Big Brother / The One Trapped in the Past

"You, what is this..."

"Oh, of course I'm going to cooperate with you. Otherwise, wouldn't it be too conspicuous and awkward for you to be alone? Rin would be suspicious."

"Okay, alright..."

The two of them walked out of the backstage area side by side and arrived at the banquet hall, and their appearance immediately attracted the attention of everyone present.

Not many people know Sakura. Most people only have a vague impression of this cold-tempered girl when they brush past her in the corridor. The people around Lin are slightly more familiar with her, but their impression of her is limited to that of a cold-blooded killer.

Today, however, she changed out of her usual practical and efficient clothes and put on a pure white long dress. She wore elegant lace gloves and crystal-like high heels, which perfectly showcased the straight and beautiful lines of her legs. Her face was not as indifferent as usual, but had a faint smile.

"Sister?" Ling stared blankly at the radiant young girl.

But apart from her, everyone else's attention was actually drawn to someone else.

Or rather, he was practically raping their retinas.

"I almost forgot to tell you all that this is actually a Bal Masqué, so you can dress up however you like."

Lin put his hands on his hips, puffed out his chest with a smug look, which also made the thing swaying between his legs look even more bizarre.

Unfazed by the glaring stares, he said nonchalantly, "How's my look? Isn't it...?"

"Bang!"

"Buga!"

A punch landed on his abdomen, and Lin immediately collapsed to his knees, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Prometheus rubbed his fist in disgust, staring at Lin, who was convulsing on the ground. "What are you doing..."

"Ahem... I'm dressed up as an elephant, you know..." Lin got up, pointing to the elephant pattern pants he was wearing with an elephant trunk that dragged on the ground. He pulled out several identical pairs of pants from behind him. "By the way, I also prepared the same style for Kevin. Anyone want to join our elephant family?"

"Bang!"

Prometheus dragged Lin's elephant trunk back to the dressing room.

Chapter Sixty-Three: Brother

"Elder sister?"

Ling looked at the excessively beautiful older sister in front of her with some uncertainty. She looked exactly like her own sister, but Ling had never seen her sister dress herself up so beautifully before.

And...

Rin looked at the bunch of pink fox ears on the pink-haired girl's head.

This is... decoration, right? The older brother who sounded a lot like Brother Lin, who was a bit crazy, said this banquet was also a masquerade ball, so this must be decoration too, right? She could even see the headband under the fox ears.

"Yes, it's me, Rin."

Sakura gently patted Rin's head, and this familiar gesture confirmed to Rin that she was indeed her older sister.

Even though Sakura Rin looked at her strangely, she didn't see her as a monster, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Lin had indeed thought of a good idea.

Lin had Sakura disguise the fox ears as hair accessories, and then he announced that it was a masquerade ball. With the corroboration of Lin himself and another masked man, it was enough to convince Rin, who was unfamiliar with the Fire Moth, that it was indeed an accessory.

"It really is you, sister! Where exactly is this place?"

"This..." Sakura was at a loss. She helplessly combed Rin's hair and could only smile wryly at her younger sister's curious eyes. "It's a long story, and I can't tell you right now. Just have fun playing with your older sister today."

"Okay..." The sensible Rin could see Sakura's dilemma. She had some doubts, but she didn't ask anything more and started to pay attention to the interesting things around her.

Meanwhile, one of the people in another group at the banquet hall turned his gaze away from Sakura with considerable displeasure.

"What banquet... Have Kevin and Elysia been brainwashed?" Mobius had her hands in the pockets of her white coat. She had been wearing the same loose-fitting clothes for ten years, and she hadn't changed them even for this banquet.

She thought Kevin and Elysia were completely out of their minds to agree to such a condition. Couldn't they see that the guy who had taken over Lin's body was just playing around? Although he did resemble Lin in many ways... Lin couldn't possibly do something like this!

Unlike others, Mobius might find Lin's current antics odd, but Mobius knew Lin too well. That guy was a cunning and sly character who often acted like a jerk, so even at first she just thought Lin was up to something strange again.

No matter what Ke Lin is like... it shouldn't be this bad...

Mobius glanced at the pool of "blood" Lin had vomited on the ground, his eyes twitching. Judging from its viscosity, it was probably tomato sauce.

"Klein, where are the two of them?" Mobius turned his head and found that the two clowns had disappeared. His face immediately fell and veins on his forehead bulged.

Klein, seemingly out of it and sporting dark circles under his eyes, pointed in a certain direction. Mobius immediately spotted her two reliable assistants devouring pizzas, their ravenous eating habits drawing attention.

"Doctor, you're here too."

Bianca walked in hand in hand with her daughter and husband, Hen. The family had also changed into their banquet attire, creating a warm and harmonious atmosphere.

"If I don't come, Elysia will be camped out in my lab 24/7 with a megaphone, recording my words and broadcasting them over the loudspeaker." Mobius was even more furious when he thought of that pink-haired beauty who was in cahoots with Lin Hang. What is this if not aiding and abetting a tyrant?

"Haha, I thought you were worried that Lin would become popular after taking off his helmet, so you came to keep an eye on him." Hen, who had become even more cheerful since getting married, laughed loudly.

Mobius asked Bianca calmly, "Bianca, who is he?"

"... My husband, Hen."

"Oh, I thought it was a corpse in the lab that had come back to life."

Hen touched his nose. "Uh, isn't that going too far? Even if I hit the nail on the head, there's no need for that..."

"Do you need me to put you back in Formalin?" Mobius sneered, his snake-like eyes flashing with a cold light. "Don't worry, I'll also kindly sew your useless mouth shut."

Bianca watched with amusement as Mobius and Hen bickered. She knew that Mobius had always been angry about Hen "kidnapping" her. Fortunately, she had introduced Klein to Mobius, otherwise Mobius would have been very prejudiced against Hen.

"Hmm... Doctor Mobius, you look younger since becoming Flame-Chaser." Hen stroked his chin, frowning as he looked at Mobius, who appeared much Xiao Ke than before. "Will I look like this after my Hypervariable Surgery?"

"..."

Mobius glanced at Bianca expressionlessly, then looked down at Griseo, who looked rather dazed and innocent, and sneered, "Don't worry, my special surgery will make you fifty years younger."

"... Then wouldn't I become a placenta?"

The Hypervariable Surgery that Mobius secretly performed was actually assisted by Bianca. Bianca knew just how dangerous the surgery was, and how could she not feel at ease knowing that her husband would have to undergo the same surgery and experience the same dangers afterward?

Therefore, Mobius specifically emphasized "specialized surgery," which, while not necessarily fooling Bianca, would at least make her feel that Mobius had the confidence to back it up.

This can be considered a sign of Mobius's kindness towards the Bianca family. After all, both Bianca and Klein, whom Bianca introduced, were enough for Mobius to repay them for a lifetime.

"This really is... I hope you'll go easy on me." Hen could easily tell that there was something more to Mobius's words. He gave a wry smile, but quickly returned to normal.

He couldn't let his wife and children worry; it was his own choice, for the sake of humanity and for the path he had chosen.

Lin, Kevin, and Elysia, his younger relatives, have already sacrificed themselves for this cause, and Kosma is about to undergo surgery. How could Hen be afraid?

"Speaking of which, how is the Stargate doing? Your recent mission should be to guard the Stargate, right? I haven't heard any news about the Stargate for a long time."

Mobius abruptly changed the subject, coldly inquiring about the situation of a certain item.

Hen's gaze sharpened, and he shook his head solemnly at Mobius: "Still the same..."

Just as the conversation was about to move on to the next stage, a figure casually walked over and greeted them, "A'She is here too. How's the banquet going?"

"Indeed, Lin," Hen replied with a smile.

Mobius stared intently at Lin's face with a look that seemed to say, "If you dare to call me 'A'She' again, I'll bite you to death."

"Hello, Brother Lin."

Griseo suddenly looked up and whispered to Lin.

Chapter Sixty-Four: People Trapped in the Past

"Mmm, Griseo a good girl, I'll give this to you in advance."

Lin squatted down and spoke gently to Griseo, then placed the gift box he had been holding into Griseo's hands.

He seemed to have come prepared to give a gift from the very beginning; after doing so, he greeted the group and left.

"Has Griseo ever seen Lin take off his helmet?" Hen asked abruptly after Lin had walked away.

"He treasures that old helmet so much, how could he possibly take it off?" Mobius casually remarked, then realized, "Wait a minute, how did Griseo recognize him?"

Lin's tone of voice was completely different from his usual manner, so how could a little child recognize that this was the older brother who was usually quiet?

However, Griseo paid no attention to what they were discussing. She opened the gift box and found a finely crafted paintbrush inside.

Seeing that it contained paintbrushes instead of some strange object, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Lin had left such a deep impression on them that they thought the things he sent out might also be some weird or eerie things.

"I thought Mr. Lin would give me something cuter." Klein he watched Griseo lovingly touch the handle of the paintbrush before carefully putting it back in the box.

"Cute paintbrushes aren't as good as professional paintbrushes; he prioritizes practicality over appearance..."

Mobius stopped mid-sentence, realizing that this person was actually on the same page as Lin in this respect, and not as frivolous as he appeared.

This made her take another look at Griseo, who was still looking dazed and silent.

"Griseo," she called out.

"Aunt Mobius."

"It's Sister Mobius."

"Aunt Mobius."

"..."

Ignoring Bianca and Hen's suppressed laughter, Mobius pointed kindly to Lin's back as he talked to someone not far away. "How did you recognize him?"

"The color... is the same."

"Color?" Mobius paused for a moment, then smiled and pointed to his face, asking, "What color am I?"

"Green."

As expected.

What color is Lin?

"..."

Griseo looked at Mobius with a puzzled expression, as if she had something to say but couldn't get it out.

"What's wrong?"

Griseo shook her head, her gaze shifting back and forth between Lin and Mobius, her confusion deepening, but she still couldn't utter a single word.

"Could it be a color we don't know?"

After all, Griseo is still young, so it's normal for her to not recognize some things.

But Griseo shook her head. She didn't say a word in the end, just clutching her gift and Bianca's hand, her head hanging low. She would occasionally glance at Lin, her face full of confusion.

"Hey, old driver, long time no see."

Spasi, with one sleeve hanging down his side, was eating cake on the table with a fork. Eating was a bit troublesome for him because he only had one hand, but he was very patient and not picky. He ate wherever he went and seemed quite content.

Seeing Lin approach, he smiled and put down his fork, "Why did you suddenly become interested in doing these things?"

"I'm not Lin." Lin leaned against him, picked up a cocktail, and looked at his blurry reflection in the glass. "I can do whatever I want."

"Perhaps." Spasi didn't dwell on the matter, nodding noncommittally. "Then what brings this unknown gentleman to me? My relationship with Lin isn't exactly good, is it?"

"If it's not good enough, I won't give him the serum." Lin raised his head and drank the wine in one gulp. His reflection in the glass returned to normal. He leisurely put down the glass. "As for why I'm looking for you... Old Si, do you remember what happened back then? You were riding on him, crying like a madman, beating a helmet that was a hundred times harder than your fists."

"... How could I forget?"

"After that, a lot of things came up... but never mind, it's too long to tell. So, what were your thoughts after that?"

What were you thinking?

Spasi clenched his fist.

A long time has passed; even the most affectionate person should have long since recovered from that pain.

But relief is not forgetting. Even now, when Spasi thinks of his wife and daughter from that day, his heart still aches.

Pain, regret, sorrow... a torrent of emotions overwhelmed him, causing him to lose himself.

Why would he ask about this?

"You used to say that Lin was an empty shell, that he had nothing, that his heart was empty, which is why he could carry out his procedural justice. That was quite true. But as more and more things are put into that empty shell, and he becomes less like a machine and more like a person..."

"No, just pretend I didn't say anything. This banquet was just for fun, to see some people from Lin's memories."

Lin's smile seemed normal, but Spasi glanced at him suspiciously, finding his earlier words rather odd.

"But I still find it strange. If you are not Lin, then where did the real Lin go?" Returning to the fundamental question, Spasi stared intently at Lin.

"... Old Si, you didn't actually hate me back then, you hated someone else, right?"

"What does this have to do with what I asked you?"