"Those who fail the Project Soldier surgery either die or become mindless Honkai Beasts. Only you survived somewhat intact. Looking at it that way, you are rather special."
Mobius sat on a workbench, blowing the steam off her coffee, and gave Lin two cold chuckles.
"Forty people were fused with the Vasak gene. Including you, forty-one people, and not one was successful, nor did any survive like you did."
"The higher-ups suddenly took an interest in you. They want to know how you at least survived... Heh..."
Mobius smile was creepy—many people would say that. She often looked at people as if they were white mice on an operating table, or... corpses.
But seeing Lin remain unmoved, she lost interest in intimidation. She snorted disdainfully: "But unfortunately, all evidence points to you just being lucky. Given a 97% death rate, the existence of a few survivors can only be explained by luck."
"...And you?"
Mobius arched an eyebrow, a smirk appearing. "Guess."
"..."
The atmosphere in the office was heavy. Mobius continued: "Then there are the side effects. We still can't grasp the principle behind them. Kevin, Sakura, and I all have traits of our original Honkai Beasts—low temperature, beast ears, shedding... but your side effect is likely just that the failed surgery damaged your original organs."
"What about the other one?"
"What?"
Lin counted the people and asked, "What is Elysia side effect?"
"..."
Mobius suddenly went silent, her expression turning extremely sour.
"...Is it serious?"
"Yes, very serious." Mobius twitched her lip. "According to her, her weight... dropped a little."
...
"Need something?"
MEI was as busy as ever. Lin had never seen her idle. Was it the fate of the Head of R&D to be busy from morning till night?
But she was more composed than her predecessor. She turned and smiled at Lin, who stood behind her, pointing to a prepared cup of coffee.
It seemed she had guessed Lin would come.
"Sometimes I miss our high school days. Back then, you'd come to chat, rather than standing there with a stiff face, waiting for me to guess why you're here." MEI took a sip of hot cocoa and spoke first. "Chrysalis Squad is about to be reorganized."
This was expected. Lin temporary assignment to the squad was just to ease personnel pressure. Now that Fire-Moth was back on track, the reorganization was inevitable.
"After this mission, both I and others believe you aren't suited for Chrysalis Squad. You'll be reassigned to a normal squad."
"...Was it you who ended this mission early?" Lin muffled voice came from his helmet.
"The mission wasn't issued by me. Sending Sakura and ending your mission early wasn't my doing either."
MEI's smile was serene, full of hidden depth.
"Then... I want to ask a favor of you."
"Hmm... Lin, how long has it been since you asked me for anything?"
That probably went back to high school—but that was irrelevant.
MEI's eyes seemed to pierce the human heart to see the truth. She lowered her head to sip her coffee, then said leisurely: "You don't need to worry about the man named Kalpas. We are studying the footage of his fight with Sakura. As a 'human,' he was actually able to wound a MANTIS. His value ensures he won't be easily discarded."
"But I know you understand that. The person you want to ask about is the other one you brought back—the nun."
Lin said nothing. He knew he didn't need to explain; MEI understood. She would lay everything out on the table clearly.
"A month of interrogation and zero intel. Even the most loyal soldier would have confessed by now. So, either her willpower exceeds our imagination, or... she is just an ordinary person who knows nothing."
"You were in close contact with her for a month and a half. I believe you can testify that she is indeed ordinary... but clearly, others won't let you testify."
"I know you're wondering why your mission ended early without you being told. It's because your connection to the Councilman was exposed."
"..."
This news made Lin raise his head in slight surprise. His relationship with the Councilman should have been buried with the man's death. But why...
He suddenly thought of something and stared at MEI. She smiled: "Exactly. One of the researchers from the Councilman's experiments on you was found. While you were on your mission, Fire-Moth was hunting down the Councilman's remaining forces globally, wanting to completely erase any possibility of a second rebellion."
"Once your information was discovered, you became a monitored target."
"The reason you can still stand here instead of being locked in the Deep End is due to your past performance in anti-Honkai operations and the fact that you didn't disobey Fire-Moth's orders in the end."
I see... Because he, too, was someone who wasn't trusted...
"That girl will be pushed onto the operating table tomorrow. It's impossible for me to cancel her surgery; that's not a decision I can make alone." MEI's gaze turned cold, filled with both helplessness and unnameable emotions. "Lin, your current situation is dangerous. You'd better not do anything to... trigger those whose nerves are already sensitive."
"...What is the success rate of the surgery?" Lin exhaled and asked.
"The death rate is 97%. That is an indisputable fact..." MEI said coldly. "However, those who succeed have extremely high Honkai adaptability. And that sister's adaptability, after testing, is also of a very high type."
Lin had noticed this back at the sanatorium. Being able to live in a high Honkai concentration environment without being infected meant that both Kalpas and Aponia had adaptability and resistance far beyond normal humans.
"Lin, there are things you cannot change. It's better to learn to accept them early."
The silence between MEI and Lin began the moment those words were spoken.
However, MEI soon broke the deadlock. She smiled at Lin: "By the way, Lin, I need you to test something for me."