Hello, Arknights

Chapter 414 The Morning Incident

"Bagpipes," the horn said helplessly. Vayvan glanced at Ling Dengxian, then at the captain, biting his lip and scratching his head. "Captain, I know it's a bit inappropriate, but you need some comfort..."

“Xiao Xian is also a survivor of that war, and he’s even more remarkable than me. I think what he says might be more inspiring for the captain.”

"What does that have to do with embracing?" Horn said after a moment of silence.

"Ah, well, it's comforting. I feel much more at ease now..."

“That’s you, Fiona… I’m sorry, White Dove.” Horn’s gaze shifted slightly, but he noticed a figure behind him, turned around and saw Grant standing at the door.

“Father.” In almost a breath, Rupert composed himself, quickly straightened his shirt, placed his hands on his skirt, and bowed his head in greeting.

Seeing that Rita's white dress was covered in mud, Grant didn't say much. That was a language she wouldn't use at home, and he didn't want to interrupt. He just asked what he had overheard:

"Viscount Ling, it seems that your relationship with Rita is more than just 'acquaintances'." Although his words sounded somewhat accusatory, he was more curious than anything else.

"...After all, you came down from the battlefield together, Father, you were once a soldier too." The bugle raised its head, "and once... were the center of attention."

"Mr. Grant, do you have any preferences or dietary restrictions for lunch?" Ling Dengxian stepped between the two, knowing that if the father and daughter really got into a fight, the atmosphere at lunchtime might be ruined.

"No... I had a pleasant time fishing this morning. I just confirmed that the servants at home have prepared lunch and are waiting for me, so I won't bother you any longer." Grant took down his coat hanging by the door, greeted him, and then glanced gently at the horn, as if there was nothing unpleasant between them.

"Shouldn't you at least have greeted your mother?"

The horn exhaled softly, turned around and bid farewell to the two: "Please forgive me for disturbing you."

After saying this, he prepared to leave with the Earl.

"Wait a moment." Ling Dengxian called out to her as he looked at her slender figure in a thin white dress. At the same time, he felt the weight of the Earl's gaze.

The bugle turned around, and the sunlight from outside swept across her face. He couldn't see her expression, but he suddenly realized that her sturdy figure on the battlefield was actually so slender.

“Fiona.” Ling Dengxian pulled Bagpipe over, hugged her tightly again, and smiled. “Help me pass this hug on.”

Scamanderos couldn't help but laugh out loud.

……

Texas and the others didn't ask Ling if he had asked Talulah for help when he cried to Videsia that night. Anyway, Ling's eyes were red the next morning. Texas and Mostima got up to prepare breakfast for everyone in the house. They were stopped by him as soon as they stepped out of the room. When they saw him, they couldn't help but turn their heads and laugh at the same time.

"Does any of you have experience taking care of children..." Ling Dengxian seemed to be about to knock on the door, but he didn't care about their reaction. He was a little sleep-deprived and his eyelids were twitching. "This girl started crying at midnight last night and didn't fall asleep until 1:30."

Mostima glanced at the wall clock in the hallway: "It's only five o'clock. Why don't you go back to sleep for a while? Or come to my room to sleep for a bit?"

"Mostima!" A low shout came from the bed inside the room from a certain Liboli.

“I won’t be sleeping on the floor…” Ling Dengxian rubbed his eyes and shook his head. “Besides, I have to see Talulah and the others off. Could you two help look after Videsia?”

“No problem. Go ahead,” Texas said succinctly. “But aren’t they going to eat before they leave?

"I did it, and they're already waiting downstairs."

Is there a problem if one person prepares breakfast?

“It’s alright,” Mostima smiled. “At worst, I’ll just pull the one out of bed.”

A dissatisfied protest came from inside the house.

"White Owl, please help." A voice rang out calmly. The group's gazes shifted, and they saw a white-haired, taciturn Liboli.

Ling Dengxian remained silent for a moment, his hesitation stemming not only from personal grudges but also from an assessment of the impact on his child's future personality—Talulah certainly didn't entrust the child to him hoping to raise someone who could calmly provide a blood pressure boost to those around them.

"Please trust the White Owl. After all, Ifrit has taken care of the White Owl before, as has Nightingale."

"Will the nightingale count too?"

At that moment, a certain oriole was also sleeping in late, unaware that someone was judging her. She was dreaming about the days before the trio of apostles, and turned over to continue immersing herself in her dream.

"Let me help." The pale purple-clad Rupert peeked out from behind the door, but seemed a little unsure of himself. "When we were hiding from natural disasters, I took care of children in an infected community."

"Then I'll leave it to you. White Owl, go to the kitchen. Provence, keep an eye on Vidya. By the time I get back, that lazybones Nightingale should be awake by now. The main task today is to clean the fireplace; it's getting colder every day." Ling made the decision casually, and no one objected. He then rubbed his face and went downstairs.

Although Talulah and Frostnova are both very strong, he was still worried about not seeing them off, especially after learning about Draco's special identity, he couldn't help but blame her for being too reckless.

"It's best to avoid coming to Victoria until the situation becomes clearer. It's not that I'm unwilling, but ultimately—"

Before dawn, the group of people advancing along the animal trail observed the road ahead, avoiding wild animals or potential dangers.

“Alright, I got it. It’s worth the trip just to hear White Dove’s nagging,” Talulah patted his shoulder with a smile, her eyes softening. “Videsia is in your hands now. Be a good ‘father’.”

"I still want to ask... does it have to be the father..." Ling Dengxian's eyes showed resentment: "I'm only twenty..."

“She’s my daughter, what are you calling me?” Talulah retorted.

“It’s different, we can each discuss our own perspectives…”

Froststar, who was eating breakfast nearby, choked, coughed a few times, and glared at Ling.

“That would be rather strange,” Talulah said, pulling him closer with her hand on his shoulder, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. “What? Need to get a little more into the story?”

Ling looked away, her ears turning red, and met Shuangxing's gaze: "...No, sister, I'll die."

Froststar: "From the heart."

Ling Dengxian: "Go away and eat. Be careful not to get fat from eating so much." He was then kicked by Ice and Snow Carter.

“Come here.” Talulah patted his shoulder, her joking tone fading. “I’m just drawing on my own childhood to know how much a father can influence a child, especially a ‘good father.’ I choose to believe you, White Dove.”

"No one is more suitable than a hero who saved me, isn't he?"

Ling Dengxian pointed at Shuangxing, implying the person behind her: "Where is Daddy? Ah... Daddy's health..."

Oh right, the influence of evil spirits... although Talulah doesn't seem to know that yet.

"You want the old man to train another one? I'll give you a try." Yelena glanced at him and continued eating her breakfast.

"Isn't it quite cute?" Ling Dengxian looked at it again and again, pondering.

"You, surnamed Bai, you still owe me a beating." Yelena glared angrily, covering half of her face with her breakfast.

“My surname isn’t Bai… You can just call me by my real name, Ling Dengxian, and my code name is White Dove.” Ling Dengxian wasn’t afraid, and then hid on the other side of Talulah.

“Alright, actually I was worried that Mr. Patriot might be too attached to his grandchildren, and he really is very busy—the Reunion Movement is operating at high speed right now, but unfortunately, many areas are only just beginning to get on track, and many conflicts still need to be resolved. I want to give Vidya some more active room to grow—also, you're on Rhodes Island, right? Rhodes Island seems to have a more systematic education system, I really hope we can have a good exchange…”

"Isn't that a perfectly normal need? We can go back and explain the situation to Director Kai and the others, and apply to send people to the island for learning and exchange. If all else fails, there's always Wei Yanwu who can generate gold coins—I'll assign someone to learn about the training resources." Ling Dengxian dodged the snowball attack from a certain Carter's hand.

“It really should be put on the agenda, but the task of treating infected people at the Victoria base is quite heavy right now. Although Rhodes Island is helping us, the number of infected people brought about by this war is still beyond our imagination, and it’s very serious,” Talulah explained with a wry smile.

"Alright... Remember not to be polite with that old dragon. For the sake of the Reunion Movement and for your own sake, it is necessary to seek help when facing unexpected difficulties, and reconciliation is also necessary."

Wei Yanwu, far away in Longmen, sneezed, and the broken horn on his head swayed, as if he had been remembered.

"Yanwu, have you caught a cold?" Wei Wenyue asked with concern.

"It's nothing, maybe Vidya has her eye on me." Wei Yanwu smiled and continued working.

Back to this side.

"Let's not talk about anything else. How did you handle Xiaoxia last night?" Talulah wanted to get rid of the tension before their parting and stop talking about serious topics.

Ling remained silent. Shuangxing urged him on, and he hesitated for a moment before turning his head away as if giving up on something, saying:

"I tried everything to get her to cooperate, but she wouldn't listen. In the end, when I was completely at my wit's end, she cried and I cried too. When I cried, she laughed. When I stopped crying, she kept crying... Finally, she fell asleep after playing until she was exhausted..."

Talulah couldn't hold back, covering her mouth and bending over to suppress her laughter, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably, while Frostnova's face darkened, unable to laugh.

"You, you... Pfft... How did you imitate Yelena... Although she didn't cry, I'm sorry, I really... Hahahaha..." Talulah laughed so hard she couldn't straighten up.

"..." Ling Dengxian and Yelena looked at each other, and silence was golden.

“…I really have no other choice.” After a long pause, Carter managed to utter these words.

"Don't you know how to sing lullabies?" Ling asked, puzzled. Logically, she should have an advantage over her.

“She’s quiet when I sing, but she cries when I stop singing. She plays until 1 a.m. before going to sleep, but she’s much better now,” Froststar recounted her experience of helping take care of the child for the first time.

"Hmm, I need to get to know Vidya better as soon as possible. Staying up too late for too long is a bad habit." Talulah wiped her eyes, feeling much more relaxed.

Ling casually rubbed his forehead.

……

"Alright, that's enough for you. You can still make it back in time for breakfast. Take good care of Vidya, okay?" When it was time to part ways, the group found the vehicle they had hidden beforehand, and it was time for Ling Dengxian to stop.

"Be careful on the road. I won't be staying in Victoria for long. I'll head back to Rhodes Island after I've spent the Viscount's bonus," Ling Dengxian reminded him.

“Understood. The Reunion Movement is also waiting for you. Don’t forget.” Talulah waved and got into the car.

“…Thank you for breakfast.” Froststar thanked him, then looked him over carefully and couldn’t help but smile.

"Eat less, I've given you my share." Ling Dengxian smiled and patted her shoulder. Now he was sure that Shuangxing would no longer overlap with Aran.

He got up early today to see her off, and Frostnova stayed by his side while he made breakfast. Skadi, curled up in a blanket on the living room carpet, peered at him with her crimson eyes.

Of the eighteen "Sweethearts," Talulah ate two, Frostnova hugged seven, Skadi took the rest, and he barely managed to snatch one back, leaving it for Nightingale.

After Nightingale expressed his liking for Tongxin Sweets, he went to the kitchen to learn from Horn Peak for a while and is still in the refining stage.

"We'll see. There's a saying in Da Yan: 'Being able to eat is a blessing.'" Shuangxing rolled her eyes at him and put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm short on time this time, so I won't trouble you. If you can next time, could you tell me who you thought I was back then? I want to know your story."

"...Well, it's not a bad thing if one more person remembers her—"

The hug came unexpectedly. The white-haired Carter's hug wasn't warm, but it wasn't as cold as before either. A little tenderness was conveyed through his actions.

“You look a little sad.” Yelena released him, put her hands behind her back, her eyes gentle, and tilted her head slightly: “Consider it payment for breakfast. See you next time.”

Talulah waved to him, and Frostnova, who had gotten into the car with her, didn't linger. The engine started and they sped off into the countryside.

...It's different in the end, and Xiran probably hopes that her story will be known to others.

Ling turned around and went back.

Dawn peeked out from the pale blue horizon, the light gradually brightening. The forest scenery was still somewhat hazy, but the path was still clearly visible. Ling Dengxian didn't want to disturb the small animals on the trail repeatedly, so he chose another route back. This route ran alongside a stream, and he walked back along the bank, making it back to the lake without getting lost.

He had to wade across a shallow area, where the light shattered into fragments of silver on the water's surface. The other side was quite far away, and on a sudden whim, he took off his shoes, intending to throw them onto the opposite bank.

He swung his arm and, with a shout of "Hey!" threw the shoe in two beautiful parabolic arcs. The shoe landed on the opposite side of the grass, bounced a few times, and then fell sideways to either side.

"Good! Success!" Ling clapped his hands, somewhat pleased. The water in the shallows was up to his calves. He rolled up his trouser legs and prepared to rush across.

The facts tell us that safety and stability are the top priorities when crossing a stream; don't follow the example of someone like Ling who courted death.

He stepped onto a slippery, cylindrical object in the water and slipped and fell halfway through the water. His clothes were completely soaked and he choked on some water. He got up, shook his half-wet hair, and immediately looked around to see if anyone had noticed his embarrassing situation. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found no one else.

Zi, hidden in the shadows, sighed.

The phantom of Ling, lying in mid-air, smiled but remained silent.

"Damn it... what ambushed me..." Ling Dengxian was immediately filled with impotent rage, and bent down to find the culprit that made his foot slip.

“You better not be a fish or…” The thing didn’t seem to run away, and Ling Dengxian quickly grabbed the thick, slippery… tail.

“…Snake?” But this size didn’t seem to be an ordinary water scale. There was no one around, so he just said it was a snake. He pulled hard, and sure enough, it was a tail. The other end of the tail was connected to its owner. In the dim light, he only then noticed that it was a human figure. Someone was drowning on the shallows.

He thought it was wood.

With great effort, he carried the person from the water to the other side and lit a white flame. He discovered that it was a woman, from a race he had never seen before, with a thick snake tail and Liberian feathers on her head. After checking her over, he realized that she hadn't been drowning for too long, so he immediately began to provide first aid.

During the process, a designer tag fell out of her shirt. Ling Dengxian noticed it, picked it up, and saw that it had an eye surrounded by angel and demon wings that reflected each other.

"...Code name: Ominous?"