I'm Not a Flame-Chaser - Chapter 605

Fu Hua, who had just emerged from Kiana's body, looked up at the clear moon, then stared blankly at the two of them.

As the black-haired man turned his head, a warm, sweet aroma, tinged with the saltiness of Zongzi, was imprinted on his lips.

"Um..."

The girl's unique fragrance lingered between her lips and teeth, her soft little tongue stirring among the sticky glutinous rice, entwining with the man's tongue, drawing warmth from it.

Her long eyelashes trembled shyly over her closed eyes, and her silver hair danced lightly in the wind.

In the ambiguous moonlight, the girl opened her eyes as her lips parted, her starry eyes gazing at the slightly bewildered man, before shyly closing them again.

"Lin, when a girl closes her eyes, it means she wants you..."

The moon, white and enchanting, seemed to chuckle softly in the boundless night, ceasing its advance and stopping there.

The Journey Begins in the Sky: Chapter Ten - Feint to the East, Attack in the West

Quietness is often the dominant theme of the entire night.

Lin stood on the high platform and quickly scanned the mecha patrols in Sky City.

He easily figured out the patrol pattern, allowing him to move freely between buildings.

In fact, some of the mech patrol members were infiltrated by Shencheng Pharmaceuticals. It can be said that Shencheng Pharmaceuticals had real-time control over everything in the city, from defense forces to public opinion. However, the patrol members did not realize that there were some members among them whose missions were different from their own.

Aside from the frequent Honkai disaster, the rumors that have been escalating since yesterday have stirred up the entire city. Night patrols have been intensified, and there have been occasional reports of residents trying to leave Sky City at night. This has left the patrols struggling to cope, as the orders from higher command are that residents should not be allowed to leave the city at will during this critical period.

The rumors were obviously spread by Lin. The people at Shencheng Pharmaceuticals probably didn't expect that the first batch of rumors was actually sent out using their internal account. This prevented them from finding the source of the rumors immediately. Lin himself was wandering around the city, deliberately stirring up trouble in areas with high foot traffic where information could easily spread.

This situation would lead to one outcome: Schicksal would intervene in the investigation, and World Serpent would likely want Schicksal to focus its attention on Kiana, creating a check and balance between the two.

However, Lin recently prevented Kiana from continuing to appear at the disaster site, creating the illusion for Schicksal and World Serpent that she might have left or gone into hiding. Meanwhile, he continued to attack the industrial area of Shencheng Pharmaceuticals, trying to divert World Serpent's attention to him. Schicksal, who was not interested in Lin, would turn around and investigate Shencheng Pharmaceuticals after failing to find Kiana immediately.

This would allow the two organizations to scheme against each other and keep each other in check, giving him the opportunity to delve into the deepest recesses of Shencheng Pharmaceuticals and uncover their hidden secrets.

Lin flipped through the photos on his phone, many of which were pictures he had taken of the Honkai zombie at the disaster site. Some of these Honkai zombie had "Stigmata" on their bodies.

Knowing the true nature of the "Stigmata Project," Lin naturally understood what it meant. The World Serpent's true purpose was probably to use Sky City as a training or experiment to awaken the Stigmata in the tens of millions of people in the city. Those who were suitable would gain powerful strength to fight against Honkai, while those who were not would be transformed into Honkai creature.

To achieve the goal, a large number of test subjects, a sufficiently spacious experimental site, and... terrifying Honkai Energy are needed.

The so-called Honkai Energy leak was just an excuse; it was the result of a small-scale experiment. Next, they planned to expand the entire experimental site to the entire Sky City.

Lin put away his phone. The emptiness he felt after transferring Honkai Energy into Kiana's body still lingered in his body. The Prismatic Eyes in his right eye had dimmed considerably compared to the beginning. Without the Herrscher Core, all that remained in his body were some remnants similar to muscle reactions. Excessive consumption in the Quantum Sea, coupled with the frequent use during this period, would probably disappear completely before long.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Ms. Xiola. Schicksal will continue to cooperate with Shencheng Pharmaceuticals. May we work together to safeguard the future of humanity."

"Hehe... Miss Rita, I'm really looking forward to it too. Speaking of which, there's been a mysterious lone wolf wandering around disaster sites lately, saving quite a few people. Could he be one of your Schicksal's people?"

"A lone wolf... I hope that kind of hero really exists."

The maid with short, gray-gold hair walked out of the gates of Shencheng Pharmaceuticals. She smiled and narrowed her wine-red eyes, glancing meaningfully behind her. After walking a distance, she entered a secluded alley and took out her communicator.

"There's still plenty of time before we can filter out the information we need. Hmm... We'll probably need to use Gray Serpent's intelligence network later. Before that, let me see what's really going on with the recent rumors about Shencheng Pharmaceuticals."

She sent the medical records she obtained from Shencheng Pharmaceuticals to the Schicksal Headquarters for screening, while she was investigating another matter.

Shencheng Pharmaceuticals mentioned "Lone Ranger," and the astute maid realized it was likely related to K-423. However, at this crucial moment, the fact that Xiola "inadvertently" mentioned K-423 was quite intriguing. Considering the recent rumors surrounding Shencheng Pharmaceuticals and Schicksal in Sky City, it seemed that the city and the medical institution were not as simple as she thought.

After connecting the clues in her mind, she went to the secret outpost of the intelligence black market dealer in the city she had killed before, where Sky City had the largest intelligence network.

But would someone with such a vast intelligence network really be killed so easily...?

Suddenly, Rita turned around and looked at one of the tall buildings.

... Was it just her imagination? She had the feeling that someone was staring at her from behind.

Rita frowned when she saw no one. She recalled Xiola's meaningful laughter and quickened her pace.

On the other side, the gray-haired woman wearing a hood watched Rita's departing figure on the surveillance screen and gave a disdainful sneer. But then, a message came to her, making her frown as well.

"Another attack?"

The man she briefly encountered in the industrial zone's archives left a deep impression on her. Even though it was only for a fleeting moment, the chilling aura he exuded made her realize that the person in front of her was like her.

Hiding in the shadows, ready to deliver a fatal blow to others at any moment.

But, at the moment of their exchange, a strange, unsettling feeling rose within her.

A feeling of... having seen that man somewhere before.

She quickly dispelled the eerie feeling in her heart, grabbed her weapon, and immediately headed to the area that had been attacked. The repeated attacks had proven that ordinary guards were simply no match for that man.

However, this time he was discovered as soon as he attacked. The previous times, he had to infiltrate the facility and destroy the internal communications before they found him.

"Wrong..."

She realized that she had just used this method on Rita.

The crimson snake eyes silently emitted a chilling light in the dark night. "Everyone, beware in the central industrial area, rats have entered."

"Tick-tock".

The surveillance footage blurred for a moment, then returned to normal, and no one noticed this inconspicuous little detail.

Lin Cong the jammer attached. He hid in the shadows, like a shadow blending into the darkness, coldly watching the people patrolling the floors in front of him.

He was in... Shencheng Pharmaceuticals's corporate building inside Sky City.

The Journey Begins in the Sky: Chapter Eleven -Valkyrie Hunter

Shencheng Pharmaceuticals' official headquarters is located in the urban area of Sky City, which is considered its main base by outsiders.

Of course, this couldn't be their main base, and Lin was well aware that they wouldn't find their core plans here, but that didn't mean there was nothing here.

After drawing most of his forces to the industrial area, Lin quietly infiltrated the building and treated them to his own equipment.

Now, Schicksal will follow the "clues" Lin specially left for them and deal with Shencheng Pharmaceuticals, while Shencheng Pharmaceuticals will be boxing with a non-existent ghost in the industrial zone, enough for Lin to find useful information.

He hid in the blind spot of the patrol robot's monitor, observing the movement of troops around him.

Since Shencheng Pharmaceuticals publicly claims to be a medical company, its security equipment is unlikely to be heavily armed, which made his infiltration very smooth. He quickly arrived at the suspected database and used the ID card he had just looted to open the door.

The archive room didn't contain many physical documents, so it didn't seem like it would take much time. To be efficient, Lin turned on all the machines, searched for the documents he wanted, and then downloaded them to the storage.

During this time, he briefly reviewed his recent medical records and found that Shencheng Pharmaceuticals frequently supplied Honkai Energy vaccines to disaster areas, which made no logical difference. However, this reminded Lin of the Stigmata on the bodies of the Honkai zombie.

Stigmata are expressions of genetic fragments left to humanity by Previous Civilization, and these vaccines are likely designed to activate the latent Stigmata fragments within the human body, allowing them to be fully expressed. However, those who fail will either die or become Honkai zombie.

This is just a small-scale experiment. Their ultimate goal is to have everyone in Sky City activate their Stigmata under the baptism of Honkai. The delivery records of these vaccines are probably to control the dosage and try to find the most appropriate ratio and the highest success rate to activate them. Then, they will use Honkai Energy to stimulate the human body and finally fully express the Stigmata.

However, even with the highest success rate, very few people would likely survive without turning into monsters.

"Beep----"

Suddenly, Lin, who was piecing together the clues, heard an alarm from the terminal. He looked up and saw that the download progress on all the screens had stopped at the same time!

"Thump!"

The door behind him slammed shut, imprisoning him in the small room.

"Hehe... What an unexpected bonus! Let me see, a little mouse tried to fool the hunter's sense of smell, thinking it was clever, and walked into the mousetrap."

A mature female voice rang out from nearby, and at the same time, all the screens flashed, revealing a woman wearing Jackal mask and a white top.

"..."

Lin stared at her expressionlessly through the screen, but the Prismatic Eyes in his right eye elicited a surprised "Eh!" from her.

"Interesting...but unfortunately, both you and the Herrscher of the Void are short-sighted beings who want to stop this grand plan but have no idea what they are doing."

"... I know that I am saving the lives of people in a city."

Lin spoke, his hoarse voice completely distorted through the mask, and as he spoke, he was also quickly thinking of a way to escape.

"Save? Heh, you're just burying all of humanity on this planet." The woman sneered at his shortsightedness, tapping her fingers lightly on her mask. Looking at the man who was also wearing a mask, a smile appeared on her lips. "The suffering of one city is nothing more than the catalyst in a good medicine compared to the suffering of all humanity. And healing this suffering is what I should do."

"... Placing different numbers of lives on opposite ends of a scale will only result in balance, not in measuring value by weight."

Lin drew his pistol and indifferently pointed it at the screen and the woman on it.

Kevin, is this what you think?

On the day the Fifth Branch collapsed, you stood before Doctor Spacy's wife, Honkai zombie, and didn't choose to shoot her. Perhaps you regretted it then.

To make up for that regret, you have now become the Mei Schicksal.

But is it really you who pulls the trigger?

"Bang!"

The bullet pierced the screen where the grinning woman was located, and a bright red alarm sounded in the room. Lin coldly put away his gun and walked to the door, trying to open the locked door with his ID card, but it was clear that Shencheng Pharmaceuticals was in a completely closed special state at this moment, and the ID card was directly locked.

Lin took a deep breath, broke the ID card in half, and then took out the longsword he had previously scavenged from the industrial area, preparing to force his way out of the wall.

But...

"Boom!"

His feet suddenly felt light, and he instantly lost his footing. Gravity grabbed his ankles and dragged him downwards.

The entire room floor collapsed, and the door in front of me was now more than ten meters away in the blink of an eye.

Lin's pupils contracted, and he thrust his sword into the wall to slow his descent, but the smooth, broken wall offered him no foothold, and he could only watch himself continue to fall into the deepest part.

"Thump!"

As the ground rushed toward him, Lin kicked off the wall, then landed on the ground in a bracing position, rolled a few times to cushion the impact, and finally slowly stood up by supporting himself on the ground.

"Little thief, the price for your rampage in the industrial zone will be paid by the data calculated from your life. How about it? I'm also particularly curious whether someone who Raven couldn't catch can perform to my satisfaction in front of the Valkyrie Hunter that I carefully crafted for the Valkyrie of Schicksal."

The voice of the woman wearing Jackal mask came from all directions. As Lin's body slowly straightened, the lights above his head began to light up one by one. In his indifferent gaze, orange-yellow liquid began to flow out from the huge pillar not far away, and a strange monster revealed itself.

Among the Honkai Beast, there are many that have human characteristics, but the monster in front of us, even someone who knows nothing about it, can tell that it is a product of human creation.

She... or rather, its main body still resembled a human, but four enormous black mechanical arms were attached to its waist. Its head had been modified with electronic compound eyes, flashing red light, making it look like a terrifyingly magnified version of the Black Widow.

The specially designed transparent cylinder began to shatter, and the monster's compound eyes, awakened from the stabilizer, began to light up one by one. Its scarlet electronic eyes, however, moved like real eyeballs, locking onto the hooded man not far away. Its modified brain was given a single command—

Annihilate the enemy before us.

"Bang!"

"Boom!"

A monster created by humans themselves came before Lin.

P. S.: The keyboard is fixed, the bounty is over. I have enough for a month of daily updates. Thank you all for your support!

The Journey Begins in the Sky: Chapter Twelve - The Shadow of Heroes

It seems that the hooded woman I fought last time and the woman wearing the Jackal mask this time are both executives of World Serpent. They are responsible for different aspects of World Serpent. The hooded woman is in charge of combat, while the Jackal is in charge of technology.

This deformed, modified creature in front of us is probably her doing.

"Many people come to me seeking a cure for their incurable diseases. In their eyes, the only miracle that can cure a disease with only ten or fewer cases worldwide is that I can do it."

"And I gave them what they wanted. The only price they had to pay was to help me heal the only pain that humanity Honkai: the Honkai."

As the words fell, the deformed creature with four mechanical legs and two human bodies walked swiftly around the wall as if it were flat ground, like a spider spitting out its fangs at a spider caught in its web, choosing the right distance and angle to swallow the weak human in front of it.

But the terrified look the Jackal had imagined for the petty thief didn't appear. Perhaps the mask was hiding his true fear, making him too scared to move? Or perhaps... he was simply standing there, coldly watching the monster crawling on the wall.

Strangeness...

The Jackal stared at the man in the image, who was completely covered up, focusing only on his unique Prismatic Eyes. He slowly frowned, a strange feeling creeping over him.

It was as if she had met the supreme and great man she had seen when she was in a meeting with the Venerable Lord.

Even from a distance of thousands of meters away, separated by a screen, the deep chill in his eyes seemed to pierce through time and space, freezing his soul.

No, why would she think that? Of all the beings left over from the previous era, only the Venerable Lord One should remain now.

"Squeak—"

Amidst the clanking of mechanical components, the Valkyrie Hunter appeared behind the hooded man, raised its forelimbs, and assumed a predatory stance towards the unsuspecting man!

"Boom!"

The enormous body descended from the sky, its speed and power, comparable to that of Honkai Beast, now dedicated to hunting down humans who should be its own kind. As the Hunter leaped toward his back, an even colder chill froze in the depths of Lin's eyes.

"Bass!"

Without turning back, it simply bent down and retreated. The speed was not fast, and the movements were not as dazzling as those of the Raven that the Jackal had seen. However, the Valkyrie Hunter's forelimbs missed completely, as if the image of the man standing in the same spot was still lingering in its processor!