I'm not Yingjie

"Does it have anything to do with me whether you smoke or not?"

"We are in the same boat now, after all. What's the harm in being more intimate with each other?"

"...I've said this many times." A cold gaze swept over the Speaker's back, "You and I have never been in the same boat."

"Yeah... I know." The Speaker shrugged, seeming indifferent. "It's just a cooperative relationship."

"I will kill people simply because of the unforgivable things these people have done and because of your commitment to keep your word."

"Snapped."

The lighter lit up. Even though he had quit smoking a long time ago, he still had the habit of carrying a lighter with him.

The flame suddenly went out, emitting an eerie cold light in the darkness, shining on the face of the corpse.

Another high-level one.

The Speaker sat leisurely opposite the corpse. A few minutes ago, the corpse was still alive and kicking and negotiating with him, but now it could only lie on the table with its eyes wide open, using its face to print an incomplete pattern in a pool of blood.

"I am the most trustworthy person and I never break my promises." The Speaker ignored the blood that was about to spread to his body, boasted, and continued, "How is your Honkai energy erosion rate? Continuously using that device will cause your consciousness to have a separation effect. You should feel that the time your consciousness stays in the phase transmission has become longer and the distance has become shorter."

"You don't need to ask any more questions."

"The erosion of Honkai energy has a lot to do with a person's willpower. If something happens to you, I'll be in a lot of trouble."

"…Isn't it the same for you?"

In the dying firelight, under the Speaker's slightly open collar, a dazzling pink-purple line was crawling on his neck like a centipede.

The Speaker adjusted his collar to hide the lines.

“Maybe this is retribution.”

"Do you still believe in retribution?"

"I don't believe it, but I think it's more appropriate to use it here." The Speaker snorted with disdain, "If good and evil really do get rewarded, then MSA-079 wouldn't have the same disease as me."

"..."

"Why? Do you believe it?"

"I believe."

The man raised his head and forced a breath from his lungs.

……

Mebius answered some of the questions, but as he had always encountered since entering here, the answers led to more questions.

Mei uncovered Mobius's plot to usurp the throne, but in retrospect, it seemed that Lin was deliberately interfering with Mobius's plan. So was the answer she got from Mobius also what Lin expected?

She already had a complete guess at this point, but in such a disgusting situation, she was not sure whether the guess was correct.

While Mei was deep in thought, a cold figure walked into her sight. She looked up and saw a white-haired warrior standing in the lounge, looking at the newly replaced portrait of Alicia.

Kevin...

To be honest, Mei didn't want to talk to Kevin. Before entering the paradise of the afterlife, Kevin, the lord of the world snake, had left her with an indelible impression of cold-bloodedness, which made her somewhat resistant to this memory body who looked, spoke and behaved similarly. What's more, Kevin's words were the most difficult to understand.

Sue's words were profound, but he was just explaining them in his own way, whereas Kevin was intentional.

However, Kevin might be able to give her some ideas at the moment. As the first person among the Thirteen Heroes to know Lin, he would know more.

"Is there anything wrong? Raiden Mei." Before he got close, Kevin, who had an extraordinary perception, had already noticed Mei, and he asked without turning his head.

"I want to ask you something." Mei thought about it and didn't ask Kevin about Lin directly. She wanted to change the topic first. "I heard from you that the Fire Moth is an organization similar to Destiny, Anti-Entropy and World Serpent. So how was the Fire Moth established in the first place?"

Everything has its consequences. The Fire Moth was established to fight against the Honkai Impact. So who made the decision and how was it established in the beginning?

Kevin turned his head, his long coat hanging low beside his knees. He said expressionlessly, "There is no relevant record of the Fire Moth."

"What?" Mei thought she had misheard.

An organization actually has no records of its establishment?

"It doesn't matter how the Fire Moth was founded. Once the roots are traced, all actions will be interpreted, which is not conducive to the internal atmosphere."

Any action against Honkai will be interpreted as having ulterior motives, and the legitimacy of the Fire Moth will be questioned.

"This is experience and also a lesson." Kevin said, glancing at Mei who was stunned, "Do you have anything else to ask?"

Mei's heart tightened as if her thoughts were discovered.

Since she had seen through it, she asked directly, "Is it just because his super-transformation surgery failed that Lin didn't have a place among the Thirteen Heroes?"

"..." I didn't expect Mei to ask this question. Even Kevin was silent for a while. He said coldly, "The name 'Thirteen Heroes' was not originally a name for the thirteen super-mutation warriors. It was only after the thirteen super-mutation warriors formed this group that they were named Thirteen Heroes."

"...Can you explain it in clearer and more explicit words?" Mei was a little confused.

"That is to say, the 'Thirteen Heroes' were not decided to be all super-mutated warriors at the beginning, and the number was not thirteen, but fourteen."

"Is that really the case? What's the reason?"

"Lin gave up the name of Yingjie."

"I'm talking about the deeper reasons."

What happened to Lin and the Thirteenth Yingjie at that time that made Alicia agree to let Lin give up the title of Yingjie?

Could it be an incident related to "The Betrayer"?

"I know you're wondering if it has anything to do with the 'betrayer'."

Once again, her thoughts were seen through, and Mei's frown told Kevin that she did have something in mind.

"Then I might as well tell you that Lin did 'betray', but you have to find out who he 'betrayed' yourself."

"As for the rest, you are not qualified to know...at least not now."

Chapter 39: What the Heart Desires

How many opportunities do people have to stop and go in their lives?

……

"Minister, aren't you going to help?"

The assistant looked at Kevin's receding back and couldn't help but ask Mei who was concentrating on her work.

Mei has been in charge of the R&D department for more than a year. In the eyes of her assistants, she is a good director who is dedicated to her duties. She is excellent in all aspects and is so devoted to her work that she is oblivious to everything else.

Judging from her daily behavior, it is impossible to tell that the culprit for the internal divisions of the Fire Moth is this girl with glasses who only goes between two places.

Over the past year, it has become increasingly difficult for her to express her emotions. She smiles more and more, but she looks less and less like the shy girl she once was.

Perhaps only in front of Kevin could she briefly show a real smile.

"...No need, I can't help much, just leave it to Kevin." Mei, who was thinking about the new weapon design, replied without raising her head.

"But……"

In the assistant's view, May was no different from usual. But such a big thing had happened. As someone who was qualified to participate in high-level meetings, why did May just leave the matter to Kevin?

Mei didn't let the assistant say anything. She turned her head and looked at the assistant who was a little older than her. She covered the pen cap with both hands and said, "Go and get me the A7 drawing."

"..." The assistant paused in surprise, and then he understood that Mei meant not to talk about this matter anymore.

help?

Mei called up Prometheus II, and after watching the second and third assassinations, she confirmed one thing.

……

"Another indoor assassination."

After the fourth victim appeared, the whole incident became completely out of control. Everyone could see that someone was targeting the top leaders of the Fire Moth, and that person might be Lin who had already disappeared.

"As I said, the helmeted man has been hiding his face with bad intentions."

"That's not right. The evidence is not sufficient now. Besides, hasn't he been confirmed to be incapable of fighting?"

"How difficult is it to kill a person? He can kill Herrscher and upper Houkai beasts with those weapons, let alone a person?"

"Yes, he must be dissatisfied with the higher-ups and not satisfied with the current power..."

In the current chaotic situation, the headquarters has no time to manage public opinion, and the blockade of intelligence cannot be perfect. Although private discussions have not extended to the internal network, many people have already believed that the evidence is conclusive.

Lin has been at the center of public opinion with mixed reviews since joining the Fire Moths, and this incident will undoubtedly magnify the parts of him that are questioned infinitely.

The members of Hen's temporary team gathered in the conference room. With no missions and no one to train with, all they could do was discuss recent events together.

Erwin seemed out of place among the indignant people, with an embarrassed and puzzled look on his face. He whispered, "But Captain Lin shouldn't have any need to kill anyone... Would there be a killer who would risk his life to defeat the Herrscher?"

"..."

However, as soon as he said this, everyone turned their heads to look at him strangely, and the air in the conference room froze instantly.

"Erwin, have you forgotten? It was because of him that our team lost more than half of its members."

Someone said suddenly.

Erwin smiled helplessly: "But we were sent to die in the beginning. If it weren't for Captain Hen, we would all die there. Even if we want to find the real source, it should be the person who gave the order to die."

This sentence choked the man, and he couldn't find any words to refute Erwin.

Alvin was right. Even if he wanted to collect debts, he should go to Sigma and the higher-ups behind him instead of Lin who came to support him. He didn't know the situation of Team Hen at the time. If the mission was going on normally, Lin's support would have been very timely.

"What are you talking about? We have all the evidence now! It must be him!" The man yelled with his face flushed with dissatisfaction, "How should I know what he is thinking? He is mysterious all day long. We don't even know what he looks like. Maybe he has a problem with his brain. Have you ever seen anyone who is not afraid of death and goes into dangerous areas all day long? Just to complete those missions? Huh?"

“… Never mind. Maybe you’re right.”

Erwin didn't expect him to be so excited. It was like a wound was poked. Erwin shook his head and didn't want to argue with him any more.

Originally, they were just a group of new recruits gathered together. It was normal to have disagreements and conflicts. Erwin himself was nothing special and his abilities were mediocre. He thought that he only needed to perform his mission peacefully and it would be best if he did not have excessive conflicts with others.

They cannot see the full picture of Lin's affairs and make judgments based entirely on subjective conjectures, and subjectivity is where problems are most likely to occur.

Maybe he is really wrong?

Alvin smiled self-deprecatingly. He was just a small figure after all. Even if he didn't die in this mission, he might die in the next one. He had already escaped once, so he had become more open-minded about many things.

Erwin's laughter made others feel like he was laughing at them, but Erwin was too lazy to explain. He got up and walked out the door without saying goodbye.

"Hey... um? What's up?"

Erwin wanted to go out for some fresh air and saw the corridor as usual. He took a deep breath and caught a glimpse of a person standing next to him, staring at him silently.

The girl with shoulder-length highlighted hair looked at him thoughtfully, which made him feel a little embarrassed.

They don’t know each other, right?

"Why would you speak for Captain Lin...Lin?" She suddenly asked after watching silently for a while.

"Did you hear that?" Erwin was a little surprised. You know, the soundproofing effect of the conference room is unmatched by other rooms. Even if you put your ear against the wall, it is difficult to hear the sound inside. "It seems that the noise just now was too loud..."

He sighed and said, "I'm not speaking for him, but I feel like everyone has entered a weird state, numbing themselves and others."

What is correct?

What is wrong?

Truth? Lies? Fallacy? Truth?

It seems that nothing matters anymore, except that "something is happening" now, like an abnormal yet reasonable phenomenon before the collapse.

"I just think everyone is too harsh on Captain Lin. Maybe he's not as... hateful as others think?" Erwin raised his head and blew out a breath. "Hiding his face may be due to disfigurement, and being mysterious may be because he doesn't want to interact with people. He often goes on missions... Wouldn't everyone rather believe that a person who attacks the Herrscher has ulterior motives than believe that he just wants to protect humanity?"

The girl stared at the expression on his face, and after a while handed him a document: "For your own good, you should say less of this kind of thing, at least in front of those people."

"what is this?"

"The laboratory asked me to help get your team's physical examination report."

Erwin nodded and accepted the report. Just as he was about to return to the meeting room, the girl behind him said abruptly, "Stick to what you want, but don't get too radical about it. There's nothing wrong with being a 'man of the crowd'."

Erwin turned back in surprise: "Thank you."

However, the girl had already turned and left.

Chapter 40 More and More

"The third assassination took place indoors, but there were signs of hiding the body."

Weiwei is only interested in things that she thinks are interesting. Maybe some people misunderstand her as a genius lunatic who treats human lives as toys, but she clarified that she is not very interested in such things.