Arknights: Studying medicine can't save Terra

"Tiepi..."

"Alright, you're exhausted, you should go and rest," Ironhide interrupted.

Wall Gray opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing and just turned and staggered away.

Looking at the gray wall's back, which was more bent than ever before, Tinplate clenched his fists even tighter, not letting go even when the edge of the seashell cut his fingers.

Tin Man heard a girl calling him from behind.

Elena's questioning gaze suddenly met Tinker's eyes, and her expression froze instantly.

Those eyes, which should have been dull and lifeless, those eyes that were no different from anyone else in this city, were now filled with exhaustion and relief. Complex emotions, like spring water gushing from a dried-up spring, filled those gray eyes.

“You…you’re actually conscious?” Eleanor asked in surprise.

"What do you mean by 'awake'?" Tiny asked, puzzled. "I haven't fallen asleep yet. I haven't fallen asleep in a long time, but I'm about to fall asleep. I can finally drift off to sleep."

Elena said in a deep voice, "You know what this red seashell represents, but you still swapped your seashell with that person."

Are you protecting that person?

Tin Man didn't speak, his expression returning to its blank state, and he walked step by step towards the sea.

Elena raised her hand to grab the sheet metal, but hesitated.

If we stop Ironhide from committing suicide in the sea, it will disrupt the rules upon which this city depends for its livelihood. But if we don't stop Ironhide, it's tantamount to watching someone be murdered by the Deep Sea Church.

Alini was conflicted and turned to her teacher for help.

But neither Dario nor Outcast stood quietly watching her from a distance, while Anita, who didn't understand anything, tilted her head, clearly puzzled by Eleanor's behavior.

"teacher……"

Alini cried out helplessly.

Dario sighed as he looked at his little apprentice's pitiful expression.

He finally spoke: "Elena, you have found the truth about this city on your own. Now everything is laid out before you. All I can do is give you orders."

But only you, only your heart, can make the judgment.

Elena: "..."

She closed her eyes in a dilemma, standing there caught in a struggle between her own mind and her inner turmoil.

But this struggle didn't last long; Elena opened her eyes again:

"If I can't even save the people in front of me, how can I talk about saving more people? To hell with the rules, why should I follow the rules of a bunch of bastards?"

After giving herself a pep talk, as if to bolster her courage, Elena caught up with Tinker and, to Tinker's astonishment, snatched the red seashell, threw it on the ground, and then stomped on it until it was smashed to pieces.

Dario looked at everything that was happening before him, unsure whether to feel relieved or regretful, and let out another long sigh.

“Madam, young people are too impulsive,” Dario said with a wry smile.

“Indeed, he stole all my chance to shine.” Outcast still smiled. “But isn’t this exactly what you wanted? This kid is perfect for Rhodes Island.”

"But what about next..."

"Next, we have no choice but to force our way into the church and fight on enemy territory."

"I mean the city."

“I reported the situation here to Rhodes Island a long time ago, and they said that the team best suited to deal with Haizi is already on its way.”

Outcast pulled out his revolver and ammunition pouch, silently counting his inventory: "Rhodes Island has never been an organization that fights alone."

Dario frowned: "I don't want to emphasize again that Rhodes Island is forbidden from entering Iberia, but even if the people from Rhodes Island are on their way, it doesn't change the fact that we have now broken the rules and exposed ourselves to the territory of the Deep Sea Church."

"Do you trust Dr. Kal'tsit?" Outcast asked inexplicably.

"Anyway, I believe her."

Outcast loaded a red bullet into his revolver and then held it high in the air: "I've also contacted Ms. Kal'tsit. She said not to worry about any difficulties. Right now, Rhodes Island has no shortage of helpers in Iberia."

A red signal flare shot into the sky, its dazzling light turning half of Saltwind City red.

The next second, a 'Kal'tsit' appeared from the end of the street.

Before Dario could react, countless 'Kal'tsit's' sprouted up like mushrooms after rain, on rooftops, under manhole covers, in roadside trash cans, and even on hillsides far outside the city.

Dario: "..."

Outcast: "..."

"what's the situation?!"

The two exclaimed in unison.

He looked at the person next to him, bewildered: "Madam, why are you also shocked?"

“I knew there were helpers, but I didn’t know there were so many!” Outcast exclaimed in frustration. “And why are they all doctors Kal’tsit? Where did all these doctors Kal’tsit come from?”

A group of 'Kal'tsit' walked up to the two of them, and then all of them showed a bright smile that would never appear on Kal'tsit's face.

Outcast stood there dumbfounded.

She felt she had suffered an indescribable mental shock.

"We have scouted the situation inside the church." The voices of the 'Kal'tsit's' merged into one. "There are only four targets to watch out for: one is soaking in a high concentration of Originium solution, a tall Agor woman who is very fast, a somewhat special Sealing individual, and finally, the bishop we have been searching for."

Dario suddenly heard a key term, suppressed his shock, and said in a deep voice:

"There's a Deep Sea Bishop here? Doesn't that mean this is one of the headquarters of the Deep Sea Church?"

"No."

The 'Kal'tsit' waved their hands and said, "The number of ordinary believers here is less than the number of those in the strongholds I run, but now they have all become one of us."

Dario: "..."

Outcast: "..."

The 'Kal'tsit's' continued reminder:

"If you don't make a move soon, we might even take the last four special targets."

"Who is your Excellency?"

Outcast asked a question that left Dario somewhat bewildered.

"We are the royal court of old."

The shapeshifters revealed their original forms and raised their arms in unison, pointing towards the distant church.

Surrounded by them, the church suddenly exploded, and a two-headed monster resembling a seaweed spirit roared and crashed through the top of the church.

Dario's heart tightened, and he immediately assumed a fighting stance, but he was soon surprised to find that he was not needed at all.

The seemingly terrifying giant monster did not appear on the ground by crashing through the church as it wished, but was forcibly dragged out of the ground by a large number of shapeshifters with green tentacles.

"Let us take care of this bishop; we are very curious about his existence."

The shapeshifter displayed the composure of a king, with many individuals slowly walking toward the struggling two-headed monster, leaving only one individual behind with Dario and his companion.

He pointed to a figure rushing out from behind the church carrying a ghost shark and instructed:

“She doesn’t seem to be an enemy of Rhodes Island. Ms. Outcast, you’re in charge of making contact. If contact fails, we can assist you in eliminating her.”

After speaking, the shapeshifter looked at Dalio again:

"In addition, there is a special individual of the sea below. We believe the court will be very interested in it, so we will leave it to you to handle. Consider it as our accommodation fee for the time we spent in prison in Iberia."

"Uh...ah."

For the first time, Dario felt like his brain wasn't working properly.

These days, even going to jail requires out-of-pocket payment?

No, that’s not the point!

They were just about to face a fierce battle, but with Outcast's gunshot, the situation instantly turned into a one-sided rout.

If it weren't for the fact that the Sarkaz ruler had deliberately left a few targets to give them a sense of involvement, Dario had no doubt that the shapeshifters could have handled the Saltwind City problem perfectly on their own.

And these kinds of rulers of the royal court, like the shapeshifters, are now clustered together on Rhodes Island…

Dario's feelings were extremely complicated.

Chapter 960 The Shapeshifter: Hey, I have a plan

"What, does the court have to write a lengthy report of tens of thousands of words before taking action?"

The shapeshifter teased Dario, who was lost in thought.

"No... no need."

Dario quickly composed himself and looked in the direction indicated by the shapeshifter. Sure enough, he saw a humanoid creature rushing out of the collapsed church ruins.

He immediately drew his sword and rushed forward, turning to Elena, who was standing not far away, and instructed her:

"Go and disperse the crowd, don't let those ordinary people get involved!"

Upon receiving the order, Elena immediately felt reassured and turned to pull Anita along to search for the apathetic pedestrians on the street.

Dario glanced around and noticed that the pedestrians still had basic survival instincts. When faced with danger, they knew to follow Eleanor's footsteps and escape the scene. Only after confirming this did he feel completely at ease facing the special sea creature.

"Our compatriots are in danger; eliminate the enemy."

To Dario's surprise, when he rushed up to the sea creature, he heard it speaking human language.

"You damned monsters, are you evolving again?"

As Dario spoke, he thrust his sword forward without hesitation.

"You, you are not Him." The humanoid Hai Si dodged the attack, his tall body shrieking, "I've come to find Isamara, where is He?"

Dario's eyes narrowed: "Who is Isamara?"

The humanoid Haisi answers every question and seems to have no concept of lying.

Dario's mind started racing at the other person's reaction, and he opened his mouth to try and get more information out of them.

The humanoid Hai Si's verbal obedience and physical violence presented two extremes; as he answered Dalio, he swung his arm and slammed it down on Dalio's head.

Dario raised his sword to parry, and then his expression changed slightly.

A force traveled along the sword to his arm, causing him to involuntarily drop low. He quickly created distance to dissipate the immense force.

"This is actually quite tricky."

"Enemy, struggle, survival."

The humanoid Haizi, speaking broken words, charged at Dario without holding back.

Faced with this offensive that abandoned defense, Dario remained calm and did not rush to attack. Instead, he deliberately feigned weakness and retreated while fighting, waiting for the other party to reveal more information.

While the two were locked in combat, Outcast caught up with the woman who was holding the ghost shark.

"Madam, I think things have come to this point. Shouldn't you stop those beautiful legs that are longer than my life and have a proper chat with me?"

Outcast pointed his revolver at the woman's chest, while several shapeshifters around her transformed into green vines, completely surrounding the area.

Even when surrounded, the haughty woman's eyes remained indifferent.

She hesitated for a moment, placed the ghost shark she was holding on the ground, looked directly at Outcast, and said:

“You are not within my target range. In fact, no one here is within my target range.”

Outcast narrowed his eyes, as if he had heard something funny:

"You've been harassing Rhodes Island since last year, and you've already tried to infiltrate it several times. Now you're telling me we're not your target?"

“You just happened to be near my target,” the woman explained.

"So, it seems we were in the wrong after all?" Outcast chuckled. "But your target, Miss Specter, is an important ally of ours."

“Ghost Shark?” The woman looked down at herself. “You mean a shark? Her name is Laurentina.”

"Looks like it really is someone we know."

“Our relationship goes beyond what can be described as acquaintances,” the woman said calmly. “My name is Goredia, and I am the captain of the sharks. If we’re really talking about it, my relationship with her is far closer than that of you land people who call yourselves companions.”

"Captain? Deepsea Hunter?" Outcast finally identified the other party.

“It seems Skadi told you a lot.” Gladys’s eyes narrowed slightly. “But she didn’t show up. Has she, as a hunter, fallen to such a low level?”