"Are you sure there's no problem? Could it be your presbyopia acting up, Kevin?"
"…"
Kevin shook his head gloomily. He had personally watched the surveillance footage of the Starlight's room from beginning to end. He was certain he hadn't mistaken anything; the Starlight had never left the room.
The terminal in the data library was destroyed. From the traces, it closely resembled a Fire Moth standard blade. Was it going to be another "guess the internal mole" event?
But the problem was… this incident was insignificant.
A terminal was merely a device for accessing the internal network. It was neither some secret technology nor an important apparatus. It wouldn't take long to replace it with a new one. Moreover, after checking the access logs, it was confirmed that no one accessed the Headquarters data library through the Shenzhou Branch terminal last night.
This meant the person only destroyed the device and did nothing else.
So, what was the meaning of this action?
And how did that person sneak into the data library?
Just as Kevin was about to discuss the matter further with Elysia, he abruptly turned his head, his eyes fixed like an eagle's on the deepest part of the corridor.
It was empty.
Kevin felt a momentary gaze fall upon him from that location just now.
"What's wrong, Kevin?" Elysia also looked toward the same spot, seeing Kevin's heightened state of alert.
Kevin didn't answer her. Instead, he took out his communicator and dialed the monitoring room: "Is the Starlight still in the room?"
"It's still observing the room, it hasn't left."
"…"
A hallucination?
Kevin didn't know if he was just being paranoid lately. He was self-aware; ever since the Great Purge, his personality had become as suspicious as Lin, requiring everything to be thoroughly confirmed.
Kevin let out a breath and said coldly, "Who do you think destroyed the data library…"
In the corner he was looking at, the transparent figure quietly observed them.
The deep blue pupils inside the helmet continued to emit a faint, ethereal glow.
…
After slicing the terminal in half with one stroke, the girl put away the long sword. She first recalled the method Lin had taught her on how to observe the environment to find suitable hiding places, then quickly used her helmet to gather surrounding information, found the optimal hidden spot, and swiftly walked over to squat down.
Next, the long sword in her hand vanished, and a pen-like small device appeared in her grasp. She pressed the button, and a light like sheer gauze enveloped her body, after which her figure completely disappeared from where she stood.
The girl, who had made herself invisible through light refraction, waited patiently.
But she didn't have to wait long. After all, "those things" truly had no patience and would only act when they deemed the time appropriate.
"Squeak—"
The data library door opened and closed in less than half a second, and something had already entered.
Appearing like rippling air, an indescribably shaped "monster" came into view.
The Starlight.
Perhaps in human eyes, the Starlight couldn't be captured by any detection method, but in the girl's vision, she could clearly see the Starlight's outline and trajectory.
After all, the Honkai energy contained within these alien creatures was enough for her to ignore their material composition and only see the shell filled with Honkai energy.
After entering the data library, the Starlight headed straight for the Shenzhou Branch's terminal. To them, the human spatial layout was merely a backward arrangement that only required one scan to confirm the specific layout, necessitating no extra time to observe the entire room.
However, all that awaited it was scrap metal cleanly split into two halves.
"…"
Perhaps it hadn't expected the object it sought to look like this, as the Starlight paused its activity for a few seconds. But this didn't mean it was completely blocked.
After examining the cross-section of the entire terminal, several tentacles extended from its transparent body, preparing to repair the terminal.
"Slap—"
However, a hand had already grabbed its "head."
Without giving it time to counterattack, a long sword, which did not exist in the Fire Moth arsenal, emerged out of the palm of the hand gripping it, piercing through the Starlight's entire body.
"...Drip."
There was no blood, nor any mechanical sparks. Nothing flowed out from the body, which had lost its life instantly.
The girl, clutching the Starlight's corpse, silently left the data library.
Even if the Starlight could transmit information through network consciousness, it would only transmit the information that the one who killed it was not human before its death. Therefore, the Starlight inside the Shenzhou Branch would not show any unusual activity.
And no one would suspect her.
The girl "analyzed" the Starlight, disposed of the corpse, and returned to her room. She stood still for a long time.
After a while, she clutched her stomach.
"...So hungry. I want a late-night snack."
…
The modification was complete.
When the man regained consciousness, he realized this was no longer his original body.
Or rather, very little of his original body remained.
"The surgery was a success, Dr. Lin. From now on, you will no longer be eroded by Honkai energy and will possess prolonged life. This way, even if humanity faces a major upheaval, you can continue the history of mankind."
"…"
After waking up, he was greeted by a barrage of nonsense.
If it were just about prolonging life, the man had a hundred ways to ensure he lived until the destruction of Earth without external interference.
But that wouldn't suffice. What humanity needed was this image.
An image of strength, perfection, and invincibility.
The man could not feel temperature. His body was now entirely separate from humanity.
Now, perhaps, he wouldn't want to embrace the girl anymore.
But he still picked up the ring he had taken off at the start of the surgery and put it on his finger, which reflected a metallic sheen.
"The people outside want to live, and we tell them that will result in loss for humanity."
"And I was about to die, and you saved me, telling me that my death would result in loss for humanity."
The doctor, who had been celebrating and smiling with joy, froze upon hearing the man's words.
"If death is equal, then on the road toward that final destination, there is only the inequality defined by humans."
After saying this sentence in an unknown tone, the man got up, left the group of doctors and researchers behind, and exited the sickroom.
Ultimately, humanity has never changed, and this has nothing to do with the Honkai.
Those who didn't want to die died; those who wanted to die lived. Even without the Honkai, there would be other things that would drive people to their death, and things that would compel people to cling to life.
But he had no choice but to keep going.
No matter how he defined humanity, he was one of these lives.
If asked how he should treat humanity going forward… there was probably only one choice left.
Believe.
Believe in humanity.