Phamas walked alone in the tunnel. The light bulbs overhead flickered on and off. He silently opened his memo app and noted this down, planning to call someone to fix it when he had time.
The cold wind in the tunnel lifted the hem of his clothes, which made him feel a little lost.
The war between humans and Honkai hadn't just started in the last few years. Before the Fire Moth was born, many people had already sacrificed themselves for the sake of the spark of human civilization.
Fortunately, he and that person were among the few who had survived. They used to walk side by side...
Now, he had to go and settle accounts with him...
On his phone, a small red dot popped up on the Fire Moth's forum. Phamas clicked on it, and as expected, it was Elvin, that big mouth, spreading news about the assassination, acting as if he wasn't the one who had been knocked out before the incident... Oh, right, in a way, he did experience everything in his dream.
[Elvin: Hey! You guys know what! The assassination that Michael encountered yesterday was so thrilling!]
[Nuwa: Can you not talk nonsense? What assassination isn't thrilling?]
[Elvin: But it's different! Think about it, who is Michael? In the battle power rankings of the simulation training room after the last Honkai outbreak, he and Elysia have always been in the top two, and Captain Ato, who is in third place, only has half their combat power! I don't know who the assassin was, how they managed to infiltrate the Fire Moth and injure Michael?]
[Fuxi: Did you see what the assassin looked like?]
[Elvin: ...Of course, I saw it clearly! Speaking of which, the assassin disguised themselves as Aunt Blanka to come in. I noticed something was wrong at the time, and I signaled Michael with my eyes. It was because of my reminder that he dodged the first slash!]
[Blanka: Who are you calling aunt?]
[Ato: Who are you calling aunt?]
[Mobius: Who are you calling aunt?]
[Elysia: Who are you calling aunt?]
[Michael: Who are you calling aunt?]
"As expected, the essence of humans is to be a copycat..."
Phamas smiled wryly and clicked on Elvin's profile.
Elvin was sitting in front of his computer, biting his fingernails while racking his brains to polish a 500-word "recollection" of the battle scene. Then, he excitedly clicked the send button...
[You have been muted by "The Best Phamas in the World" for 24 hours]
Phamas looked up in confusion. The tunnel suddenly went dark at that moment.
"Bang!" All the light bulbs exploded instantly, and the flying fragments splattered everywhere. There was also a foul smell in the air.
Phamas wiped his cheek, his fingers stained with a warm liquid.
He glanced at the bright phone screen and felt a pang in his heart.
He rubbed his nose, put away his phone, and chuckled softly, "Vasak, is this really necessary?"
A hoarse voice came from the darkness. "I thought you wouldn't come. I heard that the joint government wants to expand the Fire Moth? The Phamas I know shouldn't be racking his brains to retain more power at this time?"
"So, that's what you think of me..." Phamas said with a wry smile. "The existence of the Poison Cocoons has been completely exposed."
"So what? You know, I've never agreed with your decision to bury the Poison Cocoons underground. Only by letting the Poison Cocoons break out of their shells and hang over the heads of every member of the Fire Moth can this kind of supervision be more effective."
"Did you do this on purpose?"
"...Think whatever you want."
"This is an act of terrorism!"
"Oh, when did you start caring about these things? After being the public leader of the Fire Moth for so long, do you really think you're a good person?" Vasak's voice mocked.
Phamas took a deep breath. "I'm indeed not a good person, but you need to give me an explanation for attacking Michael."
"Heh, because he's your right-hand man?" Vasak emphasized the word "subordinate."
"Hmph..." Phamas seemed to be provoked, but he quickly calmed down. "He's the strongest warrior under my command. I should have had Poison Cocoon Number 007 convey the plan to you. In future battles against the Honkai, warriors like him will become more and more important. Now, it's different from our time..."
Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Vasak's low roar:
"Hahaha, it seems that you still don't know anything?"
"What should I know?"
"Phamas, how about I give you some advice? Go back and take a good look at the report on the 'Vostok' incident."
"You suspect he's related to that Honkai outbreak?" Phamas raised an eyebrow. Various thoughts intertwined in his mind. He immediately had a bold idea, but before he could fully express it, he was interrupted by Vasak's roar again:
"Phamas, you should know that on the path of fighting against the Honkai, the only thing we can trust is humans, pure humans."
"Vasak, make yourself clear!"
But Phamas didn't get an answer. He waited in the tunnel for half an hour, and finally, with his head lowered, he returned to the upper level of the Fire Moth base, somewhat absentmindedly.
Before he even entered, he heard Elvin's loud voice shouting, "I'm telling you, the last time I went to pee with Phamas, he suddenly asked me for a favor. I thought he had some work for me again. Guess what he asked me to do?"
Nuwa: "Stop selling it and just say it!"
Elvin chuckled. "He pawned a month's stipend on me, betting that Elysia would be first in the simulation training rankings this week... hehehe, so the money you and Fuxi won the other day had Phamas's share!"
Fuxi and Nuwa laughed so hard that they were bent over, and then the two sisters' bodies shook at the same time, and they stood at attention, facing Elvin.
Elvin scratched his head, leaned back in his chair, and crossed his legs. "Hey! Although I'm your team leader, you don't need to respect me so much. Of course, if you salute and call me 'Team Leader Sir,' I might give you a bigger cut of the bounty next time!"
"Elvin..." Nuwa pursed her lips and winked at him.
At the same time, a heavy hand patted Elvin's shoulder.
"Go and find all the files related to the 'Vostok' incident for me. And an hour later, call Sub-Captain Michael to see me."
"Oh, oh! Okay, Leader!" Elvin stood up quickly, as if he had grabbed a lifeline.
"Wait! Let Fuxi and Nuwa go. You stay here. And I said one hour later, what's the rush?"
Elvin forced a bitter smile. "Leader, you love me, right?"
Sakura hugged her legs, her chin resting on her knees, curled up in a corner. Hearing the sound of footsteps, she habitually looked in the direction of the sound.
But she only saw a pitch-black space. She couldn't even see the iron bars that imprisoned her.
But not being able to see didn't mean it didn't exist.
This was the Poison Cocoons – the Poison Cocoons that carried the dark side of the Fire Moth. For the first time, she felt that the word "cocoon" was so appropriate.
At the same time, she also felt a little regretful.
If that sound of iron boots colliding with the floor was made by her, it would definitely have a different rhythm...
This inexplicable thought made her feel a burst of irritability, or was it just that people would have such strange associations when they were idle?
No, she wasn't idle...
It was just that she didn't dare to think about Rin anymore...
In the end, she wouldn't be able to see her again.
The footsteps stopped in front of her.
She didn't respond. It wasn't until a few seconds later that she belatedly realized that the other party was calling her, but not as Poison Cocoon Number 007, but with that name that had been sealed away.
She understood what the consequences of failing a mission were in the Poison Cocoons.
It was just a life for a life... For the person who had once saved her and Rin, this was the retribution she deserved.
But Vasak's words caught her completely off guard.
"Sakura, I can give you a chance to redeem yourself. Moreover, this mission is also to protect Rin."