A Temporary Departure / The Dark Web

"Mobius, you have unauthorizedly accessed the Mission Report for the Poisoned Cocoon..."

Mobius gave a disdainful sneer, "It's you, you old codger. What, as one of the founders of the Firemoth, I don't even have this much power?"

"But this doesn't follow the proper procedures..."

"Should I investigate your unauthorized use of my modified, yet incomplete, Hypervariable Surgery?"

"..."

"Listen carefully, this is a warning, not a 'friendly warning.' First, stay away from my experimental results that I haven't allowed you to touch. Second, stay away from my 'things.' I'm a germaphobe. Otherwise, when you 'voluntarily' join the Flame-Chaser project will be beyond my control."

Ignoring the roar on the other end, Mobius casually hung up the call, took a deep breath, and curled up in the chair with her petite frame.

"This is so troublesome..."

Chapter 183 Temporary Departure

The surging waves, the flawless sky.

She walked along the beach, chasing the pale yellow swimming ring, leaving footprints in the soft sand.

So... what's the point of catching up?

No, that was originally her swim ring, so there's no need to consider why she chased after it.

She kicked away the sandcastles blocking the path, laughing as she ran forward, the angry shouts of the people who had built them ringing in her ears:

"Sister, don't run too far!"

She stopped abruptly—

Delta rubbed her temples as she walked into the training room. Since her Hypervariable Surgery, her sleep quality had plummeted. She had frequent dreams, but couldn't remember what she had dreamt about after waking up, which sometimes caused her head to ache and gave her some symptoms of neurasthenia.

"Um?"

She noticed that something was missing from the training room today.

Where is that wretched helmeted man?

There was a note on the arcade machine, and Delta walked over and picked it up.

"I have to go out, and someone else will be covering for me today."

The man removed the helmet from his head, breathing in the air that hadn't been filtered by the Firemoth base or the helmet for a long time. He gazed at the distant blue sky.

He lowered his head and took out a jar of viscous, dark green liquid from his pocket. Even through the transparent container, a pungent smell wafted out.

He unscrewed the cap, dipped his fingertip in it, and put it in his mouth.

... It's so spicy it's unbearable.

Human senses awaken within this body at an incredibly rapid pace, but when he sees the silvery-white reflection in the mirror that has swallowed a quarter of him, he feels that the "thing" that truly makes him human is slipping away.

What defines the difference between humans and non-humans?

Are half of the Flame-Chaser who have become Honkai humans?

Is Prometheus, who is entirely Artificial Intelligence, human?

Are the Gray Serpent... and Artificial Lifeform like him, human?

Or are they, to the true "humans," merely another race, or even... tools and property?

From the moment humans created new words to distinguish themselves from others, they no longer identified with those they were distinguishing as their fellow human beings.

So... in those people's eyes, Kevin, Sakura, Mobius, Su... are they not "human"?

So, is that why they want people other than the Firemoth to participate in the Flame-Chaser project?

Lin recalled the look in Ying's eyes a year ago when she returned from a mission, as well as the looks in the eyes of the Moth Chasing members who picked her up. His brain felt like it had been electrocuted. He covered his head and rested silently for a while before suppressing the whispers.

He placed his hand on his holster, stroking the tread pattern of the pistol. After a long while, he silently let go and looked up into the distance.

A city is rising on the horizon.

Svatogor 51.

"..."

Delta swallowed hard, feeling an invisible pressure pressing down on her head. Just by standing there, the person in front of her exuded an aura that could cut her skin painfully.

The two long swords at her waist were sheathed, and her hands were placed at her sides, yet she gave the impression that she could sever a head with the sheathed weapons at any moment.

When Delta first arrived at the Branch 10, she said that Lin was not capable of teaching her and that she wanted a Flame-Chaser to guide her. Now, her "dream has come true."

However, this one doesn't seem to be the "easy to get along with" and "enthusiastic and cheerful" Elysia that others describe, although... she also has pink hair.

"I am your instructor for today."

The ice queen's eyes were as cold as her swordsmanship, which was so fast it was almost invisible. Today was a rare day off for her, but her aura was even colder than usual.

"I need to go out today, could you please give my subordinate some guidance?"

At that moment, she actually wanted to ask him what was wrong, but she forced herself to swallow the words back.

She reported everything last night, including Lin's meeting with Gray Serpent. She doesn't know if Lin's outing today is related to that.

But when she saw Lin Ru as calm as ever, she felt a pang in her heart.

"...Okay." Sakura agreed without much thought. Lin nodded slightly to her and then left the Branch 10.

Sakura noticed that Lin did not use the Moth Chaser's transportation and deliberately chose a hidden route to leave the branch.

So, will she need to give a report this time?

Snapping out of her brief recollection, Sakura gazed at the other pink-haired girl in front of her. She could sense the tension in the other girl, so she restrained her own aura to allow the other girl to relax.

"Delta, right?"

Sakura was also somewhat dazed by the name. She unconsciously tightened her grip on the icy sword, the cold air seeping into her palm.

"Yes." Delta tried to make herself look as formal as possible.

"Don't be nervous." Sakura gave what she thought was a kind smile. "It's just that your name reminds me of... someone I used to know."

Sakura had never met that person; she had only heard of their name and knew that the techniques they left behind were still being developed and used by the Fire Moth, including the knife in her hand, which was also one of their prized creations.

And he was Lin's close friend.

Sakura could only learn about a person's character through snippets of conversation, which gave her a subtle feeling.

It's as if... her past with Lin was separated.

"An old friend?" Delta didn't quite understand why her name would remind the other person of an old friend. She thought the name was a very niche one.

"No, it's nothing, let's begin."

Delta nodded, seemingly understanding, and then prepared to sit down in front of the arcade machine...

"What are you up to?"

Sakura's voice came from behind, and Delta turned around in confusion. "Training, huh?"

"Training by playing video games?"

"Yes."

"..."

Sakura paused for a moment, then hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "My training is different. Pick up your weapon."

Delta only realized after picking up the weapon that this wasn't Lin training her, but a genuine Flame-Chaser with extensive combat experience. Such an opportunity was rare indeed.

"Commander Sakura..."

"Just call me Sakura."

She's practically an angel! Compared to that arrogant guy who doesn't react unless called by his adjutant, Delta thinks Sakura is a perfect senior.

"Is this live-fire training?" Delta asked excitedly, picking up his two weapons.

"A real battle?" Sakura frowned, scrutinizing Delta's posture, which she saw as riddled with flaws. "Are you sure?"

"Certainly!"

"... Okay, I'll take you to the infirmary in a bit."

"Huh? Why?"

Chapter 184 Dark Web

"...it's over?"

"Of course it's over."

The voice sneered, "The Herrscher of Erosion... was once the last straw that broke the camel's back for us... for humanity, but for me now, it is no longer an insurmountable nightmare, and is even... not worth mentioning."

Hearing his words at this moment, she felt no joy, but rather a chill.

Even though they had worked together for quite some time, she still had an indescribable fear of this person.

Everything he once faced, he can now overcome with ease.

But this also means that he is getting further and further away from the person he used to be. She no longer knows whether he is still a remnant of that person or an obsession that has spanned almost endless time.

"Then, all the Herrscher and conditions for the coming of Finality end have been gathered."

Mobius walked into the archive; she hadn't been here for a long time, the last time being several years ago, she remembered.

You can access information in your own room, but many confidential documents are stored securely on the terminal. You can only access them by personally going to the database, and you also need to have your identity verified.

"..."

Mobius wasn't very familiar with the new database system, but fortunately, she had high enough access to many places without any problems, unlike Lin who had to fumble around and search for clues from different places.

"KY-00..."

Mobius quickly located the project within a branch of the Flame-Chaser project.

She squinted at the unfamiliar project. She and Mei had spearheaded the Flame-Chaser project, but she had no recollection of this project, and Mei certainly didn't either.

What's even more surprising is that... she didn't have enough access to view this project.

"Those old geezers..." Mobius shook her head, not too surprised. Her authority was nominally at the highest level, but she knew very well that it was only on the surface. Those above needed her abilities but also feared her, so they had their own special authority.

At first, Mobius didn't care about this. All she needed was a place to conduct her research and enough resources. She thought she could focus on her research without worrying about the outside world until her dream came true. She never expected that one day she would want to take back the privileges she deserved...

Mobius suddenly realized something was amiss.

What are the reasons for this?

Or rather, who is to blame for all of this?

"Tsk, I would have investigated these things even without that guy," Mobius muttered to herself, as if trying to comfort herself, before continuing to search for other information. "It wasn't because of him..."

However, as mentioned before, Mobius herself was not very good at this kind of thing, and she didn't quite understand the database system. After searching for half an hour without any results, she could only angrily punch the screen and then leave in frustration.

Just then, she suddenly caught sight of a project.

"The Engineering Department's projects... aren't those the ones that Vill-V is in charge of?"

But Vill-V is still on "vacation" right now. The Minister of the Engineering Department is not here. Why would there be a project in the Engineering Department?

Because the Engineering Department and the Research and Research and Development Department have some overlap in their authority and functions, most of the Engineering Department's projects were transferred to the Research and Development Department after the departure of the Engineering Department Minister Vill-V. For example, the Aerial Base was completed by May. The remaining projects were all minor projects that would be put into use after Vill-V returned.

But now, why would an Engineering Department project suddenly appear?

"The startup time was... half a year ago."

Six months ago...

Mobius remembered that it was around the time when she had just completed the first step in improving the Hypervariable Surgery through her research on Artificial Collapse. It was also around that time that the High Council of the Firemoth misappropriated her technology and started the second phase of the Flame-Chaser project ahead of schedule.

Is it really possible for such a coincidence? An Engineering Department project that started six months ago is happening around the same time as the second phase of the Flame-Chaser project, and this project even took place after Vill-V left...

Mobius clicked on the project.

The reports mostly covered the delivery and replenishment of building materials and the progress of construction. Mobius didn't understand the terminology, but he could roughly tell that they were building an extremely complex "cage".

A cage? This made Mobius think of the Deepest Place, but since there was already one the Deepest Place, why build another?