Hello, Arknights

Ling Dengxian decided to put aside the idiotic matter of himself being so neurotic and looking for someone for a long time early in the morning just to say "good morning". Feng Di didn't care anyway, no matter whether it was his excessive reaction or his current situation.

Fengdi was almost done with her work, so she wiped her hands on her apron in front of her and motioned him to follow her. Ling Dengxian hurriedly followed, and the two of them walked along the edge of the forest in silence. This made Ling Dengxian a little dazed, and he remembered the time he walked along this road alone. Yes, this place is a thousand meters away from Qicheng Town, but he had tried to explore the surrounding environment not long after he crossed over. However, he was chased by a big hoofed beast that looked very ferocious, and fled back to the town in shock.

Right now, this stretch of road is still in the hazy period before the first bird song.

Ling Dengxian knew that the bagpipe still had changes. If it were a normal situation, she would now hum a folk song that he could hardly understand.

"Ling Dengxian... are you worried about me?" Fengdi's tone sounded no different from usual. It was precisely because of this that Ling Dengxian felt something was wrong again, an indescribable sense of incongruity.

"A little bit." Ling Dengxian almost didn't hear the volume.

When Fengpi glanced back, Ling Dengxian immediately responded with a look that said "I'm listening". Waifan was unusually embarrassed for a moment, turned around and scratched his head: "I'm sorry, Xiaoxian... Originally, I was planning to take you back to the mobile city after this mission, but the situation is hard to say now. I heard from the captain that this operation involves a lot of troubles, and it is said that we may have to conduct a thorough investigation of the personnel after returning..."

Ling Dengxian understood that he, an illegal resident with incomplete information, was doomed to fail. However, he did not care about this now, as he had already made plans for his future destination - what followed up on Bagpipe was what he wanted to know.

"Don't look at me like that, I'm fine. I have the strength and skills to be self-reliant even if I can't be a soldier, okay? I just don't want to stop like this." Bagpipe pursed his lips, and Lin Shao began to whisper faintly.

"Is there nothing we can do about Horn?" Ling Dengxian's words trembled in his mouth and broke into two parts.

"The captain was busy with this yesterday... In the end, the higher-ups said that we can only keep one person..." Bagpipe's expression told Ling Dengxian her choice, "Even Oboe and Snare Drum will have to undergo infection testing again after they return, to avoid errors."

"Is it okay for you to do this?" Ling Dengxian took a deep breath as if to digest the bad news.

"I want to stay, too... but I haven't been in the Storm Commando as long as Triangle. Although I may be more powerful than her, it's obvious that she needs to stay in the army more, right?" Fengpi tried hard to express her thoughts to him. Ling Dengxian thought for a moment and asked in a low voice: "But don't you need it?"

"Ling Dengxian, I do want to... but I have more connections than her, I think I should help her, this is not the so-called 'sacrifice'." Fengpi looked at him steadily and clenched his determination -

"Just like I was determined to help you before, it wasn't because I was forced to make this choice by the difficulties in front of me, but I wanted to do it myself."

"Although I am a bit silly at times, I am still clear about my own thoughts. 'The children of Vaifan will never be lost.'"

Ling opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing. "This is not a so-called 'sacrifice'" "I just want to do it myself" These words made the cracked glass world in his dream glow quietly, and something seemed to have changed in the silence.

In the sea of ​​white and pink flowers, waves rise up layer by layer, and finally become silent in the dispersing time.

"I understand." Ling Dengxian didn't say anything else. The meaning of the bagpipe was quite clear, and there was not much psychological pressure to overcome. The bagpipe was great.

"Can I still call you bagpipe, or flute?"

"If you want... you can also call me Fiona! Fiona Yang, this is my real name." Bagpipe smiled calmly.

The first bird cry finally sounded in the early morning.

A few days later, somewhere far away.

"Your Excellency the Duke, the Scepter and the Institute kept their promise. Their things arrived shortly after we paid the balance."

"Where are their people?" The voice was calm but stressful.

"Just ten minutes ago, we discovered that the scepter and the people were missing."

"What do you mean?"

"...their people, their transaction records with us, and any traces of their presence...all disappeared, including the registration information we had on file. The person who managed these certificates swore on his life that no one had taken the information from him or altered it."

"...How ironic."

"Sir! It's our fault!"

"No, I'm not criticizing you for not doing your job well. I'm criticizing us for not realizing the danger."

The person standing at the door was somewhat at a loss. The person inside the door continued, "He... the scepter and the people there are warning us that they have the technology or power that can make us lose more than we gain. They are also mocking our immoral behavior."

"But there's no need to be too serious with them. As long as we get what we need, it's fine. A little tentative action won't cause a rift. Have those things been tested?"

"The test results of the volunteers show that they are indeed the warriors you need. They have superb battlefield mobility, considerable defensive power, and defense-breaking and killing capabilities that are only slightly inferior to the Steam Knights... Although the cost is still high, compared to the armor of the Steam Knights and the training costs for the drivers, the goal of 1,000 people is definitely feasible."

"You should know that I knew this before the deal. This is not what I care about most."

"...Yes, it's my fault. I'm sorry, sir. Although the experimental subject has just completed the experiment, it has indeed shown growth potential and is compatible with firepower weapons to a certain extent."

"What is the controllable combat power estimated based on the data?"

"Six new warriors can probably make a Steam Knight incapable of fighting."

“What about controllability?”

"The fighter's self-awareness operation rate is over 90 percent, and with fine-tuning in the later stages, we should be able to achieve full control."

The person at the door hesitated for a moment before speaking cautiously, "But according to the information gathering personnel's report, the blood-colored monsters that appeared when the Iron Eagle Mercenaries were 'annihilated' had an imbalanced attack and defense ratio, and their overall strength was also slightly unstable."

"That was a branch experiment of the Scepter and the others in this area, and it has little to do with our warriors."

"One last thing, how does Earl Charles deal with it?"

"Leave him alive. He's just a timid little feathered beast. His movements are too big and the other dukes may get suspicious. Just take off his hat. But if he makes any unusual moves when we take back the territory, kill him immediately."

"Yes!"

With the rise of the Duke of Wellington, the plan of the "Bloody Warriors" came to a temporary end amidst a cloud of doubt, and this Victorian man, who was at the pinnacle of power, had one more killing card in his hand.

Although this killing card will most likely be shared in the end.