Pardofelis held her breath. Recalling a cat's movements, she lowered her body, concealing her presence.
This was her usual trick. She had used similar techniques to steal many things. Many people never realized she had slipped into their rooms and swiped their valuables.
Her teacher was a cat, so she had picked up some feline habits, including the way she observed her environment.
Clinging to the rooftop, Pardofelis brushed her bangs from her forehead and began meticulously observing the surrounding areas where someone might be hiding.
She wasn't the hunter; she was the prey. This was the fundamental point. Pardofelis believed her greatest strength was knowing her own limits. Hiding, scouting, and finally achieving her goal—all depended on her clear self-awareness.
"There's no one around…" Pardofelis paid attention to the slightest disturbances. She considered her eyesight to be quite good; within ten meters or so of the house, she wouldn't miss any information.
Yet, this should have been the perfect monitoring range, and there was no one.
To ensure she hadn't missed anything, Pardofelis checked again even more carefully, but still found no sign of anyone.
Could it be that Bro Lin was delirious and talking in his sleep… She now doubted whether Lin was truly conscious at that time.
What Pardofelis didn't know was that hundreds of meters away on a high slope, the scope of a sniper rifle hidden in the shade of a tree was pointed directly at her head, and nearby was a screen displaying the interior surveillance footage of the house.
After she leaped onto the rooftop, a finger rested on the sniper rifle's trigger…
Immer couldn't sleep.
He had always prided himself on being calm, and indeed, he had always acted that way. Following Lin's footsteps, he hoped to become the squad's analyst, serving as Lin's deputy.
But now, he found that he was far less composed than he had imagined. After his captain disappeared, he was completely flustered.
Where could the captain be now?
Immer couldn't believe Lin would simply die like that. Even if he were to die, he would die on the battlefield. Deep down, Immer was unwilling to imagine Lin dying helplessly from the Honkai illness, like every person in their twilight years, irretrievably stepping into the abyss.
"I might as well get up and organize the data." Immer casually turned on the bedside lamp, looking at the stacks of documents on the cabinet that were originally intended for Lin. He sighed quietly.
Confusion.
It was not just confusion about himself, but also confusion about Fire MOTH and the future of humanity.
Where should the Fire MOTH headquarters, having lost most of its functionality, go now?
Immer recalled that there was still a file in the squad meeting room, so he quietly got up, put on his clothes, opened the door, and walked out.
The cold, clear night didn't feel much warmer even under the bright lights. Looking ahead, the endless corridor stretched into the depths beyond the reach of sight, as if a bloodthirsty monster could rush out at any moment.
With a measured pace that was far from relaxed, Immer headed towards Squad Seven's meeting room.
"Da, da, da…"
Fire MOTH had not implemented a curfew after the assassination.
Immer didn't know the reason. That information should only be known at the Captain level, but judging by the recent situation, it was highly likely that the command layer was in dispute over the attitude toward this incident.
The Titans, which should have been sweeping dangerous areas, were silent in the storage facility. The reason was that the headquarters could not afford to let any clue slip away, so the Titans had to remain on standby until the incident concluded.
Many of Dr. Mei's research proposals had not been approved, but she hadn't submitted any new research directions to the higher-ups for a long time, focusing solely on developing the AI, as if she had given up on previous plans.
Aside from this, beneath the unchanging exterior was a surging undercurrent. Immer was tired of the endless conflicts among humans. He wanted to save humanity, the Captain wanted to save humanity, and countless soldiers wanted to save humanity.
At least most people didn't want to be mired in internal strife.
"Drip."
Suddenly, Immer stopped.
His gaze snapped toward the front.
That direction led to the artificial lake. The sound of the wind, accompanied by the rising humid mist, blew in.
His hand went to the gun holster at his waist, and without hesitation, he drew his gun.
The scent was wrong.
Immer smelled blood, the unique, metallic scent of human blood.
Connecting this to the recent assassination case, Immer already had a guess.
He could rush back to his room and sound the alarm immediately, but this might miss the opportunity to rescue any survivors. Besides returning to his room, there was also an alarm outside the artificial lake, so the best course of action was to go there and sound the alarm.
What would Lin do?
Immer carefully kept his footsteps silent as he rapidly approached the exterior of the artificial lake. He stood at the door, not rushing to sound the alarm to avoid tipping off the perpetrator, and peered inside.
His pupils contracted slightly.
Blood stained the clear lake water red.
A floating corpse drifted quietly in the center of the lake—one of the high-ranking officials.
But that was not what shocked Immer the most.
A tall figure wearing a mask stood by the lake, silently observing the corpse. His back clearly indicated he was male. His hands were clad in a pair of gruesome claws, with blood continuously dripping from the fingertips.
The murderer.
Immer instantly realized the man's identity.
He sweated profusely, not having expected to be the first to find the murderer, and in such a coincidental situation. He now had two choices.
Either sound the alarm, then stall the murderer and wait for backup.
Or not sound the alarm, launch a sneak attack, and take the murderer down in one strike.
These two drastically different choices made Immer hesitate for a second.
But immediately afterward, he knew this was not the time to play the hero.
If it were Lin, he would definitely choose the most secure method. He would not allow himself to do something risky just to stand out.
Lin would only take risks for the sake of others.
So, Immer immediately turned and sounded the alarm. After the alarm rang out, he sighed with relief, then sternly raised his gun, turning back to aim at the murderer.
"Whuss."
"…"
Immer stared blankly at the man who had effortlessly crushed his handgun into a pile of scrap with a single claw, having arrived in front of him without him noticing.
The man wore a smiling fox mask.
"Drip."
The scent of blood was thick.
Immer convulsed and tilted his head, seeing the gruesome claw that had pierced through his undefended torso. Three thick claws mercilessly ran through his body.
The claw was pulled out, and blood splattered near the eye of the fox mask, like a tear, sliding down the side of the face.
A coldness swept through his consciousness.
Immer collapsed heavily onto the ground, vomiting blood, and closed his eyes amidst the piercing alarm.