Girls' Frontline: My Apocalypse with Dolls

"That's why Aither pays so much attention to you. For her, something that can bring about unexpected changes is what she likes."

As soon as the words were spoken, an elegant woman in a brown coat and white long skirt emerged from the shadows and walked up to the two of them in high-heeled boots.

Good night, Mr. Luo.

The other person bowed to Luo Fan, a polite gesture that only made Luo Fan feel more apprehensive.

She was the Ether that Rosalia had mentioned, an even more elusive being, and the fact that she treated him with such formality made Lofan feel uncomfortable.

Ethel smiled and said, "As Miss Rosalia said, you have brought us so many unexpected changes, which is truly invaluable. We all enjoy the process, which is why we have always been by your side to help you, hoping to see you take a completely different path and achieve our ultimate goal."

508 respectively

"What is your ultimate goal?"

Lofan grasped the key words. Rosalia hadn't explained their ultimate goal to him yet; she only knew that his personality had brought many variables to their plan.

Aither placed her right hand on her chest in a gesture of respect, then, maintaining a smile, explained, "Based on Miss Rosalia's account, you should be able to realize that we are not as simple as we appear on the surface, right?"

"Ah."

Luo Fan had always thought this way. He never thought these beautiful girls could be normal people. Their cognition alone was enough to show that they were different from ordinary people.

"Hehe, that's right. We need you to fight for the opportunity for us to be able to walk freely in the sunlight. You don't need to do anything special. You just need to take your medicine on time, accept our help, and then everything will take its natural course."

Her explanation was very simple: Luo Fan didn't need to do anything; he just needed to let things take their course, and the result would naturally be what they wanted. Was it really that simple, that he didn't need to do anything special?

He remained skeptical, and knowing very little about it, he figured it was best to remain a listener.

"We only just learned that you are planning to travel far away for some business, so we came here specifically to meet with you as a precaution, in case the symptoms cannot be suppressed by medication alone again."

Having said that, Aither took a few steps forward. Whether it was her imagination or not, the shadows in the room seemed to be slowly expanding, gradually blocking out the light...

Luo Fan had a bad feeling; this safety net didn't seem to be as simple as taking some kind of preventative medication...

Aether raised her hand and slowly extended it towards Lovan's forehead: "Please rest for a while. You will wake up when everything is over..."

"Sweet dreams, Mr. Luo. We hope you can maintain this approachable attitude and bring us a unique chapter in history..."

In an instant, Luo Fan's vision was enveloped by something dark and twisted. Before he could react, he lost his senses and completely lost consciousness.

In that final instant, my body felt enveloped by something damp and warm...

......

......

......

After an unknown amount of time, when Luo Fan woke up again, he found himself lying peacefully in bed, enjoying a perfect night's sleep.

When I instinctively looked around, Rosalia and Ethel were nowhere to be seen. It seemed that they had settled themselves in after they were done and left on their own.

He never fully grasped the meaning of their words, only knowing that he was burdened with expectations far exceeding his own imagination. According to their interpretation, they were placing all their opportunities and possibilities on him...

As for him, he doesn't need to do anything; he just needs to maintain the status quo and keep his emotions stable, avoiding frequent loss of control, even though he made many mistakes in previous missions.

As Luo Fan was about to put on his coat and leave, he found a note on the bedside table. Rosalia's elegant handwriting was written at the beginning, clearly indicating that she wanted him to open it and read it after he woke up.

He paused for a few seconds, then picked up the note and began to read it.

"Since you're asleep, I didn't plan to wake you. I'll just tell you the rest here..."

"First, there's the issue of emotions. I've emphasized this to you several times; it's crucial to the final outcome of your journey. Of course, this involves a new concept, EGO, which is a bit difficult to explain to you right now. You just need to understand one thing: your emotions will ultimately reflect on your body and manifest in a specific form. The reason we're helping you stabilize your emotions now is to prevent the final outcome from getting out of control. While it's not exactly a bad thing, it's not exactly good either..."

EGO? What is that abbreviation for? Luo Fan's first thought was that it was an English abbreviation for some concept, but Rosalia didn't go into details here, instead telling him the points that needed attention.

"You saw the sparks in my hand just now; that was just one form. My spark is fading. Now it's your turn to be considered. Speaking of which, your insurance coverage is complete. You might experience itching or blurred vision recently, which is normal. Remember, don't let difficulties defeat you. Just stay calm and composed. I, Ethel, the orchestra, and Morse are all looking forward to the outcome, and..."

The writing suddenly stopped, and Luo Fan noticed a thick ink splatter on the paper at the very end of the passage.

Just a few centimeters away is the end of the article and the signature...

"You truly are a very special person. Whether it's the girls around you (I think using their original names would displease you), or us, that child named Jiaen, or even the almost useless Yingque, you've done your best to unite and maintain this fragile yet captivating relationship in a subtle way. For us, who would be considered monsters, this is a completely new experience. So, don't give up easily, and don't be hostile towards us. We will definitely do our best to help you. The rest is up to you... Of course, I must tell you, the orchestra has far more than just those three members. Think about how many instruments and members a symphony orchestra needs? The conductor, violinists, and double bass players are just a few. The others can't come forward right now, but they will come to see you in a while. As for how long, who knows..."

......

The signature was simply "Goodbye," and that was the end of it.

For some reason, although it was just an explanation of the current situation, just like before, the last paragraph made Luo Fan feel much more at ease. Perhaps it was because the weight on his heart had finally been lifted.

Although there is still a lack of substantial evidence to support this, Luo Fan now chooses to believe them and that they will not harm him. At least through their time together and cooperation at the bar, Luo Fan can somewhat feel their sincerity.

Nekitiah, in particular, appeared calm on the surface, but it was hard to hide her discomfort with this intimate daily routine. However, he could still sense that she was enjoying it and trying her best to immerse herself in the time.

As Rosalia put it, it was a fragile yet fascinating relationship that could break down at any moment due to a crisis of trust, but the process was dangerous yet captivating, making them all unable to resist.

"Alright, let's stick to the old ways and take it one step at a time. Anyway, maintaining the status quo is fine, right?"

The man looked at himself in the mirror, smiling, yet his expression was as somber as ink, as if he were merely bound by another karmic obstacle.

After stuffing the note into his pocket, the man got up and left, and the room was finally back to its pristine, spotless state.

Along with those shadows...

509 Abnormalities

"Commander, everything that needs to be brought has been brought."

"Let's go then, they're probably getting impatient waiting over there."

When he met the girls again, it was at the train station. After all that trouble in New York, he had finally paved the way for them, and Luo Fan could finally get down to business.

Almost everyone participated in the mission to enter the quarantine zone with Lovan. Only a small number of people remained in New York to assist Mrs. Grey and her team. This was mainly because Nieto's production had gotten back on track and the manpower problem had been effectively solved.

Due to the flight bans caused by the typhoon, people's means of traveling to other states were severely limited, forcing them to choose the "inefficient" mode of transportation, such as taking the train. Short journeys to neighboring states were fine, but crossing multiple states took a considerable amount of time.

Fortunately, the whole process was relatively smooth. After hearing Helian's account of their experience on the plane, Lovan no longer had such a good impression of airplanes.

Although the journey was slow, it was safe and secure. This was true from New York to Missouri. Over several days, Luo Fan and the girls traveled at their own pace, stopping frequently along the way. Despite the constant travel, the trip was quite leisurely, with Luo Fan chatting with the girls in the sleeper berths.

Until they reached Kansas...

That night, several hundred kilometers away from the Colorado outskirts train station, Luo Fan and the girls lay in their sleeper compartment after having dinner, chatting idly, eating snacks, and occasionally glancing at the scenery outside the window.

"Commander, would you like some?"

Negev, who was in the lower bunk, handed Luo Fan a bucket of popcorn, and Luo Fan reached out, grabbed a handful, and stuffed it into his mouth.

Because there were few tickets and they wanted to make everyone's seats as close together as possible, they chose to sleep two people on one bed, compressing the space as much as possible to the inside. Although it was a bit cramped, given their size, lying on their side was not a problem.

Luo Fan kept flipping through the news, trying to find any information that might be useful, while AR18 and 74M, who were in the same room, closed their eyes and rested on their beds.

Not long after, Eleanor opened the door and came in, quickly jumping onto Lofan's bed and nestling in his arms like a little bird returning to its nest.

74M was awakened by the noise, looked up, and silently pulled the door back closed. This guy, he ran off in such a hurry he didn't even close the door...

Luo Fan understood and hugged her, casually asking, "How's it outside? How far is it to the next stop?"

“It seems we’re not far,” Eleanor murmured, enjoying his embrace. “We should arrive in about twenty minutes, but judging from the reaction in the first carriage, something seems to be wrong.”

"question?"

Luo Fan looked up at the car door, feeling puzzled. Everything had been normal the whole way, so what could be wrong?

However, this explanation caught the girls' attention, and they were instantly wide awake, sitting up in bed and looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Negev, shall we go take a look?" Luo Fan asked, peeking out.

She had just finished her popcorn, put on her shoes, and was about to leave: "Alright, I'll go for a walk outside."

However, upon opening the door, she nearly bumped into something: "Ouch, really, why are there so many people..."

He touched his nose, closed the door, and went out.

Through the car window, Luo Fan could roughly see the location of the train station, but strangely, not only the train station, but also the surrounding residential areas were completely dark, with almost no lights visible.

The situation is indeed somewhat unusual...

He still remembers the outer ring of Colorado under strict control; although there were no pedestrians, the lights weren't completely off...

No, that's unlikely. The news didn't mention this at all...

He withdrew his gaze and silently hugged Eleanor tighter in his arms.

Seven minutes later, Negev hurriedly returned to the private room, looking nervous, as if something unexpected had happened.

Luo Fan immediately poked his head out and asked, "How is it?"

“Not good…” Negev sat on the edge of the bed, opened the Coke he hadn’t finished and took a big gulp: “I just went to the front of the train and saw Alpha and the meter officer there. The conductor said that they couldn’t make any contact with the next station at all. Something is very wrong.”

After speaking, Negev looked up and asked, "Commander, do you think it could be...?"

Luo Fan certainly knew what she was referring to, but the existing evidence was still insufficient to support this conjecture. At least before getting on the bus, they had not received any news, nor had there been any reports in the news, which should not be the case.

Luo Fan's face darkened: "Let's take a look first, and then we'll talk about it when we get there."

We need to see it for ourselves before we can figure out the next steps. The plan was to arrive in Colorado and then enter the quarantine zone via Williams' private route. If something goes wrong, they might have to rely on themselves for the remaining hundreds of kilometers...

As the lights inside the carriage grew brighter and the view outside the window became increasingly blurry, Luo Fan knew that they were about to enter the station. As he had seen a few minutes earlier, the station was pitch black, completely devoid of any lights, and there wasn't a single person in sight.

Something's really wrong, why is there no one here...?

Thinking of this, Luo Fan couldn't sit still any longer and jumped off the bed: "No, we have to go out and check. There's something wrong with the station."

Without any questions, the girls quickly dressed and followed Luo Fan out of the private room. As they entered the corridor, they discovered that a large number of passengers were crowded in the aisle, seemingly also wondering about the situation inside the station.

Just as she arrived at the car door, Luo Fan encountered MG4 and the Hunters.

Upon seeing Luo Fan, MG4 immediately greeted him and then said, "Commander, the tank commander is also unsure of the situation. We may have to go out and check it out ourselves later."

“Yes, if we can’t contact the station, the vehicle can’t continue,” the hunter added, her index finger, now hooked into a ring, hinting at her thoughts to Lovan.

"Okay, let's go out and have a look together later, with the other people."

Upon learning that the girls were also heading towards the carriage exit, Luo Fan was prepared to go inside the station with the other passengers to check the situation, at least to find out what had happened and why it was so quiet.

At the same time, the bus's loudspeaker began broadcasting: "Dear passengers, due to unknown reasons, this bus is unable to contact this station and cannot confirm any abnormalities at the station. Therefore, please disembark temporarily and continue your journey to Colorado only after confirmation."

"Om..."

As the train conductor's magnetic voice rang out, the train door opened, revealing an eerie darkness to everyone...

P.S.: I suddenly realized I really like Elene. When I write Arknights, I'm considering making her one of the main female characters (or maybe one of them).

510 Crisis

Luo Fan took a deep breath, then popped a mint into his mouth and led the girls downstairs.

Even some of the bolder passengers cautiously entered the station and began to explore the area as quietly as possible.

Logically, when trying to confirm if someone is there, one should shout to seek a response, but now no one dares to make a loud noise. Rather than exploring, they are more like mice that have entered the kitchen, afraid of causing some unnecessary disturbance.

"what happened......"

Other passengers had already raised questions, but Lofan and AR18 went a step further, groping around on the seats in the waiting area and searching in the dark with flashlights.

Luo Fan frowned and patted AR18 on the shoulder: "Does it smell fishy?"

"Indeed, I could smell it as soon as I got off the bus."

AR18 casually picked up a baseball bat from the ground and walked slowly beside Luo Fan.

For Luo Fan, the smell wasn't very noticeable; he only became aware of it when a draft passed through the room.

When they looked up, the Disruptor and Scarecrow were not far away, waving to Luo Fan, indicating that they would be going deeper into another area.

Lovan responded with a gesture, and then continued to explore the nearby area.

Before long, passengers began to disembark on the platform. Since the explorations of their predecessors had not yielded any useful answers, their courage naturally grew. Although there were no results, at least there was no danger.

With more people around, the noise and disturbance naturally increase...

Although no real threat was posed, the noisy crowd that started as soon as Luo Fan got off the bus was quite unpleasant to him, as he was used to a quiet environment, and it further fueled his suspicions.

"That's impossible, how could there be no one here..."

Luo Fan scanned the surroundings with his flashlight but found nothing unusual. Some passengers had already started heading towards the stairs, apparently intending to go directly to the ticket area to leave the station.

Luo Fan didn't pay much attention to it. Anyway, their destination wasn't here. The most important thing was to figure out the situation here first.

Meanwhile, the architect and the surveyor followed the departing passengers, intending to take the opportunity to further investigate the station's condition.

"Let's go, let's follow them and see if we can find any clues just by staying in the station."