Hello, Arknights

Neither of them spoke, and the only sound on the snow was the sound of Saria's footsteps.

Ling Dengxian once ran with someone on his back until he collapsed, but he never thought that there would be a day when he would be carried on someone's back.

After leaving the battle, the enamel armor on Saria's body also faded away. She trusted Ling Dengxian, but Ling Dengxian didn't have the mind or energy to do so.

"Do you need me to explain what that means?"

"……Thanks."

"Aran, her name before her death was 'Aishi Dovna'."

"He suffered from congenital cardiovascular disease and died of organ failure. Because he possessed amazing sensory Originium skills during his lifetime, the Scepter and the Institute secretly obtained his body to conduct experiments on their important plans. Codenamed 'Burning Eyes'."

"..." Ling Dengxian did not interrupt Saria, who paused for a moment with anger flashing in her eyes.

"And Ah-ran, as expected in the experiment, 'came back to life'. She doesn't have the memories of 'Aishi Dovna' before her death, but she inherited her language system and common sense. In a sense, because of the 'Burning Eyes' experiment, a new individual 'Ah-ran' was born - sorry, now she should be called 'Ling Xiran'."

"It is the core of the experiment, B-7, that allows it to be 'alive', so if you burn that mysterious substance... she will naturally die."

"Strictly speaking, she is not 'resurrected' because many of her life activities are no longer normal. Many metabolic processes are no longer necessary. Her hair will not grow longer, her nails will not continue to grow, and she will not shed tears... Even eating is the same."

"But Xiaoran knows how to eat."

"She does feel hungry, but the food she eats is broken down by the B-7 and eliminates her hunger. She is essentially not digesting the food properly."

"Before she lost control, the mysterious substance was out of balance and she should have had a severe rejection reaction to food. Did she always go to the bathroom after eating during the last period of time?"

Ling Dengxian was silent. It was true, but he didn't care about it at the time. After all, it was just a physiological phenomenon.

"And this is also the reason why her Originium crystallization is so deep. Her body has no resistance to Originium infection. However, because of the existence of the mysterious substance B-7, Ling Xiran will not die easily."

"...Now do you understand why I said that no matter you or I or anyone else, we can't save Ling Xiran?"

Ling Dengxian nodded silently. It was not true living in the first place. "Saving" meant death to Xiran.

"You are special, or rather, your ability is special. As far as I know, B-7 substance is not afraid of fire or high temperature, but your white flame can indeed effectively kill and suppress it."

"Based on the scepter and the data, if you, the 'variable', hadn't been involved, Ling Xiran would have lost control within two weeks of arriving at Tobrand."

Hearing this, Ling Dengxian didn't know whether he should be happy or not, but he also didn't know what his expression was at the moment. The strip of cloth in his hand fluttered in the wind, and the severe pain was difficult to suppress.

"I assure you that Rhine Life, the organization I belong to, has absolutely no involvement in this experiment. They only asked me to be a temporary collaborator to provide the final guarantee."

"The data was not handed over to me right away. Their initial request was to bring back 'Subject B-7.'" Saria was not trying to shirk responsibility, nor was there any need for her to do so. She just hoped that these words would make the person on her back feel better. As for whether it was effective, only Ling Dengxian knew.

Ling Dengxian felt so tired, and a feeling of weakness permeated every corner of his body. The funny thing was that the person under him was his enemy not long ago, but now gave him an indescribable sense of security. He felt a little sleepy.

Suddenly, new footsteps were heard in the front. Ling Dengxian raised his head and saw a man named Liberi in white.

"White-faced owl?"

"Message, Director Saria, the Scepter and the Institute have detected something unusual at the scene, and hope you can hand over the boy who can release strange flames to them. Additional message: Emphasize your sincere attitude."

"White-faced Owl suggests rejecting this."

"I'll deal with them. You take him in the opposite direction and make sure the Scepter and the Sorcery can't find him."

Saria handed Ling Dengxian to White-Faced Owl, who took over the weak Ling Dengxian and continued to carry him, but not as easily as Saria.

"I'll leave it to you. Stay safe Joyce...but I don't think there are any threats nearby."

So they changed direction, and White-Faced Owl carried Ling Dengxian on his back and walked towards the east. Although the two became more familiar with each other, they were still silent to each other.

"Miss Lorna is fine." After a long while, White Owl spoke, "White Owl asked her to stay with him."

"Thank you."

"White-Faced Owl feels sorry about Ah Ran's matter."

"……Um."

"Although it is inappropriate, White-Faced Owl still wants to remind Ling Dengxian of an abnormal phenomenon."

"……Speaking."

"When approaching Ling Dengxian, the white-faced owl suddenly felt a strong sense of disgust, but because of its special nervous system and language system, it can avoid abnormal behavior caused by this reaction."

"……understood."

All Ling Dengxian could see now was the endless white world rising and falling under the White-Faced Owl's feet. The body that was much thinner than Saria through several layers of clothes seemed to show signs that it would not be able to carry the person on its back in the next moment.

"Does Ling Dengxian have any travel plans next?"

"……Have."

Liberi nodded and paused. "Send the White-Faced Owl here. As a member of Rhine Life, if he leaves for too long, he will be suspected."

"it is good."

Liberi put him down, and a cold feeling enveloped him from bottom to top. He subconsciously shrank his body, and the White-Faced Owl leaned over and put his coat on him.

"The White-Faced Owl is gone."

Ling Dengxian seemed to hear her say this but also seemed not to. It seemed as if there were many little people whispering in his ears so that he could not hear the sound of the wind, but he knew that there was only silence here.

He didn't know how long it had been, the moon seemed to move a little, or it seemed to be just his illusion, but he heard a sound, the sound of short boots stepping on the snow.

A blue-haired Sakota appeared in the field of vision. She squatted beside him and was speechless for a moment before speaking:

"... Ling Dengxian?"

The next day, Ling Dengxian woke up from the tent. White flames were clinging to his broken bones, slowly healing the bone injuries. The speed was incomparable to the speed of healing external injuries.

But he didn't care about all these. He struggled to get up. The first ray of sunlight had already come outside, shining through the blue tent, bringing a gloomy feeling to the people inside.

A figure cast a shadow over the tent.

"Are you awake? Good morning."

"..."

"Is it really okay not to go to the hospital? Or will something bad happen to you?"

"..."

"Would you like some breakfast? I brought enough food this time..." The girl's voice was interrupted by the communication terminal, and then her figure left the tent: "...well...you go first...very soon...I'll catch up soon."

Ling Dengxian knew that it would be impolite not to respond in this situation, but he could not open his mouth. There was an emotion stuck in his chest that made him speechless.

He was not like this before. After those things happened several times, he had learned to be independent.

At this moment, his wandering thoughts were interrupted. He could feel a figure sitting down next to him, and he could feel the heat even through the tent.

The other party did not speak at first, but just accompanied him silently.

Ling Dengxian couldn't help but sob.