Hello, Arknights

Chapter 349 The Wolf Returns

"Is it over?" Mastema asked.

"And Shuangye." Ling Dengxian still remembered the white-haired little fox. She and Xinhuo were both present yesterday and couldn't avoid her. Shuangye didn't say anything, but it was obvious that she cared a little.

"Then go ahead. She seems to have been waiting at your door for a long time."

"Ah?" Ling Dengxian was surprised. "How did you know?"

"Your dormitory is at the end of this corridor, don't you know?" Mostima pointed, turned his head, and met Frost Leaf's eyes.

Shuang Ye waved her little hand, with the headphones Ling Dengxian gave her hanging around her neck. It seemed that she didn't want to cause trouble for him, otherwise she wouldn't have brought Xinhuo with her.

"Where have you been? I've been looking for you for so long, and you're clearly still injured." Shuang Ye said unhappily, but as if taking the complaint as a greeting, she didn't ask for an answer and pushed Xin Huo away. "He has something to ask you."

"Fire? What's wrong?"

"...Captain, I would like to apply for temporary leave from the team." Xinhuo's expression showed that he had made the decision.

"What's the reason?" Ling Dengxian asked seriously.

"Sister Jessica, who brought me to Rhodes Island, was suddenly called back to Black Steel to carry out a mission—because of those monsters outside, Black Steel International's mission has intensified. I want to go with her."

"Those blood-red monsters are spreading their invasion area. The borders of Victoria, Casimir, and Leithania have all been attacked. The danger isn't just the monsters' physical threat; they've also shown a strong infectious ability. Leithania and Casimir have already blocked the border towards Victoria... I hear Blacksteel is already busy," Outcast added, his expression grim. "I'll have to wait for the next elite operator to return to the ship before I request to set off to investigate the cause of this incident."

Ling Dengxian was slightly startled. The situation was more serious than he thought: "Didn't Victoria handle it?"

"Victoria is the birthplace. The three fallen counties have not yet been recovered, and the dukes' troops are still gathering... Why are they so slow?" Xinhuo obviously understood the situation well enough, and the topic returned to him.

"Does Jessica know?" Ling Dengxian frowned.

"...I know. I also know that my overall qualities are not as strong as hers. And even if we remove this factor, my role alone can basically be ignored."

The two looked at each other, and Ling Dengxian found that he was not acting on impulse, he was very calm.

"Like you, Captain, I could choose not to go, but I can't. I can't do it. This isn't for money or morality, but for my own principles. She brought me out of the wilderness, and this should be my response."

"I won't be stubborn."

"Okay, I get it." Ling Dengxian smiled, his eyes gentle, giving him the answer he wanted, "I don't even want to be stopped, so there's no reason to stop you."

"...Thank you, Captain, I will be back." Xinhuo nodded vigorously.

He looked at Shuang Ye, wanting to know why she came: "So Shuang Ye, are you here?"

"Goodbye, and by the way, thank you." Shuangye tugged at her sleeves, her gaze fixed on his waist, and spoke in a very low voice, "The new headphones are very useful, thank you."

"...Nothing." Ling Dengxian saw a hint of hesitation in her eyes and understood a little. He thought that her frustration was not because she couldn't hear music because her headphones were broken, but because "the headphones were broken."

Then try to help fix it next time.

Ling Dengxian had just breathed a sigh of relief when a certain Sakota's voice rang out from beside him: "You two, let's not discuss Operator Xinhuo for now, but Dr. Kal'tsit seemed like she said Operator Baige needs special care, right? You're discussing this without my knowledge at all?"

The young man blushed. Mastema shrugged and smiled, "So, should we start running now? Since you're done with your work, right?"

"Grandma Outcast, I'm leaving first!" With Mostima's wink at him, they followed the "accelerated time" and began to sprint along the agreed route. Triangle would cover them at the end, but now that Ms. Outcast had discovered them, it was hard to say whether it would still be of any use.

Watching the two figures quickly disappearing into the distance, the gray-haired old Sakota shrugged helplessly, much like Mostima. "Alas, I'm old and my legs aren't as agile as they used to be. I also have to take care of the child in the room. It's normal that I can't catch up."

Her comment on Bai Ge's choice was that young people need more understanding. Since he did not cause trouble to others and was prepared, let them go ahead.

At the entrance area of Rhodes Island's infrastructure, the triangle was waiting. She didn't know why she was packing those things - she was getting ready, which was a bit crazy and exciting.

Soon, two figures arrived as promised. Her heart was pounding. Ling Dengxian was someone her heart had once been attracted to, but she didn't know if he would notice her thoughts. If no one cared, she would lose faith.

"Thank you for your hard work, triangle, luggage, huh, if I were alone I probably wouldn't be able to - ahahaha, Mastema, don't look at me like that..."

"Ah, you guy, I'm afraid you did a lot of messing around when I was away." Mostima felt a little headache, but did not seem to regret it.

"So you still haven't changed your mind?" Ling Dengxian laughed dryly, and Mostima just smiled at him. There was no need for any explanation, and he would not ask any more questions.

Looking down, he found some extra luggage. Looking at the triangle again, Ling Dengxian was silent for a moment, then hesitantly asked, "Triangle, Seti, I want to ask..."

"That's your homeland. Do you want to go with us?" Ling Dengxian's words hit the core of Triangle's desire.

"...Fiona asked me to stay in Rhodes Island. I also know that there is a big gap between her and me, and my oripathy infection is much worse than hers—"

"So, do you want to go together?" Ling Dengxian repeated the question and looked at her steadily.

"I... want to go! The captain and the others are here, and I can't convince myself."

Ling Dengxian looked at Mostima, who had no idea. He took a deep breath and said, "I will protect you. Please trust me."

Triangle clenched his fists, his heart filled with excitement.

No wonder I was so touched. He is always himself.

"Well, you two, Victoria is in great danger now, and our action will inevitably be difficult, but we are going to retrieve a friend, so it's worth it." Ling Dengxian felt the power in his body gradually surge again, and the accelerated blood flow awakened his fighting consciousness.

"Yes, so don't put yourself in unnecessary danger. According to the description outside, we can't kill all the monsters by ourselves, so don't fight too long." Mostima smiled and poked Mou Ling with his arrow tail. The meaning was very clear.

"Okay, I'm familiar with my country, have been on many missions, and have a legitimate reason to be in charge of military negotiations."

"Then let's go to Victoria!"

Hiss.

The sound of clothes, or rather the long skirt, being torn was heard, and a cold voice came straight to the point:

"Ling Dengxian, I'm back... I'm with you."

Ling Dengxian was stunned. The person in front of him was a familiar one, but her clothes were extremely unfamiliar. At this moment, she threw away the skirt that was not conducive to movement, and her eyes did not blink for a moment.

The wolf returns.