Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

"Where was he taken?" After the horn's question, there was a long silence, followed by a sneer.

"Where did he go? Haha... He has already... Already gone home."

"Go home?" Bagpipe was even more surprised. "He was acquitted? He really has nothing to do with the Ghost Corps? Captain - didn't we get notified?"

"Let me in." Hao Jiao planned to go in and question the prisoner. After all, he was the one she captured. It was too unreasonable for him to disappear suddenly like that. Whether he was released or executed, she needed to at least be there to listen. She came here to do this, but she heard this kind of news.

She couldn't stand—

"You are not allowed to communicate with the prisoners without permission--" The guard firmly stopped in front of Horn, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

"Then I want to see Captain Kelly. Move over, soldier! I know he's here!" Horn wanted to know what had happened. Why did the person she brought in disappear? This was beyond her tolerance, and the person who appeared in front of her was the adjutant Hill.

"The captain left on an urgent matter. He's not here." Hill looked at the two men gloomily, his tone unkind. "He asked me to tell you that the interrogation ended an hour ago."

"You..." Horn and Bagpipe realized almost at the same time that they had been fooled, but in the face of their anger, Hill smiled indifferently.

"This was a work error on my part, but miscommunication is common everywhere, isn't it?" Hill waved his hand. "I'll write a self-review. Is 800 words enough? If that's not enough, you can complain about my work attitude and I can increase it to 1,800 words."

"Are you taking us for fools?!"

"As for this... I can reserve my opinion." Hill shook his head, but soon, another soldier hurried over and whispered a few words to Hill. Hill nodded and turned around.

"Lieutenant Scamander, I have been ordered to inform you of the following: the prisoner Damian Barry, the one you were so concerned about, was killed ten minutes ago while attempting to seize a weapon and attack a soldier during transport."

——Executed privately without trial.

Horn has guessed the truth, and someone is deliberately trying to eliminate those who know the truth.

Although they belonged to the same military of Victoria, it now seemed that the garrison had their own ideas and were not on the same side as Horn and others.

Rather than being angry, what Horn needed to think about more was that the clues were broken - how to continue the investigation now.

Anger...anger cannot solve everything.

Only by finding out the truth can we seek justice for the dead.

While Bagpipe and Adjutant Hill were arguing, the horn's communicator rang. It was the sound of the team member Triangle.

"Captain! We're under attack."

"It's the Ghost Army!"

-

"I see. So you got lost on your way to find the Rhodes Island main ship and ended up in Victoria?" When Noah and Kuro appeared outside the door of the Rhodes Island office in Kochi County, an exciting card game was going on inside.

Outcast, who had just arrived like them, quickly became friends with the local office operators. Ms. Jenny, the flag bearer of the honor guard who often came to the office to slack off, was also among them. Although she was not a Rhodes Island operator, she was already very familiar with the people here. She looked more like a part of Rhodes Island than the genuine Rhodes Island operator Noah.

"I don't know why this happened—" Noa scratched her head sheepishly. "Maybe our sense of direction is too poor. But luckily, there's a Rhodes Island office here too. We'll rest up and then return to the main ship."

"That's not necessary," Outcast explained while playing cards. "The Rhodes Island ship is heading towards Victoria, or more precisely, towards Londinium. You can wait here until Rhodes Island arrives."

"Huh?" Noah was a little surprised. "Why is Rhodes Island coming to Victoria?"

"The official statement is that we were invited by the Duke of Caister—" Outcast explained. "The less official statement is—you'll have to ask the doctor."

"Is that so... So we've stumbled upon something?" Noah nodded. "Then we should wait a little longer. I didn't expect to end up in front of Rhodes Island—I'm already wondering if we missed Rhodes Island because we were exhausted."

"That's possible. Many people get disoriented in the wilderness." Outcast threw down a card. "I heard about your situation from the doctor. You're quite promising. It's a shame you're not a Sakota, otherwise I could teach you a few tricks."

"Ahaha..." Noah smiled and shook his head. "I've never touched a firearm before, so even if you offered to teach me, I wouldn't be able to cooperate with you, right?"

"There's a Sakota here. Getting firearms shouldn't be a problem, right?" Outcast pointed at himself. "But your situation... well, it's quite unique. We'll talk about it later."

Outcast paused, taking a sip of the milk tea beside him. This tea, also prepared by Miss Jenny, was rich and fragrant, with just the right amount of sweetness, perfectly suiting the Sakota palate. The Sakota had a penchant for sweets. Rutland's sugar imports alone were said to be three or four times the average. This was the people of Rutland, this was the Sakota people, a devoted sweet tooth.

"Ms. Noah, Ms. Outcast, would you like to try the pie I baked?" At this time, Ms. Jenny, wearing oven gloves, brought out the fragrant traditional Victorian dessert from the kitchen.

——You can insult Victoria’s recipes, but you must never insult the desserts that Victoria inherited from Gaul.

This is the consensus of most people. Victoria's desserts are world-famous.

Originally, Outcast just came to check out the situation and pick up a few reports before leaving, but he found the atmosphere here surprisingly good, so he simply sat down to take a break and play some cards.

She is a very traditional Sakota with an extraordinary love for laziness and sweets, and she also likes to blend into the harmonious atmosphere and be part of it.

She spun the card between her fingertips. The thin piece of paper spun three and a half times on her fingertips and then disappeared.

Jenny and the others still playing cards were utterly shocked by this scene. Outcast's impressive display immediately caught everyone's attention. "How did they do that?! Is this some mysterious Sakotan Originium technique?"

"Stupid, it must be the mysterious space-time Originium technique. I've heard that those elite operators are so elusive because they can teleport!"

"How is that possible? Have you ever seen a sorcerer who can teleport?"

The Rhodes Island operators were in an uproar, and Jenny asked curiously, "Where did that card go?"

"It's on the back of her hand," Noah said from the side. "Ms. Outcast simply held the card between her fingers where you couldn't see it. It shouldn't be visible on the front."

"Oh?" Outcast didn't expect that his little magic trick would be seen through by Noah. This magic trick was very useful in many places, but this was the first time it failed, and in front of a blind man.

"It seems like you know more than I thought." Outcast looked at Noah curiously and asked, "Did you...hear that?"

Chapter 5: Getting to Work

"Hmm..." Noah nodded, "I heard the sound of your fingers transferring the cards..."

Noya had no intention of hiding this fact. Rather, she relied on this ability to locate objects by sound for a living. Without this training, she would have a very hard time living a normal life. There was nothing to hide.

"Amazing!" As a Sakota, or rather a Sakota who wields firearms, she understood the importance of excellent sound and positioning abilities. In complex skirmishes, a teammate with sharp ears always gives you the upper hand, and in skirmishes, the first to strike defeats the second. She couldn't help but glance at Noah a few more times, then turned her hand behind her. Indeed, she grasped the card between her fingers, seemingly vanishing it.

But this was just a simple magic trick, nothing extraordinary. However, Noah's hearing ability really surprised her.

Outcast gave Noah a meaningful look, then said, "I came here in a hurry, so I only brought some ordinary gin. I added an excessive amount of lemon juice to suit my taste, so it might be a little sour for you—"

"Sorry, I can't drink." Noah waved his hand quickly, "For health reasons...so..."

"It's a shame, life without being able to drink is a huge loss," Outcast said with a smile. "But we really shouldn't drink during work hours. Let's all drink the milk tea Miss Jenny prepared for us. It's absolutely delicious, and it would be even better with some lemon juice."

"If you add lemon juice... the milk will clump, so..." Jenny scratched her head awkwardly, "I guess that won't work, right?"

"Is that so? What a shame." Outcast was clearly a lemonade fanatic. Upon hearing Jenny's words, he could only shake his head regretfully. "Forget it, everyone, let's continue playing cards! Do you need some blessings from Sakota?"

As Outcast turned back to playing cards, the invisible pressure on Noya finally dissipated. As Outcast stared at her, she felt like she was being targeted. Perhaps this old angel was also a rare master. The Sakota—a race skilled in the use of firearms. Noya still remembered meeting another legendary Sakota in Colombia.

Bridge clamp——

He single-handedly created the legendary Sakota of Black Steel International, Bridge Jacket Reeve, a legendary mercenary and a legend in this industry.

Black Steel International and Noah have actually always maintained a very friendly relationship. He and Jessica, the eldest daughter of Thor Industries, are also friends, but they only met briefly that year and there has been no response since then.

I don't know why, but Noah remembered this incident after seeing Outcast. It might be because besides Sakota, the only few who can use firearms are Black Steel International. Speaking of Black Steel International, he naturally thought of Jessica.

If Noah was to talk about the pressure the other party put on her, she could only compare him to Mr. Cliff. After all, she rarely encountered Sakota, and she didn't know what level of expert Outcast was among the Sakota. But since he was an elite operator of Rhodes Island, she would just treat him as a friend.

After all, Noah felt threatened by him...

It's the kind of threat that can take your life at any time if they want.

Outcast was probably more surprised than Noah. As the former Cardinal of Lateran, she had seen many outstanding young people, but it was extremely rare to find someone like Noah whom she couldn't see through. Her vision had always been good, and she could probably tell the other person's ability and level at the first sight, but this didn't apply to Noah.

Outcast, however, felt a sense of...discomfort.

It was as if his observation was blocked by something. There seemed to be something on Noah that was preventing him from getting to know her more deeply, preventing him from peeping, and even making him feel that it would be dangerous if he continued to observe her.

She trusted her intuition very much and chose to give up observation for the time being. After all, there were not many people who could pose a threat to her.

Maybe Noa... or something behind her counts as one.

Noah didn't come here to watch the Rhodes Island members slacking off. After learning about the situation in Kochi County from Operator Shredder, the first thing she thought about was finding a place to stay and replenish resources, especially fuel. She might not have to worry about food in her car, but she would definitely worry about fuel.

Not many of those bandits would carry fuel with them, so it was already an exceptional performance for the vehicle to reach Xiaoqiu County.

After leaving the office, Noah and Kuro bought all the supplies they needed on the street. They also helped Kuro to adjust his equipment and change into a set of suitable clothes.

Fortunately, although Shelag liked to take advantage of his acquaintances and force people to work, he still paid them generously. Noah now had just as many Lungmen coins as when he first left Casimir. After exchanging some for Victorian pounds, it was more than enough for him to buy so many things.

The spokesperson's outfit he'd worn had been left behind in Casimir. He'd always worn thicker clothes in Kjerag, but now, in Victorian territory, he'd changed into a Victorian-style outfit. Of course, it wasn't some restrictive evening gown; Victorian clothing was actually quite conservative and old-fashioned, and Noah had chosen something more convenient and accessible.

Noah himself was too lazy to think about it so much, and instead prepared a suit close to men's clothing for Kuro - there was no other way, Kuro didn't like those light little skirts anyway.

According to Kuro, it would only affect the speed at which she could beat people.

Well, for Kuro's situation, a short skirt would only drag her down. Noya had also accepted Kuro's natural born suit-wearing thug.

With a suit, gloves and a mask, some people would probably believe that Craw is now a super agent - after all, Victoria has a famous movie series called Bond 009.

Complaints aside, after finding a place to take a shower and change clothes, Noah finally felt a rare sense of refreshment. It was as if Kuro's clothes were picked by Noah, and Noah's clothes were Kuro's work. Now Noah was all white, probably to match Noah's wig.

But at least it was comfortable to wear—Noah didn't bother to worry about whether it looked too light or not.

After changing their clothes, Noah and Kuro originally planned to leave, but sometimes, sensitive hearing may not be a good thing.

"Damian was also captured? How could this happen..."

"They won't return him to us. They'll just kill him, burn him to ashes, and scatter them outside the city like a handful of worthless dirt."

Then came the sound of a woman sobbing, and in her words there was not only anger but also despair.

"First it was Lori, then Chris, and now they haven't let Damian go either. Granny, when Sean was captured, they all said he had oripathy..."

"Don't say any more, Ronan. Sean... he just accidentally got sick. He's a hardworking, honest man. His only wish is for us mother and son to live a better life..."

"Granny, don't you understand yet? We are just rivets. If we rust, they will certainly discard us without a care. But even if we don't rust, as long as we are no longer suitable for this city machine, the only fate we can expect is the same. They never care whether we are contracting oripathy in batches!" The man's voice became more and more angry.

"Of the medicine distributed by the factory every month, other workers get all of it, but we often only get half, or even a third. And how long has Sean been wearing the protective suit? Five years, or seven years? How many times have you secretly patched him up in the middle of the night?"

"—All the laws, all the standards, are only in their favor! And what about us!?

We deserve nothing more than to eat the potatoes and rotten apples they don't want, even if every inch of farmland is soaked with our sweat! We deserve nothing more than to waste our lives working day and night in the factory, and when we can no longer work, we'll all get sick, just as they wish!

If this continues, they can easily throw all of us Tara people out of our city!"

Tara people...

Noah heard a familiar term. When she was studying in Colombia, there were some scholars who studied Victorian history. The Victorian Empire itself was composed of three kingdoms: the Kingdom of Victoria, the Kingdom of Tara, and the Kingdom of Lower Gaul. As for the Kingdom of Tara... it seemed that no one had mentioned it for a long time.

But the people here call themselves Tara people...

Noah keenly sensed that something seemed to be happening here, and it was probably related to the conflict between the local people and Victoria. According to what he had just heard, the people here, the group who called themselves Tara people, were suffering from discrimination similar to that of the infected, and they believed that the main purpose of this discrimination was to drive the Tara people out of their land.

It sounds like...it always feels like a hassle.

Noah sighed. Every family has its own problems. Whether it was Casimir, Victoria, or Kjerag, he always seemed to encounter some troubles.

"Noah?"

"Hmm? What's wrong, Qrow?"

"I feel like you're in a daze."

"No, I just heard some... troublesome things. But it has nothing to do with us. We're just staying here." Although Noya heard all this, she really had no right to help the Tara people here. Moreover, she didn't know the full story. Even a saint wouldn't be so saintly. Helping the Tara people based on just one person's words? Who are you? A god or an emperor?

Noah felt that neither was the case, he was just an ordinary tourist.

She had no obligation to care, nor could she care - but she was very curious about where the medicine of the people of Tara had gone since it was withheld.

This is the scope of Rhodes Island Operator's investigation, right?

Noah pondered for a moment and said, "Let's go back to the office. There's something I want to investigate."

"You...want to meddle in other people's business again?"

"No, I'm just doing what I can do." Noah quickly shook his head. "Don't make me sound like I'm nosy."

——That's right. Rhodes Island is responsible for the anti-infective drugs in Xiaoqiu County. Since the drugs delivered by Rhodes Island are used for purposes outside the agreement, it is understandable that they conduct their own investigation.

Noah quickly found a reason to intervene, but still denied it.

"Besides, I'm just going to check on the situation. It won't be a problem, right?"

"You say that, but wasn't it the same thing with you in Kjerag? You went there as a tourist and ended up being mistaken for a saint." Kuro sighed and complained, "You'll have a hard time like this."

"...Gu." Noah was speechless, but after Kuro finished complaining, he still pushed Noah's wheelchair in another direction, "Forget it, after all, I am your bodyguard."

"hey-hey--"

Noah knows Kuro too well. As long as he wants to do something, she will just complain a few words at most and will still support him.

After all, he and she had been together for so long that Kuro could basically tell what Noya was up to with just a frown. However, Noya also knew that there were limits to what she could do. Ultimately, she was just a tourist, a Rhodes Island operator at best. She couldn't interfere in Victoria's internal affairs, let alone the treatment of the Tara people.

All I can do is start with the export of medicines and try to help the people of Tara get fair access to medicines.

When she was studying in Columbia, she knew that Victoria might be one of the richest countries on earth. The people here have the best fertile land and plains, and it should be the happiest country.

But now, after Noah actually came here, he did not feel the happiness that the fertile plains brought to the people.