Arknights: Studying medicine can't save Terra

"Not if I could, but if we could."

Qi Yan stared directly at the King of Carrion, his smile genuine.

Meeting Qi Yan's gaze, the King of Carrion felt a pang of emotion.

He glanced at Patriot and suddenly understood why Patriot wanted to follow in Qi Yan's footsteps.

“This is also one of the futures that the Sarkaz are looking forward to,” the Carrion King said to Patriot.

But faced with such a sentimental king of scavengers, the patriot hesitated:

"You'd better not rush."

King of Carrion Eaters: ?

Before he could react, Qi Yan sneakily approached him, grinning slyly.

"Since we're working for the future of the Sarkaz, you can't just do nothing, can you?"

"Can I borrow your walking stick for a bit?"

Chapter 634 The Doctor's Twists and Turns

The atmosphere between the three of them froze as Qi Yan finished speaking.

The King of Carrion gripped his cane tightly, suddenly feeling an urge to jump up and whack Qi Yan on the head with it.

Since he became the ruler of the Sarkaz court, for thousands of years, no one has ever dared to set their sights on his staff.

Seeing that the King of Carrion had fallen silent, Qi Yan chuckled and said:

"It's a bit of a waste for you to have this thing. I know two little girls named Reed and Himer, and they're really good with this cane of yours."

"……I can not understand."

The King of Carrion subtly shifted his cane behind him: "I have never given this cane to anyone else."

Seeing how much he treasured his cane, Qi Yan pouted somewhat listlessly:

"If you don't want to give it to me, then don't. I've seen this stuff so many times, and sometimes I wouldn't even take it if you gave it to me."

King of Carrion Eaters: "..."

He turned to look at Patriot: "What is he saying?"

The Patriot shook his head and explained:

"Don't worry about it. He often says things that we can't understand."

The King of Carrion lowered his head and fell into deep thought.

What's incomprehensible is that the patriots don't believe Qi Yan is lying.

In other words, Qi Yan was telling the truth?

The King of Carrion felt a chill run down his spine.

Qi Yan's thoughts had already jumped to other things during this time:

"Grandpa, why didn't Frostnova come with us? And why did you suddenly come here alone? Did Kal'tsit send you?"

“It was my own decision to come.” Patriot patted Qi Yan’s head and ruffled his hair. “I came to see you so you wouldn’t cause trouble.”

Qi Yan grinned and patted his chest, saying, "I, Qi Xiaobai, never cause trouble; I always cause trouble for others."

Patriot looked at the former Sadion district plot in front of him; the break at the edge was clearly cut out by violent means.

He nodded: "I can see that."

"Doctor, the fighting at command headquarters is getting increasingly fierce."

Fester gazed at the battle situation in the central district in the distance, his brows furrowed with worry.

"Yes, so we need to hurry up."

Despite telling the doctor to hurry, he kept his hands in his pockets and slowly followed beside Fester.

At this moment, the two were several streets away from the battle in the city, and were on the outskirts of the Highbury District factory, a place that Fester was most familiar with.

Even from such a distance, Fester could still clearly feel the intensity of the battle.

The giant stone golem was locked in a fierce battle with blood, and the shockwaves from their fight sent rocks flying across several streets, not far from him and the doctor.

This terrifying destructive power made Feist's eyelids twitch.

"As you can see, the situation over there is not something you or I can interfere with."

The doctor chuckled and said, "Although you are a bit stronger than me, you are still just a craftsman after all. We are more suited to missions outside of the battlefield."

“But aren’t you the commander?” Fester couldn’t help but retort.

The doctor shook his head: "The commander will only enter the game when there is no other choice."

Look at those dukes; they always stay out of the battle, only having their subordinates constantly gather intelligence. They are most threatening during these times.

Once they choose to enter the game and gradually reveal their cards, they become less dangerous.

Fester couldn't understand the intricacies of the situation. He frowned and pondered for a moment before asking:

"But judging from the current situation, Rhodes Island and the Self-Rescue Army should have a high chance of winning. Why don't we just take advantage of the situation and occupy the city defense army's command headquarters in one fell swoop?"

This way, whether we obtain intelligence on the supply lines and retreat immediately, or take advantage of the situation to launch a surprise attack on the Shard, it will be extremely advantageous for us.

"And then?" the doctor asked rhetorically.

Fester clearly did not understand the doctor's line of thought.

The doctor wasn't angry about this and led Fester slowly through the empty factory.

"We will seize the intelligence and command headquarters in one fell swoop, and then march straight in to take over the Shard."

Following Fester's line of thought, the Doctor continued, "Assuming the situation is this simple, the Sarkaz regent is kept outside the city by Qi Yan, the royal court princes each have their own agendas and choose to give way, and in the end Rhodes Island and the Self-Salvation Army successfully regain the sovereignty of Londinium."

"This is not good. Our goal is to drive the Sarkaz out of this city!"

Just listening to the doctor's deductions, Fester felt a surge of emotion.

Since the mutiny of the two dukes of Lontinim many years ago, which led to the introduction of the Sarkaz into the city, the city has been gradually devoured by the Sarkaz and has become their stronghold.

Fester has fantasized countless times about banishing the Sarkaz from his homeland and returning to the peaceful and carefree time he remembers.

The doctor looked at Fester's excited face, chuckled, and shook his head, saying:

"Then the Sarkaz withdrew, and the Duke's army received the news and marched straight in to begin the struggle for power. The war broke out in the city of Londinium without any reservations."

Fester was stunned.

The doctor's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, extinguishing the elation that had just risen in his heart.

“But… it could also be another situation.” Fester said somewhat anxiously, “The dukes should join forces to stabilize the situation and restore peace to Lentinium.”

"If you chat like that, it's no fun at all," the professor said with a chuckle.

Fester's breath hitched, and his face slowly flushed red.

He could hear the sarcasm in the doctor's tone.

His ideas just now were indeed a bit too naive.

If the dukes were truly willing to join forces to defeat the enemy, instead of coveting the throne vacated after the late emperor's death, how could the Sarkaz have appeared in Londinium?

The doctor patted Fester on the shoulder and said slowly:

"Today's Lentinium is like a room full of explosives, where people with their own agendas find their own matches and squeeze in, scrambling around with empty stomachs."

Regardless of which side holds a decisive advantage, everyone else will not hesitate to light their matches, and the final result will be a contest of who has the toughest life...

It's also possible that they will both perish, leaving no survivors.

Fester: "...Then I don't understand. If that's the case, Doctor, why did you launch this surprise attack?"

"When I launched this raid, I never thought I would win."

The doctor's words stunned Fester.

Seeing the shock in Fester's eyes, the doctor's tone became somewhat serious:

"The white-haired dog reminded me that there are definitely more than just Rhodes Island, Sarkaz, and the Duke on the chessboard of Victoria."

"so……"

"So I plan to win a small hand first, reveal some of Rhodes Island's hand to lower the guard of others, draw a few more cards, and then concede and wait for the next player to play."

The doctor pointed to the battle behind him: "Although it was somewhat unexpected that Patriot and Marna, arranged by the white-haired dog, suddenly appeared and made the situation a bit out of control, I'm used to it."

That guy's cerebral cortex is so smooth you could ice skate on it; I shouldn't have had any hope for him.

My real target, from the very beginning, was Highbury; that's where I'll draw my hand.

"You mean, you got intelligence about the supply lines from here?" Fester was so shocked that he was almost numb.

“That’s right. If we’re talking about who knows the flow of goods best in the city of Londinium, the workers in these factories are definitely the first choice.”

The doctor put his hands back in his pockets and strode toward a workshop in the factory: "Once we get the intelligence, we'll immediately evacuate Londinium and wait for the next player I mentioned to make their move."

"Wouldn't it be a waste to obtain such hard-won intelligence on the supply lines?" Fester asked, puzzled.

"Child, your supply line only has one exit, no entrance?"

The doctor chuckled and said, "We'll go out of the city, circle around, and then come back along the supply line entrance. Who but the Sarkaz would expect our route?"

“Nasakaz…”

"Don't be fooled by appearances; the Sarkaz were never the root of the problem."

(Only two chapters today)

Chapter 635 Little Fester Searches for Grandma

The Sarkaz are not the source of the problem.

The moment the doctor uttered this viewpoint, Fester was left bewildered, and... a little resentful.

Fester suddenly lost the desire to speak, nodded without refuting, and led the doctor through the factory with practiced ease.

The doctor noticed Fester's state of mind, smiled, and took the initiative to strike up a conversation:

"You told me before you came that this factory was run by your grandmother?"

Fester nodded: "But it's best not to go straight in through the main entrance, or she'll definitely kick you out. Let's bypass everyone else and go straight to my grandmother first."

"It seems there are some disagreements between you."

"Yes, my grandmother... has a lot to consider, the operation of the factory, the lives of the workers."

Fester crouched down and crawled under a pipe, his back accidentally brushing against it, and he looked slightly dazed: "I've grown taller. I just ducked down and crawled under when I left."

That year, I tried to rebel against the Sarkaz by hiding a shipment of goods from the factory. My grandmother scolded me, and I refused to work for the Sarkaz who had taken over my home. I chose to leave the factory and join the self-defense forces.

The doctor followed behind him, crouching low and crawling through the pipe, chuckling softly:

"So, you've returned home in triumph, Mr. Fester, the squad leader of the Self-Salvation Army?"

“Doctor, please don’t tease me at a time like this,” Fester said with a wry smile. “My grandmother wouldn’t care about these things; she would definitely give me a good scolding if she saw me.”

"From your description, your grandmother seems to be a very strict person."

"No, she is very gentle."

As he spoke, Fester gently pushed open a dusty window in front of him.

The window, which had been untouched for years, creaked loudly, shaking off dust that made Feist wince.

He coughed twice, waved his hand to disperse the dust, looked up and glanced around the factory, then nimbly slipped inside.

The doctor followed Fester through the window, and as soon as he landed, he saw Fester bump into a worker face to face.

The worker was taken aback when he saw Fester. It took him a few seconds to process the image of Fester before him, which slowly overlapped with the image of the kid who had left the factory a few years ago.

Smiles bloomed on the workers' faces as they strode toward Fester.

"Shh!" Fester quickly made a shushing gesture. "Pat, don't make a sound. Just pretend you didn't see me. I need to go see my grandma first."

The worker named Pat stopped in his tracks, nodded knowingly, hid his smile, and turned to leave, as if he had never seen Fester.