126. Finally Found You
Ling now had a relatively legitimate identity within the Fire Moth: an experimental subject in the Mobius Laboratory.
Hmm, that sounds a bit ominous, but in reality, Mobius mostly just took a little of his blood or conducted some testing on his 'disaster' constitution.
The test results varied from person to person. For Klein, Cangxuan (Fuxi), and Danzhu (Nuwa), most of the time, it was just minor bumps and bruises, physical injuries.
But for Mobius, she often encountered more serious disasters, such as spilled instant noodles, sudden damage to experimental equipment, or, like before, being hit by a heavy object.
Fortunately, however, the four of them didn't avoid him like the plague; instead, they were quite interested in his constitution.
Because it was almost like a metaphysics!!
Of course, they would still avoid him slightly in important situations.
For example, when Mobius was conducting experiments, Klein was handling work, Danzhu was drawing cards, and Cangxuan was eating.
If Ling were around, the following scenarios might occur:
When Mobius conducts experiments, equipment malfunctions, test subjects die suddenly, and recorded data is contaminated by instant noodle soup, etc.
When Klein is working, 90% of the document is completed, the computer crashes with a blue screen, and unfortunately, it hasn't been saved.
When Danzhu draws cards, only the guaranteed reward appears.
When Cangxuan eats, various strange objects randomly appear, including but not limited to hair, insect corpses, etc.
Although there's no real progress on his 'jinx' constitution, the chaotic daily life in the lab has given Ling a long-lost feeling of belonging.
Besides going to the lab, Ling spends most of his time in the simulation training room, where powerful enemies can quickly improve his strength.
"Master No. 9527, please evaluate this simulation training."
"Very simple," Ling said casually, wiping the sweat from his body.
"Thank you for your assessment."
Ling let out a long breath. He felt that improving his strength here was faster than fighting Kalpas.
After all, Kalpas never used his full strength; his "battles" were always for "training" purposes, far removed from actual combat.
If he were to fight that pink-haired girl with donkey ears again, he was confident... he wouldn't be instantly killed.
"Ling, come quick!" Elysia suddenly found him, grabbed his hand, and ran off into the distance.
"What's wrong?" Ling looked at the somewhat anxious Elysia, wondering why she was suddenly in such a hurry.
The people around them also became somewhat flustered, as if they had entered a state of preparation for battle.
"Aponia has woken up, but she seems to have lost control," Elysia explained.
"Sister Aponia is awake?! What does 'lost control' mean?" Ling was happy but also somewhat confused.
"Hmm... it seems that currently, no one within the Fire Moth can restrain her."
Elysia recalled the description of Aponia in the communication. A sacred, terrifying, and irresistible psychic power.
No one could defy her words.
Currently, all the psychic-sensory MANTIS warriors within the Fire Moth organization combined couldn't match her alone.
Even Kevin wasn't certain he could withstand her psychic power.
"Sister Nia is very kind; she would never hurt anyone indiscriminately," Ling said earnestly.
During their time at the sanatorium, Aponia had taken great care of him and Kalpas and had done her utmost to look after the children.
How could such a kind person hurt people so easily?
"I think so too. Most people were controlled by her and then went to the side; she seemed to be searching for something," Elysia said, puzzled.
"That's why I brought you here; perhaps you can communicate with her."
Ling nodded, indicating he understood.
Soon, Ling and Elysia arrived at the scene. The surrounding area was filled with unconscious soldiers; even those who were awake were just standing there blankly.
"Sister Nia!" Ling called out hurriedly to Aponia ahead.
Aponia turned around, a flicker of emotion finally appearing in her lifeless eyes.
"Xiao Ling."
She turned and walked towards Ling.
"Finally found you…"
To Ling's puzzled gaze, Aponia hugged him.
"Sister Nia, what's wrong?" Ling, unable to move, was very confused by Aponia's behavior.
Although they had interacted quite a bit at the sanatorium, Ling's physical condition meant they rarely had such close contact.
"It's nothing, I'm just glad you're alright." Aponia gently released Ling.
"Mm…" Ling nodded.
"By the way, most of the children at the sanatorium are fine; the Fire Moths have given them new shelter. It's just… Lu and the others…"
Ling's eyes darted away, somewhat hesitant to look at Aponia.
In his mind, perhaps he was the one who brought about this calamity, causing the deaths of those infected children.
"Ling, none of this has anything to do with you; it's my fault."
"It was because I adopted those Honkai-infected children that the Honkai spread in the sanatorium."
"I am the culprit behind this incident."
"My crimes are countless…"
Tears streamed down Aponia's face.
Her intention was simply to provide a place for those Honkai-infected children to live, but she never imagined the disease would spread…
"This isn't your fault!" Elysia suddenly stepped forward and grasped Aponia's hand.
"Even if you hadn't taken them in, the Honkai Eruption would have broken out elsewhere. You only did what you thought was right." "Elysia comforted her.
"The right thing to do? Sigh… They believed in me too, and then became the source of infection that everyone feared, facing destruction in fear." Aponia shook her head.
She couldn't forgive herself. Her heart ached whenever she thought of the children surrounding her, wanting her to tell them stories.
More than twenty children died in this incident.
She remembered every face of the children in the nursing home, their laughter, their innocent faces, but all of that… was gone.
"Aponia, can you listen to my thoughts? I can't persuade you to let go of that tragedy, because for you, it might mean betrayal."
"But I want you to know that the disaster didn't happen to you; it just happened to happen to someone close to you."
"And Ling, you too. Neither of you should be trapped in the cage of the past, because those children still need someone to remember their names."
Elysia also took Ling's hand, her gaze sincere and gentle.
"Ling, you're so cute. Aponia, you're so beautiful. You two should smile more often; it's such a shame."
"Let's get to know each other. Nice to meet you, Aponia. I'm Elysia, you must remember me well."
...