A Person in Arknights, Starting as Griseo

Rather than yesterday night, when she had merely leaned lightly against her shoulder.

"Good afternoon..."

Watching Griseo close her eyes again before long, Alyona's eyes glimmered slightly as a smile appeared on her face.

After hesitating for a moment, she reached out and gently stroked the little girl's sky-blue bangs.

Having been warned by Griseo in advance, Yelena had prepared herself and waited quietly, investigating with care.

Before long, she found traces around the mine that confirmed what the little girl had said about an advance squad.

After realizing there were not many of them, FrostNova was already planning to lead the Yetis and eliminate them...

After all, if a scouting squad like this was allowed to return, they might soon bring a large force of enemies back to besiege them.

Therefore, to buy time and slow the enemy's movements, FrostNova would never allow this squad to return alive.

Having made her decision, Yelena naturally acted with swift resolve. After secretly contacting several Yetis and forming a small team,

they silently left the mine and set off in pursuit of the prey that had already finished gathering intelligence and departed.

As for why they had not struck while the squad was scouting, the reason was simple. Once the enemy approached the mine, they had split up... and the Yeti Squad did not have enough people.

If they alerted the enemy and accidentally let one or two slip away, it would be over. This operation would become meaningless.

That was why FrostNova had chosen this method: follow their tracks from afar, wait for them to regroup, then wipe them out in one stroke.

Griseo noticed Yelena's departure. After all, her Mr. Tyrant and big sister were still outside.

However, the little girl did not intend to stop her... because she had no reasonable excuse.

Normally, Griseo might have stopped Yelena long ago, or acted before her... but this time, the troublesome mission restrictions meant she could not make a move.

Still, the little girl was not too worried, because she could sense that Sakura was almost here.

So while "Griseo" could not protect Yelena herself, it made little difference if Sakura could do it instead.

However, because of this, Sakura's originally casual order of dealing with things became fixed, directly targeting the advance squad.

"Mm..."

As she thought this, Griseo gave a quiet hum, then subconsciously rubbed lightly against Alyona's shoulder.

P.S.: There'll be more tonight. I really am going to mass-update today. Even the editor's cheering me on, and it's making me feel a little embarrassed...

I've had braces on for a while, so they don't hurt anymore, but the rubber bands hurt a lot, and the damn braces scrape up my mouth.

After I write another chapter, I'll start settling the bounty rewards. Then after tonight's mass update, I still need to write a note for the release. The first-day subscriptions are really important, so I'm asking everyone for help tomorrow.

Forget-me-not Is My Alias

The wind carried snow as it howled. The surrounding trees blurred and swept backward, while Sakura continued racing toward her target without the slightest pause or relaxation.

However, when Sakura arrived, she saw both sides already fighting, as well as Yelena preparing to use her Originium Arts to retaliate. Frigid air had already gathered in her hand...

But Sakura clearly had no intention of giving the white rabbit that chance.

She swung with a slash of extreme speed. Several sharp arcs of sword energy tore through the air, leaving icy-blue trails behind them.

In but an instant, before anyone in the advance squad could react,

their heads had been separated from their bodies.

"Wha..."

This time, Sakura had not held back as before. Before the headless corpses even fell, scarlet fountains of blood burst forth before everyone's eyes.

"What?!"

"Fuck!"

Only after the blood erupted and stung the eyes of several Yetis did they hurriedly react, looking toward the masked culprit in the distance.

Even Yelena frowned slightly, looking as though she faced a great enemy as she asked solemnly, "Who are you?"

As for why Yelena reacted so strongly, it was because... she had been too fast.

The pink-haired Cautus before them, wearing a mask and scant clothing, had moved so quickly that not only the Yetis, but even Yelena herself had failed to see it clearly.

"Me? You don't need to know that yet."

Clearly, Sakura did not want to waste too much time here with FrostNova, because there was still a large group of enemies waiting for her to deal with.

If she lingered here any longer, Patriot might run into those enemies, leading to unnecessary losses.

So, after leaving behind two Forget-me-nots as before, Sakura prepared to turn and leave.

However, as if remembering something, she softly tossed out one final sentence. "If you really want something to call me, Forget-me-not is my alias."

Afterward, Sakura truly did not look at Yelena and the others' reactions again. With a flash, she swiftly left the area and raced toward her next target.

Watching that figure vanish within a few breaths, Yelena's brow furrowed even deeper. She unconsciously repeated in a quiet voice, "Forget-me-not?"

"Big Sis, this... should we head back now?"

Seeing their big sister seemingly lost in thought, one of the Yetis who had recovered asked.

"Mm... Let's go back. Even if we weren't the ones who did it, the scouting team has still been dealt with." Hearing this, Yelena came back to her senses and nodded lightly.

However, before leaving, she stepped forward and cut a piece of cloth from a corpse, then wrapped up the two pink Forget-me-nots Sakura had left on the ground.

Inside the mine warehouse—

At the same time, Griseo, who had been leaning against Alyona's shoulder, slowly sat upright and rubbed her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing the adorable Griseo suddenly sit up, still bleary-eyed, Alyona softened her voice and asked quietly.

"Mm... It's nothing. I'm just not used to it."

Hearing that, Griseo softly explained to Alyona.

The little girl had suddenly gotten up not because she was happy to learn about Sakura's situation. She genuinely just was not used to it.

Of course, what she was not used to was not leaning against Alyona's shoulder. Rather, it was... the gazes that still occasionally stole glances at her.

Griseo was neither afraid nor concerned...

But this time, they were too close, and those gazes were mixed with all kinds of colors. She was beginning to feel uncomfortable, or rather, she was about to be forcibly dyed by them.

"Are you really okay?"

For some reason, Alyona felt that Griseo seemed a little irritated right now. Yet when she looked closely, she could not see anything on the little girl's expressionless face.

"Mm... I'm fine."

After responding softly, Griseo gently hugged her companion and rested her little head lightly on Alyona's shoulder. Only after a while did she continue in a muffled voice:

"Mm, Alyona, can you lend me your color again?"

"...Mm, take it and use it."

Feeling the warmth by her ear, Alyona's mind went blank for a moment. Then, after recovering, she answered without hesitation.

In her eyes, it was merely some color... If Griseo wanted to use it, she did not even need to ask again. She could simply take it.

Moreover, Alyona had finally more or less come to understand Griseo's concept of "color."

Though she did not fully understand it, through observation and the little girl's previous words, she had reached a rough conclusion.

To Alyona, this "color" probably referred to the different traits each person possessed, traits that no one else could see.

But Griseo seemed special. Not only could she see them, she even seemed to be affected by them, just like before and now.

Alyona had also noticed that, in order to shake off the influence of other "colors," the little girl had voluntarily come to be stained by her color both times...

"Whew..."

After understanding this, a hint of helplessness flashed through Alyona's pale green eyes.

Before long, Griseo was once again stained by her companion's color. However, this time she did not intend to paint. She merely sat there quietly, wanting the color to remain a little longer.

If the color faded later and its effects on her remained this strong, she planned to go outside and play for a while.

She was not afraid of the cold anyway, so she could treat it as patrolling the mine.

Next, following the information Griseo had given her, Sakura continued moving through the forest coated in silver frost. Even the heavy snow could not affect her speed.

However, she was clearly much more vigilant than before, because she was afraid an Elite Guard might truly emerge from the enemies on this side.

Sakura was not truly afraid of Ursus's Elite Guards. It would not be an exaggeration to say she could easily kill one, but their characteristics were extremely troublesome... they were essentially humanoid bombs with a vast blast radius.

Once their protective suits were damaged, they would trigger an annihilation powerful enough to level an entire manor.

In that case, either Sakura could only drive the enemy back as the system mission instructed, or she would have to lure them farther away...

Otherwise, if Yelena, Patriot, and the others were caught in it, she would regret it to death.

Still, the mission restrictions were simply too severe this time. If Griseo could intervene, she would not even need to resort to violence. She could directly seal them into a painting.

That would truly be safe and pollution-free.

P.S.: There should be two more chapters tonight. This is the first time writing has made my head buzz, and I just happened to pick up the pace tonight. This matter is more or less about to be written through.

Hurry up and urge me on.

What... Exactly... Are You?

However, just as Sakura advanced vigilantly, the information Griseo sent her made her freeze, and her speed slowed considerably.

Just now, the little girl had told her that the enemy's main force, which Mr. Tyrant had been watching all along, had directly abandoned another round of probing and begun marching.

Patriot's side was also drawing ever closer to Sakura. It would not take long before the two sides collided.

If possible, Sakura did not want them to meet at all. She only wanted to quietly and silently eliminate the enemy, protect her friends, and collect the reward.

After all, Patriot was rather difficult to deal with, in every sense of the word.

And they still did not know whether this group of enemies had an Elite Guard among them. Judging by common sense, Sakura felt it was unlikely. What Elite Guard would be so idle as to come handle such a trivial matter?

But since the system had issued a mission like this, perhaps there was reason for doubt? Of course, it was also possible she was simply overthinking it.

"Sigh..."

After letting out a quiet sigh, Sakura pushed off with her feet and raised her speed once more...

"Stop... There are... enemies... ahead!"

Patriot, walking at the very front of the formation, suddenly stopped. Looking at the many hazy silhouettes in the distance, he issued an order in his hoarse voice.

At his command, the entire formation stopped, and everyone entered combat readiness.

The shieldguards behind him also stepped forward to stand beside Patriot, moving to the front of the formation and taking up defensive positions.

When Patriot's side discovered the other side, the other side naturally noticed them as well and entered defensive positions...

For a time, both sides silently observed the other's identity.

However, this harmony did not last long. Suddenly, a pink figure launched herself into the official forces' formation without the slightest restraint, continuously reaping lives.

Groups of people fell one after another... With Sakura's disruption, the formation descended into complete chaos.

Some tried to fight back with weapons, while others used Originium Arts. In the end, everything became a mess, and no one managed to hit the assassin who had attacked them.

However, Sakura dared to be so direct for two reasons... First, through her observation, she had confirmed that there were probably no enemies on the level of an Elite Guard within the formation.

Second, if she waited any longer, Patriot would charge in. To help the Reunion Movement reduce its losses, she chose to strike first.

After noticing the situation on the other side, the red glow in Patriot's eyes flickered. He did not act rashly, instead holding his position while analyzing what lay ahead.

In his view, these seemingly disciplined troops before him should be the official forces sent to deal with the mine incident and suppress the infected.