Mobius dabbed a drop of blood onto a slide. As she adjusted the focus of the microscope to observe its composition, the piercing ring of the communicator made her fine eyebrows twitch. She looked impatiently at the screen next to her.
The number was composed of garbled characters. Upon seeing this unique number, Mobius's slight frown eased. She answered the call testily.
"Didn't I tell you not to call me?" She held the communicator between her ear and shoulder, her voice filled with annoyance. "All communications can be monitored right now."
Only after the person on the other end finished speaking did she stop her work in surprise: "You found him? That quickly?"
"Those drugs are just strong inhibitory agents formulated with the Medical Department's supplies and suppressants. Given the degree of his corrosion, they can only make him conscious for a short period."
Mobius spoke briefly with the person on the other end, then hung up and deleted the record. The atmosphere at the headquarters was at its most tense moment. This communication was inherently questionable, so it was better to be cautious.
She didn't care about the internal affairs of the Fire MOTH headquarters. Whether those high-ranking officials lived or died was largely irrelevant. Fire MOTH's operation didn't entirely depend on those individuals. Besides, with fewer people restricting her, she could work more smoothly.
"One eye blind, one leg broken, and insane too…" Mobius murmured to herself. "What would the person who anticipated your birth think if they saw you like this?"
She shook her head. She had looked at the data on Lin's parents; they were as ordinary as people come. Therefore, the abnormal artificial modification data in Lin's genes must have come from someone else.
Whether Lin's parents were aware remained unknown.
Mobius intended to return to her experiment, but just then, a blurry image flashed in the depths of her mind.
"Genetic modification…" the green-haired woman murmured. She recalled seeing similar words somewhere, probably glimpsed while reviewing documents. "Genetic modification… I have it."
Fire MOTH also had organizational predecessors. Its establishment was largely for the common goal of fighting the Honkai. To assemble such a behemoth, besides funding, power, and talent, historical heritage was also required.
Similar to the deep roots of religion, several predecessors of Fire MOTH could be traced back over a thousand years; they collectively built this Ark of Noah in the apocalypse.
However, the complex components of Fire MOTH were not all historical organizations spanning centuries; there were also newly emerged modern groups.
Among them was the "Human Research and Protection Association," active in the Far East region.
"The literature of the 'Human Research and Protection Association' mentioned a couple who performed genetic modification on living humans, resulting in over a hundred casualties. The couple fled the 'Human Protection Association' after their experiment content was exposed, and were eventually executed by Fire MOTH."
Yes, Mobius remembered seeing this inconspicuous file while reviewing documents.
Fire MOTH's database was the most comprehensive in the world, encompassing almost all literature and data from all fields. Records of mad scientists being executed were common, but for some reason, this particular record caught Mobius's attention.
"Too vague." Mobius commented. "The content of the experiment, the location of the execution, the executioner, and the names of the two scientists are all missing… Someone is deliberately concealing this."
Lin's "ordinary" parents, his abnormal genes, and the vague literature…
Mobius saw the clouds part. She realized there was definitely a crucial connection between these factors.
"The last person to edit this document was…" Mobius logged into the database to check. She wanted to know who tampered with the document.
"...None?"
Both the document donor and the editor fields were blank.
"Then it seems to be those people… I hope you haven't already turned into a corpse when I find you."
"Still no progress?"
The frowning Himeko shook her head: "There are too many ambiguities. We are now discussing whether to disperse the other high-ranking officials to the branches, but no one knows who the killer is. If we scatter them, we might never catch him."
Seele also sighed upon hearing Himeko's description: "If only Lin were here. He was the best at collecting and analyzing information."
"He… Never mind. We don't know where he is now." Lin was suspected of being the killer of the three high-ranking officials. If he appeared here, it would only worsen the situation.
"But there are too many eligible males. More than two-thirds of the headquarters personnel meet the physical criteria. Can we truly find the killer this way?" Seele was also at a loss. "Can we determine the killer by searching for the hidden weapon?"
"It's difficult. The headquarters has been practically turned upside down, and we haven't found that pair of claws."
Their cunning was comparable to a loach in muddy water. The search personnel at the headquarters were forced to repeatedly examine the nearly dried traces all day, like old monks in meditation. Himeko even suspected they were about to achieve enlightenment.
Without a direction, a random search was futile.
At that moment, Dystopia walked in from outside the meeting room. She held three exquisitely wrapped boxes, which she placed on the conference table.
"Dystopia, what do you have there?" Seele asked curiously.
"These are the gifts I planned to give you all at the gathering. The current atmosphere means the gathering likely won't happen, so I wanted to give you these gifts directly." Dystopia smiled warmly. She picked up the largest gift box and approached Himeko.
"Huh? For me?"
Himeko looked suspiciously at the slightly larger gift box. The ribbon color was the same fiery red as her hair.
Dystopia smiled gently: "Yes, it is."
"Alright, then I won't be polite." A chance to relax a bit amidst the tension was welcome, Himeko thought, taking the gift box. After tearing off the ribbon and opening it, the contents made her blink. For a moment, she didn't know what to say. "Uh… why… are they a pair of high-end wine glasses? Shouldn't it be wine?"
"Captain, you should drink less alcohol. I gave you a pair of wine glasses hoping you'd find a partner soon. Captain Ato's child is already drawing, and you're still single…"
"You're needlessly worrying! I… it's not that I can't find someone!"
After teasing her a little, Dystopia handed the smallest gift to Seele.
"Seele, open it and take a look. I think you'll really like it."
Seele noncommittally unwrapped the blue gift box. The contents also made her eyes widen.
"It's… a hair tie?"
Seele had short hair; she never tied her hair. Why would Dystopia give her a hair tie?
"Hehe… Actually, I overheard from the Captain that Captain Lin likes the type of woman Dr. Mobius is. You see, Dr. Mobius has long hair, so maybe Captain Lin prefers mature women with long hair?"
Seele's cheeks instantly flushed crimson. She stammered, shaking her head, "Lin wouldn't want me to do that…"
"Is that so? Why do I feel like, Seele, you sound very hopeful?" Dystopia smiled mischievously, looking at Seele, whose face was as red as a cherry, so bright and delicate it seemed water could be squeezed from it.
"What, what about the last gift?" Seele quickly changed the subject.
"Oh, that one… That's Captain Lin's share."
Seele paused. Dystopia put away her smile and handed the last gift to Seele as well.
"Hand it to him the next time you see him. Just don't say I sent it."
"…"
Seele accepted the gift.
Her heart was in turmoil.