Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

This kind of situation where a powerful dragon cannot suppress a local snake does not exist in places with strict military discipline. It seems to be the product of a situation of mutual compromise...

But Kuro was not someone who liked to use her brain, so she quickly shook her head and turned away.

She could leave the brainwork to Noah; she only needed to follow his instructions. She returned to the street, hastening her escape and returning to Noah's side. Just then, an elderly Sakota passed by. He adjusted his hat and glanced at the masked blonde woman who had just left.

"...A strange feeling..." Outcast, dressed in her Rhodes Island uniform, shook her head, dismissing the feeling. As an elite Rhodes Island operator, she hadn't come to Kouchi County to find a mysterious masked woman. However, the situation here was exactly as she'd been told. As she surveyed the situation, Huang's voice rang through her earphones.

"Outcast, are you here yet?" The other party's voice still sounded as youthful and energetic as ever, occasionally making the old angel feel that he had grown old.

"Just arrived a minute ago. Did you press a tracker on me?"

"I called you more than ten times in one night!" Huang was speechless. There had been no news from the other party. After the signal was finally connected, he actually suspected that he had placed a tracker. He was really infuriated.

"I have a bad signal in the wasteland, so don't blame me."

"...Hey, okay, let's get this straight—I'm not worried about you, it's Misery who's pushing me. I'm not worried about you at all." Huang said this with no confidence at all. Misery, who happened to be passing by, was puzzled, but under Huang's deathly stare, she tactfully continued with her own business. "You know his personality well, always worrying about this and that. If you ask me, it's not just me he's worried about, but he's even so worried about you going on missions... He's like an old man. He's definitely going to age faster than the rest of us."

"If he weren't so nagging, he wouldn't be called Misery." It's become a habit for old friends to tease each other, Outcast responded with a smile.

"That makes sense. Seriously, what do you think of this place?" Huang was quite curious about what kind of place this Xiaoqiu County was that could actually attract Outcast to come and carry out a mission. Logically speaking, this should just be a small county town in Victoria.

"—Ordinary." Outcast gave a fair assessment. It was like many third- and fourth-tier cities we'd seen. No difference, and just as lifeless.

"Could the information be wrong? There are at least a dozen cities of this size in Victoria..." Huang asked doubtfully, but Outcast didn't think it was that simple.

"If you'd read the intelligence carefully, you'd have known that the two earls were interested in Xiaoqiu County, but neither had taken any action. It was as if they were waiting for something... As for what they were waiting for, perhaps that's what we're looking for."

"...It's too complicated..." Huang felt a little bored. "Could it be that there's nothing to gain here?"

"Haha, maybe that's why." Outcast also laughed. "But the more ordinary a place is, the more suitable it is for hiding some shady conspiracy. I have a hunch that I will find something beyond imagination."

"Okay, if you need me to pick you up, feel free to let me know. I'm just about to leave for Connor County, and I'm not far from you now."

"The task of placing the infected is no easy task. Compared to your work, I'm just running errands. I might even spend most of my time drinking tea in the office."

"……real?"

"It's true. I'm already at the office." Outcast paused at the office door. "Okay, let's go here first. I'll say hello to the office staff."

"Be careful. Once you're done, go home early. Outsast, remember? You still have several new Sakota operators waiting for your shooting training class. Don't miss the appointment."

"Don't worry, they'll know how precious their study time is right now," Outcast said with a smile. "Anything else?"

"...Also, although I know it's unnecessary, Misery forced me to say this—be careful, Outcast, and I hope you have a safe journey."

"Don't worry about it, I'm hanging up."

After hanging up the phone, Outcast pushed the door open and entered the Rhodes Island office.

-

"I'm back." After throwing his things on the back seat, Kuro finally got back into the car. "This is a county town under Victoria, called Xiaoqiu County. It's a third- or fourth-tier mobile city with a medium population. Everything is normal and there doesn't seem to be any danger. However, the Rhodes Island operators still recommend that you put on some makeup before going in."

"Makeup?" Noya tilted her head. "Kuro, do you know how to do it?"

"..."

"...Taku...Okay, I shouldn't have asked you that."

Tora lowered his head again, which he had just raised slightly. It was time for him to catch up on his sleep.

"...So I have to put on my own makeup..." Noya wondered if using the Eye of God was a waste, but there really wasn't much else to do in this situation. Noya closed her eyes briefly, then reopened them with a faint glint. Time was limited, so Noya first pulled her makeup supplies from her pockets, tied her hair, and put on a hairnet. Then, she pressed the wig onto her head and put on her contact lenses—though this disguise was purely for completeness.

In less than five minutes, Noya, using the effects of the Eye of God, had completed her makeup, transforming from a long, straight black lady into a long, white-haired lady—there was no other way; one's temperament couldn't be changed in a short time. And it wasn't just her hair; she even had to wear cat ears to pass for film. After all, her own ears were black, and it would be strange for a white Kuranta to have black ears.

With cat ears on and tail hidden, Noya was finally done with her makeup. It was a bit hot and stuffy, but still bearable.

"This should be okay, right?" Noah turned to Kuro and asked.

"Hmm... I think it should be fine." Kuro looked at Noya, who had completely transformed into a white-haired catgirl, and gave her a look before nodding in approval. "No one would recognize you as a wanted criminal."

"...You can use different words to praise me." Noah was speechless, but the problem had been solved. After Noah entered the city, no one would check her appearance. She could just remove her makeup in the city.

Makeup is truly one of Terra's four great magical arts. Noa, now completely transformed, was wheeled into the inner city by Kuro with impunity. However, Tora was stopped for no other reason than that he was wearing armor and carrying weapons, making him a dangerous person. And indeed, he was right. With Tora denied entry, Noa had no choice but to temporarily keep him and the supplies in his car.

Fortunately, there is a place to stay outside the city, so we don’t have to sleep in the open.

After entering the city, Noah and the others rushed to the Rhodes Island office immediately. Rhodes Island has offices in many places, and it is simply an office maniac. What's more surprising is that the quality of the staff in most of the Rhodes Island offices is very high. They are not to be said to be well-mannered, but they are well-educated and disciplined. This left a good impression on Noah, and she also felt that the office in Xiaoqiu County was the same.

So she didn't think much about it and just pushed the door open and walked in.

"King bomb——"

"I only have six cards left!"

"You can kill me instantly? You can kill me instantly with twelve cards? I'm going to eat this table right here and now."

This was the noise inside after Noya opened the door. She immediately closed the door again. Then she was silent for a while and asked, "Did we go to the wrong door?"

"…Unfortunately, no." Kuro shrugged. "It wasn't like this when I got here, I swear."

"...There must be something wrong with the way I opened it." Noah took a deep breath and opened the door again. This time, laughter and wailing erupted from within. The laughter came from a slightly aged voice, and the wailing came from the guy who had just boasted about only having six cards. Anyway, it sounded like his six cards were stuck to his hands. I hope this table smells like chocolate.

"Hey, a guest has arrived." Outcast turned around. Sitting on a folding chair, she looked more like a seasoned cowboy than a sakta. "Excuse me, beautiful lady, what brings you to the Rhodes Island office?"

-

Bagpipe and Horn had been waiting outside the interrogation room for a long time.

"Captain, this place is so stuffy...there's no air to breathe at all."

"This is an interrogation room, it's the same everywhere." Horn held her breath and concentrated, but she was not as impatient as Bagpipe. She was used to waiting.

"...I'm not used to that either, Captain. You might as well ask Cello to come along. Her two-meter-tall stature can at least scare the other side into behaving a little better." Bagpipe complained, "I just don't like the atmosphere here."

"You're not bad either. When you punched through the iron table in front of the suspect, he almost peed his pants." Without even opening his eyes, Horn casually brought up Bagpipe's embarrassing story.

"That's because he couldn't control himself - that guy held two children hostage and was sarcastic to the families of the deceased. Captain, you were also very angry at that time, right?" Bagpipe scratched her head embarrassedly, but she also fought back.

"Did I?" Horn frowned and opened his eyes. "I remember I always followed the procedures and rules. I didn't use violence to force a confession, right?"

"You left fingerprints on the restraint device around his neck. That's when he peed his pants. Captain, you're mistaken. That restraint device was made entirely of steel. Not only was he scared, but I was also scared," Fengpipe complained. "At the time, he didn't even admit to being an accomplice. He even confessed to lifting the skirts of several girls when he was a child. I think most of this is thanks to the captain."

"This is just a necessary interrogation method." Hao Jiao's excellent Qi-cultivation skills were a little unstable at that time, but she still warned herself that if she wanted to beat him, she would do so when she got back.

"I'm not capable of this kind of interrogation technique. When I first took this course, I just barely passed. I even copied homework from Chen Chen. She's the real deal. She's a total science nerd." Fengdi sighed. This was indeed a bit beyond the scope for such a simple little village girl.

"That's just right. Our priority today is to listen in anyway," Bugle said unhappily, then checked the time.

"Oh, right... But Captain, isn't the time almost up? Why hasn't anyone come to take us in? Didn't the captain tell us the interrogation would start at seven? Could it be seven tonight?"

"Four more minutes." Ignoring Bagpipe's speculation, Bugle stepped forward and asked the guard, "Excuse me, is Captain Kelly here? We agreed to meet him here."

"I don't know." The guard answered like an iron tower, his eyes fixed straight ahead.

"Is there an interrogation here at seven o'clock?" Horn asked again, and this time she was also wondering if she had remembered the time wrong.

"I do not know."

The guard remained in his original posture and replied.

"Yesterday afternoon, a local man was arrested on suspicion of smuggling illegal Originium products. Do you know where he is being held?" Horn had frowned, but the guard in front of him was no different from before.

"I do not know."

"...Isn't this a bionic robot that answers automatically?" Fengdi muttered. "My neighbor's kids' toys all have five or six lines of dialogue..."

"..." Horn frowned. It seemed impossible to get an answer from the guard. She sighed, "Perhaps this is just a bad case of being late?"

"Eh……"

"At least he was late for our meeting."

"That's true……"

The two waited there for another ten minutes, and this time, not only was the bagpipe impatient, but even the horn felt as if it was being fooled.

"It's been ten minutes."

"I know, you reported the time a minute ago." Horn clenched his fists, feeling that half of his annoyance was caused by the bagpipe.

"……But……"

"It's just right. We have time now anyway." The veins on Horn's fist were bulging. "I want to talk to you about your performance yesterday."

"Ah? Are you planning to praise me here?" Fengdi thought about his performance yesterday. He was brave, direct, courageous, the bravest of all the troops, and had a spirit of sacrifice. Hey, he was really awesome.

"...On the contrary..." Horn gritted his teeth and uttered these four words, "Let me ask you, why did you rush towards that package when I ordered a retreat?"

"...Ah?" Fengdi was dumbfounded. Looking at the serious captain in front of her, she felt that she might be in big trouble.

Chapter 4: Disappeared

"...Captain, weren't you yelling for the others to retreat?" Fengdi hurriedly began to explain, "Before entering the warehouse, you ordered me to capture the suspect alive, right?"

"You are the original order." Horn's face was still very bad, but he still tried his best to listen to what other outrageous words Bagpipe could come up with.

"But orders are orders," Bagpipe whispered. "At the time, we all thought the suspect had detonated the bomb, right? I judged that I was the only one who had the chance to neutralize the suspect as quickly as possible, so I simply prioritized executing this order."

"What if that really is a bomb..."

"...I thought so at first, too. But think about it, I'm Vaifan, with thick skin. If I can block the shockwave, I can save the suspect's life, and you'll be safer too." Bagpipe scratched his head and smiled foolishly. "Of course, I didn't mean to say your shield wouldn't be able to withstand it, Captain... I haven't forgotten how you saved me from the high-explosive artillery bombardment of the Sargon mercenaries last time."

"...That's not what I want to say." Horn said helplessly, "If, I mean if, that package really does contain a high-intensity active Originium bomb, you might be seriously injured, get mineral sickness, or even lose your life. Orders are important, and sometimes you do have to be prepared to sacrifice yourself, but if possible, I will take as many people as I want with me. I don't want anyone to be left behind, understand?"

"...There weren't any high-specification explosives in the stolen batch of source stone products... At most, they were of the same specifications as the city-breaking bombs we used in actual combat exercises. I think I can handle it." Fengpi waved her hands quickly, indicating that she was not doing anything rash, she came prepared.

"...Your physical fitness is good, yes, Vaifan, but you absolutely cannot rely on it. And even for Vaifan, what if the enemy adds Originium crystal cluster fragments to the bomb? I've told you this countless times, right?"

“…It seems like the fifth time.”

"I think it's been ten times, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who's said that to you."

"...Ahahaha, I don't remember this very clearly--" Bagpipe tried to get away with it by pretending to smile, but Horn's expression became even more serious.

"Your smile doesn't work on me." She reached out and pinched Bagpipe's cheeks, which felt quite nice. This guy was Vaifan, so his skin should be thick enough to withstand a siege cannon, so she squeezed hard. "I'm the captain, and I'm responsible for the safety of every one of you!"

"It hurts, it hurts... Captain, I was wrong, I'm sorry!" Fengdi, whose little face was pinched, could only beg for mercy.

"When we get back, you know what to do, right?"

"Running laps? Running laps is fine... But, Captain, at least let me have dinner..."

“…”Horn looked at this guy whose mind was only thinking about food and sighed softly.

"Eat, eat, eat. How can I not eat you to death?" Life is not easy, Horn sighed. As the elite among the elite, Horn had seen every storm, but this most outstanding young warrior under his command always left her speechless. Perhaps this was just like Vaifan. Because he was so invincible, he was usually heartless, insensitive to danger, and had a strong desire to rush to the front of everyone.

——Or rather, this is just the specialty of the bagpipe.

"Ah... I don't know what to do with you, Bagpipe. You are the most promising warrior under my command. In addition to your excellent combat ability, your persistence in following orders... always exceeds my expectations."

"Of course we have to. My mother used to tell us that when we were little!" Bagpipe pointed her finger towards the sky. "A woman from Vaifan must persevere to the end! Even in the fiercest winds and heavy rain, we must harvest the wheat before it gets soaked. Precious grain will get moldy if it gets wet!"

"...I think I know where your appetite comes from." Horn held his forehead with one hand. "Forget it, no matter how I act like an instructor, you won't change at all."

"After all, Captain, you're so good-looking, you're not fierce enough at all—that glare makes me think you're really worried about me!"

"Okay, dinner will be served to you. There's no point in praising you anymore." Horn had given up and turned to look to the other side.

I don't know how much time had passed, but Horn and Bagpipe had almost run out of topics to talk about. Bagpipe even started singing a song he had heard from a suspect before.

"Hibernating mountains carry herds of wild animals~"

She thought this song was perfect for back home, so she sang it while driving the tractor. But before she could finish a few lines, a guard glared at her. She closed her mouth in frustration, and the horn beside her said, "You got the lyrics wrong."

"Ah? Isn't that a herd animal? That's a house? A tiller? A tractor?" Bagpipe couldn't remember the correct lyrics, but the guards from Xiaoqiu County should know, so Bagpipe asked, "Young man, do you know what the lyrics are?"

"You shouldn't be singing here." The guard finally said something he didn't know. "At least don't sing the songs that group sings in front of us."

“…That group of people?”

"Vaifan, are you humiliating me?" The guard frowned. This sudden hostility left Bagpipe even more confused. She didn't understand why the guard was angry. But to avoid a conflict, Horn stopped Bagpipe's questioning, even though even she found it a little strange.

Although the bagpipe singing was stopped, intermittent singing was heard from inside the detention center. That voice... was very similar to the suspect seen before.

However, this is a detention center, and all the prisoners here are serious criminals. Bagpipe only took a glance and aroused the guards' vigilance.

"You can't go in."

"I'm not going in. I'm just asking a question." Bagpipe stopped and shouted in the direction of the sound. "Hey! You can sing this song too. Do you know the guy we captured from the suburban warehouse earlier?"

"...suburban warehouse...are you talking about Damian? Poor Damian, he was taken away a long time ago." The voice inside was a little weak, but Bagpipe could hear it clearly. The person he had captured had been taken away, but the horn and bagpipe knew nothing about it.

"Eh?!"

Compared to Bagpipe's surprise, Horn seemed to have thought of something and asked.