"mom?"

Rin discovered that her mother's condition had become more serious during her time in Tianming. According to the nurse who cared for her, the silicified tissue on her body had increased to ten times its original size in just six months.

Although Bronya has never met Ms. Cao Liang, she has done Rin a big favor by paying her hospitalization and medical expenses for a whole year. After all, this amount of money is a big sum for Rin.

Rin had just started working for almost a year, how could she afford such a huge amount - "160,000 milaya coins"?

"stern……"

Ms. Cao Liang, the skin around her mouth has begun to silicify to the point of cracking. Oxygen tubes are inserted on both sides of her mouth, directly connected to her trachea, so that she can breathe easier. Seeing this situation, Alicia also

Covering her mouth, she only knew that Rin's mother was in the hospital, but she didn't know that she was already so seriously ill.

Lin did not speak, but walked to Cao Liang, held her right hand tightly, and closed her eyes tightly.

"Sorry, Mom, I couldn't come back to see you because I was busy. I didn't have anything to bring this time. I'm sorry..."

His tears rolled crazily in his eyes, dripping from his eyes and onto Cao Liang's hospital bed. He burst into tears. Alicia and Bronya did not approach, but looked at him with very worried expressions.

Rin was sobbing in front of the hospital bed.

Since the "Era Collapse" occurred, too many people have suffered the same symptoms as Ms. Cao Liang. It is also because of this that the fate waiting for them can only be summed up by the word "death". Cao Liang closed his eyes tightly and looked at

In the remaining consciousness in her mind, she would be satisfied to see Rin and his friends visit her at the end of her life.

"Rin...Rin...I'm sorry..."

From the dry and cracked lips, Cao Liang still wanted to say something to Lin, but because she was so ill, the words turned into the whistling wind the moment she said them.

Blow into Lin's ear.

Rin wanted to get closer and hear what his mother had to say, but he could no longer hear clearly. The sound of the wind made him feel desperate and unfamiliar.

His mother was critically ill and could die at any time, and he knew this. No matter how much money he spent, he could not save his mother's life. When his mother vaguely said "Actually..."

, the consciousness space in his body began to fluctuate a little. He saw his consciousness break away from his mind, fly towards the small universe in his body, and reach the deep space in his body.

In the darkness, he saw a person wearing a nun's uniform. However, the nun's body was covered by light, and he could not see her appearance and appearance through the light covering her.

.

"My little prince, where are you? Where are you..."

The group of light made girlish sounds one after another, which made Rin seem a little unbelievable. He tried to touch the group of light, but the group of light was getting further and further away from him.

He had a somewhat familiar feeling, as if what existed in that ball of light were his relatives and his origin. When he came back to his senses, there were only himself and his critically ill mother, Bronya and Elici in the ward.

Masako left here and waited outside the hospital. They talked outside the hospital, and also talked about what happened to Rin.

"Sister Alicia, is what you said... true? Why are you so sure about Rin being the 'weapon of hope'?"

"Hey~ Well, um... because Xiao Lin has an aura that is 'not of this world'. As a former 'Fourth Herrscher of the Creation Star', you should be able to feel it, right?"

"I can't feel it. By the way, Sister Alicia, I am no longer a 'Herrscher'. Besides... among the existing 'Fourteen Herrschers' of the Creation Star, you are the only one, Sister Alicia."

"Eh~ It seems so, sorry?"

Bronya's expression has always been serious. She believes everything Alicia said. If Rin is about the "Weapon of Hope", then Ms. Cao Liang should know some truth.

However, now that Ms. Cao Liang is so seriously ill, it is extremely difficult for her to ask questions. I don’t know how long Rin stayed in there, but Bronya went to see him every ten minutes.

In this situation, Lin just knelt in front of Cao Liang's hospital bed, lowered her head, held her right hand that could no longer move, and remained silent.

"Are you worried about your team members? Sister Bronya."

Bronya turned her head to look at Alicia, then she stopped looking at Rin's condition outside the door, and followed Alicia out of the hospital.

"Xiao Lin is a very special existence. In my impression, the last time I came into contact with this type of existence was probably when I picked up the 'star fragments' on the ground~"

"'Star Fragments'? Do you mean...Rin does not belong to the earth, but exists outside the earth?"

"Yes~ I can only draw this conclusion. After all, there are still many mysteries in this world, so I can only try to guess."

Alicia showed a playful but regretful expression, looked at Bronya's serious face, and then motioned her to tell her more about what she knew. So, she said something about being able to understand

to the existence of all this.

"If it were Mr. Walter Young of the 'Star Alliance', he might know these things, right? He has written a book, and I have read it. There are some things in it that I don't know... It's difficult

Got it~"

"'Star Alliance'? What kind of existence is it?"

"Hehe~ The secret, little Bronya will know it by then~"

Alicia was unwilling to tell Bronya about the "Star Alliance" because it might not be a good time yet. As long as she contacted the Alliance, she might be able to solve the mystery of Rin.

After Rin came out, his expression still looked sad, and his eyes were red from crying, but he still pretended to be indifferent. After leaving the hospital, he did not choose to walk to Bronya and the others.

There, he turned around and leaned against the wall pillar of the hospital, looking up at the sky that had been completely covered by clouds and mist, with an extremely desperate expression.

And Bronya silently walked to Rin's side, and like him, sat against the doorpost of the hospital, doing the same movements as him. She leaned next to Rin, looking at her at this moment.

She said that seeing Rin in such pain made her feel uncomfortable, and she wanted to share his pain in this way.

Rin turned to glance at her captain, and then said to her:

"Sorry, captain, when I saw my mother, I suddenly had the idea of ​​​​resigning. I don't know what to do."

"Then what do you think? 'Honkai Crystallization' is an incurable disease. If you stay here, it will only be of no help."

"I know...but I still want to stay with her and finish the last journey of her life."

"cold……"

Rin fell into deep thought. He looked at Hypernetus, which was emitting soft blue light in his hand. It followed him inseparably all the time. Since he got it, it has accompanied him through various battles, big and small.

Until now.

At this time, he thought of his mother who was paralyzed in the hospital bed. She was his only relative. The money he had to study was all provided by her hard work and research funds. The current medical level cannot cure it.

His mother's incurable disease, if he continues to stay in the past and does not explore things related to "era collapse", then it will be equivalent to giving up all his previous efforts.

So, he made up his mind and said to Bronya:

"So, I want to keep going. I want to understand what happened before the Honkai Era. If there is such medical technology 'within the civilization gap'... it can save my mother's life."

"So this is why you want to find Kiana? Rin."

"Well, so...trust me, Captain."

Rin and Bronya are like siblings who have no blood relationship. Although they have only been together for half a year, Bronya cares about Rin all the time, just like Shizuru at that time. Because

Rin's family background is not very good, and he is also the first Ashes agent he met who wants to work hard to save money for his mother's medical expenses.

"Captain, can I lean against you for a moment?"

"No problem, I can lend you my shoulder at any time."

"Thank you...Captain."

After getting Bronya's permission, Rin quietly leaned on Bronya's shoulder. Although it felt different from the previous feeling of leaning on her mother's shoulder, both were equally warm.

"Thank you, captain, you helped me a lot."

"It's okay, this is also my responsibility as the captain."

Bronya stretched out her other hand and touched Rin's head quietly. At this moment, Bronya seemed to be like his biological sister and a member of Rin's family.

"Don't worry, it will get better. If you want to understand what happened during the civilization gap, I will try my best to help you."

Although she and Rin are not related by blood, Rin has been spending time with her day and night during this period, and she has not taught him less, but she really wants to help him.

"Okay, Captain, I've had enough of leaning on you. Thank you for lending me your shoulder."

"Have you rested yet?"

"I will be embarrassed if this continues... I was a little willful. Captain, you won't blame me, right?"

"Haha, what are you talking about?"

Rin stood up, patted his butt, and showed a determined smile towards Bronya, and Alicia, who was watching all this, also showed a happy smile. She walked up to Rin and said if

When he feels sad again, he can come to him or lend him his shoulder.

"Thank you... you two, let's go back. I must work harder."

After saying goodbye to Alicia, Rin and Bronya returned home. Jingliu and Linqi had already returned. Seeing Captain Bronya and Rin go home at the same time, Linqi's first reaction was

The two of them went on a mission.

"Thank you for your hard work, captain! And A-Lin, thank you for the hard work!"

But Bronya said that she accompanied Alicia to visit Rin's mother, and after explaining her serious illness to Lin Qi, Lin Qi also became worried and asked about the situation at Rin's home.

Come on. Jingliu on the side also seemed to know that Lin's mother was seriously ill, so he also asked in a concerned tone:

"Is Rin-kun's mother okay? I've also heard about Rin-jun's condition."

Rin smiled bitterly, nodded, and said nothing. Bronya beside him looked at him and said nothing.

The two people who asked the question, Jingliu and Linqi, seemed to know what Rin meant, so they stopped talking about this topic. After that, Bronya joined them and had a brief meeting around the coffee table. It seemed that

When returning, Hollander sent Bronya instructions on the next step, asking her to prepare well and take the team members to perform the mission together the next day.
To be continued...