(Hope everyone pulls two six-stars tomorrow.)
"I didn't expect you to be this forceful." Texas watched Bai Ye knock Lappland unconscious, then carry her back to Rhodes Island, and found it rather amusing.
"After all, she's an old friend. I can't just leave her alone." Bai Ye handed the unconscious Lappland over to the professional operators in Rhodes Island's medical department, then stood outside the ward and watched as she was wheeled into the CT scanner.
"Bai Ye, tell me... if I hadn't met you, would I have become like her?" Texas gazed at Lappland lying on the hospital bed and spoke softly.
Bai Ye fell silent for a moment, then shook his head.
"I don't know."
"Maybe you would have, maybe you wouldn't... because any tiny change can send fate flowing in an entirely different direction."
After three years in this world, Bai Ye had long forgotten most of Arknights' plot. Besides, having lived in this world for so long, it was obviously incredibly foolish to keep viewing it through the lens of some game's storyline.
So even Bai Ye could not answer Texas's question.
"Seeing Lappland like that, I just feel that she's actually... really pitiful." Bai Ye sighed. "She can't see a future in her eyes, so all she can do is immerse herself in the shadow of her past self."
"On top of that, Oripathy is eroding her mental state. Before long, she'll probably truly go mad."
Texas nodded.
"Maybe it's a little unfair to say this about her, but... I think meeting you was really wonderful."
As she spoke, Texas hugged Bai Ye.
"..." Bai Ye smiled and shook his head. "Actually, I'm someone Texas saved too... At least, in the beginning, I came to understand the meaning of my existence."
"You know this too.