She heard the surging within the darkness.
The aura of sin, the murmurs of agitation, the wails of agony.
If hell truly existed in this world, this was likely it.
Here were imprisoned the world's most wicked sinners, and the people who locked them away called themselves the protectors of humanity.
After a month of "residency," she had come to understand exactly what this place was.
"..."
When she woke up, the man in the helmet was already standing before the bars, looking down at her from across the partition.
It was much like that night, only this time there was no moonlight so white it made one intoxicated.
"...Long time no see, Lin."
There was no hatred or anger in Aponia expression. She was exceptionally calm; her long hair was coiled to her right, and in her eyes, only indifference remained.
She had undergone thirteen interrogations in a month, but Fire-Moth never obtained what they wanted from her. By now, she understood the situation.
Lin, a soldier of Fire-Moth, had come to Sundown Alley to investigate Aponia and the sanatorium to uncover a rebellion involving more than half of Fire-Moth. The person who had donated those funds was the mastermind of the treason.
His contact with her, his stay at the sanatorium—it was all to investigate if she was an outside accomplice.
Then, with the concrete evidence of a large gathering of Honkai Sickness patients, Lin and another soldier cleared the infection source and arrested the "mastermind," Aponia.
She had been fooled, as naive as a little girl.
"You have one last chance," Lin announced in a tone that brooked no argument.
"..."
With a businesslike attitude, he told Aponia the "rules": "As long as you tell us what you know, you can return to your original life as if you knew nothing at all."
Aponia leaned against the cold wall and asked serenely, "Lin... the sanatorium... how is it?"
"...The infection sources have all been cleared."
Aponia pupils were as clear as if she hadn't suffered a month of torment in the Deep End. She gazed at Lin. He no longer wore that ridiculous mask; in its place was a lethal, cold helmet. All the tenderness he had once shown had vanished.
"...Lin, do you know? During this time, I asked the few people beside me why they were here. They all told me they were innocent," Aponia said softly, huddled in the corner. "Every single one of them."
"Every criminal says they were wrongly imprisoned."
"Yes... so from the moment you locked me in here, you had already decided on my guilt."
"..."
"How is... Kalpas?"
"He is well."
Lin checked the time on his watch, then reached into his pocket and pressed something.
Click.
Then, he accelerated his pace slightly: "Your Project Soldier surgery will take place in one day."
"Project Soldier... surgery?"
"A surgery that makes a person no longer human. The death rate is 97%. To date, 130 people have undergone it; only four were successful, and only five survived."
In other words, this was "death row" by another name.
Since they couldn't make Aponia talk, they would either let her die while keeping a secret that might not even exist, or force her to serve Fire-Moth in another form.
This was the thinking of the Fire-Moth high command.
Aponia understood the meaning, but her gaze didn't flicker once.
"You now have ten minutes to leave this place. Follow the route I told you to the end, change your clothes, and I will take you away shortly."
"...Why?"
"..."
"Lin, you said others have taken this surgery, too? Why must you save me?"
"Because they were volunteers. You are being forced."
Aponia smiled and shook her head. "Then I shall accept this surgery voluntarily."
This time, it was Lin turn. "Why?"
"Because this may simply be my fate." Aponia said no more. "Goodbye, Lin."
Lin heard the change in her breathing. He thought for a moment, then reached back into his pocket and turned off the device.
"...Do you believe in fate?"
"Yes."
"I don't."
"You certainly have a lot of free time. Since when did you develop a hobby for counseling death row inmates?"
The green-haired... girl he hadn't seen for a long time stood with her back to him, tinkering with instruments on the table.
One should look at a person with fresh eyes after an absence; Lin and Mobius hadn't met for two months, but the change in her was beyond his imagination.
Mobius appearance had regressed.
Even though Mobius originally looked younger than her age—at least five years younger than her chronological age—she still looked like a woman in her mid-twenties.
Now, she looked like a girl who had just reached eighteen.
Her height hadn't changed much, but her figure had "shrunk" slightly. It might be a subjective observation, but Lin could see she had indeed become "younger."
Rejuvenation? No, Lin knew the truth before coming here, so he understood this was actually a side effect of Mobius Project Soldier surgery—perhaps one where the benefits outweighed the costs.
Yes, after Elysia successful surgery, Mobius had secretly performed it on herself, becoming the third MANTIS, ahead of Sakura.
The Honkai gene she used was from the reappearing Judgement-class Honkai Beast, Shesha—the giant serpent with abnormal vitality, two cores, and the ability to shed its skin in a state of suspended death.
He had observed the future in a parallel world; now, he was seeing the prototype.
"What's wrong? Stunned by my 'perfection'?" Mobius turned her head slowly and gently, like an ancient lady half-hiding her face, a smile curling her lips. "This is the 'beauty' of biology. How delightful."
"...Did you forget to change your clothes?"
"..."
Lin abrupt sentence shattered her charm. He pointed to her chest. Mobius looked down and saw her top was now noticeably loose around the bust.
Since her height hadn't changed, she didn't need new clothes, but certain details had changed.
This was why Mobius sometimes hated Lin meticulous observation skills; he was far more sensitive to appearance and grooming than those two idiots who were actually women.
She spoke coldly: "Did your personality mutate after being away for so long?"