Hello, Arknights

Chapter 369 Schneider

"Alright, Feng Di, I'm really dirty now." Ling Dengxian patted Feng Di on the back. The joy of reunion was followed by a guilty embarrassment. Ling had said that Feng Di was a very smart girl. His original intention was really selfish, and...

He seems a little too sentimental.

A Rupert who would shed his indifference for him, put on a smile, and say "I want to go too" without letting anyone say no.

"No, everyone is the same." Fengpi raised her head, smiled brightly, and rubbed her face against his chest without any disgust.

"There's blood!"

"It's not contagious... Okay, I'm just a little too happy... Xiao Xian." Fengpi finally let him go. Her eyes, which had been bright as purple crystals and had been immersed in the battlefield all day, were now a little gloomy, but that disappeared at this moment. She patted the wrinkles on her clothes and her eyes suddenly swept to the greatsword next to him: "By the way, Xiao Xian, I have someone to introduce to you! You haven't officially met yet."

Ling Dengxian thought of Madeline and scratched his face awkwardly. He hesitated, "Ah... Dizi, well, I've already met her... It was quite pleasant."

Bagpipe was surprised and a little confused: "Wasn't it a long time ago that you last met her and spoke to her formally?"

A familiar sense of disharmony descended upon him, and Ling Dengxian, who already had considerable experience in this area, cut his losses in time: "Um, just to confirm, the person you're talking about isn't your mother?"

Fengpi opened her mouth, a bit bewildered for a moment: "Ah? No, you're not, ah, that's not right, you really didn't come alone... That's not right, Flame... Mom doesn't have such a showy Originium skill..."

Bagpipe finally realized something else a little late: "Wait, you mean, you and mom have already met?!"

"...I came here with my aunt." Ling Dengxian couldn't look the silly girl in the eye. Both of them felt guilty and embarrassed, even though they had done nothing wrong. For a moment, neither of them knew what to say. Feng Di glanced at him cautiously with a red face, and Ling Dengxian's ears were as red as hers.

"Two little guys, have you finished your whispers? You should have a good rest even after winning the battle." Madeline stood on a hill not far away with an interested look on her face. Behind her appeared Triangle and Lappland, and their expressions showed interest.

The two blushing people looked at each other and knew that there was "no need to say more", and hurriedly trotted side by side to Madeline.

"...Aunt." Ling Dengxian had previously told Madeline the reason why he came to Victoria, but he didn't dare to say how close his relationship with Bagpipe was. He only said that they were "very important friends."

Then I was caught in a "fight between important friends".

"Mom..." Fengdi scratched his head and smiled embarrassedly to see her reaction. Although she had been muttering before, she had never told her little thoughts.

"Alright, what's with you two being so hesitant?" Madeline said with a hint of disdain, then smiled generously. "I should have given you some time... but the overall situation is more important."

Madeline said the second half of the sentence with a serious expression. The wind swept across the battlefield, and the smell of blood lingered for a long time. The crimson blood mist always lingered over Xiaoqiu County. In the distance, an uneasy shadow was roaring.

"Let's go. I think we need to have a good talk with Colonel Hamilton."

A dusty and exhausted Sakota, who had run out of food and was carrying a single-shot rifle and a crossbow with no bullets left, also entered the sight of the Xiaoqiu County outpost.

"I'm a messenger, and I have some very bad news for the leader of the garrison in Xiaoqiu County..."

The soldier on the watchtower did not move his crossbow. Although one of his eyes was bandaged, he and his comrades could still shoot accurately if the uninvited guest made any unusual movements.

"The current war situation is not optimistic. For safety reasons..."

"Do you have an isolation room?" Sakota asked hoarsely. The continuous long and high-intensity battles made him in very bad condition.

The soldiers saw fatigue in his eyes. After a conversation, one of them hurried away to pass on a message. Not long after, a man with a fierce look appeared with the sentry and looked at Sakota.

"Lethanian."

"The Leitanian Courier."

"International documents."

"One page left."

After a brief conversation, Hamilton gave the order: "Let him in."

……

"...Letania, you should know the consequences of deceiving Victoria."

Through the camera in the isolation room, Hamilton's face was so gloomy that water could be wrung out of it.

Although it had been confirmed that Kuhn Schneider - the name on the incomplete courier's ID - had no open wounds, he was also not infected with mineral disease and there was a possibility of hidden blood infection through liquid inhalation. Hamilton chose to isolate him for three hours without hesitation, without drinking water or eating rice.

The news he brought made Hamilton's expression look so ugly as if he had swallowed a Originium worm alive.

"Maybe it will be worse than it is now, without food or water for thirty-one hours in a row - or if we are particularly open-minded, we can choose the same noose as the Lion King." Schneider was carrying out the simplest weapon care on his own. He had no choice but to live in the simple conditions, and this habit also allowed him to slowly regain his composure in those overly bloody scenes - this place was different from the battlefields he had encountered before.

"It's no wonder the Leithanian sense of humor isn't recognized internationally."

"That's better than the Victorians who treated the Tara people like railroad ties," Schneider said sarcastically.

"…Are you still involved with Tara Scum?"

"Ha, your sense of humor is not inferior to others." Schneider was amused by the neurotic Hamilton.

"Sir, it's time." The adjutant on the side interrupted at the right time before Hamilton had an outburst.

Hamilton stared at Sakota, his voice clenched through his teeth as he spoke: "I'm asking you again, Sakota, is the news you brought true?"

"The number of blood-colored monsters in Xiaoqiu County has increased sharply. This is because the blood-colored monster group from the fallen large county has migrated here. They are constantly gathering in numbers. When I left, they had already gathered a terrifying number. And...

"There's this 'special guy' that I'm afraid the current Xiaoqiu County can't handle."

After saying that, "Shadow" stopped talking. He was tired of seeing Hamilton's changeable expression.

"Take him to the infected camp area."

He needed to think carefully about...what to do next.

Infected area.

"Please sit down, Mr. Messenger. Colonel Hamilton is just a little irritable because he has been working too hard and hasn't rested for a long time. You should take a rest and I will get you some dry food." The adjutant defended his superior and showed great respect to the messenger who risked his life to tell them important information.

Schneider nodded. His original purpose was to visit an old friend, so he didn't really mind the bad conditions. However, he couldn't stand Hamilton's attitude. He was so tired that he couldn't talk, so he just sat down casually on the ground nearby.

Then I looked up and saw someone passing by carrying two boards and a torn tarpaulin.

Schneider: "?"