If Tomorrow Were the End of the World

Tran found itself in a strange situation. Everyone knew that something was wrong with Tran, but no one could pinpoint exactly what was wrong. The temperature drop alone was not enough to cause a disaster.

A calm before the storm spread through the central city of this Mu Continent, yet everyone took this moment of peace for granted.

The Moth Chaser also tried many methods to find the patterns and signs of the coming Honkai, but all of them were in vain. This is why the final result after Lin put forward his opinion was pending.

"Sniff, sniff..." As she got closer Elysia suddenly sniffed and then stared at Lin meaningfully, saying, "Oh, Lin, why do I smell a girl's fragrance on you?"

"..."

Lin felt that all he could smell on him was the stench of evaporated rainwater.

"I met someone." Lin didn't intend to hide it, or rather, there was no point in hiding it. "Someone who was... somewhat special."

He wanted to say it was troublesome, but upon reflection, Anna didn't seem to have caused him much trouble.

"Oh~ that's special." Elysia's eyes crinkled into crescent moons after hearing this. "You want to go find her now?"

"In no mood."

"Hey, no way! I also want to see what this 'special' girl Lin mentioned looks like, and whether she's cute or not?"

"..."

"That looks really cute. Anyway, I've finished my work for today. Okay, let's go!"

Lin, with a slanted eye, dodged Elysia's elbow and walked inside, replying indifferently, "Go yourself if you want to."

"Then tell me who she is?"

"Have no idea."

"..." Elysia sighed dejectedly.

Lin walked towards his temporary residence, closed the door behind him with a "thump".

After taking off his helmet and coat, Lin sat on the bed, looking at his hands, which were no longer childish. His calloused palms were like a mirror, reflecting his appearance.

The Fifth Honkai War will erupt in a month, and the Fifth Herrscher will descend.

The smiles of the Third Herrscher and Fourth Herrscher before their deaths still linger in my mind. What exactly do those enigmatic smiles represent?

The thought of facing Honkai against the Fifth Honkai Apostle chosen from among humans made Lin clench his fists.

Humanity has won four times, defeating those terrifying enemies four times.

But was that really a win?

Because of the victory shouts that came after killing enemies who were once compatriots, Lin couldn't feel any sense of belonging.

He stood before the wall covered with the names of the deceased, watching the increasing number of names. The words distorted into faces in his eyes. They were not scary; everyone was smiling.

Smiling, I wish Lin well.

Like the smile of the Herrscher before his death.

Every time Lin took a step toward them, he felt something inside him gradually disappearing, and the thought that he would one day become one of them brought him a strange sense of relief.

"Bang!"

The helmet fell to the ground, and Lin subconsciously reached out to pick it up.

"..."

The hand stopped mid-air.

He looked at his right hand, and after a while, he reached out with his left hand, grabbed his sleeve, and rolled it up.

Ugly, pinkish-purple lines pulsated on his forearm like veins.

Lin, this isn't like you.

Lin, fully dressed, stood in the cold wind, with Anna's workplace—a restaurant—found in the database beneath her feet.

"According to what Elysia wrote in her book, I'm a tsundere, so it's normal for me to do things that contradict my own words." Lin put his hands in his pockets, and the condensation on the viewing window instantly disappeared as he exhaled.

Lin, you're acting very strange today.

Is it very abnormal? Maybe.

It was indeed out of character for Lin to come out so late to see someone he had only met twice, but for some reason he wanted to see what kind of person Anna, who had lied to him, really was.

Do you empathize with Anna? Because you've been through similar experiences.

"No."

Lin has said many times that he will not take any action on this matter.

If I had to give a reason, it would be that Lin wanted to see how the people of Trant lived.

Lin had seen all sorts of people in the Firefly, but he hadn't seen what life was like for people outside of the Firefly for a long time.

As people gradually left the restaurant, Lin's biodetector showed that only one person remained. He then jumped off the roof, landing steadily on the ground with a small splash of water.

He silently pushed open the door and entered the restaurant. The main lights were all off. He casually found a corner seat and sat down, then looked at the only brightly lit area, the kitchen.

He could hear the mop dragging away the stains and the girl humming a song.

Lin quietly placed his hand on the table, waiting for the person inside to come out.

It was late at night, but the young woman was still meticulously cleaning her workplace.

"Ugh... my forehead feels so hot, should I take the day off tomorrow...?"

About half an hour later, Lin saw the girl, drenched in sweat in the freezing temperature, come out of the kitchen rubbing her shoulders.

Then, the other person saw him.

"Hey... hey! Helmet Uncle! What are you doing here!" Naturally, she was startled by Lin's sudden appearance and stood frozen in place.

Then, as if remembering something, she looked at Lin the Stutterer with a somewhat subtle expression and said, "Um... um... this is a restaurant run by my parents... I just help out occasionally."

"..." Lin didn't speak; the pitch-black environment and her being all alone spoke volumes.

So she lowered her head dejectedly. "I'm sorry... Uncle, I lied to you."

"Why should I apologize?" Lin asked.

"Because I lied to you even though I meant to encourage you, actually I..."

"Yes, I know. This is your parents' shop, and you sometimes help out here to earn some pocket money."

"Huh?"

Lin's casual remarks caught Anna off guard.

But soon, Lin's silent gaze startled her awake, and then she understood Lin's intention. She immediately covered the back of her head and laughed, "Hahaha, yes, that's it! Achoo... Ouch, it's so cold."

Lin looked at her clothes, which were soaked with sweat. They had been warm just now because she had been exercising vigorously. Now, with the cold wind blowing, her clothes clung to her skin and took away her heat, making her feel much colder than usual.

Given the abnormal flush on her face, she must be sick.

"Let's go to your place," Lin said, surprising everyone after getting up.

Chapter 55 What if Tomorrow is the End of the World

"Uncle, you wouldn't happen to be..." Anna, who had just finished showering and changed into her pajamas, sat at the small round table, looking at the helmeted man in front of her with a strange expression, "You've been following me, haven't you?"

"No."

"That's true, we only met by chance today... but how do you know where I live?"

"Unexpected, isn't it?"

Lin clearly already knew how to get along with Anna. With her novel brainwaves, she would automatically fill in the blanks with seemingly normal words after hearing them, so Lin didn't need to explain seriously.

"Why is it so warm... Wow!" Anna turned her head and saw the air conditioner blowing hot air. She immediately frantically searched for the remote control. "Uncle, why did you turn on the air conditioner! I can't afford such an expensive electricity bill!"

After finding the remote control, she pressed the power off button with a sigh of relief.

"Drop."

"Drop."

However, the air conditioner was turned on again before it had even paused for half a second.

Anna pressed the button again, puzzled, but it turned off and on again just like before.

Lin watched silently as she relentlessly pressed the shut-off button, while the helmet's simulated remote control signal kept turning on the air conditioner.

"Waaah..." She sighed, tears welling in her eyes, and walked back to sit down. "Fine, let's just consider it a luxury for our guests."

"..."

"Thank you first, Uncle. I'm not feeling well today. It's so late, and if no one accompanied me home, something might happen on the way." Anna rested her face on the table, her soft cheek pressed against the smooth surface, and said in a muffled voice, "I don't want to become the protagonist of the accident I witnessed today."

"I just need to talk to you about something."

"I know."

Her self-righteous tone left Lin somewhat speechless.

"Hmph, tell me, since you escorted me home, I, Detective Anna, will help this confused uncle resolve his confusion!" Anna stood up, gave a proud snort, and showed no signs of her illness, displaying boundless energy.

Lin took Anna home, and the fact that her house was empty already revealed the lies about her parents, but neither Anna nor Lin mentioned it.

Trying to appear as natural as possible is probably what she was thinking at that moment.

Lin's first question was unnecessary, "Why do you call me 'uncle'?"

"Huh? Why not?" she asked in confusion.

"You are eighteen, and I am twenty."

If someone who's only two years younger than you can be called "uncle," then Griseo shouldn't be calling Mobius" auntie" either; she should be calling her "grandma," and she'd still have a seniority to spare.

"I don't believe you," Anna said, her face full of distrust. "Unless you show me what's under your helmet."

"..."

Lin would never show it to her. Putting aside his own habits, Elysia had once asked him not to let others see his appearance, so Lin would never remove his covering in front of others.

"If you don't show me, I'll definitely think there's an old man's face under the helmet. Anyway, as long as you don't show me your face, I'll call you Helmet Uncle."

It was just a form of address, so Lin didn't pay much attention to it. He then asked, "Did you encounter anything strange in the city today?"

"Strange thing? What do you mean?"

"... it means exactly what it says."

"Oh... does hail count?"

"..."

Well, most things probably wouldn't be considered "strange" to Anna. After all, she's the kind of person who can accept Lin's image, who never explained the helmet. She probably wouldn't even think that the Honkai zombie was a zombie that ran out of a masquerade ball.

The atmosphere suddenly plummeted to freezing. Lin pondered what else he could ask, but Anna spoke first:

"Uncle, did something bad happen to you?"

"... Why do you say that?"

"Girls are very good at reading minds. Don't you have any other girls around you?"

"..."

Upon closer reflection, aside from Mobius, the women around him were indeed very adept at reading his thoughts, especially Elysia, who was able to accurately capture his ideas.

"You're even more lifeless than this morning, um... that's a bit rude to say, but you look like you just crawled out of your grave, Uncle." Anna used a fitting metaphor to bring up an inappropriate topic. "Seriously, even I, a super~ beautiful girl, couldn't motivate you?"

Do I really look that bad?

After thinking it over, Lin finally asked the question he had been planning to ask from the beginning, "Anna, if you were about to die, what would you do?"

"Huh? What do you mean? Uncle, do you have a terminal illness?"

"No, I'm asking for my friend."

"Oh..." Anna was puzzled but impressed. "I don't know the answer to this question so suddenly. Could you give me a general idea?"

Lin replied without hesitation, "How can I maximize my value?"

"Hmm... it's like knowing you're going to die soon, and wanting to shine in the final stage of your life." Anna nodded understandingly, frowning as she pondered, but couldn't come up with a good answer for the time being.