Lin: A Tree Hidden in the Forest / Lin: Closing in on the Truth

Wait a minute, could this be...?

Lin reacted with lightning speed. His gaze changed in less than half a second, turning sharp as a blade into the delinquent's eyes. This cold gaze made the delinquent instinctively shrink back, but he withdrew his foot in shame and indignation after taking a step back, and continued to glare at Lin.

"Tell me every detail of what happened between you and me." Lin glanced at the other delinquents around him, looking down at them like a god. "Otherwise, you'll get a third beating."

The delinquent was so angry he laughed. He grinned coldly and said, "You think I haven't learned my lesson after being beaten twice? Look at the people around you, are they the same group as last time?"

"... I can't tell."

They were all short and stocky, and Lin had no memory of fighting with them last time. He couldn't understand the "upgraded weapon" connotation in the delinquents' tone.

The delinquent, his face contorted with rage, roared, "If you can't tell, then beat him up! Break one of his arms!"

"Boss, where's that woman?"

"Screw the woman, I have no interest in her. Beat him up!"

Immediately, everyone rushed forward. Lin protected the calm Qianqi, then silently rolled up his sleeves.

"Go to hell!" The delinquent youth, his mouth full of filthy saliva and foul language, rushed towards him.

"————"

Lin grabbed the hair of the bruised and swollen delinquent and calmly asked the boy whose eyes were swollen like buns, "Can we talk properly now?"

Lin was careful with his strength. They looked miserable lying on the ground groaning, but in reality, they only had superficial injuries that would mostly heal after a good night's sleep.

Moreover, he originally intended for them to be able to answer his questions normally.

"Hmph, I give up! Make your demands!" This delinquent was quite tough; even with his swollen face, he could still show a resolute expression.

"... You don't need to do anything, just tell me the whole story of what happened between us before."

"Tch... what weirdo..." Despite his complaint, the delinquent still managed to slur his words, "We met twice, both times at the hospital..."

I got drunk yesterday

I'm so sorry, I went out drinking with some people last night and came home very drunk. I typed two words that I couldn't even understand myself, and then I just went to sleep.

I'll finish my business today and then go home to catch up on the chapters. This main storyline is nearing its end, so I'll try to finish it as quickly as possible. After that, it'll be time for the Thirteen Heroes' main story arc, which will feature a longer period of daily interactions.

Chapter 59 The Forest: Trees Hidden in the Forest

"Both of our meetings were at the hospital."

The delinquent teenagers tearfully recounted their experiences of conflict with Lin.

The first time he saw a pretty pink-haired girl, he wanted to strike up a conversation with her to see if he could foster a friendly relationship, perhaps by having a meal, chatting, or watching a movie. Ideally, something pleasant might happen. After all, due to his height, he was about the same height as most girls, or even shorter. The pink-haired girl was tall and slender, and he usually felt ashamed just looking at her and couldn't bring himself to approach her.

As a result, they were beaten up by Lin and another white-haired boy who shouted that it was their duty to protect the beautiful girl, and the pink-haired girl ran away with Lin.

The second time was when they were wandering around the hospital and ran into Lin and Kevin again. They seemed to be looking for someone. In order to get revenge, they rushed at them and, unsurprisingly, were taught a lesson again.

"..."

Lin's expression was not good.

"What's wrong?" Qianqi asked, noticing his deep gaze.

Lin felt terrible; the air reeked of conspiracy.

They are being watched.

He felt like he was being watched, as if an unseen pair of eyes, radiating a bewitching iridescent light, were observing him from behind.

"Who is that pink-haired girl?" Lin covered his forehead with both hands. His head started to throb again. It was as if a large part of his mind was missing, and even his expression became somewhat ferocious.

He had no memory of either of his two visits to the hospital.

"How should I know? You're the one who took them away."

"A pink-haired girl..." Qianqi muttered softly, catching Lin's attention. He lowered his hand and asked—

"Do you know who she is?"

"No, it's just that I feel like I've heard it somewhere before," Qianqi denied, looking thoughtful as if she was pondering something.

Since Qianqi didn't know, they could only continue to press the delinquent. Lin turned around and met the delinquent's gaze with cold indifference. The frost in his eyes made the delinquent's scalp tingle.

The first time was due to being caught off guard, the second time was due to underestimating the enemy and being careless, and the third time was definitely because there was something wrong with this person. He had never seen such a look before, and immediately regretted it, deciding to avoid Lin whenever he saw him in the future.

Seeking revenge? Forget it, don't let him become your target for his anger.

"When were those two times? And tell me in detail what was strange about the second time you noticed." Lin lifted the delinquent boy up and made him sit in front of him.

The second instance should be the experience Kevin mentioned a few days ago when they went to find another version of themselves. The memory error started the next morning, indicating that something unexpected probably happened that night.

Did MSA-079 appear that night?

"The first time was April 3rd, and the second time was April 13th. I checked the calendar every day, so I remember it very clearly."

April 13th, just as expected, that was the day.

"But the strange thing... how would I know that..."

The delinquent looked miserable. At that moment, he was only focused on how to teach Lin and Kevin a lesson, so how could he have noticed the so-called "strange place"?

But Lin's face was unfriendly, and he looked to be in a very bad mood, like a beast that was about to explode in anger. He could only rack his brains to recall the scene at that time.

"Oh! I've got it! I remember back then..."

In the open space near the hospital, one after another, delinquent teenagers lay groaning in pain, some covering their swollen faces, others clutching their groins. Clearly, the perpetrators wanted to teach them a lesson.

"Are you kidding me? It's you guys again."

Kevin's expression was somewhat helpless. He didn't really like fighting. Fighting was such a tasteless and immoral thing to do, and he only did it when he was rescuing a damsel in distress. It was just that these people insisted on provoking him, especially Lin. Wasn't that just asking for trouble?

Lin initially had no intention of making a move, but when the other party blocked his way and attacked ruthlessly, Lin raised his hand and beat them so badly that they were rolling on the ground like gourds.

"Are you guys masochists? Last time, Lin beat almost all of you to a pulp by himself. Any normal person knows he's not someone to mess with, and you still dare to come a second time." Kevin patted one of the delinquents on the head. "Have you seen anyone around here who looks exactly like Lin?"

Unfortunately, all the other party replied with were wails.

"Lin, is this the place you dreamed about?"

The black-haired man's expression was slightly cold. He nodded slightly, clearly indicating that he couldn't possibly have misremembered.

"We must have been out of our minds, looking for some other version of you. You'd be better off going on a date with Xiao Ai." Kevin sighed and waved his hand. "By the way, how are things between you and Xiao Ai? Didn't you say you were going shopping together last time?"

"... She just paid me to order it."

"Turning the tables? You have this kind of side hustle?" Kevin was shocked. "Although judging from your face, it doesn't seem that surprising..."

"..."

Lin ignored him and began earnestly searching for his other self, comparing the hazy impressions from his dream with the surrounding scenery.

"Will we be able to find it this way? Everyone says that dreams are either memories of the past or premonitions of the future. What if what happens in your dream isn't today? Wouldn't we have come all this way for nothing? Besides, we can't come every day, can we?"

"..."

To everyone's surprise, Lin paused as soon as Kevin uttered his somewhat complaining words. He frowned and said in a low voice, "Say what you just said again, the last sentence."

"... Huh? I mean, besides, it's impossible to come every day, right?"

Lin's body trembled, and he quickly surveyed his surroundings again.

What's this...

Wrong...

That's so strange...

"Lin? You..."

"Are you sick?"

Lin spoke Kevin's words aloud beforehand, and their voices were in sync. Kevin looked at Lin in surprise, wondering how he knew what he was going to say.

The reason Lin knew what he was going to say was because...

"Dream."

Lin tried hard to recall the incomplete dream, and he finally vaguely remembered some things.

In his dream, he and Kevin had the same conversation as before, without changing a single word.

That's right, it's a conversation within this "scenario," which means that the events in the dream will also happen next.

What will happen?

Kelin couldn't remember what happened in the end; only the face of another version of herself kept flashing in the night scene before her eyes.

At that moment, he suddenly looked behind Kevin.

A person stands alone in the darkness, as if in another world.

His eyes shone brightly, as if the sun were burning within them.

A terrifying rainbow color filled Lin's entire field of vision.

"First it was Elysia, then it was you... Was this all done by 'Mei'? What exactly is she...?"

Whispers rang in my ears.

Then, consciousness plummeted to the ground and shattered into pieces.

Chapter Sixty: Lin: Approaching the Truth

"At that moment, it was like you were suddenly stung by something, and then you just walked away on your own. You didn't respond when your friend called you."

The delinquent told Lin what had happened, especially how Lin's eyes went blank at the end and he left without a care, as if he were possessed. But the delinquent felt that Lin should know about this.

After listening to the whole process, Lin had already confirmed some things.

Qianqi listened attentively to what the delinquent had to say, and pondered Lin's unusual behavior at the time, "Did you encounter MSA-079 back then?"

"My memories have been altered, but what benefit would MSA-079 gain from doing that? I should have already thought of the relevant clues at the time. Logically, he should have guided me to continue the investigation instead of modifying my previous memories." Lin's unusually calm tone made Qianqi look up at him. After saying this, he coldly said, "It's too late today. Go home first. We'll meet at school tomorrow to continue the investigation."

"... Alright, that's the only way."

Lin returned home under the city lights, his expression, both dim and gloomy, appearing particularly sinister in the shadowy night.

The feeling of others' impressions and descriptions not matching one's own memories is awful.

He felt as if he were listening to someone else's story, but the problem was that the person in the story was himself, and this sense of displacement was really unpleasant.

But Lin rarely takes his own feelings seriously. What he needs to consider is the truth behind this series of events.

Is MSA-079 really another version of him?

It is impossible to determine, or even to determine, whether what he saw that day was MSA-079.

No, we should change our thinking. Since altering memories would only harm Lin's investigation of the truth, then the person he saw back then could not possibly be another Lin. No matter what that person looked like, he could only be the murderer of a series of events.

That is, the true nature of "gazing".

This leads to another question, which is also why Lin is in such a hurry to go home.

Lin understands his own personality well. He has his own considerations on many important matters and is unlikely to do anything whimsical or reckless, especially something like "finding another version of himself." According to Kevin, it's just a case of hot-blooded, immature behavior, but Lin doesn't believe he would do that.

Simply put, it means that Lin, based on the information he already had, projected his past self onto the past to predict what he would and would not do.

Then, Lin made up his mind.

He definitely left something behind to prevent the current situation of amnesia from happening. Even if there was no information about amnesia at the time, Lin would not have left no backup plan.

So Lin went through his familiar home, rummaging through drawers and cabinets, searching for unfamiliar things.

According to Qianqi, language and writing are unlikely to record key information... but is that not necessarily true?

Lin stepped on a tile with his slippers, and the hollow sound made him quickly squat down. He then ran his fingers along the gaps in the tile, and finally pressed his fingers down sharply, grabbing the raised corner and lifting the entire tile off.

He squinted at what was hidden under the floorboards.

A notebook.

Was it ultimately recorded in writing? Could it be that being "watched" because of this led to amnesia?

Lin picked up the notebook and locked all the doors and windows after entering the room. He didn't even turn on the lights, but quietly flipped through the notebook in a corner of the room using the glow of his phone screen.

The very first sentence in the notebook made Lin frown.

"Diary, April 13, 20XX, Sunny."