Anyway, It's Not My Problem

The "project manager" you're complaining about is right in front of you.

Oute didn't answer her, only saying, "The upcoming mapping will involve some of Rhodes Island's secret technologies, and Rhodes Island's focus will be on the Malta from now on."

"With no other projects to advance, utilizing partner operators like you for teaching work can also help avoid some things that none of us want to happen."

"Oute! Sometimes you can be a little more tactful! Your bluntness is making me miss Trimount," Mel said helplessly.

"I have something good to show you!" She quickly perked up again. "Although my supervisor was pushing me quite hard, I still managed to finish it in my spare time..."

"Clang clang!"

A soft "pop" could be heard coming from inside the blacksmith's shop!

A cute, clumsy mechanical otter trotted up to the two of them. Unlike the various wired mechanical devices that occupied most of the space in Mel's personal dormitory room studio in reality, this "Mibo" was extremely rudimentary.

"Although there's a lack of robotic arms and abundant resources here!" Mel held the mechanical otter high, revealing the large red button under its belly, "There's even a ruthless, expert supervisor who's exploiting us relentlessly!"

"But! The genius engineer Mel! Successfully utilized the rudimentary materials of the Interstice! To build the first Mibo in the Interstice! The Meebo Prototype!"

"While it may seem technically insignificant, from an engineering perspective, it's like programming with a landline phone!"

The real otter held up the Meebo Prototype and spun it around and around until she was dizzy and lightheaded. Her movements were exactly like how Oute would happily spin Amiya around in his arms.

"Amazing."

However, your workload isn't sufficient.

"Yue..."

Every rotation comes at a price— Mel knelt down rather awkwardly, and poor Meebo Prototype knelt down with him.

Oute tried to reach out to the little guy.

The mechanical otter turned its head and glanced at Mel, then tentatively crawled towards Oute, and bit Oute's finger.

"Doc Otter!" Mel immediately released Mibo's kiss, saying in frustration, "If only the program could be directly copied in."

Although he released the pressure in time, Oute's finger was still slightly red and swollen.

Seeing this, the somewhat bewildered engineer Anaty faced a simple and direct problem and came up with a simple and direct solution—a warm, soft, and moist place to accommodate Oute's fingers.

Mel mumbled, "Saliva helps... recovery."

Chapter 244 Anyway, it's not my business

"Doctor. Oute!" The tomboyish racehorse girl waved to Oute from afar.

Oute felt a wave of dizziness.

The feeling of seven days passing in an instant is still hard to bear. However, after so many times, Oute has gotten somewhat used to it.

This time, the dungeon mission was led by Patriot, with Finn, Kroos, and Lava from Reserve Op Team A1 accompanying them.

Unlike Oute, these "heroes" have not yet come into deep contact with the laws of the Darkest Dungeon, so there is no "level restriction" issue for the time being.

The primary purpose of sending this lineup into the dungeon is to forcibly accelerate the Hamlet timeline. Even developing the A1 group is merely a secondary, incidental measure.

"Ah... I'm exhausted... Doctor, I want to sleep in a soft, fluffy bed..." Kroos, her eyes half-closed, nestled against Lava.

"Let go! I'm tired too!" Lava said, but he didn't actually push Kroos away.

Along with Oute, Phoebe and Beagle also welcomed the team back. They were both in Group A1, but since Patriot was chosen as the mentor for the newcomers and for the "spiral leveling" hero selection, they naturally had little chance of playing in a lineup of only four heroes.

"I'm a little envious..."

Phoebe cheered, "It'll definitely be our turn next time!"

Oute also placed his hand on Beagle's orange hair and ruffled it.

"It will all be their turn."

Seeing this, Wendigo sheathed his power halberd and said, "Your young men are out of shape."

Oute raised an eyebrow.

It's really hard to tell from this dialogue that the Patriot is actually quite happy.

Maybe he actually likes children?

No, not just children—he was attracted to young people. His affection for his deceased son had transferred to young people who, in his view, displayed similar qualities...

"Even without using witchcraft, morbidly digging into the secrets of another's heart is still an extremely rude and provocative act," the old man said disapprovingly. "Don't try to whitewash yourself with words! I can see right through you!"

The look in his eyes was a bit too blatant...

Oute readily admitted, "Sorry, it's a bad habit of mine."

After confirming that Oute truly had amnesia, the Patriot softened their attitude towards him—they probably started treating Oute as a young man as well.

"Not everyone is as sensitive as I am," he instructed. "Use your wisdom to discern."

"A slow-witted enemy deserves it!"

Although his throat was repaired, he still retained some of his old speech habits.

Bohdrokasthim heard a strange sound and asked uncertainly, "Sarkaz... giving a lesson?"

Oute head.

But don't get too excited, old man...

Bohdrokasthim the children of A1 to Oute and headed towards the "Guild".

"... A parabola is simply the curve of a parabola..."

"... The general form is 'y=ax²+bx+c'..."

"... The most suitable equation for us is the two-point equation: 'y=a(xb)(xc)', although in reality we also need to consider factors such as wind speed and air friction..."

"... One point is the starting point, and the other point is the ending point..."

Mel stood on the podium, with the adorable yet fierce Meebo Prototype as his teaching assistant, explaining to the Sarkaz the most basic concepts in artillery parameter calculations.

On the blackboard, Mel intentionally drew several sets of parabolas.

"Mimi! Let me demonstrate!"

A miniature Originium cannon was carried on the back of the mechanical otter. With Mel's remote wire control, the cannon immediately fired a tracer round.

For teaching purposes, the tracer bullet had a very low initial velocity. As a result, the trajectory of the tracer bullet fell almost along Mel's parabola.

"... after the shell leaves the barrel, in the horizontal direction..."

The Patriot watched all this silently from the window.

Good news! Sarkaz can go back to school.

The bad news is, they learned how to fight.

Or the other way around?

Mr. Wendigo sealed this scene into his heart, allowing it to ferment endlessly along with the other ingredients.

Oute came to his side.

"After seven days of literacy training, the mercenaries have learned to recognize quite a few characters."

"Is that enough to understand equations?"

"They probably can't understand it."

Why do this?

"The artillery firing data doesn't urgently require them to solve equations on the spot. More important than the ability to solve equations is knowing how to calculate the values and how to put them into tables," Oute replied. "Just as you experienced during your service, just as your troops are doing now."

"You know exactly what my problem is."

"I can only say that I guessed it. But Mr. Bohdrokasthim, I cannot read minds."

"..." Wendigo scoffed stubbornly, utterly disbelieving. "What's the point of forcing them to learn these things?"

"Look at that Sarkaz, his eyes didn't even move."

"He's over 150 years old; it's unrealistic to expect him to learn anything passively."

Wendigo felt a subtle embarrassment.

But he continued with his question, "So, what's the point?"

"Driven by an interest in artillery, some people will voluntarily become engineers. Others will be less resistant to being forced into this role. Even... even on the battlefield, engineers can play a greater role."

In terms of construction, its value is even greater.

"Is that enough?" the Patriot asked rhetorically.

The problem with Kazdel, the problem with the Sarkaz, lies not in how to build it, but in how to achieve temporary or localized victories.

Even if there is only one, it is still valuable.

"Besides, I am not Sarkaz." Oute stared into Bohdrokasthim's eyes. "And the Wendigo? Even though the Ursus people are extremely brutal, if the Wendigo hybrids lived in Ursus for a thousand years and a thousand years, they would probably be regarded as a minority group like the 'Oni' and 'Anasa'."

Unable to fundamentally control the Sarkaz, the man asserted, "The Sarkaz is a lie; it never existed."

"It may have once been a lie, but now the souls are real."

Oute didn't answer directly, but simply repeated the second half of Wendigo's statement, "Now, the souls are real."

What about the future?

"You and the Demon King of White Horn are quite similar."

Oute turned his head in confusion. "I'm sorry, there aren't many books about Sarkaz on Rhodes Island. Perhaps there's more in-depth information in the database, but I don't have the time to look it up right now."

"... Um."

When talking to Oute, his overly dazzling insight makes it easy to forget that he actually has no memory.

But this precisely reflects some deep-rooted personality traits...

Wendigo continued looking towards the classroom.

Aside from the dazed "old" Sarkaz, there were indeed quite a few young Sarkaz drooling over that small Originium cannon.

Even if there is only one, is it still valuable?

Hmm... maybe.