"Cough, cough, cough... Cough!"
Lin spat out the clotted blood in his mouth. A mixture of red, green, and purple phlegm splattered on the tiles. He touched the bullet hole in his abdomen, a wound he sustained when he couldn't dodge in time.
The loss of one leg severely restricted his mobility, but the main reason for the injury was that these people were simply too strong.
To put their combat power in a tangible numerical comparison, Lin in his armed state might have a combat power of ten, and six in his normal state. Kevin's normal state could be seven, while most other non-Captain-level soldiers hovered around three or four.
However, the trackers attempting to capture him had a combat power of at least five, exceeding that of ordinary Fire Moth soldiers.
The battle ended quickly, but the commotion caused by the broken light bulb would likely draw people soon. Lin collected all the bullets from their bodies, and then found their Fire Moth badges.
As expected, these people were all from the Fire Moth.
He frowned, pocketing the badges. Recalling what the person who gave him the serum had said, "There are many others waiting for you," he estimated that some sudden situation, likely related to him, must have occurred within the Fire Moth.
Since the Fire Moth was attempting to capture him, the plan to take a transport plane from the airport back to the headquarters was ruined. He first needed to figure out what was happening at the Fire Moth.
However, the deterioration of his body required him to seek Mobius, or it would be difficult to maintain his sanity.
But how to get back...
"Ding—Attention passengers for flight A2365, your flight to the Far East is about to depart..."
Lin looked up at the flight schedule on the LCD screen. Amidst the changing lights, his bright green pupils gradually dimmed and returned to a pitch-black color.
The Far East...
He remembered that Spassy's Fifth Branch had been rebuilt.
The consent form flashed across his mind. Lin pondered for a moment. Just as the first drop of rain fell before a downpour, he picked up the Fire Moth badge and stumbled toward a private Fire Moth liaison point.
Lin was going to take a gamble.
"Sir, I'm here to recover the remains of the patient who died from Honkai Sickness. Please cooperate."
The burly man in sunglasses stood before the visibly exhausted doctor. His chiseled face held a cold, almost inhuman expression. He placed a piece of paper in front of the doctor, who lifted his eyelids to glance at the content and felt even more powerless.
Recovering the remains...
Only two months had passed since the last time, and yet another patient had succumbed to the fangs of Honkai Sickness.
Su had used every treatment method available, but in these past few years, he had not been able to snatch a single life from the hands of Death.
The tall walls of Nagazora City had been dismantled, but Su could not feel the sunlight shining into the city. He still remembered meeting the people from the Fire Moth that night and the words they told him.
Having dealt with them a few times, Su was somewhat familiar with the man from this suspicious organization. Without much small talk, Su signed the paper and handed it back to him: "Thank you for your hard work, Bolong."
"No, it's nothing. It's just my duty."
Bolong said the words with a complex tone.
When the Fifth Branch was destroyed, Bolong had left early and survived, but he was plagued by self-reproach. If he had insisted on staying by Sylva's side then, could he have protected the Doctor's family?
His own happiness had resulted in the misfortune of another family, which was something Bolong could not accept.
Even though the Doctor later told him it wasn't his fault, Bolong knew this was just the Doctor's tolerance and kindness.
And he couldn't forgive himself.
So, since then, Bolong had prioritized the Doctor's safety and treated his duties as something more important than life itself.
"Excuse me, do you have a treatment plan yet?" Su had asked many times, but each time he still held onto hope, wishing to hear a confirmed answer from the other party. This was the most important reason they provided remains to the Fire Moth.
Bolong said solemnly: "I apologize, but I cannot disclose information to non-members of the organization."
"Then my application submitted last time…"
"Dr. Su, you still do not meet the standards for joining the Fire Moth, so I'm truly sorry." Bolong slowly shook his head at Su's frowning face. "In your application, you mentioned that you once met a member of the Fire Moth. We cannot verify that with the other party."
"Is that so…" Su let out a heavy sigh, sitting in his chair with a dejected expression.
"Then please help me submit it again…"
After instructing people to take away the carefully wrapped and protected remains, Bolong bid farewell to Su and approached a man in a white lab coat with only one arm, who was standing outside the hospital gate.
"Doctor, I apologize for the wait."
"It's nothing. Watching the patients here is also quite good."
Compared to a year ago, Spassy's hair and beard were overgrown and untidy, but his temperament was more refined. He leaned against the red brick wall next to the climbing ivy, watching the stream of people from all walks of life on the lawn under the azure sky, shaking his head with a slight smile.
"It's been a long time since I've been to a hospital and observed these patients like an ordinary doctor. After seeing so many corpses, I realize that even those seriously ill have vibrant, warm expressions."
Bolong didn't pick up Spassy's thread of conversation. He said, "...Doctor, Dr. Su still wants to join the Fire Moth."
"Reject him next time."
"But... no, it's nothing." Bolong wanted to say more, but he knew the Doctor had his own considerations, so he stopped asking irrelevant questions.
"Have you seen Ragnar?" Spassy asked.
"I haven't seen Dr. Ragnar. Dr. Su has been handling the handover these past few times."
"…"
Spassy remained silent, a slight, involuntary twitch in the corner of his eye.
"It seems I'll have to go see my old friend next time." Spassy pursed his lips, pulling his white coat tighter as if feeling a chill. He motioned with his hand, "Let's go, Bolong, it's time to head back."
"Understood, Doctor." Bolong hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Doctor, the incident at the headquarters…"
"Don't worry about it."
Spassy said coldly: "We are only responsible for doing our own jobs well."
"What is the incident at the headquarters you are talking about?"
A cold, deep voice interjected between the two of them. Bolong's body stiffened. He instinctively shielded Spassy, vigilantly watching the one-legged, masked man who walked out from the corner with a cane.
"Who are you?"
"Hold on, Bolong, don't be so wary. This is an old friend of ours."
"An old friend?"
As Bolong prepared to subdue the man with the unknown identity, Spassy stopped him. He smiled and walked out from behind Bolong to face the man.
"I thought you had completely left the Fire Moth, Lin."