In Arknights, Starting as Griseo

Even Patriot himself had to admit that if he hadn't known Griseo's abilities beforehand, he might have been sealed in a painting like those two Elite Guards due to carelessness.

"So, this painting is the same as the last one? It can release people, or be torn up directly." As she spoke, Talulah looked towards Griseo to confirm her answer.

Although she had experienced this before and gained some knowledge, the little loli's unique nature was undeniable. Talulah couldn't be completely sure if the painting in her hand was the same as the previous one.

So, to be safe, she decided to ask again.

"Yes, if the painting is destroyed, everything inside will be annihilated. If you need to release someone, you'll have to come to me." Hearing this, Griseo gently nodded her little head again.

"Thank you so much, little one. You've been a great help again this time." Seeing the little loli's obedient demeanor, Talulah couldn't help but gently pat her head again, which felt incredibly soft.

Meanwhile, Yelena and Patriot, standing nearby, realized the value of the "Elite Guard" painting after hearing Griseo's explanation.

After all, Elite Guards were not easy to cultivate. These two Elite Guards were quite valuable bargaining chips, and even convenient ones to carry.

Suddenly, Yelena seemed to recall something. A smile appeared on her cold, serious face, and she gently said to Griseo and Alyona:

"We need to get moving again and leave this place. This time, little Griseo, you'll stay with the Yetis."

"Okay..."

Griseo didn't hesitate at all at Yelena's words and readily agreed.

The little loli had already guessed that Reunion would be relocating again, and it was practically a certainty. So, she wasn't surprised in the slightest.

However, this time, Griseo planned to offer a small bit of help. She intended to summon all her companions and have them scout the surroundings to ensure the safety of the group.

This would prevent another surprise attack like the one they experienced this afternoon.

After discussing her plan with Talulah and receiving her approval, Griseo left to find her sister Alina.

Mercenary Outpost —

"You seem to be in a good mood. You didn't bully that kid until she cried, did you..." Ines, sitting by the campfire, slightly raised her eyes to look at W as she walked back, asking with a hint of suspicion.

The reason she asked was that both W's current expression and her shadow told Ines that her comrade was in a very cheerful mood.

"I really wanted to, but it's a shame." W sat down by the campfire with a look of regret, saying dejectedly.

"..."

Hearing this, Ines glanced at W indifferently and said nothing more. If she didn't know W too well, and hadn't observed her shadow beforehand, she might have believed her... not!

If Ines were to believe W's nonsense so easily, she wouldn't be Ines.

"Did you find anything?"

Hedley, sitting beside them, also spoke up, looking curiously at W.

"I did find some interesting things, but... I still need to confirm them~" W didn't answer directly when Hedley asked, choosing instead to keep him in suspense.

Although W had only had a brief, long-distance interaction with Griseo just now... during that short time, coupled with the little loli's sudden change, she had formed many conjectures.

While she might not be certain about other things, the smile Griseo had returned to her just now made her almost 100% sure it was "her" smile.

Moreover, W had very keenly sensed the change in the little loli's demeanor at that moment. This alone almost ruled out the possibility of the child simply imitating.

If that were the case, only one possibility remained...

However, all of this was just W's analysis and speculation based on this one encounter; it all still needed further verification.

But, W had plenty of time right now. Having finally discovered something so interesting, she certainly wouldn't let it go so easily.

"As long as you don't go too far, I'm happy if you're happy."

Seeing W like this, Hedley knew he wouldn't get any more information. He just shook his head helplessly and added a reminder.

ps: A long-awaited request for votes. I'm a bit early today, but strictly speaking, tonight is still a bust. My mom plans to drag me out of bed at 5:30 AM for a run tomorrow, which is terrifying.

Good evening, everyone. Please send in your votes. Chapter 75: Sarkaz Big Girl

Not much time passed before the members of Reunion were mostly ready, having packed everything they needed. Then, they began their relocation.

This time, their destination was quite far, requiring several days of travel. If they stayed too close to their previous location, they would easily be found.

To avoid such trouble, Talulah and the others had chosen a more distant location for their new base.

Once the group started moving, Griseo summoned all her companions and dispersed them in various directions, guarding the safety of the migrating group.

Of course, she didn't summon all of them; the little loli kept her Mister Knight with her.

Given the deep snow on the ground, Griseo would likely sink in up to her waist with every step.

So, it was much more convenient to be carried by Mister Knight... and she could also bring her little companions along.

Griseo also didn't forget her promise to Yelena. Even while being carried by her Mister Knight, she obediently stayed beside the Yetis like Lois and the others, not running off.

Coincidentally, during the group's march, Griseo's position was not too far from the mercenary group.

This resulted in the little loli always feeling a gaze fixed on her, and whenever she looked back, she'd meet w's infuriating expression and eyes…

However, Griseo couldn't do anything about w, and in order to prevent herself from making eye contact with w and getting "colored" by her.

The little loli ended up curling up in Mister Knight's arms, closing her violet eyes, and looking at no one.

Even when migrating, no matter how urgent or rushed, they still had to stop to eat and rest. Moreover, in the evenings, they would temporarily set up camp for the night.

After all, the Ursus snowfield was quite dangerous at night, not to mention that many of them were human… and quite a few infected individuals had even worse physical conditions than ordinary people.

As night fell—

"Awooo~"

Griseo, sitting by the campfire, blinked her beautiful, mist-filled eyes and let out another big yawn.

This was already the umpteenth yawn she'd lost count of, and she was feeling incredibly sleepy.

At this point, the little loli was so tired that she completely ignored the various gazes and "colors" directed at her from behind.

It was important to note that unlike before, their tents in the temporary camp were pitched very close together, and the campfires were almost all gathered in one spot. In such a situation, there were quite a few people who kept stealing glances at Griseo.

But under these circumstances, the drowsy little loli was completely unaffected.

Too many things had happened today, and Griseo had also expended some energy. All of this had made her much more tired than usual, much earlier.

As for why the little loli, feeling sleepy, hadn't gone to sleep yet, the reason was very simple: she hadn't had dinner yet and her stomach was a little hungry.

"If Griseo is very sleepy, you can go to sleep first. I'll bring dinner to the tent later…" Seeing Griseo's extreme drowsiness, Alyona slowly leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"Hmm?"

Hearing this, the groggy Griseo was first stunned. After sobering up a little, she gently shook her head.

"It's too much trouble, I'll just wait a while…"

As she spoke, the little loli, with sleepy eyes, gently nuzzled Alyona's shoulder and leaned against it.

"…"

Looking at the little cutie on her shoulder, a hint of helplessness flashed in Alyona's light green eyes. In the end, she didn't say anything more.

After all, through her observation, Griseo seemed to have been unaffected by others tonight due to her extreme sleepiness.

Otherwise, if she had been affected, it was likely that not only Alyona but Talulah and the others would have put the little loli back in her tent. They wouldn't have let her sit in such a public place…

Just then, people started moving around the campfire not far away, drawing people's attention. Even Griseo, who was drowsy and a little fuzzy-headed, looked up.

What entered her sight was a Sarkaz dressed in a thick protective suit. However, the little loli, not thinking clearly at the moment, quickly averted her gaze.

"...?-?)!"

But just as Griseo had looked away and was about to doze off again, she suddenly jolted, her beautiful eyes widening, and much of her sleepiness was dispelled.

The reason was simple: the little loli suddenly realized who she had just seen…

Sarkaz Big Girl!

Before crossing over, Griseo hadn't used her initial character art for a very long time. Coupled with her grogginess just now, seeing the thick protective suit, she didn't react immediately.

Honestly, this was the first time all day that the little loli had seen the person she had been thinking about.

But there was no other way. Griseo couldn't actively seek her out at the mercenary group, and besides, Mudrock wasn't like w…

"Hmm? Are you cold?"

Seeing Griseo suddenly perk up, Alyona asked with a hint of confusion.

"I'm not cold… I just suddenly remembered something and woke up." Hearing her companion's question, Griseo's eyes flickered, and she replied softly.

Alyona nodded gently and patted the stone she was sitting on. "It's good that you're not cold. If you are, you can come sit closer to me. I'm closer to the fire here."

!

"Okay."

"But now that Griseo is awake, don't you need to go back to the tent?" Alyona then seemed to remember something else and spoke again.

"It's okay… Alyona is here."

Griseo's biggest fear was facing a crowd alone; she would truly get "colored" in an instant. But with Alyona by her side, the problem wasn't too big.

After all, at worst, the little loli could bury her head in the little white bear's embrace and just get colored by her.

It was important to note that Griseo really liked the refreshing light green color of Alyona's.

"…"

Hearing this, a smile appeared on Alyona's lips. After a moment of hesitation, she reached out and gently stroked Griseo's little head.

"Mmm…"

Feeling the touch on her head, Griseo gently narrowed her big eyes, and the ahoge on her head swayed with her current good mood.

However, there was still one thing that left the little loli quite confused: she had no idea how to approach Sarkaz Big Girl at all…

ps: Today I'm going to break my habit of staying up late. My body is shot. I stayed up late yesterday and then got up early today, giving me a headache all day...

Just a little reminder.

Chapter 76

W:?

Over the next few days of travel, Griseo was unable to successfully make contact with Mudrock...

Not only was she very conspicuous, but members of the Yeti Squad were always watching her, and even her dear companion Alyona was supervising her very diligently, making it impossible for her to even get a chance to visit the mercenary group.

So, Griseo had no choice but to temporarily abandon the idea of making contact. She planned to try again after they had settled down at the encampment.

After all, that would be when the little loli could try to act alone and sneak around.

However, there was one thing that Griseo had to pay attention to: W's probing over these past few days.

Perhaps due to Griseo's young age, W often didn't act openly. But in places where the Yeti Squad and Talulah couldn't see, W would always make small moves or play little pranks on her.

Although these pranks didn't anger Griseo, they did make Alyona, who was always with her, quite upset.

There were even a few times when Alyona, who didn't like interacting with others much, wanted to go directly to Talulah to report W. But each time, the little loli stopped her.

Otherwise, W would have at least received a scolding, though it probably wouldn't have done much good.

As for why Griseo stopped Alyona, it was because she didn't want to cause trouble for Talulah, Yelena, and the others over such a minor issue.

Moreover, in Griseo's opinion, W's little pranks were nothing significant. Other than being a little "annoying," they caused no substantial damage.

And based on Griseo's understanding of W, even if she did bother Talulah and the others... after the scolding, the certain Sarkaz wouldn't change at all. She might even escalate things and increase her "output"...

So, after considering all aspects, the little loli directly gave up on the idea of reporting W.

However, the current development had already made Griseo feel a little uneasy...

Because she noticed that after she had faced W's pranks several times with a poker face and remained unfazed, W had secretly started to compete, her subtle actions increasing significantly and becoming more blatant.

But Griseo had no good solution for now. She planned to properly challenge W once Reunion had set up camp.