A New Project / The Grown-Up

Beneath the collapsed building in front of her lay a dirty, immobile little hand.

Delta felt as if she had been struck a heavy blow. Her breathing quickened, and the image of the crying girl and her sister overlapped in front of her as waves of emotions surged through her.

Ultimately, it vanished into nothingness.

She had all sorts of feelings about it, but so what?

Can she change that fact?

She couldn't even save her own sister.

She is just like this girl, with only a childhood that ended abruptly and a future where she has lost herself.

"Kevin, I'll donate the body, but you can keep the helmet and pistol."

Lin stood in front of the table, looking down at the helmet on it. His conversation with Kevin was nearing its end, and only they knew what they had been exchanging during that time.

"No need, that's too stuffy, and there are ultra-lightweight options available..."

"You'll see once you try it."

Without a word, Lin shoved the helmet onto Kevin's head. Seeing that Kevin seemed uneasy because of the darkness inside the helmet, he activated the helmet's system. The blue particles in the viewing window lit up, and he believed that his face was now in front of Kevin.

"Don't worry, even if I die, I'll always be by your side."

Hearing the noisy sounds around him, Lin spoke softly to him.

Chapter 195 New Project

"Chrono, it's time to go."

Sakura sheathed her sword and spoke to the masked man who was still searching for Honkai Beast.

"Huh? That's it? This is really boring." Chrono scoffed. "This is the enemy you're facing? You alone are enough, aren't you?"

"...You just haven't met your real enemy yet." Sakura walked towards the transport plane. "To ordinary people, that would be no different from a 'god'."

"God? Ha..." Chrono laughed.

Sakura didn't explain further to him. It might not be entirely accurate to say that this person has been doing things his own way since the team was formed, but he has an inexplicable contempt for the existing system and everything in his field of vision.

Except for two people.

He often gritted his teeth when talking about Lin and Aponia.

Sakura shook her head, intending to go back like this...

"Hello, Ms. Sakura."

"..."

When an unexpected person appears at an unexpected time and in an unexpected place, Sakura's reaction is to draw her sword.

A man in a heavy black coat stood in front of the transport plane and said in a uniquely hoarse, slightly mechanical voice, "Please don't act rashly. I think you are an intelligent woman. Outside of my mission, I would be happy to build a friendly relationship with you. What do you say?"

"I will not build a friendly relationship with an anti-human madman." Sakura raised her sword and pointed it at Gray Serpent's white, lacquered mask.

"Anti-human?" Gray Serpent seemed quite surprised. "Perhaps you don't know... I love the humans my parents loved even more than the people who chase the fire moths."

"You..."

"What is this 'thing'?"

Chrono interrupted their conversation. He narrowed his eyes behind his mask, walked to Sakura's side, and grinned, "You seem... to be quite tactless."

"Your teammates are also full of personality, but in this era, personality is often a sign of danger." Gray Serpent took out a stack of papers from his chest pocket, completely ignoring Sakura's fingers tightening around the hilt of her knife as he did so. "I hope you can give this to Mr. Lin."

"Let us pass on a message to the enemy?" Chrono laughed as if he had heard something funny. "Looks like you're not just clueless, you're just out of your mind."

"The enemy is just a position. You weren't necessarily someone who took the 'Moth to the Flame' position before, were you?"

"..."

Chrono's laughter abruptly stopped, and his eyes beneath the mask fixed on the Gray Serpent, as if lava were flowing.

"Chrono, he's special, there's no way to kill him..."

"Really? I'm good at killing things that can't be killed."

When Chrono said those words, Ying knew that she couldn't persuade Chrono, but she hadn't planned to let the Gray Serpent go anyway.

A minute later, Sakura picked up the stack of papers from the ground. A corner of the Gray Serpent's cloak floated past her eyes. She unfolded the papers, and there were some words written inside.

"This is..."

After she saw the contents clearly, her breath caught in her throat for a second.

"Brother Lin... you're back..."

When Lin returned to Mobius's office, a soft, gentle voice reached his ears. He saw a little girl drawing on one of the unused desks.

"Griseo ..."

I didn't expect to see Griseo here, but her presence here says one thing.

"Can you control your abilities?"

Griseo stopped painting, seemingly pondering Lin's words, then nodded. "Mother Aponia... said I can control my abilities and Mr. Knight now..."

Aponia... Mom? And Mr. Knight?

"After Aponia gave Griseo an 'insurance' layer, she let her come back. She doesn't have to live in the Deepest Place anymore." Mobius walked out of the office, her sharp face softening when she saw Griseo. "Griseo, why don't you go out and play for a while? Mobius will pick you up later, okay?"

Although Griseo was young, she was exceptionally obedient. She nodded and put away her paintbrush. "Okay, Aunt Mobius."

Mobius's expression froze. "Wait a minute, you're calling him 'brother' and me 'auntie'?"

"See you later, Aunt Mobius." Griseo had already walked to the door, waved to them, and then left.

"..."

Mobius suddenly looked at Lin, but Lin was wearing a helmet and there was nothing unusual about him.

"Perhaps I look more mature than you do." Mobius stared at him, as if trying to see what kind of expression was beneath his helmet. "Hmph, shrinking doesn't affect my demeanor."

After hesitating for a few seconds, Lin nodded in agreement, which pleased Mobius.

"Alright, let's hurry. I have a lot of things to do, and I don't have much time to study your body each day. I'll leave the rest to Vill-V." Mobius pointed to the operating table and took out several special tools from the side. "You don't need to feel guilty. Even if you really do become Honkai creature ..."

Mobius's voice trailed off, and Lin didn't hear it clearly, but he didn't ask any further questions.

He is now considering something, something that can be accomplished under the specific circumstances of the "present".

"Number One, have you been bullied while you were with Mei?" Vill-V performed a full-body check on Prometheus. "You must have missed me a lot, right?"

"... Doctor Mei would not bully an Artificial Intelligence. I keep Dr. Vill-V's data in the system at all times, and it will be transferred to the highest priority level during maintenance."

"Don't answer in such a mechanical, Artificial Intelligence tone."

"But I am Artificial Intelligence."

"Okay, at least you haven't changed in this aspect; you still have that Lin-like cunning vibe." Vill-V finished the examination in a relaxed tone. "You're my 'competitive' advantage."

"What kind of competition?"

"Just imagine, if the man knew that the woman had an absolutely obedient and beautiful Artificial Intelligence as part of her dowry, wouldn't that be..."

"I am Lin's private property."

"Don't cut so fast!"

Vill-V breathed a sigh of relief, her tone becoming much lighter. "Going home... Yes, home is where you are..."

She put away the instruments in her hands, then took out her pile of tools that others couldn't understand how to use. She stretched her neck and said, "Number One, time to get to work."

"The Engineering Department currently has no projects."

"Yes, so this is 'my' personal project. I really have to thank the Head of Research and Development for his kindness."

Vill-V raised the corners of her mouth, smug and smug.

Chapter 196 The Grown-Up

"Vomit..."

Delta lay on the toilet, her face contorting with nausea, before she began to gag into the toilet, but nothing came out except a few drops of saliva.

Exhausted, she covered her face, her mind flashing back to signing the voluntary form and the little girl who lost her sister in Svatogor 51, making her stomach churn as if hundreds of dynamite were exploding inside.

"Click".

The toilet door was pushed open, and cold, stern eyes stared at Delta, who was nearly exhausted.

"It's definitely not easy to be used to seeing those monsters on the battlefield for the first time." Sakura placed a cup of hot salt water in front of Delta, who was looking down and almost bumping his head on the table.

"No..." Delta looked at the hot water in front of her, and the feeling of nausea returned. She suppressed the nausea, picked up the water and took a small sip. "It's not because of the monster."

To be honest, Delta didn't have any extra feelings when fighting the Honkai Beast. Perhaps it was thanks to someone that she didn't have the anxiety of a newcomer at all and remained quite calm throughout the battle.

She was restless, her legs under the table trembling rapidly, and her tail tangled uncomfortably around her legs. The impatience she showed during the war had suddenly appeared after the war.

"Sakura, we became Flame-Chaser and fought for humanity, right?"

Sakura was stunned when she saw the anxious little girl in front of her.

"Even if we become Flame-Chaser for different reasons, our purpose, our identity, is to fight for humanity, right?"

Sakura felt as if she were standing in front of her younger sister.

Rin, the younger sister who has lived in the lies Sakura created for her since childhood, believes that her older sister has a legitimate job and that her sister is a gentle, kind, and intelligent person.

But the truth is quite the opposite.

Sakura is an executioner; she has probably killed more people by now than Rin has ever known since childhood.

Sakura concealed herself with lies.

Now, is she going to tell Delta that her job is to kill, not to save?

What does this girl believe, or rather... what is she forcing herself to believe?

Sakura thought of what the Gray Serpent wanted to give to Lin, and a look of confusion filled her eyes.

"Cherry?"

"I have no idea."

A person stood at the door, listening to the conversation inside, and sighed softly.

"Um... Elysia ..."

Pardo stood timidly not far away. She felt that Elysia, bathed in the twilight, was a stranger. Elysia was usually gentle and generous, a caring and mischievous older sister, but now Pardo felt that she was surrounded by a sadness she had never seen before.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Pardo?"

But in the blink of an eye, when she turned around, that sense of unfamiliarity disappeared, and she returned to her usual Elysia.

"It's nothing, it's just that we've been standing here for quite a while, Elysia." Pardo stayed because Elysia told her to stay with her for a while, but Elysia hadn't said a word since bringing her here, just staring straight at the golden sunset.

"Want to go back? Then let's leave in a bit." Elysia smiled, then turned her head back with a nostalgic smile on her face. "A long time ago, this was a great spot to watch the sunset. You could cool off here and watch the brilliant sunset cast its last rays. Some children especially loved this place. But then tall buildings were built across the street, blocking the sunset."

The golden rays of the sunset shone on the ends of her beautiful hair, creating a subtle and alluring effect.

Now that tall building has collapsed, and the setting sun can shine here again.

But the child standing here has grown up.

The silver-white hair and the Pseudo-Herrscher Core within his body reminded Lin of someone he didn't really want to think about.

Perhaps she should have asked more questions back then. She should know the current situation better than Lin. However, she said at the end that their next meeting would be a fight to the death. Lin has not experienced the separation of consciousness and body again in the past year, so it is unclear how long until their next meeting.

"Lin, you look so honest, but when you get down to business, you're just like your deceased adoptive father." Spasi was communicating with Lin, and he raised his goggles to his forehead, looking at the helmeted man in the pitch-black background on the screen. "I have to say, this is crazy, and the consequences are serious."

"... Will it work?"

"The theory is fine, but the conditions required for implementation are too stringent. Moreover, this is not an experimental project that allows us to make mistakes, like clinical trials. If any link goes wrong and we didn't anticipate it, well..." Spasi licked his lips and gave a not-so-pleasant smile.