There were an unexpected number of plants in Sundown Alley. Lin had noticed this before, but upon closer observation, flowers seemed to be everywhere.
Lin stopped before yet another blossom. He couldn't see its color, but the soft, delicate petals looked familiar, as if he had seen them somewhere before in his blurred memories.
He tilted his head back, exhaling a puff of white mist into the cold air.
In such a freezing season, these flowers were still quite common. Were they like winter jasmine or plum blossoms that bloomed in the dead of winter?
But then again, even if the overall Honkai energy concentration in Sundown Alley was high, there should be a process of accumulation. The Honkai Sickness patients Aponia brought back were one reason, but why were there so many patients specifically in Sundown Alley?
Was the concentration high from the very beginning? Yet, Sundown Alley had never seen a Honkai Beast or a Deadweight—not even a minor Honkai outbreak.
He pondered for a long time without reaching a conclusion, so he cleared his mind and returned to the sanatorium.
It had been a month and a half since he arrived. Aponia and the others had fully accepted him as a member of the sanatorium; Aponia even began consulting him on trivial matters of the facility.
In contrast, Fire-Moth had gone completely silent. Aside from his periodic mission reports, the organization seemed to have forgotten he existed, perhaps occupied with the MANTIS project.
Lin mission reports were mostly perfunctory. Even if he wanted to report something useful, he wouldn't know what to say. Should he say he had successfully infiltrated the enemy and intended to stay undercover for three years, and then another three, until he became the boss before returning?
At the latest... it might be the children of the orphanage...
"Lin."
His thoughts were interrupted. Lin adjusted his mask and looked up to see Aponia standing at the entrance of the sanatorium, her hands clasped in front of her. Her expression was as transcendentally calm as ever, but Lin saw something unusual in her eyes.
Without a word, the two walked into the sanatorium, one following the other, and arrived at a care room. Lin stepped inside and saw a child lying on the bed, eyes closed in a face full of pain.
The purple patterns, previously hidden by the collar, had surged up onto his cheeks. The vast expanse of bizarre lines looked terrifying.
Kalpas was there too, leaning against the windowsill. He seemed to have been waiting for Lin. Upon seeing him enter, Kalpas clenched his fists as if about to explode, but was stopped by a single look from Aponia.
Lin approached the bed, pinched the boy's chin to check his mouth, then peeled back his eyelids to inspect his eyes.
The situation was grim. The patterns had taken root beneath the skin. At this stage, most mobility is lost, and the patient slowly erodes to death.
Lin took out a syringe and injected the boy with inhibitors and painkillers. Once the boy's expression softened slightly, Kalpas signaled Lin to follow him outside.
"What's going on? You said as long as their mental state was good, there wouldn't be a problem!" Kalpas growled at Lin once they reached a secluded area.
"..."
According to Lin experience, most of the patients in the sanatorium hadn't reached the point of losing mobility. With a positive spirit and the inhibitors he provided, they should have been able to function normally for at least three years.
Even Lin, who originally had almost no Honkai resistance, had lasted two years; ordinary people should last longer.
Most of the children in the sanatorium had an erosion rate between 4% and 7%—mild symptoms. But in the past two weeks, a portion of the children saw their rate jump by 10%, reaching the second stage.
This was a bizarre anomaly.
Was it because the Honkai concentration in Sundown Alley was too high? Or was there some form of cross-infection happening between them?
"...From now on, try not to get close to them." Regardless of the cause, they had to control the Honkai energy emitted by severe patients. Once they reached the second stage, the concentration around them would increase, and long-term proximity would only lead to worse outcomes.
Kalpas glared at him: "Then who will take care of them?"
"I will," Lin replied quickly. He was the only one who had been injected with the Honkai Sickness serum; he was the most suitable person to be near the other patients.
"...Tch. Call me if you need something." Kalpas ultimately said no more. Lin was the professional; he handled things far better than they, the laymen, ever could. "What do we do now?"
Aponia also looked at Lin. He had said before that there was a way to cure the patients.
Lin looked at the two of them. Even in Kalpas eyes, there was an unmaskable flicker of hope.
He nodded calmly: "I will handle it."
...
Lin sat on the steps, staring into the distance, or perhaps just dazing out.
A total of seven patients had lost their mobility: four children, two residents of the sanatorium, and one person from outside who had come seeking help.
This undoubtedly increased the pressure on the facility.
The usually noisy children were exceptionally quiet today. Some peeked through the window at Lin sitting outside—the teacher who had been there for over a month, teaching them to read and write and taking them out to play.
"Teacher looks so world-weary today."
"Oh, he's usually quiet anyway. But when he does speak, he says weird things. That's called... yeah! A 'closet freak'!"
"Hey, Daniela, you..."
A small figure sat down beside Lin.
"Teacher... will Xiao Ke and the others get better?"
Xiao Ke was the boy Lin had just seen, Daniela's best friend. His sudden collapse today worried her deeply.
Before Lin arrived, some children and adults had already passed away due to the sickness. Their agonizing final moments were still seared into her memory.
They all had this disease—an unknown ailment that even doctors avoided, like a spreading curse that could swallow their minds and bodies at any moment.
"..."
"Will we... end up like that too?"
Daniela's words echoed the silent fear in every child's heart. They all looked at Lin anxiously, waiting for their teacher's answer.
Lin looked back at these children—children who had suffered since the moment they entered the world.
Would they, like his former self, be tortured by pain until they lost their senses? Unable to distinguish between reality and illusion?
These children...
Lin gently stroked Daniela's head, opening his mouth mechanically: "Don't worry... I will handle it..."
"I will handle it."