Arknights, but the family has fallen again

Tallulah made way, and the coat that had been thrown together with the boots was neatly put away and folded beside the bed.

Seeing the ghost shark, the venom left by Kosice surged again:

Look, this Dr. Ott never lets his guard down.

You never had a chance to be alone with him...

If he really trusts you, why does he always bring a close combat expert with him every time he meets you?

Admit it!

If he really cut off the "I" completely, how could he have been so vigilant?

Another part of my mind retorted:

Even though I was influenced by Black Snake before, it was indeed the Integration Movement that captured Chernobog!

And I am indeed the leader of the Reunion Movement!

It would be foolish to let me act while I still have a lot of influence over the Reunion!

What's more... I don't even believe in myself now!

“…Lola!”

"Ms. Tallulah!"

While Tallulah was still "distracted", Otto and Amiya called her one after another.

"Feel sorry."

The etiquette and grace cultivated by Kosice drove Tallulah to offer some hospitality: "I have some tea here, which I got from the logistics department."

"Amiya, help me."

"Yeah!" The little rabbit took the initiative to lend a hand.

The light green tea ripples in the translucent glass, with a few exposed tea stems standing in the middle, floating up and down.

After everyone sat down, Tallulah couldn't help but glance at the ghost shark.

With a sorcerer like Amiya around, it might be possible to hold Dr. Ott hostage, but in the process of fighting this shark... No! Don't think so!

She shook her head and asked, "Dr. Ott, what can I do for you?"

"I noticed that you still kept that dress, Miss Tallulah." Otto looked at the coat beside Tallulah.

That was originally the embodiment of Kashena's aesthetic.

For Tallulah now, it is precisely the material entity of the time when the "Black Snake" personality dominated.

“I kept it as a warning,” Tallulah replied.

"I noticed you were trying to fix it?"

"Excuse me, I didn't learn needlework very well when I was in Longmen—Huijie was the same." A slight smile appeared on Tallulah's pretty face: "The things we both made were all crooked."

"After Kosice and I left... he was more interested in training me as his heir, and had no intention of using me for marriage. That's why, even in Ursus, I didn't learn much about sewing."

Ott captured an interesting phenomenon: when Tallulah described the incident in which Kosciuszko kidnapped her, she chose a very neutral, even complimentary, statement - "I went with Kosciuszko."

In the original world line, when Amiya and Chen Huijie were fighting against "Talulah" in the core city, Talulah realized that there was something wrong with her memory, and then she awakened Talulah in the black snake's body.

But now, this incident never happened at all, and Tallulah's memory itself has many problems to deal with.

This is also one of the sequelae of speed running through the city dungeon. I actually forgot to consider this... Can I resurrect Kosice and kill him again at this point?

This complete bastard thought so.

In any case, if you want to make good use of Tallulah, you can't let her maintain this mentality.

"I see. During the Reunion Movement, your clothes were repaired by Alina, right, Tallulah?"

Chapter 237 I really like the phrase "Huh?"

"Indeed."

In the early days of the Reunion Movement, when Tallulah and Froststar fought and sparred with each other, and got to know each other, Tallulah's magic once affected her cloak.

At that time, the person who helped Tallulah repair the cloak was Alina.

In fact, it wasn't just that cloak. Throughout her short yet long life in the snowy plains, it was Alina who had been repairing Tallulah's clothes.

The thought of Alina warmed Tallulah's gloomy and cold expression.

A smile unconsciously appeared on the corner of her mouth.

"She always thought I knew nothing about needlework, but I liked to see her concentrating on sewing, and I liked to interrupt her and talk to her for a few more words at that time."

Ott was silent for a moment, then told Tallulah, "She must know now."

"...What?" Tallulah leaned back unconsciously.

Amiya was a little worried.

"Anyway, I think your... coat is a little too simple. I'd like to ask Alina to help modify the pattern."

This is a very bad excuse. The worst part is that it has no logic or coherence.

But Tallulah had already sensed a possibility, and she refused with a look of longing on her face: "...Forget it."

"why?"

Tallulah said, "There's a difference between yin and yang. I'm already satisfied just to have contact with her two more times."

It seems that some traditional factors led her to have a subtle misunderstanding.

"Tallulah, it seems you didn't fully understand something when you were at the border earlier." Otto explained: "That place is neither hell nor the underworld."

"It is a unique realm, different from the ordinary land of the dead."

"You mean...?" Tallulah understood the hint.

"There is no Impermanence, Judge, or King of Darkness, nor is there Pluto or the Devil." Otto reached out to Talula and wiped her eyes in the air.

"just me."

"Open your eyes."

“…Alina.”

Tallulah unconsciously grabbed Otto's hand.

Alina's body completely overlaps with Otto's, but Tallulah perceives her as a "soul" and Otto as a "living person" in different ways. Although they are two completely overlapping people, Tallulah can see them both at the same time.

After a long while, Tallulah asked, "What's going on now?"

Amiya could clearly feel the strange emotion twisting, while Tallulah seemed to have heard something.

The dragon girl nodded and said, "I understand."

"Amiya, please help me get the sewing tools." Otto turned around and asked.

"Yeah." The little rabbit looked at Otto, then got up and left.

Before she left, Ott explained directly: "Alina doesn't have a physical body. If you want her help, you have to provide her with a physical body."

But Amiya's depression stems from other factors: "Doc Otter... No, nothing."

Her eyes clearly showed that she had something.

[It's not convenient for us to discuss matters concerning the soul in front of Tallulah.]

After receiving this cryptic response, her rabbit ears twitched happily and she closed the door.

Tallulah looked at the ghost shark beside Otto, who was silent but still had an amazing presence, and shook her head violently.

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

"Some bad ideas." Tallulah breathed a sigh of relief. Facing the deer, she spoke frankly, "Black Snake may have been defeated, but his residual influence still remains."

She said frankly, "I've always had the idea of taking Dr. Ott hostage and escaping Rhodes Island's control."

The ghost shark let go of Otto's left arm without saying a word, but his wine-red eyes were full of murderous intent.

Otto used his freed left arm to soothe the nun's back.

He commented matter-of-factly, "Rhode Island is indeed restricting your personal freedom now."

"Dr. Ott, I really didn't expect you to be so... blunt."

"I'm not a politician - at most I'm a scientific research director." Ott's facial expression did not fluctuate at all.

This scumbag is doing this image project again.

"Even so, expressing the facts in a softer way can save you a lot of trouble..." Tallulah advised kindly.

After hearing what Tallulah said, Otto remained noncommittal and asked, "Which statement do you prefer?"

"Rhodes Island, out of concern for your condition, respect for the financial support provided by Mr. Wei Yanwu and Ms. Chen Huijie, and due to medical ethics, strongly recommends that Patient Tallulah remain in the hospital for observation."

"Or do you prefer another theory: to prevent the mob leader, Tallulah, from suddenly falling ill and regaining her ambitions, and inciting the infected to riot again when the natural disaster is about to strike, they are restricting her movements and keeping her under surveillance?"

Throwing out these two possibilities, Otto cleverly concealed his real purpose: he needed to establish a deeper influence and presence on the refugees in Che City and the remnants of the Integration Movement before Tallulah returned.

Before establishing a new model of offices in multiple countries, Rhodes Island needed to maintain a relatively harmless image. Therefore, after the reconstruction of Chernobog, Ott planned to let go of the Reunion Movement and only retain direct influence over Chernobog.

But one of the results of speedrunning was that Tallulah's image wasn't tarnished by the wicked Black Snake. Once Tallulah was openly active in front of the Reunion Movement, there would be no way to establish influence.

Otto's "straightforwardness" made Tallulah laugh and cry: "I personally do prefer the latter."

"They have it so hard, they can't afford any setbacks right now."

Alina couldn't help but reach out and touch Tallulah's face, saying pitifully, "Tallulah...you're too hard on yourself."

The dragon girl held Otto's hand tightly and closed her eyes.

"No, you were right before."

"Even if that spell never existed, I would still be... controlled... by the things it represents."

"At this moment, dark and obscene thoughts surged in my heart: What vicious means did this man in front of me use to control you?"

"He must be using you to manipulate me."

"What on earth would he do to you where I can't see him?"

Alina was at a loss for words and said, "He'll force me to do clerical work."

"……what?"

Just as Tallulah was analyzing her own dirty heart and lungs that had been soaked in black snakes, Alina gave another surprising answer: "He brought his own employees into the border area and used their sleep time to work for him."

Ott clarified: "In exchange, they are effectively on leave during the day."

"Besides, Ms. Alina, your job isn't enough to be called 'clerical drudgery'. Your job is to help me organize and sort the documents."

Chapter 238 Sewing

Otto's abstract behavior has even surpassed capitalists, feudal lords, and slave owners, and rolled back to the era of "divine" power, where even the dead have to work for him... It really interrupted Tallulah's emotional brewing.

Seeing that Tallulah had calmed down, Alina also breathed a sigh of relief.

Ott also emphasized: "Believe it or not, the direct impact of the Black Snake Originium Technique has been eliminated."

Tallulah smiled bitterly and said, "But the nails have already left marks on the wood. Even if you remove the nails, the marks will still remain."

She finally accepted reality—now those dark thoughts came from her, and only from her.

"These despicable thoughts have always been lurking deep within my heart. Kosice simply used the Originium technique to mold them into a personality that believes it is a new snake..."

"That's not necessarily what you think." Ott disagreed: "Your adoptive father himself might have suffered the same result."

"It's hard to imagine someone like him fighting for someone else's ideas," Tallulah objected softly, adding, "Either way, these thoughts disgust me—and myself for having these thoughts."

Everyone has dark thoughts.

However, if I use this as an excuse, I'm afraid I won't be able to convince Tallulah.

"Doc Otter!"

Amiya opened the door and brought Chen Huijie with her, in addition to herself.