Hello, Arknights

The wind mixed with increasingly heavy snowflakes tore at his cheeks and thermal sensory system, and no matter how many times he tightened his collar he couldn't stop his teeth from chattering.

He could feel the cold wind passing through each fiber of his clothes, just like water seeping into his body, as if it was determined to penetrate into his bones. Ling Dengxian involuntarily shrank his body and trembled physically. He instantly felt his own vulnerability.

"Fingers..." Ling Xian tried hard to bend and stretch his finger joints, and felt that his control had weakened a lot. "It feels like... being clamped by pliers... so cold."

"... again in the face of a natural disaster... I'm crazy. Would I really do such a thing before?" Ling Dengxian let out a long breath, and a white mist almost made him see his past.

"...Li Lingyu...why did you...that guy..."

"... Enough, I don't want to hear this. I thought you wouldn't be the same as others. Mo Yi, Ling Dengxian doesn't--"

Why didn't I insist on listening? Why did I break the broom and get discouraged? Why didn't I appreciate his kindness?

But he also said this...

And why... am I still being forced to bare my fangs by everyone's tiny words?

He is not a bad person and his grades are not bad, he is just a little eccentric.

Why is it only Li Lingyu...but I hate him the most...no, I should say I am "jealous" of him.

He has a handsome appearance, top grades, is also a star in sports, is very popular among both male and female students, and is obsessed with building a good relationship with me...

He still remembered that evening at the football field, when it was just the two of them. He approached and warned him. That was probably the first time he looked him in the eye. To be honest, he was already somewhat touched at that time.

But he still stepped back. If he took a step forward, it would be unlikely that he would be able to look Li Lingyu in the eye.

But now he knows his problem, and he knows the solution:

"…If you work hard and strive for excellence…the jealous heart will shut up!" He stepped out from a cloud of white mist. He stretched out his hand, just like when he stretched out his hand to pull back the ignorant child who was running towards the busy road. He wanted to take A'ran back!

“It’s really wonderful…”

"But just based on this——"

"…How could we possibly win in the first place?"

"I'm really curious... but I no longer 'know'."

In the snow, the white Carters became darker with every step they took.

The white cloth covering her eyes was gradually disintegrating. No light flooded into her eyes. What A'ran saw was a bizarre scene... It was as if it was not seen by human eyes.

Gradually, a Vaifan appeared in the strange vision. She was only wearing thin clothes in the snow, but her steps were not trembling at all.

"Ashe——"

"Please call me 'Aran'." She was shocked by what she said, because it would be more appropriate to call it a roar, but she continued: "Everything about 'Ashe' has nothing to do with me."

"...Okay, A'ran...can you still be saved?" Saria still hoped for a turnaround.

A'ran didn't say anything, but he forced a smile on his already ferocious face. Saria's eyes flashed, and without hesitation, her fist, which had already become calcified, raised a snowy wave and pointed directly at A'ran.

The sound of the wind suddenly stopped, just for a moment, and then a black blade of light appeared out of thin air. The dense black substance changed in a myriad of ways, and the next moment it submerged Saria's figure.

A white hand tried to reach out from the black and purple light curtain with great force, but was finally blocked. After a moment of calm in the light curtain, a white fist shattered the black and purple barrier. Then the gray-white Vaifan rushed out of the black encirclement with a torn coat, his eyes fixed on Carters, whose physical condition was extremely unstable.

"...I'm sorry...but, but I...don't want to die yet!!" From the roar, she knew that Ah Ran had indeed lost himself. Only one thing was true:

She really wanted to live.

"But... there are also many more people who want to live." A storm suddenly came out of nowhere, and Saria swung her fist again, but this time, it was different from before.

The people in the city have all gone to the shelters under the guidance of the government. The two places where the strange shadows were wreaking havoc were roaring continuously, but the scene was completely different. Kilai had originally thought about charging into battle, but that was under the premise that it made sense. But when he saw the flames of that color, he understood... He couldn't let his people and soldiers go to die, at least not in vain.

Fortunately, the military supplies reported by Tobrand had just been approved. The anxious mayor did not hesitate at all and directly approved them to carry out fire suppression. He even regretted not reporting more military supplies.

There was no other reason. What made them most uneasy was that unclear strange shadow. Even though it was constantly torn apart by artillery fire, it was still there. It was not that it was motionless. It looked like it was "picking up" something and did not even look at the defenders of Tobrand.

The soldier who was firing grenades at the front suddenly stopped moving, his body stiffened as he dropped the launcher in his hand.

"Ron! What are you doing?!" The sergeant noticed that something was wrong with him, but the other party did not respond. Soon, more soldiers fell into the same strange state.

"Crack." The strange shadow had already looked down at these weak creatures that disturbed its existence coordinates. He broke off a piece of rubble that was not too big for him and threw it lightly. Everyone's expressions tensed. The soldier chief and Kilai shouted at the same time, "Smash it!" All the uncontrolled soldiers and police officers launched an attack with extremely fast reaction speed. The piece of building wreckage that was as big as a floor was torn into pieces by artillery fire in the next second and collapsed in all directions.

"It...can only throw stones?" The two couldn't believe it. This was too absurd!

A wave that made everyone cry out in pain suddenly spread out. The heads of the soldiers in the front row were instantly shattered, and body fluids flew into the air and entangled with the fragments in an extremely unnatural form. No one could stop this process. When these "fragments" fell to the ground again, strange creatures wrapped in flames stood up one by one, and looked quietly at the people with bloodshot eyes.

"..." (Return to him what he has done for you.)

"???" (Isn't that considered a violation?)

"!" (The node is being shaken!)

“…” (Where is it…)

Seeing that the soldier had been stunned by the scene before him, the strange shadow lowered its head and began to "search" again.

The sudden roar shook the entire Tobrand, and even the strange shadow raised its head, feeling surprised, because it was the wail of its companion.

Although they are just probing entities, it is normal for them to be threatened by real existence, but they have only been stretched out for a short time.

The strange shadow became curious, an emotion that the original body would never have. There was another wave of movement, and all the strange fire shapes moved immediately. The soldiers along the way were drawn in and died in an unexpected disaster.

It looked up and saw fragments of a substance flying into the air and shattered by the residual force, while the strange shape below reduced its scope for the first time. However, amidst the waves, a figure quickly caught up, leaped up with all his might, and cut the strange shape's territory with a sword from bottom to top.

The energy on which the companions depend for their existence is decreasing.

It was confused, but not because its companions would be defeated and doomed to wither. It was confused because it felt something similar to its original body...

But Skadi didn't think too much about it. She caught a glimpse of the monster shape of fire and didn't think much about it. She swung her sword and smashed it along with the solid ground.

The black light covered her again. She turned around and dodged part of it, then ran towards the retreating monster shadow under the attack.

The strange shadow roared again.