Hello, Arknights

Chapter 319 Undercurrent

"I didn't expect there would be so much budget left. Could it be that Operator White Dove is quite good at managing money?" The arrival of Precious also brought a new budget, and when the finances were integrated, it was found to be unexpectedly ample.

"Really? Doesn't that idiot always say that his wallet is empty and looks miserable?" Hearing this, Sarter poked his head out.

"That's because my wallet is empty... Aren't personal expenses and living expenses separate? Casimir's things are really expensive..." Ling Dengxian spread his hands. He felt that his spending habits might be a bit monotonous, and he didn't have the habit of saving money. He probably had to cultivate it consciously.

He felt that this had a lot to do with his successive bosses. When they worked at the Wesen Faraway Coffee Shop, she hired them for a bit of charity, and when they worked for Emperor Longmen, he was used to the emperor's generosity in spending money. In the Ursus Icefield, their survival depended entirely on nature. After arriving at Rhodes Island, they were given a meal allowance, and the salary itself was not much, but he did not have any expensive habits or hobbies like drinking, so he would not starve to death... and he did not care that much about money.

When he first arrived in Longmen, he was very concerned about the amount of salary, but later he thought about it and realized that he didn't save any of the money he earned, and spent it all on a short pipeline in the downtown area.

Texas was also quite clear about his economy. Compared to the time when he worked under the heroic emperor, the time when he was paid a low salary after coming to Rhode Island was actually the time when he had the most money in his wallet...

And to be less strict, Feng Di was his first employer, although for a short time, but his later honesty in the account books made Ling Dengxian accustomed to the style of unnecessary spending.

"Tsk tsk, thank you for your hard work. But it seems like you can't accommodate more people here. Does anyone want to stay in a hotel with us?" The doctor brought not only Bagpipes, but also a Rhodes Island team. They were all squeezed in the small apartment and it was inconvenient for them to move around.

Shuangye Xinhuo didn't say anything. They felt that the team members should always stay beside the captain. Nightingale didn't plan to leave either: "It's quite interesting to sleep together with Huang and Texas Nightblade at night."

Sulter asked directly, "Is the hotel close to the library? If it is, I will go there too."

"Ms. Surtel, if I remember correctly, you don't seem to be on the list of the advance team this time, right?" Hearing this, the doctor looked at the Sarkaz girl and smiled. The latter coughed lightly and looked away: "Well, I suddenly remembered something. I have to stay with Operator White Dove for a while. Please don't disturb me."

"Huang, what about you?" When asking Huang, the doctor, who had read the final polished version of the stage mission briefing by Black Horn, had a deeper look in his eyes and glanced at Ling Dengxian again without leaving a trace.

Huang hesitated slightly, but still did not speak. He just looked at Ling Dengxian again. A flash of annoyance flashed through his mind. He thought of Kal'tsit's trust, and then thought of the way he negotiated with the woman from the unknown organization. He revealed another expression that he had never shown in front of Rhodes Island.

"...Operator Baige, the doctor requests to transfer Operator Huang to his side to protect his personal safety. Please approve it." After witnessing the eye contact between several people, the doctor basically understood the general situation. He smiled and pretended to "ask for instructions" from Ling Dengxian.

"You are the doctor and you have the final say. Huang, protect the doctor. She is much more important than me. The Rhodes Island ship will soon dock with the Cavaleria base. The doctor's safety requires considerable attention. You are an elite operator, and it will be much safer for you to do it than for us."

Huang no longer hesitated and nodded: "I understand, leave it to me."

Ling Dengxian's eyes met hers for a moment, and he saw her suspicion. Huang had never been able to hide his thoughts well, but he didn't blame her.

It was indeed difficult for him to explain to Huang about the matter of the scepter and everything. Even to Rhodes Island, it would take some time for him to finish the explanation.

The Doctor saw everything that the two were doing, a hint of worry flashed across his eyes, but he quickly covered it up with his unchanging smile.

Black Horn looked at the Vaifan girl who was huddled beside the white dove, then looked at the taciturn Rupert who was standing by the bedroom door, and pulled Night Blade. The latter looked at him and understood what he meant, but after a moment's hesitation, she shook her head.

"I'm worried."

“But there’s not enough room.”

"You stay here, I'll go to the doctor."

Hei Jiao thought about it and nodded: "Be careful."

The question of whether the bagpipes should stay or go is naturally a question with an obvious answer.

However, when everyone thought the arrangement was over, Rupert, who had been silent, raised his hand and said simply: "I'll go too."

Ling Dengxian looked at her, and she glanced at him, her amber eyes twitching slightly. He didn't know what she was thinking, but he understood that the calmness in her eyes was not impulsiveness.

That means she thinks this would be better, and he won't stop her.

Precious smiled awkwardly. The mission was accomplished well, but what was going on with this team...

So, Huang, Yedao and Texas left with the doctor, while Nightingale, Blackhorn, the Wolper duo, Bagpipe and Surtur stayed. There were two people less in the space, and after a brief discussion, Nightingale, Surtur and Frost Leaf slept in the same room. Although it was still a bit crowded for three people to share a bed, it was much better than before. Blackhorn and Xinhuo had their own room, Bagpipe slept on the sofa, and Ling Dengxian still slept on the floor.

The two of them were alone in the living room, and no one knew if it was a tacit understanding among them, but no one raised any objection.

After the doctor left, Ling Dengxian's communication terminal rang. He picked it up and saw that it was a person he didn't want to see but had to see.

"Mr. McGee?"

"Mr. Platinum Knight, your special tournament will begin soon... I think there are things we have to talk about."

Although the voice on the other end of the phone was very gentlemanly, Ling Dengxian didn't think he had the right to refuse the other party's "talk". Unlike the previous auditions, his plan to pretend to be an unknown person and disappear was no longer feasible.

Even the Elegant Candle Knight cannot avoid the problem of commercial promotion, but they will not squander her elegance, just require her to carry the corresponding corporate equipment to win the competition, and do not go too far.

The only famous knight that no one tried to sign a contract with was the Nightmare Chaser. In their eyes, he was incapable of normal communication, but the popularity brought by Nightmare's special nature made them happy to retain his eligibility to participate.

"……Ugh."

"Then I will assume that you are free this afternoon, Mr. Platinum Knight. Krakow Hotel in the city center, 2 pm. We have found the person in charge of the company for you. Don't miss the appointment. I hope you can have a pleasant conversation."

Faced with the phone being hung up neatly, Ling Dengxian didn't want to continue participating in this ridiculous competition for a moment, but he still had to muster up some patience. He had only seen the tip of the iceberg of the arrogance of the Casimir Business Association. He knew that this was not something that could change their minds just by an outstanding competitive knight.

Just as they didn't take him seriously, he actually didn't care what these speakers thought.

But... Ling Dengxian knew that there was an organization called the Scepter and the Institute in this city. Ever since he learned of their existence, he has been feeling uneasy.

In Victoria, they created a bloody demon with a small potion despite the Originium disaster; outside the mobile city of Columbia, a strange shadow appeared because of them; and this time in the West City, he really came into contact with their people, and fell into a world of strange phenomena that could not be explained by common sense. Although he was safe, he did not believe that they were really here to do charity and clean up the anomalies for this city of knights for free.

"They must have some plan...what is it?" Ling Dengxian's eyes reflected the smile of the actor who played Ju Meng, which contained a thousand meanings, and he frowned deeply.

Seeing his thoughtful look, Feng Di, who was sitting on the sofa sorting out his things, suddenly said, "Ling Dengxian, let's... go back to Victoria together after this mission is over. Accompany me to see the captain. I miss her a little."

"That's no problem, but... I'm afraid it's not appropriate for me to go to the military area of ​​Victoria?"

"Of course I won't make it difficult. According to previous years, the Storm Commando's usual holiday is coming soon, and the captain will also come to the city." Fengpi lay down, "Besides, I'm not just taking you to see the captain."

"Where else do you want to go? Will you owe money for the vacation that Rhode Island approved for you?"

"Well... I'm going back to my hometown." Fengpi tilted her head and rested her orange-red hair on it, smiling at him with a bright smile, "I miss my family a little bit, too."

"Oh..." Ling Dengxian suddenly came to his senses and realized something was wrong, "Ah, wait, your family?"

Fengpi chuckled, but soon realized what he cared about. A touch of sunset glow flew onto her cheeks. She carefully looked at his expression and said, "I'm just showing my friends around the place where I grew up. I don't have any other intentions..."

As a result, his increasingly unconfident demeanor made the atmosphere a little more subtle.

"Well, let's talk about it later. Let's talk about it later, let's talk about it later."

Outside the house, a feathered beast took off, flew over the city, leapt over the buildings, and landed on a branch somewhere. As it adjusted its wings and combed its feathers, a beautiful feather fell off. Before it fell to the ground, a hand reached out and grabbed it.

"..." Planst didn't know what he was thinking. Finally, he smiled lightly, lifted it up, and flipped it over again with the wind and flew away.

"How many nodes are left to connect the virtual dream to reality?" she asked the subordinates beside her. "We are lucky that guy is not in the way. If he fights, we will suffer greater losses in the end."

"Reporting to the Director, the main nodes have been installed as expected. The remaining nodes are for insurance purposes. We have preliminarily completed the preconditions for the experiment."

"Speed ​​up the action. The next time the virtual dream reality appears, install the remaining nodes at all costs. The beacons that are involved by then... don't worry about them." She never smiled from beginning to end. She stared in a certain direction, and the look in her eyes became more and more complicated.

She subconsciously hoped that he could do something where she couldn't see and bring her some surprises, but this was actually something she absolutely didn't want to see, so she added some emotional problems to hinder him on a whim.

Of course, this was just a bad taste, not the main means. McGee's attention to the Platinum Knight was caused by the special attention within the Red Wine News, and it goes without saying how much she guided him. He must accomplish something. The best way to stop a person is not to obstruct him head-on, but to make him go astray.

"Come on, Platinum Knight, you'd better shine on that small stage, you'd better rescue that little Pegasus from the sharp arrows hanging high, you'd better fight hard and successfully change the situation of the infected in this city..." If necessary, she can help him clean up in secret. If he can win the championship, she will naturally find a way to ensure his safe exit from Casimir. If he lends a helping hand to that poor Platinum, the scepter and the staff will naturally clear the arrows in the dark for him.

As long as they can successfully achieve their goal without him knowing, it means that this strategy is feasible, and it's not a bad idea for them to act like a "good guy" for the time being.

Prove this proposition, even he can be deceived.

"Contact Ibus. If we can handle this, there won't be any problems on his end. Of course, if we have no problems, the most we'll have is one less successful experiment."

"Okay." Scepter and the experimenters at the institute accepted the order and prepared to leave.

After a moment, Planster called her again and said in a deep voice, "Wait, go to my room and use the code 6 to open my secret message space No. 5. The map contains the layout of the nodes I added."

"Director, do we have to arrange many more nodes?"

"As for insurance measures, it's never too cautious. Go ahead. After all, that's the White Flame. If we're not careful, it won't just be a matter of life and death for one or two people."

Platinum residence.

"Stand by at all times. The Flawed Light Hunt is about to begin."

The Kuranta girl, who had been depressed for several days, woke up on the carpet, coughed twice, looked at the file bag on the sofa, hesitated for a long time, and finally knew that what was coming would come. A hunt requires much more time than hunting to prepare. That little Lin Guang still has a special tournament to deal with. Her attitude in this game may very likely determine whether the string in Platinum's hand is tight or loose.

"That guy would hate the killer, right?"

"No, no, no... I'm afraid it's not just hate, and it's not just him."

There was a little hope for the future, and there was a new person beside him...but why did he have to be a jockey? Why did he have to be a young man trying to challenge the Business Association?

She didn't want to go on... The Kuranta girl was cute and lively, and although she had only met her once, she was filled with guilt again after a long time.

Maybe it was because she couldn't look Maria directly in the eye? Lin Guang was completely different from the targets that her master had led her to kill.

Compared to the goal of not punishable by death, Xia Guang did nothing wrong.

The haggard look in the mirror made her feel a little pitiful, and with a self-deprecating look, she picked up the bow.

If there is no way to avoid it, then be nailed to a corner where you can see the sky.