A Frost-Fallen Leaf / Discovery

"Want a drink?" Eden raised his glass.

Mobius smiled and said, "It's not that I can't have a drink with you."

Chapter 218 Frosty Leaves

"Tick-tock".

The murky raindrops fell on the helmet and slid slowly across the viewing window. The person sitting on the steps was like a ship moored in the rain, swaying erratically in the churning waves.

The wind blew through my sleeves, and the rustling of my clothes became the only two noises in the quiet world besides the sound of rain.

An umbrella was placed over Lin's head, which was soaked, to shield him from the sound of the pouring rain.

"During the changing seasons, there is continuous rain and mist. Even if you don't feel the cold, please take care of your health."

Raindrops formed lines, stretching out along the edge of the umbrella.

"... And what is your purpose?"

Lin tightened the straps of the weapon case on his back, the muffled sound from inside his helmet drowning out the dripping noise.

So what is the true purpose, or rather... ambition, of this artificial life that has been "helping" him?

"Witnessing this process is my sole purpose." Unlike his seemingly pretentious yet playful conversation with Sakura, Gray Serpent spoke to Lin calmly and gently, showing her ample respect. However, he never looked at Lin directly, but instead gazed into the distance where the rain was pouring down.

He placed the umbrella over Lin's head without reservation, his own body remaining motionless and silent amidst the torrential rain.

"If you're tired, you can take a rest," Gray Serpent suggested. "Or you could abandon some of your principles that aren't helping."

Lin lowered his head, staring at the water droplets bouncing on his boots, gathering at his feet, and flowing into a sewer somewhere unknown.

"You must become a hero of humanity."

"...No."

His breathing beneath the Gray Serpent mask was light, so light that it was hard to tell if he was even breathing. His scarlet eyes glanced at Lin, whose arms were crossed, through the holes in the mask.

"Understood, this should be the last time."

The chip was handed to Lin, who clutched the chip containing the information about his next destination, shook the rain off his feet, and slowly stood up.

The last time?

The Gray Serpent offered no explanation. In the time it took Lin to get up, all that remained was the umbrella on the ground, which Lin watched as it drifted away into the distance amidst the wind and rain.

When is a person in the most pain?

"When I was just an ordinary person and knew nothing, I would say that the most painful thing is to fail at gacha pulls, haha. Back then, I spent all my living expenses to pull for a new wife and I felt like the sky was falling. Afterwards, I wished I could chop off my hand. But the next time I saw a new wife, I wished I could chop off the other hand and sell it to recharge my account."

"After joining the Fire Moth, I felt that going to the battlefield was the most painful thing. There were monsters that were three stories high and had their fangs bared, ready to devour humans alive. There was also the risk of contracting the incurable Honkai Sickness at any time, and the people around you could turn into fragments, ice sculptures, ashes, or something else in the next moment."

"Now I think the most painful thing is not fighting against the Honkai, but standing in a crowd and not being able to see whether the person smiling at me is still human."

After writing the last sentence in his electronic diary, Erwin picked up a can of cola, took a sip, and then sprayed it all over the screen.

"Pfft—cough cough..."

He wiped the Coke from the corner of his mouth with a pained expression, and looked at the still-steaming plastic bottle in his hand, his eyes twitching.

Cherry Cola...

I didn't look carefully when I picked it up, what bad luck!

He sighed, picked up a piece of paper and wiped the drink off the screen, looking at the words he had written that stood out starkly against the white background.

"When did I become so sentimental?" Erwin shut down his computer, turned to look at the dressing mirror beside him, and gave a not-so-pleasant smile.

My old diary entries were all about trivial good things: finding a dollar on the street, seeing a funny post on the intranet forum, finally having a bowel movement after being constipated for a long time... Even when I had a lot of tasks and was very tired, just looking at these happy things I wrote about would cheer me up.

But from some point onward, the wording in his diary became more serious, and every word was filled with insights he had honed through different experiences.

Perhaps this is what people often refer to as... growing up?

"He's already in his twenties or thirties, and he's still growing up." Erwin sighed, put the cap back on the cola, and threw it into the trash can. "But men are always boys, so they're always growing up, doesn't that seem right?"

"..."

In the empty room, only his own self-talk could be heard. After laughing for a while, Erwin reluctantly relaxed his expression.

If Danzhu were here, he would definitely complain.

"Well then... let's go." Erwin composed himself and picked up his standard short knife and rifle.

He is now going to investigate the Dark Side of the Fire-Chasing Moths. Although he speaks in a nice way, full of the flavor of ancient rebellious literature, he knows in reality that he is no different from a traitor.

After all, Lin had "betrayed" them, so the nature of his actions is self-evident.

Moreover, Erwin also discovered...

Mark.

That night, he pretended to be half asleep and went out to find something to eat, but in reality, his heart was in turmoil. If you looked closely at the moment he turned around, you would see that his back was completely soaked with cold sweat.

What kind of person is Captain Hen, who was once serious but is now kind?

Was he pretending to be following Doctor Einstein. Doctor Einstein's plan, or did he pretend to be doing the same thing from the beginning?

The complexities of human nature made Erwin feel as if he were in a bottomless abyss. He kept watching the light above him shrink, but he couldn't tell whether it was going down or up.

He had no answer.

He didn't know who he should continue to trust.

Doctor Einstein is unaware of all this, and Erwin worries that if he tells Einstein directly, and if Hen truly becomes a traitor and learns of everything through other means, Doctor Einstein's safety will be in danger...

In the end, Erwin secretly left a clue for Einstein, hoping that her brilliant mind would be able to see through his clumsy hint.

Erwin himself secretly began investigating the truth behind Lin's betrayal, and has now made some progress.

"These coordinates... so it really is the Sky Fortress?"

He looked at the coordinates and gave a wry smile. Although he wasn't very smart, he wasn't stupid either. He could still find an answer from the slightest clues. After obtaining this information, he was able to guess the origin of the aerial fortress with a high degree of accuracy.

Unbeknownst to me, I had transformed from a trembling little soldier into an idiot seeking the truth.

There's nothing wrong with being a little ignorant, but... it still makes me feel uneasy. If I'm wrong, I'll correct it later.

So, why did he become like this?

"..."

Because you've been chasing after someone's silhouette?

Perhaps that's true in some people's eyes, but Erwin himself felt it was too one-sided.

That person was just a starting point. When Erwin survived that icy wasteland and saw the snow and the blood splattered on it, he unconsciously took Lin, who was standing at the front, as his life's beacon.

But as expected... he still wanted to be his own "beacon." Whether it was Hen or Lin, a mistake was a mistake. He would only observe and discover the truth with his own eyes, and then decide the direction of his life.

He preferred the simple title of "private" to luck.

"Okay, let's go, Private Erwin." He smiled and walked out of the room.

Chapter 219 Discovery

"If we compare people to threads, then everyone has a beginning and an end. They may look similar, but in reality, they are all different in length and thickness. In other words, there are no two leaves in the world with the same veins."

"People are so similar, yet they distinguish themselves by their differences. They believe in commonalities, but they also oppose using those commonalities to represent themselves."

"It's just that threads can be tied together. No matter how different they are, they can eventually form a thread that is far longer than their own length. Human life and history are just that amazing."

"Mei... Mei?"

The little girl tugged at the man's trouser leg. She was innocent and naive, her eyes filled with curiosity about the unknown. In her childish voice, she asked, "What is the meaning of the existence of the thread itself?"

"..."

Even if the lines are connected and become a very long line, it is still just a line.

"...Don't tell anyone else about this." The man gently stroked her head, his eyes filled with a mixture of worry and complexity. He gave a meaningful smile. "That's right, a thread is just a thread. It's an 'object' that we humans have given meaning to, but the meaning we humans have for a thread is completely different."

"Then who will give us meaning?"

"Ourselves."

The man said softly.

"Only humans can give meaning to themselves."

Mei propped her face up on the table, glanced at her reddened cheek in the mirror, and picked up her glasses to put them on.

I haven't slept at my desk in a long time, so I'm a bit out of line.

She hadn't dreamed about her childhood in a long time, and she couldn't help but feel a little curious and relieved.

What's intriguing is that she wasn't a particularly sentimental person, and her conversation with her father at the time didn't leave a deep impression on her. According to the physiological characteristics of dreaming, it's unlikely that she would have such a vivid dream that she could recall it after waking up.

Fortunately, she can still have such dreams. Does this mean that she is not a completely rational and cold-blooded person?

This is similar to how she felt when she saw that the Flame-Chaser still had human flaws; she could be sure that they were still human, not monsters in human skin.

Ultimately, if one day we need to define humanity in order to ensure its continuation, then Mei doesn't want to play that role. Just as her father said, humanity is about having commonalities while opposing using those commonalities to represent ourselves, recognizing each other's similarities, yet insisting on using differences to distinguish one another.

However... not wanting to do something and not doing it are two different things.

Mei, are you alright?

Kevin's cold voice held a unique concern for her. She turned her head and saw Kevin standing far away, as if afraid that his coldness would freeze her.

Mei couldn't help but smile, "It's alright, you can control some of the cold energy now, you can get a little closer."

"..." Kevin didn't move; he unusually stuck to his point of view.

Mei didn't insist. She leaned back in her chair, picked up the coffee that had gone completely cold, but when she saw Kevin's stern gaze, she had no choice but to put down the cup that might upset her stomach and get up to get a cup of hot water instead.

"Maybe I've been too tired lately. It's okay, it's been like this for years, hasn't it?"

Mei looked at herself in the cup, her face showing signs of fatigue. Although she didn't look like a woman nearing thirty, some signs of maturity were still clearly visible.

"The former head of the Research and Development Department was also..."

"Minister Delta didn't die from overwork, and you don't need to remind me of that." May didn't drink the water directly, but instead wet her lips with hot water. Her deep pupils looked at the ceiling, as if piercing through the walls and looking at something. "A person's character is his destiny, and that's what we see."

"...The atmosphere at headquarters has been getting worse lately." Kevin exhaled and changed the subject, but this one was not easy either. "I don't even know if this is intentional or if people have sensed something unintentionally. I don't even know...after this, will comrades who were once comrades-in-arms turn against each other in the next second?"

"We can't control everything, Kevin. Whether it's you or me, once a person lifts their foot, they have no choice but to take the next step."

Mei spoke softly; this woman, who had always been a champion of rationality, was now hiding her exhaustion.

Erwin anchored the speedboat in the middle of the sea. He checked the coordinates to make sure his location matched the displayed coordinates, took a deep breath, and then began to check his equipment.

Next, after infiltrating, there might be a battle. He needs to be fully prepared. After all, he is not Flame-Chaser, nor does he have the combat experience and information processing ability of Lin. He must be extremely careful.

Erwin attached the simple flight device to his back. This was not an anti-gravity flight device Neural Connection, as that would be too much of a burden for him. Therefore, he had to operate this type of flight device with great care and could not fly at will.

"Turn on the recording equipment; there's also a channel that can be transmitted to Doctor Einstein at any time..."

He was like a professional intelligence agent, doing things he had never done before to his own people, which made Erwin feel somewhat emotional.

The pale clouds seemed poised to crush people into minced meat and fill the ocean at any moment.

Erwin pursed his lips, a hint of fear still lingering in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by determination. He then activated the flight device and began to ascend slowly.

He knew his actions were dangerous; if he were detected by surveillance equipment, he would likely be walking into a trap, so he had to be prepared to descend at any time.

As the altitude steadily increased, his heart tightened, and he had to relieve his tension by thinking.

Fortunately, he wasn't discovered by the Fire-Chasing Moth while searching for information, which is how he found this place.

Perhaps he has the potential to be an investigator or detective? Discovering clues from the smallest details and then solving cases... Well, that sounds so unrealistic that even he doesn't believe it.

However, after the Honkai ends, he might be able to live a truly carefree and comfortable life as a shut-in, and maybe even work part-time as a ruthless detective.

Suddenly, Erwin froze.

Thankfully... it wasn't discovered?

Wrong.

Why would he think he hadn't been discovered?

Even Lin was discovered and a warrant was issued for his arrest, so why wasn't he?