An Artificial Monster

"I see."

Kosma shook his head and assumed the starting stance of the Moth of Fire fighting technique.

Just as today's sparring session was about to begin, both of their communicators rang simultaneously.

"Drop--"

Kevin and Kosma looked at each other in silence, then tacitly lowered their hands, walked to the table, and picked up their communicators.

"Personnel adjustments..." Kevin read the communication title with a frown, then he saw a familiar name on the list, "Kosma."

The weather was still terrible today. A gray haze hung over the city, and the cold air seeped into the trouser legs, making it feel like your blood was freezing.

Lin still went out wearing a helmet. Now all the combat members are on standby in the distribution area and are unwilling to go out to face the increasingly cold environment. Only he would go out.

Are there homeless people in big cities?

The answer is, of course.

Lin saw some ragged people leaning against the wall, heads down, rubbing their hands. Their hands and feet were already frozen purple and necrotic, and their eyes were empty, without any desire for life.

As he walked by, a light would appear in the eyes of the homeless, as if the corpses were coming back to life, but it would quickly go out.

Are these people also "living tenaciously"?

As Lin quietly passed by them, he slipped some cash into their pockets. They couldn't see him doing it.

He can't help everyone, nor does everyone need his help, but Lin thinks it's not a bad thing to leave these people with money so they can go somewhere with heating to escape the cold.

They soon arrived at Anna's house, and Lin reached out and knocked on the door.

There was no response.

Lin knocked on the door again, but after a moment there was still no response, so he turned on the bio-scanner.

A person was lying in bed with a slightly elevated body temperature.

Lin didn't hesitate. The sturdiness of the door was no different from that of foam to him. He pushed the lock out of shape with a little force and then pushed the door open and went in.

The indoor temperature is only slightly higher than the outdoor temperature.

Lin looked up at the air conditioner that had been turned off, and realized what Anna had done after he left yesterday.

At this moment, the chestnut-haired girl lay on the bed, breathing rapidly. An abnormal blush covered her entire fair face, and her hands, which were placed outside the bedding, were deathly pale. Her expression was contorted in distress.

[Lin, what should we do?]

Yes, what should we do?

Lin shook his head and went into the bathroom.

"Waaah..."

Anna woke up from her nightmare in the early evening. The sky was so dark that the sunset was nowhere to be seen, and the raindrops made a crisp sound as they hit the windowpane.

She lifted her head slightly, then slumped back down, feeling nauseous from dizziness.

I guess I did get sick. I should have turned on the air conditioner yesterday.

She felt extremely regretful at the thought of not being able to go to work because of her illness.

Muttering disgruntled remarks, Anna covered her head with a cup, unwilling to face reality. She was going to call her boss to ask for leave later. She never expected that her perfect attendance record, which she had maintained for so long, would be ended by a hailstorm.

It's so late now. I was hoping that the helmeted guy would go there with me yesterday. I hope I won't stand him up.

"Clatter".

Anna's body hair stood on end.

There is someone inside the house.

The footsteps coming from the kitchen were slowly approaching her.

No, no way, a thief broke into the house?

"Thump." Footsteps, made without any attempt to conceal them, had already reached the bedside.

Anna gritted her teeth, threw off the covers, and pounced on the figure beside the bed.

"Drink up! Don't underestimate me!"

"Smack."

A large hand caught her head in mid-air, its five fingers gripping her skull and lifting her up.

Then Anna saw the azure blue viewing window that symbolized someone.

Why do I feel so cold?

Anna looked down and realized she was only wearing her underwear.

Anna's scrambled mind was filled with only one chaotic thought, "They say don't underestimate me, but it doesn't seem that big after all."

"..."

Lin casually tossed Anna back into bed and covered her with the blanket with a flick of his wrist.

"Helmet Uncle?" Anna only realized what was happening after the warm blanket covered her body again.

"Take your medicine."

Lin ignored her and placed the medicine bowl in her other hand on the bedside table.

"After taking your medicine, take a shower and then eat."

After saying that, Lin ignored Anna's bewildered expression and went back into the kitchen.

Chapter Fifty-Eight: Man-Made Monsters

"Uncle, you're a strange person."

Anna, looking distressed, picked up her chopsticks but then put them down again in the face of the delicious-looking dishes. She spoke to Lin, who remained silent.

"Who would take such good care of someone they've only met twice? You're being so unreasonable."

Lin put down the measuring instrument and said nonchalantly, "No one would search the whole city for someone just to cheer them up."

"I was thinking about your life, Uncle. You look so gloomy. If you meet a cute girl and she doesn't care about you, wouldn't that be even more tragic?" Anna retorted stubbornly. "Just standing next to you, I can feel a strong sense of tragedy about you. Most people would definitely not want to get close to you or would simply judge you by your appearance and misunderstand you."

"..."

"Are you angry?" Anna asked cautiously, realizing she had spoken too harshly.

"No."

"Um, don't be angry."

"No, let's eat."

But Anna felt that Lin's face, which she couldn't see, should be filled with anger right now. If she were the one who kindly helped someone and was criticized, she would definitely be furious.

Should we use a more positive word, like "unique"...?

Lin was unaware of Anna's complex thoughts; he picked up the measuring instrument and continued to check today's results.

Lin didn't stay here all day. He would go out to scout and then come back every now and then to change Anna's towels and adjust the temperature. When Anna woke up, he had just finished his day's work and would cook something for Anna.

So Anna was indeed overthinking it.

However, this was a rather novel experience for Prometheus. Apart from the agreement, Lin rarely took care of anyone individually. Almost everyone was of equal importance to him, so there was no such thing as special care.

Anna nervously brushed her bangs aside, feeling a burning sensation on her face. "Shall we eat together?"

"Need not."

"... You're just angry, aren't you?"

"I've already eaten."

After calibrating today's data, Lin put away the measuring instrument and said to Anna, "What did you want to say yesterday?"

"Um... well, actually I wanted to ask you to help out at a place, but it's too late today, so let's forget about it."

"Okay." Lin got up and left.

Anna was startled. "Wait a minute! Uncle!"

"The purpose of grouping some new recruits together is to form a team that can be used to carry out relatively dangerous missions when necessary."

The speaker sat in his chair, smiling as he fiddled with a bullet, explaining to the person on the other end of the communicator.

The bullet caliber is the same as that of the standard pistol of the Moth of Fire, which is a type that has been phased out.

The man in the suit twirled the bullet back and forth with three fingers, as if it were a beloved toy.

The voice on the other end of the communicator was cold and monotonous. "You make it sound so nice, but aren't you just sending them to their deaths? You don't care about the sacrifice of your soldiers at all."

"Hehe, that's different." The Speaker chuckled contentedly. "If something can only be accomplished through sacrifice, then I think most people, including MSA-079, would agree to let them sacrifice themselves."

"Why mention him?"

What do you think?

"..."

"Human life is not of equal value, which is why we temporarily allocate personnel to scout ahead, sending those with less value." He smiled and added, "Being prepared is always better than being caught unprepared; that's my favorite saying."

"So your subordinates and the Fifth Branch are all considered 'sacrificial'?"

"Oh? You actually asked about the Fifth Branch? I thought... Never mind." The Speaker wanted to say something, but swallowed his words. "Compared to Doctor Mei's crazy plan, I think sacrificing a few people is still within the normal range. As for the Poisoned Cocoon... I think you understand that the Poisoned Cocoon members are all scum who deserve to die."

"The death of scumbags is not worthy of sympathy, and I think we should all agree on this point."

"'We'?" A scoff came from the other end of the line. "Who's talking to you about 'we'?"

The speaker stopped spinning the bullet and said coldly, "No matter what, I don't want Doctor Mei's plan to be approved, even if the Poisoned Cocoon are completely eradicated."

"Why?"

"Because I have already seen monsters created by humans."

After the communication ended, the speaker sat in his chair, looking at the bullet in his hand with a deep expression.

He picked up the Moth of Fire badge, a symbol of his identity, and placed it, along with the bullet, into the lining near his heart.

"Uncle, your cooking skills are amazing... are you a chef from somewhere?"

Anna's expression changed abruptly when she took her first bite. Having lived independently for several years, she considered herself to be quite skilled in cooking, but compared to Lin Yi, it was like the difference between a street vendor's stir-fry and a five-star chef.

"Who exactly are you, uncle? Your athletic ability is terrifying, your cooking skills are amazing, and you even wear a helmet so no one can see your face."

"Soldiers from the Salvation Organization," Lin replied calmly.

"Hmm..." Anna pondered for a moment, then nodded seriously, "I believe you."

"...What?"

"After eliminating all the impossible options, the only answer left, no matter how unbelievable, must be the one." Anna shrugged. "The uncle intended to create the illusion that he was lying by telling the truth from the beginning, but at the time I thought some parts were too outrageous. Now it seems that the whole thing might be the truth."

"..."

Sure enough, her intuition and quick thinking were somewhat extraordinary.

"Uncle, assuming what you said is true, then that means Tran is currently in a special kind of disaster, and you came here to look for clues." With a reasonable assumption, Anna could explain some of Lin's unusual behavior. "I suddenly lost track of you because you shook me off so I wouldn't notice your suspicious movements. You were standing in such a high place to detect something, and you know my residence because you have a database of ordinary people."

"Haha, as expected of me, your reasoning was quite correct, wasn't it?"

Although she is so-so in some aspects, Anna is indeed a person with outstanding temperament and talent. If she were to join the Firemoth, she should be able to quickly become a core member of the organization.

Moreover, while the Fire Moths remain secretive to the outside world, they do not maintain this mystery to every ordinary person. Survivors who are rescued from the Fire Moths have the right to choose to leave and live elsewhere, but they must keep the existence of the Fire Moths hidden from others.

The hospital that collaborates with the Firemoth is also aware of the Firemoth as a special organization that houses Honkai Sickness.

So after considering it, Lin nodded. "Yes."

"... Uncle, you must be joking."