I'm No MOTH Hero

It felt like returning to when Soul first joined the team, fragile and easily broken, like a label stuck to this girl.

"Team Member Lin, you always accept these things so calmly," Soul gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Even though you came all the way here to look out for me today, I still can't seem to cheer up."

"...Humans don't heal from wounds just because they understand the reason."

"..."

Soul turned her head, her hair brushing against her face.

"Some people just appear to accept things, hiding everything beneath the surface, like the head of the Research and Development Department," Lin stopped at the entrance to the amusement park, fumbling for cash in his pockets.

"And you? Team Member Lin, do you have experiences like that too?"

"Yes," Lin replied. "But..."

He said calmly to Soul, "If you don't want the same tragedy to repeat like a Mobius Ring, then go fight."

"Fight..." A flash of lightning crossed Soul's eyes. She clenched her fist. "I understand."

"Also, if you can't let go of the past, then look around you. Don't keep losing people."

"Is that so..."

Lin walked to the ticket booth and handed over the cash. "Two tickets."

"Huh? Team Member Lin?" Soul's hand reached out, her mouth opening as if to speak. She watched Lin walk back with two tickets and hand one to her.

"I'm on vacation today, aren't I?"

Lin calmly pushed up his sunglasses.

Chapter 72: What Point Are You Satisfied With?

"Yo, Mei."

A red-eyed woman wearing a hood waved cheerfully at Mei.

"Raven? What are you doing here?" Mei strolled up to her. "Could it be that you've finally died in the line of duty? Is this your memory core?"

"Come on, how could I possibly die in the line of duty for World Serpent? And what do you mean by 'finally'? Did you really think I was going to die?" Raven turned her profile to Mei. "Honestly, you'll know if it's real or fake if you try it yourself."

"Okay, at least this complaint is... Why are you talking to him too?"

Mei's gaze shifted downwards, landing on the helmeted man who stood with his fingers interlaced in front of him. His figure, stationary for a long time in one spot, often made people overlook him. If it weren't for his presence, far exceeding that of an ordinary person, occasionally sweeping over others, it would be hard to notice someone was sitting there.

And it's Lin again, always Lin. Why were the things and people she encountered lately either related to Lin or involved talking to Lin? His appearances were becoming increasingly frequent, giving Mei the illusion that this might be foreshadowing for events to come.

"Hm? Lin? What's wrong?" Raven looked at Mei, who was struggling to maintain her composure, with confusion, her tone full of certainty.

Mei patted her horned forehead. "No, it's nothing..."

"Meow~"

A cat's meow sounded at Lin's feet. Lin bent down, took a piece of paper from Canned Food's mouth, glanced at it, and then stood up, walking towards the entrance of the Imaginary Tree.

"Hey, leaving already?" Raven asked.

"Something came up."

"Alright, then let's chat next time, Lin."

Lin nodded and then entered the entrance.

"Hoo... His occasional silence and solitary nature can easily make people misunderstand if he dislikes them," Raven stretched her legs after sitting for a long time and stood up. "So, Miss Mei, you look like you have something to say but are holding back. Ask whatever you want to ask."

Mei withdrew her gaze from the entrance of the Imaginary Tree, feeling a bit restless. She simply closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them with composure.

She first asked, "Why does it feel like you can talk to that helmeted man?"

"Hm? Isn't Lin easy to talk to?" This question made Raven confused for a moment. "He was the first person I met after entering the Imaginary Tree, and he helped me quite a bit. Besides, don't you think he's quite reliable with his few words and vast experience?"

"We're talking about the same person..." Mei stopped halfway through. It seemed Raven's words weren't wrong. Lin had indeed helped her before, and he was indeed a person who was ruthless and spoke little, but something felt off.

Mei crossed her arms, supporting her chin with one hand. "He was the first person I met too. They say he's always the first to appear before visitors. But I feel like his attitude towards you and me is quite different."

Could it be because of her looks, like Elysia?

Mei glanced at Raven's face, then compared it to the face of the "cute girl" Elysia had mentioned.

...It shouldn't be.

That man wasn't someone who treated people differently based on their appearance.

"Is it still because of the Herrscher connection?"

"What are you talking about? Lin treats you and me differently? Haha..." Raven burst out laughing. "It shouldn't be. I think even if you were a Herrscher, he'd be quite magnanimous as long as you didn't harbor excessive hostility towards him."

"No~ Lin really likes you~"

Elysia, who appeared out of nowhere, emerged from behind Raven today.

"You are..." Raven looked at her, utterly bewildered.

Visitors generally couldn't see all the Heroes. This was a kind of protective mechanism for the Imaginary Tree. Of course, the Heroes themselves also had the right to decide whether to appear before visitors, meaning there were so-called "preferences." Therefore, Raven had never seen this pink-haired girl before.

Mei narrowed her eyes, looking at her. "Elysia..."

"Elysia?" Raven exclaimed in realization upon hearing the name. She had heard of her from other Heroes, but this was her first time meeting her. "Hello, I'm Raven."

"Heh heh, she's a cute girl too," Elysia said, looking at Raven's face with interest. "Hello, I'm Elysia, the second in the sequence."

Startled by being called a cute girl, Raven got goosebumps and looked to Mei for guidance. Mei shrugged, indicating that Elysia was just like that.

"You said earlier that Lin likes... Raven?" Mei, being better at grasping key points than Raven, was very interested in this statement.

Raven took a step back. "...What do you mean? Why are you looking at me?"

"It's not that kind of liking," Elysia quickly cleared up the misunderstanding. "How should I put it? It's like a senior appraising a junior, where the junior's performance meets the senior's psychological expectations."

Mei mused, "I see. They are indeed similar in some ways."

Raven asked, "In what ways?"

"Their combat styles are strange, their angles are tricky, and they are insidious and cruel."

"...Is that a compliment to me or to Lin?"

"And they both like to cover their faces with something. At least you didn't get hay fever like him."

Elysia chuckled and chimed into their diverging conversation. "Lin always makes corresponding evaluations after visitors leave. Most of them are quite interesting, so I wrote them down."

You were the one who forced him to evaluate them, though.

Mei silently grumbled in her heart.

"The one he evaluated the highest was Raven," Elysia said, counting on her fingers the number of visitors. "I only found out after Raven left, so this time I'll wait for Raven to come even more~ attentively~"

"Then last time you didn't show up..."

"It was an accident~"

She probably didn't show up because Raven was wearing a hat and her face couldn't be seen, so she assumed it wasn't a cute girl.

Mei realized her ability to complain internally was getting stronger, a skill she'd honed from interacting with Elysia and Lin.

Raven, however, believed this explanation. After all, an accident was more convincing than the idea of not appearing because she couldn't see a face. Elysia's habit of judging people by their appearance was just too... straightforward.

Raven was also curious about what the taciturn man in the helmet would say. "So, what was he satisfied with about me?"

Was it her combat skills? Her personality? Or her final actions?

"What if I said it was your cuteness?"

"..."

"Just kidding! Of course, Lin didn't deny that either~" Elysia said with a smile. "What Lin was satisfied with about you is that you don't have any deep-seated obsessions."

"What do you mean?"

"There are many people around Lin who have gone down irreversible paths due to their obsessions."

Elysia softly lowered her head, her smile tinged with helplessness.

Chapter 73: There Wasn't One~

23.6 kilometers per hour.

"Hoo..."

Lin maintained his posture on the treadmill as the speed gradually increased. The needle on the speed dial raced towards an exaggerated number, moving from average human speed to the human limit, and then surpassing it. Yet, he still managed to keep himself at a relatively steady pace.

He was basically the only one who went all out in the gym this early in the morning. Not everyone treated every day like it was their last.

And when I say "basically"... it's because there was one other person who also came.

"Lin."

The white-haired youth pushed open the door at the usual time and slumped onto the bench, covering his face with his hands.

"..."

46.7 kilometers per hour.

Lin's breathing grew heavier. After a simple warm-up, he pushed his limits, continuing to maintain a balanced speed.

The quiet gym was filled only with the sound of Lin's running. Kevin hadn't moved since entering, and Prometheus, inside Lin's helmet, remained silent.

...I forgot Prometheus is still with Vill-V. I'll go get them back later.

After reaching the treadmill's maximum speed of 50 kilometers per hour, Lin only maintained it for a few seconds before gradually slowing down. As he picked up a towel to wipe his sweat, he glanced at Kevin and then walked to the door to lock it.

He leaned against the wall opposite Kevin and asked, "What is it?"

"Lin..." Kevin lowered his hands, his face etched with exhaustion.

"The captain of Squad One is dead?"

In the operations briefing room, Hua and Immer were attending to their tasks when Immer informed Hua of the news. Hua looked up blankly, a strand of uncooked noodle still dangling from her mouth.

The death of an operations squad captain was stated so casually and weightlessly by Immer.

Immer sighed regretfully, "He encountered an upper-class Honkai Beast during a mission and sacrificed himself to protect his team."

"How could this happen..."

Even though Hua had already experienced the cruel and heartless nature of the Honkai, when tragedy after tragedy was presented before her, she couldn't help but feel a pang in her heart.

"So, what's next?" Hua quickly calmed herself. She wanted to be a qualified warrior, and the first step was to stabilize her mental state—that's what Lin told her when he joined the team.

"The Third Honkai War, the Fifth Branch, and now Squad One... MOTH is severely understaffed. We can't just replace combat personnel whenever we want, especially not at the captain level," Immer said, his voice serious as he tapped on his communicator. "A captain's situation is an exceptional exception. It's extremely difficult to promote someone from the remaining members to rebuild Squad One."

In just a few months, Lin had risen from Private to Captain, taking charge of Squad Seven. After another nearly six months, he had stabilized the team. Lin's performance was no less than any other combat squad captain, thanks to his incredible record. Now, it was impossible to find anyone with similar capabilities to lead Squad One.

"Wait a minute... the captain of Squad One..." Immer paused for a few seconds after habitually refreshing the announcement interface. "Someone has already taken the position."

"Isn't that the captain's friend?"

"I had another mission, so I wasn't on the mission with the captain," Kevin said with a wry smile. "If I had been there, maybe things would have been different."

"..."

Lin listened as Kevin explained the whole story. It was common for MOTH warriors to sacrifice themselves, and Lin had seen many such instances. However, this was Kevin's first time experiencing the death of a comrade, and they hadn't even found a body. It left him feeling deeply unsettled.

"Are you blaming yourself?" Lin asked.

"Yes."

The incident at the Fifth Branch, and this recent event, left Kevin feeling powerless.

It wasn't powerlessness in combat, but rather the inability to prevent what had already happened.

"And, I'm going to be the captain of Squad One..." Kevin let out a heavy sigh as he said this.

Kevin had been with the team for about four months at most, making him the youngest member of Squad One. Now, he was about to face the position of Squad One captain, held by one of MOTH's longest-serving captains.

By all accounts, this was unreasonable, even more so than Lin becoming captain of Squad Seven.

"Immediately?"

"Yesterday."