Surrealism / Mad Scientist Girl

"Hmph, accept your gift? Let me guess, do you mean to implant Honkai Beast into my body, or to stuff me into Honkai Beast?"

"Oh dear, your thinking is too narrow. Do I look like one of those crazy scientists?"

"... Doesn't it look like it?" Mei asked, looking at her shrunken body.

"You're not as good as Lin, that pure human being, in this respect. Even he, that human fundamentalist, never called me a mad scientist." Mobius ran his fingers through his long hair, wearing finger cots, and said with a forced smile, "Besides, whether it's implanting Honkai Beast or stuffing people into Honkai Beast, neither of them seems like a good plan right now."

"But you are one of the people who created the Flame-Chaser." Mei looked at her coldly.

"Note that I said 'now.' Don't you ever look back and think how incredibly stupid you were before?" Mobius's hand slid off her earring, and she smiled with eyes as cold as a real snake.

Mei's eyes flickered, but she still said coldly, "Even if it exists, it's not something you should know."

"Heh... Herrscher of Thunder, sometimes I really admire you." Mobius's smile grew colder, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue. "Even when you need something from someone, you don't show any attitude of asking for help. Among all the successors, only you dare to speak to me like this."

"Oh? So you're putting on an air of superiority now?"

"How could that be~ Big sister~ I just think you're so rude~" Mobius changed her tone, drawing out the words in a charming voice.

"Has no one ever told you that you can be really... disgusting sometimes?"

"Yes, but most of them are buried in the ground."

Mei and Mobius were locked in a fierce battle. As Mei gradually lowered her guard against Rin and Elysia, Mobius became the most unfathomable person in the Imaginary Tree. After their first meeting, she seemed to be preparing something, but Mei, who was busy with Rin's affairs, had no time to pay attention to her.

Having failed to obtain the information she sought from everyone she visited in the Imaginary Tree, Mei had no choice but to focus her attention on the most dangerous Mobius.

Even the seemingly cheerful and timid Pardofelis showed a cold expression after hearing the information Mei had inquired about. She looked at Mei with hostility for a second, as if she were about to take away her important treasure.

However, she later reverted to her original cheerful and sales-promoting demeanor, which happened so quickly that Mei wondered if she was imagining things.

So, having failed to get any information from Pardo, she came here.

"I have some questions for you. What are your conditions?" Mei knew it wouldn't be easy to get what she wanted from Mobius, but compared to the elusive Flame-Chasers who were impossible to deal with, Mobius might be able to make a deal with her. "I want to know if anyone knows Lin's age, appearance, and cause of death."

"... Huh?"

Upon hearing the words "cause of death," Mobius first narrowed his eyes and glanced at Mei a few times. Seeing that Mei showed no fear on his face, he quietly gave a cold laugh.

Kevin and Lin, you two really gave me a wonderful gift.

"There was once someone who got something insignificant from me in exchange for everything he had." Mobius rubbed his fingernail, a smirk playing on his lips. "So, what do you think you would need to give in exchange for his 'everything'?"

Chapter Sixty-Six Surrealism

"Hua, can you do it?"

"Yes, no problem."

While Lin and Anna were conducting their search, Hua and Immer were also busy. Immer was remotely monitoring the changes in the city's Honkai Energy, while Hua was conducting experiments in the city using a device that could create frequencies that attracted Honkai Beast and Honkai zombie.

Although lower-level Honkai Beast are basically devoid of intelligence, they possess some inexplicable connections and ways of locating each other, similar to the unique frequencies of dolphin sound waves.

However, this frequency cannot be simulated by mechanical devices alone. The special structures and organs inside the Honkai Beast cannot be replicated by current means, so this device cannot actually be considered human "technology".

"Immer, won't doing this really leak Honkai Energy into the city?"

Hua leaned on the back door of the transport vehicle with one hand and asked Immer through the communicator.

In front of her, inside the transport vehicle, something special was being "sealed" away.

The complete corpse of a Charge-type Honkai Beast.

By injecting Honkai Energy into Honkai Beast to keep their physical organs barely usable, and then through a series of modifications, the Assault-class Honkai are made into frequency emission devices, which can disperse or attract Honkai Beast a certain range.

"As long as the timing is right, it won't happen. Rather than worrying about leaking Honkai Energy, you should be more concerned about whether Honkai Beast will be attracted and cause harm." Immer sat alone in front of the computer and said to Hua, "The captain instructed that only a few small-scale tests be conducted, and only in designated locations, but we can't let our guard down. The appearance of Honkai zombie in the city means that the Honkai Energy is exceeding the limit."

Hua nodded slowly, pondered for a moment, and said, "But why is it that even though Honkai zombie have appeared, headquarters still hasn't taken any action?"

"... Hua, didn't you notice?"

"What?"

"The atmosphere at the Moth of Flames is very strange." Immer's fingers paused on the keyboard, his gaze fixed on the coordinates on the computer screen with a gloomy expression. "With the Fifth Honkai War approaching, the Moth of Flames seems less concerned about the large-scale Honkai than about the discussions surrounding various experimental techniques."

The trend of the Fire-Chasing Moths even led Immer to believe that the Honkai was over and it was time to address humanity's internal problems.

This even made him wonder if everyone thought that the previous large-scale Honkai attacks could be resolved in a single day, that the Herrscher had been defeated by soldiers, that their scientific and technological development was booming, and that the next Honkai was nothing to fear.

"I don't know how long this will last, but... the captain is almost at his limit."

Occasionally, when he saw Lin's back, he would have the illusion that Lin was walking on a precarious log bridge.

The decaying wood beneath his feet made a sickening, corrosive sound, but Lin continued walking forward, oblivious to everything, waiting for the moment he would fall.

Moreover, Lin didn't even think about struggling.

"Captain..." Hua lowered her head, her expression unreadable, "Immer, do you think the Honkai will ever end?"

"It will happen, won't it?"

"I wish it could have arrived sooner. I'd like to invite the captain, Immer, and everyone in the Squad Five to go on a trip together."

"Travel?"

"Yes, the captain once asked me to think about the meaning of living. At that time, the captain told me that if I couldn't find it, then I should live for him for the time being." Hua looked blankly at his palm. "Later, I asked Captain Himiko how to find the meaning of living. She told me not to think about such heavy things like the captain. Just think about what I will do after the Honkai ends."

"So, I think I'll want to travel, just like the captain told me back then."

Lin and Himiko, one was the guide who saved her, and the other was the mentor who educated her when Lin was not around. Their influence on China has deeply penetrated her heart.

Lin allowed her to think for herself, while Himiko balanced what Lin taught her, preventing her from becoming like Lin.

Although they were not from the same era, Lin and Himiko that the younger generation would eventually take over their roles.

"Hua, your idea is very good."

At that moment, Lin's communication suddenly appeared on the channel, startling Hua.

"Team leader?"

"Go on a trip after the Honkai ends." Lin's calm voice sent Hua's heart sinking to the bottom.

After thinking it over, she asked, "Captain, the Fifth Branch is developing an anti- Honkai Energy serum, you..."

"Focus on the task."

"..."

Going on a trip with Hua? Lin Cong considered this possibility.

According to calculations from Prometheus Unit 2, there are a total of fourteen Herrscher. At the current rate, it will take at least ten years for the Fourteenth Herrscher to appear. By then, Lin will have long since turned into a skeleton.

'After all, she's just an ordinary person.' Binai looked at Anna with incredibly kind eyes.

"..."

Have you thought about what you'll do after the Honkai ends?

It seems not.

The possibility was so slim that Lin Cong never considered the future.

Ordinary people... am I even considered an ordinary person?

"Arrived at target location, expected to commence in ten minutes... Captain?!"

When Hua got out of the car, the first thing he saw was Lin, who had been waiting for a long time, and Anna, who looked like a curious child beside him.

Anna hopped over to Hua and looked her up and down. "Is this Uncle's team? I knew it, Uncle really is the captain."

"Captain, who is she..." Hua looked at Lin in confusion. She had never met Anna before, but Anna seemed to know who Hua was.

Lin Lengjun pointed to the equipment behind Hua and said, "It's okay, don't worry about her."

Immer asked over the communicator, "Hua, what's wrong? Is the captain here too?"

"Yes, and there's also a girl I don't recognize next to the captain..."

"Are they the ones who chase after the flame like moths?"

"It shouldn't be... but she seems to know the captain's identity and the Moth of Fire."

Anna put her arm around his shoulder and laughed, "Uncle said you don't need to worry about me. We can get to know each other after you finish your work. Shouldn't we be protecting world peace now?"

"..."

Hua swallowed hard and glanced at the calm Lin. This unreliable attitude was not well received by Lin. Although Elysia's relationship with Lin had improved, Lin used to avoid Alicia. It took Elysia more than half a year to change Lin's opinion of her through Elysia one-sided advances.

This girl brazenly used such a frivolous tone and indecent posture in front of Lin, yet Lin made no response whatsoever.

This really has a surreal feel to it.

"Oh, don't be so nervous. I have a very good relationship with the uncle. He's even taken off my clothes at my house before."

"..."

Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Mad Girl of Science

"Meow..."

The girl felt that the past week had been the happiest time of her life. She could eat well, sleep well, and be warmly dressed every day. She could find everything she wanted in this house. It was simply paradise.

Oh no, I've lived here for so long that I've almost started to think of this as my home.

The girl rolled over, yawned, and then went back to sleep.

Oh well... let's just treat this as our own home...

"... Clatter."

There was the sound of a key being inserted into a lock.

The girl's ears perked up quickly, and she immediately got off the cushion and hid inside the wardrobe.

She didn't dare to breathe.

Has the owner of this house returned? Oh no, am I going to be caught? The past few days could at most be considered burglary, but the signs of living here for a week don't lie. She could be caught and beaten to death.

Less than three seconds after she entered the closet, the door was pushed open, and footsteps entered the room.

"Hmm... what's this smell? A woman's?"

A man's voice.

The girl pursed her lips. She had been taking showers for the past few days. Who wouldn't like to take a shower if there was hot water?

But why could they still smell it, and why was their gender instantly known?

So, does this mean we've been exposed? He noticed someone had been there as soon as he walked in. Does this mean they're going to search the house now...?

The girl was ready to run away.

"Hmph... a thief? Oh well, whatever." Surprisingly, even knowing that a thief had broken in, the man didn't care. His footsteps continued to move around the room. "Eating, sleeping, taking a bath, playing with the cat scratching post... life is so colorful."

These were all things the girl had done in the past few days. Hearing that others could tell what she had done just by looking at this room made her blush slightly.

Then the man walked to the wardrobe, reached out... and picked up the photo frame next to it.

Inside was a front-facing photo of the boy; his sinister eyes and flawless, expressionless face seemed to transcend time and reappear before my eyes.

"It's been a long time since I've seen this face... it's disgusting."

The girl covered her mouth and listened intently, somewhat incredulously. She thought the person in the photo frame was either the man or his son; after all, who would keep an unimportant person in their bedroom?

But this man did indeed say "It's disgusting" in a tone of disgust.

Is there a reason for this?

"No one has ever gone through that door... Heh, they're quite sensible; they've given her some dry rations as a reward."

After the man put down the photo frame, his footsteps faded into the distance. The girl's exceptional hearing picked up on the sounds of him going downstairs, and she only quietly came out of the closet after he had truly left.

That was close; we almost got discovered.

The girl let out a long sigh and lay back down on the mat.

Was that person really the owner of the house? Could he be a relative or something? The boy was so good-looking, yet he called him disgusting. He must be a relative who dislikes the boy.

Relatives...

The girl licked her lips, but her eyes didn't seem particularly bright.