As Lin distributed gifts, he informed everyone of his return. The process was natural and smooth. Perhaps because he was so clearly different from the previous "Lin," everyone accepted it quite quickly. However, there were still a few minor incidents.
...
"For... me?"
Su thought for a moment that he had misheard. Coming to the headquarters this time, he felt he was just someone Spaciel brought along as an afterthought. His relationship with Lin was limited to having met twice—semi-familiar strangers with a slight connection through Kevin. Perhaps a step below being nodding acquaintances?
With Lin nod of confirmation, it couldn't be false. So Su hesitantly accepted the gift box. He stole a glance at Lin, but the helmet blocked any possibility of prying, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
...Just based on this point, quite a few people probably missed the previous Lin; at least he would put his lewd smile right on his face.
"Won't you open it and take a look?" Lin asked calmly.
Since Lin said so, Su couldn't refuse. He was actually quite curious about what Lin would give him. Upon opening the gift box, Su was instantly shocked by the contents.
"Isn't this the elephant-trunk underwear you wore before?"
"..."
Lin looked down and saw it truly was—those elephant-trunk boxers whose meaning and appearance were full of "grown man's intentions" that required no communication to understand.
"There's a note inside too." Su fished a note out from the corner of the box. The handwriting was neat, but the words were flippant: "Welcome to the Fire Moth Bachelor's Party. Those two useless guys, Kevin and Kosma, have already been liquidated."
"..."
...
When Lin found Immer, his appearance was slightly different from usual. Lin remembered Immer as someone who was calm and composed most of the time, yet still prone to the impulsiveness of youth in certain small matters. Of course, this wasn't bad; rather, it was a valuable quality. He could be described as a unique analytical talent among all the recruits who had joined.
But today, his fists were clenched, and the hidden ferocity and resentment in his gaze made Lin wonder if Immer's body had also been occupied. Thus, after finding him, Lin didn't walk directly over to strike up a conversation but instead observed Immer's actions.
Soon, Lin found the source of his change today. Immer had studied scouting and counter-scouting, and his ability to hide his gaze was excellent, but Lin still discovered him observing someone through the reflections in glass, plates, and wine cups. Every time his gaze caught that person's reflection, the hostility on him would intensify. This caused Lin a bit of confusion.
Why him? What connection does he have with Immer?
That person was in the corner, wearing a ridiculous mask and eating morosely... Kalpas.
Through several minutes of observation, Lin saw that Immer didn't just have murderous intent in his eyes for Kalpas; he had even switched the positions of his knife and fork under the table several times. His grip was a standard dagger-holding style. Clearly, he wanted to take action directly.
But Lin didn't go over to stop him immediately. Instead, he found a spot to watch quietly.
"I've discovered that you're quite a bad person. Seeing a homicide about to happen, yet you're leisurely watching the show." A mocking voice drifted into Lin ear from behind. Lin wasn't very surprised; he had noticed someone walk up behind him half a minute ago. He turned to see Mobius and Vil-V standing behind him.
The "homicide" Mobius spoke of naturally referred to Immer and Kalpas.
"Immer is no match for Kalpas," Lin replied simply. Kalpas could wound Sakura, a MANTIS. His origins were unknown, but it was highly likely he wasn't human.
"You have so little faith in your former team member?" Mobius said with a sneer while cracking sunflower seeds. "Or do you have so much faith that that person won't kill your member?"
Mobius had received the combat footage of Sakura and Kalpas long ago. she was extremely interested in Kalpas, who possessed a mysterious power of unknown origin. If Kalpas hadn't been under strict supervision, she would have found a way to drag him onto her operating table long ago. Now that the person who occupied Lin body had somehow managed to release Kalpas, her chance had come.
"He won't," Lin shook his head, adding, "Kalpas won't."
Mobius was also observing Lin without a trace. This Lin behavioral patterns and speech were identical to the Lin in her memory. She couldn't sense anything wrong, but in her heart, she felt a certain... discomfort. If she were wrong, she would feel extremely disgusted—the kind of discomfort where she'd want to kill Lin.
"These are gifts for you." Lin handed over the two gifts. Vil-V accepted hers without any concern. Mobius only took the exquisite gift box after seeing Vil-V already unwrapping hers. ...She just felt her gift box was a bit too large, larger than everyone else's combined.
"Whoa~" Vil-V quickly pulled a steampunk-style top hat from a pile of wrapping paper. she whistled, performed a pigeon magic trick on the spot with the hat, and placed it quite naturally on her head. "Thanks, Lin. I'll give you a gift in return later."
Mobius frowned and slowly unwrapped the box in her hand. Due to its large size, she had to place it on the table and then carefully lift the lid to look inside—
"..."
"..."
Lin, who was still watching Immer, suddenly realized it had gone quiet behind him. Not a single sound. He turned back to see the two staring blankly at the gift box, as if time had been frozen.
What was going on? Lin approached in confusion, leaning next to Mobius head to look at what was in the box...
Inside was...
Underwear?
Lin silently turned off his helmet's monitor, then turned it back on. It seemed the monitor wasn't malfunctioning. The box was packed full of various styles of sexy underwear, with sizes ranging from adult to children around eleven or twelve years old. There were at least ten sets for each age group. Lin estimated this single box was enough to hold a "Sexy Lingerie Awards."
Like Su's box, there was a note inside, but this time it was placed right on top in the most prominent spot. "These are all styles that match Lin tastes. I've carefully selected 'Victory Lingerie' suited for your every body size. Believe me, Lin looks tough on the outside, but he's actually a soft-bodied, easily pushed down..."
Lin didn't see the rest, because the next second, a loud boom echoed through the hall as a table was completely demolished. Mobius stood by the table, her face red with rage, her fists clenched and her whole body trembling...