The transport plane was as stable as it was on the way here, but the atmosphere was completely different from a day ago, silent as a morgue.
After venting her emotions, Seele lay down on Lin's lap and fell into a deep sleep, her tear stains still visible. Experiencing the reunion with and departure from her parents in a single day was more than someone of her age and experience could bear.
Kevin remained completely silent this time, looking with worry at Lin, who hadn't moved since getting onto the transport plane.
"I'm fine."
Lin shook his head at Kevin, looking calm and composed.
He looked utterly tragic, covered in blood, but not a single drop was his own. Spaciel's level of attack was, at most, a polishing job for his outer armor.
But Kevin was clearly asking about something else.
"Did you know that Doctor Spaciel would miss?"
In the final moment, Spaciel had fired the gun without any hesitation. The overflowing hatred was alarming, yet the shot missed Lin. Spaciel then passed out again and was now on the transport plane, being taken to headquarters for treatment.
No matter how sturdy Lin's helmet was, it couldn't withstand specialized bullets. If the shot hadn't missed, there would have been one more corpse to clean up.
"The Doctor's right-hand knuckles were fractured, he has no left hand, and his mental state is unstable. It was impossible for him to hit," Lin explained.
"Why didn't you resist? Or were you really planning to pay..."
"The Doctor has lost too much. It's normal for him to point his anger at me. You don't need to worry about it."
But it's not your fault.
Kevin wanted to say this but was held back by Mei beside him, who gently shook her head.
Lin wasn't concerned with those things.
"Welcome back. Long time no see... though I'd say you guys came and went too fast."
On the deck, the pink-haired girl Elysia welcomed the seemingly exhausted group, holding down her skirt, which was being blown by the transport plane's airflow.
Having been following the group closely, she had already learned what happened at the Fifth Branch, but she was still surprised to see them disembarking from the plane. After all, it wasn't often that even Lin seemed unsteady.
Kevin, seeing Elysia come out to greet them for the first time, looked at her smiling face in confusion: "Elysia..."
"Hmm, are you that surprised after only one day apart?" Elysia particularly liked the gesture of lightly touching her lips. She wasn't sure if she thought it was sexy or cute. She glanced at Lin, who was lost in thought in the corner. "Or, did you miss me?"
"No..."
"Yes, I missed you a lot."
Lin abruptly interrupted Kevin, staring intensely at the stunned Elysia.
"Huh?" Elysia's mind momentarily lagged.
Lin pushed the sleeping Seele into Mei's arms, stepped forward, pressed his hands on Elysia's shoulders, and said deeply, "I've been thinking about you. I couldn't sleep being away from you for a day."
"Th-th-that, now might not be the best time to say that..."
"Then let's go somewhere else to talk."
Lin pulled the flustered Elysia toward his room without allowing her to protest, leaving a bewildered Kevin and an expressionless Mei comforting Seele.
Lin's powered armor still had dried blood stains, emitting a stench. Elysia could tell that the tall boy holding her hand was not in his right state today. His every movement was broader than usual, filled with an angry restlessness.
Before today, Elysia had only seen him like this once, during their first meeting, when he looked at the Honkai energy adaptability on her report.
Under his restless steps, Lin quickly reached his room. After Elysia entered, he casually locked the door under her subtle gaze. Then, he took a miniature device from his mobile unit, affixed it to the wall, and pressed the button to activate it.
"Um, Lin, what is this..." Elysia hadn't seen a similar device in the R&D department.
After finishing the preparation, Lin began to unbuckle his external powered armor: "Mei gave it to me. It can disable the surveillance system within a certain range."
"...Lin, you were just holding that girl. If you do this now, I'll be mad, you know." As she saw him start to undress, Elysia's eyes became increasingly strange, developing in a not-so-good direction.
He didn't really have too much pressure so...
"You misunderstood." After removing the armor, Lin threw it into the cleaner. He was only wearing a thin short-sleeved shirt on top. Crossing his arms, he said, "But I really wanted to... wanted to... wanted to..."
He paused to gather his thoughts, then said seriously, "I wanted you."
"Lin, you don't have to force yourself to say it if you don't want to." Elysia sighed, likely guessing he was flattering her with insincere words because he needed her help. She then pulled herself together and smiled sideways. "So, what did you want to talk about? Is it related to the attack on the Fifth Branch?"
"..." Lin stared at her, saying nothing.
"If you don't say anything, I won't know what you're thinking. Not even light signals can decipher every word."
"I was just thinking about where to start."
Lin initially wanted to blurt everything out and have Elysia help him find the person in the higher-ups who orchestrated the attack, as her connections were best suited for investigating such matters. But after calming down, he hesitated.
He looked at Elysia's warm eyes through the viewport, and Spaciel's cries involuntarily echoed in his ears.
"You have nothing to lose, you need to lose nothing, which is why you have no human emotions!"
"Do you hear me! You have nothing!"
Those were the most painful words from someone who had lost their dearest, shaking the heart of everyone who heard them.
Could he guarantee that Elysia wouldn't be implicated?
At this moment, Lin surprisingly felt a deep part of his heart being touched. An indescribable emotion surged into his mind.
It was a feeling of "fear" that he had never experienced before.
Lin almost submitted to that feeling when he spoke: "I... No, it's nothing. Just pretend nothing happened."
He turned around, switched off the device, opened the door lock, and said to Elysia, "You can go back now."
Elysia didn't move. Her beautiful pink eyes glanced at the open door, then at the helmeted man with his head down.
Then, with a gentle push, she closed the door.
"..." Lin looked up at her.
"Lin, this isn't like you. The Lin I know never hesitates or regrets." Elysia could feel Lin's gaze was avoiding hers. "We're friends, so it's okay to share what's on your mind with a friend, isn't it?"
"..."
"Hmm... Speak." Elysia reached out and grabbed his helmet, shaking it in dissatisfaction.
"There's nothing to say. I just overthought things."
"Lin's considerations are always very reasonable. I want to hear them."
Elysia's finger gently tapped on Lin's helmet, making a crisp sound.
"I'll only tell you part of it, okay?"
"Why?"
"Secrets also add to a man's mystique."
Elysia was momentarily stunned by the familiar phrase, then laughed: "Haha, even though I'm unhappy that you won't tell me everything, since Lin is cracking a rare joke, I won't pursue it. So, what is this mysterious thing?"
"Elysia, do you know about The Deepest Reaches?"
Elysia tilted her head and chuckled.
"I do."