Hello, Arknights

Bruno also noticed some of the boy's thoughts, and was thoughtful enough not to continue the conversation. Instead, he changed the subject and continued to walk towards the tavern in the town with Ling Dengxian.

"Hey, hey, are you kidding? You're only 1.70 meters tall and you're afraid of the dark?"

"Well, I haven't walked here much before." Ling Dengxian shrank his neck due to a gust of night wind. There was a small forest on the road leading to the tavern. The moonlight was exclusively enjoyed by the dense treetops, and only a few beams of moonlight were scattered on the path as if giving alms.

"Tsk, Ling boy, you can't be afraid of the dark when you go out. Don't think that we are quite peaceful here and everyone has no problem with the infected people. It's only because nothing has happened because of the infected people that Jack's flowers at the end of the street can still be sold and Little John's ice cream will not be despised... But what if other people are infected because of them, what do you think will happen?" Bruno suddenly said something that didn't sound like he would say, and Ling Dengxian frowned.

"But... a person with mineralogy can't infect others while they're still alive."

"Oh, you know, do other people know? Other people know, do some people want 'others' to know?" The expression on the film man's face was vague and unclear. Ling Dengxian suddenly found that his understanding of the discrimination and persecution brought about by the mineral disease in this world was still too shallow. Perhaps more of the suffering on this land did not come from the mineral disease -

"Oriopathy? Infected people? How many deeper problems are lurking underneath this?" Bruno shook his head as if sighing.

"These...what do they have to do with what you asked me at the beginning about whether I'm afraid of the dark?" Ling Dengxian turned back to the original question.

"'Dark'... is not just the 'dark' in the physical sense." Bu Nuo smiled and returned to his usual cheerful attitude. "It's okay to be afraid of the dark, but there are some 'dark's' that you can't be afraid of."

"Also, your expression has been a little strange since before. Is that weird?" Bruno was puzzled.

"No, I just feel that there is something wrong when these words come out of your mouth." Ling Dengxian expressed his feelings.

"Hey! What you said - well, actually I didn't say that originally, I just borrowed it." Buono shrugged, "Although it's still a bit annoying to be told that."

On the way, the two chatted about trivial topics. About ten minutes after leaving the woods, they arrived at the Bach Tavern.

The tavern is open until late at night, probably because drunkards are creatures all over the earth, whether in the original world or here.

The bell rang twice. The two entered the room one after the other. There were still not many people in the pub, but it was much better than during the day. Bach seemed much more energetic after taking a nap, but what surprised Ling Dengxian was the person at the counter.

"Uncle Duva? You're still awake so late?"

Duva remained silent upon hearing this, looking at the moon outside the window. The water in the cup in his hand quietly reflected the brilliance. After a while, he said with emotion: "Ling boy, you will understand in the future, the feeling of missing someone..."

Ling Dengxian also remained silent. The object of his longing could be a person or his hometown.

"Okay, why make the atmosphere so awkward? Let's drink. Come on, Duwa, there's an old saying in Yan country that goes, "A little drunk can relieve all worries..." Bruno quickly broke the dull atmosphere, put his arm around Duwa's shoulders, and shouted that he would stay with him until he was drunk. Ling Dengxian also calmed down, ordered a glass of orange juice, and made it clear that the bill would be on Uncle Bruno.

"These two people... It's not easy for Du Wa, he traveled far away from home alone..." The middle-aged brown-haired Kuranta behind the counter saw the two people go to the side, shook his head and sighed, which aroused Ling Dengxian's curiosity. He turned sideways and asked: "Uncle Du Wa is not a local?"

"Well, yes, he is not from Victoria. He seems to be here for business. He seems to have been here for two years, or three years? I can't remember clearly." Bach wiped the wine glass in his hand and spoke casually.

"work?"

"Well, don't ask me. Duva hasn't told anyone else about this. Don't ask. This is someone else's private matter."

"Uh... I'm just a little confused. Since Uncle Du Wa is not a local, why do people trust him so much?" Ling Dengxian asked the question that had been in his mind for a long time.

"This? Let me think... Oh, it seems to be because he is very reliable? No, wait, ah, I remember now, it is because Duva has helped everyone do a lot of practical things without realizing it, and he is very reliable, um, that's it." But what Bach said was not very reliable.

Ling Dengxian glanced at the man, and the doubts in his heart dissipated a little. Seeing that Bach had no intention of continuing the conversation, he did not continue asking.

"Boss, check out." In a corner of the tavern, a man wearing a cloak commonly seen by bounty hunters walked towards the counter. Bach frowned slightly when he saw the man, and then reported the amount. The man's face could not be seen clearly as it was hidden under the gray cloak.

The person who came and left passed Ling Dengxian, and Ling Dengxian suddenly felt a chill on his back.

"......like this?" The voice was very soft, but it reached his ears accurately.

The young man turned around hastily, and his eyes met with a pair of blood-red eyes. The source stone lamp in the room was on steadily, but he could not see anything behind the open door. After the man left the tavern, the moon also hid in the sea of ​​clouds. It was a coincidence.

"Blood red eyes?" Dua and Bruno, who were sitting over, fell into thought after hearing this.

"It's a rare eye color..." Bach put down the cup in his hand, "What race is he from?"

Seeing the three of them thinking, Ling Dengxian couldn't help but throw out his guess: "Could it be... the Sarkaz?"

"That shouldn't be the case, right?" Duva shook his head, and Bruno waved his hand, seemingly not considering this possibility.

"Forget it, he doesn't seem to have any bad intentions, his behavior is just a little strange. Just keep an eye on him." Duva said softly, Bahbuno nodded, and Ling Dengxian didn't take it to heart.

After being out for so long, Ling Dengxian felt much more relaxed. He thought it was time to go back to sleep. He said something to a few people, then pushed open the wooden door and left.

The moon still hadn't shown, and not much time had passed. It was just that without the moonlight the road was much harder to walk on - mainly because it was hard to tell the direction in the dark. Fortunately, there were no forks in the road, so we didn't get lost.

Ling Dengxian swallowed his saliva, rubbed his cold arms, looked at the particularly gloomy woods, and hesitated but did not dare to enter: "Why does it feel different from when I came here..."

The woods were getting closer as he walked, and the exit on the opposite side could be vaguely seen in the black shadows. Ling Dengxian stopped in front of the woods, looked around, looked behind him, and finally gritted his teeth and went into the forest path.

Gradually, the moon began to reveal a little of its face, and his vision became clearer, but he did not feel relieved. When he reached a small bend in the middle of the woods, the sense of crisis that had been lingering in the distance suddenly turned into a gust of blade wind. The days of training with the bagpiper paid off, and Ling Dengxian dodged almost reflexively, narrowly avoiding the sharp blade that almost pierced his skin.

But before he could see the source of the danger, his retreating body was blocked by a sharp force.

Ling Dengxian didn't dare to move or look back. It is said that if the prey being followed by a wolf senses something unusual and turns back in advance, its death will be brought forward.

Although he seems to have fallen into a trap now.

"...You, who are you?" Ling Dengxian tried his best to keep his voice from trembling.

The other party did not respond, but the sharp edge moved up an inch on his back, causing a tear in his coat.

Ling Dengxian's fingers were trembling. He didn't want this to happen, but when the danger was so close, he couldn't help but be nervous.

"Don't worry, I'm just making sure... hehe."

"See you next time." The chuckle beside his ear was like a thunderclap. Ling Dengxian felt a void behind him. When he couldn't help but look back, he was gone like the wind.

It took him a while to regain his normal movement ability, his heart was still beating wildly like a fish in the air. Ling Dengxian breathed in big gulps of air, cold sweat had already wet his back.

Looking up again, two bright moons finally broke free from the clouds, casting a large amount of moonlight. A cold light in a clump of grass attracted Ling Dengxian's attention.