274. Unmasking
"You said you saw someone who looked exactly like you?" Dr. Mei looked at Kevin with suspicion.
"I can't guarantee it was exactly the same, because it was already dark, and my vision was very limited. But when I saw the man in black, I felt a strange, uneasy feeling."
Kevin sat to the side, scratching his white, tousled hair, trying hard to recall the last scene.
"To be able to fight you head-on for several rounds without being at a disadvantage, even within the Fire Moth, there are very few like that."
Dr. Mei didn't ignore Kevin's words but analyzed the situation for him seriously.
Because this was the second time. The news of the Herrscher's appearance was incredibly fast, so fast that even the Fire Moth found it unbelievable.
Especially this time, the Sixth Herrscher was captured before she even had a chance to carry out a large-scale massacre.
If Kevin hadn't hesitated for a moment at the last moment, this casualty count would have been the lowest ever.
But the more this was the case, the stranger the situation seemed to Dr. Mei became.
Of all the survivors amidst the widespread death energy sweeping through, only three remained:
Elysia, Kevin, and the black-robed figure resembling Kevin.
The explanation that the figure had simply avoided the death energy sweep by being at a higher vantage point was untenable.
The figure's skills were exceptional, even comparable to Kevin's, and the black-robed figure deliberately avoided contact with Kevin, only wanting to escape.
All of this indicated that the figure clearly knew something, perhaps even the presence of a Herrscher, which was why they came here.
To take it a step further, the black-robed figure knew a Herrscher would be born here, which was why they came!
And the person behind the black-robed figure was the mastermind behind the entire event.
This was far too intriguing.
Even Mei couldn't believe that someone could accurately control the time and location of a Herrscher's appearance.
Of course, she hadn't ruled out the possibility that someone might be creating Herrschers, but that was beyond her comprehension.
If someone could truly create Herrschers...
Dr. Mei pulled herself back to reality and focused her gaze on Kevin.
"Kevin, is this the first time you've encountered something like this? Have you ever met anyone similar to you before?" Dr. Mei asked.
"No." Kevin shook his head.
"If we consider the worst-case scenario, it's probably that your DNA has been leaked and used for cloning by someone with malicious intent, and that person is likely from the Fire Moth."
Mei said confidently.
"Who could it be?" Kevin began searching his memory for information about the Fire Moth biologists.
"No need to think, it must be that person." Dr. Mei already had someone in mind.
"You mean..." Kevin's eyes widened slightly.
""Dr. Mobius! / Dr. Ling!"" The two said in unison, without any prior agreement.
Kevin blinked. He felt that if anything unusual had indeed occurred, it must be Mobius's doing!
This was also the consensus among all the Fire Moth warriors.
"Idiot, why would you think of Dr. Mobius?" Dr. Mei looked defeated by Kevin's answer.
After all, while Mobius was subject to significantly less oversight, it didn't mean she was unsupervised.
If she really dared to work on such forbidden technology, not only the conservatives, but even the reformers wouldn't tolerate her.
Hearing Dr. Mei's explanation, Kevin nodded, but then looked puzzled again.
"Then why would you suspect Dr. Ling? He's clearly the least likely person to suspect." Kevin expressed his confusion at Dr. Mei's answer.
After all, everyone knew how influential Dr. Ling was in human society. His developed special medicine and improved Honkai serum were enough to make him a saint of his time, not to mention his various other drugs for intractable diseases.
Because of him, how many millions survived?
"Kevin, everything has two sides of things, especially in the scientific field. There is no pure right or wrong here, and the collapse of a great building often happens in an instant."
"Dr. Ling also has his own dark side, but he is better at hiding it than Dr. Mobius, because he knows that once his actions are discovered, there may be no place for him in the world."
"And he has been wandering in forbidden areas for so many years, and may even have mastered technologies we don't know about… Dr. Ling is a ticking time bomb now. We can't gamble on whether he did it wholeheartedly for the survival of humanity. Even if we know, we can only choose… to ignore it."
Dr. Mei's words carried a hint of helplessness.
If the news of these two Herrscher appearances was both Dr. Ling's doing, and there was nothing fishy about it, he could have simply made it public. Why did he need to pass the information to the Fire Moth in this way?
At least for now, although Dr. Ling has touched a forbidden area, his actions are not driven by personal desire, but by a desire to save the world and human civilization.
"Dr. Ling…" Kevin murmured, his eyes half-closed, lost in thought.
Who wouldn't feel at ease knowing they have a clone?
"By the way, Dr. Ling will be present at the upcoming military court. If nothing unexpected happens, he should find a way to protect you, so you don't need to worry too much," Dr. Mei suddenly said to Kevin.
Yes, Kevin is facing a military court because his leniency towards the Herrscher led to the deaths of people in two cities.
After all, if Kevin hadn't hesitated and pulled the trigger in time, the people of both cities wouldn't have been killed. He only suffered this consequence because of a momentary lapse in judgment; not being immediately ordered to arrest him was already a great favor.
A few days later, the higher-ups of the Fire Moth will hold a formal trial for Kevin.
"As for your clone... let's put that aside for now." Dr. Mei knew she had to do something to protect Kevin.
Otherwise, Dr. Ling alone would struggle to salvage the situation.
Ling had received a report from K-124 stating that Kevin might have seen his face.
K-series clones have slightly modified faces, differing slightly from Kevin's, but not significantly.
After all, Ling currently had no intention of deploying them to the battlefield or into human society.
This led Kevin to immediately assume K-124 looked like him in the dim light.
However, it didn't matter. Dr. Mei was intelligent; even if she guessed the truth, she would turn a blind eye and even try to calm Kevin down.
Because she knew he needed Ling's help at this moment.
Moreover, she was a person of paramount reason; all emotions had to take a backseat to the continuation of human civilization. While Ling's actions touched a taboo, they didn't cross Dr. Mei's line.
If I had to explain...
Mei was everything to Kevin, even his fighting spirit.
And in Mei's heart, Kevin would always be second to human civilization.
But this doesn't mean Kevin's sacrifice was unworthy.
On the contrary, Kevin fully understood Mei's feelings, even willing to relinquish his 'first' position.
And he would carry out Mei's will until he died in battle!
...