Reincarnated NPC, But Arknights Chapter 40

Thus, Bai Ye's life on Rhodes Island entered a state of fulfillment. His social circle was small, and he didn't know many people; however, on the other hand, he had extremely high visibility on the island, with most of the operators having heard of this newly appointed department head to some extent.

Finally, after another four days, when Bai Ye received another reply from Miss Swire, the Rhodes Island Engineering Department reminded him to collect the equipment he had ordered.

At the same time, because Bai Ye went to the Arts department every day to cooperate with testing and the development of Originium Arts, his personal exclusive staff had also been completed.

"It's time to prepare to depart."

Bai Ye stretched, setting the time for departure.

"Supervisor..."

In the office, Typing Girl, who had learned this news, looked grave.

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself. I'm just going out on a simple field mission," Bai Ye patted his assistant's shoulder.

"When does a supervisor personally go on field missions..." Typing Girl pouted.

Bai Ye had ingeniously pioneered the most advanced "Monarch Offline System." As one of Rhodes Island's high-ranking officials, he, the supervisor, was directly separated from the ship.

"Please be sure to return soon," Miss Typing Girl sighed.

Next, she would do some trivial work.

Bai Ye entrusted all of this to her, and she couldn't let this supervisor down.

Chapter 18 New Equipment 1/6

After handing over his work, Bai Ye called a small meeting with the high-ranking officials of the Field Operations Department.

It was important to do ideological work for one's own people.

First, they talked about ideals. The operators who came to work at Rhodes Island were already advanced in their thinking. They were able to abandon the traditional hostility and discrimination towards the Infected and coexist with these "outsiders" in the eyes of others, which was itself progress.

They had good intentions, so all Bai Ye had to say was "This Earth" as the correct password.

With ideals in place, the next step was benefits. As Bai Ye had promised before, he increased the salaries of the Field Operations Department, with this portion being supplemented from his own pocket. Rhodes Island could not unilaterally raise the salaries of an entire department; that would be unfair.

Bai Ye even promised that if the courier logistics business went smoothly in the future, these operators who were far from their hometowns would be the first to receive the small privilege of communication, allowing them to contact their hometowns more frequently.

As a result, the Field Operations Department united from top to bottom, and Bai Ye successfully ensured that this department now spoke with only one voice. Bai Ye did not want his subordinates to argue after he left Rhodes Island.

Bai Ye also handed over his work to his assistant, who could represent Bai Ye to a certain extent.

With this, he had no worries.

The miraculous "Monarch Offline" was not as absurd and terrible as it initially seemed—oh wait, it should be the Supervisor Off-Ship System...

For a person to navigate the world unimpeded, there are two ways: one is to possess invincible strength. This strength can be personal might, or it can be a consolidated force, a political entity... in short, to completely transcend others.

Or, it is related to the interests of the majority, with everyone's interests intertwined, prospering and declining together. To avoid their own interests being harmed, most rational people will naturally pave the way for you.

As for those who are not so rational, those who are mad, they need strength to "resolve."

Just as Bai Ye had considered, who were his friends, who were his enemies, who could be won over, and who must be dealt with...

Perhaps he wasn't doing well enough yet, but it didn't matter; he was still growing and improving. Moreover, he possessed a weapon that ordinary people did not—that was his strength.

For even greater strength, Bai Ye went to the Engineering Department.

The equipment he had commissioned had already passed testing in the workshop; now he just needed to go for the final weapon testing and adjustments.

"Come in quickly."

The craftsman from the Engineering Department pulled Bai Ye into Workshop No. 1.

On the workbench, Bai Ye saw his weapon. It was a one-handed straight sword, sharpened on one side, with a caster unit and an energy conduction device installed on the other.

Under the cold light, the tip of the blade flashed with a sharp and dazzling light.

Bai Ye touched the hilt. All the data had been collected, and the custom-made weapon fit him perfectly. Bai Ye could feel the profound connection between the weapon and himself.

It was not an illusion, because in fact, Bai Ye had already connected with his weapon. His spirit was aligned with the caster unit, allowing him to wield this weapon at will.

"We collaborated with the Arts department to install an Originium Arts circuit here, so you can directly cast the Originium Arts engraved on it."

The craftsman was clearly proud of this weapon.

Bai Ye nodded, and the equipment information was displayed on the game panel:

[Unnamed]

Quality: Purple

Category: One-handed Sword - Originium Sword

Description: A sharp blade specially crafted for you by the Rhodes Island Engineering Department. It is equipped with a caster unit that can use Originium energy to enhance slashes and the speed of drawing the sword. It can also be used to channel your own Originium Arts through Originium.

Note: A gift from the Engineering Department.

"Please give her a name. I'll have the name engraved on the hilt."

This craftsman seemed to have a fondness for such rituals.

This was the final step in forging a sword.

Bai Ye was bad at naming things. After all, he grew up with the orphanage director, and everyone had witnessed the director's naming skills.

After thinking for a moment, Bai Ye said, "How about we call it Arc Light?"

After his words fell, the previously unnamed weapon on the panel changed to [Arc Light].

"Do you need to test it?" the craftsman asked Bai Ye after finishing the registration.

Bai Ye gripped the hilt and lifted it gently. Bright sword light instantly filled the entire workshop.

It was lighter than he had imagined.

"Arc Light is actually quite fitting." The dense reflective properties of the Originium single crystal made the blade exceptionally bright. When Bai Ye connected to the Originium Arts unit, he could feel energy gathering on the blade.

"The energy can propel the blade when it bursts, but be careful when using it. If you apply force incorrectly, it might break your hand," the craftsman explained from the side.

"Thank you."

Bai Ye retracted the blade. He was very satisfied with this weapon. In his previous life, it was quite difficult for players to obtain a purple-grade weapon.

The materials were scarce, the craftsmanship was complex, and the Engineering Department had put so much effort into this weapon precisely because of Bai Ye's position as supervisor.

Afterward, Bai Ye went to the Sorcerer Department.

There, Bai Ye obtained his first staff…

"This is what you call a staff?"

Bai Ye looked at the "staff" in front of him in surprise. It was clearly a sword sheath.

"The Engineering Department specifically didn't forge the sword sheath because they handed that job over to us," a researcher explained with a smile.

"This…" Bai Ye felt something was off.

"Staff is just a name. They refer to the tools used for casting spells. Never mind sword sheaths; there are also hammer staffs and shield staffs. Whatever is convenient is fine," the researcher said dismissively. He seemed to have noticed Bai Ye's doubts.

Bai Ye picked up the sword sheath and tried inserting Arc Light into it. As expected, it fit perfectly.

"You haven't systematically studied Originium Arts theory, but your innate spells can cooperate well with Originium."

"So, we've installed enough Originium units and diversion devices in the sword sheath... blah blah blah..."

The researcher began to explain energy conduction and other professional terms at length, making Bai Ye's head spin.

According to the calculations of the Sorcerer Department, Originium could effectively amplify the spells cast by Bai Ye.

If there were enough Originium, and Bai Ye's spellcasting talent continued to develop, he could even unleash Cataclysm-level destructive power under amplification.

A humanoid Cataclysm.

Unfortunately, only processed Originium could be used effectively. The energy of natural Originium ore was too violent and difficult to control.

Acquiring new equipment meant Bai Ye was about to leave Rhodes Island.

Chapter Nineteen: A Not-So-Bearish Bear Child

Bai Ye spent the afternoon in the training grounds familiarizing himself with his new equipment.

Although the blade with the added propulsion device was a bit difficult to handle, as an old player, Bai Ye had used all sorts of strange equipment. After a simple period of adaptation, he was able to control it with ease.

As for the sword sheath, which was made into a staff, Bai Ye found it to be surprisingly sturdy. Even if it wasn't used for casting spells, it was quite effective for hitting people. This was an unexpected bonus.

After practicing a swing with the sword sheath, Bai Ye discovered that he had unlocked a new skill, [Armed Combat]. This was a skill he had mastered in his previous life, but it wasn't inherited at the start due to its low level. He hadn't expected to acquire it again unexpectedly.

As dinner time approached, Bai Ye finished his training and submitted a repair request for Training Ground No. 5. He had accidentally made a mistake while trying to develop new uses for his innate spells, causing a crack in the wall of Training Ground No. 5.

After paying the repair fee, Bai Ye fled the scene as if escaping – otherwise, he would have been lectured again by the logistics personnel if caught.

After dinner, Bai Ye returned to his dormitory to pack his luggage. In his previous life, he often went on long wilderness expeditions. For players, this was one of the rare ways to travel from one mobile city to another.

After all, the most criticized aspect of Arknights Online was that the game had no teleportation or Hearthstone. It was truly terrible.

Travel across the wilderness was the only way to get around. It would take players half a month to travel from Victoria to Lungmen.

However, not all of the journey had to be spent in the wilderness. The usual way to travel on Terra was by moving between mobile city-states, which allowed for supplies, the latest Cataclysm warnings, and the routes and latest locations of the next mobile city.

Although it was a bit inconvenient at first, wanting to participate in major story events required traveling in advance, players were eventually forced to get used to it.

Weaker players could choose to travel with NPC convoys, but the downside was limited departures and intermittent journeys, requiring them to find new routes upon reaching the next mobile city.

Stronger players would purchase their own vehicles and research routes. This feat was initially jokingly called "graduation," but some weaker players would also gather to form large convoys. Due to their strong visual impact, even bandits on the road dared not approach them too closely.

From the latter half of the second version onwards, player guilds gradually grew stronger. The largest guilds developed their own convoys, which could pick up players, escort goods, complete NPC commission quests, and even undertake the task of exploring ruins and excavating treasures.

In addition, in the later stages of the game, players even had their own aircraft.

Of course, this mode of travel carried a certain degree of danger. One had to constantly pay attention to Cataclysm messenger warnings, otherwise, bad luck could lead to encountering a Cataclysm, resulting in the destruction of the aircraft and death. Losing levels and equipment might be acceptable, but the crash of an aircraft was a very painful loss! That was real money.

Perhaps at this point, some viewers would ask, OceanCat, isn't this unfair to players who can't participate in the Archon quests, pfft, world events, in other places?

It's fine. After the world quests are completed, dungeons will appear in other regions. These are teleportation crystals that only players can see. The memory dungeons replicate the process of the world quests, allowing players in other regions to experience the story and enjoy the various benefits brought by the world quests.

After the limited-time dungeons are closed, simplified permanent dungeons will appear throughout Terra, followed by high-difficulty dungeons that will be opened later.

The memory dungeon where Bai Ye and TeaParty secured the first kill belonged to the highest difficulty of the high-difficulty dungeons, with the final boss being "Talulah in My Heart."

As players' levels and strength increased, dungeons that were originally difficult to clear would become easier, and various strange speedrun methods would be discovered. Before Bai Ye's transmigration, a strategy group even discovered a hidden achievement in the Talulah dungeon – defeating the boss while protecting the Ursus civilians.

Bai Ye himself wouldn't live to see the day players obtained the hidden achievement, as he had already transmigrated…

Bai Ye naturally couldn't use any aircraft for this long journey, but he was able to receive the latest off-road vehicle from Rhodes Island, and he also received ample supplies.

In cities without a Rhodes Island branch office, he could purchase supplies using subsidies, and in cities with branch offices, it felt just like coming home.

Miss Swire had once again been a great help to Bai Ye. She had prepared his entry permit into Ursus in advance, allowing him to travel without any obstacles.

Bai Ye was very grateful to Swire and Chen. Their special status and rights allowed them to easily obtain resources that ordinary people found difficult to acquire. This could be considered a form of leeching off them.

Although he could get various supplies along the way, Bai Ye habitually packed provisions in his inventory, a habit carried over from his previous life. As a solo player, he had encountered all sorts of strange experiences in the wilderness, and he learned from his mistakes, making his preparations more thorough before each departure.

Players' initial inventory only had 10 slots, but at level 20 and level 40, the inventory would be expanded, which was quite user-friendly.

"You're leaving?"

Bai Ye was busy organizing books on pharmacology and potion-making that he planned to read on the road when Ifrit's voice came from behind him.

Turning around, he saw the girl peeking into his room. Looking around here and there, this girl was quite audacious. After getting to know him, she wasn't shy at all anymore.

"I have a mission to go out on," Bai Ye said, hanging the uniform he would wear tomorrow. He then switched the window view projected by the holographic screen to night mode.

"That's nice, being able to go out and play," Ifrit said, looking at Bai Ye with envy. To her, the world outside Rhodes Island was incredibly exciting. Moreover, she longed to prove her strength and abilities out there.

Children always try to prove they've grown up.

Bai Ye shook his head but didn't say anything. He turned around and took a chocolate from a jar, offering it to the girl.

"Is this... for me?" Ifrit's eyes lit up. Not many people gave her candy usually.

No, in fact, any personnel who interacted with Ifrit were required to have a thorough and practical understanding of all her basic information before communication. Therefore, there weren't many people who could communicate with her.

"Take it, be careful it doesn't melt," Bai Ye said, handing it over. He noticed that the temperature of Ifrit's palm was a bit high.

"Don't worry about it," Ifrit waved her hand. She couldn't control her Originium Arts well and would often cause multiple ignition phenomena.