"Just barely made it."
Mei watched the status of the Titans she had dispatched, having Prometheus II synthesize the information and focusing on finding updates regarding the Fifth Squad.
Hua silently stood guard. After defeating the rebels who tried to stop them, she watched Mei activate all the Titans and learned from Mei that most of the squads had been rescued.
Mei remained expressionless throughout, frighteningly calm. She even had time to adjust the modes of some Titans so they could more conveniently rescue the squads in different areas.
Such reliable decisiveness was enough to command admiration from anyone.
But...
"Do you have any questions?"
When Hua looked up, Mei finished processing the message, turned to look at her, and after a moment of silence, Hua asked: "Dr. Mei, did you plan for this a long time ago?"
"What?"
"After this incident happened, you immediately had me bring you here, and everything you did was overly... fluid. Even the adjustments to the Titans were the same." Hua said. "It's as if you had already thought about what to do and guessed what would happen... No, that's just me overthinking."
She shook her head, trying to clear these distracting thoughts. She wasn't one to excel at deep thought, so she dismissed her sudden conjecture as overthinking.
If she hadn't come to protect Dr. Mei, Mei might not have thought to activate the Titans.
"…"
And Mei didn't say anything either.
She glanced thoughtfully at the screen.
"It's finally over…" Himeko sighed softly after bandaging the unconscious Dystopia.
Assassinations of high-ranking officials, betrayal by some members—even the Honkai had never inflicted such enormous damage on the Fire Moth. Perhaps humans truly were the creatures most adept at infighting.
The Titans were carrying the transport plane, which had lost its ability to fly. They were controlled by a simple AI, coordinated by Prometheus II, but their actions were currently being commanded by Mei, who was far away at the headquarters.
When exactly did Seele start down a path so drastically different from theirs?
Himeko felt an overwhelming exhaustion, as if it would crush her.
How was she going to tell Lin all this when he returned to the Fire Moth? No... could Lin even return to the Fire Moth?
It was like this again...
Her squad member was gone again...
Himeko squatted down to pick up her greatsword, slung it over her back, and sat heavily in the seat, covering her face with weariness.
In this rebel attack, more than half of the high-ranking officials were killed again. The remaining number was less than a quarter of the original. The combat personnel at the headquarters suffered a loss of one-fifth, including the traitors.
The traitors who were not killed on the spot would be interrogated and then imprisoned in the deepest facilities, but this was still a loss for the Fire Moth.
Had the Chairman's plan failed?
The remaining quarter of the high-ranking officials could still lead and maintain the situation, so the purge plan was technically a failure.
But what meaning would be assigned to this devastating purge plan?
Would the remaining high-ranking officials remember that one of their own chose to kill them all in order to change the Fire Moth?
They would likely worry about such an incident happening again. So, even though this plan failed, it wasn't a complete failure.
Would the lives of so many people lead to success or failure? Himeko didn't know. She only felt like she was about to fall asleep. If she just closed her eyes, she could forget everything.
Fighting a life-and-death battle with a former subordinate... it was exhausting.
She glanced sleepily at Seele on the ground, and the next second, her eyes snapped open, and she was instantly wide awake, giving a cold shudder.
She was gone.
Seele, whom Himeko had knocked unconscious, had vanished!
"Thump..."
The Chairman surfaced from his unconsciousness, his head throbbing. His sluggish eyes stared at the ceiling.
His memory was stuck at the moment before he fell into the sea.
The feeling of freefall, the burning on his arm, the pain in his leg...
Consciousness returned to his body, and the pain he had ignored before began to torment him again. The Chairman propped himself up with his only remaining hand, looking around blankly.
This was also a transport plane, and by its design, it belonged to the Fire Moth.
"Awake?"
He turned his head and saw Seele, wearing half a mask, sitting in a seat, speaking to him weakly.
"Where is this..."
"A transport plane, heading to the Fifth Branch." Seele was also in bad shape. Himeko hadn't held back, and her facial bones were almost shattered, but at least she was much better off than the half-dead Chairman, who was missing an arm and a leg.
"The Fifth Branch... Heh heh... So that's it. We failed." The Chairman looked at his charred arm and murmured.
"There's nothing to be surprised about. You had a plan, and others had a plan. You simply lost." Seele said faintly. "People always lose. You just happened to lose this time."
"Hahaha... Yes, I never thought I'd hear you say that..."
The Chairman laughed carelessly, but quickly coughed and lowered his head, his face twisted in pain. After enduring the agony for a while and waiting for it to subside, he continued: "Can I have a cigarette?"
"At this moment?"
"I'm nearly dead. Humor my last wish."
"…"
"…"
Seele suddenly stopped all movement. Her scarlet, cold-blooded eyes, different from before, gazed indifferently at the smiling Chairman.
"'I truly made you wait too long,' huh..." Seele slowly recited the words the Chairman said before boarding the transport plane.
"Did you figure it out?"
"No, you figured it out." Seele stood up, searched the Chairman, and pulled out the pack of cigarettes. Taking one, she said with a cold smile, "As expected, you were also one of the victims in your purge plan."
"Isn't that normal? Slaughter means leaving no stone unturned." The Chairman smiled indifferently. "You actually wanted to kill me a long time ago, but you held back because of Lin, didn't you?"
"…"
"Don't worry. Lin is being looked after where he is. He'll likely spend the rest of his life in beautiful hallucinations, unlike us..."
The Chairman pointed to his broken body: "Sober."
"Your parents were killed on my orders to the Cocoon of Toxicity. The Fifth Branch was destroyed under my instruction. You know all this very well."
"I thought you would think I had completely let go of all that."
"How could that be? If people could let go of hatred so easily, I wouldn't have moved against Dr. Mei, or against those who wanted to modify humanity." The Chairman smiled. "Didn't you say it yourself? You're not one of my allies. I'm a scumbag, too."
"...I will take you to the Fifth Branch, and I will kill you there."
Seele announced coldly.