Hello, Arknights

Chapter 354 Traces

"Breakfast."

The first one to get up was Ling Dengxian. After dealing with the changed bandages, he simply prepared breakfast and ate compressed biscuits at noon to facilitate movement. Only in the morning and evening did he have the chance to make hot meals to warm the stomachs of several people.

"Good morning...thank you for your hard work." Her previous experience as a triangle iron allowed her to have a good schedule, but Ling Dengxian's adaptability surprised her. Two days ago, he still needed her to wake him up, but now he was the one who got up early and arranged breakfast regularly.

The car they used for transportation was damaged to the point where it could no longer be used in the third attack. Fortunately, it had already taken them to the area in Victoria where the blood-red monsters were entrenched, so its mission was accomplished.

A mission worth 20,000 Longmen coins. He smiled.

By the way, he fled in a hurry and didn't bring any money with him. The money was lent to him by Ms. Sakta from a logistics company. Thinking of the other party's expression when she lent him the money, Ling Dengxian just hoped that she would not play any interest and tax rate games.

White-haired Rupert woke up right before him, as if he had slept in the same bed with him, but he didn't make any more trouble. He just quietly appeared in his sight and sat down, watching him change his bandages, watching him dismantle his simple temporary shelter when sleeping, watching him use the embers to start a new fire, then he washed his face and rinsed his mouth, and smiled again with confidence from his silence.

"If you have nothing to do, go wake up Mandela." Ling Dengxian handed her the white sword, indicating that she should use it for self-defense.

Mandela was a dangerous sorcerer. This was his conclusion after fighting with the former in a stressed state. It was not easy to subdue her with pure physical skills. Moreover, Lappland's weapon had been cut off by him. Without weapons, there were still hidden dangers.

"Okay, but I want to ask a question."

"Is it important?" He carefully handed the food to Triangle without turning his head.

White Wolf came closer, smiled, and whispered, "Why don't you use White Flame anymore?"

Of course she knew that Bai Yan couldn't make a fire, but when she was trying to stop him and provoke him, Ling Dengxian never used Bai Yan.

The injuries she had inflicted on him previously hadn't healed as quickly as they had at Longmen.

Lappland knew very well that Ling Dengxian's strength would be much weaker without Bai Yan, and these days she had also confirmed that the girl named Fengpi, whom she had met once, was indeed an important person to him. He had no reason not to give his all, and his attitude indeed proved this point.

"..."

"Is there something wrong with your body?" Lappland's voice was very soft. Ling Dengxian turned back silently. The friendship of the past was mixed with rationality and obsessive madness in Rupert's eyes. He couldn't tell what she was thinking.

"Lappland." Ling Dengxian narrowed his eyes slightly, and his casual smile disappeared without a trace. He restrained himself and suppressed his voice in his throat, like the threat of a wild beast.

Only then did Lappland realize that the lines on his face seemed more suitable for a fierce look than a smile, or perhaps...

"A perfect shell, cracked."

Lappland pulled himself away in time, but after all this trouble, Mandela got up by herself. Her eyes were still red, but she looked much more normal. She was not as dazed and unconscious as she was yesterday.

"You, come here, I have something to ask you." She said so in a cold tone.

Ling Dengxian glanced at her sideways, then looked at Lappland. The latter understood and went to have breakfast obediently.

However, she wanted to see if Ling Dengxian, who had sent her away, could still be as easy-going as usual. However, the latter did not do this to send her away. Instead, he took a step back and sat next to her and Triangle, and started eating breakfast.

"You're from a foreign country, your hearing isn't that bad, is it?" Mandela's eyes grew colder.

Ling Dengxian just ate in silence. Lappland did notice something was wrong with him. After being "attacked" by the abnormal Skadi who called herself "Ishamara", his mental state became worse, but it did not affect his daily life. It was specifically manifested in the control of the white flame. If he activated it, the white flame would burn quietly in his body, but when he tried to externalize it like before, he felt a schizophrenic pain.

He admitted that he did lose a lot of confidence without Bai Yan. Unconsciously, he no longer thought that this was a useless ability. The ability to contain others was actually quite important in battle, and he was used to this way of fighting.

Without the ability to release white flames, his mobility was greatly reduced, but he didn't need it to deal with Mandela at this distance.

It's not that he is arrogant. He has a high opinion of Mandela, but she was picked up by him yesterday because she was exhausted due to excessive use of Originium skills. She is in much better spirits today and it is difficult for her to pose a threat in the short term. He has experience in this, and he has also taken insurance measures.

"...If you need a nickname, my name is White Dove."

"What are your plans? This damn place *vulgar expletive* is not worth traveling to now." Mandela didn't really care about his purpose, but seeing that there were Victoria's soldiers around him and they were quite powerful, she was very uneasy. She didn't know why the other party brought her back.

"Looking for someone. I think you're a local who knows the way, so I'd like to ask you for directions. Or, have you seen a Vaifan woman with orange-red hair and a city-breaking spear?"

Ling Dengxian didn't argue about anything unnecessary, but simply raised the questions he cared about. Mandela was very unhappy with his attitude: "Do you think everyone will answer your questions? Or do you really think that you saved me? I will definitely be grateful and tell you everything I know?"

Triangle's eyes turned cold. He didn't expect this woman to be so stubborn. "Didn't your family teach you how to interact with others?"

Upon hearing this, Mandela's expression instantly twisted, and a picture came back to her mind: a little girl and a little boy in tattered clothes staggering in the slums, crying helplessly in front of the fire. Their temporary residence was burned down by the disgusted Victoria. The ruffians laughed and huddled around to keep warm. The drunken and smoking mounted policemen sat aside, playing cards and watching the fire. The Victorians with children avoided them and bought them roasted feathered beasts to make them forget the tears of certain people.

The parents of these two people have long disappeared and died. In short, it is not a heartwarming picture book story.

"Are you all Victorians the only ones with *vulgar* parents?

"Who do you think is responsible for the destruction of my family?" Mandela, whose companions died in an unexpected disaster, recalled old memories and grudges. Whether she was venting her anger or blaming others, her tense mental state, which had changed drastically due to the drastic changes in reality in a short period of time, made it difficult for her to remain rational.

"What does it have to do with me? Is it necessary to emphasize the issue of upbringing?" Triangle was very disgusted with Mandela's unreasonable attitude. "Still trying to be confrontational? Aren't you also Victorian?"

"Who are you calling Victorian?" Mandela almost jumped up like a cloud beast whose tail was stepped on. When she wanted to perform her Originium skills, she found that her staff was not with her.

Triangle looked at Ling Dengxian and considerately gave him the right to speak.

"You! Give it back to me!"

Ling Dengxian glanced at her and put the Mandela staff at his waist aside: "If you want it back, then talk nicely. There's no point in being hysterical, at least not in this situation."

While saying this, Ling Dengxian calmly finished his breakfast. At this moment, there was no trace of his usual easy-going nature in him. Lappland seemed to enjoy observing his behavior. She held her chin with her hands, and no one knew what was in her eyes.

"Here's a meal for you," Ling Dengxian placed the portable lunch box and her staff on the wooden board that served as a table and pushed it towards her. "You have 15 minutes to eat. If you don't want to, you can choose to share some information with us. After that, we will set off. It's up to you whether to come with us or not."

His meaning was very clear and his gesture was obvious. Mandela was alone and exhausted from performing the spell. He had his own goals, so he naturally could not provide unnecessary help for absurd reasons.

Mandela's face turned ugly, and her uncertain expression disappeared after she took a step forward, but she soon stopped again, suppressing her rebellious thoughts: "I only want to take back the staff. I don't need your help, not in the first place."

"Okay, I can give it back to you. Tell me what you know - what I need." Ling Dengxian nodded.

"Why?" Mandela was furious.

The boy didn't say anything, but picked up a dead branch and gently broke it.

Mandela was indignant and glared at the triangle beside him, suppressing his anger: "You want me to sit at the same table with a Victorian soldier?"

The young man said nothing, but just took the staff back in front of him.

Mandela's expression changed several times, and finally he sat on the edge of the "table" with a look of humiliation.

She is from Shenchi and is a Tara. There are quite a number of Tara people in Xiaoqiu County. Shenchi noticed the drastic changes and came to try to stop the losses, but something unexpected happened in the middle. Mandela did not elaborate on the specific situation, nor did she explain why she took people to act alone, as for the part that Baige was concerned about.

"Honestly, who cares about anyone in a place full of damn monsters? Is anyone asking such a question crazy?" Mandra sneered. "Leave as soon as possible. I can tell you've never encountered real danger. Have you seen those monsters? No, otherwise I wouldn't think anyone could survive in a place where those things are entrenched."

She admitted that the other party did have some strength, but she also felt that the other party was overestimating his own abilities.

There were many people who were stronger than her and died in front of her, not to mention that Bai Ge was no better than her - well, after she got her staff back.

Ling Dengxian didn't respond, but just sighed, took out a map from his pocket, spread it out forcefully, and pushed a pen that was almost out of ink in front of her: "Where is Xiaoqiu County? Which roads are blocked?"

There were troops there, and there was a Rhodes Island office. He believed that even if she wasn't there, she would definitely go there after hearing about the upheaval.

Mandela tactfully marked the direction for him and scribbled out the possible dangers.

"Have you finished eating? Never mind, I'll give you the lunch box." Anyway, there is a spare one. Ling Dengxian looked at the other two. Triangle and Lappland both understood that they were ready to set off at any time.

"Well, wait!" Mandela stood up. After her anger, she finally recognized the facts.

"..."

"I'll be with you..."

But she suddenly fell silent, and the three of them stopped involuntarily.

In front, a long team appeared in the distance, not monsters, not soldiers.

The hems of clothes burned by flames, the open wounds, the faces stained with fear and smoke, with numb expressions, they moved forward numbly.

Some people supported each other, some staggered and fell, some of those who fell got up and continued to move towards the bloodless place in the distance, while others never got up again.

It was like the traces left by a raging fire.

Are flames really born with light and heat?

Sanjiaotie felt like something was blocking her heart and she couldn't speak. She and Ling Dengxian had heard the decree that these people would eventually be stopped by the army, isolated, and some of them would be "dealt with."

Ling Dengxian remained silent. The long procession of people seemed endless. As they passed by, a distant roar of a melodious warship stopping echoed, bringing a lot of heat. Perhaps it was because it was too far away.

He just felt cold.