Dreams and Wine

Are you alright?

The chaotic sound echoed in his ears for a while before becoming deep and resonant, and Lin Youli's consciousness returned to his body.

Hen's mature face stood out among a bunch of unrecognizable faces. Lin struggled to dispel the double images in front of him, and finally the person in front of him became Hen again.

"It's nothing, just an old problem." Lin's pupils, which had been dilated, returned to normal.

Hen looked at Lin, who was shrouded in gloom compared to a few months ago, and hesitated to speak.

Is it an old ailment...? Could the past few months have caused Lin, who has fought on the brink of death and against the Honkai for years without much abnormality, to develop this kind of illness?

Hen sighed inwardly, but had to loosen his grip and give Lin a smile, "Time is running out, so speak your mind."

"Did you orchestrate the Stargate attack yourself?"

Lin's first words silenced Hen.

The helmet was pitch black, and Hen didn't know if Lin could see the changes in his facial expression when the helmet's functions were not activated. Regardless of whether Lin could see it or not, Hen didn't want Lin to see the subtle twitches in his facial muscles.

"Should I say yes, or no..."

Feeling melancholy? Conflicted? Hesitant?

There was nothing there. Hen simply smiled as usual, muttering to himself about what explanation to use.

Lin gazed at Hen with a serene expression, and Hen chuckled softly after noticing his unusual gaze.

"Not at the beginning."

"... Did you make the clues on the wreckage left after the attack?"

"It's me," Hen readily admitted.

There are many suspicious points about that attack, but considering the Fire Moth's movements over the past two years, Lin can roughly guess the ins and outs.

Since the attack, the Stargate has been sealed off, and its existence has been made public. As a result, not only has the incident involving the Stargate and the lunar debris been glossed over, but the attack has also been used as an excuse to conduct secret research on the Stargate.

Instead of openly involving the Research and Development Department, while the R& Research and Development Department was busy with the renovation of the headquarters, certain unseen personnel were assigned to conduct experiments that could potentially cause the Honkai of Svatogor 51.

In other words, although the attack seemed to have caused losses to Moth of Fire, the material losses were actually insignificant, and the subsequent series of events completely benefited the High Council of Moth of Fire.

What Lin wanted to ask was about the role Hen played in that incident.

Judging from Hen's ambiguous answer, the attack was indeed unexpected for him, but he later became involved in it.

"Doctor Einstein wants to investigate...something, but it's too dangerous for her to do alone. One wrong step and she could end up like you." A deep sense of apology flashed in Hen's eyes. "She may have sensed something, but she hasn't said anything."

"... So, which side are you on?" Lin took a deep breath, and he heard his voice tremble slightly.

"..."

Hen revealed a look in his eyes that Lin couldn't understand—a look of deep care, self-reproach, and a completely incongruous resolve.

"Lin, what do you think I wanted you to do by leaving those words on the wreckage?"

Hen had already told Lin about the Svatogor 51 lunar debris incident, so why did he leave those words behind? What was he trying to guide Lin on? What did he want Lin to do?

The "people" that fell down —

Looking at the helplessness in Hen's eyes, Lin's teeth involuntarily chattered together, an indescribable feeling completely overwhelming him.

It wasn't an injury, nor a medical episode, but pure panic.

As long as you continue your investigation, that future will never come.

Lin's voice was hoarse, as if his throat hadn't been lubricated. "Among us...?"

"..."

"..."

Hen did not respond, but this silence made Lin's heart clench even tighter.

The air grew colder and colder, and Lin heard those voices approaching him in the darkness once more. He was now powerless to stop the voices from echoing in his ears, and some ominous rainbow colors were emerging from the depths of his eyes.

"Who is it...?"

"I wanted you to know she existed, which is why I left those words, but I also didn't want you to know who she really is, that would be too cruel for you, so I only left those words." Hen smiled bitterly, addressing Lin, and also himself.

The moment he stumbled upon the truth, Hen found it hard to describe the feeling he had, and he sat in his room in a daze for a whole day.

Judging a person's stance based on their identity is too naive and ugly, but... humanity can never escape naivety.

They are a group of children who need others to make decisions for them and guide them. If the wings attached to their backs are changed direction by the wind, they will either fall or drift with the tide.

Lin probably doesn't care, Hen doesn't care, and neither do the people around them.

But they are not all of them.

The names of Herrscher cannot be engraved in cemeteries.

That's why he...

Lin Caihui —

"Lin, I am a human being." In the end, Hen lowered his hand. He looked at Lin with such complicated emotions, at this boy who had spent his whole life caught in the middle. "Everyone makes mistakes. I cannot judge whether my decisions are right or wrong, nor can I know whether what others tell me is correct."

"This will all be over soon, Lin. I feel so lucky to have met Bianca, and to have met you."

"You always give me hope, don't you?"

Hen smiled easily.

This man, who was stern and unsmiling a few years ago, treated himself and his subordinates with strictness, but he had a different attitude towards Lin, this extraordinary junior.

To him, Lin embodies the cruelty and malice of humanity, yet also the brilliance and future of humankind.

As a former member of the Fire Chaser, as a soldier of the Fire Moth, as an elder... as a father.

As Hen himself, he raised his head and looked up at the deep night sky.

"I should take off my helmet and live a normal life from now on. It's such a waste to have such a good-looking face."

Lin left.

The man stood alone in the dark night.

Finally, Lin asked him a question.

"What is your purpose?"

Why?

Human? Comrade? Friend?

Perhaps it was just the pain he felt in his breath as he watched his daughter run barefoot down the corridor.

Chapter 217 Dreams and Wine

Waves, beach, sunshine.

This dream was as beautiful as ever. Even though it was unreal, it felt like I could smell the damp seawater entering my nostrils, stepping on the soft, light yellow sand, with the scratches left by my swimming ring stretching into the distance.

"Sister, don't run too far!"

This time, she didn't go any further. Instead, she looked down at the clear scratches, which gradually faded in the crashing waves.

She turned around and saw the sunset.

"Oh? Had a nightmare?" The woman sitting under the night sky, her fingers dancing on the keyboard, turned her face with a flirtatious smile and said to Delta, who was drowsily lifting the thin blanket off herself on the sofa.

What time is it now...?

Delta felt her mind go blank. It was already late at night outside the window, and she didn't know when she had fallen asleep on the sofa.

By the way... why was she asleep on the sofa?

I remember now, it was to wait for Lin to come back.

"Has Lieutenant Lin returned?" She propped herself up, her head still aching; the frequent dreams were making her a little neurasthenic.

"No."

Vill-V's smile was somewhat forced, which Delta noticed. She was always very sensitive to other people's emotions, so she could tell that even Vill-V was feeling down.

Lin hasn't returned for three days. He hasn't come back since he went out that night.

There was no news of Lin being arrested, so he must have left on his own.

What a willful guy...

"Do Flame-Chaser suffer from the aftereffect of having the same dream over and over again?" Delta chose to change the subject. There was no point in continuing to discuss this matter. Lin had no way to contact him now, so there was no way to find him. So they could only wait for him to come back on his own.

"There are aftereffects of dreaming." Vill-V understood Delta's meaning, and the disappointment in her eyes disappeared. "Sakura will have the aftereffect of having the same dream over and over again."

"Cherry?"

I never expected to hear this name from Vill-V, and it turns out that Sakura, who seemed unusually calm, also has this symptom.

"To be precise, it's not just Sakura; more than a third of the Flame-Chaser experience automatic recollections of Honkai Beast in their sleep." Vill-V wasn't involved in the Flame-Chaser project, but she was quite familiar with it.

Vill-V will use various means to expand herself and leave herself a backup plan, and the Flame-Chaser project is one of them.

She may not participate, but she cannot be ignorant of the facts. Apart from Mobius and May, she may not know as much about the other participants in the Flame-Chaser project as she does.

"Normally, that's a normal post-operative reaction. After the Honkai Beast's genes fuse with yours, the part of its genes becomes part of you. Many Flame-Chaser have reported that their dreams are getting longer and more realistic, and a small number of them can't even distinguish between dreams and reality..."

Vill-V's fingers tapped on the keyboard, producing a crisp, echoing sound.

"You should know what the original purpose of the Flame-Chaser was, right?"

"Let humanity... take control of the power of Honkai."

"That's right. So the essence of Flame-Chaser is that humans control Honkai power by controlling Honkai genes. But what if the Honkai Beast genes fused into the Flame-Chaser's body gain the upper hand?"

Delta thought of her younger sister. She hesitated for a moment, then opened her mouth bitterly. "Become... Honkai Beast."

"To be precise, they were Honkai Beast with human genes. At that time, the positions of human genes and Honkai Beast genes were reversed."

Vill-V gripped her arm, gradually tightening her grip. "Doctor Mobius mentioned something to me, or rather, a... function, when I was talking to her about learning Hypervariable Surgery. She called it 'Artificial Collapse'."

"Let human consciousness control the Honkai Beast genes to occupy most of the body, so that the power is fully released while consciousness exists. However, doing so will make it impossible to maintain human form."

"The Hypervariable Surgery in the existing Flame-Chaser project is actually an alteration based on the Artificial Collapse."

Delta touched her tail; she understood what Vill-V meant.

The increase in dream symptoms may stem from these "altered" Hypervariable Surgery. The Honkai Beast's genes may not have been completely taken over by human genes like the first generation of Flame-Chaser, but rather a dangerous balance has been formed.

Once the scales tip, the Flame-Chaser will transform into a destructive monster.

"... Vill-V, can I ask you for a favor?"

"To be honest, the thing I least expected was that you would contact me."

Mobius leaned back in her chair, her white lab coat now stained crimson with blood. She removed her soaked mask and threw it in the trash can, then washed her gloves and wrists before turning back to give the "uninvited guest" a cold laugh.

As she said, anyone could come to her, but this person was someone she hadn't expected.

"Didn't I tell you to seek other people's opinions? Or have you already gotten their opinions? Let me guess, isn't that guy's vote the crucial one?"

Eden sat quietly in front of her. Her current figure was no different from that of a mature woman and a little girl compared to the completely shrunken Mobius, but Mobius's nonchalant sneer and dangerous aura seemed to reverse the height difference between them.

"...Perhaps." Eden held a bottle of red wine in her hand. Mobius glanced at it. She didn't drink it often, but its value seemed obvious from the expensive gold-plated label.

"Please don't misunderstand, this is just an ordinary bottle of red wine."

Eden wasn't lying; she didn't drink the usual expensive wine, but just grabbed a random bottle.

Because Mobius doesn't understand wine, nor does she like it, and Mobius probably wouldn't drink more expensive wines.

"Hmph, so you're here to drink with me? You must have nothing better to do. Why don't you go back outside and sing some karaoke?"

Mobius wore a bored expression as she sat in her mode of transportation, preparing to move on to the next project, but Eden said softly, "Doctor Mobius, isn't it a good thing to leave the decision to others?"

"Are you out of your mind? You're asking me this question?" Mobius curled his lip in disdain. "You know perfectly well that I only have one answer."

How could she let someone else make the decision?

"Yes, so... I don't think it's necessary to ask for other people's opinions anymore."

"Oh?" Mobius looked Eden up and down, narrowed his eyes, and then revealed a malicious smile. "I might have told you to find someone else before, but now... you've definitely found the right person."