I'm Not a Flame-Chaser

Lin paused for a moment, but did not reply.

The Herrscher of the Void behind him saw his pause and grinned maliciously.

Let's take it one step at a time. This man is too cautious; it won't be easy to fool him.

"It's here."

Mei revealed her Herrscher form, wary of the Herrscher of Erosion and Lin not far away. She already knew how dangerous the Herrscher of Erosion was. In the Previous Civilization, Lin used Rin's power to kill millions of people all at once. If Lin hadn't not intended to kill, the Herrscher of Erosion would definitely have the ability to destroy human civilization.

Even Kevin lowered his arms and stared at the two extremely dangerous individuals.

"When I heard the lovely Mei talking about us, of course I came out." The Herrscher of Erosion made a pulling-up eyelid gesture and said with a grin, "Oh dear, everyone seems to be looking forward to my appearance. Well, that makes sense, after all, the main villain has to appear after the protagonist has finished explaining and then explain his own thoughts."

"... So, you're going to explain your purpose?" Kevin asked coldly.

"Bingo! As expected of Kevin, you're quick-witted in this regard." The Herrscher of Erosion smiled and leaned on Lin's shoulder, hugging his neck. "Oh dear, how am I going to explain this? If I don't explain it well, will everyone treat me as an enemy?"

"From the moment you attacked me, you were already my enemy."

Mei coldly retorted to the Herrscher of Erosion.

"Besides, you still have Lin under your control. Let's get him back first, and then we can hear your explanation."

"Come back...?" The Herrscher of Erosion tapped her lips, looking at Mei with amusement. "Does Mei think Lin is yours?"

"...That's not what I meant." Vill-V and Kevin glanced at Mei, who explained somewhat awkwardly, then pointed defiantly at the Herrscher of Erosion and said, "I meant for you to release your control over Lin."

The Herrscher of Erosion clapped her hands and laughed, "But I didn't control Lin. Mei last time, didn't she?"

"You..."

"It's simple, why don't we just ask her directly?" Vill-V stopped Mei from arguing with the Herrscher of Erosion, and stared at Lin, who was standing very close to the Herrscher of Erosion and remained unmoved. "Lin, are you being controlled?"

Would someone who is being controlled say that they are being controlled?

Mei was a little anxious, but remembering that Lin hadn't seemed to be under control last time, she could only look helplessly at the man wearing a helmet.

Lin replied calmly, "They've been controlled."

"See? I didn't... Eh?" The Herrscher of Erosion was about to explain cheerfully, but before she could finish speaking, she turned her head blankly to look at the emotionless man. "Wait, Lin, what did you say?"

"I have been controlled by the power of the Herrscher of Erosion."

"Would someone who is being controlled say that they are being controlled?"

Mei raised an eyebrow.

Isn't that her lyrics?

Kevin, who had been observing, spoke up, "Lin, what exactly happened?"

"..." The gaze from behind the helmet sent chills down one's spine, like a cold knife scraping flesh. A deep voice came from behind the viewing window, "As you can see, my data has been Herrscher of Erosion Corruption using her powers, and someone has given her the data of other Herrscher as well, allowing her to create data bodies of other Herrscher in the Imaginary Tree."

"But you don't seem to be under her control."

"I don't have to take her orders," Lin continued. "When she was first born, she attacked me because she felt threatened and wanted to survive. It wasn't out of any conscious malice."

"Why do you tell them everything!" The Herrscher of Erosion was so angry that she tried to cover Lin's mouth, but he was wearing a helmet and couldn't cover it at all.

Mei asked, "Then why does she look like Elysia?"

"The reason lies with me."

"Why?"

"..."

Lin suddenly stopped talking.

Mei looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"So, that means she's not an enemy," Kevin said coldly.

Lin shook his head. "No, not really."

"...What's the meaning?"

"Because the Herrscher of Erosion can corrupt data, most of the data I stored in the Imaginary Tree has been taken under her control, except for the part with the highest authority."

Mei suddenly realized that since the other Lin she had met before had the highest authority, she had almost brought the Herrscher of Erosion to him, and the Imaginary Tree would probably have fallen into the Herrscher's hands.

"And her goal is to use the Imaginary Tree to create a world that only contains my data and hers." Lin sighed. "Therefore, all other data is unnecessary. She plans to delete all data after obtaining the highest level of access, including you, Raiden Mei. You are already unable to leave the Imaginary Tree. Once the data is deleted, you will also die of consciousness."

"Why is this happening?" Mei looked at the smiling Herrscher of Erosion who didn't refute her, and realized that Lin wasn't lying.

"Lin loves humans and this world, but I don't want him to go outside. After all, he will definitely die for humans... No, he has died more than once. So let's just create a world with only him and me."

The Herrscher of Erosion slowly revealed the sharp fangs at the corners of her mouth, and a sinister smile formed on her face.

"You humans will only cause his sacrifice and are the biggest obstacle to his happy life. He doesn't need you at all."

That's how it is.

Lin concluded calmly.

After listening to Lin and the Herrscher of Erosion's "confessions," Vill-V paused for a few seconds before revealing a thoughtful expression.

Could it be that this Herrscher of Erosion...

"So, Lin, you're on her side?"

The surroundings became quiet; only breathing could be heard.

Lin nodded.

"That's right."

Mei stared at him blankly, while the Herrscher of Erosion gave a satisfied smile.

Elysian Realm of "Flying Flowers": Chapter Fifteen - A Less-than-Grand Opening

"Are you sure?"

After quickly glancing at the documents, Tesla looked up and asked seriously.

"The uncertainty of this kind of experiment is too great. If it fails, you're doomed. You should think about it more carefully."

"I've already considered it." Lin, standing beside Prometheus, pulled the measuring device from his chest. "Let's use a closed system to minimize damage."

"... This isn't about the damage. Have you talked to Kiana and the others about this?" Tesla looked at the data. "The data is fine, but I personally don't approve of you conducting experiments with this unverified technology. Besides, you're the only one who should be doing this kind of experiment."

"They'll find out when the experiment is over."

"You really do... think you're so capable of showing off?"

"If showing off can solve the problem, then I'll try it."

Having said that, Tesla could only sigh helplessly and turn to the quiet girl, saying, "Bronya, you don't have any objections either?"

"This is Lin's choice, Bronya has no right to interfere." After her pupils returned to light gray, the girl shook her head.

"Alright, since the family isn't interested, what else can I say?" Tesla put down the documents, turned around helplessly to prepare, and said, "I have only one request: if you feel severe discomfort, press the emergency stop button in your hand. I will monitor your level of consciousness in real time, and if I feel that I can't continue, I will forcibly stop the experiment. Is that okay?"

Vill-V gave Lin was less a technology and more an unverified and dangerous human experiment, just like the initial Hypervariable Surgery.

But it's understandable, since there was only one case, Lin, and they left before they could even study Lin. Everything was based on the little data and speculation that remained.

In order to gain an advantage in the upcoming battle with Kevin, Lin had no choice but to try this technology. That man was not someone that could be defeated by small tricks or tactics; he was very likely already able to overcome the Finality Previous Civilization had failed to overcome.

Kevin will not allow his enemies to use cunning tricks against him; he will only stop when they are defeated head-on.

Lin lay down inside the isolation chamber. Thick isolation walls descended around him, turning the area into Xiao Kong. Tesla's image appeared on the screen above the chamber, her brow furrowed. She turned on her microphone and said to Lin, "The experiment will begin in thirty seconds. Your vital signs are normal. To be on the safe side, I will not inject a large amount of Honkai Energy; I will try to keep it within a certain range."

"Learn."

"Although science doesn't involve praying for blessings, I still wish you success in your experiment."

The moment the experiment started, Lin's consciousness was dragged into an unknown area.

Blood red.

His consciousness was hazy, in a half-dreaming, half-awake state. A jumble of information rushed through his brain. He opened his eyes in a daze and saw Blood Moon that occupied half of the night sky, as well as a dried-up sea of blood.

The moon cannot be so close to Earth that we can clearly see the craters of all sizes on it.

The sea of blood that once engulfed the entire world has dried up, leaving only crimson traces on the ground. Lin slowly rose and turned his gaze in this world shrouded in blood.

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

Something was approaching, a colossal object that made the mountains tremble, sailing behind Lin like a giant ship.

He turned away, and shadows fell upon the earth.

"Laugh..."

The hot air exhaled from the large nostrils was like the exhaust of some heavy machinery, almost blowing Lin over, while the dark golden vertical pupils filled Lin's entire field of vision.

It's completely different from when I first saw it.

The moment this "monster" met Lin's gaze, it looked up to the sky and roared, unleashing a thunderous howl that shook the mountains.

Then, a terrifying shock to consciousness crashed into Lin's sea of consciousness.

"Hmm..."

"Wake up... wake up quickly... Lin..."

That voice sounds so familiar...

Lin would never forget that voice. He almost forced himself to open his tired and aching eyes, and what he saw was Eri...

Wrong.

A pair of purplish-blue bangs swayed in front of her eyes, and a girl's charming yet somewhat eerie smile gradually approached through her drowsy vision. Her orange-red eyes were different from the gentle pink ones in her memory.

"... Who are you?" Lin touched the area above his neck, and for some reason, the familiar helmet was on his head.

The scene was not the enclosed area before the experiment, but a strange space dominated by black and red...

... The Imaginary Tree?

Lin instantly understood his situation.

It seems the experiment went wrong, and his consciousness went directly to the "anchor point" of the Imaginary Tree?

"I'm Elysia." The girl, clumsily imitating Elysia's tone, smiled and touched Lin's helmet under his cold gaze. "Lin, you just woke up, so you haven't remembered me yet?"

She is not Elysia.

Although he didn't know what she was, Lin made a judgment the moment he saw her, and the strange feeling that filled the space mostly came from the girl in front of him.

The Herrscher.

Lin quickly identified the person in front of him, but the pink-haired girl was not human either. Therefore, this girl was not Herrscher had taken over Elysia's consciousness, but Herrscher born by imitating Elysia. In the Imaginary Tree, everything was data. If she could manipulate data to become like this, then there was only one answer.

The Herrscher of Erosion of modern civilization.

After thinking for a while, Lin chose to observe the situation and asked, "Where are we?"

Seeing that her disguise hadn't gone wrong, the Herrscher of Erosion smiled and said, "We're all dead. What's here are just memories we stored in the Imaginary Tree."

"... So that's how it is."

Lin stood up and looked around. Due to the constant changes over the past 50,000 years, the layout of the Imaginary Tree was very different from the original, but some traces of the original design could still be seen.

The two parts of Lin's consciousness that were separated are used to contaminate the cocoon, and the other exists in the Imaginary Tree as the highest authority. If there are no accidents, the current "Lin" in the Imaginary Tree should be able to detect the anomalies that have occurred in the Imaginary Tree.

However... things took a bit of an unexpected turn of events.

There are two forests in the Imaginary Tree, one is the "anchor point" and the other is the "authority". He has come to the Imaginary Tree through the anchor point, but he can clearly feel that the anchor point has been corrupted. The culprit should be the Herrscher of Erosion next to him.

"Alright, Lin, we should go see our guests. Our dear Mei is still waiting for us~"

The girl extended her hand and smiled at Lin.

Elysian Realm of "Flying Flowers": Chapter Sixteen - Lin Likes Elysia