I'll Do It / Trump Card

Su was stunned for a moment.

He, Flame-Chaser?

He has absolutely nothing to do with the word "soldier," does he?

But Sue immediately thought of Dessidobia was still suffering in that device.

If becoming Flame-Chaser would allow him to...

Chapter 116 I'll Do It

"The 26th observation of the consciousness world failed."

After suspending the experiment on the world of consciousness, Vill-V did not record any more data or ask Dessidobia to prepare for the next observation. Instead, she shook her head and said, "Stop it. If Dessidobia continues, her consciousness will collapse."

Dessidobia's face was paler than a corpse. After coming out of the cabin, she knelt on the ground and dry heaved, but nothing came out. She had already vomited everything in her stomach several times before, and now she couldn't even vomit bile.

"No...I..." Dessidobia instinctively tried to refute, but was forcefully interrupted by Vill-V.

"This isn't a matter of trying a few times. After so many observations, all the necessary data has been collected. The inability to enter the Eighth Herrscher's consciousness world is simply not enough on your own."

Dessidobia bit her bloodless lower lip, a hint of annoyance flashing in her eyes.

Perhaps in her view, this was due to her lack of ability.

"What about me? I'll join you too..." Kosma looked at Dessidobia's face and took a step forward, but Vill-V quickly stopped him.

"You can't either. Only psychic Flame-Chaser like Dessidobia can carry out this mission. If I let you perform consciousness observation, it would burn your brain in just one time."

"..."

Then, the atmosphere inside fell silent again, since the other psychic Flame-Chaser wouldn't be helping them.

In their understanding, Aponia was forcibly subjected to the Hypervariable Surgery, and she probably harbors considerable resentment towards the Firemoth. Furthermore, she has stated that she will not participate in any battles.

Vill-V paced back and forth in distress, muttering to herself, "Even if we were to perform another Hypervariable Surgery to turn one of us into Flame-Chaser, we wouldn't have any materials for Emperor-class Honkai Beast, let alone one capable of reliably creating a psycho-sensory Flame-Chaser..."

Spasi was sitting at the table, glanced at her but didn't say anything.

"Here it comes!"

Mobius's distinctively flamboyant voice drifted in from outside, but those who entered with her included...

"You're back?" Mei's tightly furrowed brows suddenly relaxed as she saw Hen, who had sustained some injuries, and Elysia seemed unharmed, walk in as well. "Where's Lin?"

"Su is stitching up his wounds." Mobius said casually, then a smile of interest appeared on his face. "Speaking of which, back to the topic of Vill-V, we now have the Honkai Beast materials that can reliably create mental-sensory Flame-Chaser."

"... I see, so it was Honkai Beast you encountered?"

May immediately understood what Mobius meant.

"Okay, let's proceed with the Hypervariable Surgery immediately."

"Wait a moment--"

Mobius held up one finger, smiling mysteriously, "There's another problem: who will fuse with this Honkai Beast?"

This statement instantly lowered the tone of the discussion by several notches.

Currently, the five people capable of performing Hypervariable Surgery are May, Sue, Spasi, Vill-V, and Einstein.

While there may be patterns to the success of the Hypervariable Surgery, its 98% mortality rate cannot be ignored. Among these individuals, May, Spasi, Vill-V, and Einstein are of extraordinary significance to the present and to the entire Fire Moth movement. The death of any one of them would be a great loss to the Fire Moth movement and even to humanity.

After a long silence, Spasi got down from the table and said in a serious tone, "I'll do it..."

"I'll do it."

Everyone turned their attention to the person who walked in from outside the door.

Su helped Lin, who was still bandaged, into the room, and those words came from his mouth.

His expression was resolute, as firm as a rock.

"No." Spasi's expression changed abruptly, and he said sternly, "I will not allow my student to undergo Hypervariable Surgery."

"And it's me, the infamous Mobius, who's doing it, isn't that right?" Mobius sneered. "No need to argue, I can tell you hate me."

"..."

Mobius's outburst further exacerbated the already fractured discussion.

Spasi usually hides his likes and dislikes very well, showed a tough attitude at this moment.

"I agree with Su undergoing the Hypervariable Surgery."

No one expected that it would be "him" who said those words.

Lin looked extremely weak. He couldn't even walk properly without anyone's support, and his voice trembled slightly as he spoke, but there was no sign of backing down in his tone.

"..." Spasi stared blankly at Lin, while Lin looked back at him without any hesitation.

"The Hypervariable Surgery is voluntary; in other words, whether or not someone can undergo the Hypervariable Surgery depends solely on their own will," Lin added after finishing his sentence. "The same goes for Aponia."

Aponia underwent the Hypervariable Surgery voluntarily. If she had shown any reluctance at the time, Lin would not have allowed the Fire Moth to force her to undergo the Hypervariable Surgery.

"Can we begin?"

Sue didn't look again, or rather, he didn't dare to look into Spasi's eyes.

Sue didn't want to see the look in Spasi's eyes again, the one he had told her about his wife and daughter.

Want me to have a drink with you?

"...I'm afraid the alcohol will spill out of your stomach." Spasi looked at the layers of bandages covering Lin's abdomen. "I don't want to end up on the operating table with Doctor Mobius ...but never mind."

Spasi took the wine jug from his waist and tossed it to Lin.

"By the way, haven't you lost your sense of taste now?"

"... I can hear sounds, especially when I'm drinking liquid." Lin opened the lid, lifted his helmet, took a swig, and then tossed it to Spasi, who also tilted his head back and took a big gulp.

"Hiccup... Ever since Karen left, I've been drinking more often. It's true what they say, when men give up on themselves, they smoke, drink, and go whoring." Spasi felt the cold liquid flow from his throat into his stomach, and he couldn't help but give a bitter laugh.

"No one gives up on themselves by studying how to save people."

Isn't that how you give up on yourself?

"..."

Spasi felt the smell of alcohol slowly wafting from his nostrils, and he shook his head blankly. "In the end, it seems like nothing has changed."

"The Honkai Energy that can cure Honkai Sickness can only be exchanged for the lives of hundreds of thousands of people for the lives of a few dozen."

"I took in a student, but I could only watch helplessly as he went to the operating table."

"In the past few years, it seems that I haven't been able to change anything."

Chapter 117 Trump Card

"What are you doing?"

Yan Luo floated on the sea, her tightly closed eyes slowly opening at someone's call. Her slender eyebrows trembled slightly, revealing her colorful Prismatic Eyes.

"...none of your business."

"Um, Little Yan Luo, could you please not be so aggressive towards me..."

"Don't add the word 'small'," Yan Luo coldly reprimanded. "Can't you see the distance between us? Well, that's right, someone without eyes, ears, or a face really can't see."

Yan Luo's sharp words left him momentarily speechless.

"Uh... hehe..." He chuckled dryly, muttering under his breath, "Our relationship is definitely not as good as your kissing relationship. What is this, a self-kiss?"

"Shut up."

"Okay, okay, I won't say anything more. I just wanted to ask what you're doing right now? Didn't you say you'd given up all hope of changing the predetermined outcome?" He seemed to be teasing her. "So what are you doing now..."

Yan Luo did not answer him, but closed his eyes.

Not far in front of her, a feather quietly appeared...

"To be honest, even at that banquet, you didn't give me as much of a feeling as those words you just said."

Spasi smiled indifferently, but there was no smile in his eyes, like cold glass beads, silently reflecting the distorted world.

"How does it feel?" Lin calmly clutched her abdomen, looking at the red light that illuminated the operating room.

"It's like my whole being has changed, inside and out."

"... You already said that."

"I know, but what you just said makes me feel like you've become..."

It's like a real person now.

Spasi didn't say those words aloud.

As he had planned, it was no surprise that Lin would agree to Sue's surgery. However, instead of convincing Spasi by comparing the values of Spasi and Sue, he refuted Spasi by saying that "Sue did it voluntarily."

Moreover, Lin started talking more.

"... If I never change from beginning to end, I certainly won't be able to do what I want to do."

If you can't even change yourself, how can you talk about changing the future?

Am I... useless?

Dessidobia sat dejectedly in the chair, her hands clenched on her lap, her expression particularly forlorn beneath her long, golden hair.

Kosma was standing beside her. Hearing her words, he looked down at the back of her head, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

"If I can invade the consciousness of the Eighth Herrscher, would that person no longer need to undergo the Hypervariable Surgery?"

"... You also underwent the Hypervariable Surgery."

"But we volunteer to undergo the Hypervariable Surgery so that others won't have to, right?"

"..."

Kosma actually meant was that she couldn't take other people's sacrifices for granted while disregarding her own.

But he opened his mouth, yet said nothing.

He didn't know how to express himself properly. He was Dessidobia's closest person, and whatever he said would be taken as perfunctory comfort.

He also wanted to say that he hadn't been of any use either. While Dessidobia admitted to the unimaginable pain, Kosma could only watch helplessly from the outside.

"If that's what you think, then I suggest you don't go to the front lines in the future."

Another cold voice came from not far away. Kevin stood by the wall, arms crossed, watching them.

"If you fight, then no one else needs to fight," Kevin questioned Dessidobia in a chilling voice. "Are you negating the fights of others?"

No—

"No, no matter what you say, deep down you think this way: you alone are enough. Have you considered Kosma? Have you considered the other people who underwent the Hypervariable Surgery? Were they just doing this so that, like you, they could save others by enduring the pain alone?"

No.

Kevin pointed at Kosma and said slowly, "They do it so that they can contribute their strength to humanity and fight alongside their comrades, not to fulfill the heroic roles they have created for themselves."

Dessidobia stared blankly at Kevin, and soon, as if deflated, she lowered her head.

Kevin was right.

She used to often try to teach Kosma to tone down his heroism, but wasn't she Kosma's childhood sweetheart who grew up with him, also a hero?

Anyone who has witnessed the chaos in their hometowns would likely share the same thoughts as them.

"Kevin ..." Kosma hesitated, wanting to say something, but he sighed softly, shook his head, and remained silent.

"Have a good rest."

Kevin left after saying that.

He walked down the quiet corridor, his face flashing constantly in the shifting shadows.

Why was Kevin able to say those words?

Because... he's the same, and Lin is the same too.

They are all... the same.