Lin placed the paper and pen on the table. His gaze was absolutely calm, unblinking—he was deep in thought.
Anger, sorrow, self-reproach… these emotions had been swept away on the journey here.
If humanity needed him to be a certain way, he could be that way.
If humanity needed him to be a traitor and a murderer, he was perfectly capable of playing the part.
Yes, as long as it was for the greater good of humanity, he could walk even the filthiest path. He had always… walked this way.
He picked up the pen and rapidly sketched lines on the paper. He coldly wrote KY-00 at the top, and using it as the nexus, analyzed the positions of the headquarters and several branch offices, swiftly drafting several operational plans.
KY-00 and its associated projects had to be terminated. Lin would find them and root them out personally. If there was a base, he would destroy it. If there were monsters created to target humanity itself, he would kill them.
But what about the high officials? They controlled the resources, and resources meant the power of speech. Simply killing them would only make the situation worse.
After a moment of contemplation, Lin found the answer.
Have Aponia control their minds, and let Mei hollow them out from within. Ideally, they could create AI replicas to impersonate them; by then, their survival wouldn't even be necessary.
To prevent such things from happening again, the "High Command" had to become a title existing in name only. And since he was already a traitor and a murderer, he could use extreme measures during the operation—and he would bear all the infamy afterward.
Lin wrote his plan at high speed. He began thinking of the fastest way to end this, preferably before soldiers who had been lied to, like Delta, could realize the truth. He wanted the lie to persist.
Snap.
He applied too much pressure, and the pen snapped into two sections. He looked down at the paper before him.
It was chaotic—filled with the scrawled ravages of a madman's delusions. Mania, unease, and fury were clearly visible in those frantic strokes.
Lin covered his forehead and leaned back against the sofa.
What on earth was he doing…
He could become anyone for humanity's sake; he didn't care. But what about Delta? Or Yama? Anna? Himeko? The Chairman? What about the nameless victims whose burdens he carried?
And the people around him…
The moment he began to compromise, the meaning others had once given upon him would vanish.
He had even thought of utilizing Aponia.
Yet he had once cried out before Yama that he would no longer play the "trolley problem"—that as long as a sliver of hope remained, he would not give up…
So now, what exactly was he thinking, and what was he doing?
"The situation has changed."
Ato entered the room, set down his equipment, and spoke to Einstein, who was clutching her messy, curly hair.
"Mm, I know. I didn't expect Lin would actually…" Einstein shook her head. "I think something is fishy. It's impossible for Lin to betray us; he must have been framed."
"I've already started making contact with those traitors. They told me Lin is definitely not one of them. Lin situation has nothing to do with them."
"Nothing to do with them?" Einstein's frown deepened. "This is troublesome. The internal chaos exceeds our imagination… It seems I need to get in touch with Mei."
"Why Mei?"
"Mei has a certain level of influence in Fire Moth, but she doesn't participate in high-level policy-making. Therefore, she likely doesn't have a direct superior-subordinate relationship with the high officials. We don't have to worry about the rebellious officials getting word of it. Plus, her advice is usually constructive." Einstein felt the situation was becoming thorny; the lack of certainty regarding the identities of the rebellious officials made every step difficult. "The same goes for Mobius, but Mobius has always stayed out of these matters. She might not necessarily help us."
"Before that, let me finish."
Ato sighed and spoke to the anxious Einstein. "Because I am an old member of Pre-Moth and Fire Moth, they don't believe I actually intend to join them. They want me to find a way to prove myself. Until I gain their trust, it's unlikely I'll know their true movements."
"Expected." Einstein calmed down to think. "I want you to help me contact Mei. Contacting her directly is too risky. At first, you don't have to tell her everything—just test her attitude."
"Didn't you say there was no need to doubt Mei?"
"I didn't say that. It's just that the possibility of her being involved is the smallest. But it doesn't rule out that she might have similar ideas of her own. After all… her position is very delicate."
"Understood." Ato nodded. "One more thing to note: Dr. Vil-V has also gone missing."
"Her?"
Einstein truly hadn't expected the most troublesome person to simply vanish.
To be honest, compared to Mei and Mobius, Vil-V was far too unpredictable. She saw everything clearly, giving her a playful, "world-as-a-playground" aura. Having such a person on your side was fine, but if she stood on the opposite side, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"…You really can sit still."
Delta walked into the room. Seeing Lin still sitting in his original spot, not having moved an inch, her mood felt complicated.
The current Lin wasn't frivolous or full of dark humor. A cold austerity surrounded him, giving him the aura of an incredibly reliable senior.
But she felt like "things" were pacing behind his eyes, ready to burst out and tear everything apart at any moment.
Delta sighed, then took a deep breath. "Want to play a game?"
"…What?"
Delta said nothing. She turned and ran back out. After a while, Lin heard heavy footsteps. He turned and saw Delta lugging an arcade cabinet—taller than she was—into the room. She tossed it into a corner with a casual swing.
After plugging it in, she pursed her lips and made a "please" gesture.
"..." Lin gave her a cold glance, then sat down in front of the machine.
This was the very game he had used to train Delta. Nearly half a month had passed; the top spot on the leaderboard remained unchanged, but Delta had refreshed the rest of the rankings.
Delta high score was… 600,000.
"Let's make a bet. If you can beat my high score, you can ask me to do one thing." Delta turned her head away, a faint blush on her cute face. "Anything… but it's best if it's not too overboard. Likewise, if you can't beat my score, I get to ask you to do one thing. How about it?"
"..."
"W-Well? Are you going to say yes or not?"
"Phew…"
Lin pressed the start button.