Arknights: Studying medicine can't save Terra

“Kal'tsit, Idia hasn’t eaten all night,” he said worriedly. “We suspect the child suffered a sudden, close-range shock and is now traumatized.”

Kal'tsit reassured her, "It's probably just that Hai Si's physiological defense mechanism has been activated. She feels that eating is not safe at this moment, so she stopped eating and focused on defending against external threats."

"Ugh ugh ...

Qi Yan started sending telegrams again.

Before Kal'tsit could ask, Qi Lin volunteered to translate:

“He said that Idia has joined the glorious evolution, and she must be learning my beautiful singing voice.”

"It's best not to..." the shapeshifter said with a look of disgust.

"Ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh!" Qi Yan's eyes widened in anger.

"It's swearing."

Qi Lin refused to translate and kicked her own brother.

Having just subdued her defiant older brother, she heard light footsteps approaching from behind.

Kal'tsit and the shapeshifter both showed expressions of surprise.

Qi Lin turned her head and saw that it was the little girl named Idia who had run over alone, with a lingering fear on her face.

"Idia is alright, we're here."

The shapeshifter immediately went to greet them in a soft voice.

Idia didn't even glance at him, running right past him and crouching in terror next to the source of her fear, quickly and cautiously taking out a biscuit from her pocket and eating it.

Shapeshifter: "..."

Qi Lin was puzzled by the little girl who seemed to have a strange connection with Qi Yan, and asked:

"Dr. Kal'tsit, may I ask who she is?"

Kal'tsit's expression froze.

Qi Lin was even more puzzled and turned to look at the shapeshifter.

"Haha, this child seems to have regained her appetite. Let's go find her more food."

The shapeshifter slipped away without hesitation.

The two's unusual behavior made Qi Lin frown and look down at her feet.

Qi Yan's eyes darted around as he began to mimic maggots with remarkable realism, attempting to diminish his own presence.

The shapeshifter, who hadn't run far, happened to see Carmen hurrying towards them.

“Sir Shapeshifter, I was just about to look for you,” Carmen said anxiously. “Weren’t you taking care of Idia? She’s gone! She’s Qi Yan’s daughter, and she’s not doing well right now, so we absolutely can’t let anything happen to her… Ugh!”

Carmen was only halfway through her sentence when the shapeshifter covered her mouth.

Unfortunately, it was all too late.

Carmen's voice drifted gently into Qi Lin's ears on the breeze.

Qi Lin was instantly frozen in that instant, as if someone had pressed the pause button.

Those bright golden eyes gradually lost their luster.

Far from land, in the ocean where all around is water, a Liberi that has fallen into the water struggles to stay afloat.

“Bishop Amaya, didn’t you say that you and Haisi are compatriots, brothers and sisters?” The shapeshifter disguised as Ulpian circled around her. “It seems that your family relationship is not very harmonious. How come you suddenly ran away halfway through the journey?”

Look around, there's nowhere to stand. We're fine, but you probably won't last long.

Amaya was soaked to the bone, her once-stylish hairstyle was ruined by the seawater, and she looked utterly disheveled.

“You’re nothing but a disguised deep-sea hunter. I don’t think you could swim back to land from that distance.” Amaya tried her best to keep her tone calm. “As for the reaction of your compatriots, they just encountered a crisis they had to avoid. Something unexpected must have happened.”

The shapeshifter smiled, glanced in the direction of the land, and offered no explanation.

His body swam on the water's surface, constantly changing, transforming into various marine creatures, including Hai Si, as Amaya's expression gradually darkened.

"The Sarkaz Royal Court, a colony of shapeshifters!"

Amaya gritted her teeth and revealed the true identity of the bastard in front of her.

"Congratulations on getting it right, but unfortunately there's no reward," the shapeshifter said cheerfully. "Compared to our identities, your most important thing right now is to find a way to protect yourself. We can sense that you're losing your body temperature."

“According to Qi Yan’s plan, I can’t die here yet.” Amaya tried to use Qi Yan’s name to save herself.

The shapeshifter countered, "Then do you still remember what Qi Yan asked you to contribute to the Great Group?"

Amaya frowned, carefully considering Qi Yan's words from back then.

First, she ruled out the possibility that Qi Yan was interested in her physical appearance.

After a brainstorming session, she confidently stated:

“I am different from other bishops. I have a deep understanding of the significance of the birth of the Haisi group, and I also know that the Haisi God has separated from the group.”

Qi Yan hopes I will integrate into the group, giving meaning back to Hai Si, and uniting Hai Si to form a cohesive force. As for what he intends to do with Hai Si, I have no idea.

The shapeshifter lost interest halfway through the conversation.

After the appearance of Idia, the little sea spirit, Amaya's role with Qiyan was completely lost.

If he didn't need Amaya to find the lost 'Fool', he would have stripped Amaya naked and swallowed her whole halfway there.

Under Amaya's incredulous gaze, the shapeshifter swam around twice and then drifted away in the distance in its jellyfish form.

"How dare you abandon me?" Amaya shouted angrily. "Aren't you afraid that Qi Yan will cause you trouble if he finds out?"

"Stop shouting, the ship is getting close."

The shapeshifter's voice faded into the distance: "Of course, even if that ship comes, whether you are saved or not is none of our business."

Amaya clenched her teeth tightly.

She wasn't afraid of death, but for some reason, all the sea creatures in this area had suddenly disappeared. If she died here, no sea creature would come to devour her or help her blend into the larger group.

"Fellow countrymen, where have you gone?"

Amaya's Liberi bloodline completely overwhelmed her, leaving her utterly bewildered.

But her obsession with fitting into the group still kept her moving her limbs, desperately swimming in the direction the shapeshifters had gone.

Ahead of her, the jellyfish that the shapeshifter had transformed into moved forward with seemingly slow but actually incredibly fast efficiency, and soon a small boat appeared on the horizon.

As the shapeshifter drew closer, the small boat gradually grew larger until it filled his entire field of vision.

"The Golden Age of Iberia".

With a silent sigh, the shapeshifter transformed into slime and climbed up the ship's hull, reaching the deck of the Fool.

His gaze swept across the deck and found that it was not as dilapidated as he had expected, but rather as clean as if it had been cleaned regularly.

But at this moment he had no time to delve into these hygiene issues; all his attention was drawn to the two small creatures in front of him.

Ital crouched on the ground, calmly watching another of its kind on the deck, showing no reaction to the shapeshifter that had suddenly intruded.

Chapter 1043 Ital: The large group is too weak, it has no power~

The shapeshifter found himself an outsider.

He didn't know if the two little sea creatures facing off on the deck were special to the large group, but in his opinion, these two little guys were special individuals among the sea creatures.

Unlike other creatures that fight each other for territory or special status, the two little ones' meeting seemed to be just to achieve some kind of communication.

The shapeshifters cannot hear the unique communication frequency between the sea creatures.

He could only silently find a seat and watch the silent performance.

The exchange didn't last long before the sea creature with an exoskeleton on its head turned and leaped into the sea.

The cat, Haisi, who remained behind, focused its gaze on the shapeshifter.

"Ital".

A clear, youthful voice came from the cat Hai Si's mouth.

"my name."

The shapeshifter stared in amazement at the creature before it and reached out its hand:

"We don't have a special name; you can call us Shapeshifters."

Ital's eyes sparkled with a lively spirit, as if he were full of curiosity about everything and enjoyed thinking about everything he encountered.

The shapeshifter chuckled, "When you individuals communicate with others, how do you refer to yourselves?"

“Large group,” Ital replied.

“Yes, apart from you, we have not heard of any other Sealings referring to themselves as ‘I’.” The Shapeshifter pointed to himself. “Similar to the Legion, unless there are special circumstances, we Shapeshifters refer to ourselves as ‘we’ when communicating with others.”

Ital walked to the shapeshifter's outstretched hand and gently rubbed his cheek against the shapeshifter's fingertips.

“Thank you for your guarantee last time on the coast,” Ital replied earnestly.

The shapeshifter actively rubbed Ital's chin and the base of his ears with his fingers.

Ital did not refuse, and comfortably squinted his eyes to enjoy it, making low snoring sounds in his throat.

"It seems you've succeeded."

The shapeshifter flipped Ital over, exposing its belly, and then reached out and began to vigorously rub its belly.

Faced with the shapeshifter's skillful offensive, Ital's hind leg showed obvious signs of losing control, kicking wildly at the air.

It squinted its eyes and hummed softly:

"I still haven't found the answer, and I'm far from success."

“On land, Qi Yan came up with a new idea that we think is quite feasible. Are you interested?” The shapeshifter busied himself with both hands at the same time.

"Qi Yan...who is he?"

Ital twisted his body to match the shapeshifter's movements.

Upon hearing Ital's question, the shapeshifter paused in his actions, a row of question marks appearing on his forehead.

Why is it that none of these Hai Zis recognize Qi Yan?

Didn't this dog say it was very familiar with the group?

He frowned and said, "A white Lupo, very dog-like."

Seeing that Ital didn't understand, the shapeshifter continued:

He said he had been a visitor to your large group.

"...Is it the sir?" Ital twisted his body and lay on the ground, asking again, "Could it be the one who guided the Great Group in a new direction? The Great Group realized that he was an outsider, but the Great Group never refused him. However, the Great Group did not expect that the connection would be suddenly cut off."

"Where are you now, sir? The large group cannot track his presence."

The shapeshifter invited, "We can take you to see him; there are many people on land who want to meet you."

Ital hesitated for a moment, then shook his head:

"I'm sorry, the swarm failed to complete the master's instructions. The community and survival logic of terrestrial creatures left the swarm bewildered."

The flock is now seeking new answers, and I cannot leave. I will lead the flock into a new future.

"Could you share this with us?"

"...I'm sorry, it's not that I refuse to share, but I don't know the answer either."

Ital turned to look out at the sea beyond the deck: “But I realized one thing, the large group is too weak, it has no power.”

Shapeshifter: ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

The shapeshifter looked at Ital with suspicion. From that cute cat face, he could tell that Ital's words were not the kind of madness that Qi Yan had, but rather a heartfelt self-evaluation.

“No, buddy,” the shapeshifter said, his voice strained. “The Big Legion nearly wiped out the coastal Iberians back then. They tremble at the mere mention of the name Sea Legion now, and you guys are looking down on yourselves.”

Ital worked hard to analyze the words of the shapeshifters, gradually matching Iberia with the information within the Great Group.

Then he shook his head and denied it:

"The swarm never waged war against the biome called Iberia; the swarm was merely competing with threats in the ocean, and perhaps inadvertently affected that biome."

Shapeshifter: "...These are things you can't say in front of land dwellers."