The Delta Force We Agreed On—How Did It Turn into Arknights?

FrostNova had wanted to say more, but seeing the earnest look on Han Fei's face, she swallowed her words.

Anything more would have been overly polite.

Since Han Fei was unwilling to accept her compensation, FrostNova could only repay his kindness in another way. Without a word, she crouched down and began searching through the patrol officers' bodies for him.

Seeing how seriously she took it, anyone unaware of the situation might have thought she was looking for some precious lost item.

This made Talulah even more curious about what had happened between the two while she had been away. How had their relationship suddenly become so much better?

But this was not the time to dwell on that. Talulah said, "You two keep searching. I'll gather everyone up. Once you're done here, we can leave right away."

"Sure. We'll be done soon," Han Fei said.

Without looking back, Talulah said, "No rush. Search carefully. Don't leave anything behind."

"Don't worry, I'm not a sieve," Han Fei said.

After Talulah left, Han Fei and FrostNova continued looting in silence.

The task NPCs really were poor. Han Fei searched all the remaining patrol officers and only found one blue item—a four-slot magazine.

In terms of value, it was only slightly better than a small green item, but not by much.

It took up four inventory slots, yet was worth just over ten thousand. Averaged out, each slot did not even bring in 5,000.

It was an exceptionally low-quality blue item. Under normal circumstances, even knife runners would turn their noses up at it.

But Han Fei was in no position to be picky right now. His bag was still full of green items. Being able to pick up anything was already good enough.

"They're really broke."

After grumbling, Han Fei still put the magazine into his backpack.

At that moment, FrostNova wrapped the supplies she had found in a patrol officer's clothes, spread them out before Han Fei, and said, "This is all I found. You can take it all."

Han Fei gave them a glance. Quite a few of the items were completely worthless to him—things that could not be exchanged for Haf Coins.

The rest were just white and green items, not worth taking either.

So Han Fei politely declined. "I don't need any of these. You keep them."

"You don't need any of them?"

FrostNova quietly packed the items away and said regretfully, "What a shame. I thought you would be pleased."

"I am quite pleased."

Han Fei touched FrostNova's ear and smiled. "But not because of these things. Because of the thought behind them."

FrostNova glanced sideways at Han Fei. "You seem to really like touching my ears."

Han Fei blinked and admitted frankly, "Because they're fluffy. They look great."

Han Fei's fondness for fluffy things was limited to beast-eared girls. He was still some distance away from being a furry.

Beast-eared girls just hit his sweet spot too perfectly.

If he had felt nothing toward beast-eared girls, he would never have gotten into this in the first place!

"Isn't it too cold?" FrostNova asked.

"It's fine."

Han Fei stared at FrostNova's rabbit ears. "They're better than I expected. Of course, if you mind, then I won't touch them again."

"I don't mind."

FrostNova turned her head away and said as if nothing had happened, "I don't feel much. If you don't mind the cold, do as you like."

"Really?"

Han Fei looked at her profile, eager to try. "Then can I touch them again?"

FrostNova said flatly, "Do as you like."

So Han Fei reached out once more.

Just as he touched FrostNova's rabbit ear, he heard a young man's voice behind him.

"Doctor Han Fei, I—"

The voice abruptly cut off.

Han Fei turned around and saw a young Yeti in a white robe standing five paces behind him, holding a bundle. His expression was awkward, and he gripped the bundle tightly, unsure whether to advance or retreat.

A little farther behind that Yeti, several members of the Yeti Squad had quietly perked up their ears and exchanged meaningful looks.

FrostNova looked over calmly. "Is something wrong?"

The young Yeti stammered, "Well, Boss, we picked out some good things from the spoils. We wanted to give them to Doctor Han Fei."

At that, FrostNova looked at Han Fei. Her meaning was clear—he could decide.

Han Fei did not stand on ceremony. He walked over openly and said, "Sure. Let me see what treasures you picked out for me."

What Does It Have to Do with Me, Han Fei? ### Han Fei took one look and lost interest. He said, "I appreciate the thought, but take these back."

The items in the bundle were much the same as what FrostNova had just offered him—things not worth picking up.

"Doctor Han Fei, are you not satisfied?" The Yeti packed up the bundle. "Wait here. I'll bring something else."

"Alright, alright, don't go."

Han Fei stopped the Yeti as he moved to leave. "When I treated your injuries, I never expected anything in return. There's no need to make it feel like a transaction."

Han Fei was still quite happy that the Yetis had such intentions. If the items had been worth picking up, he would not have minded accepting their gifts.

But as things stood, these items had no value to him, and he did not care much about them. The thought was what counted.

But if they went to exchange them for another batch of gifts, the meaning would change.

"Uh..."

The Yeti instinctively looked toward FrostNova, seeking her opinion.

She gave a slight nod, indicating that she agreed with Han Fei.

Only then did the Yeti abandon the idea of finding another batch of supplies. "Alright, then. In any case, we're very grateful to you, Doctor Han Fei. If you ever need anything, just say the word. No matter how difficult it is, we're willing to help you."

"Got it, got it." Han Fei smiled. "Go pack up your things. We should head back."

"Yes, Doctor Han Fei," the Yeti said.

Han Fei returned to FrostNova's side. "Your companions are good people."

"Rather than companions..."

FrostNova looked at the busy members of the Yeti Squad. "I would rather call them family."

"That makes sense."

Han Fei nodded in understanding. "I can tell you care deeply about them. Otherwise, when you came to find me earlier, you wouldn't have lost your composure like that."

When FrostNova had come to find him before, she had practically had the word "anxious" written across her face. She had been nothing like her usual calm self.

"Mm."

FrostNova responded, then casually said, "Let's find Talulah and tell her we can leave."

"Alright."

Han Fei agreed, and he and FrostNova went to find Talulah.

Before long, the group braved the wind and snow, leaving the village and setting out on their return journey.

Traveling through the snow was exhausting. It was no exaggeration to say that the time they had spent fighting for their lives in the village was far shorter than the grueling trek back.

Unfortunately, the blizzard grew even worse along the way.

As a result, it took Han Fei and the others even longer before they finally returned to the outpost before nightfall.

They had returned in triumph with spoils of war. It should have been a cause for celebration, yet the infected who had remained behind showed no joy on their faces. Every one of them looked grave, even gloomy.

Something was wrong with the atmosphere.

Han Fei noticed the abnormality immediately and braced himself for any unexpected situation.

"What happened?"

Talulah strode out from the crowd. "Can someone tell me what's going on?"

"Talulah."

Alina came out of a wooden cabin, walked up to Talulah, and said, "While you were gone, some unpleasant things happened."

Before Alina could explain, an infected spoke up. "Talulah, we didn't follow you just to go hungry."

Talulah turned her gaze toward him, her voice deep. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said."

The infected met Talulah's eyes. "We've had enough of this life of hunger and deprivation. Talulah, how long are you going to keep deceiving us with your empty promises?"

As he spoke, a shieldguard stepped forward. "Talulah, he attacked his companions in the outpost over food."

Talulah's expression darkened. She asked Alina, "Is what he said true?"

"Mm."

Alina nodded. "While you were gone, they got into a fight. Quite a few people were injured."

Talulah's expression turned ugly. "They would attack their companions over food?"

The shieldguard said in a deep voice, "Talulah, an offense like this must be punished. Only by hanging them can we satisfy the others."

"No. Let them leave," Talulah said. "They joined us because they trusted us."

Han Fei watched the scene in silence from the side.

If he remembered correctly, Alina would be killed by several infected Talulah had exiled.

As for whether these were those same infected, Han Fei was not sure.

That part of the story was too early on. Han Fei barely remembered it anymore, only the general outline.

The argument between Talulah and the shieldguard continued. Just as Han Fei remembered, Talulah ultimately insisted on her choice. Rather than hanging them, she chose to exile them.

After dealing with the troublemaking infected, Talulah walked over to Han Fei and FrostNova. "Sorry you had to witness something so disgraceful."

"There's nothing to apologize for. People's hearts are always difficult to control." Han Fei shrugged. "Still, I have something to take care of. I need to leave for a while, but I'll be back soon."

FrostNova quickly asked, "Where are you going?"

"Just a small matter. I'll be back soon."

Han Fei waved a hand and headed out of the village without looking back.

FrostNova and Talulah exchanged a look. FrostNova spoke first. "I'll follow him and take a look."

"Go ahead."

Talulah did not stop her. "I need to stay and deal with what comes next."

Outside the village.

The blizzard was growing stronger, and the footprints along the road had become somewhat blurred beneath the falling snow.

Han Fei followed the tracks all the way. To catch up with the infected who had left ahead of him, he even activated Red Wolf's ultimate.

Before long, the figures of the infected Talulah had exiled appeared in Han Fei's sight.

"Are we really just leaving like this?"

"What else do you want to do? We can't beat Talulah."

"I know. I'm just upset. We were only trying to survive. She kept saying she could give us a place to belong, but what happened in reality? We can't even get enough to eat!"

"Then what do you want to do?"

"I want revenge."

"Just the few of us? Don't be stupid. Forget Talulah—even those shieldguards are more than we can handle."

"Do you remember that Elafia girl?"