So It Was Delta Force—How Did It Turn into Arknights? Chapter 21

This massive full-body riot shield brought a sense of security no other operator could match once deployed!

Having easily settled on his first operator, Han Fei found that the selection screen had not closed. Same old rules—he could still pick two more operators to work with.

After giving it some thought, Han Fei picked Old Black, also known as Shepherd.

Old Black had always paired well with Shield Dog.

There were two classic shield-breaching combinations: one was two Shield Dogs plus a medic, while the other was two Shield Dogs plus Old Black.

The two shields took the damage and knocked enemies down, while the remaining slot went to a gunner responsible for finishing them off.

The choice of a medic was easy to understand. After activating his ultimate and raising his shield, Shield Dog gained a powerful damage reduction buff. He naturally lost less health when shot, and adding a medic let him fight for extended periods without needing to lower his shield and use meds.

At the same time, the medic could also serve as a gunner and finish off enemies.

Old Black, meanwhile, did not have a medic's healing output, but he had Little Bread—the sonic trap.

Most of the time, because sonic traps could not be deployed directly on operators, Old Black's Little Bread could only be placed inside rooms for people to step on.

But Shield Dog was an exception. Little Bread could be deployed on his large shield.

In other words, after Old Black stuck Little Bread onto Shield Dog's shield, Shield Dog could raise it, carry the trap straight at the enemy, and blow them up!

Only when paired with Shield Dog could Old Black turn Little Bread from a purely defensive tool into an offensive one.

Looking at Old Black and Shield Dog on the screen, Han Fei nodded in satisfaction. "Okay, now I'm only missing the last piece of the puzzle."

Deep Blue's disgustingness was beyond question. Otherwise, he would not have earned the nickname Shield Dog. Paired with Old Black's Little Bread, the lineup's strength was already maxed out.

Now, there was only one final step left: making up for Deep Blue's lack of mobility.

As everyone knew, when playing Shield Dog, fighting people was not the problem. The problem was when they refused to fight you.

After Deep Blue raised his shield, chasing people was genuinely difficult. If someone was determined to run, there was no way he could catch them.

That was when a highly mobile unit was needed.

At first, Han Fei had wanted to add Red Wolf and go with an exoskeleton-and-riot-shield setup.

But after a brief hesitation, Han Fei ultimately did not choose Red Wolf. Instead, he chose Veyron.

"Why chase people on foot when I can use jets? If I Dash straight into them, won't I send them all flying?!"

Veyron's jetpack could be considered the strongest mobility skill in Delta Force.

Many rat spots could only be reached by Veyron using his jetpack.

In Delta Force, Veyron's jets could only be used for movement and could not ram into people. But Han Fei was now a noble triple fusion!

Deep Blue could send people flying with a single shield bash. Combined with Veyron's Dash, it would definitely be even fiercer!

Moreover, Veyron's skill set was incredibly powerful. He had mobility when mobility was needed and throwables when throwables were needed. He was practically the highest-quality soldier around!

With that, Han Fei had selected the three operators for this knife run: Veyron, Deep Blue, and Shepherd.

"Okay, let's go!"

As the countdown ended, Han Fei's vision went black. When he opened his eyes again, he was once more aboard that helicopter.

As he rappelled down, that familiar male voice rang out beside his ears again.

"Remember the following: engage, search, and get out once you're done!"

The moment the voice stopped, Han Fei landed on the ground.

Unlike last time, when freezing winds howled the instant he touched down, this time the area around him was utterly silent. It was so quiet that even the sound of a needle falling to the ground would have been crystal clear.

"Where am I this time?"

Han Fei looked around and saw apartment buildings on both sides, rising straight into the lead-gray sky. Rusted fire escapes twisted into several Z-shapes amid the shadows cast by the buildings.

At the end of the alley, a bloated green dumpster gave off a sour, rotten stench of mixed food waste and engine oil. The smell was so strong that Han Fei could catch its pungent odor from quite a distance away.

"Why does this place feel so familiar?"

Han Fei muttered at the reflective puddle by the wall. The sense of familiarity was so strong that an old movie suddenly came to mind.

The movie was called Batman. In it, the protagonist's parents, the Waynes, were shot dead in an alley much like this one.

Of course, this was not Gotham. Han Fei had only thought of that scene because this was such a standard American-style alley that the déjà vu was overwhelming.

"So where is this place? Columbia?"

Han Fei muttered, then walked toward the large green dumpster.

The closer he got, the stronger the pungent stench became. For a moment, Han Fei even wondered if he should just forget it. It was only a dumpster—there was no need to search it.

But considering how few Haf Coins he had left, Han Fei endured it.

Green dumpsters could still yield red-tier loot. He had never gotten any himself, but once, when he had been playing with friends, he had personally watched one of them pull a shotgun from a dumpster.

As Han Fei's fingers touched it, the dumpster lid lifted slightly.

In an instant, an indescribably pungent stench rushed into his face, making it hard for Han Fei to even keep his eyes open.

Han Fei instinctively held his breath and waited for the dumpster's contents to finish rolling.

Then he regretted it.

"Good grief, two whites? This place is way too poor. I should've known better than to search it."

He had dug through a garbage bin while enduring that foul smell, only to find nothing worth taking. This was a losing deal.

Han Fei withdrew his hand, and the search interface vanished from his vision. He turned to leave, only to see a Liberi carrying a trash bag standing some distance away, staring at him with a look of disgust.

Even after Han Fei noticed him, the Liberi made no effort to hide the revulsion on his face. He muttered, "Where did this homeless guy come from?"

Han Fei raised a brow when he heard that. "Which eye of yours says I'm homeless?"

"Tch."

The Liberi sneered. "Citizens of Columbia don't rummage through dumpsters here. You probably snuck in from somewhere, didn't you?"

When he mentioned his citizen status, visible pride appeared on the Liberi's face. It was obvious that he was genuinely proud of his identity.

And that gave Han Fei a crucial piece of information.

"So this really is Columbia?"

The Liberi looked at Han Fei as though he were an idiot. The meaning was obvious—if this was not Columbia, then where else could it be?

The Local Gangs Have No Manners ### The Liberi looked Han Fei over from head to toe and asked warily, "Hmm. Looking at you, you don't really seem like a homeless guy. You look more like a mercenary who snuck in. So why were you digging through a dumpster?"

"None of your business."

Han Fei could not be bothered to explain himself to the Liberi and turned to leave.

The Liberi opened his mouth, but he did not dare actually stop Han Fei.

At first, he had not paid attention, but after taking another look, he realized Han Fei's equipment was quite sophisticated. He clearly looked like someone not to be messed with.

Han Fei walked straight out of the alley. The instant he stepped from the shadows at its entrance, a wave of bustling noise crashed into him.

The city was incredibly prosperous. Traffic flowed endlessly along the streets, and pedestrians came and went in an unbroken stream. Smartly dressed Liberi, delicate and adorable Feline girls, office workers, students, and tourists—pedestrians of different races and identities gathered into a sea of people that abruptly flooded Han Fei's vision.

Han Fei raised his gaze slightly. Everywhere he looked stood towering skyscrapers. Daylight pouring through the gaps between the buildings refracted off tempered glass into blinding golden glare, making him squint.

Han Fei lifted a hand to block some of the sunlight and softly sighed. "What a prosperous city."

But amid his admiration, Han Fei felt somewhat lost. Where am I supposed to search for stuff?

Han Fei's last knife run had been in the Ursus Tundra. At least there, he knew who the enemies were. After mowing down the Infected inspectors, he could search their outposts.

But now, with a bustling metropolis laid out before him, Han Fei had no idea where to begin.

In the Delta Force game, Han Fei would never have had such a problem.

The reason was simple. The areas GTI Superhumans entered—whether the Dam, Brakkesh, or the futuristic Space City—could all be classified as war zones.

There were no civilians inside. Once you entered, everything that moved, aside from teammates, could be treated as an enemy.

When searching, fighting, and extracting in a place like that, players felt no burden whatsoever.

The civilians have all been evacuated anyway. If I don't take the enemy's stuff, someone else will!

But the city before Han Fei had not evacuated its civilians. Plenty of ordinary people were still living here normally!

Han Fei was a proper man raised under the red flag, someone who had obeyed the law his entire life. He could not bring himself to barge into a stranger's home and rummage through their belongings.

Searching, fighting, and extracting in enemy territory was called carrying out a mission.

Searching, fighting, and extracting in an ordinary civilian's home was called burglary.

Han Fei knew the difference quite clearly.

"Forget it. I'll take things one step at a time."

Han Fei rubbed his chin and thought aloud, "Since this place was classified as Normal Dam, there must be 'Asara soldiers' here. The 'Asara soldiers' last time were inspectors. I don't know what they'll be this time, but there must be some faction that lets me search, fight, and extract. I should walk around instead of wasting time standing here."

With that in mind, Han Fei immediately started moving.

Perhaps because his outfit made him look far from ordinary—what normal person wore a full-face helmet, body armor, and carried a riot shield on their back just to walk down the street?

As Han Fei walked along the main road, passing pedestrians kept throwing curious glances his way.

Some were even preparing to take pictures with their phones.

There were more and more stares, to the point that Han Fei began to wonder whether these people would call the police and have him arrested if he kept walking.

Fortunately, after turning at an intersection, Han Fei entered an empty side street.

There was not a single pedestrian on the street, and even the shops lining both sides had all closed. As a result, those curious stares vanished at once.

"Finally, some peace and quiet." Han Fei breathed a sigh of relief. "If I hadn't gotten out of there, those people might really have called the cops."

Just as he said that, another corner appeared ahead.

Without thinking much of it, Han Fei turned the corner.

The moment he did, two young Lupo men appeared before him.

The two seemed to be guarding the side street. As soon as Han Fei showed himself, they walked toward him.

One of them raised a hand to stop him. "Hey, kid. This road is temporarily closed. We won't make things difficult for you. Turn around and take another route."

"Oh."

Han Fei answered, curiosity rising in his heart. What are these guys doing in there?

Driven by curiosity, Han Fei instinctively looked past the two of them. A short distance behind them stood a bar.

It was the only establishment on the entire street that was still open.

The bar's neon sign was lit even in broad daylight. Multicolored lights formed the image of clinking glasses, and beneath the sign, a group of men in black suits stood on either side as though welcoming some important figure.

Before Han Fei could see who they were waiting for, the two Lupo blocking his way stepped forward and obstructed his view.

The one on the right lowered his voice and threatened viciously, "Kid, don't look at things you shouldn't. Get lost already."

It was obvious that their step forward was both a threat and an attempt to block Han Fei's line of sight with their bodies.

Unfortunately, they were simply too short. Two men barely over five feet seven trying to block the view of a man over five feet eleven was rather difficult.

Even though both wore black hats, Han Fei could still see over their heads to the entrance of the bar behind them.

"I'm just taking a look."

Han Fei casually said that and was about to withdraw his gaze.

The people before him clearly did not seem like decent folk, but he had only just arrived and had yet to figure out the situation. He had no intention of starting a fight the moment he landed.

However, just as Han Fei pulled his gaze back, a familiar figure entered his sight.

It was a silver-haired wolf-eared girl in a black trench coat, with two long blades hanging at her waist.

"Eh? Lappland? What's she doing here?"

Han Fei had only just looked away when the corner of his eye caught a flicker of movement in the shadows at the alley entrance. Dark figures silently poured in. The muffled sound of leather shoes striking the pavement was buried beneath the noise of the street, but it could not escape his ears.

He turned around and saw one silent man after another in black suits entering his field of vision.

Without thinking too much of it, Han Fei casually asked the two Lupo gang members beside him, "Are these your companions?"

Before the two could answer, a crossbow bolt suddenly shot toward him.