Two Who Do Not Belong to This World

And Yue, who initially did not think humans were comparable to herself, did not hate humans, yet carelessly took human lives... she could not even be considered Herrscher, just like those Hunter from the Quantum Sea, merely a higher beast.

Yue calmed her emotions, which had never been so complicated, and asked another question, "Then what do you think of the human... Lin?"

"That person..." Theresa, flustered and unsure how to answer under the moon's gaze, her red eyes darting around, "I think... he's a good person, isn't he? He's willing to sacrifice so much for a promise, and he fights for the people of this world..."

A good person?

In fact, Theresa didn't know if her description was correct.

She could tell that Lin was very gloomy, like an old car that was barely running.

For himself... or for the whole world, that man could die countless times, and he never gave up even when on the verge of collapse, adhering to his own set of principles, a type that Theresa had never seen before.

But why does such a calm person, who is almost like a lifelike ice sculpture, often reveal a hint of sadness in his eyes?

Perhaps he himself didn't realize that his black pupil often gave Theresa, who would inadvertently glimpse his left eye, an extremely oppressive feeling.

He was lost, searching for his own direction.

Just like Theresa herself.

But whenever Theresa was about to speak, he would catch a glimpse of Theresa intentions, and before she could speak, he would hide the confusion in his eyes and transform back into a cold yet reliable man.

Is it because you can't find your own direction that you want to find direction for others...?

"I see."

When Yue heard Theresa's mediocre answer, she wasn't too surprised. She wasn't stupid, but she didn't care about many things. For example, she could tell right now that what Theresa was thinking wasn't as simple as Theresa said, but she didn't point it out.

"I don't think he's a good person."

"He's an idiot."

"You big idiot."

The girl lowered her head, her smile devoid of warmth.

Mother's Day Special: The Birth of Infinite

The Moth that Chases the Flame, a secret chamber that no one can find.

In a dark, secluded, and enclosed little room, a secret video is playing.

In this highly confidential, unknown, and extremely oppressive environment, what is being played could be the top-secret intelligence of the Moth of Fire?

"Hey Lin, this is 'team building,' right?"

The man with his eyes closed, slightly embarrassed in the silence, raised his hand and asked the black-haired man sitting next to the projector.

This also caused other people watching the video to turn around.

Lin's signature helmet stared silently at Su, as if to teach everyone about light signals.

After a long silence, he finally uttered a word that caught everyone off guard in the somber atmosphere. "Yes."

Su glanced at Kevin and Kosma, who were expressionless, to his left, then at Chrono, who had no face at all, to his right, and finally at the man under the helmet, whose words had become pale. As if he were in a morgue of the living dead, a cold wind blew and made his lips twitch as he asked, "Then why did we watch 'Little Tadpoles Look for Their Mother' together?"

"Because it's Mother's Day," Lin replied quickly, indicating that this was his thought from the very beginning.

"Then why do we get together to watch 'Little Tadpoles Look for Their Mother' on Mother's Day?"

"Because we don't have mothers."

"..."

The man, known for his philosophical insights, stretched out his hand and drew a circle in mid-air, seemingly powerless. He opened his mouth but couldn't utter a single word.

Are you an idiot?

Regarding someone who watched "Little Tadpoles Look for Their Mother" with several same-sex friends on Mother's Day as if they were watching pornography, the green-haired PhD commented that he might need to seek psychological guidance from the Deepest Place of the moth-chasing world.

After putting down the test tube and taking off his goggles, Mobius tiptoed and laboriously took a jar of something that looked like solidified mustard blocks from the shelf, then rolled his eyes at Lin, who was leaning against the corner of the table next to him.

Lin shrugged. "Aren't you going to?"

"What?"

Mother's Day.

"Clatter."

Mobius casually put down what he was holding, turned his head, and stared at the nonchalant helmeted man with a strange look.

"Oh? My dear Mr. Lin, are you planning to have me go find my mother, or do you want me to become a mother?" She curled her thin lips into a cold laugh. "You can't possibly be telling me to go and recognize that Nun sits in the Deepest Place and never moves as my mother, can you?"

"..."

For some reason, after Lin said those words, Mobius's entire demeanor became somewhat... terrifying.

"Feel sorry."

"Hehe, what's there to apologize for? You didn't do anything wrong." The green-haired PhD student ran her fingers through a strand of hair by her ear and continued with a light laugh, "How about this, I'll hang you at the lab door in a bit, and if your mother doesn't come to claim you within thirty seconds, I'll put you in Formalin."

"..."

Even if Lin was slow on the uptake, he should have been able to understand Mobius's subtext... no, this was now a completely blatant threat.

Are you angry?

Her smile vanished instantly, replaced by a fierce glare from her pinkish-green eyes as she stared at the helmeted man with the menacing look of a venomous snake poised to strike its prey. "Am I happy?! Get out!"

The loud noises coming from the private laboratory were nothing new to Danzhu and Cangxuan. They exchanged a glance, then looked at the small green figure in the corner who wasn't even as tall as the documents they were working on. They shook their heads, sighed, and lowered their heads to continue their work.

"... Let go immediately."

Mobius's gaze was no longer just hostile; she was now seriously considering whether to carry out what she had just said and hang this... bastard who had her hands and feet tied outside the laboratory.

Before Mobius could erupt, Lin intervened to stop her from making a mess of the lab. She twisted her body, which, while not particularly graceful, possessed beautiful lines, and glared at the man in front of her through gritted teeth.

Lin shook his helmet-wearing head. "Sorry... I just..."

"Let me go first, then apologize!"

Mobius was in a terrible mood and had a terrible attitude today. Usually, even when she was in a bad mood, she would have a sarcastic and treacherous look, but when she was with this guy, she could not suppress her rising anger.

Why is it that he always manages to make me angry with just a few words?

Lin released her grip, Mobius quickly stood up, dusting off her white coat. She kept her head down, her small face tense.

Lin rarely saw Mobius like this. Although she usually had poor emotional control, she rarely appeared to be in such a volcanic eruption-like state. Lin then realized that he might have really said the wrong thing this time.

He also knew where the problem lay.

"... What kind of person was your mother?"

"..."

Lin Huansheng's question made the cold-faced doctor glance at him and sneer, "How would I know? Before I was able to have enough knowledge of the outside world, my biological mother had already died."

This is a lie.

Mobius rarely lies in a serious tone; in her words, "Would you lie to a pet that crawls around in its cage?" But now, Lin clearly saw her pupils shift towards his right ear, where he saw the earring with the meaning of "infinity" on her right ear.

The name Mobius also means "infinite," so her earrings should also be related to her.

"Was that left to you by your mother?"

"... You're so nosy."

Can I take a look?

The petite woman glared at him fiercely, but Lin looked at her calmly. This was the kind of look that Mobius couldn't stand. She snorted and said casually, "Whatever."

Lin squatted down in front of her and gently picked up the earring hanging on her earlobe. This earring had been on her ever since he joined the Fire Moth and met Mobius, and even now that his body had shrunk, he had not put it away.

"I'm sorry," Lin whispered in her ear.

"..."

"I have never experienced maternal love, so I think it is a blessing to have a mother who loves me." He put down his earring and said softly, "What I meant was... if you want to go and pay respects to your mother, I can go with you."

"You're so annoying."

"..."

Mobius pulled up the white coat that had slipped off her shoulders, gazed at the man before her, and slowly loosened her clenched fist.

She won't see you.

Chapter 83 Two People Who Don't Belong to This World

Human reason is like a wooden bucket filled with water. On the planks soaked in a foul-smelling liquid, it maintains a delicate balance under the influence of surface tension. No one knows how much emotion will be poured in next time and break this balance.

When Himeko was still in university, she attended a psychology lecture for credits. She had forgotten most of what the dying psychology teacher said, but she remembered this one sentence clearly.

She was actually quite curious about how that man managed to maintain his mental defenses and not break down after being killed thousands of times. If it were her, she probably would have gone crazy long ago, but he was still thinking about how to protect this world that had little to do with him.

Perhaps that's why he impressed that little girl named Yue.

"Wow!"

A jar of honey, taken from the shelf, whistled past her ear. Himeko glanced indifferently at the cashier, who was screaming "the end of the world" and wildly throwing things behind the counter. She placed the money for the beer and peanuts on the table, then subdued the cashier, tied him to a chair, and used his phone to call 120 to have him taken to the shelter. She then headed towards the Schicksal Branch.

Himeko never imagined that when she was a child playing in the mud wearing loincloths, she would one day join an organization dedicated to saving humanity, nor could she have imagined that she would soon face the end of the world.

The city was desolate, with some bloodstains still clinging to the walls. She casually opened a can of ice-cold beer and drank as she walked. She only glanced at the zombie-like people before looking away.

What can these people do in the face of real disaster?

We are powerless to do anything about it.

They couldn't even take up arms to resist, not because they didn't want to, but because they couldn't.

But who can blame them? Is this what they wanted?

The longer a person lives, the more they learn about helplessness.

"Smack..."

"Um?"

Himeko, who was tilting her head back to pour the last drop of wine into her mouth, looked down at the hooded person who was staggering towards her not far away. She thought it was another resident with mental problems, so she threw the empty wine can aside and prepared to subdue the person.

But unexpectedly, before the other party could even go crazy, the hooded man stumbled and fell face down on the ground.

"Hey, are you alright?" Himeko hesitated for a moment, but still went forward to help him up. There were still people in the city who hadn't gone to the shelter, and they were all mentally unstable. It would be good to help them if possible.

However, she was startled when she took the other person's hand.

The man's hands were covered with thick blue veins and dark purple lines that looked like wounds. At first glance, they looked like the forepaws of some kind of deformed monster.

This is... Honkai Energy erosion?

Himeko was certainly familiar with this symptom. Back when she joined Schicksal, someone had warned her that her low resistance to Honkai Energy made her vulnerable to Honkai Energy corruption in high-concentration Honkai Energy areas. Once it started, it was impossible to stop until she died completely or became a suicide Honkai zombie.

When she lifted her hood, she froze on the spot.

"You... Lin?"

The person under the hood was Lin, but at this moment, his appearance had undergone a complete transformation.

Not just his arms, but his entire face, from his neck beneath his disheveled collar to his blind right eye, was covered in wriggling purple worm-like stripes, and he certainly didn't look well.

Cold sweat poured down his face in waves, making his skin glisten. The bulging veins and temples, caused by the pain, were terrifying.

"What happened? How did you get Honkai Energy?"

Himeko did not let go of Lin despite the horrific marks on his face. She quickly helped Lin up and asked the black-haired man who was enduring excruciating pain.

"... This is not Honkai Energy erosion."

Lin shook his head. This one movement alone had used most of his strength, and it seemed to have involved some part of his body, with a tearing pain coming from his shoulder and elbow.

This is because after he defeated the white-haired man and seized the Herrscher Authority from the Herrscher's consciousness, his consciousness was severely injured and corrupted by the Herrscher, leading to his current situation.

The white-haired man was right; their consciousnesses were incomplete and they were simply unable to support the Herrscher Authority on their own. Otherwise, the white-haired man wouldn't have remained hidden deep within Lin's consciousness.

Lin had entered the World Bubble using his consciousness mapping, and after his consciousness was severely damaged, the damage was reflected back to his body.

"I'll take you to Schicksal..."

"Unnecessary."

Lin stopped Himeko, gently pushed her hand away, and stared at her with a sharp look that was completely inconsistent with his current tired appearance.

"In the loop, only four people can maintain their memories: me, Otto, Light, and you."