"You are a very strange person, Uncle."
Anna, who picked up and put down her chopsticks in front of the exquisite, fragrant dishes, said with a worried expression to the silent Lin.
"Who takes care of someone they've only met twice so meticulously? You're so illogical, Uncle."
Lin put down his measuring device and said nonchalantly, "No one would search an entire city for a person just to cheer them up."
"I did that for the sake of Uncle's life. Uncle looks so gloomy. Wouldn't it be even more miserable if he met a cute girl who didn't even care about him?" Anna argued stubbornly. "Just standing next to Uncle, I can feel a dense tragic aura on you. Ordinary people definitely wouldn't want to get close to you or would simply judge you by your appearance and misunderstand you."
"..."
"Are you angry?" Anna asked cautiously, realizing she might have spoken too harshly.
"No."
"Then, then, don't be angry."
"I'm not. Eat."
But Anna felt that Lin's unseen face must be furious right now. If it were her, being criticized after kindly helping someone, she would definitely be enraged.
Perhaps she should use a more complimentary word, like "unique"...
Lin had no way of knowing Anna's complex thoughts. He picked up the measuring device and continued to check today's results.
Lin hadn't stayed here all day. He had gone out to do reconnaissance and returned every so often to change Anna's towel and adjust the temperature. Anna woke up just as he finished his day's work and was making her food.
So Anna was indeed overthinking things.
However, this was a fresh experience for Prometheus. Other than by agreement, Lin rarely took care of someone individually. Almost everyone held the same weight in his eyes, so there was naturally no such thing as special treatment.
Anna nervously fiddled with her bangs, feeling a burning sensation on her face: "How about we eat together?"
"No need."
"...You are angry, aren't you?"
"I've already eaten."
After calibrating today's data, Lin put away the measuring device and said to Anna, "What was the thing you wanted to talk about yesterday."
"Uh... that. Well, I wanted to ask Uncle to help me go to a certain place, but it's too late today. Never mind."
"Okay." Lin stood up to leave immediately.
Anna was startled: "Wait! Uncle!"
...
"Grouping some new recruits together is meant to form a team that can be used to complete relatively dangerous missions when necessary."
The Speaker sat in his chair, smiling and playing with a bullet, explaining to the person on the other end of the communicator.
The bullet caliber was for Fire Moth's standard handgun, a type that had been phased out.
The man in the suit used three fingers to roll the bullet back and forth, as if it were a favorite toy.
The tone on the other end of the communicator was cold and monotonous: "That sounds so nice. Aren't you just sending them to their deaths? You don't care about the sacrifice of soldiers at all."
"Heh, that's different." The Speaker chuckled comfortably. "If a matter can only be accomplished through sacrifice, then I think most people, including MSA-079, would agree to let them sacrifice themselves."
"Why did you mention him."
"What do you think?"
"..."
"The value of human life is not equal. That's why personnel are temporarily reassigned, sending those with less value to scout the way." He smirked. "Better safe than sorry. That's my favorite saying."
"So, your subordinates and the Fifth Branch all fall under the category of 'expendable'?"
"Oh? You're asking about the Fifth Branch. I thought... never mind." The Speaker wanted to say something else but swallowed his words. "Compared to Dr. Mei's insane plan, I think sacrificing a few people is still within the normal range. As for Pupa... I think you understand that the Pupa members are scum who are beyond redemption."
"The death of scum is not worthy of sympathy. I think we should have a consensus on that point."
"'We'?" The voice on the other end scoffed. "Who is 'we' with you?"
The Speaker stopped turning the bullet with his finger and said coldly, "In any case, I don't want Dr. Mei's plan to be approved. To that end, even the complete annihilation of Pupa is acceptable."
"Why?"
"Because I have already witnessed the monster created by humanity."
After the communication ended, the Speaker sat in his chair, looking intently at the bullet in his hand with a deep expression.
He picked up the Fire Moth badge that symbolized his identity and placed it, along with the bullet, inside the inner lining near his heart.
...
"Uncle, your cooking... Are you a chef from somewhere?"
When Anna took her first bite of the food, her expression changed instantly. Having lived independently for several years, she considered her own cooking to be quite good, but compared to Lin's, it was the difference between street food and a five-star chef.
"Who exactly are you, Uncle? Your athletic ability is terrifying, your cooking is amazing, and you wear a helmet so no one can see your face."
"A soldier of the Salvation Organization," Lin answered calmly.
"Mhm..." Anna pondered briefly, then nodded seriously. "I believe you."
"...What?"
"When you eliminate all impossible options, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the only answer." Anna shrugged. "Uncle intended to use the truth to create the illusion that you were lying from the start. It's just that I thought some parts were too outrageous then. Now, it seems the entire segment might have been the truth."
"..."
Sure enough, her intuition and mental agility were somewhat abnormal.
"Uncle, assuming everything you said is true, that means Trant is currently in the midst of a special disaster, and you are here to look for clues." With a rational hypothesis, all of Lin's abnormal behavior was explained. "I suddenly lost you because you shook me off to prevent me from noticing your suspicious movements. You stood in such a high place because you were detecting something, and you knew where I lived because you had access to an ordinary person's database."
"Haha, I'm so smart. That's a correct deduction, isn't it?"
Although a bit careless in some aspects, Anna was indeed a person with quite outstanding character and talent. If she joined Fire Moth, she should be able to quickly become a core member.
Furthermore, while Fire Moth maintained secrecy from the outside world, it did not maintain mystery for every ordinary person. Survivors rescued by Fire Moth had the right to choose to leave and live elsewhere, provided they concealed the existence of Fire Moth from others.
Also, hospitals that cooperated with Fire Moth were aware of Fire Moth as a special organization that housed Honkai-infected patients.
So, Lin considered this and nodded: "Yes."
"...Uncle, are you kidding me?"