A child cries from the moment they are born. Many people think it's out of fear from losing the sense of security after leaving the mother's body, but in reality, it's just the expansion of the chest, the opening of the lungs, and the exhaled air rushing past the vocal cords after inhaling, forming a howl similar to a cry.
Humans are born to lie, and even newborn babies are no exception.
Distinguishing lies is also a part of human interaction. Most people don't like others lying to them, yet they love to lie to others. This nature is etched into human DNA.
So when a person exposes their own lie, it often gives others the feeling that "everything they say next will be the truth"—a sense of entering a comfort zone that makes people feel at ease.
But is that really... "truth"?
Having experienced a near-rebirth regression event, Lin held twelvefold suspicion toward anyone at the moment, who were all shrouded in mystery.
Especially toward Chiaki, who had falsified her own records.
The skill of hacking is essentially social engineering—a means of attacking by magnifying the vulnerabilities in a person's heart. It is often more sophisticated and insidious than ordinary deception. Therefore, Chiaki, who was proficient in hacking, was also a master of deception.
Even if Lin had shared his secret, why would Chiaki reveal hers so easily?
Could the exchange of secrets also be a trap to make him let down his guard?
No... it was impossible to distinguish.
"As for my real name... I'll keep it to myself for now. I think the name 'Chiaki' is quite good; I chose it myself." Chiaki used two fingers to pick up a piece of gum and tossed it into her mouth, speaking indistinctly as she chewed. "The source is actually from your hometown, Lin. After I found out your hometown was in the Far East, I thought I'd just pick a Far East name."
I see. That meant the point in time she decided to infiltrate Fire Moth was after she discovered his files in the Fire Moth database.
It wasn't hard for Lin to deduce her thinking. By analyzing a certain amount of data, she decided what kind of role she needed to play to slip into Fire Moth unnoticed. This also fit perfectly with the "conspicuous ordinariness" she had mentioned.
"And then... as for my past..."
Next, Lin heard a story that was even more bizarre and convoluted than the one he had investigated previously.
"Anyway, that's about it. Is it disappointing? Although it sounds strange, compared to an organization like Fire Moth that saves humanity while hiding in the shadows of the world, it really doesn't amount to much, nor is there any history of trauma." Chiaki spat out the flavorless gum and stuffed in another piece, smiling helplessly.
The smile contained some complex emotions.
Was she lamenting the smallness of her past life's experiences, which paled in comparison to Fire Moth? Or had she long since moved on and didn't really care about those experiences?
Which was the real one: the hacker who occasionally showed mockery and disdain, or the girl who showed genuine emotion and secretly feared Fire Moth?
...It was also possible they were both fake.
Lin still couldn't distinguish the truth from her words. In reality, he wasn't a human polygraph. Even if he could detect heart rates or changes in breathing, he couldn't definitively conclude if someone was lying, let alone the fact that through training, one can become immune to physical judgment methods.
"Are terrifying things happening in Fire Moth? It's not just the theft from the database, right?"
Chiaki's sudden whisper struck Lin disordered thoughts unexpectedly.
He looked up, his cold gaze scanning her, and finally gave a flat nod.
This girl was even smarter than he had thought.
"No matter how much I convince myself, you aren't the kind of person who would come to me for a heart-to-heart talk. So, are you suspecting I did something?"
"You heard it."
"Yeah, in that lab. You mentioned 'regressing' back to here."
"...You believe it?"
Even Mobius and Vil-V hadn't believed such an absurd thing. No, even Lin himself couldn't fully treat the unfolding of this horror-parable-like story as his own experience with 100% certainty.
As long as a person was still thinking rationally, they probably wouldn't believe it so easily, right?
"I believe it."
"..."
Lin found himself even less able to see through Chiaki as a person. Her volatility, her deception and concealment, and her current sincerity and earnestness... could they really be displayed by the same person?
"So, please, Lin. Find the truth. Don't let me become like that."
The corners of her mouth lifted into a gentle smile as she solemnly made her request to Lin.
...
"..."
Lin left. A minute ago, he hadn't said anything, but he had accepted her request with a slight nod.
Chiaki warmly watched him leave. Even after he was gone, that smile still lingered on her face.
"Hehehe..."
Until a certain "point in time."
The warmth in her smile was replaced by a twisted sneer.
This was a side that hadn't been shown even in the footage Lin monitored.
"Stupid to the point of being cute." Chiaki looked at herself in the full-length mirror on the other side, her demure smile widening. "Even though he sensed what I said was a lie, he was still willing to agree to my request. Has he always been this stupid? It's too interesting."
At this moment, what appeared in the mirror was precisely the hacker who would coldly mock others.
It seemed a conclusion could already be drawn as to which one was the real Chiaki.
...
"Dr. Vil-V has been murdered."
The moment PROMETHEUS notified Lin, his brow twitched beneath his helmet.
Murdered?
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind. He ruled out the most likely ones, leaving only a few that seemed to contain contradictions.
He had gone to discuss things with Vil-V this time. Even if Vil-V didn't believe his words entirely, she should have been on guard.
But why was she still murdered when neither Erwin nor Pardo had come to harm?
"Where was she murdered?"
"The Spiral Workshop."
At that moment, a bolt of lightning struck Lin heart.
Something hazy rapidly took shape in his mind.
"Don't believe it, Lin."
He recalled the voice that had appeared before.
He had heard it.
Although the voice was distorted, Lin was certain he had heard it before. It was a familiar voice, and its content was conveying a message to Lin.
An "impossible" message.
"The time?"
When PROMETHEUS reported the time, Lin fist clenched abruptly, and that "haze" expanded invisibly.