Neo took the ring off his hand and offered it to Kallen. "Want to try wearing this mask?"
Kallen shook his head. "I'm more curious about why you did this, Captain."
Neo slipped the ring back onto his finger. Light flashed;
Neo became Neo again.
"Why I did this... One morning, while washing up after getting out of bed, I looked at this face of mine and suddenly felt tired of it, so I thought I'd try another face.
"But after taking this face off, I regretted it. All I could do was turn it into a mask and put it back on."
Kallen knew that answer was nonsense.
The reason for the nonsense was that the captain had already placed a chip on the table. Now it was Kallen's turn to put down an equal stake.
They had agreed beforehand to proceed step by step, trading equally. That way, neither would lose out.
Neo pulled over a chair, sat down, and nodded at Kallen.
Kallen couldn't find a second chair in the collection room. Apparently, Lemar didn't like sharing his collection room with others. Left with no choice, Kallen leaned against the wall beside him.
"I'm not afraid of pollution. Under normal circumstances, I don't have to worry about it."
"Kallen, do you know what saying that could mean? When the squad encounters a pollution threat on a mission, you might be ordered to charge in first."
"No problem."
Kallen answered without hesitation.
That intensely concentrated source of pollution beneath the Sausage Factory had only made him uncomfortable for a while because he hadn't been accustomed to it the first time. It hadn't left any real traces. That was enough to prove that he didn't need to worry about the vast majority of pollution threats in this world.
"Go