As the saying goes, men love to watch beautiful girls fight; deeper than that, they hope to see a different side of a girl. Watching a girl get bullied by a game follows the same logic—those cute screams of frustration definitely give people a different feeling.
Whether this counted as positive feedback for Elysia was another matter. After all, some people just love the challenge of high-difficulty games and find it fun to die hundreds of times. But at the very least, after streaming for eight hours straight, she felt very, very, very tired, making her want to take a shower and collapse into bed immediately.
She was the type of person who wouldn't stop until she finished what she started. When she went offline, despite being mentally exhausted, she forced a flawless smile to say goodbye to the audience before shutting down the stream and letting her chin hit the desk with a heavy sigh.
"Wait, where's Lin?"
After catching her breath for a bit, Elysia finally realized the room was empty and voiced her question.
...
"As long as it is a 'Leaf,' the Honkai will inevitably break out. It's just a matter of sooner or later."
As expected, Lin was still concerned about those words.
If Lin guess was correct, "Leaf" referred to different worlds. He didn't know yet why that specific word was used. Yama clearly knew much more than he did, but it was unrealistic to try and pry it out of her.
The Honkai would inevitably break out...
Meaning, even if this world currently had no Honkai and no Fire Moth, it would surely happen later.
Was the Honkai outbreak an unavoidable fixed point on the world's timeline?
What was the reason? Even if the condition for the outbreak—the lunar remains—had not been found or touched, the Honkai would still happen. Did that mean the root cause wasn't actually the remains on the moon containing Honkai energy?
Lin pondered Yama words repeatedly. He looked up at the dazzling crescent moon hanging in the sky, his thoughts churning.
Having survived nine major Honkai outbreaks, he had summarized some patterns, such as the rising concentration of Honkai energy and the appearance of unprecedented anomalies. However, even knowing these patterns, without professional detection equipment, Lin couldn't judge when the Honkai would break out.
Furthermore, regarding the First Honkai, Lin had only read rough data; it was a total blank to him. Because it was the first time the Fire Moth had dealt with a major outbreak, the research and records were vague.
The First Honkai occurred in Eastern Europe; the scale was small, it ended quickly, and the casualties were under a thousand. It possessed every factor that made detection difficult.
"Europe..."
Was there any way to monitor the situation in Europe?
Whether the First Honkai would still break out in Europe was unknown. The timing was already completely different, so the location might change as well.
What exactly was the cause of the Honkai? Why did Herrschers take human forms? Why did the Honkai break out specifically within human civilization?
These doubts, like the Pseudo-Herrscher Core in his body, left Lin without a clue. Aside from deepening his anxiety, they served no purpose.
"Lin, what are you doing sitting here?" Elysia voice came from behind. She walked up to Lin, who was sitting on the doorstep, and asked in confusion.
"Prevent anyone from coming to seek revenge because of the noise you made."
"...Am I that much of a nuisance when I play games?"
How come he hadn't noticed it before? When Elysia played games, she would scream just like Kevin. If he had known sooner, he would have...
If he had known...
Lin cleared the untimely thought from his mind. He looked at the night outside and asked softly, "How was it?"
"Thanks to you, the results were great."
One could tell from Elysia cheerful voice that she must have gained many fans.
"It's nothing. Just your own hard work."
Lin stood up, brushed the dust off his pants, and walked inside. He asked casually, "By the way, where are you from? You shouldn't be from the Far East, right?"
The name "Elysia" certainly wasn't from the Far East. Furthermore, in the many years Lin and Elysia had associated, many of her subconscious habits were completely different from people in the Far East.
Why was she here?
"Hmm? Want to continue digging for my info?" Elysia wasn't as airheaded as she appeared. The light in her eyes shifted as she smiled gracefully. "A secret is a girl's precious treasure~ One can only tell their most important secret to their most important person."
"Right... I haven't even... told you my secret yet... A girl's secret is very valuable. Please, wake up..."
A sobbing whisper rang in his mind. The blurred voice overlapped with Elysia, and Lin memories became clearer.
"Svyatogorsk-51..."
A place name suddenly fell from Lin lips.
After saying it, he stared intently at Elysia expression, her eyes, her fingers, her breathing—observing any possible subtle change.
"Svyatogorsk-51? What does that mean?"
Elysia looked at Lin in bewilderment. Her expression looked exactly like someone who had never heard of that small place. She seemed not to know what Lin was trying to do with that nonsensical sentence.
Lin took in all her micro-expressions and movements. He had spoken so abruptly that she couldn't have been psychologically prepared; therefore, her reaction was the most authentic one.
"...No, it's nothing. A friend of mine was born in Svyatogorsk-51. I just thought of her when I saw you." Lin closed his eyes, let out a breath, then opened them calmly.
"Then she must be a girl as beautiful as me, right?"
"Yeah. Even though she's nearly thirty, she still calls herself a girl."
"A girl's age is a taboo." Elysia thought Lin was mocking his friend. In a sense, she was right, but she didn't know it. She smiled casually. "Are you and she very good friends?"
"Yes."
Lin unhesitating affirmation made Elysia pause. She saw a trace of relaxation appear on Lin stiff, icy face when he mentioned his friend, and after her surprise, she let out a faint smile.
"Best friends?"
"Whether for me or for her, there is no distinction between 'best' or 'worst' when it comes to friends."
"Then I must meet her. We would definitely become good friends."
"There will be a chance."
Unknowingly, they chatted late into the night. When Lin got to know Elysia from another perspective, she remained consistent. In a different world, she was as if she had not changed at all.
He remembered a long, long time ago—so far back it was the first ball he attended after the Third Honkai. The playful, pink-haired girl in a maid outfit had held up a finger, winked one eye, and whispered to him alone with incredible tenderness:
"No matter when, I will be here."