NIKKE, Swordmaster Ark Succubus Daily

Chapter Ninety-One: Turns Out They Were Cellmates

After making a harsh statement to Li Zuoyi, Nihilista took off and flew away.

Looking in the direction the fire dragon flew away, Li Zuoyi felt that the days ahead might not be peaceful.

Being targeted by a powerful and flying heretic is not a pleasant experience.

But hiding in the ark like a turtle isn't his style; strengthening himself during this time is the only way forward.

"I can feel that you are already bound to me. The more I eat, the stronger you will become. So let me eat to my heart's content and get stronger quickly."

Indivilla's greedy voice echoed in Li Zuoyi's mind, "I can't wait to taste dragon meat."

"You just need to do your job well, you don't need to say anything else." Li Zuoyi didn't want her to disrupt his rhythm.

"..."

"Laphi! Laphi! What's wrong?"

Li Zuoyi's face was filled with worry when he saw Anis and Nien trying to help the swaying Lhapi.

"What's wrong?" He quickly walked to Lhapi's side.

The fact that Lhabi's hair turned red earlier must have been due to some special ability; this might be a side effect.

"I'm fine, Commander." Lapi, suppressing the dizziness, declined Anis's and the Commander's offers. "I can manage, but what about Laplace..."

Thankfully, the dragon left during the 'Little Red Riding Hood' mode activation, otherwise she might really have...

Li Zuo turned around and saw Laplace, who had just been kicked away by the fire dragon, lying face down on the ground, motionless.

"Laplace, are you alright?" Maxwell and Drake went over to help her up and found that her eyes were now dull and lifeless, no longer as energetic as before.

"Darling... Commander, are you injured? Should we get a medical check-up?"

Li Zuoyi felt his arm being tightly hugged. He turned his head and saw Isabel, who had been blown away earlier.

She tucked her arms between her soft breasts, looked up at him, and her worry was evident.

"I'm fine..." Li Zuoyi remembered that his relationship with her wasn't that good.

Moreover, he seemed to sense sharp gazes coming from his own side...

Harlan, a mature woman with long, wavy purple hair, walked over and looked at Labi and Lapras, saying:

“Commander of the Ark, since we’re already here, why don’t we go to Paradise? Your Nikis seem to need a check-up.”

Li Zuo glanced at the situation of the group and agreed.

On their way to the park, Li Zuoyi learned that Isabel and her group had detected the signals of the heretics and had launched an emergency attack from the park.

As for the five Tyrant-class Lechers, they were one of the ways the Paradise attracted the fire dragon.

The park didn't expect that Ark would send someone there, and it just so happens to be Li Zuoyi.

Thanks to the rapid pace of the military's march, they arrived at the amusement park in just half a day.

It was already night, and the bright moon hung high in the sky.

"Where is Paradise?" Anis looked at the vast, flat grassland and glanced around.

"Come on," Harlan said, walking ahead and waving for them to follow.

Everyone was startled to see her take a step forward and then suddenly disappear.

They quickly followed, and after crossing a certain boundary, the scenery in their eyes changed from the boundless grassland to a dense forest.

In the center of the forest stands a towering glass obelisk, and below it, in the woods, there appear to be various other buildings.

Under Li Zuoyi and his companions was a flat brick road leading directly to the obelisk.

Li Zuoyi saw John, dressed in an old-fashioned military uniform, standing in the middle of the road, seemingly waiting for him.

John said, "Long time no see."

"Long time no see," Li Zuoyi said. "Could my Nikis go for their check-ups first?"

He was still quite concerned about their current situation. Lapi was doing better, but Laplace hadn't said a word since they started walking.

“Harlan, take him to the medical room. Cecil is already waiting,” John said. “Isabel, after the examination, take him to the prepared room.”

Harlan nodded, and Isabel reluctantly let go of Li Zuoyi's arm, then left with Harlan and the others.

“Let’s go,” John said to Li Zuoyi. “I’ll take you to your room to rest.”

On the way,

“You were once the commander of Ark, weren’t you?” Li Zuoyi had noticed that his uniform was the style of Ark from decades ago, and asked, “Why are you here?”

“The reason is very old-fashioned.” John didn’t want to talk too much about such meaningless topics. “He was simply framed by his superiors, then locked up in a reformatory, and finally escaped with the help of a senior colleague.”

He tapped his chest, producing a dull metallic sound, and said, "When I escaped, my body was riddled with holes. In order to survive and to one day see my ideals realized, I replaced my body with machinery."

"ideal?"

"My dream is to reclaim the ground."

"Truly remarkable. Even after being betrayed by Fang Zhou, he still thinks about helping Fang Zhou reclaim the ground," Li Zuoyi exclaimed in admiration.

“It wasn’t for the Ark, but for humanity,” John said. “Back in the rehabilitation center, I also loathed humanity and even wanted to destroy the Ark, but the senior who helped me escape changed my twisted mind.”

When John said these words, Li Zuoyi could see the respect and admiration John had for that senior.

“That senior was quite famous… though a new generation commander like you probably wouldn’t know him,” John said with a hint of regret.

Regarding the Goddess Force and the first commander, Ark has been trying its best to downplay their influence.

By John's generation, those who knew about the members of the Goddess Force were all elderly.

Now, more than a hundred years later, even the top management of Ark probably don't remember it.

"Who is that senior?"

Li Zuoyi was also in the rehabilitation center at the time and knew many people, so he couldn't help but be curious about who it was.

“You probably don’t know his name, but he has an even more famous identity.” John clenched his fist and placed it on his chest, filled with admiration as he said, “The original commander of the Niki unit—the Goddess unit. The Ark’s commander system was established from his time. You probably don’t know his achievements, so let me tell you. First, his debut battle…”

"..." Li Zuo stared at John, who was talking incessantly about his deeds, and memories of the past surfaced from the depths of his mind.

No wonder I felt a sense of familiarity when I saw his face and heard the name John.

So you were my cellmate across from me back then.

Li Zuoyi sighed at the impermanence of life. He thought the little boy had died long ago, but he was surprised to find that he was still alive and fighting to reclaim the land.

Chapter Ninety-Two: It's all her fault!

Li Zuo listened to John recount the heroic deeds of the first commander all the way until they reached the door of the room, at which point he reluctantly stopped talking.

“This is where you’ll be staying,” John said. “I’ll give you a detailed introduction to the park tomorrow. Oh, I was just saying…”

Li Zuoyi quickly raised his hand to interrupt him, saying, "Sorry, I'm tired today and want to rest early."

"Ok."

John looked somewhat disappointed; these kinds of topics probably weren't easy for him to discuss with Niki and the others at the park...

No, maybe it's been said many times already.

Li Zuo entered the room, which was spotless. The white bed was made, with a change of clothes on it. There was a small desk next to the bed, and above the desk was a round window offering a view of the woods and the night sky.

Exhaustion gradually crept into his body. Li Zuoyi spent some time washing up and was about to go to bed when he heard a knock on the door.

He thought it was John, but when he opened the door, it was actually Anies.

"Oh~ Commander, did you just take a shower?" Anis asked, noticing the commander's wet hair.

"Hmm," Li Zuoyi said, "Why did you come here?"

"The examination is over. Except for Lapi and Laplace, who are undergoing detailed examinations, all the others have returned to their rooms. But Commander, don't worry, Lapi and Laplace seem to be fine."

Anis peeked into the commander's room. "I'm concerned about the commander, so I came to check on him. May I come in?"

“Okay.” Li Zuoyi let her in.

Anis looked around and said, "Oh, it's similar to our room."

"So……"

Li Zuoyi was about to say that he needed to rest, but Anies spoke up first: "Actually, I have something I want to say to the commander."

Niki's mental health also needs to be monitored... Li Zuoyi closed the door, sat on the edge of the bed, and asked, "What's wrong?"

After closing the door, Anies became visibly reserved, but she still patted her face and her expression turned serious.

"commander!"

"Well, I'm here."

Anis closed his eyes and cried out, "I will protect the Commander until the very end! Even if the Commander is no longer the Commander, I am willing to go anywhere with you! So please don't try to leave alone like you did during the day! I'm greedy; I want the Commander to stay by my side forever!"

Anis had a premonition that if he hadn't stopped him, he would have chosen to go with Nihilista and never come back.

She might survive, but she'll live forever in regret and pain.

Although it sounds selfish, she would rather die protecting him than become a burden to him.

So, what happened today really frightened her, and she has been feeling anxious and uneasy ever since.

If she didn't tell, she probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

Li Zuo was taken aback by the sudden revelation of his true feelings, then smiled and said, "Um... can I take this as a confession?"

He had expected Anies to blush and deny it, or stammer and change the subject, but to his surprise, she sat down next to him, looked up at him, and smiled as she said, "Yes, this is my sincere feeling, without a trace of falsehood."

"Um……"

Seeing the commander deep in thought, Anis panicked a little. "It's okay if you don't reply or refuse. I just want to tell the commander what I've always thought."

The commander is gentle; he goes on dates with Niki, gets angry when Niki is insulted, and protects her... but that doesn't mean he will accept Niki.

"Niki fanatics," people in the Ark would say, mocking those who harbor desires for Niki.

It's understandable that he would have some concerns...

Faced with Anies' confession, Li Zuoyi was not unaware of her special behavior towards him in the past.

As a man who loves mountains and plains, Li Zuoyi had no reason to refuse the opportunity to climb a peak.

Li Zuoyi's response was simple: he pinched Anis's chin and gently lifted it. Anis understood his meaning, her cheeks flushed, and she closed her eyes.

The atmosphere grew increasingly intimate, but just as he was about to kiss her, there was a knock on the door.

"Uh……"

"Uh……"

Li Zuoyi and Anis looked at each other, somewhat helpless.

"I'll go open the door..."

As Li Zuoyi stood up, Anis pulled him back and whispered in his ear, "Tell him you've already rested."

How could such an important moment be disturbed!

“I can hear you, Miss Anies.”

Isabel's voice came from the doorway.

That woman!

Anis got angry when he heard her voice.

Her haste to confess at this time is also partly due to this woman; despite being an outsider, she's still getting so close to the Commander…

Now...

It's all her fault!

Anis angrily went to open the door and said irritably to Isabel standing there, "What do you want?"

Isabel looked at the furious Anis and said, "When I checked the room, I found that Miss Anis was not here. I'm here to tell you to go back to your room and rest."

"Are you a dormitory supervisor at a boarding school?!"

Anis realized that she had come to cause trouble on purpose.