At that time, we looked back at the past, only to see the future.
...
"Finally done with that one…"
Himeko slumped onto a chair in the transport plane. Just as she was about to instinctively reach for a beer, she heard whispers outside the transport plane.
"Sigh, we finally got through that mission safely. Working under that woman is really scary."
"Well, she's the Himeko who caused the deaths of two squads, after all... it really keeps you on edge."
"Exactly, right? Look at her, she's always acting unprofessional, drinking right after a mission. She only acts like a big shot in front of us because she joined the Fire Moth a few years earlier…"
"Hey... did you see her? I think I just saw someone enter the transport plane..."
The hurried footsteps faded away.
Himeko rigidly put down the beer.
Caused the deaths of two squads? What are those brats talking about?
Lin and the others... didn't they survive?
She shook herself awake, slapping her face to stop overthinking. These whispers were always present anyway; she just needed to focus on her own job.
She picked up the beer again, inserted a nail under the pull tab, and applied a gentle force...
"Pop."
The pull tab broke off.
"…"
The beer can hit the floor. The clear yellow liquid, along with foam, poured out from the broken can, gradually covering the floor beneath her feet.
Her unbound hair spread out like vines. She buried her head in her hands. A sense of indescribable fatigue completely overwhelmed her body.
"What exactly am I doing…"
Lin was seriously injured again. Although his life was not in danger, both he and Sakura needed to be sent back to headquarters for treatment.
The cause of all this was her misjudgment, assigning them the mission to hunt Emperor-class Honkai Beasts.
This was the third time. Will she... will she cause the death of another team member next time?
...
"Are you feeling better?"
"…"
"What is it?"
"No…"
The quiet Sakura struggles to describe her current feelings. Someone who has lost an arm asks her, who is in relatively good condition, if she feels better...
It wasn't that Sakura was completely unharmed. She had burns over half her body, and her injuries were no less severe than Lin, but she could complete the entire treatment process at the 19th Branch, while Lin needed to return to Headquarters.
Lin was used to Sakura reserve. The foundation of their relationship was mostly businesslike, requiring few extra words.
"Currently, all Emperor-class Honkai Beasts have been subdued, and the growth trend has slowed down," Lin scanned the Honkai Beast subjugation status in various regions inside his helmet and explained. "We don't need to handle additional missions for the time being."
"Understood."
Sakura also breathed a sigh of relief. Encountering an emergency on her first mission with Lin had nearly resulted in both of them being killed due to her lack of experience. She couldn't help but feel she was a burden...
"Do you have anything else you need to do?" Lin asked.
"No... nothing. Why?"
"I want to find someone to discuss a problem with, concerning the explosive increase of Emperor-class Honkai Beasts this time."
"With... me?"
"Yes."
Lin originally intended to discuss it with Mobius, but after Mobius hung up, he couldn't connect with her again.
Unable to figure out why Mobius was angry, Lin then looked through the few people he knew, but ultimately decided to talk to Sakura, partly because others were more or less busy with projects and missions, and partly to give Sakura some extra tutoring.
"Well... if I were to give a personal opinion, Emperor-class Honkai Beasts are a relatively special type of Honkai creature, right? Each individual is different. Has this large-scale appearance occurred because the global Honkai energy concentration has increased?" Sakura mind only held the most basic knowledge of Honkai studies.
"The relationship between global Honkai energy and Honkai Beasts is not unidirectional. High Honkai energy concentration areas give birth to high-tier Honkai creatures, but high-tier Honkai creatures also increase the regional Honkai energy concentration. So, the increase in global Honkai energy concentration this time is actually a causal relationship resulting from the high-frequency birth of Emperor-class Honkai Beasts."
"...Is that some kind of omen? Like the environmental changes before previous Honkai Eruptions?"
"A global change is somewhat logical, but the signs of a large-scale Honkai Eruption concentrate in a specific region. Currently, statistics do not show any particular region standing out in the density of Emperor-class Honkai Beast births."
Having been continuously denied, Sakura almost wanted to ask why he was consulting her.
But since Lin spoke, he would proceed to explain: "Emperor-class Honkai Beasts are single individuals. To date, no duplicate Emperor-class Honkai Beasts have appeared. However, based on encounter reports from various regions, our situation is not unique."
"The same situation... refers to those two twin-like Honkai Beasts?"
"And the third Honkai Beast that appeared afterward. Some of the Emperor-class Honkai Beasts this time have similar appearances. Although we can't confirm they are completely identical, a connection is certain."
Similar Honkai Beasts, appearing in different places.
What did this mean?
"Man-made…"
"Beep—"
The sound of the communicator interrupted Sakura thought. Lin glanced at her communicator but said nothing.
Sakura quickly took it out, looked at the caller ID, and answered.
"Rin, what's up?"
"Nothing, Sis. You haven't been home for almost a month. Is this business trip going to be that long?" Rin's voice held a hint of loneliness. "And what kind of job requires you to travel all the way to Australia for work..."
Lin was momentarily surprised. Sakura directly told Rin she was in Australia?
He had thought Sakura would lie and say she was on a business trip somewhere closer. He didn't expect Sakura to be so honest with her sister.
"Well... this job is quite complicated, so it might take a while longer. I'm sorry, Rin. I'll take you to the amusement park when I get back." Sakura words were also full of apology.
"Okay! It's a deal!"
Rin immediately felt energetic again upon hearing Sakura would take her to the amusement park. Then, she asked suspiciously, "Is Lin-ge nearby?"
"Yes, he is..."
"Slap."
Lin immediately covered Sakura mouth, which was about to answer reflexively, but it was too late. The now-suspicious Rin heard Sakura words just before her mouth was covered.
"You two are together again! Is this another trip to the gym together?" Rin accused in an indignant tone.
Lin signaled Sakura, then released his hand. Sakura quickly replied, "He's my colleague now. I introduced him to my company after he lost his job."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, yes, that's right."
Sakura eventually managed to convince Rin with her nonsense. After hanging up, she sighed in relief and cast an apologetic look at Lin.
Lin, however, looked at her calmly and said, "You should tell her the truth sooner. It's not necessarily a good thing to let a child live in ignorance."