I'm No MOTH Hero

"..."

What did he usually think of me?

Lin quietly had Prometheus hang up his communication and instructed, "You and Hua continue training. I expect to be back tonight."

"Huh? O-Okay..."

It took Lin about half an hour to get everything settled. Most people who knew him thought he'd finally lost his mind. Kevin's look of "You've finally gone mad" made him even more silent.

Elysia wasn't here; she was out on a mission today, which saved her the trouble of asking too many questions. Mobius was her usual self. Her lab now had a capable slave... assistant. Other than cooking, Lin didn't need to help much. Besides her experiments, she didn't pay Lin much mind, so it was convenient. On the other hand, Vill-V, whom he'd recently met... she occasionally called Lin over to help test some inexplicable equipment. Today, she wanted Lin's help with a "Girl Machine 2.0."

The name was meaningless, the 2.0 was meaningless, the requirement for Prometheus was meaningless – the whole thing was in Vill-V's signature inexplicable style.

"Oh, you're going out? Alright, alright. Then, can you leave Unit One behind? Don't worry, nothing will go wrong."

[I'll stay. You go on your "date".]

Prometheus's initiative was unexpected. Since that was the case, Lin transferred Prometheus to the terminal Vill-V had prepared. He glanced at the "Girl Machine 2.0" covered by a black cloth, unable to see what was inside.

It was short, only reaching Lin's neck, and seemingly not wide. It made one curious about its true form.

However, as soon as Vill-V received Prometheus, she kicked Lin out: "If you're not staying, then don't look. Go be busy with your own stuff."

After closing the door, Vill-V walked to the terminal and said to Prometheus inside, "Unit One, aren't you going to take my advice? Like installing a particle cannon..."

"..."

"Fine, on this point, you're really like Lin. When you encounter something you don't want to answer, you just ignore it."

Vill-V smiled lightly, "Then, let's begin, another great invention by Ms. Vill-V!"

Chapter 68: A World Treated Gently

"Hello, Mei."

"We meet again, Eden."

The only word Mei could muster to describe the singer gracefully standing in the hall was: dignified.

Eden and Su were among the few calm types in the Heroes. Even Hua couldn't be considered sufficiently steady. Compared to her in 50,000 years, known as "Fu Hua," she was more introverted than reserved now.

Her long, reddish-brown hair elegantly flowed behind her. Her dark golden eyes, like the red and gold accents on her attire, gave a sense of luxury without being ostentatious.

She was like a woman from the paintings of medieval artists, full of history and art. Even her outstanding appearance seemed insignificant under her aura.

Mei somewhat understood why Eden's portrait hung in the lounge.

"Are you alone?" Mei looked around, not seeing any other Heroes besides this beautiful woman. Of course, Lin and Klein were also absent.

"Lin was here just now."

"Him again..." Mei had been hearing that name quite frequently lately but couldn't see him. He was everywhere and nowhere.

Lin and Eden rarely spoke. While it wasn't comparable to Sakura, who barely spoke at all, they indeed spoke the least besides Sakura. He conversed more with the male Heroes.

Perhaps their fields were different, so they had little in common.

This piqued Mei's interest, and she asked, "What were you talking about just now?"

"We were talking about my debut work." Eden poured a glass of deep red wine into the wine glass before her. The purplish-red liquid swirled in the stemmed glass, elegant and exquisite.

She smiled slightly and took a sip from the glass.

"Work? Lin understands art?" Mei hadn't expected that to be their topic. "Strange... how does that helmet guy know a little bit of everything?"

Eden merely took a small sip before setting down the glass, crossing her hands in front of her. "No, Mei, Lin doesn't understand art. He simply enjoys the sound."

"And Lin's all-around abilities are related to his past life. Compared to Pardo, Lin's life was happier, but he still grew up alone, without relying on others. That's probably why he 'knows a little bit of everything'."

A trace of pity for someone flickered in Eden's golden eyes but quickly vanished. That person didn't need anyone's sympathy. He never complained about these "trivial matters."

"Grew up alone... you mean he's an orphan?"

This was the first time Mei had heard about Lin's past. It was then she realized Lin probably hadn't always been this way. What would Lin's past be like?

"Yes, Lin didn't grow up in an orphanage. He supported himself until he joined MOTH."

A child, supporting himself until he joined MOTH.

What hardships were contained within that short sentence?

Mei's past had also undergone a major turning point at one point, causing a blow to her ideology. However, compared to Kiana and Lin's childhoods, she was, in a sense, even fortunate.

Lin... is that why he acts so indifferent to people?

"Mei, you must be thinking that Lin became this way because of his childhood, right?" Eden took another sip of wine. More than 'drinking,' she seemed to be 'smelling' it. Each time, she only moistened her lips a tiny bit, but the wine in the glass went down quickly.

Mei frowned, "Isn't that the case?"

"Mei, as I said earlier, Lin and I were discussing my debut work, weren't we?"

"Mm."

"The reason Lin brought it up is that he used to be my fan."

"Ah? Fan?" Mei was startled by the term.

Did the guy who always talks like everyone owes him money and has a facial expression only understandable by someone with Level 8 light signal language ever used to be a fan cheering with a glow stick?

Wait, no, Eden wasn't that type of singer.

"He used to come to my concerts a lot before he joined MOTH, so do you think he was like this back then?"

"Now that you mention it, it really doesn't fit..."

Nowadays, if Lin comments on a song, there are only two possible answers: "Don't bother" or "Boring."

"It was through Elysia that I learned Lin used to be my fan, and how 'ordinary' he once was."

Ordinary?

Mei was confused, but Eden had no desire to continue the conversation. She downed the rest of her wine, a blush rising on her cheeks.

"Lin, when will he ever accept his own 'small' happiness?"

"Have you been waiting long?"

Lin arrived at the target location right on time, not a second early or late, precise as a stopwatch.

"No, I just got here too."

The girl with highlights in her hair tilted her head and smiled, a lock of dark hair falling onto her shoulder.

That's right, the one Lin had plans with today was Soul. After the Fifth Branch Incident, she had suffered severe mental trauma and spent months recovering from the tragedy of her parents' deaths. After some thought, Lin decided to take a day off specifically to observe Soul's mental state.

Lin hadn't told Soul or Spasi about Ritter. They only knew the assassin was executed en route back to headquarters and were unaware of Lin's trip to the Deepest Place.

After much consideration, the Ritter incident could still shake their hard-won recovery. Since the outcome was the same, it was best they didn't know.

Besides, Lin wasn't out here solely for this matter.

"Team Member Lin, thank you for your concern. You never take time off..." Soul's eyes were dim. She guessed why Lin had asked her out. "I'm just so useless."

Lin put his hands in his pockets. "...Why do you think that?"

"But it's the truth..."

"..." Lin sighed imperceptibly. He said to the dejected girl before him, "No, I've just been very tired lately and wanted to get out and rest."

"Really?" Soul's eyes lit up.

"You told me before to take a break occasionally, so that's why I decided to go out today."

Lin's current tone was similar to when he used to coax children. Soul's mental state couldn't handle major fluctuations right now, so being gentle was best.

After a moment of stunned silence, Soul said happily, "Is that so? You remembered."

"Let's go, let's get lunch first."

"Okay!"

The two walked side-by-side into the commercial district.

Lin held a document in his arms.

It was one of the documents about Poisoned Cocoon members that he had brought out from the Deepest Place.

Besides Soul, his purpose for this trip was also to find clues about Poisoned Cocoon members.

And the residence indicated on this document was nearby.

Chapter 69: Broken Wings

Birds, gliding through the sky, chirping merrily.

I stood in the clouds, gazing at the soaring migratory birds, soaring with all my might towards that fiery orb.

Burning to ashes in the sunlight, a sonorous roar, guided by the wind, blowing into the distance.

"If only I had a pair of wings."

I looked down and saw him standing before the ashes, pointing at the clouds beneath my feet.

He said those words.

"Do you also yearn for that scorching sun?" I shouted to him.

"No, I long for your clouds."

He smiled and waved at me, then dissipated in the wind.

He too turned into burnt ashes.

Delta stood in the clouds, looking up blankly.

"Director! Director!"

Delta groggily opened his eyes, his consciousness not yet returned to his body from his dream. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and shook his head.

The floor was cold, chilling the skin beneath his thin jacket.

"Huh... what's going on? Why am I sleeping on the floor?" He grabbed the armrest of a chair and slowly pulled himself up, shaking his head from the chill and feeling a cold, nauseating sensation all over his body.

The assistant handed Delta a cup of hot water. "Minister, this is the third time you've fainted this week. Didn't they say the main development of the Titan was in its final stages and you could rest? Why did you sneak back?"

Delta looked at his own unfocused pupils in the water, forcing himself to concentrate. He took a sip and sighed, "But the Anti-gravity Flight System isn't finished yet. The Titan Hover Pack and the Airship are just one step away. I want to finish it soon."

"The flight system... Minister, why do you want to make the Titan fly so badly? It wasn't part of the original plan."

"Why do I..."

Delta leaned back in his chair, covering his unnaturally pale face with one hand. The muscles he had once trained so hard had become flabby from his unhealthy lifestyle. Through the gaps in his fingers, he vaguely saw a bird fly out from behind him, soaring towards the blazing sun.

He took out a photograph from his pocket and stared at a picture of himself and another person.

Delta stood with his hands on his hips, laughing at the camera. The other person stood beside him, looking up at the migrating birds taking flight behind them, their back to the camera.

"I wish I had a pair of wings," he murmured softly.

There wasn't much information left from the Poisoned Cocoon, and what was there was vague. The only file Lin had only contained basic information like name, gender, and address. Appearance, relationships, and combat capabilities were completely unmentioned.

Trying to find someone in a vast crowd knowing only their name but not their appearance was a fool's errand. Lin also couldn't risk searching the database for this name; if it was discovered that the target was a member of the Poisoned Cocoon, it would lead to endless trouble.

The reason Lin waited several months to start the investigation was to allow the impact of The Deepest Place and the Fifth Branch Incident to subside to a certain extent.

A male assassin named Billy... he's somewhere nearby? Who could it be?

The MOTH's covert unit hiding outside the MOTH's base would indeed cause Lin a lot of trouble.

Lin and Soul picked a random restaurant to eat. Since they weren't at MOTH, eating anything after breathing unfiltered air tasted delicious.

"Team member Lin, the news outside says there's a killer who specifically leaves Forget-me-nots at the scene," Soul said to Lin, who was deep in thought about how to find the Poisoned Cocoon member. "Ah, sorry, you were thinking just now."

Lin, pinching his chin, shook his head slightly. "It's fine, you don't need to be so formal."

"Really? That's great. It's still a bit nerve-wracking to go out with you, Team member Lin..." Soul's attire showed this. She smiled, but her expression quickly turned somber. "Why are there always people who take others' lives..."