"..."
Just as he was about to return to his room, Lin paused. He shut down the data on his display and activated his combat module.
His hand drew close to the holster at his waist.
A "person" had appeared like a ghost at the end of the corridor, standing there in black clothes, blending into the night.
"Long time no see, Mr. Lin."
"..."
When a person is polite, they might be a "smiling tiger" or a gentleman. But when a "thing" is polite, it only gives a horrifying sense of an imitation learning to walk.
"Why are you here?" Lin faced Gray Serpent across the entire corridor. This was a safe distance; even if a battle began the next second, Lin would have time to sound the alarm while drawing his gun.
"My apologies for not informing you in advance." Gray Serpent behaved just as he had when meeting Lin in the Afternoon Street, but this time his etiquette was even more precise. "I simply wished to report to you the results of my recent 'experiments'."
"...Experiment results?" Lin was unaware of the recent movements of "The Moth" (Chrysalis Squad), nor did he know about Gray Serpent's social experiments. "Why look for me?"
To be precise, Gray Serpent should have gone to Mobius, for she was his creator and mistress.
"You granted me a second life. A hatchling doesn't recognize kin by blood, but by the first creature it sees upon opening its eyes." Gray Serpent seemed adept at using metaphors; he was like a poet, his words infused with his own distinct flavor. "Moreover, I believe you are a kindred spirit. Thus, I wish to tell you everything I have seen and heard."
Lin slowly drew his pistol from the holster, aiming it at this Human-Made lifeform who moved like a phantom and could now enter a Fire Moth branch undetected. Gray Serpent's growth was terrifyingly rapid; perhaps Mobius experimental results were taking effect, or perhaps it was his own tenacious, death-fearing vitality at work.
Whatever the case, this Human-Made being who announced he would study humanity had become dangerous. Lin original decision might have been a mistake.
"I believe I have already informed you: the death of an individual is not the death of Gray Serpent. Please do not exert yourself in vain; I will not harm you."
"..."
"Or is it that, compared to an honest Human-Made life like myself, you still harbor unconditional trust for the humans who have deceived you?"
Gray Serpent's words struck home. At that moment, Lin thought back to the data he had just seen and the Lunar Remains incident.
MANTIS Project, KY-00, Svatok 51...
"As long as you keep investigating, that kind of future will never arrive."
Lin lowered the hand holding the gun.
"Allow me to first report the results of my year of research on humanity and organization."
"..."
Lin sat at the table, immersed in shadows, while Gray Serpent stood at his side, his blood-red eyes glowing beneath his hood.
"Over the past year, I have been revealing 'the truth' to a segment of the population."
"Honkai, Fire Moth, the truth of the world... regardless of the method—religion, corporation, society—I have shared everything I know without reservation, and then let them make their choice."
Gray Serpent paced slowly beside Lin, circling him. His mechanical voice was synthesized, yet filled with human nuance.
"Humans are truly fascinating creatures."
When a lifeform created by humans describes humanity as "fascinating," it is a truly peculiar sensation.
"When you use a fire to burn a prairie to ash, revealing foul and parched earth, you need only wait a few days before those grass roots begin to sprout again." Gray Serpent seemed to be smiling beneath his strange mask; his laughter sounded elegant, raspy, and horrific. "Initially, they collapse, scream, and self-destruct. But before long, they begin to search for ways to survive."
"The problem lies in the fact that when I grant them equal power and freedom within the groups I've created, they collapse with extraordinary speed. Like a dandelion, the moment the wind strikes, they fall apart."
"Having learned from many cases, I finally understand: most humans do not require absolute freedom and equality. They all wait for me—the 'transcendent' who told them everything—to make the choice for them."
"Life does not require faith, yet faith is the best guarantee of survival. And when faith replaces the desire to survive, then even if I command them to end their own lives, they will obey with loyalty... Of course, I did not do that."
Gray Serpent stepped in front of Lin, his strange laughter growing low. "Fragile and hard, selfish and selfless, superstitious and scientific—these contradictory terms can all be used to describe humanity, even a single human individual. A truly ugly and beautiful species."
Lin remained silent. Even as Gray Serpent described his maddening experimental processes, Lin did not speak.
"I know you must be wondering: what do these results prove? Beyond allowing me to become human, what can they do?"
"The answer is... humanity requires a 'Leader.' An excellent, representative 'Leader'."
When Gray Serpent mentioned the Leader, he stopped pacing.
He cast a gaze identical to his mistress Mobius—like a serpent flicking its tongue—staring at Lin.
"You do not need to give me an answer, nor am I here to seek your opinion. You are the 'Father' who gave me a second life; I am awestruck by your loyalty to and protection of humanity." Gray Serpent slowly receded into the shadows, his scarlet eyes flickering. "Only when you have witnessed the destruction of certain things with your own eyes, and share my perspective, will I come to your side again."
"What... do you know?" Lin stood up, his gaze cutting through the darkness, piercing toward Gray Serpent who had merged with the shadows.
"What remains eternal throughout human history is self-destruction. The organizations I founded will either perish under that lady's purge or self-destruct after losing me—the 'Leader' who guides them."
"Cut off a poison hand, cut off a poison leg... but the poison has been in the brain from the start. Cutting off the head is merely another way to die."
Gray Serpent laughed, his voice fading into the distance yet seeming to echo in Lin ears. "Mr. Lin, as I said, when faith replaces the desire to survive, humans will not hesitate even when facing death. But once reversed, when the faith they gave their lives for is shattered, humans can return to the most primal question of survival."
"So, when will your 'faith' be destroyed?"