Like flames of punishment from the heavens, intending to burn the sinner to ashes. Even a torrential downpour could not stop the fires of hatred from burning in the night.
Lin stood before the soaring flames, listening to the roar of the support pillars collapsing as they turned to charcoal. He lowered his head, letting his wet bangs cling to his face, obscuring his features.
The man in the suit held a handgun, standing before the wreckage of what was once called a home. He turned back, looking at the two children with some surprise.
The rain continued to fall, never-ending.
...
"Hey? Who is that? Does HQ have such a beautiful... girl? Boy?"
"I don't know. First time seeing them. A rookie?"
"He's smiling at me! Hey! Did you see that? When he smiles, it's like there's light. Even the Mona Lisa's smile is nothing compared to that. I'm going to take a photo secretly..."
"Tsk, you're exaggerating... but remember to send me a copy."
Elysia and Mobius poked their heads around a corner, their four eyes watching seriously as a beaming Lin walked down the corridor. Everyone who passed him felt like a spring breeze was blowing and all things were budding. They couldn't help but discuss this stranger appearing in HQ.
Probably no one would associate him with that helmeted man who hid his face all day and radiated a gloomy aura like he had just killed someone.
"Has he finally seen the light?" Mobius stared at the people who were frequently looking back after passing him, her brow furrowed. "Has he finally realized his advantages and is ready to abandon his bottom line and run wild?"
"...That's not Lin." Elysia, rarely without a smile, looked quite distressed, her eyes fixed on Lin back.
Mobius snorted dismissively: "You don't think a drastic change in personality means it's a different person, do you? Given his experiences and accumulated stress, it's possible he split a second personality or his true nature finally exploded out."
"No, that can't be Lin."
"...How do you know?"
"Lin and I make a promise. Lin is someone who absolutely keeps his word. Unless necessary, it's impossible for him to break it."
Elysia had once requested that Lin not show his true face to anyone but her. Because of this pact, Lin had only shown his face a handful of times when he considered it necessary.
Walking through HQ so blatantly without any cover was fundamentally impossible.
This Lin... Elysia had an unexplainable feeling. She could be certain he wasn't the contradictory man she knew—both heartless and affectionate, both rational and sentimental—but she didn't expose him directly.
Perhaps it was because there was no malice in this Lin eyes. He had simply woken up and given a heartfelt smile.
"We'll know if we keep watching," Mobius said, maintaining a skeptical attitude. She also vaguely felt that this Lin didn't trigger her dislike in certain ways.
...
"The Doctor still hasn't come back today."
"Even the projects given to her have been delayed."
Nuwa and Fuxi were walking back to the lab from the cafeteria after lunch, chatting and laughing. For them—who spent all day thinking about how to slack off under Mobius—the fact that Mobius hadn't returned from the Deep End for several days meant they were living a blissful life. They were almost treating the lab like an entertainment room where they could play all day after clocking in.
"I actually miss the Doctor a bit."
"Miss her murderous tone when she calls your full name?"
"Miss her expression when she forgets to add the seasoning packet to her instant noodles."
The two played off each other, amusing themselves and laughing so hard they were doubled over on the road.
At that moment, a person approached. Nuwa caught a glimpse and stood frozen on the spot.
"Eh? What's wrong? Nuwa..." Seeing Nuwa stop, Fuxi looked toward the direction her eyes were fixed...
A person with a face full of spring breezes walked up to them. Just as he was about to pass, he paused, gave them a thoughtful look, and after some deep thinking, had a sudden realization.
"Nuwa? Fuxi?" He called their names with a chuckle. "Are you done with lunch and heading back to work?"
"..."
"..."
Nuwa's face turned red with a poof, the color spreading from her neck to her ears. Her crystalline ears turned apple-red.
She leaned in and whispered frantically into Fuxi's ear: "Fu, Fu, Fuxi... I think I've seen the man of my dreams."
Fuxi took a deep breath, then reached out and pinched Nuwa's waist hard, making her let out a cute "Yipe!"
"What are you doing!" Nuwa glared at Fuxi, both startled and angry.
"Looks like it's not a dream," Fuxi concluded expressionlessly, propping her chin on one hand. "Congratulations, your dream lover has appeared in reality."
Lin watched their bizarre interaction with a face full of question marks. He saw them whispering to each other, glancing at him from time to time.
"Um... excuse me, but you are...?" After some deliberation, Nuwa asked tentatively.
This person's appearance was incredibly memorable; it was impossible to forget after one look. She had no memory of him, yet he seemed to know both of them. She wondered if it was someone she had accidentally met before.
No, no, no. Even if it was an accidental meeting, she couldn't be completely without an impression. Could her brain have been remodeled by the Doctor?
That's it! The Doctor often said her brain wasn't even one percent of Senior Klein's, that her memory was like a goldfish, and her capacity was less than a single-celled organism. What if the Doctor wanted a capable assistant like Senior and performed surgery on her...
The more she thought about it, the more serious her expression became.
"I am..." "Lin" smiled and started to say something, but the words caught in his throat. He stopped, thought for a moment, and said, "I'm that person you are very familiar with."
"Very familiar?" The two sisters were shocked by this phrasing.
Fuxi's first thought was: Is this a financial dispute?
Nuwa's first thought was: What did Dr. Mobius do to my brain?
"If there's a chance, let's play with models together next time."
"Lin" didn't explain further. He simply gave a smile, bypassed the nuns, and left.
"Fuxi, can you really not remember where we met him?"
"Are you the one who can't remember? No wonder the Doctor says you have a goldfish's memory..."
Meanwhile, the subject of their heated discussion, Mobius, was standing expressionlessly around a corner. She turned to Elysia and said, "I'm certain that's Lin. That annoying way he flirted with my assistants is exactly like him."
"..."