Hello, Arknights

Chapter 229: In the morning light, there is not only doubt, but also tenderness

The two who finished the test sat on the sidelines to rest. Zilan received a work notice and left first, and White-Faced Owl couldn't keep slacking off, so he had to go back to the medical room.

"Sareya is on an overseas mission, but she said that you can challenge her anytime when she comes back." White-Faced Owl paused before leaving and said.

"Yeah... I see. Thank you."

Franca stared at his expression for a while, then suddenly smiled and said, "Newcomer, are you planning to challenge Saria?"

"Yeah." Ling Dengxian nodded, not hiding his bold and somewhat arrogant mind. He wanted to defeat Saria once, fairly and without using the power of the White Demon King.

Whether it is to overcome the psychological desire to make up for the regret of that snowy night, or to test how far I can grow.

"Eh... that's really scary..." Franka's eyes showed a hint of disbelief. "Sareia has not been with Rhodes Island for long, but the operations she has participated in have so far resulted in zero casualties. We all know what this means."

"Yeah... She is the Vaifan who never retreats..." Ling Dengxian's smile was almost imperceptible.

"I was lucky enough to participate in an operation to pick her up... I can only say that if she puts down her shield, she will probably unleash even more terrifying power."

"...That's indeed the case." Ling Dengxian, who had the honor of experiencing that kind of power, smiled bitterly.

"So you are actually very powerful, right?" Franka tilted her head and looked at him.

"Not necessarily," Ling Dengxian said with some discomfort, "If you can't protect some important people, then what's the point of talking about how powerful you are?"

"… Sorry, I suddenly remembered something and left early." Franca fled, and after walking out of the gate, she seemed to remember something and stuck her head out again, "By the way, let's have dinner together next time we meet. I'll introduce you to some friends on Rhodes Island."

"Thank you." Ling Dengxian forced a smile.

As the door closed, he was suddenly stunned.

Time slipped away bit by bit in the swirling dust while he was alone in a daze. He stood up and passed by them only when operators entered the training ground one after another.

It wasn't that he wanted to be dazed on purpose, it was mainly because he had to swipe his operator ID card to go out of the training ground, and after Franka went out, Ling Dengxian forgot that he had to follow her out - he didn't have an ID card yet.

Next... should I go have breakfast first or go to the engineering department first...

Let’s go have breakfast first.

Because I seem to have forgotten how to get to the engineering department.

He didn't have a meal card yet, so the meal coupons Rhodes Island sent him were a temporary substitute, and the amount was paid by Penguin Logistics.

"Hello, 16 grams of noodles for a bowl, thank you." Ling Dengxian handed over the meal replacement coupon.

There were a lot of people in the cafeteria, but everyone was moving at a fast pace, probably because it was busy in the morning, with people changing shifts and getting down to work.

"Operator Bai Ge, I heard that you are taking the entry test today, is that right?" While waiting to be released, the operator in charge of serving meals in the cafeteria had seen Ling Dengxian several times in the past few days, and they could be considered semi-acquaintances through occasional chatting.

"Well, the test has just been completed. Now we are waiting for the test results from the medical department. The physical test should be fine...right?"

"That's great, but I heard that you're a partner operator of another company. Are you getting two salaries?"

Ling Dengxian waved his hand: "It's unlikely. I haven't worked in the logistics department for a long time. If they still get paid, I'd be worried about whether they're going to lay me off and give me severance pay."

"That's a pity..."

"There's nothing to regret. How can you get paid if you don't work? Aren't you coming to Rhodes Island to work?"

"Then can you please tell me why you don't go back?" The Rhodes Island operator asked curiously and brought the noodles over.

"Ah, nothing, it was just thrown away by a colleague." Ling Dengxian smiled and waved his hand, took the bowl, said hello and went to find a seat.

"Who should I ask for directions to the engineering department later?" Thinking about what to do, Ling Dengxian found a seat against the wall and sat down. Before eating the noodles, he looked up at the surroundings.

The children who got up later, holding their bowls, sat next to a white Safra who had just stood up and wanted to leave the cafeteria, tugging at her clothes to listen to a story. The latter looked at the time, sat down again with some helplessness but amiable, smiled at the younger generations and told a short story; a petite Durin girl stood on tiptoe with difficulty to order a breakfast, and almost fell flat on her face when she turned around and excitedly greeted her companions; in another corner, a white-haired Wolper girl with headphones was eating breakfast alone indifferently, and when she noticed Ling's gaze, she glanced in his direction, and seeing that he had no intention of looking away, her cherry-red eyes exuded a hint of coldness. Ling hesitated for a moment, stretched out his hand to say hello, and the latter's expression did not fluctuate at all. After a moment, she looked away, stood up and left, dragging her coat.

Uh... seems offensive?

The last time I ate in the cafeteria was in the school before I traveled through time, but it felt very different... well... there were no students running in the corridor to grab food.

"No, it's morning now. There's no one who rushes to get food in the morning at school. There's only people who are about to be late--"

"Kross, stop running!"

Ling Dengxian subconsciously stretched out his hand to protect the bowl of noodles. A figure passed by from Entrance No. 1. It was a Carters. However, what was inconsistent with her lazy expression was her agility. While rising and falling, she apologized while walking through the crowd who were placing their bowls and chopsticks and headed straight for the exit.

Following closely behind was the owner of the shouting voice, a blue-haired Kuranta who quickly caught up:

"We have to go to the training ground as usual even if Instructor Doberman is not here!"

"No, I don't want to. I finally get a good rest now that the instructor is not here..." Carters turned around and smiled at his self-disciplined friend, "Bye~"

When the crowd saw who was coming, they were not surprised at all, as if this was some kind of normal phenomenon that they were already used to.

Ling Dengxian sighed and lowered his head to eat the noodles seriously.

"Hello, can I sit here?"

A voice came from above his head. Ling Dengxian didn't look up, but just nodded and continued to concentrate on the noodles in the bowl.

But when a black sleeve appeared in the corner of his vision, he paused, feeling that it looked familiar...

After a moment, he looked up.

Sitting in front of him was a hooded man in a black coat. Under the dark hood, a strand of long white hair was revealed.

This is Dr.

He immediately understood the identity of the person in front of him. He was the leader of Rhodes Island who was rescued by him during the fierce battle between him and Tallulah in Che Castle.

He knew that he would meet the Doctor sooner or later when he came to Rhode Island, so he was not surprised to meet the Doctor at this moment, but what surprised him was——

"Oh, it's so hot. Although I still have to worry about my health, it should be okay to get some fresh air, right?" The man who took off his hood smiled at him, as if he found his expression very interesting, and waved his hand in front of his eyes, "Hello, are you asleep?"

“…Are you a woman?”

"..."

“Wait, you look so familiar…” Ling Dengxian looked at the woman with white hair, white eyebrows and black pupils in front of him and felt that she looked very familiar, but also not so familiar.

It must be someone who has appeared in the main storyline... Who is it?

"Do you look familiar? What a coincidence, I also think you look familiar. Have you known me before, Operator White Dove?" The woman propped up her chin and narrowed her eyes. "Of course, it's a bit rude. Before that, I should thank you. Thank you for helping us cover in Chernobyl."

"Otherwise, we might sacrifice some operators, and I don't want them to die for this reason."

"Although it's a bit presumptuous to ask this, but... have you lost your memory?" Ling Dengxian wanted to confirm a question.

"So do you really know me?" The "Doctor" showed an earnest expression, "I have lost a lot of memories, and I have been chatting with elite operators recently. I want to know what I was like in the past."

"...I'm sorry, I don't know you. I just heard of your name these days, and you seemed to be behaving strangely. Recently there were rumors that you had lost your memory..." Ling Dengxian quickly adjusted his wording.

"Well, it's not a rumor. I did lose my memory. I'm doing my best to do my job. I just got off work four hours ago. Fortunately, it's just simple amnesia. I still remember the knowledge..." The woman saw that he was staring at her, a little confused, "What, what's wrong? Am I weird?"

"...No, maybe I didn't get enough rest, so I can't concentrate. Sorry." Ling Dengxian smiled apologetically and stood up to clean up the dishes. "I've finished eating, and I have to go to the engineering department. I'll leave first. I'm sorry I can't help you."

"Oh, okay, goodbye..." The Doctor tilted his head, reflecting on whether he had said something wrong that offended him.

Ling Dengxian passed by the seat of the Wolper girl. She hadn't cleaned up the dishes, so he stopped and helped her take them and put them on the cleaning conveyor belt.

He just remembered that woman...he had seen her somewhere...but he only knew her name.

Precious.

Because she appeared very rarely in the original plot, and her original black hair turned white, plus he hadn't recalled the main storyline for a long time and his memory was a little fuzzy... He only remembered it later.

But she is clearly someone in the Doctor's memory! Why would she appear here instead of the original Doctor? !

And why did he lose his memory?

Many, many things were different from the original world line he knew, but many things were the same, and he felt a little anxious.

"Calm down," Ling Dengxian said to himself, "There's no use in being anxious... Xiaoxie, are you there?"

"Yes, host, but I cannot answer your question."

"why?"

"Because I don't want to..." Xiaoxie suddenly smiled, "Master, don't you think this is interesting? If everything is the same as you remember..."

"Well, isn't that boring?"

Ling Dengxian paused, as if someone was blowing into his ear from behind, and a chill rose up his spine.

He almost forgot about Xiaoxie's problem.

"Forget it, it's okay, you can rest, good morning."

"Well, good morning, host."

Ling Dengxian shook his head to suppress his worries, stood still, and the next moment he looked out the porthole on the side of him and became confused again.

"Where is this? How do I get to the Engineering Department?"

"Xiao Xian?"

A bright voice sounded, Ling Dengxian's eyes lit up, and he turned around and saw the orange figure in his memory.

"Flute..." Before he could finish his words, a figure pounced on him.

"Long time no see!!" Fiona's smile was so close, and her arms were full of sunshine.

The morning light coming in through the porthole is very warm.

"Well, long time no see!" Ling Dengxian said softly with a gentle smile.