"Lin is alive?"
Among the chaotic wartime intelligence coming from the frontline, there was one piece of news that sounded strange to the grim Spaciel.
He was the person who personally placed Lin's corpse in that room. He had confirmed that Lin could not possibly be in a state of suspended animation or near-death. Spaciel had already foreseen this outcome when Lin chose to withdraw from Fire Moth to block the Sixth Herrscher. So his emotional reaction upon seeing Lin's corpse was similar to that of other fallen soldiers.
Therefore, Lin's unexpected revival was something he simply couldn't fathom.
"Revived from the dead? Impossible…" Spaciel, who understood the laws of physics, was certain that Lin hadn't been fully dead and then revived. He pondered for a moment and quickly guessed the truth: "He must not have been completely dead… Is there a reason I don't know about?"
No matter what, Lin's survival was not a bad thing. After formulating the final phase of the subjugation strategy against the Sixth Herrscher, Spaciel decided to do one thing.
"I'm going back to the Fifth Branch."
Himeko, who was severely wounded, and Sakura, who was exhausted, were the final defense line for the combat commanders. They both looked perplexed upon hearing Spaciel's decision.
Although most of the city had been recaptured, the Sixth Herrscher and the monstrous tree were far from being completely dealt with. The uncleaned Honkai creatures were still rampaging through the city. Returning to the Fifth Branch now was extremely dangerous, and all other combat personnel were engaged in the subjugation battle. The remaining people were mostly wounded. No one could protect Spaciel on his return.
Spaciel was naturally aware of the situation and their concerns, but he still intended to go back.
There was one thing that had to be done.
"You don't need to follow me. I can return alone. Just protect the people here." Spaciel paused, looking at the scrolling intelligence on the screen. "Dr. Einstein, I have completed the final battle command. All subsequent command authority will be transferred to you. If I encounter misfortune, please do not send anyone to reinforce me. This is my own matter."
Einstein did not obstruct him, but she still reminded him: "Dr. Spaciel, please prioritize the greater good."
"I have fulfilled my duty as the head of the Fifth Branch and saved many people. Now I must fulfill my duty as a doctor and save a patient."
Spaciel gripped the handgun with his single arm. After transferring the command authority, he resolutely left.
"Wait, Dr. Spaciel, let me go with you." As he walked out the door, Himeko followed him. She had heard the news about Lin and guessed that what Spaciel intended to do was related to Lin.
The turmoil in her heart told her to follow him.
She couldn't allow a second tragedy like the Second Honkai, nor could she allow the tragedy of the Sixth Honkai to continue.
She didn't believe in God.
But she prayed sincerely.
…
"We found it. Is there any more?"
Su picked up the alcohol-soaked torch and lit it, waving it to ward off the encroaching roots of the giant tree. Ordinary fire was useless against these roots with such tenacious vitality, but Su at least used it to bolster his courage.
This shelter was quite far from the giant tree's root system. The speed of invasion and the number of roots were significantly reduced, possibly because it was digesting the humans it had consumed earlier, so Su and the others still had time to carry out the rescue.
Director Faal, unconcerned, carried a critically ill, unconscious Honkai Virus patient with his bare hands toward the outside of the shelter. To provide timely aid, they performed excision surgery right in the car. These Honkai Virus patients' conditions had rapidly worsened during the Sixth Honkai. Patients who were initially in the early stage had deteriorated to the late stage in just one day, and many had already died from the erosion.
Ragna, wearing rubber gloves and holding a surgical knife and disinfectant, tried to keep the car environment as sterile as possible. Su was responsible for warding off the endlessly coiling branches. They worked with clear division of labor, traveling between multiple shelters, and had already rescued over forty people, three of whom were Honkai Virus patients. Now, this was the last person in the last shelter.
The fatality rate of the Honkai Virus was nearly 100%. Survival required the excision of the diseased area, but once surgery began, the lines would accelerate the erosion as if endowed with life. As a result, the success rate of surgery over the past few years had not exceeded 1%. Today, they had miraculously succeeded three times under harsh conditions.
Now, this was the last patient they could save.
"Director Faal, the diseased areas in the first three surgeries were relatively localized, so there wasn't a major hemorrhage, but this patient's erosion has spread from the arm to most of his back." Ragna propped up the patient's body, tore off his upper body clothing, and said gravely to Faal, "We don't have blood transfusion equipment. If we perform surgery here…"
"…"
Faal knew what Ragna meant. They didn't have the equipment of a proper operating room. The fact that they had completed three surgeries was purely a blessing from the Goddess of Fortune, but they couldn't rely on luck this time. Without blood transfusion equipment and a blood bank, even if they excised the diseased area, the patient would die from massive hemorrhage.
So he pondered, pinching his chin: "Go to Nagazora. It's only five kilometers from here."
"Nagazora has also been evacuated. The danger there shouldn't be any less than in our city."
"But we have no choice." Su, who had run over to them, panted as he looked at the moaning patient. His unconcealed distress was visible to all. "Let's go."
Once the decision was made, there was no room for hesitation. The three of them immediately moved. They placed the patients who had already undergone surgery in the back seat. Su squeezed in with them, while Faal personally sat in the passenger seat, holding the last patient.
Ragna decisively slammed the accelerator, leaving the slow-moving tree roots behind.
This last patient's condition was the most severe, so whether they would make it in time was an unknown.
But Su knew that whether they succeeded or not was secondary to whether they tried.
Kevin had disappeared in a disaster similar to this one. He couldn't save his friend, which once made him determined to uncover the truth of that time.
Now, the truth was clear, and it reinforced his resolve to fight the disaster named "Honkai" to the very end.
In the shaking car, Su vaguely recalled the day he, Kevin, and Mei went to a concert. Kevin excitedly introduced Mei as his girlfriend, but there was a hint of loneliness in his eyes.
Su quietly asked him why he seemed unhappy.
Kevin replied that the person who was originally supposed to come wasn't Mei, but another friend of his.
That look was etched in Su's memory. One day, after performing surgery, when he saw his photo with Kevin on his desk, he suddenly saw a familiar look reflected in the glass.
His own loneliness, after losing someone important.
Su didn't want to see anyone else with that expression. He had witnessed too many deaths and separations in the hospital, but these events hadn't made him numb.
To become numb to life was to cease being a doctor and become a patient.
Faal was right. They arrived at Nagazora in less time than it takes to listen to one song.
Ragna was also right.
"Gawk—"
The most immediate manifestation of the elevated Honkai Energy concentration after the Herrscher's visit was that—
The walking dead in Nagazora, smelling fresh flesh and blood, emitted a jarring, low growl.