"So this is the hacker who caused all those rumors about you on the internal network?"
Himeko leaned in close to Chiaki, observed her from head to toe, and chuckled mischievously, "She's really young. So you're the one who led Lin on such a wild goose chase, huh? How about you simply pay off your debt with yourself? It'd be perfect to put yourself up as the stake in a gamble, wouldn't it?"
"N-no, please don't." Chiaki shook her head like a rattle-drum. She had developed a psychological shadow of the people from the Fire Moth.
"Hahaha…" Himeko burst into laughter and patted Lin shoulder, "I'll leave the rest to you. Come join me for a drink after you're done."
"…"
Lin and Sakura watched Himeko leave in silence, then refocused their attention on Chiaki.
"W-what are you going to do? You're not actually going to take her seriously, are you?"
"…Your disguise is terrible."
"…"
Hearing Lin flat-toned words, the frantic Chiaki froze, then glanced at the equally calm Sakura.
When she saw that both of them had the same attitude, her panicked expression vanished.
It was replaced by a look of mockery.
"You're quite sharp. No matter how you look at it, you seem like a guy with an extremely low perception of emotion." Her meek eyes were replaced by the sharp gaze of a feline predator, fixed on Lin visual interface, "How did you figure it out?"
"Your actions are too inconsistent with your personality. Someone capable of infiltrating the national internal network and creating all those mechanisms wouldn't display such a weak personality."
Even if Lin wasn't a specialist in psychology, the professional profilers at the Fire Moth could roughly sketch the hacker's information.
Malicious humor, audacity, recklessness, arrogance… These traits were revealed by her various actions within the Fire Moth internal network. So, the moment Lin saw her in person, he knew she was acting.
As for why… it was probably to enter the Fire Moth smoothly.
Chiaki chuckled at his words, "Since you already knew, why did you bring me back? Aren't you afraid I'll hack your Fire Moth system?"
"My mission was only to bring you back to headquarters."
Lin said, calm and indifferent.
"You'll start your basic training here now."
"…What? Here?"
She was a bit confused. There was only one large screen in the room, and nothing else.
Wait a moment.
"Whoosh."
The door closed.
She was left alone, staring blankly at the screen that lit up.
"Hello, MSA-999, I am Prometheus II. Over the next three days, I will teach you the corresponding Honkai studies knowledge and the basic structure of my system. If you fail to complete the course, you will be detained in the deepest abyss."
"Time starts now."
"Today's schedule is… here?"
The woman with wine-red hair put on her sunglasses and baseball cap after getting out of the car, and began strolling through the city in the scorching summer heat, observing it at her leisure.
She came here every year, but each visit brought significant changes to the city's appearance, which was quite a novelty.
However, this year's temperature was unusually high. The heat that rushed at her the moment she left the air conditioning of the car almost made her faint from the temperature shock she couldn't immediately adapt to.
After several deep breaths, she felt slightly better and strolled along the shade of the roadside trees.
Seeing the listless sight of people, as if their vitality had been snatched away by the high temperature, she couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Perhaps this was not a complete catastrophe, but their former lives had already been destroyed by this sudden disaster.
Walking along, she hadn't seen a smile on anyone's face.
Finding a small gazebo, she sat down, watching the busy yet lifeless street traffic, and sighed.
"…"
Just then, she noticed someone else sitting not far from her, also wearing a hat, a mask, and sunglasses.
Unlike the others who hurried by, he seemed to be stopping to observe something, and she, who also enjoyed observing others, immediately realized the unusual nature of his actions.
This instantly piqued her curiosity. What perspective might this person, also concealing his face and observing the surroundings, have?
"It's truly… exhausting," she spoke first. She knew the person had already noticed her, probably seeing her before she even sat down.
A different perspective leads to seeing different things.
Based on his physique, he was a man. He remained silent after hearing the woman's words.
"A news report about Australia said that three out of every ten people there now suffer from heat sickness, and the remaining seven are not immune, but simply have different work environments."
"Isn't that a tragedy?"
Perhaps the woman's words moved him, or perhaps he simply considered replying to be polite. After a moment of silence, the man spoke.
"…The 30% figure is inaccurate. The precise ratio is 53.1%, and the probability of death from heat sickness has reached about 1%. One-third of the people who just walked past are close to heatstroke," the man replied coldly, "Instead of relying on news reports, you should use your own eyes to see their suffering."
This was essentially a direct mockery of the woman, but she felt the man's tone was not mocking her but stating a fact, so she nodded silently.
"Do you think that art could give these people the motivation to live?"
"I don't understand art," the man said bluntly. "Spiritual enrichment cannot satisfy material needs. They are facing severe high temperatures and harsh working conditions, not a lack of art."
"…Is that so? Then perhaps I was being presumptuous."
"But I have a friend. She smiles every day. To my knowledge, and from my observation, over several years, she has never shown any anger or sorrow, only presenting her cheerful side to others."
"That person must be a remarkable individual."
"Yes." He admitted without hesitation. "In the environment we are in, the challenges we face are sometimes more brutal than the scorching heat. But she wants to convey hope and happiness to others through her smile. Perhaps it can't change what is about to happen, but at least many people have learned to face the future."
The man stood up and turned his head, "If you have chosen a path you believe to be correct, then follow it. Art may not change anything, but I believe it is enough to lift the spirit."
After speaking, the man walked away without looking back, leaving the woman to smile and shake her head.
It was an accidental, yet marvelous, encounter.
She hadn't asked for his name, but then again, perhaps there was no need.