I'm Not a Flame-Chaser

Now Lin is bringing back one lost person after another. He knows that era will never return, and he doesn't miss that era when everyone was powerless, just as Spasi told him that day.

"It must be hard to bear ending your own era with your own hands."

"..."

"Haha, Lin, you'll never change this. You're very rational in your thinking, but you can't escape your emotions."

"..."

"But once we've chosen this path, there's no other way."

The one-armed man raised his head and gazed at the night sky.

"What we are lamenting is not this era, which has little beauty. Everything we have has been lost in this era that pushes people forward. We are just lamenting the non-existent peace and emotions."

"And those things exist in the future, not now."

"Go and see for yourself, Lin."

The Coral's "Reversal": Chapter Forty-Five - Changes on Both Sides

Seven days is neither a long nor a short time, which is enough for Lin and Bronya to find things efficiently. Just as Lin had calculated before, they spent some time each day pretending to be sightseeing, and the rest was enough for them to travel all over the Coral Island.

Today marks the last and most important area of the entire Coral Island.

Star River Ladder.

As the center of Coral Island, it's the reason many tourists come to visit. Visits require a seven-day advance reservation, which is why Lin and Bronya chose it as their last search location.

Unlike before, Lin wore sunglasses and a black suit, while Bronya wore an office lady outfit that didn't quite suit her age and figure, and square-framed glasses without prescription. Surprisingly, however, it didn't look out of place at all.

Sitting on the tour bus with other visitors, the towering, underground-level elevator came into view. From a distance, it just looked like a long stick, but up close, its enormous size and the shadow cast by the sunlight made it resemble a standing giant.

"..."

People around were either marveling at the wonders of artificial technology or silently admiring the grandeur of the rail elevator, while only the two "couples," who were two heads apart in height, were staring at their watches.

For the first time in seven days, the watch showed a fluctuation, which meant that their target was right here.

Having found their destination, they brought their long vacation to a close. They had visited all the residential, financial, and educational areas, and experienced all the famous tourist attractions and sightseeing activities on Coral Island. To outsiders, they were simply young ladies and gentlemen who had come to experience life.

Bronya looked at the signal on her watch, feeling little relief from the return. She said she didn't understand how she felt; it was hard to describe, and she didn't know why, but she just felt a slight tightness in her chest.

Lin Yuan wasn't as cold as he appeared. While he was thoughtful, he was also gentle. Since they spent most of their time playing, they often talked about the past in their free time. Whether it was Bronya becoming an assassin in the army or Lin's unbearable past being eroded by Honkai Sickness, the two expressed their own opinions without refuting each other's views, but they also had different opinions.

They would even talk about lighthearted personal topics, such as Lin's favorite novels and songs, Bronya's desire to invest in stocks and make games.

Unlike when interacting with others, Lin found it easy to get along with Bronya, the youngest of the group, who turned out to be the most mature, and maintained an appropriate distance.

After observing for so many days, Lin's initial image of Bronya has changed quite a bit. Perhaps entrusting Kiana to him isn't such a bad thing.

Maybe...

"Ryan..."

"..."

"Ryan."

Bronya woke up with a start. She looked up and saw that the empty carriage was filled only with Lin, dressed in a suit, standing next to her. She had been looking down and hadn't realized that they had arrived at their destination. Everyone else had gotten off the train, leaving only the two of them.

Ryan is Bronya's disguised identity. Her full name is Natasha Ryan Romanoff. She did not take her husband's surname after marriage, and Lin would call her that when they were out in public.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"No... it's nothing."

Bronya propped herself up and calmly asked Lin, "Shall we go inside for a tour later?"

"Want."

"Okay, let's go."

The two got out of the car. Bronya wanted to put her arm around Lin's arm as before, but this time, she stopped when she reached out. Looking at his palm, she couldn't help but pretend to act naturally like before.

Strangeness...

Jiu leaned against the wall, gazing out the window.

After observing for the past few days, he was certain that Lin hadn't come looking for him. The two men's extensive search wasn't for the Herrscher, but for a specific object.

He didn't know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, but he wouldn't have to escape from Coral Island anymore. According to his observation, Lin should leave today.

... However, this does not mean that he has had a good time these past few days.

Binai's way of thinking is definitely different from that of ordinary humans. These past few days, no matter where Jiu wanted to run away, Binai would find him and bring him back. He would leave while Binai was at work at the Schicksal branch, and after she got off work, he would follow the clues like a detective and come to her. He would either have dinner with her or play some strange things with her, including but not limited to renting out a stadium to play home runs, racing cars in the arcade all night, and running around with Tianwen telescope at night to observe aliens.

He was so exhausted that he lost his temper and simply stopped running. Anyway, he had food to eat every day, so he just stayed here to recover to his best condition before leaving.

"Why is it three yuan more expensive than yesterday? The portion is the same, right?"

Jiu put his hands in his pockets and said to the person in front of him.

"Prices have been rising lately, and it's hard for everyone to make money."

"This isn't the reason you raised prices, is it? If so, I'll go buy it next door."

"The prices next door have gone up too."

"Isn't it all the same no matter where you buy it? I'll go to the one next door."

"Okay, okay, same as yesterday, same as yesterday, alright?"

Jiu walked out of the market carrying a plastic bag of beef. He pulled up his hood expressionlessly and headed home.

It's really easy to understand the psychology of this group of people. Even in areas where there is no shortage of economy, they will still say that it is not easy for them to do business and find all sorts of reasons to cheat unfamiliar people.

On the way, I bought some leftover ingredients and toilet paper. Binai never cooks properly, she's basically always missing something, and she has an enormous appetite. She can eat a month's worth of food in three days, so there's hardly any room in her refrigerator.

After comparing the prices, ingredients, and production regions of the two soy sauces, Jiu frowned and put the more expensive bottle back. These products were clearly from the same OEM factory, yet their prices differed by a full 100%. Were they trying to treat buyers like fools?

Back home, Jiu quickly marinated the beef, and while she was at it, she chopped up the other ingredients and set them aside. Then she fed the cats, changed their water, cleaned up the litter box, and when she saw that it was almost time, she started heating the oil in a pan.

"Oh! Binai! You've made it home safely!"

The door was kicked open, and the girl with long, straight black hair walked into the house with a grin. When she saw Jiu carrying a large pot of boiled beef out of the kitchen, her eyes lit up and she sat down at the table.

"Shall we have beef today?"

"I just want to eat. Do you only come back so punctually when it's time to eat?"

Jiu wasn't waiting for her. If she didn't come back, Jiu would just finish the meal by herself.

It was another meal wolfed down; the way they ate made it seem like they were going to eat the table up with them.

After dinner, Binai sat on the sofa, hugging her pile of stuffed animals and her cat while watching TV. She excitedly patted the seat next to her, gesturing for Jiu to come over.

Jiu sighed and took a step forward...

Stop.

He stared blankly at the step he had taken, then looked up at Binai, who was looking at him expectantly.

Those dark eyes that reflected his features were just like... the eyes of the person he hated the most.

The Coral's "Reversal": Chapter Forty-Six - Old Friends

"I'm off then, little Anna!"

Without waiting for Anna to say anything, the long-haired girl disappeared in a flash.

Seeing this, another member of the Snow Lotus Squad couldn't help but complain, "The Vice-Captain always runs off so quickly after work, leaving the captain to handle everything else himself. It's too much."

Anna sighed, leaning on the table. "I heard she got a new cat and is busy going back to take care of it."

"Just because of that?" The squad member asked incredulously. "It's very rude, but Captain, Vice-Captain Binai does absolutely nothing. Why did you choose her as your Vice-Captain in the first place?"

"Hehe..."

Anna smiled easily upon hearing this.

"The Snow Lotus Squad has been reorganized. Even if you joined later, you should have heard about it from the other members."

"Captain Anna was a former member of the Snow Lotus Squad. The Snow Lotus Squad suffered heavy casualties in the Honkai. You made outstanding contributions in the Manila Honkai, so you were approved to reorganize the Snow Lotus Squad... I've heard of it, but what does that have to do with the Vice-Captain?"

"Back then, it was Binai who helped me rebuild Xue Lian. She handled many things, such as finding suitable team members, team allocation, funding, equipment, etc."

"Ah?"

The team members didn't react for a moment after hearing this.

"That Vice -Vice-Captain Binai made it?"

Anna stretched and smiled, "Surprised? Binai seems unreliable and irresponsible, but she's actually much more capable than me. It's just that she said the captain needs authority, and she also said she wanted to slack off, so she didn't really take charge of the Snow Lotus Squad after it was rebuilt. She only went with me when those two from World Serpent came last time."

The team member was stunned for a moment, then scratched his head. "This is really... unexpected."

"Well, just like she said, there's nothing urgent. Besides being late for work, we can't let her work overtime after work, can we?" Anna stood up. "Alright, let's go."

The two changed their clothes in the dressing room and headed to their rooms. Unlike Binai, they lived directly in the branch.

Anna walked out of the dressing room and looked at the necklace in her hand; a hint of sadness appeared in her bright eyes.

She fled at that time but couldn't save the girl.

Some team members thought Anna was favoring Binai, but in reality, Binai could see Anna's inner turmoil and guilt, which is why she allowed Anna to do more to heal her emotional wounds.

Was it out of a sense of responsibility or guilt that she went back to save people?

Anna took off her beret, stood by the window, sighed, put away the necklace, and touched her arm. "Speaking of which, the weather's been getting colder lately..."

"What we see now is the main structure of the Star River Ladder. It is made of a new type of alloy material. At the bottom, the material is stacked and modified every year to increase its toughness and load-bearing capacity. Meanwhile, the aerospace-like materials built upwards are continuously improved to make them stronger and lighter..."

The tour guide introduced the tourists to the information about the rail elevator, which basically represents the pinnacle of human wisdom and technological progress. Its mere existence is enough to amaze people.

But Lin's focus wasn't on that; he simply followed the group and observed his surroundings based on the signal strength on his watch.

Since Coral Island was only built in the last ten years, it means it couldn't have existed on Coral Island from the beginning. It was either brought there by accident or intentionally by someone...

The most likely place to find it is...

"Alright, you'll have an hour and a half of free time. Please remember not to go near non-tourist areas as we told you before we came. If you have any questions, you can ask the staff. Otherwise, please follow the staff's instructions."

Lin and Bronya exchanged glances.

After the group dispersed, the two of them wandered around like the others and eventually made it into the restroom.

"It's definitely inside the orbital elevator," Lin told Bronya.

"I saw the warehouse on the road; it should be there."

"Let's start now. During non-tourist hours, no one should be allowed to enter or leave the rail elevator. It will be quite difficult to sneak in."

The main section of the rail elevator is the most heavily guarded area. Before entering the entire area belonging to the rail elevator, everyone has already undergone a full body search to prevent accidents. Therefore, in the eyes of others, they do not pose a threat to the rail elevator and do not actually follow them closely.

The area they toured was part of the main area and the entire perimeter. Their target was the warehouse, which was relatively close to the main area but also belonged to the perimeter.

They left the main tourist area pretending to visit other places, and after getting away from the armed guards, they quickened their pace and arrived at the warehouse they had just seen.

Although patrols are less frequent outside of nighttime, an ID card is required to enter the warehouse.

Bronya held up the guard's ID card she had just seen in her hand, inserted it into the slot, and with a click, it unlocked. The two quickly entered.

The warehouse contained many spare parts, and their target was the area with electronic components. The signal source on the instrument was responding with unprecedentedly strong feedback, and the two of them were checking the pile of electronic equipment with great efficiency.

Finally, they located an electronic computer in the "repair area," and Lin tried to start it, but even with power, it wouldn't start.

Bronya stepped forward, squatted down in front of the computer, and placed her hand on its mainframe, the back of her hand emitting a few azure particles.

"Drop--"

The computer screen turned on, and a flood of information rushed into Bronya's mind. She felt a sharp pain in her head and instinctively pulled her hand back.

These are... memories?

Some images entered her mind along with the information, but most of them were messy images filled with blurry gibberish, with only a few that she could barely make out some shapes.

After a system reboot and setup, the screen switched to a blank text window, and a sentence instantly appeared on it:

[Forest?]

Lin had checked that there were no cameras nearby when she came in, so this guy couldn't use his phone or computer camera to observe others like before, and could only guess that the person who came to see him was Lin.