I Am Not a Hero

Lin didn't act because of the look in Soul's teary eyes, which hinted for him to look at the child in the corner, the other person in the photograph.

At least not in front of the child.

His peripheral vision caught the youth who looked surprised and terrified after he drew his gun. Judging by the youth's pale face and dry lips, he had likely been in this room for days, witnessing his mother's transformation from normal to mutated.

The youth's pupils were unfocused, and his throat, unused to speaking for a long time, let out syllables of unknown meaning. His wandering gaze didn't know where to rest.

Three days ago, his mother had stumbled home, claws already growing from her hands. She was delirious but still told him to find chains to tie herself to the bed.

He had stayed in the corner like this, watching his mother, who had been comforting him, gradually babble incoherently, struggle in pain, and transform into a monster stained with pallor, leaving only terrifying growls.

The youth didn't know what to do. Should he find someone? Who? The police? Doctors? His mind was a mess. He just numbly huddled in the corner, going nowhere, staring blankly at his mother, who no longer recognized him.

This old apartment wasn't heavily populated. Even the landlord only came to collect rent and never visited. So many days had passed, and no one had noticed the abnormality in this room.

Until Lin and Soul arrived.

Were they going to kill his mother?

Lin's cold indifference as he held the gun was deeply etched into the youth's eyes, causing his unfocused pupils to contract.

He found courage and strength from somewhere, standing up and letting out a strange roar as he tried to snatch the gun. But before the youth could even take a step, Lin instantly redirected the muzzle, steadily aiming it at the youth's forehead.

The killing intent and the fear of death instantly made the youth freeze in his tracks.

"Wait a moment, Team Lin!" Soul also stepped in front of the youth. Facing Lin's indifferent gaze, which even his sunglasses couldn't hide, she couldn't help but swallow and grit her teeth, saying, "Team Lin, how can you point a gun at an innocent person?"

"..."

Lin looked over Soul's shoulder at the youth. He didn't speak, but he lowered the gun, a move that made Soul breathe a sigh of relief.

But before she could continue persuading Lin, he threw a syringe into her hand.

"This is... an inhibitor?" The emerald green color made it obvious which laboratory it came from. This kind of agent could inhibit the erosion of Honkai Energy. The MOTH would periodically distribute a certain amount of inhibitors to soldiers, but not too much, as the production difficulty was too high, and the effect was only mediocre. Using too much would also lead to resistance.

Lin had undertaken far more missions involving Honkai Energy than others. Considering he was a valuable elite soldier with low Honkai Energy resistance, he was allocated more inhibitors.

Lin pointed his gun at the dazed youth concisely: "Use it on him."

This statement, capable of freezing water, sent a shiver down Soul's spine. She turned her head with difficulty and looked at the youth's neck.

The deathly pale skin made Soul's pupils contract slightly.

What would be the consequences of three days of close contact with Honkai Energy?

The youth also noticed her gaze. Following it down, he saw the pallor.

The same color that symbolized death, identical to his mother's.

Suddenly, a hand covered his eyes, and another pulled him into a trembling but warm embrace. A faint fragrance relaxed his nerves, which hadn't rested for days.

"It's, it's okay, there's an inhibitor, you can still be saved, don't worry." Cold sweat seeped through Soul's back. She gripped the cold syringe, gasping for breath, a sense of relief welling up in her heart.

Thank goodness Lin had the inhibitor, thank goodness they arrived in time...

Tears flowed again from the youth's dry eyes, and a glimmer of hope appeared in his dull gaze: "Really?"

"Really."

This time, it was Lin who answered. He put away his gun and walked in front of the youth. His originally stern voice carried a hint of gentleness: "You and your mother will get better. We came in time. It's not a serious illness; it will get better once you get the inhibitor."

"Really? Then you won't kill my mother?"

"No, I never kill anyone."

"That's great..."

Soul couldn't bear to watch anymore. It was too cruel to let a child barely over ten years old go through this.

Especially since, when he woke up, these gentle lies would be cruelly torn apart.

Lin spoke softly and comfortingly to the youth until the boy, who hadn't slept for three days, finally relaxed completely, succumbed to sleep, and fell into a deep slumber.

"Inject him with the inhibitor," Lin's voice was covered in frost again the moment the youth's eyes closed. Without half a second's hesitation, he nimbly drew his gun and aimed it at the Death Warrior on the bed.

This time, no one would stop him.

Lin pulled the trigger.

Blood splattered on the white wall.

"Team Lin, are we taking this child back to the MOTH?"

After Lin contacted the relevant personnel to handle the situation, Soul, holding the youth who had been injected with the inhibitor, walked up to him, glancing at Lin with some fear.

Lin put down the communicator. "No."

"Then should we..."

"Kill him."

"..."

At that moment, Soul thought she had misheard.

Did that man, whose face was never visible, just utter that word so casually?

"Why..."

She backed away step by step, holding the boy, as if she had seen a monster more terrifying than a Honkai beast. Lin, however, ignored her and once again drew his gun to check the bullets in the magazine.

"Zzzzz."

The clinking of bullets struck Soul's heart.

Lin, just as he did before every sortie, meticulously checked his equipment, all for the purpose of killing the enemy. "Inhibitors are not effective against deep erosion, and the speed of Honkai Energy erosion is also influenced to a certain extent by the host's emotions and state. His mental state is weak; the inhibitor can at most help him pass this period of sleep peacefully."

In a few hours at most, or in as little as a few dozen minutes, the boy would turn into a Mortal.

"But we can take him back to the base and stabilize his condition..."

"There's no such thing as stabilizing the condition. We don't know how long it will take to develop an antidote for Honkai erosion, how many resources it will cost, or when it will be his turn to use it." Every word Lin spoke was like a sharp blade piercing Soul's heart. "And the MOTH does not keep Mortals. The best-case scenario is being cut into pieces by some laboratory, or perhaps your own parents will have to do it."

"But he's human! His mother was human before too. Don't you have even a shred of sympathy?"

"The Mortals you've killed, weren't they human in their previous lives?"

Lin's simple sentence caused Soul to collapse completely onto the ground.

"Those who have died, those we have killed, we carry their lives. Therefore, any hesitation or pity towards the Honkai is..."

A blasphemy against life.

Lin didn't utter the last sentence. He silently took the boy from Soul's arms and walked towards the unoccupied rooftop.

"Team member Lin, if I were also infected by the Honkai, would you shoot?" Soul looked at his retreating back and gave a desolate smile.

"Yes."

The boy woke up groggily from his sleep and happened to see Lin, who had removed his mask and sunglasses, quietly gazing at the city against the backdrop of the sunset.

"Big brother..."

Lin's deep pupils reflected the fiery sunset. He said softly, "Your mother is already receiving treatment. Go to sleep."

"I can't sleep," the boy shook his head. "Big brother, you're so beautiful. I want to chat with you."

"...What do you want to talk about?"

"Can I go back to school? My classmates all told me to drop out, and the teacher said I owe tuition fees and asked me to leave... But Mom told me she has a lot of money now and can pay the tuition soon, and also the rent and new clothes..."

"Yes, you'll be back in school soon. You need to study hard."

"That's great! Mom also told me to study hard and become a rich person in the future..."

Lin silently listened to the boy's rambling, pressing his lips together, saying nothing.

Until the sunset disappeared from the horizon.

Until night fell.

Until the innocent words turned into low growls.

Under the starless night sky, the gun fired.

Chapter 8: Humans Are Not Special, Neither Are You, Nor Am I

"The mission is over? Then you guys can stay in Canghai City for a few days."

"Where are you getting so many missions from? Do you think the MOTH only has our Fifth Squad?"

"Stop with the nonsense. If you dare to return to headquarters early, I'll submit your disability application, and you'll be a mascot at headquarters for the next few months."

"Soul, take her under your wing. She's a newcomer with a lot of potential. Of course, don't teach her your work ethic of toiling endlessly, senior. Others would lose years off their life if they worked as hard as you."

Lin frowned throughout his conversation with Himiko. He could hear Himiko shouting about drinking on the other end of the communication, likely at a gathering with her peers, discussing topics only old grannies and grandpas would talk about.

Perhaps this is how people are; they relax fully during times of joy so they can forget past sorrows and face the inevitable disasters.

Looking at it this way, he himself was the anomaly.

There was nothing more to say. Lin ended the noisy communication, turned around, and said to the bewildered girl with dyed streaks in her hair, "We might have to stay for a few days. Let's find a place to stay first."

"O-okay."

Halfway there, Soul couldn't help but glance at Lin's expression, but all she could see was his mask and sunglasses, which were so tightly covered that his appearance seemed icy cold from every angle.

When he had the follow-up personnel take away the two bodies and clean the room, he stared at a photograph for a long time before waving his hand and throwing it away.

Lin appeared cold and ruthless, decisive in his actions, and never hesitated to pull the trigger, yet he stayed with that child until he had no choice but to end his life.

With what kind of feelings did he say those words?

"What are you thinking about?"

Lin, who was constantly observing their surroundings, easily noticed Soul's distraction. He asked while looking for a hotel.

Soul was startled, but Lin's gaze had already moved away from her face, making her hesitate. In the end, she couldn't ask the question in her heart.

So, she changed the topic to a lighter one, a piece of gossip frequently discussed on the MOTH's internal network: "I'm wondering why Elysia always comes to find Team member Lin. Are you close?"

This was common knowledge; if they weren't close, wouldn't they be seen together every day?

Unexpectedly, Lin pondered for a moment and gave a surprising answer: "I don't know."

"Huh?"

"If you dislike someone, you'd deliberately distance yourself, badmouth them, or reject them. My actions clearly told her, 'I hate you.' But she took that as me… what's the word? Being contrary?" Lin crossed his arms, also confused about his relationship with Elysia.

Lin struggled to find a word to describe it. A flash of insight struck the Soul, and it blurted out, "Tsundere?"

"..."

Lin looked at the Soul with a peculiar gaze. But in a way, the word seemed accurate?

"Anyway, after she subjectively defined my behavior as being contrary..."

"Tsundere."

"Contrary..."

"Tsundere."

"..."

The Soul grinned slyly. It hadn't expected this ice mountain to have a soft spot. Perhaps it was because he had always used his zero-degree demeanor to pressure others, making him poor at verbal arguments. When put on the defensive like this, he wouldn't know what to do. Her reaction is so cute. No wonder that book said teasing the helmet guy is fun.

Lin fell silent for a long time, his tone laced with a hint of melancholy. "Anyway, after she subjectively defined my behavior as tsundere, nothing I did could stop her from approaching me. Now, I don't even know if our relationship is good or bad."

Lin being able to chat with the Soul about such topics helped to lighten her previous sadness. She asked teasingly, "Hmm… Lin, have you ever considered that maybe Miss Elysia likes you?"

"..."

"..."

"Hmm?"

This statement was met with a long silence. It wasn't until they had passed a full intersection that the Soul reacted, turning its head strangely towards the hooded man.

"What's wrong?"