Lin: The True Culprit

We lost.

Lin walked into the night, about to face his "final battle".

He took a deep breath and stood in front of the alley entrance, blocking the only way out for the girl who was rushing towards him.

The man tried to save the girl.

The girl tried to save the man.

They collided here.

"What's the use of that?" The man's utterly indifferent expression left her with not a trace of warmth. "Personal experience and the future you can foresee—none of these things can change anything."

They lost miserably. Even if they had another chance, they would only lose to the Herrscher of Binding had gained more control over the consciousness space. And next time, he might not have the chance to forcibly end it all.

At least for now, he can use his own death to save Elysia and Qianqi from becoming another Herrscher of Binding.

This is not just about him, but also about the survival of Elysia and the rest of humanity.

"At least we should try, shouldn't we? You yourself said you wouldn't give in to fate, but what are you doing now? This isn't a pointless endeavor."

The pink-haired girl made the man pause for a moment, but his gaze remained unchanged.

"Don't waste time. If this continues, even more people will die." The man quickened his pace, chasing after the pink-haired girl. "Or do you want to die too?"

The pink-haired girl looked at him gently and shook her head.

"... No, Lin, the solution to this impasse lies right here."

"You..."

At that moment, Lin's pupils contracted, and he rushed forward, reaching out to the pink-haired girl, but before he could, another dark figure was faster than him!

Like a wild beast flashing through the darkness, it pierced through the girl's chest in an instant.

Blood splattered all over the walls of the alley, painting a bloody picture.

One person.

A man who looks just like Lin.

He pulled his hand out of the girl's chest with a sinister smile, then turned back to give Lin a terrifying, bloodshot grin.

"You lost, Lin."

What does it feel like to see yourself kill the person you love?

"And there will be more, more..."

Lin stood there, stunned, watching the approaching "himself" lick its blood-stained fangs and claws.

Until a clear, ethereal voice roused him. "Lin..."

"Apo... Nia..."

His dark pupils, which had been scattered, focused into a small point. A glint of light flashed, and the black-haired boy flipped himself to his feet.

What are these memories...?

Lin's mind was still somewhat confused, with jumbled memories clashing wildly in his head, making it impossible for him to think clearly.

Without a doubt, injecting yourself with a syringe is the right choice.

But it still took Lin more than ten minutes to completely sort out his memories. His eyes were calm as he extracted the useful information from his memories.

His logical thinking ability is not bad; even these fragmented and incomplete memory pieces are enough for him to deduce the whole picture.

This is the world of consciousness.

The mastermind behind it all is the "Herrscher of Binding".

The predicament is an "unchangeable endgame".

The assistants are Sue, Aponia, Elysia, and Qianqi.

Those Herrscher of Binding can freely change their identities in the world of consciousness.

Now, this is the "second time." In the first battle of consciousness, Lin suffered a crushing defeat and tried to send Elysia out of the consciousness world. However, Elysia was killed by the Herrscher of Binding in the "Endgame," and her consciousness and memories were devoured by the Herrscher of Binding. But with the help of Aponia, he started the second round of battle. However, his memories and consciousness had problems, which is why Lin, MSA-079, and the future "Lin" appeared at the same time.

Even though much information is still unclear, the whole picture has already emerged in Lin's mind.

So, who is the Herrscher of Binding?

How can he defeat the Herrscher of Binding?

"Why did you ask me to come out so late? Is there some other clue?"

Qianqi hurriedly dressed and left home. She arrived at the entrance of the Chienyu Academy and immediately saw the black-haired boy standing at the school gate, staring at the teaching building inside the school.

His face was serene in the moonlight, his deep pupils seeming to hold a block of ice that has never melted.

"... The difference between insiders and outsiders is that insiders are directly involved in the outcome of the battle of consciousness but are affected by the world of consciousness, while outsiders can only barely intervene and assist. The most direct manifestation of this is that insiders will have their memories altered and be 'watched'."

"The information you gave me is basically correct, that is to say, 'most' of it is the truth."

"But the most profound lie is telling the truth from a different angle, and mixing a small part of the lie into the truth to change the flow of the entire conversation."

Lin looked coldly at the stunned Qianqi.

"I once asked you something: what was the mastermind's goal? What was your answer then?"

"He wants to... kill us."

"And before this, you said that our memories had been altered. You intentionally used this sentence to lead me to believe that the alteration of memories was the work of a mastermind. But that is contradictory. If a mastermind can alter memories without anyone noticing, then He can also kill us."

"So His purpose is not to kill us."

"And then, MSA-079 is not me from Parallel World either."

"And you know this, yet you deceived me."

Lin's gaze was so calm.

In this windless night, it was like a sharpened dagger, slowly piercing someone's heart.

Chapter Sixty-Three: Lin: The Real Culprit

"I know that..." Qianqi still looked completely bewildered as she faced Lin.

"Remember? You said MSA-079 sent you to find me, and you said you would never mistake me for someone else."

Lin stared coldly at Qianqi, exposing her previous lies, but there was little hostility in his eyes.

"I don't know what message MSA-079 conveyed to you, but it must have explained the special nature of this world to you. Even if it couldn't be effectively conveyed, you must have understood it implicitly."

MSA-079 is essentially Lin from the "last time," except that the other party no longer has the original memories, only the memories of the previous clash of consciousness.

Or rather, half of the real Lin's memories have actually been eroded by the Herrscher of Binding.

"You are so certain about the nature of this world and the purpose of the mastermind behind it, not because you have uncovered the truth."

"But rather..."

Qianqi stared in disbelief at the man before her. His expression was cold and indifferent, like the far side of the moon, icy and lonely.

"Am I... the mastermind?" she murmured, clutching her chest.

"No."

However, a cold and heartless remark refuted her statement.

Lin raised his hand and glanced at his watch.

It's almost time; she should be here soon.

Not far away, a pink-haired girl approached the two of them with a blank expression.

Morning glow, summer flowers, gentle breeze.

A long-haired girl leaned against the window, reading a book in the morning breeze, with two unopened bottles of hot coffee beside her. The classroom was quiet, and time seemed to stand still.

The distance between heaven and earth appears so vast up close, yet from afar it seems only a hand's breadth apart.

She gazed at this false sky, as if she could reach out and pierce it.

"..."

A man walked into the classroom and silently watched the girl's back.

Mei casually tossed a bottle of coffee to Lin, who caught it, opened it, and took a sip.

"You are not Mei."

"Right."

"Your schedule and habits are different from Mei's."

"..."

"What's your purpose? What do you want with me?" Lin stared intently at "Mei's" retreating figure. "Or are you the real culprit behind all these recent anomalies?"

"I?"

Mei picked up her coffee, took a sip in the exact same manner as Lin, and then pushed up her reflective glasses under Lin's furrowed gaze.

"You are... um..."

As the girl with long pink hair approached, she saw the two people standing there and suddenly clutched her head, feeling a sharp pain as if her head was about to split open. Memories welled up from the cracks in her head like a spring.

"Lin... Qianqi?"

Scattered memories echoed in her mind. She looked at the two of them blankly at first, but her expression quickly changed.

"Now all the key figures are here."

Lin looked at the two girls indifferently and said slowly, "Lin, Elysia, Qianqi, and... the Herrscher of Binding."

Qianqi's expression changed, and she hurriedly stopped her, saying, "You can't say it..."

"We'll be watched, right?" Lin said before she could. "The Herrscher of Binding is one of the key words, but it doesn't matter. Even if we're being watched, we won't die. And... haven't you noticed that even though we're being watched, nothing has happened yet?"

"..." Qianqi was stunned. She clearly remembered that after being stared at, a monster-like person appeared, and then...

"Because He is right here now."

Lin looked at Elysia and spoke slowly, which surprised Elysia.

"He is right here... Could it be..." Qianqi also looked at Elysia, and quietly took a step back, widening the distance between herself and Elysia.

He can impersonate anyone, and the form that Qianqi saw that killed MSA-079 was Elysia.

"... We now have more intelligence than 'last time'."

Lin and "Mei" stood side by side, watching the sunset. Kevin was packing his schoolbag behind them, preparing to go to the hospital with Lin to find out what was going on. He didn't hear the two talking in hushed tones.

Clearly, Lin did not understand the significance of "Mei's" plan. Due to the existence of "Watch," they could not explain many things, which led to them only being able to guess each other's understanding even when sharing intelligence and plans.

Therefore, the plan of "Mei" dying and Lin losing his memory was something Lin simply couldn't understand.

"This is for 'verification of the character'."

Mei took off her glasses, and the blurry world before her eyes made her dizzy.

She had never experienced nearsightedness before. Could it be that the seemingly perfect girl had always lived in such a world?

"Only through this method can His true form be known."

"... What would happen if two of the three consciousnesses disappeared?"

"I'll probably lose a lot of memories," Mei said lightly. "My consciousness will also likely suffer irreversible damage."

Is that so?

Lin also casually asked a question, but it was clear that he did not expect an answer.

"Don't you regret it?"