Poseidon in Arknights

Chapter 168: The Hunting Invitation

The sun's rays pierced through the clouds, shining upon the peaceful and tranquil town.

"Hmm..." Xi opened his eyes groggily, looking around with a hazy gaze. He would never have shown such an unguarded expression before.

However, today, the rare peaceful sleep allowed Xi's tense spirit, which had been strained for a long time due to lack of rest, to finally get a moment of respite.

After a period of sluggishness, Xi finally sorted out her current situation, and she could now feel that she was still in someone's arms.

"I'm sorry, Xiyue Xiao..." Xiyue hurriedly wanted to apologize, but found that something seemed wrong with the joy in front of her. After careful observation, she realized that what was in front of her seemed to be just a clone.

"Just a clone..." Looking at the water clone of Yuuki in front of her, Yuu suddenly felt a strange sense of loss after realizing that the person holding her was not Yuuki herself.

"Are you awake?" Just as Xi was feeling inexplicably disappointed, Xi Yue's gentle voice suddenly came from behind her. "How did you sleep?"

"Ugh!" Xi was startled again by the sudden sound from Xiyue behind her. She quickly stood up and looked at Xiyue, who had appeared behind her at some point. "Xiyue...Miss, good morning."

"Hmm." Yuuki noticed that Yuuki had startled her again and said apologetically, "Aren't you used to this?"

"Hmm." Xi nodded. As a fragment of a giant beast, she rarely encountered anyone in her life who could silently walk up behind her and only be noticed when they made a sound.

Then, Xi remembered another question, "Excuse me, what time is it now?"

"It's only eight in the morning," Xi Yue said with a smile, looking at Xi. "How was your sleep? How was it?"

"Slept...very well." Xi replied softly after looking at the smile on Xi Yue's face for a while.

To be honest, Xi hasn't had a good night's sleep in a long time, let alone one like last night.

When she realized that she would eventually return to her original self, and when he first saw another "self" in his dream, she could no longer sleep peacefully.

Even though Nian explained her plan, Xi did not agree. How could a clone resist the original body?

She was afraid of seeing another "self" in her dreams. As for why she didn't sleep, Xi simply thought that if she didn't sleep, she wouldn't see another "self" again.

In that case, perhaps I can stay further away from that moment, or perhaps I can peacefully walk into death without knowing anything about it?

To be honest, all of this is just escapism. If it weren't escapism, Xi wouldn't be staying in the mountains and forests, painting the same mountains and forests she's painted countless times.

If it weren't for escapism, Xi wouldn't have endured mental exhaustion and gone without sleep for hundreds of years, simply because she was afraid of having nightmares.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Xiyue pulled Xi into her arms as he was deep in thought, stroking his back. "Don't worry, just like I promised last night, no one can hurt you, and no one can touch you."

"All you need to do is get a good night's sleep and don't need to worry about anything."

"No." Xi shook her head, her hands unconsciously wrapping around Xi Yue's waist, her head resting on Xi Yue's heart. "I didn't have nightmares, I slept very well."

The more Xi savored her sleep last night, the stronger her sense of security became. The gentle sound of the ocean waves in her ears told her that she didn't need to worry about anything. She knew that someone would protect her and that someone would protect her rest at this moment.

Yes, Xi slept well, a rare good sleep. Although there were no sweet dreams, what was more important for Xi was that there were no nightmares. It was a sleep she hadn't had in a long time.

Although these few hours of sleep are insignificant compared to the nights she hadn't slept for hundreds of years, perhaps she will be able to have such sleep in the future?

'Hoo... I feel inexplicably at ease.' Xi leaned against Xiyue's chest, the gentle voice still ringing in her ears, and the sense of peace in her heart remained just as strong.

[Crack! 】

Just as Xi was leaning against Xiyue's chest, she suddenly heard a cracking sound. Xi's body stiffened, and she suddenly realized that she seemed to have overlooked someone who was the biggest source of amusement.

“Nian~~” Xi Yue smiled as she looked at a hand with a large, fiery red floral arm under the eaves in front of her, holding up a cell phone. The click sound just now clearly came from that cell phone.

As for who that person is, isn't that bright red full-sleeve tattoo obvious enough?

Upon hearing Xi Ye's voice, Nian peeked out with a smile on his face, looking at Xi Yue, or rather, at Xi, who was frozen in Xi Yue's arms.

"Ahem~" Even though he was caught red-handed, Nian didn't look embarrassed at all. He just coughed a few times to ease the awkward atmosphere.

Then, with a playful smile on his face, he looked at Xi and pretended to admire the photos he had just taken: "Oh, what a beautiful scene~"

"Hmm, it just so happens that Miss Xiyue's name also contains the character 'Xi,' so why don't you just call Xiyue 'Mom'..."

Before Nian could finish speaking, Xi burst out of Xi Yue's arms, grabbed a large red sword from the side, and slashed at Nian.

Shut up!

——————Rhodes Island Doctor's Office——————

"Ugh... Amiya, I don't want to try anymore!"

"Doctor, please don't be like this!" Amiya looked at the Doctor, who was half-slumped in the chair, and couldn't help but push him. "Pull yourself up, Doctor! Doctor!"

"Can you imagine how much money they gave us? How much?!" The doctor grabbed Amiya's shoulders and shook her hard. "200 pure gems, 200, and a full 5 million LMD."

"What more effort do we need to make?!"

"Doctor, don't get knocked down!" Amiya easily broke free from the Doctor's grasp, and instead grabbed the Doctor's shoulders and shook him vigorously, trying to shake the Doctor awake from his unexpected fortune.

"Hey, hey, hey!" The Doctor's body couldn't take Amiya's shaking, and she quickly begged for mercy, "Gently, gently, Amiya, gently!"

"I'm sorry." Amiya helped the Doctor back into his chair. "Didn't you calm down a bit?"

"Phew..." The doctor calmed himself down. "Alright, alright, I'm calm, I'm calm."

"I've simply been suddenly freed from the previously impoverished finances of Rhodes Island."

"It seems that Miss Yuuki, your identity is not so simple." The Doctor murmured softly, tapping the armrest of her chair. From the situation with Kal'tsit last time, she could tell that this group of people were actually looking for Yuuki, not Rhodes Island.

In other words, this money is actually just kept at Rhodes Island; from a certain perspective, perhaps it can be considered a kind of offering?

"Doctor, what are you saying?" Even with Amiya's excellent hearing, she couldn't fully hear the Doctor's barely audible voice.

"No, it's nothing." The Doctor shook his head. "By the way, Amiya, where are our three big spenders now?"

"We arranged the highest-standard accommodations for them. Based on their feedback, we placed their accommodations in..."

——————Rhodes Island Accommodation Area——————

"My lords," a man said, walking in from outside carrying two meals. "I've brought back lunch."

"Oh..." The two people sitting on the sofa turned to look at the man who had just come in. After the man put down the food, the man sitting on the sofa suddenly remembered what he wanted to say and added something.

"Thank you for your hard work, Allelly."

Aleli quickly waved his hand, his tone tinged with fear: "Your Excellencies are too kind. If it weren't for your high regard, I wouldn't have been able to come here with you and have the opportunity to meet the great ocean, our common master."

"Hmm..." The two were about to nod when they suddenly looked towards the door. "Our compatriots have arrived."

Then, with a loud bang, four fingers suddenly pierced through the gap in the iron gate, followed by a tooth-grinding metallic tearing sound, and the gate was ripped open.

"Wow, look what I've found!" Specter led Skadi through the torn-open gate. "The Deep Sea Church? And two... Sea Heirs?"

Ghost Shark raised an eyebrow, looking at the two people sitting on the sofa. Although their appearance and aura no longer indicated that the other person was Hai Si, something within Ghost Shark told him their true identity as soon as he saw them.

"I thought something was wrong." After seeing the two sea creatures and sensing their auras, Ghost Shark roughly understood what was going on.

She had just happened to be passing by when she sensed a familiar aura here, as well as the repulsive aura of the Deep Sea Church, which is why she brought Skadi to block the door.

However, it now seems that the flood washed away the Dragon King's temple, but...

Ghost Shark looked at Allelli beside him: "Do you remember me? You guys used to take good care of me."

“…I remember you.” Allelly lowered his head. “I remember everything we did, and I repent for it. I am ashamed of what I did back then, because it was against the will of the sea.”

Allely's tone was filled with endless apology; yes, he was one of the members of the Deep Sea Church who followed Amaya and Quintus at that time.

"Oh, it seems you've reformed. What Xiyue said was actually true. You bunch of butchers who slaughter lives, you actually chose to pick up a scalpel?"

Ghost Shark's eyes were filled with murderous intent. Hearing Allelly's apology, he actually smiled, but his sharp teeth only made the smile more murderous.

“Yuyue doesn’t know who you are, but I do.” Ghost Shark stared intently at Alleri. “What are you trying to do now? Atonement? Are you kidding me?”

"..." Allelly bent down even deeper, his humility deepening. "If you want revenge, go ahead. My life is worthless, but I want to prove to you that we have reformed. We want to follow the will of the sea, just as we once followed the life of the sea's offspring."

"Please trust us..."

“I believe…” Ghost Shark looked at Alleri with a flicker in his eyes, and after thinking for a moment, he asked, “Then do you know where Quintus and Amaya are?”

“We once hunted down these two heretics who refused to approach the truth of the ocean.” Allely breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw Ghost Shark’s tone relax. His life was insignificant; if he could convince the ocean’s messenger that they had a change of heart, it would be an immeasurable glory.

However, if he were to die at this time, he might not be able to see their Lord, their true God, in person, which would be extremely regrettable for a believer.

“Go on,” Ghost Shark raised an eyebrow. “I’m very interested.”

“But unfortunately, they were too cunning as heretics.” Allelly’s tone was filled with regret and deep sorrow. “We failed…”

“Oh, really? Then it seems I still have a chance to get revenge myself.” Ghost Shark smiled. “Do you know where they might go? Like a secret laboratory or something.”

"..." Alleili pondered for a moment, then walked to the side, took out a huge map of Iberia from his luggage, and after studying the map for a while, circled hundreds of circles on it with a black marker.

"What are these?" Ghost Shark leaned closer, looking at the circles marked on the map. "Your secret contact points, supply depots?"

“Yes, I’ve drawn up all the secret contact points and storage locations that I’m in charge of.” Alleri looked at the map. “I don’t know if he might be in one of those places. We’ve tried to find him, but…”

“I understand, there are indeed too many areas.” Ghost Shark looked at the map. “Which ones have been investigated? And…”

Ghost Shark turned his head, a hint of amusement in his eyes, and looked at Alleri: "I remember your efficiency wasn't that low. You couldn't find it in just a few hundred places?"

“Yes, we tried searching.” Allelly turned to look at Ghost Shark. “That’s why. There seemed to be traces of them at every supply depot, but they weren’t there.”

"They seem to still be roaming the Iberian Peninsula. We will try to find them and bring them upon ourselves..."

“No, no need.” Specter interrupted Allely, licking his lips. “I want to personally offer them the invitation to death, let them enjoy being hunted, let them enjoy the pain, or rather, I will enjoy it.”

"All you need to do is find out roughly where they are."

Allely nodded, his tone full of respect: "Understood, sir."

Chapter 169: Return to Rhodes Island

——————Iberia Gulf Port Village——————

This is a village, a relatively peaceful and prosperous one, because a large river flows directly through the village and into the sea.

The river brought a decent amount of fish to the village, making it completely self-sufficient compared to other villages. Although court officials would occasionally come to inspect, the village's overall life was quite comfortable.

Especially recently, a group of medical mutual aid associations suddenly appeared in the village and rented the freight transport rights of this river from them. It is said that their purpose is to transport goods from the upper reaches of the river directly to the lower reaches, and then spread them here and to the surrounding areas.

Although the fishing catch was slightly reduced due to the construction of the waterway, the other party had at least paid for it, so the villagers didn't say much.

Moreover, due to their efforts in upgrading the infrastructure, and the fact that this place has become a freight hub for the villagers, creating many freight jobs, the overall lives of the villagers have actually improved.

——————Haiwan Port Village Cargo Terminal——————

"Phew..." A tall villager leaned against a box and took a drag of his cigarette. "This cigarette from the city really has a strong flavor."

"Hey, hey, hey." Another villager came over to fish and saw him smoking. He gently patted him on the shoulder. "Have you forgotten? The bosses said not to smoke here, it'll start a fire."

"Don't worry, don't worry." The villager waved his hand dismissively. "There's a river right here. Even if a fire breaks out, we can just put it out. What's there to be afraid of?"