Hello, Arknights

Ling Dengxian finally pulled out the toothbrush with great effort. After washing himself, he looked at the bed. The little dragon wagged its tail and got into bed with no intention of going out. When he went out again, Skadi had changed her clothes and was standing at his door as a door god. In addition, Bai Jin was also peeking in from the side.

"Good morning, Bai Jin, what are you doing?"

"Oh, came to see how you are. I just came back from Casimir with Provence and confirmed the handling of the remnants of the bloody monster." Platinum's eyes retreated as soon as they met his, but his concern was evident. He also quickly glanced at Skadi beside him and said nothing.

The armband on her shoulder was very eye-catching. Now that she was acting as Rhodes Island, as long as she kept a low profile, the Casimir Heroes Alliance would not dare to show up due to pressure, not to mention that she had not returned to the Grand Knight's Territory.

"how's it going?"

Bai Jin seemed to be hiding something behind his back, and was a little dissatisfied when he heard this: "What are you asking about? The mission? Provence? Or me?"

"Ask everything." Ling Dengxian smiled helplessly, feeling a lot of pressure.

Bai Jin didn't seem satisfied with his answer, but he didn't dwell on it. He first explained the mission: "The cleanup of the blood-colored monsters in the areas adjacent to Casimir and Victoria's territories is still ongoing. The expeditionary knights are conducting a blanket sweep. Although the blood-colored monsters have somehow lost their ability to infect and spread, there are still many troublesome individuals and entrenched areas among the existing ones. However, they no longer cluster together, and their violent symptoms and ability to continuously adapt and strengthen have disappeared. They are now no different from wild beasts. It's only a matter of time before they can be dealt with. When we left, they were already in the final stages of the campaign."

Ling Dengxian nodded. It seemed that the crisis was indeed over and no unexpected incidents occurred.

"Big Tail Wolf is fine, and he's no longer fighting internal battles. He can now be deployed to the mission, provided you're not mentioned."

Ling Dengxian smiled bitterly, but still breathed a sigh of relief: "It seems that there is improvement."

Bai Jin glanced at him and said, "She doesn't look sick to me."

There was silence for a moment. Skadi was not in a hurry, but just yawned.

"...What about you?" Ling Dengxian saw that she was reluctant to mention him.

"The situation is not so bad. It's not to the point where I want to stab you the moment we meet."

"...That's good." Ling Dengxian nodded.

"After all, you were just using me during the mission. You just happened to save me... and just happened to do some meaningless things... and just happened to..." Bai Jin was silent. She didn't have the willpower to say the rest.

Ling Dengxian couldn't bear it when he saw her struggling.

Adding resentment can lighten the burden...

"It's a good thing you think so," he agreed dryly.

Bai Jin suddenly raised his head and punched him in the lower abdomen. Bai Yan flashed to buffer the attack, and Ling Dengxian didn't move at all.

Bai Jin stared at him with eyes that were almost blazing with fire: "You're such a jerk!"

Ling Dengxian was still not used to lying, but he had no choice but to reach out and grab Bai Jin's fist, looking at Skadi.

"It's better not to waste precious time here in the morning. Let's go have breakfast together."

Bai Jin was silent for a moment, gently pulled his hand out of his palm, lowered his head and quickly walked into his dormitory, put the things he brought with him on the head of his bed, and then followed him out.

She rubbed her face and brightened up a little: "Let's go, it's your treat."

"Okay." The "crisis" was resolved for the time being. Ling Dengxian thought that he had only sacrificed his wallet, which was not bad.

When he arrived at the cafeteria, Shuangye and Meilansha were already having their meals. They had different expressions on their faces when they saw him. Both of them had the habit of getting up early, one due to her previous life and the other due to a good work and rest schedule.

"Teacher." Rosalina stood up habitually to show respect. Ling Dengxian was also used to her reservedness and thought that it was because they had not spent enough time together. At least judging from Rosalina's current performance, this habit did protect him.

If it's enthusiastic... He hasn't seen Huang for a while.

But we didn't have any unusual interactions, and we hadn't even had dinner together other than for teaching.

Shuang Ye's expression remained the same as always, but it had been a long time since they last met. Hearing that his captain had returned injured again, he was speechless. After a moment, he nodded at him and said, "Now that the injury has healed, everyone can rest assured."

"It seems that no one has been affected too much, quite..." Ling Dengxian did not hesitate and sat down happily.

Then with a "bang", he failed to get a seat.

Skadi clapped her hands, put the chair aside, and looked into Mou Ling's eyes, both of them speechless.

Ling Dengxian really couldn't say what was wrong with her, as he had brought it up this morning.

"Teacher?" Rosalina was stunned.

"...What are you doing?" Shuang Ye tilted his head, a little confused, but felt that if it was the captain, then nothing strange would seem strange.

"...It's nothing, just a personal grudge, I guess." Ling Dengxian got up silently, asked the speechless Platinum and the nonchalant Skadi what they wanted to order for breakfast, and then went to the food outlet as if nothing had happened.

Skadi had a large appetite, but Platinum only ordered some dairy products as a token. As he turned around with his plate in hand, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure in white peeking out from the cafeteria entrance.

"White-faced owl?"

"Good morning, long time no see, Operator White Dove." White Owl stood up upon seeing this, but after meeting Skadi's gaze, there was suddenly a hint of retreat in his eyes when he looked at Ling Dengxian.

"White-Faced Owl's morning mission is to obtain the necessary food for Operator Nightingale for today's activities. This mission is of extremely high priority. We can discuss things like treating guests later—"

With one hand on her shoulder, Ling Dengxian held Liberi down with one hand and held the tray steadily with the other hand. In order to ensure that breakfast would be provided, Skadi very considerately helped to take the tray.

"Operator White Dove?" White Owl had to look back.

"Don't worry. I know what Nightingale likes to eat. I should go talk to her. But you..." Ling Dengxian turned White-Faced Owl around, but the Owl still didn't meet his gaze. "The White-Faced Owl I know wouldn't turn down such a good offer as my 'treat'."

"Accusation, this is a false accusation against White-Faced Owl." White-Faced Owl blinked and tried to change the subject calmly.

"White-faced Owl, I guess you did something to trick me when I was away, right?" Ling Dengxian said with a smile.

"Operator White Dove, according to judicial procedures, you should present evidence that suspects White-Faced Owl." White-Faced Owl always has a nonsensical expression on his face, but Ling Dengxian knows that it is just an appearance. This guy can even lead Liz astray.

Ling Dengxian looked at her, then turned back to look at Skadi, and seemed to finally understand why Skadi's gestures sometimes had a familiar style.

It wasn't like this before he left.

"Owl, come here..." Ling Dengxian turned around and signaled others not to worry, then took Li Boli to the corner of the cafeteria.

"Have you ever had any dealings with Skadi?" he asked seriously.

White Owl was silent for a moment, then realized he couldn't hide it from him, so he explained the whole story: "Correction, a more accurate summary is: Operator Skadi took the initiative to consult White Owl."

"What? Why did she..." Ling Dengxian didn't know what to ask for a moment.

"Operator Skadi's consultation focused on how to get along with Operator White Dove. Note: This wasn't about interpersonal relationships, but rather understanding White Dove's personal habits. White Owl didn't observe any interactions between Operator Skadi and other operators."

Ling Dengxian was silent. No wonder Skadi's attitude towards him became much more direct after she came back. He didn't notice that she no longer kept a distance from him as before, nor did she always warn him. It was just that when they talked in depth this morning, she once again expressed the danger involved - she no longer rejected his kindness.

But he also felt a little uneasy. Was there... any influence from 'Ishamara'?

This time, the "little tranquility" was basically the masterpiece of the unknown "seed" left by that guy in his body. It did help him a lot, but judging from Skadi's reaction, this was a very, very dangerous sign.

Haisi... what on earth was that? Even Skadi was so afraid of it.

Ling Dengxian finally understood what was going on. He smiled and touched the cat-like ear feathers of the white-faced owl. "Thank you, owl. I wish you could be more reliable."

The ear feathers flicked between his fingers, and the white-faced owl raised its head, its expressionless face very cute: "Welcome back, White Dove."

"Calling her 'Owl' alone is a bit strange. If White Dove wants to change her name as our relationship progresses, we can call her White-Faced Owl Joyce."

Ling Dengxian's face darkened. "Remember to say it differently next time. If other operators hear about it, my reputation will plummet again."

"White-Faced Owl thinks Ling Dengxian's reputation is very fair. At least a considerable part of it is objective fact." White-Faced Owl attacked mercilessly.

Ling Dengxian couldn't help but smile bitterly. Perhaps it was true, but he just thought too highly of himself. Mostima hadn't appeared since the day she brought him back and saw that his condition was stable, but as far as he knew, she didn't seem to have left Rhodes Island.

Texas came to see him twice, but didn't seem particularly angry. He also reminded him to be careful of Lappland.

Bagpipe would occasionally stay overnight to look after him, but worried that he might press on his wound when turning over in his sleep, he brought a folding bed and slept next to him.

"Okay, okay, what do you want to eat? It's mine." Ling Dengxian let go of the girl's hair and said generously.

"Does Nightingale's count?"

"Okay." Ling Dengxian nodded. It was his duty to take care of someone who had entrusted him with the task.

"Can you help White-Faced Owl with his shift again?"

"Okay." Ling Dengxian said helplessly.

"White-faced Owl still has some unwashed clothes..."

"Could you please stop pushing your luck?" Ling Dengxian grabbed her hair with an expressionless face. It was hard to tell whether this guy was cute or hateful.

……

After they bought some sweet treats that Nightingale liked, they said goodbye to everyone and were about to go to Nightingale's dormitory when Spot arrived in a hurry and saw the person he was looking for:

"White Dove, visitor's room. Dr. Kel'tsit said she has something urgent to discuss with you...it seems someone is coming from Duke Victoria's side."