"Hmph..."
As Kevin lightly exhaled, the ice surface surrounding the boat unconsciously expanded again in a circle.
And as he inhaled, the ice surface shrank again.
If it weren't for the ice layer constantly expanding and shrinking, it would really look like the moon in the sky leaving a reflection in the center of the lake.
In the boat, Kevin held the frozen oar upside down, while i, wrapped in two layers of cotton coats, sat opposite him.
The lake wasn't big, belonging to the ecological zone built by Fire Moth around the headquarters base. The lakeside path was planted with tall camphor trees. There seed to be a couple walking on the path. Could it be Aldemir and Evangeline?
The distant green hills were densely vegetated, and the grass and trees on them twitched in the breeze, giving a real illusion of "ambush from all sides."
The evening wind circled around the lakeside, bringing the fragrance of camphor leaves... and an irresistible chill.
"Achoo! Achoo!"
i sneezed twice in a row. Kevin habitually reached out his hand, wanting to gently stroke her back, but just as his hand was raised, he silently put it down, and moved his butt, sitting as far away from i as possible.
Although it was a rare date, the two were facing each other, but were temporarily speechless.
This was very different from the usual situation.
One was a busy doctor, and the other was the captain of Fire Moth's newly ford First Squad. Neither of them usually had any free ti.
If they occasionally encountered holidays, i could temporarily put down her work, but Kevin was very likely to be sent to investigate due to sudden Honkai energy reactions.
They didn't have the Second Divine Key. Each mission took at least two days. Often, by the ti Kevin returned and entered his off-duty period, i's vacation was already over.
So in the past two years, thinking about it carefully, the number of dates the two had was also very few—but each one was an unforgettable mory for both of them.
Usually Kevin would start first, talking about recent interesting events within Fire Moth.
As he talked, he would inevitably ntion stories on the battlefield. Although many Honkai incidents were handled by Anti-Entropy one step ahead, the base number of abnormal incidents was still there, and Kevin had also experienced countless difficult battles.
And on dates, these were the stories he could tell i.
After he finished speaking, it would be i's turn. In fact, when i opened her mouth, in the eyes of outsiders, the identities of the two were definitely not lovers—more like teacher and student.
In fact, i discussed philosophical topics with Kevin. This was her own consideration—after all, even if you didn't know much about this type of question, you could still express so of your indirect opinions.
But the answers Kevin gave... were always in his style, occasionally interspersing his answers with a couple of cheesy love lines, or so jokes that made i burst into laughter.
This was their past "date."
Although it had a sense of fragntation that was sowhat "talking past each other" in the eyes of a third party, this was a unique way of communication that belonged only to the two of them. Although i had long understood the specifics of Kevin's missions from various reports, she still silently listened to Kevin's stories every ti.
And although Kevin was made dizzy by the philosophical questions i kept throwing out, he was also trying his best to respond to i.
So, this kind of cold silence was still unprecedented.
Kevin looked at i, who was constantly sneezing and sniffling, and felt sowhat at a loss. He loved i, so he unconsciously wanted to get closer to i, but for i's sake, he could only stay further away from her.
Only at this mont did he understand what the so-called dilemma ant.
Only then did he understand what kind of sacrifice he had paid behind becoming a "hero"—even if he easily killed a Herrscher, even if he beca an object of worship and admiration for many people, even if his combat power might already be comparable to Mikael's, so what?
These things that he had childishly hoped for before, seed completely insignificant now, compared to what he had sacrificed—he could no longer hug i.
Even getting closer had to be step by step, controlling the distance well. Every centiter forward carried the risk of frostbite for i.
Fifty centiters, this was the limit distance. If he got any closer, no matter how many layers of cotton clothes she wore, she couldn't resist the extre cold emanating from his body.
Then what else could he say?
In the end, i spoke first, but she didn't say those complicated philosophical speculations as usual, but practical work topics.
"Kosma... how is that child doing later?"
"His physique, Honkai energy resistance, and reaction speed are all excellent, and he himself has the will to fight, but... I heard that he once wanted to join the Fifth Squad, but I don't know why, in the end he still stayed with . But... I personally killed the Fifth Herrscher. I don't know how to... face him."
Kevin's tone was not as lively as before. He even turned his head away, trying as much as possible to control his breath—his body temperature had reached minus thirty degrees Celsius.
Even if he accidentally breathed on i's face, it could easily hurt her.
"Kevin, you were forced to do it. I may not have made it clear to you, but I think you understand it sowhat—from the Second to the Fourth Herrscher, although humans achieved complete victories, the number of Fire Moth soldiers with psychological problems is increasing, and people are becoming more and more desperate. Why?"
"Because all the victories were brought by one Herrscher. Humanity itself doesn't have the ability to defeat large-scale Honkai Eruptions. Therefore, the first battle of the MANTIS Warrior must be a decisive victory. Only in this way can we give more people hope, can we push this plan to continue, and can we protect the civilization we depend on for survival—Mikael also understands this, so he left the opportunity to kill the Herrscher to you."
"Of course I understand. Moreover, according to the calculation results Zero showed , if this continues, there will always be Herrschers that even Mikael's power can't handle, so we have to promote the MANTIS Warrior project..."
"No, Kevin, you don't understand... What I an is, even if there is a debt, even if I'm sorry, it's who is sorry to you, sorry to him, that's not a responsibility you need to take on for him. What's more, according to Mikael's statent, the emotions the Fifth Herrscher showed were just the result of the consciousness descended by the Honkai and the subconscious of the original body rging. I also perford calculations. The probability of a Herrscher like Mikael appearing is after the decimal point, followed by more than fifty zeros... So, this is all my responsibility!"
"No, i, what does it have to do with you? You don't want to bear that sin, but there's no need to take it all on yourself, could it be that those..."
Deathly silence once again enveloped the small boat under the moon.
How long had passed?
One minute? Five minutes? Or ten minutes?
i finally spoke again:
"Kevin, about the future of humanity, about how to fight against the Honkai in the future, what are your thoughts... or rather, what do you think of Anti-Entropy?"
"I don't really understand the future of humanity or fighting against the Honkai... But isn't this your forte, i? I'll just listen to you! As for Anti-Entropy... of course, it's best to fight side by side! I don't want to co to blows with Mikael, but speaking of which, if he gets serious, I'm still no match for him now, right? Not to ntion Ellie, Sakura, and that man nad Kalpas."
"Hmm... then what kind of fighting side by side is it? Is it the sa as with the Fifth Herrscher, or..."
"Of course, it's best to be like the Third Honkai Eruption! I really wish Mikael and the others would co back to Fire Moth... Not to ntion anything else, if we also had that Second Divine Key, I could complete my mission and co back in one day in the future, and then we could have more ti together."
Kevin looked at i, and saw his own wry smile reflected in her crystal-clear eyes.
But i's eyes quickly narrowed into slits: "Okay, you said it, let's have more ti together in the future!"
So Kevin's smile was no longer wry—this was the first ti he had seen such a bright smile on i's face.
In his earliest mories, i was still that slightly ignorant and immature girl, but after joining Fire Moth, she gradually beca intellectual, rational, and with a hint of coldness that even Kevin sotis found uncomfortable.
Even when i smiled, it was often just a faint smile or a soft smile.
She had never smiled so brightly, so happily, exposing her deliberately hidden emotional side without reservation.
For Kevin, this was also a rare...
"Oh right, Kevin, do you know that the base has a plan to build an underground city? When the ti cos, we might even be able to be in the artificial lake underground... hehe."
"Underground city? Is it like in novels?"
"Yeah! This was proposed by your girlfriend."
i raised a finger, with a hint of pride in her tone.
"Originally, the plan was to have 88 underground levels, but looking at the funds that can be applied for..."
i's words were not finished. She had been staring at Kevin's face, but saw that handso face suddenly turn pale—
"i! Duck down!"
Goosebumps, along with his snow-white hair, stood on end—that was the danger perception ability belonging to biological instinct brought by the MANTIS Factor.
So, in the second before the gunshot, Kevin constructed a barrier of ice and snow to shield the entire boat, and pounced on i.
Then, a specially made large-caliber Soulium bullet shattered the barrier, and a brilliant blood flower instantly blood on Kevin's body.
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