How About We Get a Room? / What a Jerk

The fragile leaf veins shattered upon impact with his body.

"Don't you think this situation looks familiar?" Lin asked Elysia, who was spitting her bubble gum into the trash can.

"... You mean the person who took over your body before?" Elysia's mind was quick as well. "Thinking about it, it does seem very similar, for example, the fact that you were unconscious and seemed like a completely different person."

Lin's concern lay here; he had a premonition that this was likely a problem of "consciousness" that the Fire-Chasing Moth had never encountered before.

What exactly is consciousness? Both the information given by Yan Luo and the abilities displayed by Aponia are extremely vague, and are closer to metaphysical questions.

"Let's go."

"Wait a minute, Lin."

Elysia smiled sweetly, her gaze fixed firmly on a certain spot. "It seems... some 'people' aren't very welcoming to us."

In the shadows, some figures quietly approached.

"I'm telling you..."

Erwin couldn't help but raise his voice, and said to the person next to him who hadn't done anything, with great dissatisfaction, "Can you come and help? We're supposed to be on a two-person mission, but why am I the only one doing all the work?"

The man chuckled sheepishly, "I wouldn't do something like that... How about I give you a 20% discount if you come to our store to buy things in the future?"

"This isn't about discounts... wait, what, your store?"

She puffed out her chest confidently. "Although it's not a large-scale operation yet! But we'll collect all sorts of treasures at headquarters in the future, and then everyone can come to my shop to buy things. Hehehe, we'll be rich, all sparkly..."

Erwin slapped his forehead helplessly, looking at the daydreaming girl. He didn't know whether to complain about why she was making money in the Fire Moth or that she had already started developing potential clients.

However... this is Lieutenant Lin's sister, shouldn't I take extra care of her...?

That's right, Erwin and Pardo were assigned to the same group, responsible for investigating similar incidents like the "1:15 footage" in the Far East. He knew this girl who was constantly subjected to intense training by Lin, and he also heard her call Lin "Brother Lin" and Lin call her "Pardo".

Erwin was quite surprised. In his mind, Lin Cong been a symbol of seriousness and solemnity. No matter who it was, even the current captain Elysia would call him by his full name. He had never heard anyone call Lin by such an intimate but impolite title as "Brother Lin".

So when he had the chance to be assigned to a mission, Erwin couldn't help but ask the question that had been on his mind for a long time, "What is your relationship with Lieutenant Lin? Why do you call him Brother Lin?"

"Huh? What's the relationship? Brother Lin is Brother Lin." Pardo replied, puzzled.

"..."

Is this another way of saying they have a very good relationship?

But when the investigation actually began, Erwin realized what a spoiled child was.

Pardo didn't even know the basics of task execution. After arriving at the branch, she didn't bother to find out the task information. She was completely clueless about what to do, where to do it, and who to contact.

"Brother Lin said he'd ask you if he needed anything," she replied innocently.

"..." Alright, since it's Lieutenant Lin who entrusted him with this important task, then he'll take it on.

Incidentally, Erwin was also at the banquet, but his presence was so weak, and the people he was invited to seemed to be on a completely different level from him, so he just stayed somewhere and ate noodles all night, completely bewildered.

However, he was flattered that Lin actually remembered him and even gave him a small gift.

What's even more surprising is that... the gift was actually a rare item sold at a fan convention by an artist that is currently impossible to buy. It's a collectible with a price that's hard to find, and no one knows where Lin got it from.

"Changkong City, Chienyu Academy..." Erwin found his destination easily.

Changkong City is the site of the Third Honkai War, and the Sixth Honkai War is also next door. Having been through two Honkai, it has stubbornly rebuilt itself, but its population is much smaller than before, turning it from a prosperous city into a relatively deserted place.

However, the school still had a large number of students, who easily entered the school through privileges.

"You wait here for me." Erwin looked at Pardo, whose face was full of curiosity about new things, with a headache. Although she hadn't caused any trouble, she was also useless. He could only say that he had taken her on a trip. "I'm going to find the designated target to gather information. I'll be back in a bit."

"Okay, I'll wait for you here."

Erwin breathed a sigh of relief, then strode over to a student to ask about the location of a particular class.

Pardo stood there in the shade of the tree, watching the passersby with a bored expression.

Are we just going to wait like this...?

Just as Pardo was getting so bored that she started counting the clouds, she caught a glimpse of a coin under a bush by the roadside, gleaming in the sunlight.

Her eyes lit up, and she pounced on him immediately.

"What great luck! Hehe..." She squatted down and reached out with a grin to pick up the coins.

"Smack."

Suddenly, a hand reached out from the bushes and grabbed her arm.

"OK, thanks..."

After asking his question, Erwin turned around to double-check if Pardo was still in the same spot.

But...

The empty space was deserted; the girl had vanished without a trace.

Chapter 100: Shall we go get a hotel room?

The figures that appeared unsteadily in the sunlight were all students in school uniforms, numbering more than a dozen, and carrying small knives or similar weapons.

And on their faces was that same monstrous grin that had once appeared on the waiters' faces.

"Elysia".

"I know."

Lin warned Elysia not to go too far, but his warning was unnecessary.

The Honkai Beasts that the Honkai Beast Flame-Chaser obtained through the Hypervariable Surgery: Kevin controls the power of ice and snow, Mobius controls electricity and black liquid, and Sakura's abilities are not publicly disclosed due to the special nature of her being in the Poison Pupa Unit.

Elysia's abilities are somewhat... fantastical.

Rather than a specific concept, Elysia's abilities seem more like "magic" from many fantasy works.

For example, now.

"Bang!"

A strange sound came from her fingertips adorned with cots. Pink crystals appeared out of thin air, and four prism-like crystals instantly appeared around her. With a flick of her fingertips, the crystals were launched onto the prisms, and like brilliant rays refracting on the prisms, dozens of rainbow-like lights in different directions were instantly dispersed, striking the feet and hands of the people rushing towards her.

The amazing thing is that those extremely fast crystals did not harm the people. Instead, they spread rapidly upon contact, freezing their feet to the ground and their hands completely frozen.

It all happened in an instant. From the moment Elysia activated her ability until the crystals disappeared, it was only a second. If someone were watching, they might think they were seeing things.

What happened next was relatively simple. Lin had originally planned to extract some information from these people, but they simply fainted after realizing that they were powerless to fight back.

Lin could only notify the branch to come and take the person back.

Lin's tightly furrowed brows remained furrowed as he watched the students being carried away on stretchers.

From the moment Lin learned that the waiter had also watched the video, he had an uneasy feeling. Except for the fact that the waiter wanted to harm Lin and his group at the end, he acted no differently than usual. If he had been lying from the beginning, Lin could easily have noticed the clues in his facial expressions and body language.

So, how many people have actually watched the video? How many people whose consciousness may no longer belong to them are hiding in society?

The worst-case scenario is... that this is actually a form of "contagion".

Lin considered the possibility that someone whose consciousness had been taken away by the video might have spread it to others, but this method was unlikely to leave no trace, so he dismissed the idea.

But now that these students from the same school have been "infected" on such a large scale by such a coincidence, he has to consider whether this speculation is true.

But Lin had another question, a question that arose after these so-called "attackers" came out.

"Forest."

"Um?"

"Let's get a room."

"..."

Pardo has disappeared.

In the few seconds it took Erwin to ask for directions, Pardo disappeared behind him into the sunlight.

His pupils contracted, and he ran to where Pardo had been standing, but there was nothing there. He anxiously looked around to see if Pardo had gone somewhere.

This has nothing to do with anyone else; Erwin no longer wants his teammates to mysteriously disappear or even die.

During the Fifth Honkai War, in the Fifth Herrscher's almost despairing attack, most of his teammates were killed or wounded. People he knew and didn't know died tragically right before his eyes.

Scattered within the transparent ice crystals are blood-red snowflakes.

During the Sixth Honkai War, Erwin experienced the most devastating Herrscher battle in history. The overwhelming Honkai Beast and Honkai zombie surged forth like waves, one after another, dragging those around him into them, accompanied by nauseating chewing sounds.

Right before him, those people's lives seemed so insignificant, their body heat still lingering in the blood that splattered on his face.

Erwin knew that his strength was insignificant compared to Kevin and Lin; he was just a private, and the fact that he had survived so many large-scale Honkai could only mean that he was lucky.

But at some point, Erwin woke up from his dazed state.

He realized he should do something, at least something within his power.

He vividly remembered the words that Kosma had roared at him during the Sixth Honkai War.

He couldn't fight like Kevin and Lin, who could enter and exit hordes of Honkai Beast as if they were nothing, nor could he be as resolute as Kosma, but Erwin still wanted to be a warrior, even if it meant sacrificing his own life for someone else's in a critical moment.

But now, his teammate, that girl, has just disappeared?

This couldn't be a simple matter. Erwin's intuition told him that they had come here to investigate the strange events, and coincidentally, they arrived at their destination Pardo, only to have it vanish into thin air? There couldn't be no connection between the two!

Erwin forced himself to calm down. There was no use in being anxious now; the more anxious he was, the more likely he was to overlook something.

He imagined what Lin was like on a normal day, took a deep breath, and then calmed himself down.

First of all, Pardo couldn't have been very far away. It was only a few seconds, and even if she flew, she couldn't have flown very far.

He still kept his eyes on his surroundings, but this time, he was looking for places to hide.

Around the corner? Behind a tree? Neither is possible. Given the distance, those places couldn't be places where someone could be kidnapped in just a few seconds. Even if Pardo walked there herself, it would take her a few seconds. She could easily have done it with the slightest resistance...

Erwin immediately turned his gaze to the bushes beside him. He noticed that there were more fallen leaves than before, and some branches were trembling.

This height might be easily overlooked at first glance, but if...

Erwin immediately stepped forward, lifted the bushes, and found drag marks behind them.

He immediately followed the trail.

These bushes have been neglected for years, so their branches grow wildly. If someone walks in them, it will make a lot of noise. Erwin knew that the other person couldn't have gone far. If the other person didn't want to make noise and be discovered, they could only move carefully in the bushes.

Really...

"Splash."

Erwin leaped into the shaking bushes. Ignoring his scratched face, he looked closely and saw the unconscious Pardo being dragged by a student in a school uniform.

"You bastard!"

He punched the student in the face without any mercy!

Chapter 101 What a Scumbag!

The hotel is never short of couples checking in every day. Some are hesitant and timid like thieves, while others are very open and boastful, as if they want to announce to the whole world that they are about to go to their room for a good time. Of course, there are also those who are in a hurry...

The receptionist, with a listless look in her eyes, watched two people who seemed to be wrapped in their clothes as they rushed in. She yawned, her eyes full of impatience and helplessness.

"Presidential Suite".

Wow, he's a young master.

The receptionist, with a deadpan expression, swiped the card to check in and slowly said, holding the room key, "If you're not satisfied with the disposable amenities in the room, you can turn left and walk straight for two hundred meters..."

Before they could finish speaking, the two grabbed their cards and swept through the corridor into the elevator like a whirlwind, not wanting to wait even a second longer.

The receptionist sighed. She'd seen plenty of people like this. Last time, there were two other couples who were just as eager to have an affair as they were. The man, after discovering that the hotel's "balloons" were of poor quality, rushed out to buy "balloons" wearing only his pants.

"Sigh, they're all jerks," she sighed, then went back to playing on her phone.

The two moved with the speed of professionals, taking the elevator straight to the top floor and rushing into the room after a "beep" of a card swipe.

They worked together seamlessly; one of them turned on the faucet in the bathroom, while the other checked the room for hidden cameras. Their actions were highly efficient, and they had thoroughly investigated the entire room in just one minute.

Wow!

Elysia took off her hood and jumped into the soft, fluffy bed, rolling around on it happily.

Lin also took off his baseball cap. He stood by the window and observed the area below out of the corner of his eye.