reincarnation npc, but tomorrow's ark

"Baron Bolton here has been killed by them."

"So ruthless?" Bai Ye stroked his chin. "Take back what I said earlier. They might not be anyone's pawns, but rather possess their own independent will. However, there's no doubt that they have someone supporting them."

As he spoke, Bai Ye took a crossbow from his inventory and placed it on the table.

Seeing this, Outcast laughed:

"I used to hear that little girl Lephne say that Bai Ye could do magic tricks, but now it seems that it's even more amazing than magic."

“It’s just a simple use of space.” Bai Ye smiled, then pointed to the crossbow on the table and said, “I saw it. It’s one of their standard weapons, but it shows signs of modification with Columbia technology.”

Outcast added:

"Furthermore, their scouts and sorcerers have created special masks that can be mass-produced to resist Originium Arts... This technology is quite interesting."

"It's a pity we didn't see their regular troops; perhaps we could have found more clues from these people."

After all, those responsible for burning, killing, and looting were thugs, not the backbone of this armed force.

Chapter Fifty-Four: The Backbone

"By the way, young lady, are you also a Victorian soldier?"

Bai Ye watched the girl called Jenny with great interest.

“Yes, yes!” Jenny was a little nervous when Bai Ye suddenly spoke to her. She stood up and said, “Jane Willow, flag bearer of the Victoria Hillshire Guard of Honor!”

"I see, no wonder you always carry that flag."

Bai Ye glanced at the flag beside Jenny. Although it was somewhat damaged by the war, the girl had always carried it with her, even on the road to escape.

“Miss Jenny is very popular here,” the shredder joked. “If I were younger, I might even have pursued this beautiful lady myself…”

Bai Ye nodded:

“No wonder your operative Will asked Ms. Outcast to go find her; she must be a good friend of yours. And this child is quite different from the usual Victorian soldiers.”

"What happened to Saoirse?" Bai Ye looked curiously at the commoner girl he had rescued.

"..." Saoirse hesitated for a moment, then slowly said, "Actually, there were signs of this riot long ago."

Then she told everything she knew:

"Because of the oppression, we Tara people gathered together very early on. I didn't know what those adults were plotting. From beginning to end, I was just responsible for passing on some messages. A few sticky notes tucked in books, a few coded words hidden in the miscellaneous section of the Little Hill Evening News."

“I used to think this was to make everyone safer… but I overheard the editor-in-chief’s communications and learned that they were planning something so terrible.”

“Jenny is my friend, and I don’t want her to get hurt. I also want to stop this war, so I told Jenny the address and time of the Tara people’s gathering.”

Jenny added from the side:

“I alone cannot stop them, and our local troops are full of discrimination and oppression against the Tara people, so we cannot rely on them either. Therefore, I chose a friend from Lentinium…”

“Lentinium?” Bai Ye frowned. “Who is that?”

“She came from a very powerful unit. I didn’t know her name, only her code name was Bagpipe. Bagpipe said that she and her squad were investigating a case in Little Hills. I suspected that it might be related to the Tara conspiracy, so I told her the clues.”

Bai Ye suddenly realized, and he concluded:

“Deeppool always promotes Tara independence because they are oppressed, so the Tara people here tried to welcome Deeppool's armed forces in, and then they held a rally. People from Deeppool must have been invited to this rally as well... and it couldn't have been just about overthrowing oppression; those in power must have had political and economic needs as well.”

Jenny nodded:

"Yes, they held a party at Baron Bolton's house and invited Deeppool's officers... I don't know what happened after that. All I know is that while our people... those Victorian soldiers were attacking civilians, Deeppool's forces began their full-scale invasion of Little Hillshire."

"It seems that not only your friend from Londinium knew about this, but the news was also leaked to the garrison here through some channel." Bai Ye's speculation was quite accurate.

As he spoke, Bai Ye turned and exchanged a glance with Outcast.

Through Saoirse and Jenny's words, the two had almost pieced together the whole picture of the matter. Or rather, most of the truth.

As for the rest, it might be necessary for Jenny's bagpipe friend to fill in the gaps. Also, Bai Ye is very curious about who this so-called "Deep Pool" is.

It's definitely not as simple as just being "the liberators of the Tara people".

They were merely using this as a pretext to divide Victoria's territory. Their ambitions were perhaps even greater than White Night had initially imagined.

After a moment's thought, Bai Ye said seriously:

"You don't need to worry about what's going on here anymore. What we need to do now is evacuate. Little Hill County is no longer safe."

They could have stayed in the safe house until the situation stabilized. However, the safe house is now also housing residents from the surrounding area, causing supplies to be consumed faster than expected.

Without White Night or Outcast, these operators might have hesitated, but now that they have elite operators, and even White Night, they have a backbone.

Outcast looked at Bai Ye and laughed:

"Bai Ye, it's all up to you now."

Clearly, she intends to focus on Bai Ye.

Two people of similar status should distinguish between primary and secondary roles, otherwise things will get chaotic.

Bai Ye did not refuse. He stood up and clapped his hands.

"Time to get started."

Almost all the operators here were older than him, with only two young girls possibly being slightly younger. Yet, when Bai Ye began issuing orders, no one felt anything was amiss.

Bai Ye was originally a captain candidate, later becoming a top player. Although not a raid commander, he frequently led groups through raids. After transmigrating, he also served as a department head. All these factors gave Bai Ye the authority of a leader. Or rather, the talents he had sealed away due to those past events are now slowly awakening.

"Mr. Baiye, should the documents be burned?" According to the manual, only the key parts of the documents should be taken away, and the rest should be burned.

However, Bai Ye shook his head:

"Organize all the materials and hand them over to me... Whether it's documents or anything else you think is useful, you can organize them and give them to me. Don't worry about not being able to carry them."

“Fred, send a telegram to all the businesses and tell them to look for offices in nearby cities or terminate the contracts. In short, follow the terms of the agreement.”

“Received.” Fred turned to fiddle with the radio.

Bai Ye smiled:

"Actually, I don't need to give any orders. Everyone can complete the process in an orderly manner by following the procedures in the operation manual. That manual is very comprehensive and is the crystallization of Rhodes Island's wisdom."

Outcast shook his head:

"No, they need you. Your role isn't to tell them what to do, but to guide them, to give them a sense of direction so they don't panic. Or, when they have disagreements, they need someone to make the final decision—that's the role of a leader."

"I understand."

Bai Ye nodded.

So he continued, "..."

"Shredder, go and take inventory of the warehouse. Keep the supplies, leave some medicine for the refugees we're taking in here, and we'll take the rest."

"Oliver, prepare your weapons. Although Outcast and I will protect you, you should also be prepared to engage the enemy."

Under Baiye's arrangement, everything became orderly.

Chapter 55 Sakorta

"Why did Mr. Bai Ye suddenly resign?"

While tidying up, the shredder asked with some curiosity.

He was a veteran operator, so he was naturally curious about Bai Ye's sudden departure.

Moreover, Rhodes Island has many speculations, rumors, and outrageous gossip about this matter—such as White Night being persecuted by the old woman Kal'tsit.

Bai Ye retrieved all the equipment from the safe house, then stood up and replied with a smile:

"Aren't the current field supervisors doing a great job? It's the same whether I'm there or not."

After a pause, Bai Ye continued:

"As for why I resigned... it's probably because there were too many things to do, and I didn't have enough time on the Rhodes Island main ship to take care of my main responsibilities. So after completing the phase of work, I simply applied for a different position."

Bai Ye wasn't lying; this was the real reason he resigned.

It was simply because he was too busy. Being both a player and a Deepsea Hunter, Bai Ye had too many things to worry about and no time to continue his duties as the field operations supervisor. In addition, he had already obtained a complete intelligence network through Rhodes Island's overseas offices, so he had achieved his goal.

However, Bai Ye did not expect that although Dr. Kal'tsit agreed to his resignation, she arranged a nominal position for him at Rhodes Island and retained his original PRTS privileges.

Although he couldn't possibly accept it, Bai Ye felt that what Dr. Kal'tsit had said sounded a bit like she was entrusting her son to someone. He had a feeling that this person was becoming increasingly ethereal, as if she might disappear at any moment…

Coming to his senses, Bai Ye didn't say anything more, but instead put all the remaining equipment into his inventory.

The shredder was somewhat disappointed. While the answer was indeed reasonable and normal, it was far removed from the various rumors surrounding Rhodes Island; it was far too ordinary. He had originally thought he would hear something more interesting, filled with tales of love, hate, and revenge.

"Alright, get to work." Outcast shook his head and patted the shredder on the shoulder.

"Yes!" The shredder quickly sprang into action.

Outcast then approached Bai Ye:

"So you didn't actually intend to remain a field operations supervisor from the beginning?"

"Hmm? How so?" Bai Ye turned around and asked.

Outcast smiled:

"Because from the very beginning, you were deliberately grooming that little girl, Lephne. If you just wanted to be lazy, you could simply use her as an assistant instead of letting Lephne systematically learn and be exposed to how to become an excellent manager."

"Typing girl... Yeah, I did have that thought at the time, but I guess it was mainly because I wanted to be lazy... I think that's the main reason." Bai Ye scratched his head.

Outcast was somewhat skeptical:

"Isn't it because she seems rather negative that you want to give her something to do?"

"Of course not..." It was much later that Bai Ye realized why that girl was a cold, emotionless girl when they first met.

It was only later that he understood what the loss of empathy meant for a Sarkaz.

Outcast remained noncommittal, and Bai Ye, naturally unable to elaborate further, changed the subject:

"I never expected that you, madam, would become such a close friend with Typing Girl. I thought that girl would get PTSD whenever she saw Sakorta."

Due to an accident, Typing Girl, a Sarkaz, lost the Sarkaz's innate ability—empathy.

Through the aura, the Sarkaz can sense each other's emotions—this is empathy. While it cannot be used for mind reading, empathy allows Sarkaz to better understand each other's thoughts, improving the efficiency of communication. Thanks to the connection of the aura, Laterano has maintained peace and stability. Laterano religion believes that the existence of the aura itself is a manifestation of the Sarkaz's "salvation," granting them extensive civic rights within Laterano.

“That girl, Lephne, is probably… a ‘loser’ Sakorta, but I don’t think it matters, because while empathy is indeed important, it’s not everything in our lives. Even without empathy, we still have other ways to communicate and understand each other. I just taught that little girl that.” Outcast said slowly.

She then added:

"However, I haven't done as much as you."

"I didn't do anything..." Bai Ye asked, taking the opportunity to voice his long-standing question, "Why did Typing Girl's attitude towards me change so drastically? Could it be that she really is a masochist who likes to be asked to do this and that?"

Outcast laughed upon hearing this:

"Don't tell her this... Lephne is probably really grateful to you. Even if you don't realize it, you're the first person she's been willing to trust since she lost her empathy and left her hometown. She's experiencing a feeling of 'being needed,' and... that's probably why her attitude towards you has changed."

Bai Ye suddenly realized that there was such a reason behind it.

"Latland, it really is mysterious..."

He couldn't help but sigh.

“There are quite a few of my kind on Rhodes Island, and they’re all quite young. Seeing them makes me quite happy.” Outcast picked up his glass and smiled. “White Night, getting old is a really terrible feeling.”

“I can feel myself going downhill every day, waking up each day feeling more decayed than the day before, and everything is slipping away from me… What’s more, I’ve experienced too much loss on Rhodes Island already,” Outcast said softly.

“I’ve heard that you believe death is a manifestation of the deceased ascending to heaven and merging with the ‘High Holy Spirit,’ so even funerals of your own kind are often filled with laughter and joy,” Bai Ye asked tentatively.

Outcast nodded:

“You really know a lot of things. Sometimes I really feel like I’m facing a smaller, male version of Kal’tsit.”

“No, I’m no match for that riddle-maker…” Bai Ye didn’t know if Outcast was praising him or insulting him.

Outcast waved his hand:

"No, no, no, you're starting to give off a vibe that's starting to resemble my old friend... You always seem to give off the feeling that everything is going according to plan."

"However, I guess you haven't experienced the second half of the sentence. We Sakorta people also feel sad and shed tears."

"—In the 'moments of true sorrow,' grief will still gather into a 'tide,' washing over the entire Sarkaz of Lateran through empathy."

Chapter Fifty-Six: Evacuation