Wasn't This Supposed to Be Delta Force? How Did It Turn into Arknights?

Eat if you want to eat; if you're scared, don't eat!

"Follow me."

Texas turned and left Giuseppe's bedroom.

Perhaps everyone had gone to fend off the invaders. Along the way, the two of them did not encounter a single person; even the servants seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Texas smoothly led Han Fei into the old manor's underground level. After passing through a long, narrow corridor, a metal blast door with a cold, matte sheen abruptly blocked their path.

"Behind this is the family vault. All the valuable collectibles the family has gathered over the years are stored inside."

Looking at the small metal door ahead, Texas said, "Go on, give it a try. Let's see whether your lockpicking skills can open this."

Han Fei raised an eyebrow. What lockpicking? That's a game mechanic. A mechanic, you get it?

Still, since he was already here, Han Fei reached out and placed his hand on the metal blast door.

The instant he touched it, a somewhat abrupt yet utterly familiar locked prompt appeared in Han Fei's field of vision.

[(Locked) East Building Manager's Office]

[Check Key]

"???"

Three question marks appeared over Han Fei's head.

You called this a manager's office?

Come on, from the layout alone, this was obviously an underground vault!

But remembering that his Zero Dam had somehow ended up in Columbia, Han Fei quickly accepted it.

Columbia had already become a regular map, so an underground vault turning into a manager's office did not seem quite so impossible to accept.

Seeing that Han Fei had not moved for a long while, Texas asked, "Can't you do it?"

"Indeed, I can't. Without the key, it won't open."

Han Fei withdrew his hand, turned around, and spread his hands at Texas.

"What a shame."

Texas frowned slightly. She did not care about the family's wealth herself, but compared to letting it become the spoils of the Siracusans, she would rather see Han Fei take it all.

"It is a bit of a shame."

Han Fei found it regrettable too. This one clearly had a high drop rate; he had already gotten two reds from it. If he had a keycard, he would definitely have opened it.

Still, failing to bring a keycard into a big-red match was not unusual. Han Fei had even experienced things far more infuriating.

A Heart of Africa spawned on the table in Babel's implant room, but he had no keycard. Anyone know that pain?

With experiences like that, Han Fei adjusted his mindset quickly.

In the span of a single breath, Han Fei temporarily put the matter out of his mind and asked Texas, "Besides this place, are there any other valuables around? Preferably somewhere with a big safe."

Eliminating High-Value Targets

Han Fei and Texas emerged from the underground vault—no, the underground manager's office.

The sounds of fighting and killing in the courtyard did not affect Han Fei at all. He hummed a tune as he walked, his steps light.

"Sweet candied hawthorn is so tasty..."

Beside him, Texas wore a peculiar expression, her eyes plainly asking—what the hell are you singing?

Naturally, Han Fei noticed Texas's sidelong glances, but he did not care. There was no other reason: he was in a good mood.

Ever since arriving in Columbia, Han Fei had not properly explored the old manor. It was a massive residence, yet he had only visited a handful of places.

But things were different now. Before the Siracusans broke in, he could search the entire old manor however he liked.

Without exaggeration, this was like having the Administration Building all to himself in a big-red match.

That was precisely why Han Fei remained all smiles even if Texas could not find him another safe.

Still, although Han Fei hummed a tune and looked relaxed, he was not moving slowly at all.

The Siracusans had come with overwhelming force. The Texas Family was bound to fall sooner or later, and Han Fei did not have much time left to loot.

He led Texas through the entire first floor, searching it with practiced efficiency.

When they reached the second floor, the conflict in the courtyard caught Han Fei's attention through the floor-to-ceiling windows along one side of the corridor.

He leaned toward the window and glanced outside. The entire courtyard was packed with people. Family soldiers in suits of different colors slaughtered one another, blood spraying from between the tangled figures and winding across the cobblestone ground in vicious streams, soaking the carefully trimmed lawn a dark red.

Han Fei clearly saw an Iron Fist Boss in a Texas Family uniform get pierced through the chest by three blades at once. He staggered back two steps, and bloody foam poured from his throat, splashing across the ground like a scarlet flower.

"Tch, it's pretty intense."

Han Fei withdrew his gaze and looked sideways at Texas beside him.

The young woman remained expressionless. The tragedy in the courtyard could not stir even the faintest ripple in her heart.

"Let's go."

Han Fei lifted his foot to leave. Compared to watching the show, he would rather keep looting.

Han Fei had expected another ordinary round of scavenging, but when he entered a room that looked like an office, a landline phone on the desk directly ahead caught his attention.

There was actually a small blue icon on the phone.

Han Fei knew that icon all too well. It was the symbol for in-match missions in Delta Force.

This was the first in-match mission Han Fei had encountered in Columbia. Out of curiosity, he stepped forward and touched the landline.

The next second, the familiar mission acceptance interface appeared in Han Fei's vision.

[Mission Objective: Eliminate High-Value Target]

[Operation Area: Texas Manor Courtyard]

[Reward: 10000 Haf Coins]

[Possible Rewards: ...]

"Huh?"

Han Fei was extremely surprised. You can eliminate high-value targets here too?

But looking at the operation area... what did that mean? Could the mission target be the elite Siracusans? Or the Texas Family's senior enforcers?

And how would those mission targets appear?

Would it directly select family soldiers already in the courtyard as the mission targets, or spawn more family soldiers?

Driven by curiosity, Han Fei decisively accepted the mission.

—After all, Delta Force missions had no penalty for failure. It did not matter if he accepted one and did not do it.

The next second, a familiar sound rang by Han Fei's ear.

Han Fei ignored the notification and jogged over to the window, looking outside.

A convoy of five vehicles suddenly drove up outside and stopped in the center of the courtyard. Then, a group of enforcers wearing Texas Family uniforms got out.

From their appearance, these enforcers were no different from ordinary family soldiers.

The only difference was that every person who got out of the vehicles had a pale blue exclamation mark floating above their head, marking them as Han Fei's mission targets.

And the Iron Fist Boss surrounded by those family soldiers was naturally the high-value target described in the mission.

Han Fei stroked his chin and muttered, "So that's how it works."

He still remembered that when he accepted missions like this in Delta Force, a group of AI would simply spawn out of nowhere for him to kill.

But that was clearly not what was happening now. It seemed these mission targets would appear in a logical manner instead of abruptly materializing from thin air.

Han Fei's muttering did not escape the sharp senses of the Lupo girl. Cellinia glanced at him and asked in confusion, "What have you figured out this time?"

"Some new mechanics."

Han Fei withdrew his gaze from the window, looked down at the landline on the desk, and thought, Missions can be accepted through landlines too. Next time, I should keep an eye out for similar communication devices.

He needed to pay attention to this change. After all, aside from the usually annoying missions to eliminate high-value targets and clear area targets, Delta Force's regular missions also included obtaining safe supplies and destroying the armory's iron door.

Those two were both worthwhile missions. Sometimes, he could even find valuable items during them.

"Mechanics?"

Texas frowned slightly. She understood Han Fei less and less, and the confusion in her heart grew stronger.

But Texas was very considerate. She knew time was precious right now. Rather than dragging him into questions, it was better to let this money-grubber get his hands on more treasures, so those valuable things would not all fall into the Siracusans' hands.

Han Fei noticed the curiosity hidden in Texas's eyes. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Once we leave this place, if you want to hear it, I can give you an explanation. It might not be perfect, but at least it will leave you less confused."

The moment he finished speaking, a settlement screen popped up before Han Fei's eyes.

[Mission Successful]

[Haf Coins +10000]

The familiar interface left Han Fei stunned. That Iron Fist Boss was killed already?! Isn't that way too fast?

Texas did not know what had happened outside. Her response was straightforward and without the slightest hesitation:

"Okay."

It was a simple word, yet it revealed the young woman's trust in Han Fei.

Naturally, Han Fei would not betray that precious trust. He said solemnly, "I won't keep you waiting long. I promise."

Texas shook her head slightly, her beautiful eyes meeting Han Fei's as she said, "Go do what you want to do first."

"Then I'll be acting on my own," Han Fei said.

Right now, he did not want anything except to thoroughly search the old manor and accept every mission he could find!

For Han Fei at this point, whether it was eliminating high-value targets or clearing area targets, both were excellent missions.

The reward of ten thousand Haf Coins was practically free money, and even the newly spawned Texas Family members were helping Han Fei now.

—The more Texas Family members spawned, the longer it would take for the Siracusans to break into the old manor, giving Han Fei more time to strip the place clean.

He could get free Haf Coins and buy himself more time. It was killing two birds with one stone!

P.S. This update counts as me being late, but no matter what, I've still delivered ten thousand words.

And I won't try to weasel out of it. The update for the thirty-first will count as an extra one.

Fire

The setting sun sank below the horizon, and the last streak of gold in the sky was swallowed by night.

Lappland cleanly severed a head, then nimbly shifted aside to avoid the splashing blood. She looked toward the manor gates in confusion.

"Before the general assault, we cleared out the Texas Family's strongholds in this city, right?"

"Yes, young lady."

Behind her, a Saluzzo Family assassin answered respectfully, then added hesitantly, "But there may have been some fish that slipped through the net."

"I know there would be fish that slipped through the net."

Lappland raised her long, delicate eyebrows and pointed her blade at another family convoy approaching in the distance. "But isn't this an absurd number of fish that slipped through the net?!"

This was already the fifth convoy Lappland had seen.

Over the past hour, one such convoy had driven in every so often. There were not many people in each, and they could not stir up much trouble.

Lappland could not understand what these people were thinking.

Did they not have phones?

They could have formed a considerable force by gathering together, yet they insisted on splitting up their reinforcements and getting picked off one by one.

Lappland could not understand it, but she did not need to. The slaughter within the manor continued, though compared to the initial uproar, the resistance had now become as weak as a candle flame in the wind.

Without its patriarch, the Texas Family was nothing more than a pack of headless flies. Under the Siracusans' fierce offensive, they retreated again and again until their forces collapsed.

Lappland raised her head. Her silver-white hair drifted lightly in the night wind, and her scarlet eyes reflected the old manor lying silent in the darkness.

Not a single light was on. The entire building seemed to have had all life drained from it, leaving only its cold outline standing silently beneath the moonlight.

A dangerous curve touched her lips. Her voice was as soft as if she were speaking to herself, yet it clearly pierced the night:

"Cellinia, how much longer are you going to hide? If you don't come out soon, I'll go in and find you myself."