The Road Ahead · A Retreating Figure

Because of her lack of ability to resist, her active cooperation with the Moth of Flame, and her assistance to humanity in defeating the consciousness of the Herrscher of Binding during the Eleventh Honkai War, she has now been released from confinement and is now allowed to operate under the supervision of the Flame-Chaser.

Although Elysia said this was the first mission of the Thirteen Heroes, it was clear that the others did not recognize the composition and title of the Thirteen Heroes, and the surveillance mission was actually assigned to Kevin.

And there is another entry in the record.

L08-02 shows a friendly tendency towards MSA-079, so MSA-079 will accompany her as a stabilizing factor for the Herrscher's emotions.

MSA-079 is him.

He thought that after so many years of separation, the other person would become somewhat distant, no matter how familiar they were. But the other person's gaze silenced him.

"As a result, having a broken stone inside my body is completely useless." Qianqi said casually to Lin as she walked, tilting her head back to bask in the moonlight. "They said I should be glad I can't use it, otherwise I wouldn't be able to maintain my human consciousness."

"..."

"The true Herrscher consciousness still resides in another person. She may have the ability to help you regain your memories, but would Herrscher help a human...?"

It was unclear whether she was talking to herself or whispering to someone else.

"Who knows..."

Just a few meters from the room where the party was to be held, Qianqi suddenly stopped. Lin also stopped at the same time. He watched as the girl walked with her hands behind her back to the place where the moonlight shone. She looked up and gazed at the clear moonlight. Her skin, which was a little sickly from not seeing the sun for many years, was so white that it reflected the moonlight.

"You, the Herrscher, are a little scary to think about."

Lin was surprised that the other party would suddenly bring up the Herrscher of Binding.

Is the Herrscher... also another version of himself from the past?

The boundless sky was reflected in Qianqi's pupils. She parted her lips slightly and said, "Even after becoming Herrscher, a certain aspect of your personality remains unchanged, even if he denies it."

I hadn't noticed it when I was standing with Lin, but when the Herrscher of Binding stood in front of me, I realized the strong inhumanity emanating from Lin.

Driven by a certain ideal, one will go down a path to the bitter end.

If it's for humanity, then die for humanity; if it's to destroy humanity, then die to destroy humanity.

Perhaps people should be thankful that he never deviated from his course.

But for Qianqi, this caused her heart excruciating pain, as if it were being twisted into minced meat.

Once upon a time, Qianqi wanted to escape the repetitive daily routine. After completely bidding farewell to an ordinary life, her mission became to assist the Speaker. After the Speaker passed away, her only connection to the past was Lin.

Protecting the forest was her final mission, but she still couldn't complete it.

"I know, I know everything."

These soft words echoed in her ears as they were spoken by the man before her, who, at this moment, looked at her expressionlessly, as if she were a stranger.

"Alright, let's go in quickly, or they'll get suspicious." Qianqi didn't say anything more. She considered herself a person who wore many masks, and the mask of grief and sorrow... didn't suit her.

No one can see the most authentic version of her through her.

She skipped and patted Lin on the shoulder before heading towards the party room.

But halfway there, the boat rocked slightly, and her long-neglected foot tripped, causing her to fall forward.

"Huh?"

"Smack!"

However, she didn't fall to the ground; a hand caught her and carefully helped her up.

Are you alright?

"..."

The gray-haired girl turned around, her cold eyes gleaming with a faint light. The black-haired man's expression was so indifferent, yet he had clearly been watching her closely; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to react so quickly and catch her.

After Lin briefly checked Qianqi to make sure she wasn't injured, he tried to pull his hand away from hers because there was something strange about the other woman's eyes.

Moreover, at this moment, a green-haired girl was standing at the door. She saw the two of them holding hands and her eyes looked very strange.

Chapter Four: The Front and the Back

"Now that everyone is here, let's begin."

Elysia clasped her hands together and said with a smile.

No one objected, except... Lin.

He crossed his arms, glanced at the people sitting around him, and said indifferently, "Wait a minute, what are we starting?"

Thirteen Flame-Chaser, plus Prometheus Unit 1, Qianqi, and himself, a total of sixteen people, sat together in this extremely spacious room like kindergarten children.

"Of course... it's playing games."

Elysia quickly exchanged glances with a few people present. This small action did not escape Lin's eyes. He also quickly scanned the room, but the exchange of glances between them was too fast for Lin to see which people they were.

The sky was clear and the night was deep.

Lin had no idea what was about to happen.

As Lin slowly woke up, the moment she opened her eyes, she felt nauseous and wanted to gag—it was her body's natural reaction.

He drank a lot of alcohol in a short period of time and suffered from alcohol poisoning.

Have I ever felt this way before...? It's quite a novel experience; I can't feel my body, yet I feel nauseous and want to vomit...

Lin leaned over the headboard, pulled over the trash can, and dry heaved for a while, but nothing came out.

He leaned against the trash can, recalling the details of that game.

It was called a game, but it was really more like a cocktail party. Under the direction of a woman with long, wine-red hair, they played a game that Lin had no chance of winning. He remembered that he was constantly being forced to drink, from one glass to two, and later even bottle after bottle. Just thinking about it made him feel nauseous.

Was this a prank orchestrated by a group of people...? It seems they're quite resilient; they accepted his amnesia so quickly...

But perhaps they wanted him to reintegrate into the group as quickly as possible.

Lin covered his forehead, pondering information about the Honkai and the Fire-Chasing Moth.

Now, the entire Firemoth has only thirteen Flame-Chaser left, and because resources and manpower are no longer sufficient to support the continued production of Flame-Chaser, there will probably only be these thirteen Flame-Chaser in the future.

From tens of thousands of Flame-Chaser to their current desolate state, humanity's vital forces have suffered a fatal blow, all within the span of a single large-scale Honkai.

Even if we are unwilling to admit it, humanity has reached its end, and that is an indisputable fact.

The emergence of Ark Project and Constant Sand Project also means that the Moths are already considering what will happen after the extinction of humanity.

They claimed this trip was a vacation, but Lin believed it also carried a hint of self-abandonment.

What will happen next...?

"Hmm... Lin... won't you sleep a little longer?"

"..."

A delicate voice, so soft it could make your brain reflexively mimic the smell of alcohol, gently rang out beside you.

The room was quiet for a few seconds. Then Lin stared at the bottomless trash can, then glanced down to check his clothes.

He was naked, wearing only a pair of underwear.

"..."

Lin's hand, which was covering his forehead, suddenly stiffened. He didn't know if his sweat glands were functioning properly, but he was sure that if he had a sense of touch, he would definitely be able to feel what it meant to be drenched in sweat.

What happened?

Lin then looked closely and realized that this was not his room.

Two slender hands wrapped around Lin's neck like water snakes, and a gentle whisper sounded in his ear, "What's wrong? My friend~"

"... Eden." Lin turned to look at the beautiful, mature face that was completely unfamiliar to him. "What happened?"

"Hmm?" Eden frowned slightly in confusion, then suddenly remembered something and said, "I forgot you have amnesia."

"..."

This didn't seem to have much to do with amnesia at all, and Lin had a bad feeling.

Eden's smile was sweet, and he was very close; he could touch her delicate lips with just a glance up.

From the Lin Cong obtained, he saw that this girl, who seemed more mature than others and had the appearance of an older sister, was a world-class superstar before joining Moth Chaser. Moreover, her fame was divided into two categories: singer and charity. She could be described as a truly respected star singer.

Moreover, judging from the playback records on the helmet that Lin had been using all along... he was also a loyal fan of Eden before he lost his memory.

Eden laughed, his voice as intoxicating and captivating as aged red wine. "Before you lost your memory, we were lovers."

"Oh... I see."

"..."

"..."

The room was eerily quiet for a moment.

"Wait a minute." Lin's eyes sharpened; his brain, which had been fogged up by the alcohol, suddenly cleared. "The records don't say we are..."

"Yes, of course, because we're in a secret relationship." Eden's smile remained unchanged, his breathtakingly beautiful eyes fixed on Lin's face as he calmly said, "No one knows that we're actually in this kind of relationship, not even Mobius and Vill-V."

Lin's mind went blank; the shock of this information was no less than when he woke up in a daze to find out he had amnesia.

Was he secretly this kind of person before he lost his memory?

Eden's long, wine-red hair flowed like a wine cascade beneath her, and her intellectual expression and alluring eyes made her irresistible to most men.

"Wrong."

However, Lin calmly pondered for two seconds, then said two words indifferently, staring at Eden and saying, "Even if it's a secret relationship, it's impossible to have no clues at all. For the Fire Moth, the interactions between its internal staff are also important information. Moreover, after you retired, you only operated within the Fire Moth. Even if you made your relationship public, it wouldn't have any impact. And you... shouldn't be the type to hide your relationship."

"Even if you have amnesia, do you still understand my personality?"

"..."

Lin couldn't explain it, but that's just how he felt.

Eden chuckled and said, "Still as sharp as ever, Lin."

Lin Eden admitted that he felt a sense of relief for some reason.

"In this day and age, we don't have that kind of opportunity or time, but Lin, you're wrong about one thing."

Eden pulled her long hair into her arms and leaned against the other side.

Then he smiled at Lin Weiwei and said, "If there really is an opportunity in the future..."

"What?" Lin didn't hear her whisper, Eden didn't intend to let him hear it either. After a knowing smile, she changed the subject.

"This era may be coming to an end soon."

"..."

"After the Hypervariable Surgery, Doctor Mobius asked me a question: What is the most important thing for a star?" Eden's finger traced his lips. "And I answered her, 'It should be beauty.'"

"..."

"So, what is 'beauty'? I've always believed that what guides people and ignites hope is 'beauty,' while Doctor Mobius believes that the process of human evolution is beauty itself, that humanity is always beautiful, and that it will become even more beautiful under her guidance."

"Different aesthetic views naturally lead to different perspectives on beauty."

Eden turned around and looked at Lin with eyes more beautiful than the jewels she had given him.

"Lin, what do you think 'beauty' is?"

"... I have amnesia."

"I know."

"Can you accept someone who might be different from the previous Lin to answer this question?"

To everyone's surprise Eden narrowed his eyes, smiled, and said, "It depends on your answer."

Lin looked in another direction. His eyes could barely see in the darkness, but what he saw was not this darkness, but a light that was much farther away, a light that even he himself did not know where it was.

"'You'."

"Me?" Eden opened his mouth in surprise.

"You're right, everyone has a different definition of beauty, and I don't have a precise answer either. But as long as you think it's 'beautiful,' I will affirm it, just like Mobius's view on the beauty of biological evolution, I would agree with her statement." Lin calmly stated his thoughts.

Differences in beliefs may lead to divergent paths, but as long as these paths lead to the same destination, why bother about the direction others are taking?

He believes that he too once walked firmly on a thorny and rugged path, all so that others could walk a smoother path.

Therefore, his first thought was not his own definition of a certain thing, but rather to agree with the views of others.