I'm Not a Flame-Chaser - Chapter 608

"... It's impossible for a person to know everything in the world. Cicadas come to the surface when summer arrives and die a month later. All they see in their lives is the darkness underground and that one month of the world above ground." Lin put the gun into his sleeve. Today, he wasn't in a hurry to leave. Instead, he leaned against the wall and spoke calmly to the exhausted Kiana. "Didn't you know about Shencheng Pharmaceuticals before this?"

"But you seem to know me very well." Kiana turned her head and looked at the mask under the hood. Her understanding of Lin was condensed in that mask, but she knew very well that it was just a mask made specifically for her, a "face" he had created.

"I don't know you," Lin replied quickly. "I know nothing about your past, your relationships, or your ideals and aspirations. All I know is that you are Kiana Kaslana."

"... Isn't she the Herrscher of the Void?"

"Do you consider yourself the Herrscher of the Void, or Kiana Kaslana?"

Kiana certainly believes she is Kiana, but what she recalls is being told that she is merely a clone of the real Kiana.

She is not the real Kiana, but she is indeed the Herrscher of the Void.

Lin observed her expression and demeanor, and after she fell silent, he gently shook his head.

"But I know something must have happened to you."

Lin Danran's words made Kiana raise her head, and then her lips trembled slightly.

The man's iridescent pupils lingered indifferently on the girl's cheek, uttering the cruelest truth for her.

"It is no coincidence that you were able to maintain your human consciousness. Someone awakened your human heart, with... their own life."

"..."

This man always believed that humanity could create miracles.

Because he was a witness and a participant.

The girl's eyes, filled with the darkness of Lu's heart, had already answered everything. He stood up and slowly walked away from the other side of the umbrella.

"The dead cannot speak; what you hear is merely your imagination."

Kiana listened to the words carried on the cold night wind, clenched her fists, stood up, and said to the figure disappearing into the darkness, word by word. "That's not my fantasy, and you don't understand at all."

"..."

No one answered; only the howling cold wind mocked.

The Journey Begins in the Sky: Chapter Seventeen - No Overtime Pay

"Bang!"

A punch landed squarely on her vulnerable neck. Even with the chains protecting her, Kiana was overwhelmed by the feeling of suffocation and coughed up two mouthfuls of saliva while leaning against the wall.

"... That's all for today." Lin put down his hand, didn't even glance at the silver-haired girl, and turned to leave.

"Wait a moment!"

"..."

Kiana took a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart.

The silhouette of the person before me flickered in the shadows and lamplight, like a flame that might be extinguished at any moment.

She thought of his cold remarks from the day before yesterday, and then of his severely injured and unconscious state. A strange mix of emotions welled up inside her. "You investigate Shencheng Pharmaceuticals every day, right?"

"..."

Annoying silence.

Even though Kiana was often criticized at school, she was actually very sharp-minded. After several days of observation, she could easily notice the gradually changing atmosphere in Sky City, the man's strange behavior, and the wounds on his body when he came to train her.

She couldn't help but wonder if he was a normal human being. Didn't he need to rest?

But it turns out he is also human. In the last two days, she could clearly feel that Lin's movements were much slower than before, and he chose to take some attacks that he could have easily dodged.

Even after the battle, she could feel the deep weariness emanating from Lin.

Beneath that mask, is there a face that is utterly exhausted?

She didn't know why Lin had gotten involved, but his choice to fight against Shencheng Pharmaceuticals was enough for her.

"I'll go with you. Even if I can't use Honkai Energy right now, having another person to help you will surely reduce the pressure a lot, right?"

The man's figure swayed in the shadows, his breathing even, rising and falling quietly with the neon sign above his head.

After a long time, he walked into the unseen darkness without looking back.

"I don't need a Herrscher's help."

"Kiana, it's time to go back."

Fu Hua reminded Kiana, who was still standing silently in the alley.

"... Class President, he really is strange, isn't he?"

"You've said this many times already, so I don't find it strange." The girl with pink and white gradient hair shook her head. "Those who follow their own path always walk the path they believe is right. The shooting stars we see fall from the sky; their mission is to burn themselves as they streak across the sky, illuminating the night even if only for a moment. And they never surprise me."

Have you met many people like that?

"Most of them were buried before dawn."

Too many people walk through this darkness and never emerge from it.

Upon hearing Fu Hua's words, Kiana looked up, unsure of what expression to make, and gazed at the moon, which hung coldly in the sky, silently watching over the world.

Class President, are you that kind of person too?

Kiana occasionally dreams of fragmented conversations and images that don't belong to her, and in these dreams, someone refers to her as "Hua".

Kiana could never truly understand her Class President, who lived with her at the academy, obeyed Otto's orders, yet betrayed Otto again and went with her. Just as she couldn't understand that man, they shared a similar aura.

"No, I really can't do nothing."

Kiana raised her head with a determined look and followed the direction Lin had left in.

Even as a Herrscher, she is Kiana Kaslana.

Neither she nor Fu Hua noticed that the golden light that occupied her right eye was now faintly shimmering with pure azure.

Even the Raven, after these few days of high-intensity work filled with anxiety, began to feel somewhat weary.

That man was like an unkillable cockroach, always popping out at some point during the day and making a mess of everything, then disappearing without a trace, only to repeat the same trick the next day. No matter how many people tried to stop him, they couldn't. He was completely guerrilla warfare oriented. Even if the Raven tried to lure him in with different methods every day, they couldn't succeed. Every time they clashed, he would escape before the encirclement could be formed, within minutes.

The Jackal flew into a rage, so furious that Raven's mind was almost filled with her hysterical roars.

This was the first time Raven had felt that someone was operating in the shadows, and in this respect, they were even more astute than she was.

In addition, to ensure the smooth progress of the experiment, the Schicksal was also testing them. She and the Jackal had to temporarily suspend the experiment to prevent it from being discovered before the crucial stage, and she had to deal with the troublesome maid.

Fortunately, Jackal told her that the final experiment could begin in a week at most. By then, their work in Sky City would be finished, and she could have a short vacation and a good salary, and also wipe out those Schicksal Valkyrie of Destiny.

As for that man...

"Boom!"

Here we go again!

Raven, who had been waiting in the shadows, perked up. Her wine-red snake eyes, hidden in the darkness, pierced the silence of the night as she silently looked toward the area where the explosion had occurred.

After several days of unsuccessful attempts, she finally got him to take the bait.

A black shadow moved with incredible speed, weaving through the heavily guarded patrols. The shadow was already blurry in the Raven's eyes, let alone the ordinary guards. They only saw a blur before their eyes, and then the scene they saw was no different from before.

She moved like a supple serpent, silently gliding down in the direction the shadow was moving. As the shadow rushed past her like a gust of wind, her cloak, like raven feathers, billowed behind her, transforming into another shadow that collided head-on with the shadow!

"Bass!"

Sharp raven feathers scattered and pierced the nearby steel at the moment of impact. The two men were lifted off the ground and landed in the shadows. They did not launch another attack and both disappeared into the boundless darkness.

No one could see what was happening; only the occasional sparks from the constant clashes of weapons ignited the air, and the piercing metallic clang echoed around. After another round of fighting, the world seemed to fall silent as if it had been put to a halt.

Raven leaned against the wall, a smirk playing on his lips, and said to the air with amusement, "Your skills are exceptional, and even the Jackal speaks highly of you. It would be a shame to kill you. I have a suggestion: if you join us, we will forgive and forget your past actions, and with your abilities, you'll likely rise to the same position as me very quickly. What do you say? Think about it."

"... Do you have a habit of inviting enemies you'd fight to the death to join you?"

The man's hoarse voice came from all directions, making it impossible to tell where he was.

"I just think it's a pity, and this way I'll have one less job, and maybe I could even get a hefty bonus." Raven, unable to confirm its location through the conversation, changed its expression slightly. "There are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests, aren't there?"

"Are you a mercenary?"

The other party deduced her identity from her few words, after all, her tone revealed that she did not have much respect for her organization and acted solely out of self-interest.

"I'm curious, what are you? A chivalrous hero who stands up for justice when injustice is seen? Then you've chosen the wrong side."

"..."

However, there was no response; it was as quiet as if no one had ever been there.

"Report: No intruders caught!"

After hearing the report through her earpiece, Raven breathed a sigh of relief, clutched her bleeding right shoulder, and slowly sat down on the ground, blood trickling down her black bodysuit.

Is he just here to cause trouble again...? What a troublesome guy.

"Report: There are signs that Valkyrie, possibly from Schicksal, has infiltrated the industrial area."

"..."

She shook her head, stood up, and casually took out a band-aid and put it on her shoulder.

It seems the work for tonight isn't over yet.

Not getting overtime pay is terrible.

The Journey Begins in the Sky: Chapter Eighteen - Actions of All Parties

The man stands like a scarecrow in a wheat field called the city.

After reviewing the information he had received that evening, he put away his phone and sat on the edge of the rooftop to rest for a while.

It is now confirmed that World Serpent is planning to conduct a Stigmata experiment in this city. In addition to activating the Stigmata with the vaccines they have distributed, they also plan to release a large amount of Honkai Energy into the city to stimulate the hidden Stigmata fragments so that they can be fully expressed.

But what do they plan to do? The Honkai Energy needed to create Honkai disaster that covers the entire city in an instant is not small. He searched the industrial zone and Sky City but could not find any material containing a large amount of Honkai Energy.

Ultimately, will it still be necessary to invade the central industrial area? But it's foreseeable that an ambush will be set up there waiting for him...

Just as Lin was considering how to find the key to the World Serpent Project, he noticed a silvery-white light flashing past in the corner of his vision.

What does she want to do?

Lin frowned. He hadn't expected Kiana to still have the energy to move after training. Had he gone too far in the past two days? The effects of that mysterious gas hadn't completely disappeared yet, which was why he had only engaged in brief battles with Raven recently and never fought a protracted war. He was always on guard against inhaling the gas that would deactivate Honkai Energy again.

He took out the communicator, intending to contact Kiana, but stopped when his hand was on the intercom button. His deep black eyes stared quietly at the communicator in his hand, then he looked up at the silver-haired girl who was nimbly sneaking into the industrial area. After thinking for a while, he put the walkie-talkie away.

The indicator lights in the industrial zone flashed out in a regular pattern. Shencheng Pharmaceuticals's largest industrial zone was built here. It was claimed to be a factory specifically for pharmaceutical manufacturing, but after recent rumors spread, it was also considered to be a crazy laboratory used for human experiments.

The green and black outfit concealed itself in the night, while the eyes beneath the gray-gold short hair were like aged red wine, exuding an intoxicating aroma.

Based on several days of investigation and probing with Shencheng Pharmaceuticals, she was certain that Shencheng Pharmaceuticals had a very deep connection with the World Serpent that Gray Serpent had mentioned, and that they were carrying out some unknown plans.

She took the syringe she found at the scene and handed it to her subordinate, Alvitr, in the Eos she had brought from Schicksal. After testing it, she discovered that its components were slightly different from the Schicksal vaccine that Honkai had supplied to Shencheng Pharmaceuticals. However, unlike the rumored drug that could cause death, it could significantly enhance the human body's resistance to Honkai Energy.

This result left her somewhat puzzled about Shencheng Pharmaceuticals' thinking, but she didn't directly confront them with the syringe. They could simply say that they had developed a more effective drug using the Honkai Energy Vaccine, which would make Rita even more helpless and also put the other party on guard.

Ultimately, she temporarily abandoned the investigation into K-423. As things stand, Shencheng Pharmaceuticals is likely trying to use the people of Sky City to complete a terrible plan, or even cause a disaster. So she decided to use a simple, but also the most efficient, method to investigate what Shencheng Pharmaceuticals was up to.

Rita's other eye, hidden beneath her bangs, gleamed faintly as she manipulated the Shadow Iron Hounds, which matched her armor, to clear away any unnecessary and troublesome obstacles.

"Heh... Miss Xiola, I hope you're speaking the truth from the bottom of your heart, rather than a disappointing lie." She pulled an ID card from a gap in her leg armor and walked unimpeded past the wreckage of the patrol robots destroyed by her mechanical hounds to the gate.

"Whoosh."

"Beep—Buzz!"

"Um?"

After the ID card was inserted into the electronic lock, the mechanical door did not open. Instead, it issued a red error alarm, which made Rita pause for a second. Then, the partition wall behind her suddenly collapsed, blocking her way out.

"Click!"

The partition wall made a locking sound, and she frowned as a huge projection appeared behind her.

"Hi, Miss Rita, unfortunately, we recently changed to a new set of authentication locks for some reason and added some new gadgets. The old ID cards can only be chains to enter the cage, not keys to the truth."

Rita, holding a green and black mechanical scythe, slowly turned around and looked at Xiola, the head of Shencheng Pharmaceuticals who had been playing tai chi with her for the past few days, as shown in the projection.

In the blurry projection, the Raven was half-hidden in the shadows, its lips above the prominent beauty mark under its hood smiling playfully, its deep, serpentine eyes watching its prey that had walked right into its trap.

"The Blade of Immortality, prepare to converge!"