Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

"Alright, alright, I'm fine." Noah smiled helplessly, "It was just an accident. I'll set up a new observation point on the coast and try to find a safe place."

"No, this is absolutely my fault... I led Haisi here. It was like this before..." Skadi had completely lost her naval prestige. It was hard to imagine that she was the same person as she was back then. But Noya had grasped the key point: it had been like this before, indicating that something similar had happened before.

"About what happened to you before... If you don't mind, can you tell me about it after you go back?" Noah decided to start with this matter. After all, it was not Noah's style to let the benefactor who saved him continue to be emo like this.

Building a good relationship with Skadi would be beneficial, after all, she would definitely establish a cooperative relationship with Agor in the future, and if she could build good relationships with more people, she would have more partners. In short, it was a matter of great benefit and no harm.

Isn't it just being a confidante? I'm familiar with this. When I was tutoring Maria, I learned how to keep children from being emo. Compared to adolescent girls, Skadi should be...

Well…not reassuring at all.

Noah sighed helplessly. Fortunately, the other two had returned at this time. Obviously, today was not a good time to practice swimming and diving, so they could only return to the original camp.

The camp did not encounter any major problems just because a few people left for two hours. Everything was running smoothly. No one even noticed the few people who had changed their clothes and returned. The appearance of Yanfeng City now can be said to be very different from before.

At least there was light in the eyes of the people passing by. Although the previous explosion caused some panic in the camp, fortunately, Noah's speech was effective and stabilized people's hearts. Naturally, at least on the surface, stability could be maintained.

But as for private matters...Noah can't guarantee it.

The few people who had just experienced a fierce battle returned to the mobile house and took a shower first. They had just soaked in the sea water and their bodies were covered with salt. If they didn't take a shower, they would feel uncomfortable all over. After taking a shower, Noah returned to work.

In order to prevent the previous incident from happening again and to keep everyone as safe as possible, Noah set up several cameras and sentinels on the coast. The sentinel robots provided by Director Ferdinand came in handy again. It has to be said that Director Ferdinand's level in designing and manufacturing robots is indeed at the top level of Rhine Life.

Whether it is plowing the land or serving as sentry, these robots are very competent, no wonder they have received unanimous praise from the security department.

After calming down, Noah also discovered some suspicious points. Before going into the water, Skadi went ahead to explore whether there were any sea snakes nearby. According to Skadi's experience as a deep-sea hunter, the possibility of this area entering a sea snake should not be high, but sea snakes still appeared.

Either this matter was leaked, or...

Noah suddenly remembered the dream she had that day, which was described by Prisseth as a deep dream. She had a guess: could it be that Hai Si was coming to find her?

Because he received the signal from the Deep Blue Tree?

Or……

Although Skadi said it was all her fault, Noah would definitely not think so. After all, there was no relationship between her and Haisi. The moment she received the signal from the Deep Blue Tree, a vague connection had been established between her and Haisi.

Moreover, the sea creatures are also creations of the previous civilization. In other words... there is no reason for these sea creatures to hurt themselves.

The Black Light Virus, which is also a creation of the previous civilization, was set up so that it would not harm the people of the previous civilization. According to the habits of the people of the previous civilization, Hai Si is likely to have this underlying setting as well.

From this point of view, the other party is most likely not here to hurt me, but... has other purposes?

As a half-pre-civilized person, Noah had to think so.

Thinking of this, Noah's ears suddenly moved, and he raised his head and said, "Mace, I have something for you to do."

Jian, who was standing by, understood. This was one of the tacit understandings between the two. When Noah said this, it meant that he wanted to be alone. Jian immediately nodded and left. Not long after Jian left, Skadi at the door quietly poked her head out from behind the door.

"Come in, Mace won't be back for ten minutes." Noah let Skadi go into the room first. "We have ten minutes to be alone. Are you here to explain what happened on the beach?"

"...I guess so." Skadi shrank her head, but still mustered up the courage to walk in. Miss Killer Whale has powers beyond ordinary people's imagination, but she also has a sensitive heart that ordinary people should have. It is not easy for her to say these words.

"I will bring disaster." She began, "If I bleed, Hai Si will smell my blood and come to me. When I am on land, my companions are often injured because of this. So..."

"...When operating on land?" Noya tilted her head. "Can Haisi appear on land?"

"Although they're not as powerful as those in the ocean, sea urchins can live on land. They just prefer a humid environment. I'm the same way." Skadi used an analogy. "I don't know how they caught up with me, but I have to explain this to you."

"Disaster... does it refer to Haisi?" Noah seemed to be lost in thought. She remembered what Gloria had told her about Skadi's past before she left. She was the protagonist in a battle to kill gods, and she successfully killed the gods.

The spirit of the sea...

Noya suddenly had an idea, so she beckoned Skadi to come closer to her, then reached out and pressed Skadi's... chest. Before Skadi could speak, she explained, "I need to get close to you and feel it, don't move."

It was only after Noah's warning that Skadi did not retreat out of shyness.

Noah closed her eyes and used her ability to carefully feel Skadi's heart. In addition to shyness and uneasiness, she seemed to have caught something... something... existed in Skadi's heart.

Or rather... parasitic on Skadi.

——Come on, it turns out I’m not the only one possessed by a female ghost!

Chapter 14: Ulpian

There is another consciousness in Skadi's body.

If it weren't for Precious, she might not have realized it, because this consciousness was hidden very deeply and could not be sensed without special means...

It's like it's hidden in the deep sea. Fortunately, I had suspected it a long time ago, and because of Prisseth, I have a certain understanding of how this kind of thing hides. Only then did I realize that there was such a big treasure hidden in Skadi's body.

Moreover, this consciousness is most likely the spirit of Hai Si that Skadi destroyed with her own hands.

Rather than successfully killing Hai Si's spirit, Skadi had perhaps taken control of it. It was Hai Si's spirit that had actively attached itself to Skadi's body, like a parasite, existing deep within Skadi's consciousness. This attachment felt similar to how Prissus had attached himself to her, affecting her consciousness and spirit. If Herhunzoron hadn't helped her isolate Prissus's consciousness, she would have been transformed long ago.

...Thinking about it this way, Precious has really been watching me closely, just like a child staring at a cake through a layer of glass.

"What's wrong? Are you thinking about me?"

"No, there's no need to show up at a time like this."

Noah mentally complained about the sudden appearance of Precious, but since she had already come out, Noah casually asked. "So what exactly is inside Skadi?"

"The Haisi spirit's devotion... essentially, it can only be directed at things within the same system." Prissus didn't mind giving him a little extra, since they had an agreement. "Perhaps they could surgically implant Haisi cells into the human body to enhance their health. In fact, similar methods existed in previous civilizations, but they proved ineffective."

Precious guessed, but her guess actually coincided with Noah's. Indeed, considering the Deep Sea Hunter's exaggerated record and his connection with Kaiji, it turned out that this kind of transformed warrior could not escape the fact that the enemy and I were of the same origin. This reminded Noah of the special effects movies she watched when she was a child.

However, correspondingly, if the transformation uses the flesh and blood of Hai Si, then the status of the deep-sea hunter may be lower than Noah thought.

But this has nothing to do with her. No matter what the status of Skadi or Gloria is, it has nothing to do with Noah's intention to help them.

What's more... considering today's situation, Skadi can be considered his savior.

"Is there any way to solve this?" Noah asked curiously, "Can this be counted as customer benefits?"

"Are you addicted to freeloading?" Precious was speechless. While she did need Noah's help with the Deep Blue Tree Project, that didn't mean she could buy anything for free. But then Precious thought: the creature hidden within Skadi might also be a hidden danger. In a sense, they really needed to cooperate.

"Okay, this is the last time I'll help you for free." Precious nodded. "Since this condition is caused by the implantation of Haisi's flesh and blood, then you just need to remove the Haisi part of his body. Just use your simple nanorobots."

"Nanorobots? Do you mean transmitters? But the deep-sea hunter's surgery is special. Wouldn't it be risky to randomly clear out the sea cells in his body?" Although Noah thought this was a good idea, he also considered the risks of the transformation surgery itself.

"I've considered your concerns, but this is the only safe way to remove Hai Si right now," Precious said. "Unless you can obtain a treatment chamber from the previous civilization, he's just a parasite. How can he possibly help you remove the effects of the transformation surgery?"

"A treatment chamber? Can Skadi recover as long as there is a treatment chamber?" Noah asked curiously, "Then where can I..."

"Forget it. Most of the treatment chambers are damaged, including the one in the Preserver Project. If there's any that can be used, it's probably on Rhodes Island," Precious said. "That means the one in the Doctor's place is probably the only one that can be used."

"...Then I'll contact Rhodes Island and apply for Skadi's use?"

"Of course, but I must remind you that the treatment chamber is essentially for pre-civilized humans, not for cats and dogs like you. No one knows whether there will be any risks." Prisseth also gave a special friendly reminder, "Of course, my only contractor is you. If nothing happens to you, it has nothing to do with me."

"...I understand." After finishing the conversation with Priss, Noah let go of his hand and looked at Skadi who was still anxious.

"I discovered something within your... body. Don't worry, nothing will go wrong for now. It's just that resolving it is risky, as it's already become a part of you," Noah said carefully. "My personal suggestion is to seek help from Rhodes Island first..."

Although Noah's words were very tactful, it was obvious that Skadi was still somewhat shocked by the strange thing in her body. However, she soon realized that it was not Noah's fault. She quickly said, "Can you keep this a secret for me?"

"Of course, I won't tell anyone," Noah promised. "But are you planning on hiding this from even Gloria?"

"...If the Second Captain asks me to tell you, I will." This was the only response Skadi could give to Noya's concerns. "But for now, I want to keep it a secret."

"Okay." Noah knew that this kind of thing was not easy to say out loud. After all, the idea of ​​having another person inside of you could be called a horror movie. Noah, in particular, could relate to it.

"It's okay, Skadi." Noah tried to comfort the obviously frightened Skadi. "So far, there's nothing wrong with you. I checked you out, and that consciousness hasn't affected you. As long as you maintain your current state, she shouldn't have a chance."

"I know, I know everything. I just... I need some quiet time." After confirming the ticking time bomb in her body, Skadi naturally found it hard to accept. However, no matter how hard she tried to accept it, it was the truth. Noah had no reason to lie to her. Skadi had a considerable degree of trust in Noah. "Let's keep today's events secret for now. I'm leaving now."

Noah could only watch Skadi leave the mobile home and disappear into the night, and sighed silently.

Mace returned to Noah's side almost immediately after Skadi left. Looking at her expression, she knew that today was probably not a good day, but she didn't ask much, just stood silently beside her.

Noah thought for a moment before speaking.

"...Sometimes, there are things that are beyond our control..." Noah sighed, "I can't solve Miss Skadi's problem... She just helped me, but I'm helpless in her difficulties..."

Noah couldn't make up his mind about either neurotransmitter therapy or the treatment chamber, as both were extremely risky.

She even thought of the nameless harp, but the emotions in her hands could not be used as currency. If she forced herself to play the nameless harp, she would consume her own vitality.

On the other hand, tonight the moonlight is like water, and Gloria is sitting alone on the reef.

The sea breeze gently rustled her long hair. Her eyes looked cold and indifferent under the moonlight. She just sat there, as if forgotten by time.

She is waiting for someone.

Soon, a cold man appeared in her sight.

He approached over the waves like a shadow, his steps steady and his eyes etched with subtle vigilance. His presence was like a phantom in the night, silent and unnoticeable, yet carrying an undeniable menace. The two men stared at each other in the moonlight, their eyes intertwined, as if they had exchanged several silent exchanges. Time froze in this moment, and even the waves seemed to still at their confrontation, as if afraid to interrupt this long-awaited encounter.

However, this tranquility was short-lived. Suddenly, the movements of Glacetia and the man went from extremely still to extremely dynamic, transforming into two phantoms. Their figures, illuminated by the moonlight, cast long, distorted shadows that danced with their movements.

Their weapons clashed, clashes dozens of times in a single instant, each impact accompanied by a dull thud that echoed in the silent night air. Throughout the fight, their expressions remained impassive, as if the outside world's clamor had no bearing on them. They were completely absorbed in each other's every move, each transition between attack and defense flowing as smoothly as if they had been rehearsed countless times. However, neither Goletia nor the mysterious man held back, as if they were dealing with a mortal enemy.

As the two of them were crossing each other, they suddenly separated. Gloria was slightly inferior and landed beside the reef.

"You've regressed, Goletia," the man said coldly, dropping the anchor in his hand. "Has life on land made you slack?"

"Ulpian, I'm surprised you actually found my signal." After Gloria discovered her team members' weapons that day, she knew that in addition to Laurentina and Skadi, there was at least one deep-sea hunter on the move. In order to prevent this guy from showing up, Gloria left marks in various places and waited here every night.

Sure enough, hard work pays off, and she finally found someone who could understand the Mark of the Deep Sea Hunter—

However, she hadn't expected the opponent to be Ulpian. You know, the two teams that carried out the most dangerous missions were Team Two, responsible for attracting the enemy's attention, and Team Three, responsible for the killing mission. As a result, Teams One and Four didn't survive, but the most dangerous Teams Two and Three actually had some members left.

I don't know which one is more dangerous...

"I didn't expect you to come see me—I thought you'd already died in Hai Si's lair," Goletia said. "Tell me, Ulpian, why did you lose contact during the mission? I thought you were dead, but apparently—you're still alive. You should have been helping Skadi complete the mission, not suddenly losing contact."

"I don't think I have any obligation to tell a person of my level everything." Ulpian said in a low voice. "What do you want from me?"

"...Huh, it's been a while, and this is all you can say?"

"The Agors are united, we are connected by blood. To achieve our shared goal, I have chosen to exile myself, nothing more." Ulpian's words remained cold, but he didn't leave immediately. Instead, he waited for Goletia's inquiry. "Or perhaps my goal is the same as yours—I, too, am searching for that ship."

"Fool, in that case—you should rejoin the team. Only by working together can we find our way home faster," Gloria said. However, after she said this, Ulpian did not respond immediately. The masked man stared at Gloria for a long time before speaking, "Are you planning to have me travel with you, now that you smell like sea urchin?"

"Temporarily collaborating with the enemy isn't surprising. If you were in my shoes, you'd make a similar decision." Goletia and Ulpian knew each other too well, leading to their interactions being incomprehensible to many. However, one thing was certain: there was an uncanny trust between them. "If you're going to continue acting alone, you need to give me a reason."

"It's the same as I said before—in order to reach a consensus, I chose to exile myself, that's all." Ulpian certainly didn't want to continue explaining his mission, but this was obviously not the answer that Gloria wanted to hear.

"Or you could try to use your sense of direction to escape me? You know, you've never beaten me in speed."

"Similarly, you've never beaten me in a chase over complex terrain."

Speaking of the past, the speed that Gladia prided herself on only failed against Ulpian once. In the complex terrain of the trench, Ulpian, with his excellent sense of direction, used his natural talent to successfully defeat Gladia. That was a rare defeat for Gladia, so she remembered it vividly.

The atmosphere became tense again. Both of them were captains of their respective teams. Although they had different educational principles and different requirements for their subordinates, as captains, they communicated with each other frequently. Ulpian was a taciturn person, and so was Gloria. The fact that these two people who were not good at speaking could say so much at this time was already a surprise caused by their reunion after a long separation.

Unfortunately, the two did not feel happy about the reunion, but solemn instead.

Gloria didn't know what Ulpian was looking for. According to Ulpian's methods, it would not be difficult for him to meet them. But she didn't think that he had really betrayed Agor. After all, he had recovered the weapons of her two deceased teammates. For this reason alone, Gloria actually owed Ulpian a favor.

"...Ulpian." Gloria's eyes sparkled. "Will your actions harm Agor's interests?"

"will not."

"Will it pose a threat to Skadi and Laurentina?"

"will not."

"...Then there's nothing to ask. If you need help, it's just like today. I'll check the marks at any time." Gloria turned around, and under the moonlight, her figure quickly disappeared.

But Ulpian stood there, like a stone tablet—

Deep-sea hunters, connected by blood.

But Ulpian knew that this was the last trust that Gloria had in him.

Chapter 15: Miss Killer Whale Seeds Become a Floating Lotus Seed

To be honest, Skadi's first reaction after learning that there was another consciousness hidden in her body was not fear or disbelief, but it was as expected.

She had always thought it was strange that she could kill Hai Si's god so easily. You know, she was almost fighting Hai Si's god in a duel. Even if she was as thick-skinned as she could be, she didn't think she could succeed at that time.

But she succeeded. Hai Si's spirit did not resist at all and accepted death calmly.

Or rather... calmly accepted the [predation] from Skadi.

Nothing has been the same since then.

Skadi understood that from that moment on, she had been entangled by that thing. It was also from that moment on that she lost everything again.

Trustworthy teammates, captain, master, it seemed like everything had vanished with the tide.

She floated on the calm sea. There was no Haisi, no teammates, and no one would come to her side, give her a high five, and say she did a good job.