Stagnant air was forced from his lungs. The clamor in his ears grew exceptionally loud, sounding like mocking, raucous laughter. An unprecedented impulse awakened within his body; his knuckles cracked with a sharp snap.
Inside this fortress—a pinnacle of human wisdom—built upon technologies bought with countless lives, within the world revealed after the elevator doors plunged toward hell, what Lin saw shook his very identity as a human.
He had stepped into a subterranean darkness deeper than the Deep End. What met his eyes were "monsters."
The success rate of the Project Soldier surgery, which Mobius had not fully refined, would rise to nearly 30%, but it caused survivors to exhibit more severe alienation symptoms than ever before.
Where did the remaining two-thirds—the surgical failures—go? And if the "successful" ones showed severe symptoms, what happened to them?
The answer: aside from death, they became completely "alienated" Honkai beasts devoid of human form.
Yes, what existed there were aberrations born of humans. They were kept in cages like pets, their stench and roars echoing in the lightless space.
From their clouded pupils in the darkness, Lin saw a bizarre quality... something different from the mindless nature of a Honkai beast.
Numbered cages, planned classifications, and feeding bowls—they had been tamed and treated like dogs.
They weren't sent to the Deep End for Aponia soothing; instead, they were kept by their own kin to be used in potential future suppression or wars.
Why did the second phase of the Fusion Warrior project primarily target those outside of Fire Moth?
"What are you talking about?" The leader of the three spoke. A twisted black horn sprouted from his forehead, and his left hand had completely turned into a massive claw. A grotesque smile appeared on his scale-covered face. "Are you a Fire Moth soldier too? Then you should know that different soldiers have different jobs. You useless ordinary soldiers fight the Honkai, of course."
"But we, like the MOTH, deal with 'unfavorable factors'—like you—who attempt to jeopardize the plan to save humanity."
The MOTH?
Saving humanity?
Unfavorable factors?
The mocking laughter occupied his entire hearing. He couldn't tell if it came from the three in front of him or from within his own mind.
"Humanity... the one thing that never changes in history is self-destruction. The organization I founded will not only perish under that young lady's purge but will also self-destruct once it loses an extraordinary leader like 'me' to guide it."
Lin clutched his roaring head with both hands. It felt as though a string was being pulled taut; he could hear the sound of that string reaching its breaking point.
Listen.
"You are... traitors."
"Hahahaha... We are executing Fire Moth's secret project! A plan agreed upon by all the high-ranking officials! We have saved humanity countless times, and we will continue to do so! Therefore..." Amidst the undisguised mockery, a thick wave of loathing surged forward.
Bloodthirsty mouths opened, revealing rows of fangs.
"You're the traitor here."
Listen.
Snap.
It broke.
Lin snapped his head up, his arm holding the handgun rising instantly!
Do you want to define for yourself what a human is?
Will you be angry because you were harmed?
...Can you, as before, see the meaning of our existence?
"You... low-life creatures!" he croaked in a distorted, unrecognizable rasp.
Bang!
Bang!
The moment the bullets left the barrels, one of the three opponents had also fired!
The physical bullets were easily dodged by the three, but none of them expected that before the gunsmoke even cleared, a longblade had appeared in the helmeted man's other hand. He parried the particle rounds in a flash and charged into their midst like an arrow released from a bow!
A terrifying claw lunged for his head from the right, while a crimson greatsword swept toward his lower body from the left. He forgot his usual tactical caution; by rushing recklessly between the three, he had invited a lethal, unavoidable pincer attack!
As Fusion Warriors, they possessed bodies far beyond human limits. Even a casual graze would be more than an ordinary human could endure.
Yet their sneering smiles froze on their faces before they could fully form.
Lin body became as flexible as a snake. He leaped to dodge the low sweep while arching his upper body backward—evading both attacks in a posture that defied human intuition and anatomy. Then, his hands reached for the weapon case on his back, drawing two longblades!
They instinctively guarded their vitals, but Lin had no intention of attacking those areas.
Schwing!
A blade so sharp it seemed to tear through space pinned the foot of the claw-wielding man to the floor, the edge sinking in up to the hilt!
With the other blade, he performed a reverse-hand slash while spinning in mid-air, severing the tendons in both hands of the one wielding the greatsword!
"AAARGH!!"
The searing, tearing pain made both scream in agony. At that moment, the slowest of the three joined the fray. He seemed paralyzed by the helmeted man's decisive, lightning-fast actions, unsure whether to fire his gun or counterattack with a melee weapon.
That split second of hesitation caused him to miss his best window of opportunity.
Lin let go of the blade pinning the man's foot. The blade in his other hand met the incoming spear with an upward strike. Fierce sparks ignited the night air. The sharp spearhead pierced Lin helmet, but the diverted spear only left a shallow gash on his cheek.
By then, Lin free hand had already pulled a javelin from his case. He stepped forward into the man's embrace, slamming his right shoulder into the bridge of the man's nose to knock him back, then hurled the javelin directly, pinning the man's shoulder to the wall!
"You bastard!!!"
The Fusion Warrior with severed tendons, veins bulging and looking like a demon, swung his thick tail at Lin in a whip-like sweep.
Lin stood coldly in place, merely taking half a step back. The tip of the tail missed him by a hair's breadth, instead slamming into the other man who was still howling and clutching his pinned foot.
CRASH!
It was like being hit by a freight train. The pinned foot was forcibly torn in two by the impact; the man slammed against the wall and slumped to the floor.
Lin walked forward. Before the Fusion Warrior could make another move, Lin kicked the joint of the leg he was trying to lift, forcing him to one knee, then pulled out another blade and drove it through his other thigh.
Finally, he grabbed the hair of the now-crippled Fusion Warrior. Looking into the man's terrified eyes, he slammed a fist into the center of his face!
Crunch—
The hard gauntlet collided with the Fusion Warrior's face, but since the man possessed a superhuman body, the strike didn't kill him.
So Lin coldly raised his fist again and smashed it into his face once more!
"N-No, wait—"
Before the plea could leave his mouth, he was met with the next punch.
Under the terrified gaze of the last warrior pinned to the wall, Lin treated the man like a lifeless punching bag, raining blow after blow upon him. With every punch, the warrior's head jerked violently. The armor on Lin hand shattered; it was impossible to tell if the blood belonged to the warrior or himself.
Thud!
One final punch. He slammed his bloodied fist unreservedly into the warrior's cheek. The warrior, having long since lost consciousness, saw his head snap back and hit the ground hard.
Blood soaked Lin boots. In his stark, black-and-white world, this crimson color was the only thing so vividly clear.
Lin panted heavily. The screams, laughter, and whispers in his brain tangled together as if to burst his skull. His body convulsed and twitched, as if something were trying to tear its way out of him.
Click.
Lin drew the handgun from his waist and aimed it at the head of the warrior on the wall.
"W-Wait! Don't kill me! Please! Don't kill me!" The man struggled frantically, twisting his body like an earthworm about to be scorched by the sun.
A swarm of mechanical units and numerous footsteps were approaching.
Fire.
These "monsters" were nothing more than dogs and pigs, no different from zombies.
Lin finger tightened on the trigger.
"No! No!"
Faint flashes of rainbow colors emerged deep within the black pupils beneath his helmet.
Just a pack of low-life beasts!
Killing them won't affect humanity at all... no, it will only make things better!
That's right, I should kill them all!
"No!"
Shoot! Now!
Bang!
After the gunshot, there was only silence...