"Doctor, do you have any instructions for today?"
A young researcher asked Spaciel timidly, who was busy reviewing various data.
Spaciel was not a hands-off manager. He was often the busiest person in the lab, but he never repeatedly verified the accuracy of data, especially the progress of a project. In his words, it was like a student on the eve of a spring outing checking the time every three seconds—pointless and a waste of energy.
However, today, Spaciel had become the "student."
He entered the lab without a word, checked the progress of the Honkai serum development once, then buried himself in work for an hour, checked again, and repeated this cycle for a full five hours.
This abnormality led the others to believe they had made a mistake and that Spaciel was looking for their errors.
"No, none. Just do your own work well." Spaciel attention wasn't on him; he just said it casually and then walked out of the lab, leaving the others exchanging bewildered glances.
Today's Dr. Spaciel felt somewhat... strange?
Spaciel walked all the way to Lin's treatment room. He confirmed that no one was around before opening the lock with his fingerprints and iris scan.
Although the Fifth Branch did not participate in the headquarters' disputes, all branches were still under the headquarters' jurisdiction. Lin's situation was unique, and he had to be cautious.
Lin happened to wake up from his memory hallucination at this moment. His pitch-black single eye silently watched Spaciel , who stood at the doorway, in the unlit liquid.
Spaciel spoke with a forced sense of humor: "Did I disturb your sweet dreams?"
"...No."
What exactly was that memory?
Lin couldn't confirm whether the memories in his mind were real. He couldn't even be sure who he was anymore.
Was he Lin?
Or was he Zero?
Or was he both, or neither?
These ambiguous memories completed his memory puzzle but also made him feel bewildered about this complete past.
"Did you..." Spaciel looked at Lin, sounding puzzled, "Did something change?"
"...Dr. Spaciel , I want to ask you a question. If Sylva had grown up normally, would you have wanted her to know the truth about the Honkai?"
"..."
Lin's muffled words through the oxygen mask caused the already cold treatment room temperature to drop by another ten degrees. Spaciel smile froze.
His family was Spaciel heartache. He tried not to bring up the former Fifth Branch incident with Lin, both to keep his own emotions stable and to prevent further conflict between him and Lin.
He couldn't forget, and he wouldn't allow himself to forget.
"You're still the same." However, Spaciel was only stunned for a second before giving a bitter smile and shaking his head. "Aren't you afraid I'll pull your oxygen tube?"
"I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. It just makes me feel bad."
Spaciel waved his hand distractedly, then genuinely considered Lin's question: "If Sylva grew up, the truth about the Honkai... what do you mean? Large-scale Eruptions? Herrschers? Honkai Sickness?"
"All of it."
"All of it, huh..." Spaciel scratched his unkempt long hair. "To be honest, I wouldn't want her to know."
"If you ask me why, I can only say that I don't want my child to know that someone's remains are dismembered, someone dies on the eve of their adulthood, or someone sits in an empty dining room."
"All of this, everything about humanity, and everything about the truth, are the embodiment of cruelty."
He gave a helpless smile: "We're already struggling enough. Why should we make our children aware of all this pain?"
Lin gazed into the distance, looking at Spaciel expression.
It gradually overlapped with the bitter smile of the man in his memory.
His Adam's apple bobbed. He asked hoarsely: "But what if... she chose the truth herself?"
"..."
"..."
"If she were still young, I would stop her." The reflection of Sylva appeared in Spaciel eyes. He said wistfully, "But you said she grew up. Then I would trust that she made the most suitable choice. What parent wouldn't want to believe in their child?"
Lin lowered his head, closed his eyes, and listened to the beating of his heart.
"I understand. Thank you..."
Half a lifetime of trials and tribulations, you and I in the play.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
The person hidden in the shadows asked the Chairman, who was flipping a coin.
"Wasn't it decided long ago?" The Chairman smiled slightly, his expression both insane and calm in the interplay of shadow and light. "Are you afraid?"
"...Those escorting soldiers are innocent."
"Innocent?"
The Chairman's finger pressed the coin face-up. He pressed the silver coin onto the table, his smile gone: "Do you still care about this now?"
"Don't you?"
"I am fundamentally no different from the other high-ranking officials." The Chairman's cold eyes shimmered with ruthlessness. "We will all use any means necessary to achieve our goals. Who to abandon and how many people to abandon is only a matter of value to me. Killing other scumbags doesn't make me less of a scumbag."
"..."
"I think many people are tired of hearing this question: a trolley is speeding toward a fork in the tracks. Five people are tied to one track, and one person is tied to the other. You can only choose which track the trolley goes down. This is the classic trolley problem. What would you choose?"
"...Let one person die."
"A wise choice. Now, let me change the question. The five people are all heinous criminals, scumbags who deserve to be shot on the spot. The person on the other track is a helpful person, and he asks you to switch the track onto him to save those five. What will you choose?"
"That's a no-brainer. Those five people will only cause chaos in society if they live." The voice was cold.
"Heh heh heh..." The Chairman chuckled quietly. "In this world, humans stand at the foot of the colossal entity that is society. They shout loudly, not to express their own desires, but to have someone who aligns with their desires realize their ideal world for them."
He stood the coin up on the table, facing himself and turning its back to the empty seat: "So, back to the question, who is that person?"
"What are you talking about?"
"That person could be a high-ranking official of a country, a celebrity with tremendous influence, a shrewd politician, or a chef, a cleaner, a server, or even a beggar."
"What matters is not the person's identity, but whether that person shares the same idea."
The Chairman turned and smiled at the person: "I am a demon who has killed countless people, but those who follow me agree with my philosophy, so I help them realize their wishes. All I need is their 'agreement,' even if just for an instant. In that moment, they also become me."
"When you answered the question just now, you knew exactly what you were thinking, didn't you? Just for a flash, you also acknowledged my idea."
"So, go do it."