Mistake · Retribution / Yama · Erosion

"No, the channel is being blocked."

Even Prometheus's channel was blocked, so the skill level required to organize this game is so high that there's no need to guess who it is.

"Klein can't be contacted either..." Mobius said curtly to Lin, who was still thinking, "What's the clue? Show it to me now, don't dawdle."

His cold, indifferent gaze fell upon the serpentine eyes that were changing color, while the other person continued to stare at him fiercely, as if they wanted to tear him apart.

Lin didn't really understand Mobius. She seemed to treat everyone extremely badly, and she was especially vicious towards him, as if she wanted to bite his head off. Yet, he also felt that she didn't seem to have any ill intentions; on the contrary, she seemed somewhat...

Lin couldn't figure out what she was thinking, so he could only avoid her.

Now, here it comes again, that fierce look... yet with a hint of grievance deep in its eyes.

"... At the highest point in the West, at the deepest point in the East." Lin sighed, not wanting to see that look in her eyes.

"What is it? A riddle?" Mobius frowned. "The highest point in the west, the deepest point in the east... the mountaintop?"

Everyone looked toward a small hill standing on the western side of the island, which was the only protruding feature on the island.

But Lin shook his head and said, "East and West are more likely to remind people of the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. This mystery should be related to sunlight."

Kevin frowned in thought, then suddenly realized and said to everyone, "Since it's the highest point in the West and the deepest part in the East, it must be New (West) East, meaning cooking?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

Everyone remained silent. After Kevin solemnly proposed his conjecture, he seemed to realize something under everyone's gaze, and silently turned his head away, pretending nothing had happened.

"The sun and the mountain... I understand." Su then offered his thoughts. "The highest point in the west should refer to that mountain, but the deepest point in the east isn't necessarily a cave, and it's unlikely that one clue would lead to the location of two treasures, existing simultaneously at the highest and lowest points..."

"To put it bluntly," Mobius interrupted him, and Sue glanced at her before saying—

When will the highest point of a mountain become its lowest point?

A thought flashed through Lin's mind, "Shadow."

"... Hmph, so the location of the treasure is where the shadow cast by the mountain peak is? The lowest point in the east means it's an afternoon shadow," Mobius sneered. "A boring riddle."

"Prometheus, calculate where on this island the mountain's shadow lies when it casts its longest shadow in the afternoon?"

Prometheus quickly provided an answer: the team, now consisting of seven people, set off again.

Are the newly added Mobius and Prometheus traitors?

Lin pondered this question on the way, considering it from the perspective of the game's organizer. He wouldn't have given Mobius the mission of a mole if he were in her shoes; she was too difficult to control. As for Prometheus... the records showed that this AI was highly anthropomorphic, not just a machine that could execute commands.

Prometheus's presence would interfere with the game; for example, she could directly detect the location of treasures, fly a certain distance, and use weapons... so she was the most suitable person to be the mole.

When Prometheus appeared, Lin had already decided that she was the mole. The system equipment in her body could scan the environment and find treasures without any clues, so she shouldn't be on Lin's side.

"You're so lucky."

Suddenly, a voice of unknown meaning reached Lin's ears. He turned his head and saw a woman sitting on a vehicle, sneering at him, "How do Hua's legs and lips feel?"

"..."

Chapter Seventeen: Mistakes and Retribution

"Hehe..."

A venomous snake coiled and twisted, its deadly serpentine movements revealing a chilling glint in its eyes. The coldness emanating from its upturned lips seemed to its prey like an ice spike slowly piercing through its abdomen, ribs, and heart.

"Do Hua's lips smell good? Are her thighs firm and elastic?"

"..."

Lin Mo silently stared at the green-haired woman who was sneering. How did Mobius know...?

Of course she knows!

Others, especially men, might not think much of Hua's little actions, but she had done that kind of thing with this pervert in the year following the end of the Tenth Honkai War. She was all too familiar with Hua's physical discomfort and her habit of frequently smelling her hands.

Of the three men present, Kevin was out of the question, and Su and Hua weren't particularly close, so the only one left was Lin, who had a close relationship with Hua.

Including Eden, in just one day, he had gotten closer to two other women... and not just ordinary relationships!

Mobius was furious. This innocent guy, whose eyes were so clear and innocent, had become even more outrageous after losing his memory!

Most importantly, he distanced himself from Mobius! What did that distant look and attitude mean? Was he some other idiot who was hugging, touching, and kissing her all that time? Did he lose his memory?

... Damn it, he really has amnesia.

In short, Mobius's terrifying gaze swept over Lin, Hua, and Eden, but she already felt somewhat powerless.

Who can be blamed for this? When Lin was attacked, she was on her way to retrieve the Armed Puppet that Lin had made based on Klein. On the way, she encountered some things with Vill-V, which delayed her. By the time she returned to headquarters, Lin's memory had been completely wiped clean.

That day, when she stood before the bewildered black-haired man, his unfamiliar gaze sent a chill down her spine.

Why does this person always do this kind of thing?

Klein, Bianca... is she going to lose this person now too?

Fortunately, even with amnesia, Lin did not become a completely different person. He was still himself, just without his past memories. But just as Lin no longer had the barrier of different generations between him and Hua, his attitude towards Mobius also changed.

Mobius had mixed feelings about this.

"Hmm? Speak up, why are you silent? I'm curious about your opinions on other women." Mobius crossed his arms, his smile both radiant and terrifying.

"... I didn't feel anything."

Lin didn't know how Mobius figured it out, but it seemed he couldn't hide it any longer, so he could only answer truthfully.

"Oh dear, how could you not feel anything?" Mobius's lips curled up even longer, but the coldness in his eyes deepened. "Even if you have no senses, the physiological reactions of a living being will not change. You will experience pleasure and euphoria."

"..."

"..."

"Not talking anymore? Was your vocal cords removed? Did you bite your tongue while kissing just now?"

Just as Mobius was still mocking Lin, he suddenly pinched his chin, stared at her, and said, "Before you lost your memory... we had a good relationship? Or were we... lovers?"

"... Huh?"

The Serpent Lord, who was smoothing her long hair, suddenly froze. She never expected Lin to say something like that.

How did he know?

For various reasons, but mainly due to her personality, Mobius refused to talk to the amnesiac Lin about the past. She simply couldn't bring herself to say that they used to do that in a private office in a laboratory full of people.

"Your behavior is too strange." This time, Lin was not surprised at all, but rather curious. "This seems to fit the situation of possessiveness between lovers."

That's why he thought that he and Mobius probably had a special relationship before he lost his memory.

Then, after carefully recalling Mobius's various unusual behaviors after he woke up, combined with her twisted and awkward personality, the answer was already close at hand.

But how could Mobius possibly admit that she was having a possessive fit?

"Over thinking."

Mobius snorted and walked away, while Eden, who had been following behind them, smiled knowingly.

The puzzle wasn't difficult, and figuring out the treasure's location from it wasn't hard either. However, the group had been traveling all day and were inevitably a bit tired. After walking halfway, they decided to rest for a while before continuing their journey.

They made a campfire, and the group found places to rest in the surrounding trees. Lin leaned against the trunk of a tree, tucked his legs in, and closed his eyes to rest.

The crackling sound of matchsticks was the only sound besides breathing and insect chirping.

Of course, this doesn't mean everyone is resting like him. Sue is secretly communicating with Kevin using his ability as a mental-sensory Flame-Chaser. Lin doesn't know the content, but he can feel a slight disturbance in his consciousness. Perhaps this is what the records refer to as the special nature of his consciousness.

Besides that, there's another headache.

The snake's eyes, glowing faintly in the darkness, gazed at the black-haired man with a mixture of awe and trepidation in the firelight.

He sighed inwardly. The other person wasn't trying to hide it at all, and he could certainly feel the other person's intense gaze.

After a long, silent standoff, Lin suddenly stood up and walked straight to Hua, who was some distance away from the others. Under the bewildered gazes of both Hua and someone else, he sat down next to Hua.

Hua paused for a moment, glanced at Mobius sitting in the tree, then at Lin, and said in a low voice, "Lin... what are you going to do?"

"Nothing much." Lin lowered his voice, but he was sure the person watching them could read his deliberately slowed-down lips. "Want to do something lewd?"

"Huh?" Hua was startled. She frowned. "It's like saying, 'What is hidden is most visible, and what is subtle is most apparent,' especially since... Lin, you're here..."

"It's okay, no one can see it."

Lin's words were clearly pointed, and then without further ado, he reached out to the gray-haired girl and placed his hand on her shoulder.

Hua looked worriedly at the green-haired girl who was about to explode with anger. She didn't want this to cause discord among her companions. Besides, she knew about Lin and Mobius's situation. She could occasionally see them bickering on the road at headquarters. To be honest, it was quite interesting to see Lin's cold demeanor and Mobius's sharp-tongued sarcasm going to match.

Lin... naturally couldn't be serious; he just wanted Mobius to tell the truth.

But he overlooked one thing.

There are more than just the three of them in this place.

"Bang!"

A foot wearing a beach sandal kicked the black-haired man in the back of the head, sending him flying dozens of meters away, crashing into the tree trunk where Mobius was standing.

Prometheus withdrew his leg expressionlessly and sat down on the spot.

Chapter Eighteen: Yan Luo - Erosion

"Hehe, I didn't lie to you, did I? I told you the truth that they didn't want to tell you."

After a brief moment of shock, Mei and the girl resumed their tense standoff, the girl with long blue-purple hair grinning at Mei, who was on guard against her.

This is indeed a shocking fact. Even though Mei had prepared herself to face an event that even Thirteen Heroes were unwilling to talk about, she was still hit hard when the truth came out.

Lin... and the Imaginary Tree... what exactly is he...?

Even though she was surprised by what she saw, she wouldn't let her guard down around the person in front of her. "This isn't the truth you told me. Lin gave me the Nameless Inscription to give me the key to this truth, and you have no idea what's going on, do you?"

Otherwise, the girl wouldn't have gone to such lengths to bring Mei here. She herself didn't know the truth, and she needed Mei's help to see everything clearly.

"Hehe, why bother with the process~ My dear Mei ~"

The girl ignored Mei's gaze, flicked her finger to her lips, and smiled at Mei with amusement.

"I am also heartbroken by Lin's ending. Why did he have to make that choice? Right?"

"I wasn't planning on talking to you about this!" Mei's vigilance towards the girl was at its peak. The dangerous aura constantly stung her skin, making her stare intently at this person who was extremely strange from beginning to end. "Now, it's time for us to reveal our identities. Who exactly are you? Why do you look exactly like Elysia? And what's the deal with that Lin?"

"Hmm? Aren't you going to keep watching? Or... oh dear~ are you planning to abandon me now that you know 'Nameless' is the key? How cruel, Mei ~ crying"

Mei coldly watched the girl's feigned tears. Compared to Elysia's, the girl in front of her only made her feel intense malice.

It was like... a monster that had eaten flesh and blood and put on human skin.

"Is he really that heartless? Fine~ fine~ it seems he won't believe me unless I use some blood- Mei."

The girl was completely at ease; one second there were tears in her eyes, and the next she was all smiles again. She shrugged at Mei and said, "What can be exactly the same as someone else, yet be completely different inside?"

"What is something that looks like a human, but is not human at all?"

"What... um? It seems you already know?"

In the vast space, Mei retreated a short distance, and the Herrscher's arm appeared around her, staring intently at the person exuding a dangerous aura.

It is exactly the same as a person, but is not that person; it looks like a human, but is not at all.

Isn't he just someone whose body has been taken over by the Herrscher's consciousness... In other words, this person is Herrscher!

"Oh dear, no need to be so vigilant... Hehe, looks like someone's come knocking on our door~"

The girl was speaking when she suddenly looked up. Mei also sensed something, looked up, and saw a phantom figure quickly solidify. White bandages were wrapped around her body, a black cloak covered her body, long silver hair cascaded down her shoulders, and her Prismatic Eyes burned as brightly as stars.

"Who are you..."

Having obtained Lin's memories, Mei instantly realized the silver-haired woman's identity.

"Raiden Mei, hurry up and get to the next place."

The woman... no, Yan Luo floated in mid-air, watching the girl with the eerie smile, and said coldly to Mei behind her.

"This is really a headache. Aren't you with that man? Are you planning to betray him?" the girl asked with a smile to Yan Luo eyes were cold and exuded murderous intent.

Yan Luo flicked her cloak, and Black Abyss White Flower appeared in her bandaged palm. She slowly drew out her Black Abyss White Flower blade. "You've got two things wrong. First, I'm not with him, so he's not with you either. Second, I have no obligation to answer you, Herrscher of Erosion."

"Then let me ask you a different question." The Herrscher of Erosion, whose true identity had been exposed, was not surprised at all; she still smiled. "Who are you stopping me for?"