Poseidon in Arknights

"Could there be a bishop of the Deep Sea Church here?" Skadi felt the ocean's presence around her, and she felt a surge of excitement within her, an eagerness to return.

"It smells like the sea, but why does it feel a little strange?" Skadi wondered a bit about her body's reaction.

She had experienced the ocean's atmosphere before when chasing the Deep Sea Church on land, but this time, her body's reaction was truly strange.

Speaking of the Deep Sea Church, Skadi hasn't encountered them for a long time. Skadi originally thought that she had hunted down and wiped out the Deep Sea Church that had infiltrated the land, but now it seems that's probably not the case.

"Even if they aren't bishops, there must be quite a few people from the Deep Sea Church here."

Skadi secured the greatsword to her back and headed towards the city ahead.

Looks like she'll have to do some work today, something she hasn't done in a long time?

————Longmen Ring Road————

A car was driving on the highway. Through the car window, you could see a chubby boy dressed in Fengchi Logistics messenger clothing sitting in the back seat, resting with his eyes closed.

The butler in the front row saw the young man resting in the rearview mirror and said, "Young Master, are you asleep?"

At the butler's call, the boy rubbed his eyes and sat up: Um, sorry... where are we?

"We're almost at the agreed meeting point. Please be alert, young master. The Penguin Logistics team is already waiting."

Bison rubbed his face: "Yeah, I know."

The butler glanced at Baison through the rearview mirror: "You look very tired."

Bison shook his head. "No, that's not true. I was just looking at the information of that new guy at Penguin Logistics last night."

"Please forgive my intrusion, but the master's decision this time was rather hasty. If the young master has any difficulties, please be sure to speak up."

"...Father must have his own reasons."

Bison clenched his fist: "Moreover, as long as I can make a difference at Penguin Logistics, those people around my father might not stop me anymore."

“Young Master is the youngest messenger in the family’s history. Your work ability is impeccable, and that’s enough,” the butler said quickly, watching Bison’s movements.

Bison shook his head: "Maybe, but the adults might not think that way."

Looking out the car window at the city below the highway, Bison said, "Now, most of the private messenger business in Lungmen has fallen into my father's hands."

“Penguin Logistics, they are the last, the most independent, and the company with the most strange rumors.” Bison paused. “Although Father and Mr. Emperor seem to have a good relationship, we must understand them, at least I must.”

"That's why I'm worried about you, young master. Penguin Logistics is too special, I know that very well."

Bison smiled and said, "You don't need to always make that face. I can handle it myself."

The butler glanced at Bison's smiling face in the rearview mirror and smiled back: "You too, young master. Smile like someone your age. Tonight is Requiem Night; you could have gone for a stroll with your friends."

"...Are you mocking me for having no friends?"

"How dare I, how dare I, hahaha." The butler's laughter suddenly stopped, and he said with a serious expression, "Excuse me, young master, do you still have your shield?"

Bison casually picked up the round shield that was lying at his feet: "What's wrong?"

"We're being watched."

Just as the butler was about to accelerate, a loud explosion suddenly rang out next to the vehicle.

"Ugh—an explosion!?"

"Young Master, hold on tight!!" The butler spun the steering wheel in an attempt to stabilize the vehicle, but the successive explosions caused it to overturn and slide to the ground.

Bison heard the sound of the road collapsing ahead: "They actually blew up the highway...? Who could it be...?"

Just then, someone pulled Bison out of the vehicle he had spotted, trying to get a better look at the person, but the smoke was too thick, and the person seemed to be carrying a flashlight, making it impossible for Bison to see clearly.

"Uh-huh!"

All Bison heard was an unfamiliar muffled groan and the electronic sound coming from the radio.

"Hello? Hello! Is anyone else here? Can you hear me? Seriously, you got taken down so easily?"

A cold snort came through the radio: "Tch, I don't like such a cliché movie plot."

“Penguin Logistics.”

"Oh, it seems you know quite a bit about this~" Exusiai emerged from the mist, looking at the radio that had fallen to the ground.

"Speaking of old-fashioned methods, in my opinion, setting up roadblocks in the middle of a suburban highway and then planting bombs is quite a retro approach, isn't it?"

"Detonation is just a personal hobby. Look around you, things aren't that simple."

Exusiai smiled as she watched the thugs in suits gradually gathering around her, and a bespectacled man with a crossbow a little further away.

Capone, whose highway had been bombed, frowned and said, "Damn it, that idiot used so much Originium explosives. If the Rat King finds out, we're in big trouble."

Gangster extra: "The messenger who discovered Penguin Logistics is Exusiai. She took all the demolition team members..."

Capone said irritably, "I'm not blind, it doesn't matter. Where's that wolf named Texas?"

No, I didn't see it.

Capone scoffed, "Hmph. Fine then. Surround them and finish this quickly."

Exusiai scratched her head and raised the gun in her hand: "As expected, there was an ambush. They did a pretty thorough job."

Nengtian kicked Bison, who had collapsed to the ground, and said, "Hey, can you still move? Your arms and legs are wobbling."

Bison propped himself up, holding the shield in front of him: "...I guess so. You are...Miss Exusiai?"

"Hmm! Your name is, uh, what was it again?"

“Bison.” Bison looked warily at the gangsters who were gradually surrounding them. “We… I think we need to get out of here first.”

Exusiai looked at Bison's face and smiled, "Don't keep such a long face, the old butler is safe and sound."

'And it runs incredibly fast.'

"Really!?"

Exusiai nodded: "We did take him to the roadside, but he didn't really need any help... but never mind!"

“But compared to that, next…” Exusiai raised her gun, looking at the surrounding gangsters, “is time for a party!”

Under Exusiai's control, the gun in his hand quickly opened fire, and Bison, in pain, completely hid his upper body and head behind the shield and charged forward.

The gangster with the crossbow was the first to be shot in the head, and he fell to the ground with a bump quickly swelling up on his head.

"It's a pity that Lungmen doesn't allow the use of live ammunition." Exusiai kept taking down the surrounding gangsters with three shots in quick succession, but because the bullets she used were rubber bullets, unless they hit the head, she couldn't cause any real casualties.

Bison shoved down a gangster, then turned and swung his shield at another approaching gangster, saying, "Is this the time to get involved in this kind of thing? They've already used a bomb first!"

“Exus Angel from Penguin Logistics, and this young master, surrender and come with us.”

"Many of these are unfamiliar faces. Are they all your relatives in Syracuse? Did you remind them of the precautions to take when competing for business in Lungmen?"

Capone scoffed, "This is none of your business. This time, we will utterly crush you."

After a moment of contemplation, Exusiai said, "Hmm... Having been in Lungmen for so many years, your methods of seizing territory are certainly the simplest and most brutal."

Then, Exusiai gave a slightly malicious smile: "Looks like the Syracuse mafia isn't just someone who gets beaten up in bars after all~"

Upon hearing Exusiai's words, Capone's face darkened instantly: "You bastard! You'll regret underestimating the Sicilians! *Lungmen curse*, attack!"

To vent his anger at being mocked, he raised his crossbow and fired several arrows in succession.

Seeing the incoming arrow, Exusiai remained calm, for she had already heard the footsteps of her teammates.

"Oh dear, I barely made it?" Two arrows landed on a shield with a clang, then fell limply to the ground. The shield was pulled away, and Croissant looked at the fallen arrows: "This is less powerful than even Yuuki's water arrows."

"Perfect timing, croissant!"

Croissant, shield in hand, slowly retreated: "But they don't seem to be planning to stop. What do we do next?"

Exusiai smiled slightly and reloaded the breechblock into her gun: "Same as always, you lead the way, I'll cover the rear, and we'll split the bonus in half when we're done."

Croissant smiled slightly, raised the shield in front of her, and stomped forward with tremendous force, cracking the asphalt ground: "Then I... won't hold back!"

Croissant raised the shield to her back and charged straight at the enemy without any regard for anything else. The surrounding gangsters were also frightened away by the force of her charge.

"So, that freakishly strong guy just smashed his way through a path!?"

Capone looked at the hole that had been smashed open, scratched his head, and said, "...You guys go after them first, but don't follow too closely. Wait for the leader's reinforcements."

"Yes Yes!"

Capone sighed and took out his radio: "They've escaped."

"You let them escape? Useless."

Capone sneered: "Tch, kidnapping has never been my forte. Before the other members of Penguin Logistics have arrived and the deployment is complete, it would be disadvantageous for us to rashly enter Lungmen city."

"Make up any excuse you want, a car is heading your way. It's a convertible, and they're all old acquaintances you know like the back of your hand."

Upon hearing the voice on the other end of the radio, Capone said with some surprise, "...So fast?"

————The other side————

Croissant led Exusiai and Bison through the abandoned city.

Exusiai: "Oh no, how many dead ends is this?"

Croissant, on the other hand, seemed indifferent: "Anyway, the surrounding area is full of abandoned buildings that have been neglected for hundreds of years, so why not just make a hole in the wall?"

Bison caught his breath: "Wait, wait, you two! Where are we going?"

The gangsters caught up at that moment: "They're here! They actually crawled into a dead end to wait to die, surround them!"

After taking a deep breath, Bison raised his shield, regretting that he hadn't brought another weapon.

"Aren't we completely trapped?!"

Exusiai looked at the gangsters in front of her and suddenly slapped her thigh: "That's it!"

"What's the plan?!" Bai breathed a sigh of relief. Was it Penguin Logistics after all? How could it be running around aimlessly? There must be some kind of trap or something nearby, right?

Exusiai smiled and extended her hand to Bison: "We haven't officially greeted each other yet, have we?"

"Kill them all!"

"This isn't the time to talk about this! Is it really that important!?"

If the situation weren't so awkward, and if his only possession wasn't his weapon, Bison would really want to smash something right now.

At that moment, a deep male voice rang out in the alley: "No, this is very important, extremely important, absolutely important."

“We place great importance on shaping our corporate culture, and today’s key cultural word is ‘ritual.’”