How Did the Delta Force I Was Promised Turn into Arknights? Chapter 46

After making the modifications, Han Fei entered the shooting range to test the gun. Although the shooting range in his Special Operations Center facility was still level 0, that only meant it provided no attribute bonuses. Its weapon-testing function still worked.

Rat-a-tat-tat...

Muzzle flashes carved broken golden lines through the shooting range. The steel target a hundred meters away sprayed continuous sparks under the hail of bullets. The recoil traveled through the stock into his shoulder, yet Han Fei held it steady, compressing it into a straight bullet path.

The drum magazine soon ran dry, and the bolt locking open echoed especially crisply through the gunpowder smoke. Han Fei released the trigger, thoroughly satisfied with the results.

"Not bad."

Han Fei removed the empty drum magazine. When the new one clicked into place, it made an immensely satisfying mechanical locking sound.

Looking at the fully loaded belt of ammunition, Han Fei could not help complaining, "GTI really is a scam. You can fire as much as you want in the shooting range, even spray red rounds like water, but in actual combat I have to spend my own money buying bullets? What kind of godawful organization is this?"

The moment he finished speaking, Han Fei let out a yawn.

"Alright, that's enough for today. I'll get some sleep, then go explore Classified Space City when I wake up."

Han Fei left the shooting range, casually listed a batch of fashionable little junk on the market, then returned to his dormitory and fell into a deep sleep.

Han Fei had a dream. He dreamed that he had a warehouse full of high-tier loot, including five Hearts of Africa. Just as he was about to show off, he suddenly discovered that all the high-tier loot in his warehouse had vanished. Even the five Hearts of Africa had all turned into radioactive diamonds.

The dream was so horrifying that Han Fei jolted awake on the spot, springing upright in bed.

"Holy shit, that was fucking terrifying."

Cold sweat soaked his back. He instinctively reached toward his pillow, but instead of his phone, his hand found only a cold bedside table.

That icy sensation finally dragged his consciousness back to reality. The emergency lights in the Special Operations Center dormitory cast dim blue halos from the corners of the room. Han Fei stared at the familiar pipe patterns on the ceiling, then suddenly pulled his mouth into a smile uglier than crying.

"Fuck, so it wasn't a dream."

Volume One: Chapter Seventy: Welcome to Space City

Although he had been scared awake, the entire night had indeed passed.

Han Fei quickly washed up, listed another batch of fashionable little junk on the market, then left his dormitory.

Texas was already waiting in the cafeteria. She sat at the dining table with her cheek resting on one hand, her gray-blue wolf ears gleaming like satin beneath the lights.

As Han Fei approached, the girl's fingertips were unconsciously tapping the tabletop, the rhythm resembling some encrypted Morse code.

"Up this early?"

Texas looked up at his voice, her gradient-colored eyes reflecting Han Fei's figure. "I sleep lightly."

She paused, then curled her lips into a smile. "I'm hungry, Boss."

"Uh, don't rush. I'll go buy something."

Han Fei promptly went to the market and bought two portions of fried noodles. After some simple preparation, the two steaming portions were served on the table.

Steam from the fried noodles formed a thin mist between them. Han Fei looked through it at the girl's delicate jawline and said, "Finish eating, then get ready. We're leaving soon."

That was also why Han Fei was so eager to go out on missions. Staying at the Special Operations Center meant slowly running out of money, and Hafk's prices were absurdly outrageous.

Fried noodles cost eight thousand. Who could afford to eat that?

"Where are we going?"

Texas paused mid-bite and asked.

"You'll know when we get there."

Han Fei did not explain. In truth, he did not know where he would appear in the next round either.

"Oh."

Texas replied and lowered her head to continue eating her fried noodles.

Before long, both portions were finished. Texas wiped the corner of her mouth and said to Han Fei, "I'm ready. When do we leave?"

"Wait a moment. Just a little while."

As he spoke, Han Fei summoned the panel and made his final preparations.

After his massive sell-off, he now had 510,000 Haf Coins. It was not much, but 6.8 purple rounds only cost 1,770 each now, so buying 250 bullets was more than manageable.

Han Fei bought 250 purple rounds, then checked the condition of his helmet, armor, and medicine.

His helmet and armor had taken a little damage during that disastrous crash. Only a few durability points had been lost, so it was no big deal. After repairs, they could still be used.

His blue medkit only had a little over a hundred durability left, though. Han Fei hesitated, but ultimately did not replace it. He merely replenished two 60-durability syringes.

His surgical kit and painkillers were still brand-new. He had never suffered any serious injuries, so there was no need to replace them.

After checking everything, Han Fei was about to choose a map when he suddenly realized something was wrong—If I do this, how am I supposed to bring Texas along?

Following his gaming instincts, Han Fei looked toward the bottom-right corner of the interface. There were three slots there. His own large portrait occupied one, while the other two displayed plus signs.

Han Fei tapped one, and Texas's portrait appeared in the list.

He tried selecting Texas. The next second, her portrait replaced the plus sign in the slot beside Han Fei's own.

Han Fei immediately understood. That meant the party had been formed successfully.

Once that was settled, Han Fei began choosing a map.

As the map unfolded, four locations appeared before him in turn: Zero Dam, Longbow Valley, Brakkesh, and Space City. After a brief hesitation, he made his choice.

"Welcome to Space City, a place brimming with the atmosphere of futuristic technology."

Space City, Classified Mode!

Han Fei had to visit this place sooner or later.

The reason was simple: only this place had the materials needed to upgrade the Special Operations Center.

Although, based on previous experience, he would still be thrown into Terra, who could say for sure when it came to supplies? Maybe he would find wild rocket fuel and satellite dishes in Terra.

Han Fei selected the map and was about to depart, but after he pressed the button, a large prompt appeared before his eyes.

[Teammate's total equipment value does not meet the map requirement]

"Huh?"

Han Fei was stunned. I have to help my teammate meet the combat readiness requirement too?

Hearing Han Fei's startled sound, Texas asked, "What is it?"

Han Fei said, "Nothing. Just a minor problem."

Classified Space City required a combat readiness value of 187,500. Meeting that requirement was not difficult. Han Fei had four sets of helmet and armor on him; with his backpack and chest rig, putting together enough value would be easy. As for Texas...

Han Fei removed the M250 from his back and handed it to Texas. "Help me carry this weapon."

It was not an excessive request. Although Texas did not understand what Han Fei meant by it, she still reached out and accepted the M250 light machine gun he offered her.

The moment she took the weapon, Texas's combat readiness was sufficient as well.

"Okay, let's go."

With everything ready, Han Fei decisively pressed the departure button.

The next second, the familiar character-selection screen appeared before him.

Since Texas had been added, Han Fei was unsure whether he could still select three operators at once. To be safe, he chose Hive Doctor first.

There was no need to elaborate on Hive Doctor's usefulness. With him around, there was no need to worry about anything going wrong.

For the second character, Han Fei still chose Deep Blue.

Shield Dog's ultimate was simply too powerful, and Hive Doctor and Shield Dog were also a classic combination. There was no need to worry much about their strength.

After selecting the two of them, there was still one empty slot on the selection screen. Only then did Han Fei finally relax.

Clearly, even with an additional teammate, he could still continue combining three operators into one.

For the third person, after giving it some thought, Han Fei chose Red Wolf.

The Shield Dog-Hive Doctor lineup was strong, but it lacked utility items. They needed some explosives, and Red Wolf's ultimate also paired exceptionally well with Shield Dog's ultimate. Putting them together was clearly no problem.

After selecting all three, Han Fei's vision went black.

The next second, the roar of helicopter rotors echoed in his ears. The darkness before Han Fei receded like a tide, and he found himself aboard that helicopter.

"Search and engage. Finish the job, then extract!"

The familiar male voice rang out beside him. Han Fei descended from the helicopter along the rope, with Texas following close behind.

The instant he landed, Han Fei heard a girl's voice full of surprise.

"Huh? Who are you people?!"

The moment he heard that voice, it felt as though ten thousand alpacas were stampeding through Han Fei's heart.

How the hell does this damn GTI do its job? Why did it drop us right in front of someone? If they're an enemy, wouldn't Texas and I be finished the moment we landed?!

But what was done was done. No matter how unwilling Han Fei was, he could only accept the situation for now. While mentally cursing the GTI bastards, he turned toward the source of the voice.

Ten steps away, a red-haired girl with a side ponytail held an apple pie that was still steaming. The icing glistened crystal-clear in the sunlight. Her wide eyes were full of shock, utterly unable to comprehend why anyone would make such an entrance.

Volume One: Chapter Seventy-One: A Flash of Red Light

For the energetic girl Lemuen, this had originally been just another ordinary day in Laterano.

Morning sunlight spilled across the streets. As usual, she said goodbye to her family, held a freshly baked apple pie in her hands, hummed a tune, and headed briskly toward St. Odo Comprehensive Academy, ready to welcome another ordinary yet fulfilling day.

An energetic girl's everyday life was always full of vitality. Occasionally, her overly lively personality would cause a few minor incidents—for example, one careless mistake and she would blow her alma mater to pieces.

But those little accidents only made Lemuen's life more interesting.

However, the scene before her was clearly not something she had anticipated.

—Two fully armed strangers had abruptly descended from the sky and landed right in front of her.

The helicopter's roar had already faded away, and the sky had returned to silence. Yet the two people standing a short distance before her reminded Lemuen that this was not an illusion.

Lemuen could not understand it. That helicopter had made such a huge commotion, flying brazenly into the city, yet the Laterano guard had not reacted at all.

Could it be that these two were not intruders?

The thought naturally surfaced in Lemuen's mind, but she quickly dismissed it herself—their method of arrival did not resemble that of Laterano's guests.

While the girl carefully observed them, Han Fei recognized her identity. She was Exusiai, a highly popular character in Arknights.

As a "former Doctor," Han Fei had deep feelings for the operators of Arknights and had always advocated not taking the initiative to clash with them.

Even during his duel with Lappland, he had only been forced to retaliate rather than making the first move.

With that in mind, faced with Exusiai's questioning, Han Fei did not hesitate and answered truthfully.

"We're scavengers. Sometimes we also work as mercenaries."

That answer clearly did not satisfy Lemuen. She still held the apple pie in her left hand, but her right hand subtly lowered, ready to draw her Guardian Gun at any moment and handle any potential emergency.

"Ordinary scavengers can't drop from Laterano's airspace like you did. Who exactly are you?"

As she spoke, Lemuen had already noticed the large object strapped to Han Fei's back.

As a Sankta, Lemuen recognized it at a glance as a gun—and a long gun at that!

Laterano's controls over long guns were extremely strict. Even Laterano citizens had to undergo a rigorous approval process before they could use one.

As for Laterano citizens without permission, forget long guns—they were not even qualified to use handguns and could only use bows and crossbows as weapons.

That showed just how stringent Laterano's firearm regulations were.

Yet such a tightly controlled weapon was now openly carried by a fully armed stranger.

Lemuen did not believe that the man before her possessed a firearm permit from the Notarial Office. He clearly was not a Sankta!

Illegal entry combined with illegal firearm possession—those two charges together were enough to put Lemuen on the highest alert.

"I..."

At that moment, Han Fei even felt like cursing out the ancestors of the GTI helicopter pilot, though whether that GTI helicopter even had a pilot was another question.

GTI helicopters were responsible for transporting operators, but Han Fei guessed that this transport likely only involved a takeoff-and-landing process rather than actually flying over Terra.

Otherwise, there was no way to explain how the helicopter could bring Han Fei back to the Special Operations Center from all over Terra in such a short time.

In other words, that helicopter clearly had countless possible landing locations, yet it had specifically chosen the one most unfavorable to Han Fei!

Texas glanced sideways at Han Fei. Clever as she was, she had already realized that this mission seemed to have run into trouble from the very beginning.

The Sankta girl before them, the self-propelled confession vehicle passing by, and the statue of a Saint visible in the distance—everything reminded Texas that this place was called Laterano.

And she and her Boss had become uninvited, unwelcome guests.