Racing Against Time / Compassion for All

"..."

This Lin seems to be quite different from Kevin's description.

Kevin said Lin was a quiet person who preferred to be alone, but after meeting him in person, Su felt that Lin was quite talkative, and... often made some quirky remarks and sharp critiques.

In summary, he is a very individualistic person.

Lin Kai's joke was very effective; Su couldn't help but chuckle, and the gloom in her heart vanished.

"I don't know about my future yet. I'll become a doctor, but who can I save, and how many people can I save?" A complicated look appeared in Su's eyes.

Will I become a good doctor?

"Oh? It seems there's no result."

The Eighth Herrscher emerged from the mist and stood leisurely before the unsteady Lin.

The others stopped attacking Lin, and Lin didn't say anything more.

The atmosphere became a stalemate or an awkward silence, until the Eighth Herrscher's flippant words caused everyone's expressions to change once again.

This time, their gazes toward Lin and the Eighth Herrscher were exceptionally complex.

"None of the three possible outcomes are possible, so Lin, are you planning to stay in the dream with them?" The Eighth Herrscher walked up to Lin, her eyes flashing with blood-red light. "I welcome you~ Both Qianqi, who was the vessel through which I was born, and I myself admire humans like you."

He was blind, but the Eighth Herrscher could still sense his gaze.

This is the realm of consciousness, a powerful consciousness capable of anything.

"... Don't say things that disgust me." Lin said coldly to the Eighth Herrscher, "Send them back, or your claim that you won't harm humans is just a lie."

"But you haven't convinced them yet!"

"They won't agree now, and they don't know where they're headed in the future, but after they leave here, they will approach the rest of their lives in a different way."

"But you still didn't win?"

"Yes, because you cheated too." Lin's body gradually straightened from being hunched over, and his tone became sharp and powerful again. "Not everyone here is corrupted by you. Those who are positive about life, you forcibly kept them in the dream."

Hua, Ying, Immer, and even Chrono are not here.

The Eighth Herrscher knew that once they were awakened from their dreams, they would never return to those seemingly beautiful dreams.

They may yearn for the beauty of dreams, but they will also face the harshness of reality.

They... no, humans are just that kind of creature.

Chapter 127 Racing Against Time

You also... cheated?

Upon hearing these words, the Eighth Herrscher felt a sense of foreboding. She immediately realized that she had overlooked something, just like when Lin used the First Herrscher's core to turn the tide in his own consciousness. He was definitely plotting something now, and it was very likely that he had already achieved his goal!

What was it? What did she overlook?

Wait a minute, there are three people observing her world of consciousness this time...

Lin and Su were captured by her the moment they entered the world of consciousness, while Dessidobia's consciousness was already very weak due to her repeated attempts to observe. She couldn't even last a second after entering before retreating, which meant that the Eighth Herrscher did not capture her consciousness.

However, it seems that the Eighth Herrscher has now realized that Dessidobia was not unable to enter the world of consciousness due to her own weakness, but rather that she voluntarily withdrew from the world of consciousness after entering.

Why didn't she see the relevant parts in Lin's memories?

Could it be...?

"Aponia, I'm counting on you from now on."

As Lin finished speaking, a person walked gracefully out from behind him, slowly dragging her wide, white Nun's habit. She closed her eyes and walked to Lin's side.

"You--"

For the first time, the Eighth Herrscher felt surprised.

In Qianqi's memories, there was very little information about Aponia. All she knew was that she was a Flame-Chaser who was not controlled by the Fire Moth. After regaining consciousness, the Eighth Herrscher secretly investigated Aponia and learned what the Fire Moth had done to her and her intention not to participate in the battle. That's why she overlooked her existence.

But why has this person suddenly joined the battle?

... No, it was from the very beginning, when Lin and the others were observing her world of consciousness, Aponia's consciousness had already entered with them. Then she sent the extremely weak Dessidobia out and hid herself away.

Even the Eighth Herrscher didn't discover Aponia's existence. She thought that Aponia's help in Lin's memories was just to let him enter her consciousness world. She never expected that Aponia would choose to confront her directly.

By this time, the Eighth Herrscher had finally realized Lin's true plan.

"You've confirmed my location in the real world?" The Eighth Herrscher asked in a question, but she was quite certain. "I see. You sent that Flame-Chaser named Dessidobia out, and at the same time confirmed my location and informed her."

Lin knew nothing of any of this. He didn't even know that Aponia had entered the consciousness world of the Eighth Herrscher. Aponia only transmitted the information to Lin after Lin persuaded these corrupted people.

This is why the Eighth Herrscher could not perceive Aponia from Rin's consciousness.

Thinking of this, the Eighth Herrscher immediately wanted to control these people to threaten Lin, but she found that she had lost control of their consciousness!

"... If... they are unwilling... to awaken... then I have no choice but to abandon them..." Aponia opened her eyes, the crimson in them comparable to that of the Eighth Herrscher, "But their consciousness has chosen to rebel against you..."

If Lin cannot persuade these people, Aponia will also be unable to stop the Eighth Herrscher from controlling their consciousness. With just a thought from the Eighth Herrscher, these people's consciousness will instantly dissipate.

And Aponia... didn't actually intend to save them.

She witnessed the atrocities committed by these people and also saw Lin's perseverance.

But regardless, this was someone Lin was unwilling to give up on, and Aponia had promised him that she would do her best to assist him.

"Your consciousness... is scattered..." Aponia's red eyes reflected the appearance of the Eighth Herrscher. She had already detected that the Eighth Herrscher was now splitting her consciousness into multiple parts. The Eighth Herrscher here was no match for her.

"Hehehe... Human, you always give me quite a few surprises."

After a brief moment of surprise, the Eighth Herrscher laughed. She didn't care about these humans who had lost control, but instead looked at Lin: "Then these people are yours. They're just scum with no future anyway. Compared to your true companions, they're just insignificant pawns."

"There are still three hours left. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this 'second match' will end."

Aponia raised her hand, and golden, pollen-like particles drifted from it, striking the Eighth Herrscher's body. In an instant, the Eighth Herrscher disintegrated.

Her mocking smile crumbled before Aponia's eyes.

"Three hours left..."

The Eighth Herrscher opened her eyes in the real world. She looked at the code still jumping on the screen, and her fingers trembled involuntarily.

Those humans were actually the easiest group of people for her to control. Because they had no attachment to reality and were willing to give everything to her, letting her fall into a dream, their will was the weakest and they would not resist.

The Eighth Herrscher also wanted to use this to break Lin's consciousness. She was still wary of her last encounter with Lin in the world of consciousness, as well as the experience of being injured three months ago by a woman of unknown identity with eyes like Lin's. Therefore, weakening their consciousness through this method was the safest approach.

But now it seems like a terrible move.

The rest were those she had forcibly imprisoned in her dream world.

These people have stronger wills than those of the gloomy ones. It's not impossible for her to wipe them all out at once, but the consumption of Honkai Energy would increase dramatically. She is already distracted by observing the consciousness of the Fire Moth and planning to pollute the consciousness of all humanity in three hours. If she wastes her power on something like this, she is very likely to be caught by that woman Aponia.

The monsters created by humans are truly not to be underestimated...

Aponia's consciousness was already close to hers. If she weren't the Herrscher of Reason who could connect to the Imaginary Gate, she might not have been more powerful Aponia's consciousness.

"Three more hours until my victory..."

The Eighth Herrscher stared intently at the still-moving letters on the screen. As a Herrscher, she did not possess human humanity, but at this moment, she had a strong urge to defeat Lin.

As long as the consciousness of all humanity in the world is polluted, even if half of them break free and awaken, even if she is captured by the Moth of Fire due to excessive exhaustion and her real location being found.

She could also destroy half of the human world in an instant.

Everything will happen within the next three hours...

Chapter 128 Compassion for All

Su graduated smoothly.

He followed his own plan and completed his undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral studies step by step. When he received his doctorate, he was actually a little surprised that he had studied so diligently. He thought that sooner or later he would lose his temper and choose to become a doctor.

Perhaps what Lin said to him on the day of the concert had some effect.

... Speaking of Lin, the three of them would often hang out together after that concert. During long holidays, Su would go to Changkong City to find them, and they became a classic trio.

However, unlike Su, who pursued further studies, Lin and Kevin did not continue their studies after completing their university education.

Kevin and May officially became a couple. Kevin became an IT technician. May frequently traveled around the world to attend academic conferences, while he often worked overtime. This former prince charming of the entire school's sports department had now even developed an occupational disease...

However, compared to Kevin becoming an IT technician, Lin's situation is even more... baffling? Incomprehensible? It's hard to find a word to describe his current situation.

He seems to be deeply immersed in a romantic relationship.

"Get out of here!"

With a sharp shout, Lin was thrown out of the door, tumbling down the stairs and landing face down at Su's feet.

Sue's eyelids twitched as she looked at her friend whom she hadn't seen for almost a year.

"Bang!"

The upstairs door slammed shut with a loud bang, meaning Lin would have to live in the desolate wind for the time being.

"This is really..." Su shook her head helplessly, having gotten used to it. "Lin, why do you always get kicked out of the house every time I come?"

"Uh yeah, I don't know either." Lin said in a muffled voice, his face down on the ground.

"Thanks, Sue. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be starving." Lin sat dejectedly on a chair at the barbecue stall, drinking a bottle of beer listlessly. "Mobius even confiscated my phone."

But Su had clearly seen it all before, and he calmly asked, "So what exactly happened?"

"Mobius said this morning that he smelled another woman on me and insisted on having me do a scent test."

"... And then? The results were in?"

"Of course not, I washed myself with shower gel ten times beforehand, making sure even the smell was washed away." Lin waved his hand.

"Then how did you get kicked out?"

"When I took off my clothes, they saw three different mouth-shaped bite marks on my neck."

"..."

This guy really brought this on himself.

"Let's not talk about that." Lin casually skipped over the topic, picked up a skewer of fragrant barbecue and put it to his mouth. "Congratulations on your graduation. Have you decided where you want to work?"

"Not yet... I don't think so." Su's tightly furrowed brows did not relax. He looked down at the skewers but did not touch them.

"What? Are you having trouble? It's easy for a PhD student like you to find a job, right? Just find a cancer project, announce that you've developed a cure for cancer, and then hold some press conferences..."

"That's not a job at all! Besides, I want to be a doctor, not make money immorally!"

After Su finished her rant, she remained silent for a while.

"So what are you waiting for?" Lin poured some wine into his mouth and asked casually, "Why don't you just become a doctor?"

"... And you? Didn't you say you wanted to be a teacher at a school with only female students?"

As far as Su knew, Lin became a private investigator after graduation, not a teacher.

This is also why he has so many romantic entanglements; private investigators come into contact with all sorts of people...

"I am a pro," Lin said calmly, shrugging.

"Huh? Where?"

"Keivotos".

"..."

They were still the same as before, as if they had never changed. Su smiled helplessly yet comforted; it was the kind of smile that comes between friends.

After receiving the message, Kevin rushed over from home without stopping. The three of them sat at a barbecue stand drinking until midnight, chatting about their recent troubles and interesting things that happened at work, as well as Lin's rather gossipy private life.

The world is constantly changing, but there are always people and things that remain the same.

Kevin was still a lightweight drinker; he always drank heartily and in large gulps, so he got drunk the fastest.

So in the end, only Lin and Su were left, sipping their drinks and chatting idly. Su's face was flushed with drunkenness, while Lin's attire made it impossible to tell whether he was drunk or not.

"It's hard to define people as good or bad. When I was a private investigator, the people I encountered most were those investigating their partners' infidelity." Lin stopped drinking beer and went to the bar next door to order a cocktail. He stirred the ice ball in his glass with a spoon, looking at the condensation on the glass. "But do you think they are heartbroken? No, most of them... no, everyone I've met just wants a hefty breakup fee."

Su listened silently as Lin recounted his experiences in a calm and steady tone, his voice flowing gently and slowly, easily drawing the listener in.

"But this doesn't mean they are greedy and evil people who define relationships with money. Rather, it means they understand the weight of their so-called feelings better than anyone else, which is why they make decisions that are measured in money."