Hello, Arknights

Chapter 383 Between Dukes

"..."

"..."

Saccota and Caprini looked at each other, and after escaping the life-and-death battle, they both looked at each other in silence.

This is a very strange relationship. A stranger is willing to cross the war and the danger of his life to rescue him from afar. He is grateful but also distant. Kalin is a little at a loss for a moment.

"We didn't use the last few bullets..." Ying coughed, releasing the pent-up air from his nervousness. Seeing that Kallen, though injured, was not seriously injured, he felt completely relieved. He continued, "It's not a bad ending. After all, there aren't many old things left..."

He sat up with difficulty. Kallen was still hesitating whether to help him or not. Just as he stretched out his hand, the other party had already taken out the guardian gun, unloaded several etched bullets with special patterns, and threw one of them to him, which landed right in Kallen's outstretched palm.

"These etched bullets, uh...hiss, let me find some bandages later, okay--" Ying continued the conversation as he pretended nothing had happened while changing the bandage on his wound that had broken open again.

"I forced those old friends to learn the techniques and help carve the circuits. This one was carved by your father."

"Haha... I've known him for six years and taught him for five, but his carving is still hideous... If my family saw it, they would definitely say it's not up to standard, just barely usable..."

"I was originally thinking about the first batch of practice. It would make sense to use all the bonus money for this. If I continue studying for another ten years, I will eventually..."

Schneider couldn't continue speaking. He clutched the etched bullet in his hand, feeling so sad that he could hardly breathe.

"I haven't heard much about my father... He died before I was born." Kalen didn't know what he was feeling now. As a child, he did resent his father's absence, but when his mother occasionally mentioned his father, she felt lost and sad, but never resentful. After he grew up, he took the initiative to learn about his father's life, but he was unwilling to write even a word in the information.

What does he like to eat? Where does he take his mother and what do he do when he comes home? What's his personality like? These are all sad things for his mother, and he never dares to mention them.

He even thought at one point that it might be the same with or without him, but his heart might not think so.

The evidence is that when he saw his father's old friends crying for him and willing to cross the war to rescue an unrelated person for a piece of information, thousands of questions suddenly came to his mind.

"...Uncle, what's your name?" He couldn't ask.

Schneider could see what was on the boy's mind, but he didn't expect him to be frank. After briefly introducing himself, he asked, "What are you going to do next?"

Kallen took a deep breath and said firmly, "Seek the consent of the local army. I want to bring the true situation here to the world and witness the beginning and end of this disaster."

"Then I'll accompany you. During this time, I'll talk to myself about some old stories. Just consider it as a reward. Please listen patiently, okay?"

Kalen nodded vigorously.

At this moment, several non-commissioned officers appeared and interrupted their conversation. They looked at them seriously and asked, "Saccotta, Caprini, are you the Letanians mentioned in the intelligence?"

After confirming their identities and whether they were infected, Petty Officer Victoria notified the two to go to the battleship.

"The Duke said that during this extraordinary period, please behave yourself and stay in your room without permission."

"It seems that your idea will be in vain, little guy. I'm afraid Victoria won't let you take any information out." After informing them of the results, several non-commissioned officers no longer responded to any questions from the two. Schneider teased, but at least Kallen's life safety could be guaranteed, so he had no objection to his trip to Victoria.

As for his own identity, he did not follow the advice of his friend who had become the Elector, but instead took out the courier diploma he had registered for after retiring from the army many years ago - only one page was left, but that did not affect its authenticity.

"It's not completely in vain." Kallen smiled, but soon showed worry. He didn't know what happened to Oliver and others in Rhodes Island.

"I hope everyone is okay."

And Callen's wish did not fail. It must be said that Oliver and others were indeed extraordinarily lucky. Will stayed behind to take care of Oliver. Although Shredder and Fred who participated in the battle lost half of their arm and one lost hearing in one ear, they both survived.

After confirming the situation of Rhodes Island's operators stationed in Kochi County, Huang and others hurriedly contacted the doctor. After confirming the infection situation, Windermere indicated that they could take them to the fourth ship for recuperation first.

After finishing the operation, Yaye and Ling Dengxian were extremely tired, but they still persisted until the condition of the last injured person was temporarily stabilized before sitting down to rest.

"Senior Sister Yaye, I never thought before... that being a doctor is so tiring..." Ling Dengxian wanted to lean against the wall, but there was no wall in the tent for him to lean on, so he leaned against the load-bearing pillar.

"Don't lean against that. What if it collapses?" Yaye said unhappily. Mou Ling reluctantly moved his position after hearing that, but he was extremely tired. In addition, the pain from his internal injuries had already drained his energy, so he failed to do so.

"Do you know now that being a doctor is not easy? I heard from Brother Ace and the others that you came from the Integration Movement and worked as a doctor there. Aren't you tired there?" Yaye sighed, took off his coat, folded it meticulously, and patted him. Ling Dengxian hesitated for a moment, but still accepted the kindness, put the coat behind his head as a pillow, and lay down.

"At that time, I was still a novice. Doctor Katyusha was in charge of most of the work. Although it was tiring, it wasn't this extreme." Ling Dengxian's eyelids were a little twitchy. "Senior Sister Yaye, why are you here..."

"I'm here to look for the Rhodes Island operators in Xiaoqiu County. With such a big incident involving an operator missing, and someone inviting the doctor, I'm here." Ling Dengxian was a little slow to react to Yaye's words. He suddenly sat up, realizing he had forgotten about this matter. "Right! How could I have forgotten!"

Yaye punched him and pushed him back: "Get some rest! Huang just sent a message saying that they have found the people and everyone is still alive... I heard that you paid a heavy price to protect most people."

Ling Dengxian evaded the issue and said, "No, look at me, I'm fine. I'm just injured, it's nothing."

Yaye pressed his waist. The injuries inside his body made his face pale. Yaye snorted coldly: "Even with medical Originium skills, doctors can't hide it. Severe injuries will leave marks - this is not a reason for you to joke with your life."

"...Senior Sister, did you see the scene outside when you came?" Ling Dengxian coughed and stopped trying to be stubborn.

Yaye didn't say anything, but who could ignore such a scene?

"When I woke up from my coma, I saw that vast expanse of white... Honestly, I don't think fighting for my life... What's the point? No matter how powerful one person is, they can't take care of everyone..."

"But I only agreed with that thought for a short while, a short time admitting my weakness. After going through so much, I know that some things can't be done without trying. If I don't fight hard, more people will sacrifice, or... worse."

Yaye looked at him. Bai Yan would not erase all traces of the wound. He was very tired. She couldn't help but ask softly: "You are not from Victoria, so you can stay out of it from the beginning. Why..."

"...Ahem, for Feng—" Ling Dengxian suddenly stopped talking. At this point, why bother to continue hiding it? He said tiredly, "It's just for myself. I can't just turn a blind eye to it..."

"I came here because of the bagpipes, but once I got deeper into it and had my own ideas, it naturally became my own business."

Yaye smiled bitterly, thinking of what he had seen in the past. When he looked down again, the white dove had fallen into a deep sleep.

She hesitated for a moment, wanting to let him rest his head on her thighs, but a hand stopped her.

The orange-haired Vaifan was equally exhausted. The cello and oboe were not only her comrades-in-arms, but also friends with whom she had shared rare leisure time... After experiencing the double blow of physical and mental suffering, she also cried heartily.

But she still remembered that there was a fool who came thousands of miles to find her. Maybe he just hadn't found the right direction yet. But after hearing what he just said, she was also very happy that Ling Dengxian was more frank than before. She sat down and gently let him lie on her lap.

"...He seems to have missed two meals." Yaye whispered.

"I understand. Miss Yaye should also have a good rest. You have worked hard." Fengdi smiled with red eyes.

Yaye nodded and left space for the two of them.

Vaifan carefully removed her gloves and gently touched the face that was usually easygoing, yet could turn ferocious in critical moments. She truly valued Ling Dengxian, her friend of the opposite sex, and her affection for him subconsciously made her want to get closer. However, she had never been so clear about her feelings for him as she was now... But how could she cope with his uniqueness...

With her eyes half closed, Fiona Yang spoke softly, her clear and gentle voice pleasing to the heart:

"…Whose hometown is deep in the rice fragrance? We should sing when the sun rises. Confused, confused, the children of Vaifan will never be confused…"

"The flying dragon in the dream flies across the sky, using its wings as sails to sail far into the blue sky. Riding on the dream, the princess looks ahead, and will eventually return to the fireplace to wait for her sleeping face."

The folk songs that once flowed through his boyhood memories echoed again, but this time he was not the only one who found the answer.

"Xiao Xian... hum~"

The next day.

The Infected Legion and the Deep Pool Joint Team were basically defeated after the battle of Changquan Town and could no longer form a large-scale manpower force. Based on the investigation, Windermere decided to concentrate the wounded on a non-combat ship and integrate the combat personnel, including the White Dove and Storm Commando. Only more than 70 people can continue to fight. After discussion and streamlining, a 50-person combat team was born and temporarily placed under Windermere's command.

As for the reason for its establishment, Windermere wanted them to conduct public opinion propaganda and prepare for the final battle against the bloody plague.

"Lord Windermere! We, we received..."

"Communication request from 'Iron Duke'!"

Windermere narrowed her eyes slightly. Although she hadn't seen the Iron Duke's "throne" yet, she was sure that the enemy fleet was nearby. Without much hesitation, she connected the communication:

"Victoria's most unrivaled swordsman, I only have one question: why have you returned?" The straightforward question was without any red tape.

"To put an end to this farce." Windermere did not show any sign of weakness.

"Very good. We look forward to your performance. If necessary, we will support you."

The communication between the Grand Dukes, who also controlled a powerful military, was frighteningly brief, yet there was no shortage of information that needed to be deciphered by each other. Windermere looked toward the horizon, feeling deeply that something seemed to be hidden beneath the surface.