On the Ark.

"Ugh, my phone's dead," Shining said, looking at the black screen. "What a nuisance."

"You can just charge it here." After hearing Shining's words, Lin Ye took out a data cable from the bedside table drawer. "Here, take it."

Shining didn't take it, but shook her head: "It won't work. We're not on the same interface. This is a communication tool made by Rhodes Island. You'll have to go back and recharge it."

“...You just said Rhodes Island is a pharmaceutical company.”

“Yeah, we occasionally dabble in electronics too.” Shining put down her phone and said calmly, “You have to know a little bit of everything to make a living.”

"That's a bit too heartbreaking," Lin Ye said, somewhat speechless. "If that's the case, why didn't you bring a data cable with you?"

Shining replied calmly, "Because I didn't expect to stay this long. I'm just here to pick up something, and I'll go straight back after I get it. I've calculated the remaining battery and the round trip time. If it weren't for the delay and the report I gave you, I would definitely have enough battery left to get back to Rhodes Island. I'd probably still have about 7% left when I get back."

Lin Ye was quite surprised: "Isn't your calculation a bit too precise?"

"For seasoned travelers like us, this is just basic practice, so don't be too surprised."

"Is that so? But I don't quite understand. Shouldn't a mature traveler anticipate all possible accidents and take corresponding precautions?" Lin Ye asked, voicing his doubts. "Isn't carrying a charging cable more convenient than calculating all that?"

The Shining fell silent.

Seeing Shining's expression, Lin Ye realized he might have said something, so he quickly changed the subject: "Uh, you just said you've already submitted my application to Rhodes Island?"

Shining nodded, her expression remaining perfectly natural, as if the question and answer from just moments ago had never happened.

"Then... will it pass?" Lin Ye was still a little uneasy.

“I don’t know either, because I’m not in management and I don’t have the authority to make decisions,” Shining said, shaking his head. “Generally speaking, the power to appoint personnel is in the hands of the Doctor. He may occasionally delegate it to others, but only occasionally.”

"……PhD?"

“Hmm, the founder of Rhodes Island.” Shining picked up the teacup from the table. She had intended to drink water, but then she remembered that the cup might have contained goat milk meant for cats and dogs, and immediately lost interest, placing the teacup back on the table. “How much do you know about Rhodes Island? Judging from your expression earlier, it seems you’ve heard of it before.”

"I've heard about it, or at least heard some of it."

"Aren't these all bad rumors?"

"how do you know?"

“It’s very simple. More than half of Rhodes Island’s staff are infected, and most of the non-infected people hate the infected, so they naturally hate Rhodes Island as well,” Shining said. “They hate us, so their statements about us are biased and spread rumors. That’s why many people who have never heard of Rhodes Island before think of us as a terrorist organization. But in reality, we are just an ordinary pharmaceutical company.”

Lin Ye couldn't help but laugh and joked, "A regular pharmaceutical company, you occasionally sell cell phones and stuff, right?"

"Of course not, Rhode Island-made electronic products are generally not sold outside the country."

"For secrecy?"

"No, because the quality is too poor, no one wants to buy it."

Lin Ye: "..."

"Just kidding, you don't mind, do you?" Shining smiled slightly, adopting a cool and aloof demeanor.

"No, I don't mind. You have a good sense of humor."

“It’s alright.” Shining nodded. “But you were right before. Our main business is indeed medicine, but in today’s world, we also do some side businesses in order to survive.”

"for example?"

"To be a mercenary or something."

Lin Ye's lips twitched: "Is this a joke?"

Shining said seriously, "No, it's true."

Lin Ye didn't know how to describe his feelings at this moment. For some reason, he always felt a subtle sense of unease when talking to Shining, but he couldn't say where this unease came from.

“Let’s get back to our previous topic.” Shining looked at Lin Ye. “Although I can’t make the final decision, in my opinion, as long as your abilities are confirmed, Rhodes Island will definitely welcome you to join us.”

"really?"

“I promise,” Shining said softly, “you probably don’t know how important your abilities are to the Infected.”

Lin Ye didn't hear the last sentence clearly. He was just pondering the meaning of joining Rhodes Island.

His eagerness to join Rhodes Island stemmed from his view that Rhodes Island was the core of the game *Arknights*, the center of this world. Without access to Rhodes Island, one could only exist within the game's background, where a meaningless death was easily possible in this chaotic world. Therefore, joining Rhodes Island and reaching the center of this world was essential for him.

What bothered him was that he knew far too little about this game and Rhodes Island, completely lacking the advantages of a transmigrator or a player… Of course, this wasn't entirely his fault; the blame lay with the fact that *Arknights* was still delayed in its public beta! He'd even died suddenly in the real world and still hadn't received any definite news about the game's public beta—wasn't this just ridiculous? This made Lin Ye feel incredibly weary. He felt like fate was deliberately targeting him; otherwise, throwing him into an army or navy brothel would have been much better. He'd played all those cute, quirky games, or at least heard of them, unlike *Arknights*, whose only knowledge of the game was…

Lin Ye looked up at Shining: "Does your company have an operator named... Amiya?"

"Huh?" Shining was taken aback. "Ami what?"

"Amiya." So much time had passed that Lin Ye couldn't quite remember the exact name of the mascot of Arknights anymore. So he gestured to Shining, making a "V" sign above his head, "She's the operator with a pair of ears here, who looks like a donkey. She's quite pretty."

Shining's expression turned strange: "You're not talking about Amiya, are you?"

Lin Ye slapped his thigh: "That's right, it's her!"

"...Although I don't know how you know Amiya, I must remind you that Amiya is the most powerful person on Rhodes Island besides the Doctor," Shining said, somewhat speechless. "So you'd better watch your words, and besides, her ears are clearly rabbit ears..."

Lin Ye scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly: "Maybe I remembered it wrong."

“Well, to be honest, I personally really hope you can join Rhodes Island, because I have a friend who desperately needs your help,” Shining said softly. “But before you join Rhodes Island, we need to make one thing clear about you.”

"What is it?"

Shining stared into Lin Ye's eyes and said, word by word, "What are your views on the Infected?"

Lin Ye was stunned for a moment, and before he could react to why Shining would suddenly ask such a question, their conversation was interrupted by a series of urgent knocks on the door.

Author's BB:

It's strange, why do I feel like every time I write about a cool and aloof girl, it always ends up going in a weird way?

Never mind, it must be my imagination.

Leave a comment if you want to see any operators; I'll write about any I have available!

Chapter Six: The Chernobog Riot (Part 1)

Lin Ye and Shan Ling's conversation was interrupted by a series of urgent knocks on the door.

It was already night, and Lin Ye couldn't imagine who would come looking for him, but he still gave Shining a look. After all, the Chernobog military police were still searching everywhere for Shining's whereabouts, and he suspected that she had come to his door. Shining understood, picked up her things, and hid in the bathroom. After waiting for two or three seconds, Lin Ye ran to open the door while muttering, "Coming, coming."

Upon opening the door, they discovered that the visitors were not Chernobog military police, but a little boy with short brown hair.

Lin Ye knew the little boy because he was his neighbor; his name was Aesop. He also had a twin sister named Yilan. The siblings were both beastmen with cute, fluffy ears and were always inseparable.

However, Lin Ye did not see his sister Yilan, but only a flustered Yisuo.

"What's wrong?" Lin Ye asked. "Is your 'Dudu' depressed again?"

"Dudu" is a dog owned by the siblings. It's healthy in every way, but its spirits aren't good; it's often depressed. When it's depressed, it won't eat, which worries the siblings, so they turn to Lin Ye. Only when Lin Ye is sitting next to it will Dudu eat. Over time, Lin Ye's relationship with the siblings has become quite good.

"It's not Dudu." Aesop shook his head repeatedly, almost crying. "It's not Dudu, it's my sister! It's my sister!"

"Huh?" Lin Ye didn't react immediately. "Your sister? Yilan is depressed too?"

"My sister is missing..."

"Then go find the police." Lin Ye said helplessly. Why did these two siblings come to him for everything? He was just a veterinarian, not Doraemon. "What good will it do to come to me?"

"My sister is infected!" Aesop burst into tears. "Stones have grown on her body, and people have discovered it..."

Lin Ye's expression stiffened.

"Ilan got infected? What happened? Tell me slowly." Lin Ye pressed down on Iso's shoulder, signaling him not to panic. "Where are your parents?"

“Mom and Dad have gone to look for my sister. They... they told me to stay home, no, not to wander around,” Aesop sobbed. “My sister scratched someone, and so many people are looking for her.”

Lin Ye gradually understood what had happened. Although it might not be the whole story, it was enough. So he patted Aesop on the shoulder, telling him to wait at the door for a while, and that he would accompany Aesop to find Yilan later. This temporarily calmed Aesop down, and then Lin Ye closed the door and quickly returned to his room.

Shining had already come out of the bathroom and was standing by the bed looking at him.

"Did you hear everything?" Lin Ye asked.

Shining nodded: "Your voices are quite loud."

Lin Ye gave a wry smile: "My induction ceremony will probably have to be postponed for now."

Shining shook her head: "This isn't some kind of induction ceremony; I was just saying it casually. So, are you planning to go find that little girl?"

“They’re neighbors after all, we can’t just stand by and watch them die.” Lin Ye ran to the bedside table and rummaged through the drawers. “They’ve already come to our door… Damn it, how did she get infected with the virus?”

“Many infected people don’t know how they got the virus until they see stones growing inside their bodies,” Shining asked. “Do you need my help? I can go with you.”

Lin Ye refused: "Come on, the Chernobog military and police are probably still looking for you all over the place. If you go out now, aren't you just asking to be killed?"

Shining said, "I'm not an infected person. I just took care of a few infected people earlier."

Lin Ye looked up, somewhat surprised, at Shining: "How many infected did you take care of? Isn't Rhodes Island on the side of the infected?"

“I’ve never said that,” Shining shook his head and said, “Birds of a feather flock together. The same goes for the Infected. We stand with those Infected who share our ideals and are willing to resolve problems and conflicts peacefully. And we stand in opposition to those Infected who are violent, extreme, and have completely lost their minds. That’s Rhodes Island.”

Lin Ye smiled and said, "Sure, thank you for giving me this kind of science lesson. But it's better if you stay here. The military and police in Chernobog aren't as easy to talk to as the military and police back home."

"From your side?" Shining asked. "Aren't you from Chernobog?"

"Ahem, I was just saying." Lin Ye laughed awkwardly. "Ah, I found it."

Shining raised an eyebrow as she looked at what Lin Ye had taken out of the drawer: "You actually have a gun?"

"It's just a toy, nothing more," Lin Ye said. "It was given to me by a dog tycoon because I cured his husky's constipation. It's a pity there were only three bullets."

Lin Ye loaded the silver-white Colt Python into its magazine with his only three bullets, then put the gun in his pocket.

Shining watched Lin Ye's actions, but her attention was elsewhere: "...How did you heal him?"

"Hmm? That dog? Of course it uses its paws." Lin Ye answered casually, but as he ran to the door, he seemed to remember something and turned to look at Shining, "Are you staying here tonight?"

"Is that not allowed?"

“How could it not be possible? Of course I hope you can stay here.” Lin Ye smiled. “That way, when I come back, you can take me to Rhodes Island.”

Shining was silent for a moment, then asked, "Do you admire Rhodes Island?"

"It's alright. Although I don't know much about Rhodes Island, only about Amiya... I still want to change my current life. I'm getting a bit tired of being a veterinarian." With that, Lin Ye left the cabin quickly without lingering.

Shining walked to the window, looked down at Lin Ye and Aesop who had just rushed out of the house, tilted her head, and muttered, "What strange people."

……

As soon as Lin Ye stepped outside, he sensed something was wrong.

There were so many military and police officers on the streets; it didn't seem like they were dealing with a little girl who had just become infected—it was far too exaggerated. It was more like they were suppressing a large-scale infected riot.