Arknights: Studying medicine can't save Terra

The tin man let out a soft cry, and his figure instantly disappeared at the top of the stairs.

Eureka turned pale with fright and ran quickly to the stairwell to look for the tin man.

"Sir, are you alright? I didn't mean it. Don't startle me like that."

The tin man got up from the corner of the stairs. Apart from his clothes being a little dirty, he was unharmed. But looking at the stair steps that had been chipped and broken by his own metal body, he felt that this land must have gone mad.

He, a dignified dead soul, was actually frightened by a little girl and fell down the stairs!

"Who are you exactly?"

If a person from Xi feels that the problem doesn't lie with them, then it must be the other person's fault.

Eureka felt somewhat relieved to see that the other person was not injured, but upon hearing the question, she instantly became wary again.

Looking across this land, Eureka may not be very famous.

But at Rhodes Island, her Eureka status is clearly recorded in all the employees' onboarding handbooks!

"And who are you?" Eureka asked warily. "I warn you to tell me the truth. If you dare to harbor any malicious intentions, I, Eureka, am not one to be trifled with!"

He found it somewhat amusing.

The previous girl was one thing, but he really couldn't afford to offend her. But this girl, who was obviously weak at a glance, actually dared to threaten him.

That means he meant no harm, otherwise he could have taken her down before she even had a chance to call for help.

“Miss Eureka, right? I mean no harm.”

Tin Man brushed the dust off his clothes from the fall and joked, "But weren't you a little too impulsive? What if I were an intruder? If you confronted me all by yourself, wouldn't you be afraid I'd fight to the death?"

“It’s been a long time since anyone dared to talk to me like that,” Eureka said angrily.

What should have been an extremely assertive statement turned out to be nothing but cuteness when uttered by this pink-clad little girl.

"Alright, alright, I won't say anymore." Tin Man shook his head with amusement. "I'm actually Amiya's guest, but I don't know what's going on at Rhodes Island right now. Anyway, something unexpected happened, and a misunderstanding arose."

"Could you please show me the way, Miss Eureka... Or perhaps we should find Amiya first; with her there, many misunderstandings will be easier to clear up."

"But I still want..."

Eureka was about to refuse, but when she saw the gray stains left on the Tin Man's clothes from the fall, which she couldn't wipe clean, she swallowed her words.

Ultimately, this person was also startled by her shout and fell down the stairs.

Although Eureka seems to have a tiny bit of eyebrow pencil talent, everyone on Rhodes Island knows this, and even if they get caught, they just laugh it off and never take it to heart. But Eureka isn't the kind of person who can't take responsibility.

"Never mind, it seems to be fate. I have to report to Amiya for this operation."

Eureka waved her hand weakly: "Come with me. Amiya is usually active in the control center."

"Thank you, lovely Miss Eureka."

The tin man bowed politely, only to hear a screeching sound coming from the metal joints at his waist.

Tin Man: ? ? ?

Are the joints in his body already worn out?

Or did that fall really hurt him?

Just as the Tin Man was about to greet Eureka and stop to check on his body, he heard Eureka's calm and even somewhat nonchalant voice.

"Don't be nervous. Although I don't know your situation, anything is possible on this land, and I'm not too surprised. It's just that it's normal for a mechanical person like you to have some problems when you meet me. At least you didn't explode or short-circuit and become paralyzed."

Tin Man: ? ? ? ?

He stood at the corner of the stairs, looked up, and gazed at the beautiful Zalak girl standing backlit at the top of the stairs.

For some reason, he felt a chill that seeped into his soul from this cute little girl, a chill that was even more intense than when he was facing a giant beast girl.

In Kal'tsit's office, the two people who were struggling with documents stopped writing at the same time.

Kal'tsit flicked her pen and asked in confusion:

"It's a brand new pen, so why can't it write anything suddenly?"

"Huh? My pen is malfunctioning too," Amiya exclaimed immediately.

"Is it a coincidence? Or..."

Kal'tsit had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

Amiya had the same feeling. Seeing Kal'tsit get up, seemingly wanting to go out and find the source of the problem, she quickly suppressed her suspicions and said nervously:

"It might just be a coincidence. It's unlikely that the Doctor has taken a liking to Eureka again, haha, don't you think so, Dr. Kal'tsit?"

"Is this a case of 'protesting too much'?" Kal'tsit was unsure whether to be angry or laugh.

Amiya quickly pursed her lips, her once-erect rabbit ears drooping for a moment, but then immediately perked up again.

"I...I was just joking. I absolutely didn't mean to cover up for the Doctor and Mr. Qi Yan," Amiya tried to explain.

"As I expected, Qi Yan was indeed involved as well." Kal'tsit's lips curled into a cold smile.

"I...that..."

Seeing that the situation was not good, Amiya gritted her teeth, stamped her foot, and stood up, saying, "Dr. Kal'tsit, it's almost time for Mr. Tin Man to arrive. Can you come with me to greet him?"

Seeing that Amiya had been bewitched by the Doctor and Qi Yan and was determined to protect those two, Kal'tsit took a deep breath and then slowly sighed.

"Okay, I'll go with you."

What else could she do?

But some people don't get such good treatment!

The arena is the battlefield

"Alright, the competition has only just begun and it's already reached a fever pitch!"

Kroos stood on a makeshift platform, microphone in hand, commentating on the match. Outside the arena, in the stands, the operators, eager for excitement, frantically shouted out the names of their favorite players.

Kroos was equally determined.

"As you can see, the players on the track have already begun to demonstrate their strategies. Among them, the seeded players, led by Logos, are huddled together. Are they about to start sabotaging each other... Oh! No!"

"They actually chose to cooperate; they lined up on the track, forming an insurmountable wall!"

"Then the remaining players who are temporarily behind need to think carefully about how they can break through this wall composed of many elite operators!"

"This situation reminds me of the firewall function I developed for the large external network, which can protect the information security of every user. If you need it, please feel free to contact me to order!"

Amid boos from the audience, Kroos continued her commentary without flinching.

"Besides this unexpected wall of defense, the female runners behind were also trying to speed up, but their fighting spirit was clearly not as high as that of the runners in front."

"It's really strange. Why are Logos and the others even more excited than during the last bench race, even though there's no prize?"

"Next, unsurprisingly, the ones at the bottom are Doctor and Qi Yan... Wait, them... Oh my god!"

"These two bottom-ranked guys actually chose to fight amongst themselves!"

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, Qi Yan, who had already been left far behind at the very bottom of the rankings, pushed off the ground with all his might, increasing the speed of his gliding stool and slamming it hard into the doctor's stool.

The doctor was caught off guard and was thrown towards the edge of the track fence.

At the critical moment, the doctor managed to slow the round stool down, turned his head and glared fiercely at Qi Yan:

"You white-haired dog, instead of trying to increase your speed, you're attacking me?"

"Hmph, I have my own secret to victory." Qi Yan stomped his legs hard on the ground, his tail whipping up high. "Compared to everyone else, you are my biggest threat to winning the championship. Of course, I will eliminate you before your methods take effect!"

The doctor quickly accelerated, trying to shake off Qi Yan's charging attack, panting heavily as he said angrily:

"Those guys have clearly started to cooperate, and their goal is to target the two of us."

If you ask me, the most sensible choice for both of us is to start cooperating, eliminate everyone else first, and then have the two of us fight it out!

"A decisive battle? Not necessary!"

Qi Yan smiled lewdly: "Administrator, you didn't think about cooperation when you banned me!"

"What the hell is this? Holy crap, don't come any closer!"

Seeing Qi Yan catching up and about to bite him, the Doctor was so frightened that his scalp tingled and he unleashed his boundless potential, increasing his speed once again. He successfully shook off Qi Yan and approached the Outcast, which was slowly paddling ahead.

Upon learning that the prize for this competition was only a nonsensical compliment, Outcast lost all interest in competing and leisurely waited to watch others put on a good show.

Noticing the commotion behind her, she turned around and couldn't help but tease:

"Gentlemen, if I'm not mistaken, your methods are definitely underhanded. If the infighting gets too fierce, the underhanded methods won't have time to take effect, and others will reap the benefits."

"Grandma, save me!" the professor cried out urgently. "If you protect me, I promise I'll help you win the runner-up title after we win the championship!"

"Grandma, don't listen to his slander!"

Qi Yan shouted, "From what I know, this guy is definitely up to no good. In order to ensure efficiency, he will definitely do something that hurts the enemy a thousand while hurting himself eight hundred."

For your safety, Grandma, please join my team. I promise you'll feel even better losing than winning!

"That's so exaggerated?" Outcast was stunned.

"Slander, pure slander! What bad intentions could I possibly have?" the doctor retorted repeatedly.

Outcast, somewhat suspicious, slowed his pace as he approached the Doctor and Qi Yan, and said in a low voice:

"You've really piqued my interest. How about this, we'll use a bidding process. You each raise your bids, and whoever ultimately wins my heart will be the one I help to take the championship."

Qi Yan caught up with the doctor, and the two exchanged a glance, each with their own thoughts, but they didn't rush to continue their fight.

"If you're willing to help me win the championship, Grandma, I can secretly assign you some field missions without Kal'tsit's knowledge," the Doctor offered first. "I know you've been feeling bored since you retired, Grandma. These missions, carefully selected by me, are guaranteed to be a perfect blend of safety and excitement."

Outcast was clearly tempted.

"Since Grandma likes seeking thrills, she should definitely choose me, Qi Xiaobai." Qi Yan countered, "I can personally lead the team. Whether it's crawling into the beds of giant beasts or messing with various beast lords, I'll go through fire and water without hesitation, Grandma!"

"Hiss, isn't that a bit impolite?"

Outcast said it wasn't good, but his face showed interest.

"No way, Grandma!" the professor started offering a dirty trick. "This white dog plans to sing a song after winning the championship!"

"When did I ever say such a thing?" he exclaimed in surprise.

"He's acting, that's what he really thinks!" The doctor doesn't even need to think before he lies.

Outcast was once again caught in a state of doubt and uncertainty, but she clearly dared not gamble, and her gaze gradually fell on the Doctor.

Seeing this, the doctor was confident of victory and gave Qi Yan a thumbs-down.

But just as he was mocking Qi Yan while keeping a watchful eye on her potential retaliation, he noticed that Qi Yan's expression suddenly changed and she began to distance herself from him.

"Get out!"

A damned push-back sensation suddenly surged through the Doctor's mind, accompanied by Outcast's evil growl.

Why————

The doctor's figure, accompanied by his unwilling roar, crashed heavily into the track fence, falling flat on his back.

"Doctor, out!"

Kroos immediately announced the elimination information.

Logos and the others, who were standing in front of them and had transformed into a city wall, were startled and quickly turned around to check the situation.

Just as they turned around, five gunshots rang out almost simultaneously. Outcast, sitting on a stool and holding a gun, approached the elite operators' wall in the blink of an eye and kicked ACE's stool.

A crack appeared in the city wall.

Goodbye everyone, I'm taking my leave now.

Outcast used the recoil from firing the gun to overtake the opponent, laughing as he rode away: "Blame Qi Yan and the Doctor for what they want. Their eagerness to win the championship has really piqued my interest in the praise that the champion will receive."

I'm looking forward to the moment when you all obediently line up and present your prizes to me.

Seeing this, Scout gritted his teeth in anger and also took off his sniper rifle from his back.

"We're counting on you, Scout!" ACE and the others cheered in unison.

"Of course, this is a cheap model that I bought specifically for this competition."

Scout sneered.

His words nearly made everyone's brains short-circuit.