"Ugh, ah..."
Mobius, clutching her head and groaning in pain, was massaged on her temples, head, and throat by Lin for half an hour until the chilling, brain-penetrating, throat-burning sting finally subsided. She lay limp in Lin arms, her eyes hollowly staring at the ceiling.
"...How long are you going to hold me? Let go." Mobius gently twitched and slipped out of Lin arms. "Are you sick? Using that posture to coax a child, and giving me a massage?"
"...I used to do this with Kevin when he got drunk at school." Lin spread his hands.
Mobius tossed her long hair and pouted, "Mei must be very open-minded not to have misunderstood you two."
"Do you want to eat more?"
Mobius shivered, looking at the sashimi and the plate of condiments that seemed straight out of hell with three parts fear. She shook her head like a ringing bell: "Wasabi... I'll remember this. I will never eat that stuff again."
"...Then wait for me."
Lin picked up the sashimi plate and walked out of the private office. Mobius vaguely heard the cheers of Nuwa and Fuxi, and then he walked back empty-handed.
"What are we eating? Instant noodles?" There were really no other options. Mobius had nothing else to eat here besides instant noodles, unless they were willing to try Honkai Beast organs stored in glass vessels.
Mobius opened her instant noodle reserve: "What flavor do you want?"
"Whatever." Lin thought for a few seconds, then suddenly said, "Actually, instant noodles taste better when boiled."
"You know that too?" Mobius slanted a surprised look at him.
This man, whose culinary skills were exceptional—so much so that he could live a very comfortable life even without joining the Fire Moth—knew the secret that "instant noodles taste better boiled," a secret known only to fast-food connoisseurs?
"Kevin told me before."
"Figures." Mobius was no longer surprised once she heard Kevin's name. "But unfortunately, I don't have anywhere here for you to boil instant noodles."
"Yes, you do."
"Hmm?"
Lin searched around the office and found two alcohol lamps, a wire gauze, and a bowl-shaped vessel for heating, which was just large enough to hold two packets of noodles.
"Improvising... heh, that's fine." Mobius curled her lips, accepting the items and placing them on the desk. She pushed the file piles next to them into a corner, lit the alcohol lamps, and placed the vessel, filled with water from the dispenser, onto the wire gauze.
"Boil it."
"I don't know how."
"...What?"
"I've never boiled instant noodles. Kevin always boiled it when I went to his house."
Mobius was silent for a moment, then casually grabbed two packets of noodles: "Tch, useless guy."
The room then fell into an odd silence. Mobius waited for the water to boil completely. It didn't take long for the alcohol lamp to heat the already warm water, but as she watched the bubbles slowly rise from the bottom of the vessel, she, holding the noodle blocks, inconspicuously glanced at Lin, who was sitting quietly nearby.
The visor on his helmet remained unlit.
"You seem to have changed."
Perhaps it was due to boredom, perhaps she had wanted to ask for a long time, or perhaps a nerve in her brain simply misfired, but Mobius started talking to Lin in a way she hadn't anticipated.
"...Many people have said that."
"Who?"
"Kevin, Vil-V, Elysia..."
"..."
She felt an inexplicable sense of annoyance.
Mobius had realized that lately, when interacting with Lin, she would feel a slight irritation that seemed to come from nowhere, like a flimsy paper figure dancing on her heart. This feeling had never appeared before.
The old Lin exuded a faint aura of death, seemingly caring about everything yet indifferent to everything.
The current Lin seemed unhurried, yet he was gradually integrating into the life that was both near and far, experiencing the life he should have had.
Was this wrong? Mobius certainly thought it was right. She hated the old Lin constant self-sacrifice, the way he prepared for his death 24/7. That didn't align with her philosophy, and she felt that wasn't what a "person" was.
But where did this feeling of annoyance come from?
Mobius thought she knew the answer.
No matter how much Lin pretended to have changed, she could still sense that faint, persistent feeling in his words. Perhaps he had changed in part, but some deep-seated things could never leave him. What annoyed her was perhaps this contradiction.
"Gurgle, gurgle..."
While Mobius was lost in thought, the water had boiled. The sound of bubbles pulled her back to reality. She tossed the noodle blocks into the "pot," watching the white strands gradually separate. Her thoughts wandered again.
"But the fact that you're teaming up with that female assassin shows that you have indeed changed a lot." Mobius lowered her head, her bangs covering her emerald eyes, and her earrings swayed in the light. "You can tolerate teaming up with an assassin... no, you can tolerate being bossed around by me here like a servant. Should I say you keep your promises, or that you have strong endurance?"
"To you, I should be the type you hate the most. After all, the scientists who caused you to become the way you were—your parents and the Speaker's subordinate researchers—were similar to me. And, in many ways, I am even more... fanatic than them."
The corner of Mobius's mouth curved into a cruel smile.
"..."
But Lin remained still for a long time.
He seemed to be asleep inside his helmet, completely motionless.
Mobius coldly twisted her lips, making a sarcastic half-smile that only she knew.
"I'm sorry."
But just when she thought the conversation would end in this deliberately annoying atmosphere, Lin suddenly said something she hadn't expected.
"...Why are you apologizing?"
Once she recovered from her surprise, she asked, both exasperated and angry.
"When a certain person died during the Sixth Eruption, I didn't see his expression before he died, but when I woke up, I saw a faint smile on his corpse, which I thought was probably his truest smile." Lin recalled the unique corpse under the shattered dome in the remnants of the Fifth Branch. "Under the grand premise of 'For the sake of humanity,' scientists like you, who are perceived as having abandoned their humanity, are compelled to bear the infamy in exchange for human progress."
"I might have previously just commented on you from a moral high ground. So, I apologize."
Mobius spun around abruptly, glaring at Lin through clenched teeth: "Don't apologize to me! I don't need it! You are right, and I am right! I don't need anyone to understand me, do you understand!"
"..."
"..."
"Eat your noodles."
Mobius angrily placed the beaker filled with noodles in front of Lin. She picked up her own cup and began eating heartily.
"Slurp..."
The sound of eating noodles made Mobius turn her head slightly to look at Lin. His helmet was raised, exposing his mouth. He held the beaker, chewing the noodles, and after a moment, he said calmly, "It's delicious."
Food made without superb culinary skills or high-quality ingredients can still be delicious.
They just had different approaches.