Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

——Well, let’s think on the bright side. This isn’t a first-tier city. Maybe Londinium is a good choice?

"Excuse me, everyone. I just received some potentially troublesome intelligence." Noya pushed open the door and spoke to the operators still playing cards inside. "The drugs Rhodes Island supplied to the Kochi County factory may have been deducted from the workers' quotas in violation of the agreement. I want to investigate the whereabouts of these withheld drugs—"

"Withholding medicine?" Although the people stationed at Rhodes Island seemed nonchalant, they immediately became serious after hearing Noah's words.

"Is the intelligence accurate?"

"I heard on the streets of Kouqiu County that anyone from Tara can only get half or even a third of the medicine. I think this is enough to constitute a violation of the agreement, right?" Noah said. "Although I can't guarantee its accuracy, I think it's sufficient as a basis for investigation."

"It seems you heard it, didn't you?" Outcast said with a smile. "Alright, I'll make the decision and allow the investigation. I trust your ears and your judgment."

After all - having just experienced Noah's hearing, Outcast had reason to believe that what Noah heard was likely to be the truth.

"Now that there's work to do, let's not just sit there. Since the drugs have been withheld, we can't just keep piling them up. We need to investigate nearby warehouses or the black market. There has to be a way to sell the stolen goods. The drugs can't just disappear out of thin air." Outcast clapped his hands. This elite operator indeed had a convincing charm once he got serious.

"Also, contact the main ship. If we find evidence of drug withholding, we can lodge a formal protest. It all depends on the decision of Dr. and Dr. Kal'tsit." Outcast also asked the stationed personnel to contact Rhodes Island, and she herself—

Outcast has always been a man of action.

Chapter 6: Smashed

When Horn and Bagpipe arrived, Triangle and others had already finished the battle. Although it was called a battle, it was not a big problem for this elite team. Although they were few in number, they were not girls who could be easily bullied. They quickly organized a counterattack. In the end, the army seemed unable to handle the situation in a short time and had to choose to withdraw. When Horn and Bagpipe arrived, the three were already cleaning up the battlefield.

"Captain... we're fine. They probably just launched a exploratory attack, and when they realized we were tough, they gave up." Triangle reported a little embarrassedly, seeing the hurried looks of Horn and the others. "But we didn't capture any of the enemy members... They appeared and disappeared too suddenly."

"I'm glad you're all okay. It's my fault for letting you find a place to rest anywhere. We are not safe now. Although Xiaoqiu County is still under the jurisdiction of Victoria, it is hard to say that there is only one living voice. The Ghost Army is like this... Including the military here, they are not on the same page with us." Horn was relieved only after confirming that no one was injured. She could only give an answer that was not quite an answer to their reactions.

There is no way. The enemy is in the dark and I am in the light. It is no exaggeration to say that the Horn Squad is now completely under the enemy's surveillance.

It seems that camping on the outskirts of the city was a wrong decision in itself.

However, this also allowed Horn to confirm that this strange army was in Xiaoqiu County.

"Captain...what should we do?" Bagpipe looked at Horn, somewhat bewildered. "It seems like everyone in Xiaoqiu County hates us..."

"That's not true. Our stance doesn't make us their direct enemies," Horn sighed. "The military simply doesn't trust us from Londinium, and the civilians simply don't trust the military. In a sense, our only enemy is the Ghost Army, and our goal remains to expose the truth about them."

"...Captain, what if the Ghost Army...is related to the people?"

"...That would be the worst-case scenario."

The team members looked at each other and fell into silence, but there was not much they could do now.

"Bagpipe, before you came here, didn't you say you planned to look for acquaintances of the suspect and conduct the investigation through them? I'll allow you to conduct a solo investigation, but I still need to find the person actually controlling this place, Colonel Hamilton. We can't remain passive. As for the rest of you, be careful. Someone must keep watch while you rest. This place is no longer safe."

After giving them the order, they split up into three groups again. The triangle, snare drum, cello, and others had to find another place to camp. At least not in this area where they were easily attacked.

They have realized the seriousness of the matter. This group of ghost troops will directly attack the Victorian regular army like their own. In other words, this group of ghost troops is likely no longer ordinary "terrorists" but an organized rebel force.

This is not a funny thing...

The only one who was in a slightly better mood here was probably Bagpipe. She still felt that maybe everything was not so bad. As long as they talked nicely, everyone would be friendly. So she kept her composure and came to the street where Damian's funeral was being held. As soon as she came to the street, she felt the vigilant eyes around her. Her uniform seemed to make these people feel uneasy. Their eyes were filled with anger and confusion.

It's like Bagpipe came here just to mess things up...

People were whispering, and although Bagpipe could sense it, she remained calm and walked forward to greet them.

"Hello—" She had just started to speak when the man in the hat who had been communicating with the woman turned and left, leaving the woman alone in her place, feeling dejected. Bagpipe could only turn his head to look at the woman and raise his hand again, "Um... hello?"

She even used honorifics and spoke in a cautious tone, fearing that she would scare someone away again.

"Excuse me, do you know Barry...uh, Damian Barry's family?" Bagpipe asked. As soon as the name was mentioned, the woman immediately began to shake her head. However, Bagpipe knew that she must be lying.

After all, they had just sung the same song as Damian Barry. "I think I'm in the right place. I heard you singing."

"I... I don't know what you're looking for, but Damian's mother and sisters don't know anything." The woman knew she couldn't hide it, so she could only answer carefully, fearing that her answer would bring more trouble to Damian's family, who were already in trouble.

"So, does he have any very close friends, or people who work with him in the warehouse?" Bagpipe asked, but her question seemed to scare the woman.

"...We don't know anything, really." Her voice was trembling, and it was obvious that she was terrified. Bagpipe scratched her head. Did she really look that scary now?

Later she realized that the military uniform she was wearing might be the culprit. She wanted to show her friendly side and move closer, just like she would move closer to friends, hoping to physically close the relationship, but this trick...probably didn't work here.

The woman who saw the bagpipe approaching was so frightened that she almost collapsed to the ground, "Oh... please, don't catch me..."

"...Ah? Sorry...Did I get too close? I don't mean to hurt you. My captain also said that I don't have a sense of distance..." Fengpi hurriedly distanced himself again, explaining as he did so, "You seem afraid of me. Is there something on my face?"

"...No...nothing." The woman shook her head quickly. "Well...if you'll allow me, I have to go home. There's still a lot of fruit left from this morning. If I leave it alone, it will rot quickly."

"...Huh?" Fengdi, who had worked on a farm in the past, knew that no fruit would rot if not touched in the morning. This was obviously just an excuse, but she also knew that it was pointless to continue asking.

Fortunately, after the woman escaped, she quickly found a new target that she could potentially contact.

It was Captain Kelly, who seemed to be explaining to a woman at this moment. His expression was sincere and his tone was a little uneasy.

"Clena, I just want to see you. I want to know if you and Fiona are okay..." He was obviously a middle-aged man, but he acted like a child who had done something wrong, without any of his previous smooth demeanor. "Yes, it's my fault, but... I can't help it."

He seemed to be being questioned, as if all his energy had been drained away. He could only weakly defend himself, "Of course I remember, I remember everything. Damian... is my nephew. I watched him grow up. The day I was transferred back to Hill County from Peninsula County, he personally placed the wood sorrel on my hat. He was so young back then... I..."

Captain Kelly closed his eyes in pain, and everything in the past came to mind.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said this to you..." Captain Kelly seemed to have given up on explaining. "You're right... I haven't done anything right. I'm too embarrassed to come back here." Captain Kelly's words were filled with a deep sense of powerlessness. "Damian got involved with that group of people, and I didn't have time to dissuade him... I couldn't disobey the colonel's orders. Besides, I had to do this... It's all for Little Hill County. I love you, and I love this city... I can't just stand by and watch these people tear our home apart."

—Clena, I'm not asking for your forgiveness, but... I can't please everyone.

I can't do it... Clena, my sister.

But before he could finish his words, he was bumped head-on by a child and stumbled. He lowered his head and wanted to ask the child if he was hurt, but when he lowered his head, he saw only hateful eyes.

"traitor……"

"..."

"traitor!!"

Captain Kelly was speechless, but the child had already been pulled away by the woman next to him. She looked at Captain Kelly in horror, her eyes full of panic, fearing that if she was too slow, the child would be taken away by her on the spot.

…He closed his eyes in pain and forced himself to turn away.

He lowered his head and didn't meet anyone's gaze, including the bagpiper who was hurriedly walking towards him.

"Wait a minute, Captain!" Before Bagpipe could catch up, a Victorian soldier suddenly appeared and shouted at the people attending the funeral. "What are you all doing here? Go home! I told you not to gather on the street during this time!"

The soldier's words seemed to have finally ignited the powder keg, and some people had already turned their angry gazes on the soldiers.

"This is our home, we are not the ones who should leave!"

"...Who's so fearless as to dare to speak like that?!" The soldier immediately turned his head around viciously, only to be hit by a head of rotten vegetables. This rotten vegetable finally brought out his anger, "Come out here! You Tara scum! Look at me..."

Bagpipe was too busy chasing Captain Kelly. If this continued, there would be another conflict between the civilians and the army. She quickly stepped forward and used the strength of Vayvan to press down the military crossbow in the soldier's hand. You know, this kind of crossbow can really kill people. "Don't raise your weapons against the civilians, we are soldiers!"

"Who are you?" The soldier looked at the military uniform on Bagpipe and his attitude softened slightly for a moment.

"Ah... I have military orders and am here to investigate the case."

"Are you here to investigate a bar murder?" the soldier asked doubtfully, but this question only made Bagpipe even more confused. "What bar murder?"

"These scumbags killed several of us." The soldier pointed at the angry crowd, "Every one of them should go to jail!"

"Damian Barry?" Bagpipe opened his mouth and said the name of the suspect he had caught with a little disbelief.

"Yes, I heard that he has been executed. So, you were the one who caught this man? Very good, thank you." The soldier's words could be said to have ignited a powder keg, but Bagpipe had not yet reacted.

"We didn't know it when we arrested him... Could he really be a member of the Ghost Army? Uh, never mind..." Fengpipe felt that his brain was not enough, "Anyway, we can't attack the civilians."

"Who cares if they're from the Ghost Corps or not? They deserved to die anyway." The soldier at least gave Bagpipe some respect. "That's fine. No gatherings allowed. Anyone secretly organizing any kind of gathering will be treated as a suspect!"

Before he could finish his words, a rotten white radish nearly hit him in the face. "You...shit!"

"Don't... don't be impulsive. These people are just here to attend the funeral. They are not a mob. It's human nature to mourn when someone dies. This is not an illegal gathering." Bagpipe had just tried to persuade them, but these people had already heard that Damian was captured by Bagpipe and had listed her as a target of attack. What greeted her was a rotten potato... It had turned green and was quite smelly... Well, at least it wasn't a waste of food.

"Haha, you see, it's no use for you to speak up for this group of people. They are just a mob." The soldier sneered. "You can stay here as long as you like. I'm just ensuring law and order. I'm leaving now. Enjoy yourself."

The soldier who was hit by the rotten vegetables quickly turned around and ran away. With the bagpipe there, it was obviously impossible for him to take action. If he just stood there, he would be buried by the rotten vegetables sooner or later.

"Huh?!" Fengdi looked at how smoothly this person ran away. It was obvious that this was not the first time. Fengdi could only hide from the rotten vegetables while complaining, "At least don't throw away the good ones and don't waste food. I'm leaving first!"

She ran a few steps and was pulled by Jenny, who had been watching her in the alley for a long time, "This way——"

"Eh?!" It turns out that ordinary people cannot pull a Vaifan like a bagpipe. Fortunately, Jenny is also a Vaifan. When the two Vaifans, one red and one yellow, ran away, ordinary people really had no way to do anything and could only watch the two people disappear from their sight.

When the two Vaifans saw that there were no pursuers, Jenny breathed a sigh of relief. "Here, this handkerchief is for you. Wipe it well, otherwise the smell of rotten food will linger for a week."

"Thank you!" Bagpipe took the handkerchief gratefully, but Jenny didn't think she had done anything good. After all... she had just seen Bagpipe stopping the soldiers from taking action.

"No need to thank me. I do want to thank you. If it weren't for your help, there would definitely have been a more serious conflict just now." Jenny waved her hand. "But I also admire you for having the guts to come to this neighborhood in your military uniform."

"Ah?" Bagpipe lowered her head and found her military uniform. Then, thinking of the treatment of the soldiers before, she immediately understood why that group of people treated her so badly.

"So it's because of the uniform?!"

"...So you don't know that people here don't like soldiers very much?"

Chapter 7: Class is about to start

"I've only been here for a short time, how would I know..." Fengpi complained helplessly, "Ah... I don't even know where I can wash clothes."

"Although the military camp is fine, I have a better place to go." Jenny said with a smile, but after hearing Jenny's words, Bagpipe finally reacted.

"Military camp? Are you a soldier too?"

"Ah, can't you see?" Jenny scratched her head a little embarrassedly. "I'm just a ceremonial guard. My daily job is to take out the flags, iron them, and hang them up. It's nothing special."

"But why are the honor guards here now? Are they taking a break today?"

"Ahem, I ran away secretly... I didn't dare to wear the uniform."

"...I understand." Bagpipe thought about his own fate and felt that if Jenny had been in uniform, the result would probably be similar to his. Those people were definitely trained, and their accuracy in throwing food was comparable to that of a grenadier. Every hit hit a target. Just now, when he was running away, he was hit on the butt a few times. Fortunately, he had thick skin, but his clothes suffered. "Well... do you know of any places to shower besides the barracks?"

"Then come with me." Jenny didn't think Bagpipe was a bad guy, so she simply dragged Bagpipe to the nearby Rhodes Island office, opened the door and shouted, "Is the bathroom empty? My friend needs to use it."

"It's empty." Noah, who was sitting in the office, didn't even raise her head, but she also heard the collision of equipment on Fengdi's body, and knew that the other party should be carrying weapons. However, with Kuro there, let alone weapons, even if she came with a siege crossbow, it would probably be of no use.

"Thank you—" Fengpi thought Noah was the person in charge here, and nodded to Noah. It was not until Jenny pulled her into the bathroom that she whispered a reminder, "Sister Noah can't see you, please be careful."

"Oh... I see." Bagpipe realized that Noah had been in a wheelchair. Doesn't that mean he's blind and disabled? That's a bit tragic. Jenny pushed Bagpipe into the bathroom and told her to wash off the smell of rotten vegetables. Bagpipe didn't have any spare clothes. Luckily, Noah had just bought some clothes, and since they were about the same size, the only difference was the armor on his chest, so he could still wear them.

So after washing herself clean, Bagpipe took off her military uniform and changed into a more casual dress.

The good news is that it was cleaned in time, so there was no smell of rotten vegetables. The bad news is that Bagpipe felt a little empty in his chest.

Fengdi, who always thought she had a good figure, felt for the first time that she was bullied by her figure. She couldn't help but look at Noah's bust a few more times. Logically speaking, Noah looked about the same age as her. Why did she, who was considered the best among her peers, lose in such a place?

"Let me introduce you to Sister Noah, an operator from Rhodes Island." Jenny enthusiastically introduced the two friends she had met over the past two days. After Noah arrived in Xiaoqiu County yesterday and shared the intelligence with the people there, the people stationed at Rhodes Island began to get busy. Noah was asked to look after the house, perhaps as a form of care, given her mobility issues. "Sister Noah is an official Rhodes Island-employed operator, very capable."

"Rhodes Island?" Bagpipe nodded, a bit dazed. It sounded familiar. It must be a powerful organization. "Hello, Bagpipe, from the second squadron of the Victorian Storm Commandos. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you." Although he knew that the other party was from the military, Noah did not dislike the girl in front of him. How to put it... In his perception, he could more or less distinguish certain characteristics of the person in front of him.

For example, for someone like Bagpipe, her first reaction was - is this kid a little bit purely scary?

No, as for whether she had military aura, she did. She could sense the incredible strength and unwavering adherence to orders hidden within her. But what emanated from her was a simple, unpretentious quality, a bit like Kjerag's. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her a country girl. Such pure people were rare. Noa understood why Jenny had brought her here the first time they met.

So she smiled and said, "Ms. Bagpipe, ah... this should be your code name. It's okay. We in Rhodes Island like to use code names too, right? Kuro?"

"It's just you. I haven't joined Rhodes Island yet." Kuro said, "Soldier...Vaivan, I'm a little interested."

"Don't be interested anymore. The last person who interested you avoided you after you beat him up." Noah sighed. Kuro had said before that he was interested in Sharp, and it seemed that they even practiced for a while after the incident. As a result, Mr. Sharp came to her to complain about Kuro, saying that this person caused an avalanche on the mountain and refused to give up, so Sharp was chased out of range by the avalanche and Kuro.

Although Noah didn't see this scene, he had a strong sense of the picture... Perhaps Noah should have reminded Mr. Shrap that this guy was bored and went surfing in the avalanche. Avalanches are not a problem at all. Noah also believes that with training, Mr. Sharp may be able to move freely in the avalanche. However, the situation of being chased by the avalanche and Kuro was too shocking, and even the good-tempered Sharp couldn't help but come over to complain.

"Eh? Miss Kuro is interested in me..."

"It's mainly because she rarely sees Vayvan, and Jenny said she wasn't good at fighting—so she's got her eyes on you." Noah sighed. "Besides Jenny, the last time she saw Vayvan, he was indeed very powerful, but he was now the head of Rhine Life's security department, so she fought with him, but in the end, the outcome was a draw. I guess seeing that you're Vayvan and a soldier, she got itchy."

"Eh—" Fengpi looked at Kuro and shuddered inexplicably, "Forget it... I don't think I can beat you."

"...What a shame." Kuro shrugged. She'd met very few Vaifans. Right now, Fengpi could even be ranked second on the Vaifan list, with the first being, of course, the security director, Saria, whom she'd met earlier. It was rare to see a capable Vaifan, and she was indeed itching to fight.

The lower limit of the Vaifan race is too high. As far as Noah knows now, they are just a group of hexagonal warriors. Not to mention top figures like Saria, the bagpipe in front of him is actually not weak.

The siege spear in her hand was a weapon beyond the reach of ordinary people. While Fengpi was in the shower, Noya curiously studied it—both the projectile and the loading mechanism. The material itself was fine, and it was incredibly heavy, making it impossible for the average person to wield it easily. As expected of Victoria, whose mechanical prowess was considered Terra's strongest, the weaponry was truly unique.

It is said that the prototype of this city-breaking spear is the weapon of the legendary Steam Knight. Noah is very curious about how powerful the so-called Steam Knight is.

After all, this legendary type of soldier has been extinct in Terra for many years.

"The Second Storm Commando... I don't think I've heard of them either. Did they just come to Xiaoqiu County recently?" Jenny beside her was also a little curious. "Ah, if it's a secret, then there's no need to tell me."

"It's not a secret. I'm simply following the captain to investigate a case. The so-called Storm Commandos are actually just a special tactical team, no different from ordinary soldiers." Bagpipe quickly waved his hand and said, "We're from Londinium."

"Londinium! I haven't been there yet. It must be much larger than Little Hill County, right?" Jenny asked curiously. "Does the Shard really have more than 300 floors? Is there really a teleportation array buried in the mountain beneath the Royal Academy of Sciences that leads to the Miracle Dimension, where the treasure of the first King Drake is hidden?"

"Ah? Treasure? Why have I never heard of it?" Bagpipe scratched her head. She was indeed from Londinium, but she had never heard of any of the legends Jenny had mentioned. "However, I do know what a high-speed land warship looks like when it leaves the factory, and I've seen a hydroponic plant workshop... If you want to know about that, I can tell you."