"Daddy, Mommy!"
"Little Seele? What are you doing here?"
Seele's feminine reserve and her usual etiquette toward others indicated she was well brought up, indirectly showing Lin what kind of people her parents were.
A woman who bore a six-tenths resemblance to Seele and a gentle-looking man with short hair were standing at the lab entrance talking. Hearing Seele's call, both turned around, surprised to see Seele rush over to them.
They only knew Dr. Mei would be visiting the Fifth Branch this time. No one paid attention to the list of other accompanying personnel, and Seele hadn't informed them beforehand.
So, the parents were completely surprised to see their daughter suddenly appear.
"Hehe... actually, I'm here on a mission." Seele sheepishly twirled the fine hair by her ear, explaining the situation awkwardly.
Having watched their child since childhood, the parents understood her little scheme. The short-haired man immediately understood the underlying meaning. Connecting it to the news of Dr. Mei's visit to the Fifth Branch, he glared at Seele and said sternly, "Child, you're a regular soldier now, yet you're still pulling these little tricks. Do you know how much trouble you could cause your squad and Dr. Mei?"
"I didn't think they'd assign me to this mission either," Seele said, looking plaintively at her mother.
As expected of mother and daughter, Seele's mother received the distress signal from her daughter's eyes and smiled, stopping the man who was about to continue scolding: "Alright, alright. She's already here, so what's the point of saying more?"
"You... Sigh, forget it. Since you're here, make sure you execute your mission properly, got it?" The man, who had intended to lecture Seele more, saw her teary eyes and softened his tone. He poked her forehead with a finger in resignation. "Where are your teammates? Are you the only one on this mission?"
Never mind. She had already fought a Judgment-Class Honkai Beast. She must have grasped the basic sense of responsibility for her actions.
Originally, the couple had disapproved of Seele going to the front lines, believing her gentle personality wasn't suited for combat. However, in just over two months, they had felt their child's growth through their communication with her.
The responsibility and resilience of a soldier were evident in Seele. Being smart, they guessed someone had taught her these principles, but when they asked Seele, she would be evasive and perfunctory.
It must be a boy, the couple guessed telepathically.
"Uh, about that..." As soon as the topic came up, Seele's eyes darted around, trying to figure out how to introduce Lin.
Former teammate, then fought Shashah and the Third Herrscher in the Third Honkai Eruption, got promoted and raised, and now coincidentally on the same mission...
No, no, the normal introduction is just to say Lin is the Captain of the Seventh Squad! Explaining too much will definitely lead to misunderstandings!
"Big Brother, this is it! I need to go find Daddy now, goodbye!"
"..."
Sijin, having led the way, waved at Lin and darted off again. Lin saw Brolan reach out, intending to stop Sijin, likely concerned that a child running loose in the base was too dangerous.
Lin looked up at the "Fifth Science Department" sign, saying calmly, "You should go look after her. I'll just look around the Fifth Science Department."
"Is that alright?" Brolan's eyes lit up. "Sigh, Miss Sijin often comes to the base to play. She's fine when the Doctor is around, but when he's not, she can sneak into any place. I'm worried she might accidentally let out a live Zombie or Honkai Beast."
"...Is it easy for them to get out here?" Lin's pressure bore down on Brolan. Even through the helmet, one could feel Lin's air-freezing gaze.
"Ahem, I misspoke. In reality, those test subjects require high security clearance and physiological verification to open their containment facilities," Brolan realized he'd joked too far and quickly explained. "But Honkai energy is difficult to isolate, so test subjects are regularly disposed of to control Honkai energy concentration. Thus, the base doesn't always have live test subjects. We just recently captured some relatively valuable Zombies from Changkong City."
The Fifth Branch was close to Changkong City, providing them with a convenient source of materials. New types of Zombies and Honkai Beasts emerged after every major Honkai Eruption, and these were valuable research materials.
Lin frowned at Brolan's explanation: "Are there any other ways to unlock them besides the standard procedure?"
"None."
"...Go ahead."
"Alright, thank you, Mr. Lin."
After being delayed for a while, Brolan anxiously rushed off in the direction Sijin had gone, calling out her name as he ran.
Lin stood still, letting Prometheus record all the observations and conversations since entering the Fifth Branch.
Several lines of programming quickly flashed across his visual display. After making a few simple reconfigurations, he turned and walked toward the Fifth Science Department, deep in thought.
"Is that him?"
A voice with a distinctly wrong tone reached Lin's ear.
His train of thought interrupted, he looked up to see a man and a woman blocking his path, scrutinizing him with an... incomprehensible gaze.
Behind them, Seele was holding her hands together, looking at Lin with an embarrassed and apologetic expression.
Lin's eyes behind the visual display instantly turned cold after observing their expressions.
"Director Fal, hello. I'm Su."
"Hello. I've been waiting for you."
The lanky, medium-gray-haired young man nervously intended to bow to the man who would be his supervisor starting today, but before he could bend down, the man held his shoulder, smiling heartily and patting him on the back: "Why are you so shy? We are all doctors here, all standing here to save patients. There's no hierarchy."
"Mhm... Mhm!" Su realized his tone was too low and forced himself to reply with vigor.
"Good!" Director Fal gave him a thumbs-up, then lowered his hand and gestured for Su to walk into the hospital. "I'll call you Su directly. Your ability is outstanding. You could achieve greater things if you continued your advanced studies. Why do you want to start working now?"
Su's gaze darkened. He secretly clenched his fist: "I... saw a terrifying illness. I don't want to stand by and do nothing."
Moreover, an unannounced disaster occurred in Changkong City. Virtually no one survived, and the specific incident is unknown. However, my friends Kevin and his girlfriend Mei, who were studying there, have lost contact. The worst, and most likely, scenario is... death.
This place was close to Changkong City and was also where "that illness" first appeared. No matter how he looked at it, Su felt he should work here.
"A terrifying illness?" Director Fal chuckled softly. "Su, can you describe it?"
"...Purple lines, and unprecedented pain."
"It seems you've already done some research. I'll be direct, then."
Director Fal stopped in front of a critical care room. Facing the door, he tilted his head and looked at Su steadily.
In his eyes was a deep color.
"Humanity may be facing an unimaginable disaster."
"Ancient humans would describe terrifying phenomena as the mischief of ghosts and demons. In the modern era, we call it..."
"Honkai Sickness."
He reached out, pushed open the door, and revealed the darkness to Su.
Su's pupils constricted to a point.