reincarnation npc, but tomorrow's ark

“I was delivering medicine when the conflict happened. I was planning to finish delivering the medicine I had on hand before coming back, but I encountered thugs. Fortunately, Ms. Outcast appeared and saved me.”

“She told me to come back first, and that she would go find Jenny. So I ran all the way back, and on the way I saw Saoirse being chased by thugs from Deeppool, so I took her with me and ran. But then those thugs caught up with us…”

Oliver suddenly realized:

"You were rescued by Mr. Bai Ye later?"

Will nodded:

"Mr. Bai Ye... he's really strong. He took care of the thugs with ease. I didn't even see how he did it..."

"Of course, he's a big shot who can rival elite operators," the shredder said with a smile.

"When will Mr. White Night be back?" Oliver asked from the side.

Although he is usually the leader of this site, now Baiye and Outcast have become the backbone of the group.

“Mr. White Night must have gone to find Ms. Outcast; he brought us back first,” Will said, sitting down on a chair nearby.

"Fortunately, Mr. Bai Ye had all the overseas offices reinforced and strengthened their safe houses, and they came in handy during this crisis," the shredder remarked.

Oliver smiled:

"The pressure on Director Baiye was actually quite high at the time. Some of the higher-ups at Rhodes Island opposed his spending, but Director Baiye shouldered all of that pressure. He said he would rather spend more money than attend the funeral of one of his subordinates."

“I heard that some of the facilities were built with money paid out of White Night’s own pocket. Rhodes Island really doesn’t have that much money.” Fred also came out of the cabin.

Clearly, the commotion outside had woken him up.

Saoirse, standing to the side, seemed somewhat surprised.

From the descriptions of the operators, she learned that the person who had appeared at the critical moment to save them was a high-ranking executive from a company called "Rhodes Island".

Unexpectedly, such a high-ranking official would personally come to rescue people.

It's a truly unique company.

"Next, we just have to wait and make plans after the bosses come back. Luckily, it's safe enough here." The shredder wasn't too worried about White Night or Outcast.

He was relieved when Will came back.

"Some documents can be processed first, but this place will probably have to be abolished."

After housing so many civilians, the site is likely to be abandoned according to the safety manual.

The office is also expected to relocate. This is all for security reasons. After all, an exposed safe house obviously cannot be called a safe house. The Penguin Logistics station that was initially targeted by Bai Ye's "zero-yuan purchase" was also subsequently abandoned.

—Even if they later learned that it was Bai Ye himself who did it.

Chapter Fifty-Two: Intuition

"Ah! Ahh!"

Bai Ye suddenly sneezed twice.

Fortunately, he kept the soundproofing on the whole time; otherwise, the noise would have been quite loud and might have caused unnecessary trouble.

"What's wrong?" Outcast asked with concern.

Although she may not be as strong as Bai Ye, and perhaps doesn't have as much influence in Rhodes Island's decision-making circles as Bai Ye, Outcast is older, so regardless of status, she has always taken good care of Bai Ye.

Bai Ye's relationship with her is similar to that of a junior and an elder.

"I'm fine... That's weird." Bai Ye scratched his head, not quite understanding why he would suddenly sneeze.

Given his constitution, he shouldn't catch a cold.

"By the way, I heard that you personally funded some of Rhodes Island's projects?" Outcast asked curiously.

Bai Ye laughed:

"My idea was just too expensive, and Rhodes Island's financial situation at the time didn't really allow it, so I covered that part of the cost myself."

After a pause, he explained:

"Actually, for me, spending money is more like an investment. Compared with what I get later, the previous investment is not worth mentioning at all."

Without the extensive network of Rhodes Island offices across the region, White Night's Northern Cross Logistics wouldn't have been able to get started. It would have even impacted the later development of the Adventurers' Guild. Compared to his initial investment, his gains were indeed far greater.

However, these ordinary Rhodes Island operators obviously wouldn't know this, which ironically gave White Night a better reputation and prestige within Rhodes Island.

This was something Bai Ye hadn't expected.

"Perhaps it is indeed for your own benefit. But for every Rhodes Island operator, it is because of you that we benefit. Therefore, White Night, you have absolutely no need to belittle yourself," Outcast said with a smile.

"I feel like something's off..." Bai Ye shrugged.

“Then let’s be open about it,” Outcast said, patting White Night on the shoulder.

Amidst their laughter and conversation, the two quickly traversed several blocks of Hillshire with Jenny, returning to the Rhode Island field office.

As expected of Vyvan, Jenny's physical abilities are excellent, and she can easily keep up with Bai Ye and Outcast. Even though Bai Ye didn't use flight, it didn't take too much time to travel.

This time, Bai Ye didn't fly as he had before, as he needed to conserve his energy. While the previous long-distance flights weren't too tiring, they had still drained his mental strength. Bai Ye was worried about what might happen later, so from now on, he wouldn't recklessly squander his power.

During the subsequent evacuation, he might have to protect many people by himself. Although Outcast was there to share the burden, it was still quite tiring. Bai Ye didn't want to suffer losses later due to his poor condition.

For him, it would be best to rest and recuperate fully in a safe house before continuing his journey.

However, a strange sense of crisis lingered in Bai Ye's mind, preventing him from letting his guard down. Bai Ye chose to trust his intuition, because it was a reasonable deduction made automatically by his subconscious after gathering a great deal of information.

Humans have limited capacity to process information, so they tend to cram low-priority information into their subconscious to reduce the burden on the brain. However, Bai Ye's subconscious, through special training, is capable of automatically processing this information and issuing warnings.

Similarly, in emergency situations, the brain doesn't first consider the optimal or lowest-cost approach; instead, it starts with path dependence. The subconscious, however, doesn't; it automatically calculates and arrives at the most reasonable path judgment. In practical terms, this means Bai Ye's intuition is very accurate.

Since his subconscious was issuing a warning, Bai Ye naturally wouldn't ignore it or relax completely. After sending the weaker Will and Saoirse back, he entered a state of energy conservation. Anyway, with his strength, if he was careful, nothing could possibly cause him to fail.

With White Night and Outcast working together, they encountered no trouble or obstacles along the way and passed through enemy-occupied and conflict zones almost smoothly, bringing Jenny to Rhodes Island's safe house.

“They didn’t dare to open the door when I knocked before, and later I found out that the security cameras outside were broken…” Bai Ye rolled his eyes speechlessly.

“Maintaining the equipment is also important, but I doubt anyone expected a riot to break out here.” Outcast shook his head.

Bai Ye knocked on the door according to the agreed-upon code.

"Finally, I can breathe a sigh of relief." Stepping into the safe house, Bai Ye stretched, the night's journey finally coming to an end.

"Thank you for your hard work." Outcast smiled.

She knew that although Bai Ye seemed relaxed, he was actually the one who had worked the hardest that night. Not only physically, but Bai Ye was also under considerable psychological pressure.

Bai Ye gave a thumbs-up, everything was understood without words.

……

"Mr. Baiye, Ms. Outcast, you're finally back." At this moment, the operators inside the safe house had been waiting anxiously. After seeing Baiye and Outcast return safely, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Did you miss me?" Bai Ye smiled.

Meanwhile, Jenny rushed towards Saoirse, who had already settled in the safe house:

"Thank goodness you're alright. I heard about what happened to you, and I was so worried about you..."

“Jenny…” Saoirse hugged Jenny too, and the two, who had survived the ordeal, wept with joy.

What was a minor riot for Baiye was nothing like the end of the world to ordinary people.

The joys and sorrows of these ordinary people seem to be gradually fading away from Bai Ye. Perhaps this is one of the changes brought about by increasing strength.

“Let’s settle in for now… Oh, thank you.” Bai Ye sat down to the side, while the shredder brought him and Outcast hot tea.

"Should we evacuate the civilians who have taken refuge first? It seems to have calmed down a bit outside; some people want to go home..." Oliver asked.

Although it's safe here, it's not my home after all, and staying here does make some people feel uneasy.

Bai Ye shook his head:

"Wait a little longer... It's not a good time to go out now, I have a feeling something's not right."

My intuition kept warning me, and it only calmed down after I returned to the safe house. It seemed that if I had stayed outside any longer, something bad would have happened.

He might be able to handle it on his own, but for these Rhodes Island operators, or even Outcast, it could be a disaster.

"Let's wait a bit longer... Are the supplies sufficient? If not, I have more here," Bai Ye asked.

Chapter 53 The Outcast's Intentions

At this point, all Rhodes Island's overseas operators and related personnel are safe. Outcast has also been located, and White Night's mission is complete.

Next, it was time to prepare for the retreat.

However, Bai Ye wasn't in a hurry.

Only now could he finally settle down. Sipping the hot tea brought by the paper shredder, Bai Ye sat on the sofa looking at the documents.

"I didn't expect you to all be Victorians. I thought at least one or two of you were sent by our ship." Bai Ye blinked.

In fact, most of Rhodes Island's overseas offices operate on this model, trying to have locals stationed there as field agents. This reduces the need for them to travel back and forth across the island and allows them to take care of their families.

Oliver grew up in a middle-class family in northern Lentinium. His family originally came from Gaul. He still lives above the office building and takes leave every year to go back to see his wife and children.

Fred was an apprentice from Peninsula County. He had several brothers and a little sister, and his family was very harmonious.

Will is a native; his family moved to Little Hills County from a nearby settlement decades ago, and he has Tara ancestry from his grandmother.

The shredder was also a local; he had a deceased Tara wife.

Therefore, the catastrophe unfolding in the city at this moment has deeply saddened these Rhodes Island operators. After all, many consider this place their home.

"So, what exactly happened here? I heard you refer to the thugs here as Deep Pool?" Bai Ye asked, frowning.

After a whole night of running around, he had to find out exactly what had happened here.

“White Night, you should know about the conflict between the Tara and the Victoria, right?” Outcast asked.

Bai Ye nodded. Before coming here, he had read about Xiaoqiu County.

"However, in theory, as times progress, races will be assimilated and hatred will gradually fade away. After all, we must look forward."

“What if I said that someone did it intentionally? When I first came here, I heard people outside the window teaching children to address each other in Tara. The bond of language is stronger than many other things, unlike blood ties which can be diluted by the passage of time, or interests which need to be weighed on a scale at all times.”

"It seems someone wants to use this bond to reunite a group that has been growing increasingly loose. But if they do, the old cohesion will become unstable. Victoria won't let this happen under her nose. However, the greater the pull, the greater the rebound will be than expected."

Outcast shook his head as he spoke:

"Dr. Kal'tsit sent me here to find out what's going on here."

“Yes, there’s no need to trouble an elite operator to make the trip to retrieve the data.” Bai Ye nodded.

“Seeing is believing, so gathering data isn’t really a pretext,” Outcast chuckled. “While that sounds a bit cunning, it’s true. In the past six months, quite a few companies have terminated their partnerships with Rhodes Island.”

"We had 4 companies registered last month, but 3 more have registered this month, so now we have 7," the shredder added from the side.

“In Victoria today, the big businessmen’s wallets are the first to notice any slight movement.” Outcast sighed. “Seven companies is no small number, White Night, you should know that.”

Bai Ye nodded. A large portion of Rhodes Island's revenue comes from these companies. The termination of cooperation by seven companies is indeed no small matter. Coupled with the turbulent situation in Victoria, it's no wonder Outcast had to make the trip here personally.

"Dr. Kal'tsit really knows how to order people around," Bai Ye muttered to himself.

“I asked to come here, so I had to go out and see for myself—before the muddy rain floods the city.” Outcast then shrugged. “Although it turns out my worries weren’t unfounded, well… you saw it too.”

Outcast pointed outside as he spoke.

Clearly, she was late.

Some things are beyond our control.

"An armed force calling itself Deep Pool infiltrated the city, stirred up hatred among the Tara people, exacerbated the conflict between the Tara and Victoria people, and then captured the city," Bai Ye summarized simply.

“This approach is not unfamiliar…” Bai Ye said thoughtfully.

Highly similar to the "Chernobyl Incident" before the White Night crossing, the Reunion Movement, or the Black Serpent Kosiege, relied on the hatred of the Infected, while "Deep Pool" relied on the Tara people.

Similarly, much like Koschei, they were merely exploiting, not genuinely acting in the best interests of their chosen group. Koschei simply wanted to use the infected as pawns and cannon fodder; similarly, this deep pool was certainly not, as they claimed, for the liberation of the Tara.

Otherwise, they wouldn't treat the civilians here this way.

The killing and arson of civilians, the looting and arson, have crossed the line. It's exactly the same as before Bai Ye's transmigration.

“They must have Victorian elites supporting them, otherwise ordinary thugs wouldn’t have such armament and power.”

“That’s for sure…and it’s not just the local nobles of Hillshire; there must be a bigger force behind it.” Outcast nodded.

After hearing this, Jenny raised her hand and added: