I'm Not a Flame-Chaser

"Ugh... that one is different..."

At the Coral Island airport, a plane from the outside world lands. A hooded man carrying a shoulder bag is accompanied by a gray-haired girl with spiral twin tails.

Coral's "Reversal": Chapter Thirty-Six - The First Herrscher to Starve to Death

Jiu stood on the street, touched her pockets, and gritted her teeth.

No money...

The human body is such a hassle; its structure is full of useless and redundant parts, and its energy cycle is incredibly rudimentary. It's astonishing that it becomes so weak after such a short period of fasting...

On the bustling street, he squatted by the roadside, pondering how to survive in the urban wilderness without money.

At this moment, he strangely recalled the girl who had chased after him, and his heart wavered.

Would it have been better to go home with her back then?

But he quickly abandoned his weak thoughts. He absolutely could not accept being raised by humans. Even if he starved to death, he would rather not become a human's pet.

Jiu swayed as he got up, then suddenly stopped in his tracks.

...Forest?

The vague connection he had with Lin made him realize that Lin had already arrived at Coral Island.

Sure enough, he was looking for him everywhere, and he found him so quickly...

Jiu stood up with a serious expression and walked in the opposite direction from Lin.

"Would you like to eat first?"

Lin, carrying his meager luggage, asked the girl with the icy, spiral-tailed hair.

"Let's get this done first."

The two arrived at Coral Island via the normal route, and due to the influence of Anti-Entropy and Schicksal, they had to try to remain inconspicuous.

"The exact location is still uncertain, no need to rush," Lin said to Bronya, who seemed uninterested in a vacation.

"... How long will it take?"

Lin picked up his phone and glanced at it.

"Let's rest today. Too much activity will get us noticed."

The Valkyrie forces stationed on Coral Island are part of Schicksal's plan. If they are discovered, it could be interpreted as an attack on Schicksal's plan. They did not intend to fight this time and would leave after achieving their objective. However, being too hasty could have the opposite effect.

Moreover, he had originally planned to seek refuge for a while.

"What exactly is going on between Kiana and Seele?" Bronya took out a sun hat and put it on. She was quite conspicuous, so she had planned to disguise herself before coming.

After agreeing to Lin's request, her condition in exchange was that she tell Lin about what had recently happened to Kiana and Seele.

"They..." Lin thought for a moment. He should have told Bronya the truth, but then he thought that she might not be able to accept it right away. So he hesitated for two seconds and said under Bronya's suspicious gaze, "They have been having some physical and mental imbalances lately."

"..."

A clumsy lie.

Although Bronya didn't know Lin well, and Lin didn't even twitch his muscles when he lied, Bronya knew that he was definitely lying.

Because he knew about the two people's situation but was vague and used ambiguous language to fool her.

But it doesn't matter, this trip will give him plenty of time to change his mind.

The two, harboring ulterior motives, left the airport nonchalantly and boarded a bus to their pre-booked hotel.

Coral Island, like Shenzhou Sky City, is a highly developed city. It was started at the border of the two continents by Southeast Asian countries and Australia and is the largest artificial land reclamation project in human history.

Coral Island consists of a main island and three super-large island-based platforms. Its coral-like three-dimensional structure is the origin of Coral Island name. Attracted by favorable policies, numerous multinational companies have settled in, making it one of the economic cores of the Asia-Pacific region. The rich and colorful cultural and entertainment activities in the residential area on the lower island base, the highly developed financial and scientific and educational facilities on the left and right platforms, and the ground-high rail elevator born from the grand aerospace plan of the central platform are all unparalleled features of Coral Island.

"Is that the Star River Ladder...?"

Bronya leaned against the window, gazing at the elevator that stretched straight into the sky, as if it supported the weight of heaven and earth, or as if it were a bridge connecting the two.

"In 2008, the United Nations proposed a groundbreaking project to explore outer space. The plan is to use a space elevator that connects directly to low Earth orbit to continuously transport personnel and supplies and establish an extraterrestrial space station. This is an important step for mankind to explore the universe." Lin picked up a brochure from the tour bus, which contained a detailed introduction to Coral Island. "Currently, the tower is 1,300 meters high and is scheduled to be completed in 2025. The Star River Ladder will become an important chapter in the history of human civilization."

Human beings, with their creativity and desire to explore, are always moving forward. Even highly technologically advanced Previous Civilization never thought of exploring the universe in this way.

However, they came up with another idea.

Lin Linglie's gaze softened slightly.

After listening to the explanation, Bronya turned around and asked seriously, "So, will new types be born among humans in the future?"

"... Perhaps, after humanity is able to freely explore the universe."

"You actually know what that means?" Bronya was very surprised.

"In my time, there were also scholars who wanted to evolve humanity. She wanted humanity to completely break free from its dependence on drugs. However, unlike Newtype, the humans she envisioned were artificially created beings whose physical abilities were pushed to the limit."

Bronya frowned. "So, that's how things turned out like the Class President..."

"No, that's different."

The man's tone was slightly harsh when he retorted. After noticing his own unease, he adjusted his tone and explained in a calm voice, "She had high hopes for humanity, unlike those forced to conduct fusion experiments on humans."

The scenery outside the window flashed by. Thanks to the massive vertical transportation hub of Coral Island, which is like a capillary network, the traffic efficiency is extremely high. Vehicles constantly pass by the bus and head towards different areas.

Lin's reflection was blurry on the glass. He said softly to Bronya, who was surprised by his sudden change in attitude, "In any case, fusing with Honkai Beast is tragic. She took this into consideration, which is why she kept improving the Hypervariable Surgery afterward."

They continuously create monsters identical to the enemy, and in the end, only monsters fighting each other will remain. Those who survive will not be human, but merely another product of the Honkai.

"Who is this 'she' you're talking about?"

Bronya became extremely interested in the past events Lin mentioned. She only knew that the Previous Civilization had given birth to terrifying Flame-Chaser like Kevin and Fu Hua, and thought that the Previous Civilization was just a carnival for some crazy scientists. But now it seemed that it was not so simple.

But this time, Lin did not answer her.

He stared coldly out the window, like a frozen block of ice.

"It's reached its limit..."

Jiu clutched his stomach and slowly collapsed to the ground. He didn't even have the strength to clench his fists. His injuries were still throbbing. This was the first time since birth that he had experienced such powerlessness, and he was at his wit's end.

Die?

This absurd idea popped into Jiu's mind.

This isn't the first time he's died.

However, being starved to death is such a bizarre way to die.

With a rumbling in her stomach, Jiu reluctantly closed her eyes.

Coral's "Reversal": Chapter Thirty-Seven - The Herrscher is not human, and humans are not human.

The hooded man walked up to the counter and handed over a black card.

"I booked a room beforehand, the identification code is 5XX..."

"Um... okay, Mr. Agitana and Ms. Ryan, your room numbers are 1007 and 1008. Welcome to Coral Island, and have a pleasant trip."

After confirming his identity, the clerk pushed two room cards in front of the man. He silently took them and then walked towards the elevator with the petite girl behind him.

"I thought it would be a more modest hotel." Bronya took the room key while adjusting her spiral pigtails as she stepped into the elevator. She glanced at the opulent decorations, even in the elevator, and said in a flat tone, "Was this a high-end hotel chosen to match the fabricated identity of a wealthy woman?"

Their identities were fabricated by Bronya as a newlywed couple from Western Europe vacationing on Coral Island, but the itinerary was arranged by Lin.

Lin was number 1007 and Bronya was number 1008. After entering the room, the two immediately searched the room inside and out like secret agents, and only after confirming that there were no problems did they meet in Lin's room.

"Start the search tomorrow, beginning with the first island base. Try not to split up and arouse suspicion. The search will last a maximum of seven days."

"Is there no way to pinpoint the exact location? This is too inefficient," Bronya asked.

"The general area of the signal source is Coral Island. With the instruments Tesla provided, we should be able to locate it once we get close." Lin Cong his bag and handed it to Bronya.

"Learn."

Despite being a newlywed couple's honeymoon, their cold conversation and the way they went back to their respective rooms after speaking showed no sweetness whatsoever. This was probably the most obvious sign that something was amiss with their disguised identities.

After several painful lessons, Lin had to carefully control his distance from the opposite sex to prevent the tragedy from happening again.

However, this was his personal request, so strictly speaking, it was indeed a vacation. As long as he kept a close eye on the movements of Schicksal, there was no need to worry about any accidents.

Let's hope so.

Lin gazed at the elevator that seemed to reach straight into the sky, sighed, and drew the curtains.

"Hmm..."

He twitched on the cold ground and woke up in the pale moonlight. He had just woken up when he was startled by the presence of Lin so close to him. He looked up abruptly and saw that the curtains of a room on a high floor were drawn.

Passing each other by?

Jiu struggled to his feet, leaning against the wall. He was panting heavily, his breath coming in short gasps, and his mouth was dry as he struggled to walk outside.

The enemy was right in front of him, yet he didn't even have the strength to grip the knife...

"Hmm?"

The blinding light in the darkness fell on Jiu's pale face, causing him to involuntarily squint. Then, a slightly familiar voice rang out. "Little kitty?"

"..."

Jiu's feelings were complicated.

Upon hearing this sound, his first reaction was relief, knowing he was safe and sound. But this was quickly followed by disgust at the former mindset; how could he feel at ease because of human charity?

The girl with long black hair stood not far away. When she saw Jiu swaying precariously, she walked over and hugged him without thinking. "Have you been unable to find anything to eat in the garbage dump these past two days?"

"..."

Jiu didn't have the energy to criticize her choice of words; he could only glare at her fiercely.

Anyone else would have been intimidated by Kyu's gaze, Binai smiled happily and patted his head, as if she had seen a little animal being affectionate with her. Kyu lowered his head helplessly.

This strange human...

Jiu had seen many women's private rooms in Lin's memory, some simple and disciplined, others strange and quirky, but none of them could compare to the messy room in front of her.

Cat.

There are cats everywhere.

There are cat-shaped doormats at the entrance, cat-shaped tables, cat-shaped lamps, cat-shaped beds, cat-patterned bedding, and cat-patterned walls.

More importantly...

"Meow..."

"Meow, meow, meow, meow..."

At least twenty cats of different colors roamed around the room, passing by Jiu, rubbing against his body with their soft fur, tumbling up and down in the cat tree that someone had prepared, and squatting on the table staring at Jiu with their vertical pupils.

For the first time, Jiu felt fear towards a creature that posed no threat.

Is this woman a cat reincarnated? Why does she adopt so many cats?

While he was filled with doubt, Binai walked in humming a song he couldn't understand, carrying a bowl of rice, and placed it in front of Kyu.

"Eat up, little kitty."

"..."

Jiu stared at the white rice porridge sprinkled with seaweed in front of her, then looked down to see her cat food bowl, which had "Sera" written on it.

A pure white Ragdoll cat next to him meowed.

So you're Sera...

Jiu raised his head again, looking at Binai with a deep and expectant gaze.

"What's wrong? Aren't you going to eat?" Binai scratched his head. "Do you want cat food?"

"..."

Don't you even have a spoon?

Unable to even sigh, Jiu could only lower his head and open his mouth to eat the tasteless rice grains. Fortunately, he didn't care about the taste, and in his ravenous state, he quickly licked the rice in the bowl clean.