Arknights: Studying medicine can't save Terra

Manfred shook his head decisively:

"No need. We absolutely cannot clash with Qi Yan now, but... I think I still have to go there."

"Lord Mudrock, please remain on the city wall. I will arrange for others to assist you."

“Okay,” Mud Rock readily agreed.

Soon, Manfred arranged for a Sarkaz squad to be deployed.

"You shall fully assist Lord Mudrock in his work and are forbidden from leaving your posts for any reason. Even if the Duke's army attacks, you shall prioritize the protection of Lord Mudrock's retreat!"

After giving his instructions, Manfred quickly left the city wall.

Walking down the street, Manfred turned to look at the mercenaries following him.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, deliberately trying to get rid of them:

“Go and gather your men. If you truly value your leader, my suggestion is to risk going to the Blood Demon Court or the Shapeshifter Court and reveal Qi Yan’s whereabouts to them.”

"I understand..."

After only a brief hesitation, the Sarkaz mercenary nodded in agreement and quickly turned to leave.

After the man left, Manfred looked away and gazed at an alleyway beside him.

A guard of the pardoner slowly emerged from among them.

"It seems General Manfred really values ​​that mercenary leader," the pardoner guard said sarcastically. "Logically speaking, we should abandon Hadley now."

"Hedley controls most of the mercenaries in Lontinim. If something happens to him, it will cause some chaos within the Sarkaz."

Manfred said coldly, "I suspect this is probably Qi Yan's main purpose in finding Hedley, so we must stop him no matter what."

"Of course, your distrust of Hadley is also part of Qi Yan's calculations. Even if Hadley was originally loyal to the Sarkaz, if he is abandoned in the face of crisis, it's hard to guarantee he won't choose to defect."

After hearing Manfred's analysis, the pardoner's guards let out a series of cold laughs:

"What if Hadley already harbored ulterior motives?"

“Then we must prevent him from meeting Qi Yan!” Manfred retorted without hesitation. “Hedley has also come into contact with a lot of information in Lentinium City. If it is leaked, it will be very detrimental to the situation.”

"...I will report this matter to higher authorities."

Manfred left with his last words and hurried past the pardoner's guards toward the Hadley house.

The pardoning guard watched Manfred's departing figure silently, his fingers tightening around his weapon, but eventually loosening again.

“Manfred, not just Hedley, you’d better not betray the Sarkaz either.”

When Manfred rushed to the front of Hadley's yard, he suddenly hesitated.

"No signs of combat... No, Hedley Ben was powerless against Qi Yan... Has Qi Yan already left?"

Determined to witness some gruesome scenes, Manfred pushed open the yard gate and went straight to the door.

Without hesitation, he pushed the door open.

The villa was empty; there was no one there, only a large number of messy footprints on the floor.

Manfred's heart sank.

He knew Hedley; this guy had a mindset completely different from most Sarkaz, not only enjoying reading but also meticulously cleaning his house.

Passing through the messy living room, Manfred ignored the bags of leftover snacks scattered all over the floor and held his breath as he searched the house.

The restaurant was empty.

The bedroom was empty.

He even checked the restroom, but no one was there.

Finally, Manfred's gaze fell on a closed door.

That was the study, and also Hadley's favorite place to spend his days.

The door was gently pushed open, and Manfred saw Hedley's familiar back and heard an unfamiliar laugh.

"Hehehe, U-chan's reaction is really interesting, let's cut it out."

"Tsk, who is this guy with the ID 'I am Originium Bug'? It was clearly a great opportunity for entertainment, so why is he saying it was a disaster!"

"Oh, I remember that. I saw it when I was browsing through old videos, from the Ironman Grand Prix."

Manfred's expression gradually changed from serious to blank.

What happened? Who am I? Where am I?

An illusion? When did I fall for it?

Just as he was bewildered, Hedley successfully cut a slice, took off his headphones, and got up to stretch.

The moment Hedley turned around, his eyes met those of Manfred standing in the doorway.

Silence, only silence.

After an eerie silence lasted for several minutes, Manfred finally spoke in a hoarse voice:

"What are you doing?"

“…Slice U-chan.”

"What is that thing?!" Manfred could no longer contain himself and roared out.

"Hmm, this is a way to increase traffic for online streamers, through..."

"Stop! I want to ask you why you're doing this!"

Hedley was speechless.

Are you suggesting that if I don't show U-chan's live stream clips, you'll get blown up by the city's defensive cannons?

Who would believe such nonsense?

Seeing Hedley remain silent, Manfred gritted his teeth and asked, "Where's Qi Yan?"

"After packing up all the kitten egg rolls, he also took a huge pile of rotten garlic and left," Hedley replied.

"What is he going to do?" Manfred's tone gradually became dangerous.

He would get really angry if Hadley couldn't give him a satisfactory answer.

Fortunately, this time Hedley actually had an answer.

"Qi Yan said he was going to perform an exorcism, with the kitten egg roll as the prelude and the rotten garlic as the trump card," Hedley said in detail. "He also said he wanted to find the best cosplayer in Londinium and have him dress up as Kal'tsit and dance in a maid outfit."

He also said he wanted to find his brother-in-law and father-in-law, whom he referred to as his uncle, and claimed he would help them transfer some novel bloodline power they had never encountered before.

Manfred's eyes widened.

He seemed to understand, but he felt like he didn't fully comprehend it.

Chapter 586 Entering Londinium

The sky was overcast, obscuring both the sun and the moon.

But the immense power of celestial motion cannot be obscured by clouds.

As dusk falls, the land uncontrollably surrenders to the embrace of night.

On the walls of Lentinium, lights were lit one by one, illuminating the surroundings for the patrolling Sarkaz warriors and bringing a desperate glimmer to the Lentinium city defense troops who were forced to work overtime.

Mudrock arrived at the breach in the city wall that he had repaired during the day, carrying a Sarkaz.

"Lord Mudrock, is there anything else here that needs to be checked?"

The team leader stepped forward and inquired.

"I'm just here to chat with my friends."

Mud Rock crouched down and gently stroked the soil filling the gap: "This is the closest point on the city wall to them. This city is too high, so high that I can hardly hear their voices."

The Sarkaz looked at each other, unable to understand the friend Mudrock was talking about.

But their experience during the day was enough to prove that this was their reason.

The soil friends that Mud Rock mentioned do exist; they can always tell Mud Rock where there are gaps in the city wall.

The Sarkaz did not disturb the mudstone's quiet conversation with its earth friends; they simply stood respectfully by.

Unbeknownst to anyone, a troop was quietly approaching the breach in the city wall under the cover of night.

Shuiyue used her Mirror Flower Water Moon ability to create an illusion that enveloped everyone, allowing them to blend perfectly into the environment under the cover of night.

A channel silently opened up in the soil at the breach.

On this hundred-meter-high city wall, a tiny crack, barely wide enough for one person to pass through, seems so insignificant that no one could notice it.

After the doctor and his group entered the passage, the soil was filled back in, leaving no trace.

Pure darkness enveloped the team.

No one panicked; everyone pulled out their tactical glow sticks and groped their way forward in the dim light.

"This is it. If we carve a tunnel downwards, we can enter the underground pipes of Londinium."

Vina, taking advantage of her local background, measured the distance with her footsteps, then took off her hammer and prepared to start working.

The roar of the chainsaw began.

"Hey, leave this kind of thing to me, the expert in tackling tough problems."

Huang started his chainsaw and excitedly stepped forward, ready to show off his special skill.

Everyone was terrified by the buzzing chainsaw and clung tightly to the mud walls in the narrow passage, afraid of being scratched by the slightest mistake.

The doctor huddled close to Amiya, repeatedly reminding her, "Be careful, don't make too much noise."

"Don't worry, Doctor, I'm a professional!"

Huang grinned and stabbed the chainsaw downwards.

"Fester, what are you going to do with that Felin named Mandra?"

Lolo specifically called Fester out of the Self-Rescue Army camp and asked him for his thoughts with a serious expression.

In response to Lolo's question, Fester gave a wry smile:

“What can I do? She’s Qi Yan’s man, and even Klovesia has agreed to Mandela’s existence. We have to trust Klovesia; she’s the commander of the Self-Salvation Army.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust Clovisia,” Lolo said, somewhat troubled. “It’s just that Mandra doesn’t seem like a good person. Her attitude is always so condescending… even somewhat hostile towards us.”

"But she's Victorian too, isn't she?"

Fester reassured them, "Mandra is also one of our compatriots. In the current situation, we must unite all forces that can be united to fight against the Sarkaz."

Mandra is very strong; her only weakness is that she's too emotional, but with Qi Yan's orders, she won't attack the Self-Salvation Army.

"I don't think it's emotional, but rather incredibly stupid. Besides, why do you trust Qi Yan so much?"

"It's not that I trust Qi Yan, it's that I have no other choice."

A hint of helplessness flashed across Fester's face.

But he quickly suppressed this barely perceptible emotion and mustered his energy again:

"On the bright side, Mandra's involvement also brought a lot of useful intelligence to the Self-Salvation Army, such as the Storm Commando team that was preparing to attack the prison."

"We can't trust them too easily yet; what if it's a trap?"

Lolo remained vigilant and said, "Tomorrow, Old Bill and I are going to receive the intelligence that Goldin is sending back. If there's an opportunity, I'll try to contact the Storm Commandos, and then we'll wait for Klovesia to make a decision."

"Yes, thank you for your hard work," Fester nodded.

Lolo was about to say something more, but her cat ears suddenly twitched, and she asked in confusion:

Did you hear anything?

The two stopped talking and listened attentively to the sounds around them.

The underground world of Londinium is always filled with all sorts of sounds.

The friction of machinery in operation, the clatter of gears turning, the rustling of liquid flowing through pipes...

But this time, in addition to these familiar old friends, there is a new sound source that has never appeared before mixed in.

"It sounds like something is digging through the soil and rocks... Hmm? It's getting closer!"