Arknights: Studying medicine can't save Terra

After a long pause, Magellan regained his ability to speak and asked in confusion:

"How did you determine this last point?"

“Rhine Lab is a very reputable large company. If it’s for scientific research, they will definitely send out a professional team, instead of letting you act alone.”

The doctor shook off the melting snowflakes from his coat and said calmly, "After you opened the door, you mentioned that the wind had gotten stronger, which means you didn't notice the changes in the snowfield when you came here."

"And I can tell you with certainty now that something big is about to happen deep within Sami, similar to your earlier opinion. I don't recommend you go any further; please leave."

Magellan bit his lip and stubbornly shook his head:

"I have someone I absolutely must go find."

“It’s a coincidence, it’s the same for both of us.” The Doctor seemed to have anticipated Magellan’s reaction and said matter-of-factly, “Perhaps we can cooperate. I believe you can see my ability to gather information, which will be very helpful in finding people in the vast frozen ground.”

"...But how can I trust you?" Magellan frowned.

"When you say those words, it means you trust us, doesn't it?"

The doctor's tone lightened, and he joked, "But you do need a reason, and I'm quite good at giving those kinds of things. Let me think..."

With a deity personally protecting us, and Qi Yan having devised a special action plan for our trip, do you feel at ease?

Hearing this, Magellan smiled, his previously tense face instantly softening into a charmingly innocent expression.

“If I were to refuse again, it would be too ungrateful of me.” She turned and walked deeper into the research station. “Actually, although I am somewhat wary of Rhodes Island, I also know that Rhodes Island is not some evil thug organization. At least I have never heard of Rhodes Island harboring any ill will towards anyone.”

"Thanks for understanding."

The doctor followed Magellan with a smile.

Extreme scratched her hair a couple of times, then numbly followed the doctor's steps.

He realized that his negotiation skills were like a kindergarten child learning to speak compared to the doctor's.

From the moment the Doctor spoke, the initiative was completely in his hands. Not to mention that the girl in front of him was just a simple-minded girl, even if those old foxes came, they probably wouldn't be able to last more than a few rounds in front of the Doctor.

However, I still have some doubts about Extreme Realm.

He lowered his voice and asked the doctor, "When did Qi Yan ever formulate an action plan? Even if he did, would you dare to use it?"

"What's there to be afraid of?" The Doctor glanced at Extreme, "Isn't my personal involvement part of his plan?"

Extreme Realm: "..."

Well-reasoned, convincing, reasonable, and a perfect plan!

"Gentlemen, the research station's supply warehouse is just ahead. You can choose the supplies you need."

Magellan walked ahead, pointed to a metal protective door, and said generously, "Since we are in a cooperative relationship, there is no need to mention any transactions. You can take as many supplies as you need."

As for intelligence, to be honest, I don't know much, but I'll contact a messenger from Ursus who can help us get through the outer entrance.

The doctor waved his hand: "No need for supplies."

Magellan was somewhat puzzled: "I see you all came unarmed, don't you need any supplies?"

Without needing the doctor's reply, Extreme took the initiative to step forward and demonstrate the authority and power that the skeletal behemoth had lent him, conjuring up some water and food out of thin air, and then putting them all away with a flick of his hand.

"How amazing!" Magellan's eyes widened.

"You'll encounter even more amazing things with our colleagues going forward," the doctor said half-jokingly. "But for everything else, we'll need someone as experienced as you to handle it."

Chapter 927 Doctor Xue's Raw Material Crisis, Qi Yan Teahouse Recounts Unofficial History

The strategy of giving a hard blow followed by a sweet treat is very practical in many situations.

During the half-day that the two sides exchanged information, Jijing gained a deeper understanding of this statement.

He witnessed firsthand how the doctor manipulated this simple-minded girl from the Liberi tribe.

Every time Magellan speaks, the Doctor captures a wealth of information, startling Magellan with a series of exclamations. But whenever Magellan begins to cautiously reduce the number of times he speaks, the Doctor quietly offers a few words of praise.

Magellan's weakness was immediately exploited by the doctor, who was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling and continued to chatter away, revealing more information.

Before the three of them were fully prepared to set off, Ji Jing, who was just listening from the sidelines, had already gathered almost all the information about this silly girl.

If the Doctor hadn't been so uninterested in such things, Extremis would have had no doubt that he could have found out how many outfits Magellan had packed in his bag.

"The Ursus messenger is nearby. Let's go."

Magellan put away the communicator. In just half a day, without him even realizing it, the Doctor had cultivated a considerable level of trust in him.

She unguardedly revealed all her preparations: "After the messenger leads us into the snowfield, we will enter the area inhabited by the Sami people. I also have friends in the Sami tribe."

However, Simone's whereabouts are usually very mysterious, so whether we run into her depends on luck. But if we do meet her, our journey will be much easier.

"It seems that meeting you is our good fortune."

As usual, the doctor showered Magellan with praise, which once again made Magellan overjoyed.

Even Magellan didn't know why, but when other people praised her, she would only feel embarrassed, but when the Doctor praised her, she always felt very pleased.

Without needing to be urged, Magellan had already opened the protective door of the research station with light, airy steps and led the way outside.

An Ursus man, completely wrapped in a thick winter coat, waited silently not far from the research station.

As agreed, the doctor silently watched Magellan negotiate with the other party without saying a word.

The conversation seemed to be going well. The Ursus messenger simply asked Magellan about her purpose. After learning that she had come to the snowfield to find a lost Rhine Life Research Team, he only asked for the team's coordinates before they lost contact and did not ask any further questions.

"Follow my steps closely and don't make any random movements."

The Ursus messenger waved and said, "The snowfields have been rather turbulent lately; it's best not to do anything that could easily cause misunderstandings."

Magellan nodded repeatedly in agreement and obediently followed behind the Ursus messenger.

The Doctor and Exusiai silently trailed at the back of the group, exchanging glances discreetly.

Ursus's messenger acted normally, but the two sensed something was amiss.

Even though the two of them stood there like Magellan's henchmen, the Ursus messenger completely ignored them, showing a bit too much trust.

After all, this route into the snowfield requires using territory within Ursus, so the review process shouldn't be so lenient.

More importantly, this Ursus courier disregarded the identities of the two individuals and instead specifically inquired about the coordinates of the expedition team before they lost contact, which is hardly typical of a courier's job.

The two exchanged a wary look and began to walk on in silence.

Magellanic might be a bit slow-witted, but that's only in comparison to the shrewdness of the Doctor and Extremis; in reality, she's not stupid at all.

Sensing that something seemed off, she immediately suppressed her urge to chat.

The group hadn't gone far when the Ursus messenger suddenly received a communication. He quickened his pace, leaving the three behind, and hid to answer the call alone.

The three stopped. Magellan glanced at the doctor and the other man, then lowered his voice and asked:

"Is there something wrong?"

"If nothing unexpected happens, something unexpected is going to happen. When he comes back, he will tell us that the situation has changed, and then he will lead us to take a different route." The doctor's tone was calm, but full of confidence.

Extreme added from the side, "I suspect that Ursus has already noticed the changes in the snowfield. Given Ursus's style, they will likely resort to force to suppress it."

Magellan was startled: "Is he going to attack us?"

“Not really,” the doctor shook his head. “But judging from his behavior, he doesn’t seem to have any confidence that we can make it out of the snowfield alive.”

But that's not enough to determine more information; we need to continue observing for a while longer. Be careful not to reveal anything to us.

Magellan's expression changed.

It wasn't that he was worried about his own safety. With the two from Rhodes Island around, Magellan knew that as long as he clung to their powerful backers, his life would be safe.

But if the changes in the snowfield are really that serious, then the Rhine Lab's research team is likely to be in grave danger.

The leader of that scientific expedition team was her teacher...

"Magellan, something unexpected has happened."

The Ursus messenger suddenly turned back, interrupting Magellan's thoughts, and said in a troubled tone, "My companions just informed me that the road ahead is under military control, and even I cannot pass through."

"But don't worry, as compensation, I can use my status as an official of Ursus to take you along another route, a roundabout way through the outskirts of the Sami tribes into the snowfield."

"Um... thank you."

Magellan was now completely convinced of the doctor's judgment.

Who in this land doesn't know about the conflict between Ursus and Sami? How could an Ursus messenger dare to run to Sami so casually?

But Magellan did not show it directly, and continued to obediently follow behind the Ursus messenger.

The doctor took the initiative to strike up a conversation: "Friend, messenger, how long would it take if we took the detour?"

"It will take about a week, what's wrong?" the Ursus courier said casually.

"It's nothing, just checking if we have enough supplies." The doctor pointed to the small bags the three of them were carrying. "As you can see, we didn't bring much."

"...No problem, I'll speed things up and try to get you out of here within three days."

"Hehe, I'm very grateful."

These three days were excessively lively for the people of Yumen and Longmen.

It doesn't mean that the two cities celebrated after overcoming the giant beast crisis, but rather that after the crisis ended, a strange phenomenon suddenly appeared in the depths of the desert outside the city. From a distance, one could see raging flames shooting into the sky and burning day and night.

At the same time, various strange phenomena appeared in turn, including the sounds of war, black and white chess pieces, landscape paintings, and even a woman's strange laughter.

Some curious individuals tried to investigate, only to discover that the place where the strange phenomenon originated was actually guarded by the Great Yan Imperial Guard, which frightened all the curious individuals into turning around and running away.

But the rumors still spread uncontrollably.

"Have you heard? The strange phenomena outside the city are actually the lingering soul of a giant beast, haunted by ghosts formed from its resentment. Some people have even heard a woman's maniacal laughter coming from over there from time to time!"

"This is fake. I've consulted unofficial historical records and learned the truth. In fact, that giant beast is called Mirror, and it is incredibly powerful. It can transform into any person or thing on this land, so lifelike that it's hard to tell the difference between the real and the fake!"

"And then?"

"Then, after the Grand Tutor subdued the Mirror Beast, he ordered people to use raging fire to control it, and forced it to transform into the most beautiful woman in the world every day for the Grand Tutor's enjoyment!"

In the teahouse, a white-haired Rupert vividly described to the surrounding tea drinkers: "Think about it, in these twin cities, besides the Grand Tutor, who else can command the Imperial Guards? Think about it again, the Grand Tutor traveled thousands of miles to this frontier, and then disappeared without doing anything. Where could he have gone? Keep thinking..."

As the white-haired Rupert recounted his story, a group of tea drinkers listened intently, their eyes wide with wonder, finding the story increasingly plausible.

Just as Qi Yan was getting into the swing of things and was about to step onto the table to describe the details of the Grand Tutor's enjoyment to everyone, a light cough came from behind him, interrupting his words.

Qi Yan turned around and saw the Grand Tutor himself standing behind him, glaring at him with a dark expression.

Qi Yan paused for a moment, then pointed to the empty seat next to him without changing his expression:

"Guests are welcome, so please sit quietly and listen. What I am about to tell you is the story of the Grand Tutor's treasured sword, the dragon and phoenix among the old men, and the mirror beast's mournful cries every night!"

"Qi Yan!" The Grand Tutor's face was so dark it was almost dripping with water.

Qi Yan leaned close to the Grand Tutor's ear and whispered:

"After you refine the mirror into a divine artifact, I'll lend it to you for a few days."

The Grand Tutor slumped into a chair with fluid movements, summoned a waiter to bring Qi Yan a pot of the finest tea to soothe his throat, and then urged him on:

"Go on, don't hesitate, speak freely and boldly. I love hearing unofficial histories, the more outrageous the better!"

(Black is so much fun, I really want to take a day off to play games!)

Chapter 928 Grand Tutor: It's all for the Great Yan...

Another evening has arrived.

The crimson sunset descending from the sky seemed to transform the desert into a brocade; when the wind blew, the sandstorm churned, and the brocade fluttered.

The Grand Tutor was helped out of the teahouse by Qi Yan, his vision blurring.

"Hey Old Deng, is your mental fortitude really that bad?" Qi Yan said, still not quite finished. "You were so open and honest when you sat down, but I had only just started talking about your three lifetimes of domineering, beastly, and forced love with the Mirror Beast when you suddenly fell off your chair?"

Grand Tutor: "..."

He couldn't utter a single word at that moment, only gazing forlornly at the setting sun on the horizon.

The crimson sunset, a symbol of the end, seemed to represent the last vestige of his fading reputation.

The Grand Tutor's lips trembled slightly, and a long, drawn-out sigh escaped his lips:

"It's all for the Great Yan..."

"Don't worry, don't worry," Qi Yan assured him repeatedly. "I promise I won't lie to you about lending you the mirror. You can take it directly to Ursus, and if you don't like anyone, just pull out the mirror and show Ursus what it means to be as sharp as ever!"