"Uncle, are you leaving?"
Anna asked as Lin walked to the door and reached for the doorknob.
"Yes."
"But it's raining heavily outside." Anna looked anxiously out the window. The strong wind and rain, howling in the cold, were terrifying. "And it's so late. Why don't you just stay at my place for the night?"
"No need."
"No! If you go back and catch a cold too, won't people misunderstand that I gave it to you?"
"...They won't." Lin tried to follow the logic but still couldn't figure out how people would misunderstand that she transmitted it to him when no one knew they were together.
Lin's current erosion status was not optimistic. He didn't want anyone to stay in the same room with him for too long. Although Mobius said it wouldn't be a big problem as long as it wasn't zero-distance contact for an extended period, it was better to be careful.
Moreover, his purpose for visiting Anna had been achieved, so it was better not to let her probe further.
Even if tomorrow was the end of the world, humanity would still live resiliently. Perhaps this was the answer.
Faced with his increasingly imminent death, he was frantic, trying to figure out how to maximize the use of his life. Anna, who was unaware of the truth, seemed to have solved his dilemma.
Anna pouted, trying to persuade him: "Either show me what you look like under the helmet, or stay here for the night."
"That option is invalid." Lin didn't need to choose between the two.
"Argh! No means no!"
"...Do you have something to say?" Lin turned his head and asked the annoyed Anna.
"Hehe, Uncle, you're quite perceptive." Anna performed a complete change of expression, playfully twisting her fingers and smiling coyly at Lin. "Actually, I wanted to ask you for a favor tomorrow."
"I'm busy."
"Ah, how mean! You rejected a beautiful girl."
"...I've rejected it many times."
Both Elysia and Anna had a complete awareness of their own attractive appearance. Lin had experienced this routine countless times with Elysia, and it had no effect on him.
Anna keenly sensed the implication in his words: "Many times? Uncle, do you have a girlfriend?"
"No."
"I don't believe you."
Anna's overly subjective assumption left Lin completely speechless.
Lin paused for a moment and said, "I will come find you tomorrow."
Without waiting for Anna's reply, he pushed the door open and left.
"Splash!"
The heavy rain mercilessly lashed against Lin's body.
Anna was right; the rain was heavy, as if a year's worth of water was violently poured down all at once, drenching him.
...
Lin's appearance, Lin's age, and Lin's cause of death.
This question gave Mei a tricky feeling of being cheated.
It was like playing a game where someone tells you at the beginning that there is treasure in the deepest part of the palace, and your sole goal is to find it. But along the way, they designed a puzzle, and the solution to that puzzle was another riddle. It was a loop, leaving one completely confused.
Especially since the three questions seemed to be on different levels. Mei asked Sakura, Kevin, and Eden, and they all consistently answered Lin's age, indicating that age was not a secret and everyone likely knew it.
However, when it came to his appearance, Sakura and Eden became evasive, and only Kevin coldly said "I know" and offered no further details.
Finally, when asked about Lin's cause of death, Sakura fell silent, Eden drank without a word, and Kevin turned and walked away.
Most of the people here died in the Previous Era. The only Flame-Chasers Mei had seen in the Current Era were Kevin and Hua. Only two long-lived MANTISes reached the Current Era, so it was even more unlikely that Lin had survived.
But judging by their reactions, Lin did not die a natural death, but it was impossible to confirm whether they truly knew the cause of his death. Even Mobius had the same attitude. With their lack of cooperation, it would be difficult for Mei to figure out who met the condition from these complicated Flame-Chasers.
Of course, Mei could entirely choose not to pursue Lin's matter. She had already received Lin's Signet, and she could likely find the truth herself by continuing her exploration.
But... Elysia said that as long as she solved this question, she could ask her directly...
This indirectly suggested that Lin and Elysia were key figures in the Elysian Realm. Perhaps in the time ahead, she still couldn't bypass these two.
Then she would try to gather intelligence first.
Mei thought of one person. She had said she would engage in the intelligence business. Mei wondered if she was still in her shop.
So, Mei entered the Elysian Realm with a testing mindset.
And a pair of green eyes, at this moment, watched her retreating figure and curved into a smile.
...
"Mmm-hmm-hmm... Today was another day of great harvest, Can."
"Meow~"
"Let me see, the goods I got from Sister Vil-V are in..."
"Pardofelis."
"Whoa, meow!"
The cat-eared girl jumped up, startled as if her tail had been stepped on. She only relaxed when she saw Mei standing behind her.
"It's Sister Mei."
Mei was quite curious about Pardo's reaction. Why was a Flame-Chaser so timid? Surely no monster in the Elysian Realm could beat her.
"I thought it was Brother Lin." Pardo put away some oddly shaped items. Mei happened to see the funnels Lin had used earlier among them.
Did he just discard them after using them once?
Mei frowned and asked Pardo, "What are these...?"
"Hmm? Is Sister Mei interested in my merchandise? You should have said so earlier! These are all rare finds, you know." Pardo happily dumped the contents of the sack, which were all the weapons Lin had used in their fight.
The miniature missile launcher that destroyed the Herrscher shield, the device that created the phantom projection, two long swords of different shapes, a large amount of guns and ammunition, and six funnels.
"Did... Lin buy these from you?"
"No, Brother Lin just gave them all to me after using them and said I could do whatever I wanted with them."
"..."
In other words, these weapons were not considered advanced equipment by Lin, but rather junk that he could sell as scrap metal at any time?
Pardo noticed Mei didn't seem interested in buying, so she was a bit discouraged and started putting the items back in the bag. "Brother Lin said he wouldn't be using these anymore and that it would be better to give them to a more suitable person, but it seems Sister Mei is not that suitable person."
"I have my own weapon." Mei shook her head. "No, I came to you for something else."
"Business?"
"You said before that I could buy intelligence from you."
"That's right! That's right! Whose gossip does Sister Mei want to know? I'm the famous intelligence broker of the Elysian Realm! There's nothing I don't know!"
Seeing Pardo's eyes light up, Mei felt somewhat reassured and asked, "Do you know what Lin looks like?"
"..."
Then, Mei saw Pardo, who had been cheerful moments ago, suddenly look alert, like a cat.