Hello, Arknights

"Huh? Why can't it be used? Did I break another communication terminal?" Fengdi looked at the terminal in his hand whose screen showed abnormal communication function and felt very troubled.

"Hmm?" She looked up at the gloomy sky, wondering, "Is it going to rain?"

The sound of leaves rubbing against each other reached his ears, and when Bagpipe turned around, he saw several rows of crossbow arrows coming in with the sound of the wind.

"Captain, we can't contact Bagpipe!"

"Just before the signal disappeared, we received news that a level three natural disaster was forming on our route, possibly in the form of rain, and it is expected to officially break out in nearly three hours." Upon hearing the news from the communicators at Oboe and Dacita, the two lieutenants' faces darkened.

"Lieutenant Scamander, what do you think?" Dacita took a deep breath and suppressed her impatience.

"…I suggest calculating the target's escape time in advance before deciding whether to—"

"Should we give chase? Lieutenant Scamander, please tell me how far a group of mercenaries who are good at hiding can run in three hours? Is it enough for them to complete the handover of the smuggled goods without being blocked?" Pero's expression became even more gloomy.

"Lieutenant Darcita, I think you don't need to keep emphasizing my last name. It must be difficult for you to pronounce it." The yellow-haired Rupert said word by word, "'Horn', this is the code name Victoria gave me. I think this name can save you a lot of precious time."

"...So, Captain Horn, what is your plan?" Dashita emphasized the word "Horn".

The horn let out a sigh that sounded almost like exhaustion.

It turns out that you are still afraid of your own people and lack decisiveness.

"First, make a detour along your temporarily safe route, and then let the reconnaissance team conduct high-frequency and rapid exploration. If the intelligence shows that it is feasible, you can act even at the risk of taking action, but you must ensure a quick victory and protect personnel from infection. Is this okay?" Horn gave a more reliable method.

After hearing this, Triangle pricked up her cat ears and began to adjust her weapon. This should be her mission.

Bruce on the side nodded. This was also the plan he proposed to Dacita, but there was one thing he was very dissatisfied with.

"You also think we should take a detour?"

"This is a pursuit plan that ensures both the success rate and the safety of personnel." Horn looked directly at Dacita, "I think that staying rational is a quality that a team leader should possess."

"...a very safe method, but I'm sorry, Captain Horn, those bastards are well aware of this method. Chasing at full speed, decisive battle, and avoiding natural disasters as quickly as possible, there is no problem with this, or...you, no, we don't have the ability to wipe out the Iron Eagle Mercenaries within three hours?" Dacita did not avoid his gaze.

"Lieutenant, you underestimated the natural disaster and overestimated ourselves, and you didn't take into account the unexpected factors."

"Accident? Haha, accident..."

"Lieutenant..." Lexa and Bruce spoke at the same time. Dacita looked at them, Lexa looked at his comrades around him, and Bruce also frowned.

Dacita looked at his soldiers and then at the sky where the dark clouds were deepening.

"Okay, Horn, you and Bruce are right. Lexxar, let's save our energy and vent it in the next battle." He waved his hand, indicating that Bruce should be responsible for discussing the dispatch of the reconnaissance team with Horn.

"..."When he passed the iconic crooked tree for the fourth time, Ling Dengxian finally reluctantly admitted that he was lost.

"Where should I go? I remember there was a steep path on the way here, half climbing and half walking... so I have to go down, but the exit of that road is a large clump of plants." Ling Dengxian looked at the lush greenery in front of him and was overwhelmed. How can I find it? This section of the road can't get out, and even the traces of the last camp are hard to find.

"I used to laugh at Bagpipe for being confused... but it turns out I'm also a person with poor direction." Ling Dengxian covered his face and sighed.

"It's getting darker and darker. Strange, is it going to be dusk so soon today?" Ling Dengxian was worried about the sky. "Is it going to rain? Oh no, the rain will destroy some of the traces. If that happens, there will be no hope of returning to Qicheng Town!"

"Host, we seem to have been circling around a mountain near the river valley." Xiaoxie's voice finally appeared again. Ling Dengxian's eyes lit up: "Xiaoxie, can you still use it as a map?"

"No, besides, host, why are you still carrying a backpack?"

"It's better to be prepared, it's better to be prepared." Xiao Xie snorted, as if shaking his head, and said: "But the host must be more careful, the trouble has not yet begun."

Ling Dengxian was shocked. It hasn't started yet? He had thought that the "trouble" referred to the harassment from the little beasts or that he was lost alone.

"Hey, can you please just get straight to the point? What exactly is the trouble? You are being very irresponsible to me."

"But host... I will be irresponsible for what I say." Xiaoxie's voice sounded a little embarrassed.

"Huh? Why?" Ling Dengxian had many question marks in his head. What does it mean to be irresponsible to you?

"What I think is that I am only the host's guide and companion. As a system, I should let the host be more independent and self-reliant, instead of blindly improving your strength and doing everything for you. I think that will not do you any good. And -

"I don't think I'm your vassal either."

Ling Dengxian nodded silently. There was indeed no reason for the system to be a vassal of the host, at least no reason for Xiaoxie. For the traverser, the system was just a guide. Its existence and binding operations were all decided by the so-called "above". If binding to the host and living around the host was the meaning of the system, then it was too naive.

Since "the people above" can pull you here against your will, can that guy also leave you to fend for yourself against your will?

After all, what Xiaoxie said is not wrong. Self-reliance is the quality that a time traveler should possess.

However, Ling Dengxian had a bad feeling about "guidance". Putting a possible future directly in front of him made him feel that his direction was out of control. He could only do things more obsessively.

But at the moment, Xiaoxie had no intention of asking any questions about his previous resistance.

"Xiaoxie, aren't you going to ask... why I didn't follow your advice and run away before?"

"Hmm? Why are you asking? That suggestion can only be considered an option, and there is more than one option. You, the host, have many possibilities, and you must have your own reasons for doing so." Xiao Xie said generously.

"Okay, Master Su can't find the way, and the rain is about to fall." Xiao Xie reminded him to focus back on his current situation.

Ling Dengxian looked at a road with few trees and overgrown weeds. He was sure that this was not the road they came from, but it was going downwards.

"After we get down, we can find a main road. It won't be impossible to get out anyway."

Thinking of this, Ling Dengxian activated the city-breaking spear in his hand and set foot on that unfamiliar road.

……

Ye Han could no longer run. His injured right leg was almost numb. The long-beaked sleeping beasts around him were also injured, but they still stood in front of the Savra girl with ferocious looks on their faces.

Sitting under the tree in the middle of the night, more than 20 mercenaries led by Chief Filin gradually approached.

Seeing that their prey had lost the ability to escape, they finally relaxed, but they did not let go of the crossbows in their hands, and the arrows did not deviate from their target, Savra.

Seeing the look in the eyes of the leader of the Film Group, Ye Ban felt an unprecedented sense of powerlessness.

"...Damn it." Yeban raised his crossbow.