The New Poison Chrysalis / Overdoing It

But today, this place has welcomed a guest.

"Smack."

One arm was swept away by the waves and pushed to the shore.

Fingers gripped the shoreline, and then, a terrifying rainbow shattered the silence.

"How did it feel to sit in the toilet all afternoon?" Mei, wearing a full set of protective clothing, spoke calmly with a hint of laughter in her voice, shaking the reagent in her hand as she addressed the people behind her. "When Kevin came back and told me, I laughed so hard I fell off the bed. Luckily, Sue was able to use her mental powers to call someone to bring you toilet paper, otherwise you probably would have had to sit in such a remote place all night."

"..." Lin remained silent with a dark expression. They had clearly kept quiet about it without telling anyone else, but Kevin had told Mei everything.

"Haha, don't worry, I doubt anyone but me, Kevin, would dare to tell anyone else." Mei observed the precipitate of the reagent, then put it into a refrigerator box, turned around and said to Lin with a smile, "With so much pressure, it's good for you two to strengthen your relationship. I'm also considering whether to give you a break, since the ninth and Tenth Honkai War are happening so close together, and many people are having some minor mental issues."

"It just so happens that the global Honkai outbreak stopped after the Tenth Honkai War. We are currently busy with research projects that require time, so it's not your turn to take the lead as combat personnel."

Under Mei's amused gaze, Lin pondered seriously for a few seconds, then shook his head. "Let's talk about it later."

"Alright, let's start with the Herrscher Core you brought back."

Mei pressed a button on the control panel behind her, and a Herrscher Core containing a container slowly rose from the isolation chamber. Its radiance was different from all the previous Herrscher Core, with rainbow light hidden in a dazzling golden halo.

This Herrscher Gem is the core of the Oath of Judas, which has the ability to suppress energy.

"Structure-wise, this core is indeed a true Herrscher Core, but it has the ability to suppress all energy, especially Honkai Energy, which has reached an unprecedented level. I believe its purpose in being born is 'anti- Honkai '."

A product of Honkai, yet it has a special function of resisting Honkai. This should be a contradictory fact, but it is perfectly reasonable.

Mei's expression gradually became serious. "Humanity is already closely linked to the Honkai. If the Herrscher born from this Herrscher Core were to appear before us, the consequences would be unimaginable."

In the brief ten seconds it took to link the Herrscher Core with the Key of Blankness, all the Tenth Herrscher and Flame-Chaser lost control of Honkai Energy, giving a glimpse into the terrifying power of this core.

"Then there's the Key of Blankness. You didn't experience any obvious aftereffects after using it, which might be related to the fact that you still had the Herrscher Core in your body at the time. But in any case, you're fine now. We will continue to develop the Key of Blankness and give it to you to use."

"At the same time, Elysia gave you the Black Abyss White Flower, and this Herrscher Core will also be given to Vill-V to be made into Divine Key according to the cross pattern you mentioned. Currently, most of the Divine Key or Herrscher Core of the Firemoth are given to you for use. You should be able to understand the reason."

Aside from the fact that Lin is the right candidate, his identity is not that of Flame-Chaser, but an ordinary human. For the world and the others in the Firemoth, identity is also an important factor.

It's nothing new that Flame-Chaser are treated as monsters like Honkai Beast.

People always use identity to emphasize and distinguish one another. In the past, it was skin color, then it was gender, and now it has been replaced by Hypervariable Surgery.

"You also have a duty to monitor the Flame-Chaser."

Mei's tone was somewhat cold.

"Now the Fire Moth can't afford another KY Plan, and humanity can't afford to have its own kind with the power of Honkai Beast or even Herrscher running rampant."

"Given your current responsibilities, your team assignments will also be adjusted."

She smiled slightly as she said this, and then smiled at Lin, who was frowning in thought, and said, "However, for you, he is an old friend."

Lin originally planned to discuss the Eighth Herrscher and the experiments conducted on the deserted island with the Eighth Herrscher with Mei, but he noticed that Mei seemed to have something hidden beneath her smile, and his intuition told him not to discuss such things with her for the time being.

He lowered his hand from his chin, sighed, and looked up at the conference room door. He had come full circle and ended up back here.

This was originally the meeting room for the Squad Seven.

Lin put down his burden, pushed open the door, and went inside. Someone was waiting for him there.

Chapter Twenty-Five: New Poisoned Cocoon

When Mei mentioned old friends, Lin already guessed who it would be, but he was still slightly surprised when he stepped into the meeting room and saw who was inside.

"Brother Lin!"

The energetic cat-eared girl pounced on Lin, clinging to his neck, her tail wagging happily.

Pardo?

After confirming that it wasn't another person with feline mutation characteristics, Lin frowned slightly and said, "How did you end up in the Poisoned Cocoon?"

Pardo had hoped to get away with being cute, but Lin immediately asked the crucial question. Her eyes darted around as she chuckled and said, "Hehehe, well..."

"Finally here. You've spent your days on a woman's belly?"

The dull jeers arrived as expected, and the masked man leaned back in his chair in the conference room, sneering at Lin from afar.

Chrono's words made Pardo's ears perk up. She was so nervous about being in the same room with Chrono that even the fur on her tail stood on end. This person was too frightening in terms of both his eyes and his tone. If there weren't other people in the room, she would probably be trembling in the corner.

"You're really popular. There are three women waiting for you here, hehe..." Chrono opened his arms, making a gesture that was hard to tell whether it was a welcome or a mockery.

Lin rubbed Pardo's head, put her down, and then looked at the remaining two.

Sakura and... Hua.

The pink-haired girl with animal ears remained as calm as ever, holding her sword and nodding gently to Lin. Her attire was not much different from before, and she still wore the earphones Lin had given her around her neck. Her thoughts were somewhat complicated, but when Lin looked at her, she simply pursed her lips and did not say anything.

As for Hua...

"Lin, welcome back."

Immer's death was undoubtedly a significant blow to China. One by one, his former comrades left, and Lin's return was the only piece of good news.

She seemed dazed for a moment, then exhaled and gave Lin a forced smile.

Hua's physique is perfectly maintained. As a martial artist, her figure is becoming increasingly slender, and she is also at her prime age. Lin feels that Hua seems to have grown even taller.

He has grown up in appearance, but Lin doesn't quite know how to describe Hua now.

"Currently, the team consists of the five of us." It was impossible to get Chrono and Lin to have a proper conversation, so the most reliable Sakura took on the responsibility of management herself. "You and I both have absolute management authority over the team. Apart from the instructions given by Doctor Mei, we do not need to accept any missions."

Lin asked, "Are there any missions at the moment?"

"No."

After the Tenth Honkai War, a period of extreme peace began, even more peaceful than the two years between the Eighth Honkai War and Ninth Honkai War. Not only were there no Honkai events, but the Honkai Energy worldwide even showed a downward trend.

It could be said that the Fire Moths are currently somewhat "idle," while outsiders believe this is a victory for humanity against the Honkai, and that perhaps there will never be another Honkai outbreak in the future.

But Lin knew that it was far from over. Their civilization had experienced a total of thirteen major Honkai. Apart from the Herrscher within his own body that he had already dealt with, there were at least two more major Honkai to come.

But at least for now... in everyone's eyes, the Honkai's onslaught has completely weakened after being neutralized by humanity.

"... Then let's disband."

Lin's casual remark plunged the meeting room into silence.

"Is there a problem?" Lin looked around and saw that everyone else was looking at him with surprise. "If you have a problem, you can tell me."

Sakura asked hesitantly, "Is it disbanding already?"

Lin didn't quite understand. If there were no more missions, wouldn't the group disband? Did they have to sit down and have some tea together before leaving?

Hua and Pardo were surprised that Lin had disbanded the group so early; according to his habits, it shouldn't have been so relaxed. And Chrono...

"Tch." Chrono snorted coldly, his gaze lingering between Ying and Lin for a moment, especially on Ying for half a second longer, and he muttered, "Two idiots."

Sakura's animal ears trembled slightly.

Lin looked at the two of them with suspicion.

I don't quite understand. What happened during the six months he was away?

"What are you looking at me for? Weren't we going to disband?" Chrono said and then left on his own.

"Then, Hua, let's go eat?" Pardo said with a smile, taking Hua's hand. Hua responded with a blank "uh-huh" twice. Pardo then waved to Lin and Ying and left.

For a moment, only Lin and Ying remained.

Sakura glanced at Rin, who was standing with his arms crossed and head bowed in thought, out of the corner of her eye. "Then I'll..."

"Wait a moment."

Just as Sakura was about to leave, Lin stopped her. He raised his head slightly and said to the stunned Sakura.

Do you have time?

"... Yes." Without missions, there's time. Sakura doesn't know many people in the Fire Moth, so most of the time she just practices swordsmanship and meditation in the training room. Now that the group has disbanded, she's just going to the training room.

"Then let's discuss the future of the Poisoned Cocoon."

Lin closed the door behind him, locking it as usual. Then, he frowned, looked at his hand, and unlocked it again.

When did I develop this habit...?

Lin searched through the tea leaves in the conference room and found that they were still there. He boiled a kettle of water and then sat down at the conference room table facing Ying.

What are your thoughts on the current Poisoned Cocoon?

"Now..." Sakura pondered for a moment. In fact, only Immer could organize data and provide assistance in the previous Poisoned Cocoon. She and Chrono mostly acted alone, and their exchanges were mostly useless words. Therefore, she did not really understand how the concept of a team worked.

She could only answer with her limited understanding, "Phyllis's combat power is relatively low. She can be responsible for logistics and intelligence and will not participate in the main battles. Chrono is difficult to control and is prone to conflicts with others. Hua... I am not very familiar with her. You and I have teamed up before, so we should not need more adjustment."

Lin Mo stared silently at Ying, the silent pressure making her a little nervous, but she still met his gaze with a cold expression until Lin sighed.

"Phyllis ... no need, I'll transfer her to another unit."

"...Why?"

"She can't be in charge of logistics and intelligence, even though she's very suited for those jobs... So Chrono should try to get him involved in multi-person missions, and Hua can take charge of logistics and intelligence for a while."

Sakura couldn't understand the purpose of doing this, but Lin didn't explain either. He got up and made two cups of tea with boiling water, handing one to Sakura.

"How's Rin doing lately?"

Lin Wen's Ying was caught off guard; her slender hand recoiled as soon as it touched the teacup. Then, she took the teacup with a dazed expression, gazing at the steam rising from it. "She's been placed in a safe area now, is she alright..."

Do you understand what your job entails?

"They just know I'm a moth drawn to fire."

Sakura shook her head. She felt a lot of bitterness in her heart. The thought of Rin growing up day by day and that she would eventually tell Rin the truth, and how she and Rin would feel when that day came, made her feel scared.

Have you been back recently?

"No, it's been more than a month..."

"Okay, let's go now."

"Huh? Where to?"

"Go check the visitor bell."

Lin Cong got up and walked out the door before Ying could react.

Sakura stood there, stunned, staring at the empty seat and the still-steaming teacup.

She subconsciously touched the headphones around her neck.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Too Much Force

Sakura hesitated, gazing at the figure walking ahead of her, before finally asking, "Lin... why, so suddenly?"

"Because it's free time now," Lin replied without turning his head. "Secondly, I think we should also go visit Ling. Didn't we say we'd go together?"

Sakura's animal ears twitched as she wondered what kind of reason that was...

Lin, of course, also had his own considerations. In addition to the two reasons he mentioned, he wanted to avoid the relationship that was giving him a headache, especially the overly enthusiastic Vill-V.

When did he become so troubled by this kind of thing? If Hen were still here, he might laugh at him...

The regulations in the Far East region are similar to those in Shenzhou, except that the Sixth Honkai War occurred in the area where Sakura and the others lived, so Sakura moved Rin to a safer place after that.

It wasn't until Lin saw Ling's back that he realized time was indeed passing.

Rin, who was just a little girl, now has short pink hair that is different from her sister's style. In the past six months, she has lost a lot of her childishness, but still retains the innocence she gained under Sakura's care. The girl's rapid growth has also increased her height from Lin's chest to Lin's neck. She is now a truly vibrant young girl.

However, their arrival was either untimely or perfectly timed.

The girl with short pink hair, wearing a high school uniform, gritted her teeth and stared at the three girls, also dressed in school uniforms, blocking her way. Judging from their expressions, this was probably not the first time she had encountered a similar situation. She stared at the girl in the lead and said, "Please move aside, I want to go home."

The man sneered and gestured for the two men beside him to block Ling's retreat, "Get out of the way? Are you going to make way for your sister, this monster who chases fire moths?"

Sakura's pupils contracted, and she was about to step forward to stop him, but Lin reached out and grabbed her shoulder, shaking his head at her.

Not everything can be solved by personal force, and Sakura can't always be by Rin's side.

Furthermore, Sakura's impulsive nature when it comes to her sister's affairs might cause her to overlook some more important things.

Ling immediately glared at the rude girl and hissed like a cat with its fur standing on end, "Who are you calling a monster?"

"Could we have seen wrong?! You clearly called the monster with ears on its head 'sister' that day! That was obviously Flame-Chaser of the Fire Moth, wasn't it?"