk Street for many years, and even now, people don't use letters to contact each other, so paper letters have gradually been phased out, and mailboxes have been abandoned.

No one would pay attention to an inconspicuous letter, but for Qianjie, who exchanges Chrono dozens of times a day, no detail can escape his notice.

Chrono put down his things, walked over, and pulled the letter out of the mailbox. He squeezed it and found a hard object inside, which was card-shaped.

"The letter... to whom is it addressed?" Chrono knew very few words. He flipped through it and saw the words "To the Sanatorium" on the back, but it didn't say which specific person it was addressed to.

He suspiciously opened the envelope and poured out a piece of paper covered in writing and a card.

Chrono could barely recognize a few words, the gist of which seemed to be to give the card to the nursing home.

The card looks a bit like a bank card, but the workmanship doesn't seem to be that of an ordinary bank card.

"... Hmph, did Aponia do it?" Chrono thought of the Nun's recent strange behavior, and how she had locked herself in the prayer room after returning from her trip yesterday until evening. Even he could guess that the Nun must have done something to relieve the pressure on the sanatorium.

... That sounds a bit strange.

However, we really can't ignore this anymore. Let's go back to Aponia and ask her what's going on.

The man removed his mask, put on a helmet, and activated the communication system, quickly establishing contact with Mei, who was at the headquarters of the Firemoth.

"How's the mission going?" Mei asked casually while she was adjusting the data.

"...I don't understand," Lin said, expressing his opinion.

Mei stopped what she was doing and asked, puzzled, "Hmm? What's wrong?"

"The Speaker once funded a sanatorium on Dusk Street, but that doesn't prove he's connected to the sanatorium. Besides, he has funded orphanages, sanatoriums, and schools all over the world. Why is he specifically investigating the sanatorium on Dusk Street?"

The fact that the Speaker purchased real estate on Dusk Street was the most secretive thing he had ever done. Even the High Council of the Fire Chasing Moth and Mei didn't know. Only Lin knew that the Speaker had bought a house there.

This is also what puzzles him the most. Can he really conclude that there are clues and remnants of traitors here just by the amount of funding he receives?

Mei did not answer directly, but changed the subject. "Let's talk about the survey results first."

"The person in charge of the sanatorium is a Nun named Aponia. The vast majority of people admitted to the sanatorium are children aged seven to fifteen, 90% of whom suffer from Honkai Sickness. Apart from that, no other abnormalities have been found."

"Lin, you should understand the saying in Shenzhou: 'Once bitten by a snake, twice shy.'" Mei said after listening to Lin's report. "The other members of the Fire Moth are currently in this situation. The Nun named Aponia has taken in a large number of Honkai Sickness, and the sanatorium itself has been sponsored by the Speaker, which is suspicious in itself. And this task was also assigned to Poisoned Cocoon by other High Council."

"..."

Aponia took them in simply out of kindness—Lin can't say that. Missions can't be judged by emotion, but by evidence, logic, and interrogation.

"After the Speaker's death, we arrested some of his accomplices one after another. However, the Speaker was skilled in management and concealment. Even those who worked under him did not know each other's situation. We do not know how many remnants are still lying in wait, including those who had hacked into the Moth of Fire system during the Cleansing Incident. Therefore, we will not let go of any clues."

After listening, Lin shook his head. It seemed that he still needed to continue his investigation of Dusk Street and the sanatorium.

Why am I the only one this time?

The Poisoned Cocoon Squad usually consists of two people, but this time only Lin is carrying out the mission, even though it's a small mission that can be completed by one person.

"Didn't Sakura tell you?" Mei paused for a moment, then continued, "She's going to undergo Hypervariable Surgery."

"..."

"Not only Sakura, but also Elysia, Hen, Kosma, Dessidobia will be the second batch of Flame-Chaser after you and Kevin... According to the plan, they will be Flame-Chaser of the same generation as you."