The Birth of the Holy Son / The Beginning of the End

"But I have the same appearance, the same voice, the same memories, and the same personality as her, so strictly speaking, I can be her, or rather, I am her."

"Enough." Mei snorted coldly. "Have you had enough of playing these self-deceiving tricks? If you're interested, I'll bring you in front of her and let the two of you have some fun. She'll definitely be happy to play a little game with you, the imposter pretending to be her."

"Hmm... As for Lin's situation, I really want to meet her, but let's finish what I promised Mei first."

The girl wasn't annoyed. She chuckled and snapped her fingers, and behind her, an unmarked anchor point slowly appeared.

"Let's go. The truth you've always wanted to uncover, everything Lin believes is yet to come, is right here."

Chapter Thirty-Five: The Birth of the Holy Child

After passing through the uncomfortable anchor point and leaving the cemetery where the rain had been pouring down, Mei was suddenly confronted with a blinding light. She shielded her eyes with one hand from the glare, which was bright enough to burn them, and squinted as she waited for the dazzling light to fade.

"Then let's start from the beginning."

The girl stood in front of her and with a wave of her hand, the light disappeared. Mei and found that they were in what looked like an archaeological site. To the side of the girl, a couple was exploring the area by referring to a rough geological map.

"Mei, have you ever heard of the Pre-Previous Civilization?" The girl stood smiling beside the couple, appearing so small in the vast underground ruins.

"Pre-Previous Civilization?"

"Before the Previous Civilization you know, there were actually earlier civilizations, and there might even be more than one. The history of Honkai also started much earlier than you imagine."

The girl followed behind the two, waving to Mei with a bright smile. Mei frowned as she looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings, following the girl at a distance.

"And Lin's birth is also related to the Pre-Previous Civilization."

"The birth of Lin..."

Hearing Mei's murmured words, the girl couldn't help but smile, "Don't worry about that way of putting it. Lin wasn't special at birth. No... I should say that he was like me. At the beginning, compared to ordinary people, his special feature was that he had an irreparable defect."

"As you can see, his story begins from this moment."

Mei followed the girl's finger and saw that the two adults seemed to have discovered something. They had carved out a machine that looked like a computer from the rock wall and were investigating it with furrowed brows.

As time went on, their furrowed brows gradually relaxed, their expressions turning to shock and fear, and finally even showing a fanaticism that Mei couldn't understand!

Mei had seen this expression on the faces of Einstein and Tesla before. They explained that people like them would get excited to some extent when it came to research, but they were nowhere near as crazy as the two men were now.

"They are the biological parents of the forest," the girl said.

Mei had already had some guesses, but she didn't expect the girl to say it so bluntly. She looked in surprise at the two people in front of her who were frantically taking all the information and trying to take it away.

"What are they doing?"

The girl patiently explained to Mei, after all, this was part of their deal. "This is the ruins of the Pre-Previous Civilization. Every civilization that fights against Honkai has a similar organization. In the Previous Civilization, it was the Moths of Fire, and in the Pre-Previous Civilization, it was an organization called the Meteor's Demise. They left behind a legacy for the civilizations that followed them to fight against the Honkai."

"This legacy, besides informing us of the existence of the Honkai, also contains a large amount of bioengineering technology, one of which is the technology for Gene Modification. This technology is the earliest human modification in the Previous Civilization, even earlier than Mobius's research."

The scene before her changed again, and it was still the same couple, only this time they were wearing white coats and hurriedly making various adjustments in the laboratory filled with equipment Mei was dazzled by what she saw, and the expressions on their faces made her shudder.

His excitement was beyond that of ordinary people; he was almost like a fanatical believer who had converted to Christianity.

Upon hearing the girl's description of "human modification" and "the birth of Lin," Mei completely understood what the two fanatical and twisted people in front of her were about to do next.

"When a person is not born with the expectation of being 'human,' it is difficult to determine whether he is still human. And his parents... or more accurately, his creators, expect him to be a 'Holy Child,' a 'savior,' a 'leader,' but not the fruit of their love. If they could, they would even want him to be born as a miracle of 'virgin birth', like in a myth."

"They gave him a perfect, neutral 'saintly appearance,' superhuman muscle reactions and nerve reflexes, and rigorously disciplined him to see things with an extraordinary mindset."

"They are not allowed to have human emotions, but must walk in the world with a 'perfect' and detached demeanor."

The girl pulled down her hand, and the scenery in front of her fell to the ground like a curtain being pulled away. Their environment changed again, and this time, they must have arrived a few years in the future.

The couple bore the marks of long-term hard work at their temples, and in front of them stood a child that Mei had once seen.

This is Lin's past...

But Mei felt something was wrong. The childlike Lin Mingming had told Mei his parents died in a fire, but the current situation was not what he had described.

However, her questions were quickly answered by the couple's eerie smiles under the moonlight and the sound of their surgical saw.

Her pupils dilated violently as she stared in disbelief at what was happening before her.

What... are you kidding me...?

"At this moment, Lin is not yet 'Lin.' He has a 'name' given to him by his biological father, or more accurately, a title and code name, because it can't really be called a name." The girl looked at the bloody, crazy, and dark scene before her with a calm expression. "He is called 'Zero' at this moment."

The final scene, accompanied by the two's triumphant laughter, and Mei's blank stare as her small, helpless hand falls limply onto the operating table...

Finish.

"Thump."

Suddenly, everything went black, and Mei and the girl found themselves back in the vast archaeological ruins. But this time, what appeared before them was...

"Forest?"

A person dressed in armor and wearing a helmet stood silently not far from them, holding a rifle in his hand and equipped with various weapons and firearms on his waist, looking fully armed.

"It's up to you now, Mei ~ Don't worry, this is just Rin's self-protection device, not the memory you know. Just think of it as a projection."

"Are you lying?" Mei couldn't possibly believe the smiling girl in front of her completely Mei. She couldn't even fully trust Elysia, let alone this mysterious person who had previously tried to kill her. "Why don't you do it yourself?"

The girl sighed helplessly and shrugged, "Because only you can do it. Remember the Nameless Engraving Lin gave you? That's a privilege, the privilege to obtain the truth through this method. He originally wanted you to pass through his layers of tests before coming here, but I helped you skip the tests. Remember to thank me~"

Mei's eyes darted around, unsure if the girl was telling the truth. But "Lin" in front of her didn't react at all until she tried to take two steps forward. Only then did he raise the gun in his hand and point the Mei.

... It seems that this is the only way for now.

Mei drew her sword and charged forward.

Chapter Thirty-Six: The Beginning of the End

The battle with Lin was surprisingly... easy.

Mei didn't show it on the surface, but she was still extremely surprised. In the previous battles with Lin, she felt that she was on the verge of life and death, and that she might be stabbed through the throat at any time. But this time, she was on high alert and won easily.

"Oh! As expected of a complete Herrscher of Thunder!"

"..."

The girl's congratulations sounded somewhat ironic to Mei. She also roughly understood the difference between the girl and the real Elysia. At least Elysia would tell her some things sincerely, while this person's friendliness only stayed on the surface. Behind the scenes, there would definitely be a lot of scheming and backstabbing with this person.

"Alright, let's move on to the next place."

After bidding farewell to the cheerful Ling, Lin and Ying boarded the return transport plane. Lin sat in his usual spot, browsing information on the Fire Moth's internal network while drinking hot coffee. However, this time, a life-sized dragon doll was leaning against him on his left.

"Do we need to gather back at the airport?"

Lin paused in his typing and asked, "Why do we need to gather? There's no mission right now."

"..."

Sakura didn't know what to say. She felt like things were being too... leisurely right now.

Not only the Fire Moths, but the atmosphere during their visit to Sakura also felt like a return to a peaceful era, except for the three female students who seemed to be prejudiced against the Fire Moths due to their parents' influence.

Hopefully this is a good sign.

After the transport plane arrived, Lin picked up a dragon doll that was as tall as a person. He could barely see the road ahead and could only barely see the ground beneath his feet. Sakura also carried her own dragon doll. The two of them walked towards their rooms amidst the strange looks from the passing members of the Fire Moth.

Sakura's room was accessible only through Rin's room, so they took the same route. As Sakura walked along this route, she reminisced about the past two days, feeling as if she had just woken from a dream.

Hopefully, this dream won't be shattered...

"Hehehehe..."

A cold laugh rang out just a few steps from Lin's door. The two of them simultaneously turned their heads past the dragon puppet to look at the figure at the door.

The green-haired girl, sitting on a vehicle, combed her long, floor-length hair with one hand, a terrifying and profound smile on her face.

Her smile was more meaningful than ever, and "a meaningful smile from Mobius" is usually not good news.

"You really have it easy," Mobius said, glancing at the identical plush toys the two were holding, and then sneered repeatedly.

The temperature dropped to freezing point, and if Kevin hadn't been right next to May, one would have wondered if he was also radiating his own chill.

Sakura was a little flustered. She wanted to explain something, but Lin looked very calm, as if it was nothing. Sakura didn't know what to say, and she felt the panic and helplessness of a mistress being caught red-handed.

"Don't worry, it has nothing to do with you. You can leave now."

Mobius made way for her, and Sakura hesitated for a moment, looking at Rin. After Rin nodded slightly to her, she quickly walked past Mobius toward her room.

After she walked a little further away, she heard a loud, heavy thud. She quietly hid around the corner and looked behind her, only to find that Lin was gone. Mobius stood there, clapped his hands, looked disdainfully at the room with the door open, glanced in her direction, went into the room, and closed the door.

"What's the matter?"

Lin Cong the ground, dusted off the dragon doll, and threw it onto the bed.

The fact that Mobius would take the initiative to come to him couldn't possibly be for something trivial. In fact, Mobius probably isn't the kind of person who would care about this and that like a little girl.

After entering the room, Mobius also put away his harsh and cold demeanor.

She cut to the chase and said to Lin, "The Gray Serpent has disappeared."

"..."

Gray Serpent?

Lin never expected to hear that name from Mobius again. Lin still hadn't fully figured out the mysterious and dangerous artificial life form's position in the Ninth Honkai War KY Plan. Its social experiments and objectives were also fraught with danger. Lin's relationship with Gray Serpent should only be limited to delaying the implementation of the KY Plan.

"After the Ninth Honkai War, Gray Serpent would periodically return to the lab to report on his evolutionary progress." Mobius tossed something onto the table. "Once a month, but he didn't come this time, so to be precise, it wasn't a disappearance. If it were just that, it wouldn't be a big deal, but I received this."

Lin picked up what looked like a storage device and pressed the switch. After a beep, the projection of the Gray Serpent appeared in Lin's hand.

"Mistress... please be careful... sizzle... approaching..."

The storage device appeared to be damaged, causing the Gray Serpent's projection to be unclear, with only intermittent sounds coming from it. This made Lin frown, realizing that the situation seemed to be getting out of control.

What did the Gray Serpent encounter?

The only person Lin knew who would target Gray Serpent was the Fire Moth. However, it's not surprising that Gray Serpent's social experiments had made him countless enemies. But even the Flame-Chaser couldn't threaten Gray Serpent, who possessed multiple bodies. Who could possibly make Gray Serpent, with its multiple bodies, only transmit an incomplete message?

Moreover, he was warning Mobius to be careful—to be careful of what? What was approaching her?

Hiding in the shadows, the Gray Serpent wearing a white mask silently counted the footsteps. He was learning how to become human, but no matter what, he was still an artificial life form, and many emotions would not appear on him, such as... tension.

Natural predators often possess exceptional patience and keen insight to seize opportunities.

The roles of hunter and prey can be reversed unexpectedly.

"Smack!"

The moment the footsteps faded, the ghostly figure of the Gray Serpent appeared behind him, raising a pistol in one hand, its scarlet pupils radiating a bewitching light.

"Protecting life is not the necessity of survival; taking life is. This is the law of nature. Do you want to live, or do you simply want to take life, Herrscher?" His hoarse voice was natural and elegant, and the muzzle of his gun was pointed precisely at the standing figure.

"..."

The figure remained motionless. After a long silence, he slowly turned around, revealing a white mask that was difficult to see clearly.

Her silver hair was striking even in the darkness.

At this critical moment, there was no tense atmosphere whatsoever.

And as it turns out, when it comes to a life-or-death struggle, nothing superfluous is needed.

"Bang!"

The bullet pierced his skull.

The mask shattered on the ground.

Gray Serpent put away his pistol and slowly walked to the fallen corpse.

A head of silver hair, stained with blood.

Gray Serpent was stunned when he saw the scene beneath the mask.

Confusion and shock, emotions that shouldn't have appeared in this artificial life form, welled up within him.

The corpse lying on the ground was Gray Serpent.

Yes, it was him.

With this last one, something occurred to him, and he suddenly turned his head—

"Bang!"

"Smack."

A corpse fell silently to the ground.