The transport plane arrived at the Fifth Branch a little later than expected. As the aircraft gently settled on the ground, Lin opened his eyes and looked out the window.
Not all Moth of the Flame bases were located in remote, desolate areas like the headquarters. Some were disguised as regular businesses within cities. This was to ensure they could quickly take over various aspects of society when the Moth of the Flame's existence was eventually revealed.
For instance, the Fifth Branch they were at was disguised as a pharmaceutical company.
The few people in the cabin stood up and disembarked. Lin deliberately stayed one step behind, observing the subtle movements of the accompanying personnel (excluding Mei) and meticulously recording them with his helmet.
Humanity is united. Humanity is divided.
Humanity is wise. Humanity is ignorant.
Humanity is good. Humanity is evil.
These three seemingly contradictory statements summarize what kind of species humanity truly is.
Lin had never lost faith in the brilliant light within the human heart, but that didn't mean he would blindly trust humanity. Even the Moth of the Flame, which fought against the near-apocalyptic Honkai to save humanity, was far from being united. This was evident in the high-level disagreement over Mei, as well as the friction between Sigma and Delta.
Lin's assignment to this escort detail was likely the action of the faction trying to protect Mei. As for why... perhaps they sensed something, or perhaps it was just an extra layer of insurance.
However, Lin's physical condition was not optimistic. After the second injection today, he could run and make large movements, but he was still far weaker than before.
I hope I'm just overthinking this.
Lin took a step out.
"Lin, long time no see. Are you feeding the Can?"
Lin, who was feeding a plump cat, looked up to see Su and Mei walking side-by-side toward him.
This combination was rare. In fact, Lin's encounters with Su were infrequent enough already.
"Su, Raiden Mei, what do you need?" Lin lowered his head and stroked the Can's head, handing over a small pouch of silver coins. The little cat affectionately rubbed against Lin's finger, then took the coins in its mouth and hopped into the Elysian Realm entrance.
Mei looked curiously at the Can disappearing into the entrance. This was her first time seeing it: "Is that... a cat? Why is there a cat in the Elysian Realm?"
"That's Pardo's friend," Su explained, then walked up to Lin and said with a rare sense of melancholy, "Lin, every time I see you, it's like returning to our first meeting in that era, as if time has stood still for you."
"...Do sculptures change?" Mei muttered.
"It's impossible for an ordinary human not to change. The reason I appear unchanged is only because I've concealed my appearance," Lin's visual display flickered with an appropriate blue light frequency. "But if you mean internally, then compared to me, you are the one who hasn't changed since our first meeting. This is also why you parted ways with Mobius."
"Heh, perhaps," Su sighed, shaking his head with a slight smile.
The divergence of paths due to differences in ideology was common in the Moth of the Flame. Even with a shared goal and mutual understanding, conflicts could still not be eliminated.
In fact, sometimes, it was the understanding that intensified the conflict.
That's why Su often admired Lin. He was one of the few in the Moth of the Flame who, even with differing ideologies, could still treat people equally and offer assistance.
Even when almost no one understood him.
"Speaking of Mobius..." Mei interjected with slight hesitation.
"You've met her already?" Lin's visual screen flashed, scanning Mei once. "You've acquired the Signet of Infinity. It seems she didn't make things difficult for you."
Mei's pretty face flushed with mild annoyance: "Didn't make things difficult? Are you referring to her forcing the Signet onto me, which caused me to..."
"Any power comes with a risk, and what Mobius gives is even more so," Lin interrupted her. "So, you would be wise not to accept any further gifts from her. You won't be able to bear it."
"Many people have already told me that."
"It does no harm to hear it again."
Mei turned back to look for the trace of Mobius, who had remained in the conference room after seeing Su. Now, the small figure was nowhere to be seen.
"There must be two people she didn't want to see here, so she left," Su closed his eyes. Without turning around, he knew what Mei was looking for.
"Two... Speaking of which, Lin, what exactly is your relationship with Mobius? Why do some people describe your relationship as good, while others say you fundamentally don't get along?"
"..."
Most of Mei's caution and confusion about Lin stemmed from this point. If Lin were to be described strictly according to the information she received, he was a man who sacrificed everything for humanity, burning himself out completely, essentially without flaw. Yet, there were paradoxically accounts of him helping Mobius.
Given Lin's personality, he shouldn't help Mobius at all. Mei even thought it was possible for him to pull a gun and shoot Mobius at any moment.
"Different starting points, converging at the same endpoint—that's my relationship with her."
Lin's expression couldn't be discerned through the thick helmet, but his voice remained steady: "Humanity needs people like her. She, too, has dedicated everything to humanity. I have no right to judge anyone else's path."
"She? Dedicated everything to humanity?"
Mei was very puzzled, but Lin's biggest difference from the Flame-Chasers was his willingness to answer questions directly. If it were Kevin, the response would likely be, "You don't need to know." Since Lin usually gave straight answers, Mei pressed on: "What did she do?"
"You don't need to know," Lin said faintly.
"...?" Mei was stunned.
"The time for casual conversation is over. I have things to do." Lin stood up and walked toward the entrance of the Elysian Realm.
As he reached Su's side, he paused and looked at Su: "Su, do you remember when we first met?"
"I had heard Kevin mention you. Kevin temporarily vanished from my awareness after the Third Honkai Eruption. I wanted to find him through you, but you left even earlier than he did," Su recalled the past, sighing. "It wasn't until Dr. Spaciel approved my request to join the Moth of the Flame that I met you. We should have been friends much earlier."
"No, Su, we have met before."
"Before?" Su was confused by the word.
"Seeing you at that time, and then seeing you again after five years, your compassion has never changed."
With that, Lin vanished at the entrance of the Elysian Realm.