Poseidon in Arknights

"Besides, it's not like I don't know how to turn it off; I'll be careful, okay?"

“I can’t argue with you…” The villager shook his head, then sat down against the box. “We should still be careful. The boss paid us to hire us.”

"Okay, okay." The villager took a deep breath, smoked the cigarette, then casually threw the cigarette butt on the ground, stomped on it a few times, and then blew out a huge smoke ring.

"Hello." Just as the two villagers were hiding behind the box catching fish, a deep male voice suddenly rang out from the side.

The two villagers immediately stood up, afraid that the boss would catch them slacking off. But upon closer inspection, they realized that it was just a strangely dressed man coming from the direction of the sea.

"Wearing a black robe in broad daylight?" The taller villager narrowed his eyes, looking at the man in front of him. Wearing a black robe in broad daylight was indeed suspicious.

"Hey, who are you?" another villager immediately shouted, "What do you want?"

"You're recruiting here, right?" The man in the black robe asked after the two villagers remained silent for a moment. "I'd like to join, is that alright?"

"join in?"

The two villagers exchanged a glance, then one of them pointed behind him: "See that over there, that tall tower over there?"

The figure in the black robe looked past the box and up at the tall tower. The tower seemed to be used to monitor the waterway, to prevent anything from flowing down from upstream from blocking the waterway, or to notify everyone to come to the dock to unload cargo when a cargo ship came.

"I saw it."

"Yes." The villager nodded. "There's a woman on that tower over there. Just look for her."

“Alright.” The man in black nodded, and instead of getting any closer to the two villagers, he took a long detour and headed towards the tower.

------------

"Hello, I'm here to fight..." The man in black robes climbed up the tower, and just as he was about to speak, he fell silent as he looked at the woman in front of him.

"Hmm?" The woman, who had been idly watching the river, turned to look at the black-robed man who had just come ashore, and also fell silent. "...Long time no see, Ulpian."

“…Hmm.” Ulpian silently lifted the hood of his black robe and looked at the woman before him. “Long time no see, Goredia.”

"........."

After exchanging greetings, the two fell into a silence, whether from embarrassment or some other reason, it was unclear.

In the end, it was Ulpian who felt it wasn't appropriate to just stand on the stairs and stick his head out to talk, so he put his hands on the floor and officially entered the room, then casually closed the door he had just opened.

“I didn’t expect you to still be alive.” Goredia pinched the bridge of her nose. “It’s a pleasant surprise, I suppose.”

"Still alive?" Ulbian raised an eyebrow. "It seems there are others besides you and me?"

“Yes.” Goredia nodded. “Laurentina is still alive, and your little killer whale is still alive.”

Upon hearing Goredia's words, Ulpian raised an eyebrow, as if emphasizing the question: "You mean, Skadi is still alive?"

Contrary to what Goredia had imagined, she had thought that Ulpian would be somewhat pleased to hear the news, but at this moment Ulpian's face showed a thoughtful expression.

“Yes.” Goredia sat up straight, a hint of seriousness in her eyes, and looked at Ulpian. “So, is there a problem?”

“No, there’s nothing wrong.” Ulbian shook his head, then shifted his gaze to the dock below. “So…”

Do you share the same thoughts as me, or do you have other motives?

“Probably the same purpose as you.” After seeing that Ulpian showed no sign of replying, Goredia also paused for the moment. “I’m also here to investigate this so-called Iberian Medical Mutual Aid Association.”

"That's good. Looks like I don't need to think of another way to open those boxes." Ulbian nodded. "Don't tell me you've gotten to the point where you can hire workers, and you haven't even bothered to check what's inside those boxes?"

“Of course I’ve seen it.” Gladys nodded. “But unfortunately there’s nothing there. I mean, nothing like what we imagined.”

"They are all normal medicines, medical supplies and some equipment, but those equipment are also medical instruments."

“Medical equipment…” Ulpian said after a moment of contemplation, “Is it possible that those medical devices are disguised experimental equipment?”

“If that’s the case, do you think I can’t tell?” Goredia crossed her arms and looked at Ulpian. “I know more about these things than you do. Those are just the simplest medical instruments, there’s no disguise.”

"It would be impossible to use them for biological experiments."

“…” Ulpian’s fingers tapped lightly on the iron frame of the windowsill, making a clanging sound. Gazing at the river flowing into the sea below, he murmured to himself, “The ocean…”

"What ocean?" Goredia raised an eyebrow. At this moment, she wouldn't overlook anything Ulpian had said. "Have you discovered anything else I don't know about?"

“Well, I guess so,” Ulbian nodded. “But I’m still confirming…”

“No need to confirm our compatriots.” Just as the two were still deep in thought, a harsh voice suddenly came from below the iron gate that Ulpian had just closed.

The muscles of the two people in the room tensed instantly, and Ulbian, who was closer, stomped down heavily with his foot.

But before he could step down, the door was already pushed open, and a hand that looked no different from an ordinary person blocked Ulbian's foot at an angle that no ordinary person could bend.

Seeing that his attack had been blocked, Ulpian immediately retreated, watching an ordinary-looking person climb over the stairs and step into the room.

“There’s no need to be wary of our fellow countrymen.” The man’s tone remained stiff. “I know you have not yet returned to the sea, but we are still compatriots connected by blood.”

“Hai Si…” Goredia pulled out a small knife from behind her back. She regretted not bringing her weapon with her, even though it wasn’t a good place to use it anyway.

However, it's hard to say how effective the small knife in his hand will be, since the opponent can already transform into human form and is undoubtedly a highly evolved Sea Child.

“It seems our suspicions were correct.” Gladys looked at Hai Si in front of her. “What do you want to do with that company? What conspiracy are you trying to pull off?”

“…” Ulpian, standing to the side, remained silent as he watched Hai Si. He wasn’t particularly wary of Hai Si; he was pondering what he had seen.

Perhaps he could find some answers to the things he saw and heard on the seabed from the sea creature before him.

“No conspiracy, our compatriots.” Hai Si shook his head, then spread his hands toward the two of them, as if to indicate that he was not in danger.

“My fellow countrymen, I know you have yet to experience the glory of the ocean.” Hai Si looked at the two men, completely unguarded. “I understand your wariness…”

“Shut up…” Ulbian suddenly interrupted, “I want to ask you a question.”

“Please speak, my fellow countrymen.” Hai Si did not show any displeasure at being interrupted. “I am happy to answer your questions.”

“…” Ulpian looked at Hai Si before him and slowly spoke, “Then tell me, who exactly is Hai Yang?”

——————Rhodes Island, Yuuki's Room——————

Suddenly, a huge blue vortex appeared in the middle of the previously quiet room, and then Nian, Xi, and Xiyue tumbled out of it, all huddled together.

"Ugh!" Xi Yue quickly wrapped the three of them in water to prevent anything that shouldn't happen to them.

Once the three of them were standing still, Xiyue withdrew the water ball. Then, she glanced at Nian and said, "We were walking perfectly fine, what's with this all of a sudden?"

To save time on their return journey, the three of them naturally chose to teleport back directly. However, Xi did not leave any teleportation markers, and Nian's teleportation could not take Xi Yue with him.

So Yuuzuki took out her teleportation item. The teleportation item itself was fine, but the reason why the three of them rolled out in a ball was...

The main issue is that Nian was the first to enter with great enthusiasm, but when she should have left, she stood at the teleportation exit instead of stepping out, causing Xi and Xiyue, who entered later, to knock her out.

"I... I just didn't realize it yet," Nian scratched his head. "My old teleportation method took me directly to the teleportation point, so I didn't have to go out myself."

"Hmph, you really are an idiot." Xi rolled her eyes at Nian, then looked around the room. "Is this Miss Xiyue's room?"

"Yes." Yuuki nodded, then looked at Yuuki who sighed, "Hmm, what's wrong?"

"I just feel it lacks some decoration." Xi looked around at the walls. "Xiyue, haven't you done any decorating?"

"No, not really." Yuzuki shook her head. "Well, it's good enough. Actually, Rhodes Island's interior design aesthetics are pretty good. As long as it's livable, that's fine."

"I really can't stand it anymore." Xi shook her head, then took out a scroll, rummaged around inside, and pulled out a huge mural. After looking it over, she hung it on a relatively empty wall to the side.

"What's wrong with you?" Nian, who was standing to the side, saw through Xi's thoughts at this moment. "You clearly want to hang your painting here with Xi Yue."

"What's wrong? You have a problem with that?" Xi stared intently at Nian, her expression suggesting that if Nian dared to say even a single word of dissent, Xi would likely start another sisterly fight.

“No, that’s not it.” Nian shook his head. No matter what, this matter was ultimately good for Xi. His poor little sister hadn’t slept in a long time. He had finally found someone who could make Xi sleep peacefully, so how could Nian have any objections?

"Hmm, wait a minute." At this moment, Xi Yue also realized what was happening and looked at the painting that Xi had just hung up. "Xi, you wouldn't be thinking of joining me, would you?"

“Yes.” Xi nodded, her expression calm as she said, “It was Miss Xiyue who said it herself.”

"I won't let anyone hurt me, I won't let anyone get close to me, I just need to get a good night's sleep."

However, although Xi appeared calm, the redness on her ears was clearly seen by Nian standing behind her, and Nian's face immediately showed a little bit of an aunt's smile.

'My little sister, I never thought that after all this time, she would actually fall for me today. Hmm, I wonder if my older sister, my other sister, and my older brother would be pleased to see this?'

“That makes sense.” Xi Yue nodded. “Alright, I got it. Let’s have dinner tonight so we can all get to know each other.”

"Alright~" After resolving this matter, Nian stepped forward with a smile and put her arm around Xi's shoulder. "Let's go, let's go. I'll take you to see Kal'tsit and take you to get a physical examination."

"What?" Xi looked at Nian with surprise. "You mean I have to work here?"

Nian's face was full of mischievous smiles. The hand that was originally just holding Xi's shoulder suddenly tried to pull Xi away.

"Otherwise what?"

"No!" Xi immediately and firmly refused, then grabbed the sofa next to her. "I don't want work! Let go of me!"

"Wait a minute~" Nian pulled Xi's body forcefully, her smile full of a mischievous triumph. "You've rested for so long, it's time to get back to work!"

"Never!"

Chapter 170: Cute Little Jellyfish

Chapter 169: Cute Little Jellyfish

——————Rhodes Island · Accommodation Area · Corridor——————

"Rhodes Island has become so busy lately," Exusiai muttered, rubbing her shoulders as she sat in the hallway. "Looks like Rhodes Island has really prospered."

"Hmm." Texas nodded, a Pokey dangling from her mouth, her face full of fatigue. "I guess she landed a big order; she's been bringing in a lot of stuff lately."

Because the job required Texas and Exusiai, and due to her previous work experience at Penguin Logistics, she was assigned to the Trading Post to handle the warehousing and outbound operations.

The work was relatively easy for a while, since the trading post couldn't possibly be managed by just the two of them. But recently, they've inexplicably become very busy, with various goods being put into the warehouse and a large number of goods being shipped out.

"Hehe, I took a quick look." Exusiai nudged Texas with her elbow. "It looks like it's mostly furniture and stuff. Maybe they're doing some renovations?"

Texas frowned and turned to Exusiai: "How could you peek at someone else's cargo?"

"No, of course I know the rules." Exusiai shook her head. "It's just that the packaging is the same whether you peek or not. It's just wrapped around a sofa, so who can't tell what's inside?"

"Is that so?" Texas nodded. As long as it wasn't peeping, it was fine. If it was peeping, it would be against their profession. "Perhaps after making some money, they wanted to improve their living conditions."

"You've been in that lounge too."

“Yes, I’ve been inside.” Exusiai covered her face as if recalling some unbearable memory. “I even wondered if that place was a rest room or a torture chamber.”

"It's all because you were careless." Texas rolled her eyes at Exusiai. "You just sat down without saying a word."

Why is Exusiai like this? It's actually quite simple. Some time ago, Rhodes Island arranged very basic rest areas for its employees, which were basically just simple stacks of cardboard.

To make the cardboard box hold up, the people of Rhodes Island dug up stones from the wilderness outside, rubbed them with a file until they were roughly flat, and then stuffed them inside.

Although that chair was even more uncomfortable to sit on, at least it could support a person and wouldn't break down after a few days. But Exusiai didn't know that.