Reincarnated NPC, But Arknights Chapter 46

"We don't just have warriors, we have other Infected compatriots, and children... I'm the children's teacher," Alina explained softly.

Bai Ye blinked. This description did indeed fit the early to mid-game portrayal of Reunion.

However, the Reunion that Bai Ye, as a player in his previous life, had faced—the final version—was an organization of complete thugs.

All the Infected had armed themselves. There were no civilians, no children, only thugs and soldiers.

...And many individuals of unknown origin.

"Valletta Society is awesome!" Bai Ye hadn't expected that a hypothesis speculated by players in his previous life would actually hold water. Reunion wasn't a thug organization from the start; they had undergone a transformation process.

"Do you know Talulah?" Bai Ye suddenly asked.

"You know her?" Alina didn't deliberately hide anything. "She's my friend, and the leader of Reunion."

Bai Ye breathed a sigh of relief.

The young woman he'd casually saved had a significant connection to Talulah.

He couldn't help but applaud the coincidences of fate.

She's not lying. Skadi whispered softly in Bai Ye's ear.

The Abyssal Hunter's hearing was incredibly acute; they could determine if someone was lying by their heartbeat and breathing.

Bai Ye nodded gently.

Then, he looked at the young woman before him and slowly said, "I am Bai Ye."

"Her name is... Little Orca."

"Actually, we are merchants and messengers from Lungmen. We're here to find Talulah." As Bai Ye spoke, he took out a letter and a copied photograph from his pocket, but he didn't hand them to Alina immediately.

"Lungmen... Talulah's sister?" This time, it was Alina's turn to be surprised, as Talulah had told her about Lungmen and her sister.

She remembered it all.

"Can you believe us now?" Bai Ye had naturally heard the young woman's muttering.

It seemed he hadn't found the wrong person.

"Mr. Bai Ye, I can take you to Talulah, but..."

"Be careful, we're not bad people, and we have no ill will towards the Infected," Bai Ye said with a smile, then gestured to the cardboard boxes on the ground of the narrow tent. "The Infected need medicine too, don't they?"

Bai Ye certainly wouldn't use Rhodes Island's medicine for business, but "aiding" an "Infected Squad Five" clearly aligned with Rhodes Island's code of ethics.

Alina let out a soft sigh of relief.

Actually, Little Deer hadn't told him everything, which was... even if Bai Ye wanted to harm Reunion, it would likely be difficult.

The strongest shield of the Infected was within Squad Five...

Chapter Twenty-Nine: How Can Power Be So Inconvenient? 2/6

Talulah walked towards the camp in a daze.

She hadn't found any trace of Alina, not even a body, until the very end.

However, she had found the killer.

It was those rebels who had been banished from Squad Five by the Shield Guards and herself.

Yet, she didn't even get a chance for revenge.

Those Infected carrying fruits and vegetables were caught by the Provost Squad and executed one by one.

The Infected who had brutally attacked an unarmed girl instantly switched roles when facing the black-clothed Provost Squad.

The Ursus soldiers, who had just suffered a defeat, took them as punching bags.

Talulah witnessed the crime but did not intervene.

This was the second time she felt endless rage filling her chest. At one moment, she even wondered if she had gone bad.

Dark, gloomy, and terrifying thoughts quietly flowed from her mind and heart.

Shadows enveloped her heart.

She seemed to hear the smug laughter of someone whose scheme had succeeded.

Shaking her head, she flung the strange illusion from her mind. The young woman watched as the Ursus soldiers dragged away the bodies of those individuals before quietly returning to the camp.

The stopping of the cold wind cooled her feverish head (physically), and the Red Dragon girl slowly calmed down.

She couldn't stay away from the camp for too long, nor could she selfishly search for her friend.

After digging a nameless grave to commemorate her friend, she slowly walked towards the camp.

Big Daddy and FrostNova were not there, only the Shield Guards, Infected soldiers, and some unarmed Infected civilian children. There were Ursus Fourth Army outposts within ten kilometers, so she had to hurry back.

However, unexpectedly, as she neared the camp, she heard an unusually noisy commotion.

"We can't let them go! If they run out and squeal..."

"Big Daddy, Talulah, and FrostNova aren't here. If they expose our location, the consequences would be unimaginable!"

"But they saved our friend..."

"What if this was their plan?"

"They don't seem like bad people to me."

"It's precisely because you're all so naive that you'll get tricked..."

"Is this Reunion?" Bai Ye tilted his head towards Alina, who was on a stretcher beside him.

They had followed Alina's guidance to Reunion's secret backup camp, only to find that none of the leaders were present, not even Talulah was there.

Then, Bai Ye and Skadi were surrounded.

Those people were relatively well-behaved; they didn't touch Bai Ye's car.

"Everyone, please listen to me..." Alina tried to speak, but she was severely injured, and her voice was very weak.

Moreover, she wasn't very well-known within Squad Five of the fighters. Many only knew that some teachers had been instructing Infected children, and some soldiers who had followed Talulah from the early days vaguely knew that Talulah had a friend.

However, Alina had never put herself forward, so her fame was quite low, and she couldn't really sway anyone.

"...I thought you were some kind of political commissar... Turns out, you're surprisingly ordinary," Bai Ye sighed.

So this child couldn't really say anything either...

Bai Ye didn't know that she had actually made plans with Talulah before leaving the camp to step into the spotlight later...

What terrible timing.

Bai Ye stood up, glanced around, opened his right hand, and then squeezed it hard.

"Bang—"

As if a thunderclap on a clear day, an explosive roar echoed through the camp.

Everyone was startled by the sound, even the Reunion soldiers surrounding Bai Ye and his car were taken aback.

"Snap—"

Bai Ye clapped his hands together.

The air masses collided, creating a magnificent, powerful sound. The shockwave from the air explosion scattered the falling snow.

Only then did everyone notice Bai Ye's raised hands.

"Let's send her back to the camp first. What kind of situation is it to leave a patient outside?"

Then Bai Ye glanced at the Infected around him and shook his head slightly, "A rabble."

"You—"

"Bang—"

As someone nearby was about to retort, Bai Ye let out another loud sound. Skadi, standing behind him, saw the scabbard of the long sword hanging behind Bai Ye emitting a faint glow.

When did that sword appear?

Skadi was slightly dazed; she hadn't noticed Bai Ye drawing a weapon before...

"Skadi, give them a show." Bai Ye tilted his chin.

"Okay."

The girl picked up the greatsword in her hand.

She swung it gently.

It was perhaps the motion of the sword tip striking straight down, but except for Bai Ye, who had activated Thought Acceleration, no one could clearly see the girl's movements.

An alloy not found on land touched the Ursus Frozen Land at a speed that was difficult for the naked eye to follow.

"Boom—"

With a deafening roar, the ground collapsed in a circle centered on Skadi and Bai Ye.

Strangely, not a speck of snow was kicked up; it only sank along with the ground.

It was as if an invisible cylinder had struck the earth.

The surrounding Infected lost their balance and quickly retreated, staring in shock at the inconspicuous white-haired girl behind Bai Ye.

"Gulp—"

Someone swallowed audibly.

"Mon... monster."

The words came out in Ursus.

Yes, a monster.

For most people who had witnessed Skadi in action, this was the word that came to mind.

Whether bounty hunters, thugs, or the Infected before me.

This is a terrifying power that land dwellers cannot comprehend, a terrifying existence originating from the deep sea. Relying on such power and weapons, the Abyssal Hunters are able to fight the Reapers.

To defeat monsters, they themselves first became monsters.

Monsters...

This word is fitting.

"Mhm."

Skadi slowly drew the greatsword stuck in the ground.

She showed no self-satisfaction or pride in the power she displayed, because she knew she couldn't compare to her captain or the second captain.

Every time she used her power, it made her intensely miss her past comrades and companions.

As if sensing the girl's wavering, Bai Ye reached out and patted her shoulder.

Although this guy was being pretentious, the Infected beside him wavered.

Bai Ye suddenly started laughing.

He suddenly realized a mistake he had been making all along.

In this world, not everything could be solved with his looks.

Perhaps his speech in the Operations Department hadn't had much effect either. In the end, it was the benefits and perks that truly allowed him to establish a firm footing in the department.

Having no looks is absolutely not okay, but relying solely on looks isn't a panacea either.

Perhaps after transmigrating, he had been subconsciously imitating that exceptionally charismatic, debauched Tea Party chairman, while neglecting his own inherent strengths—power.

Before meeting the chairman, he had never relied on personal charm to communicate—when weapons were clearly more effective.