Lin sat behind Zero. The soft mattress felt real to the touch. He sat upright, gazing at Zero, who was in standby mode.
The lingering sunset cast the last light before night beneath the door. The terminator line disappeared into the distance.
Lin was waiting for Zero to act, but aside from eating, resting, and necessary experiments, Zero usually didn't behave like a living person.
Lin initially wanted to explore other areas, but he was restricted to moving within five meters of Zero. Upon realizing this was a memory, Lin was relieved; he couldn't go to places he hadn't seen.
So, if he wanted to know more, he could only do so through one person.
"Zhiga."
"Ah, sorry, sorry, the meeting today ran too long. I'm late." The man pushed the door open, scratching the back of his head with an embarrassed smile. "Those old guys talk too much nonsense. It's annoying to listen to. If I didn't have such little seniority, I really wouldn't want to give them face."
"…"
The man's apology was useless. Zero wouldn't care whether he was late or not, and Zero didn't care whether he would come at all.
However, the man's continuous nightly visits to talk to Zero had some effect, for example, Zero now actively responded to his words.
"Who are 'they'?"
"Huh? Didn't I tell you?" The man pulled up a stool and sat in front of Zero, complaining freely, regardless of manners. "They're the high-ranking officials of Fire MOTH. We created Fire MOTH together, thinking we'd elect a leader, but instead, we adopted a decentralization of power. Truly idiotic."
"You want to be the leader?"
"Who said I want to be? I don't have the capability, you know."
Upon hearing Zero's question, the man curled his lips in slight disdain and said, "To disperse power in the face of the Honkai is no different than sending humanity to the guillotine. Internal conflict, fragmentation, scheming… You can think of a pile of problems just using your butt. Do those people, who call themselves the elite of humanity, not realize this? It's just that they can't accept being subordinate despite being the elite."
"In the future, humanity needs one person to walk at the forefront. It doesn't matter if that person is an unmatched genius or a rare fool. It doesn't matter if they walk toward the light or into the abyss."
When mentioning the future, the man showed an excited look. He proudly took out his cigarette box and expertly held a cigarette between his lips.
However, he didn't light the cigarette. He glanced at the indifferent Zero, silently put the cigarette away, and then, after another thought, tossed the entire box into the trash can.
"But I don't want that person to be you."
"…Why." Zero couldn't understand. His parents had always educated him by telling him he would be the hope of humanity, the future face of humanity, so why was this man saying the complete opposite?
"Because you've never experienced human life; you are not human." The man stroked his smooth, unshaven chin and answered seriously, "No human is born solely to lead humanity. You should have been born as a human, not born as the 'hope of humanity.'"
"Cannot comprehend."
"And that is where you differ from humanity, Xiao Lin. No matter how many words you read in books, no one will love you."
"…"
"You said you loved humanity, right? But that's just the consciousness your parents implanted in your brain. You've never witnessed humanity's darkness, humanity's ignorance, humanity's greed. They are like a bunch of planetary maggots, where everything they do is to persecute the living space of other creatures, destroying the environment they rely on for survival to gain resources and profit."
The man sharply rolled up his sleeve. The scars on his arm spoke of his past: "The vast majority of humans, including me, will have our so-called humanity crumble instantly once we touch the chain of self-made interests. Moreover, as long as it's for the survival of the species, we will do anything. We call ourselves the superior race, but in reality, the Earth can function perfectly well without humans, perhaps even better."
"If you truly understood what kind of species humanity is, you wouldn't be able to say you love humanity. And I absolutely will not allow you to sacrifice everything for humanity because of the crazy plan of two mentally unstable scientists. Humanity has no right to demand anything from a child."
Zero hadn't expected the man to say such things. In the past, he would only come to check on him and talk about trivial matters, seeming neither serious nor busy.
"I want you to be able to say, 'I hate humanity.' Humanity has already stolen many things from you. You need to see the true face of humanity."
"…"
"…"
"But…" The man's serious face suddenly collapsed. With one blink of his eyes, a look of kind compassion surged into his pupils. He sighed, "After that, after seeing the truth, I want you to fall in love with humanity again."
"Xiao Lin, you have never truly lived in human society. The humanity in your mind is a broad and unrealistic concept. You don't know why you love humanity, nor do you know if you should love humanity."
"Go and have people who love you, child."
The man was young, yet his eyes were filled with the benevolent compassion of someone who grieved for the world. Gazing at the empty-eyed child, he stretched out his arms and embraced him.
Zero did not understand what the man was doing.
He had never been embraced with genuine kindness.
"Ugh…"
The world in his eyes was superimposed and blurred. The stabbing pain in his head and the fatigue in his body brought Lin back to the real world.
He coughed, rising from the wheelchair, standing on one leg and leaning against the wall as he headed towards the door.
He no longer felt that sharp gaze. Did Pardofelis manage to chase the monitor away?
"Hello? Moshi Moshi, is this Mr. Lin?"
Before he reached the door, a muffled sound came from outside.
The deliberately low voice made it impossible to tell if it was male or female. Lin, in his poor state right after waking up, couldn't determine if the person outside was a friend or foe.
Lin knew that someone must have secretly brought him to this unknown location, but he didn't know their purpose. They sent someone to monitor him but didn't do anything to Lin.
However, Lin had few options now. Any single soldier could easily take him down, so he could only reply with silence.
The person outside seemed to have anticipated Lin's silence. The door opened slightly, leaving a finger-width gap, and a packet was thrown inside.
"If you don't want to die just yet, use what's inside. You shouldn't meet your end here, should you?"
Lin couldn't clearly see the outer packaging of the item that came in, but what leaked out made him feel familiar.
It was a syringe. The style and the glowing green liquid inside immediately told him whose work this was.
The person knocked on the door: "Many people are waiting for you."
Lin stepped forward and pushed the door open, but there was no one behind it.