Waves, beach, sunlight.
This dream was as beautiful as always. Even though it was an illusion, it felt as if she could smell the salty seawater in her nose. Stepping on the soft, pale yellow sand, the scratch marks made by a swim ring extended into the distance.
"Big sister, don't run too far!"
This time, she didn't run forward. Instead, she looked down at those clear scratches, which gradually faded in the crashing waves.
She turned around and saw the sunset.
"Oh? A nightmare?" Sitting under the night sky, a woman whose fingers danced across a keyboard turned her face, wearing a flippant smile, toward Delta, who was groggily pulling a thin quilt off herself on the sofa.
What time was it...
Delta felt her mind was a bit blank. Deep night had settled outside the window. She didn't know when she had fallen asleep on the sofa.
Right... why was she sleeping on the sofa?
She remembered. She was waiting for Lin to return.
"Is Adjutant Lin back?" She propped herself up. Her head still ached; the frequent dreaming was giving her a bit of neurasthenia.
"No."
Vil-V smile was slightly forced—something Delta noticed. Delta had always been sensitive to the emotions of others, so she could naturally tell that even Vil-V was a bit downcast right now.
Lin hadn't returned for three days. Since he went out that night, he hadn't come back here.
There was no news of Lin being captured, so he must have left on his own.
What a willful guy...
"Do MANTIS soldiers have a side effect of having the same dream repeatedly?" Delta chose to change the subject. Continuing to discuss the previous topic was useless; Lin currently had no way to be contacted, so they could only wait for him to return on his own.
"There are indeed side effects related to dreaming." Vil-V understood Delta intent, and the disappointment in her eyes vanished. "Sakura has a side effect of having the same dream over and over."
"Sakura?"
Delta didn't expect to hear that name from Vil-V. Even the seemingly preternaturally calm Sakura had this kind of symptom?
"To be precise, it's not just Sakura. Over one-third of MANTIS soldiers experience their brains automatically recalling the memories of Honkai Beasts while they sleep." Vil-V hadn't participated in the MANTIS project, but she didn't lack understanding of it.
Vil-V used various means to expand her knowledge and leave contingency plans, and the MANTIS project was one of them.
She might not participate, but she couldn't afford not to understand. Aside from Mobius and Mei, the other participants of the MANTIS project might not know as much as she did.
"Normally, that's a common post-operative reaction. After the Honkai Beast genes fuse with you, the parts carried by those genes become a part of you. Many MANTIS soldiers report their dreams becoming longer and more realistic, to the point where a small number can't distinguish between dreams and reality..."
Vil-V fingers tapped on the keyboard, making crisp echoes.
"You should know what the original purpose of the MANTIS project was, right?"
"To let humans... control the power of the Honkai."
"Exactly. So the essence of a MANTIS is a human controlling Honkai genes to master Honkai power. But what if the Honkai Beast genes fused into a MANTIS soldier's body gained the upper hand?"
Delta thought of her sister. She fell into a hesitant silence for a moment, then opened her mouth bitterly: "They become... Honkai Beasts."
"To be precise, Honkai Beasts with human genes. At that point, the positions of the human genes and the Honkai Beast genes are reversed."
Vil-V gripped her arm, her strength gradually increasing. "Dr. Mobius mentioned something to me when I was talking to her about learning MANTIS surgery. Or rather, a... function. She called it 'Active Reaction.'"
"It allows human consciousness to control a body dominated by Honkai Beast genes. In this way, the consciousness exists while the power is fully unleashed. However, doing so makes it impossible to maintain a human form."
"And the current MANTIS surgeries in the project are actually modifications based on the concept of Active Reaction."
Delta stroked her tail. She already understood what Vil-V was trying to say.
The increase in dreaming symptoms might stem from these "modified" MANTIS surgeries. The Honkai Beast genes might not be completely dominated by human genes like in the first-generation MANTIS; instead, they had formed a dangerous equilibrium.
Once the scales tipped, the MANTIS would transform into a monster of destruction.
"...Vil-V, can I ask a favor of you?"
"To be honest, you approaching me is the last thing I expected."
Mobius leaned back in her chair. Her white lab coat was now stained with shocking amounts of blood. She removed her soaked mask, threw it in the trash, and then washed her gloves and wrists. She turned back to the "uninvited guest" with a cold smirk.
Just as she said, anyone might come to her, but this person was unexpected.
"Didn't I tell you to go seek the opinions of others? Or have you already gotten them? Let me guess—was the deciding vote cast by that guy?"
Eden sat quietly before her. Compared to the completely shrunken Mobius, her figure was that of a mature woman versus a little girl, yet Mobius nonchalant smirk and dangerous aura seemed to invert their heights.
"...Perhaps so." Eden held a bottle of red wine. Mobius glanced at it; she didn't drink often, but the expensive gold-stamped label seemed to scream its value.
"Please don't misunderstand; this is just an ordinary bottle of red wine."
Eden wasn't lying. she wasn't drinking her usual expensive wine; she had just picked a bottle at random.
Because Mobius didn't understand wine and didn't like it, Mobius likely wouldn't drink a more expensive bottle anyway.
"Hmph. So you're here to drink with me? You really have nothing better to do. Why don't you go back outside and sing?"
Mobius wore a bored expression. She sat on her mobility device, preparing to busy herself with the next project, but Eden spoke softly: "Dr. Mobius, is it a good thing to leave the decision to others?"
"Is your brain malfunctioning? You're asking me that?" Mobius curled her lip in disdain. "You surely know I only have one answer."
She would never leave a decision to someone else.
"Yes. So... I believe there is no need to seek the opinions of others anymore."
"Oh?" Mobius sized Eden up, squinting her eyes, and then broke into a malicious smile. "Before, I might have told you to go find someone else, but now... you've certainly come to the right person."
"Will you drink?" Eden raised the wine glass.
Mobius curled her lips. "I suppose I could accompany you for a drink."