How Did Delta Force Turn into Arknights? Chapter 5

The voice was crisp and pleasant, very pleasing to the ear.

Talulah was a little dumbfounded. She stared fixedly at the card in Han Fei's hand and asked doubtfully, "You mean this card was pulled from my coat?"

Volume One: Whose Child Is This?

"Yeah."

Han Fei sat back down in his chair and toyed with the keycard in his hand.

Talulah's curiosity grew stronger. She was certain there had been no such card in her coat—at least, there definitely hadn't been before she took it off and hung it on the wall!

With that thought, Talulah suddenly said, "Can I take a look at that card in your hand?"

"Sure."

Han Fei reached out and handed her the keycard.

Talulah took the keycard and examined both sides before saying, "I've never seen a card like this."

After a pause, she added, "And this doesn't look like something that should exist on the tundra."

Talulah couldn't identify the material the card was made from, but she was certain it wasn't something this barren land could produce. If it were Columbia, though, there was at least some possibility.

Talulah looked up, handed the card back to Han Fei, and said, "This card couldn't possibly have come from my clothes. It should be yours, shouldn't it?"

"No, I really pulled it out of your clothes." Han Fei shrugged. "If it were mine, why would I go through all that trouble?"

"Is that so?"

Talulah raised an elegant brow, then suddenly curled two fingers and pulled the card back, saying, "Since you pulled it from my clothes, I'm not giving it back."

"Uh..."

Han Fei froze awkwardly, then scratched his head. "If you want it, I guess that's fine."

He really didn't care much about a West Wing Infirmary keycard. Even though he was a zero-to-hero player right now, he wasn't desperate enough to cling to an infirmary card.

The reason was simple: the card dropped too often and wasn't worth much.

It was the kind of card that was more worthwhile to toss into military supplies than sell on the market.

One hundred thousand Haf Coins? He could earn that back by picking up some fashionable little junk.

"Just kidding."

Talulah straightened her fingers and handed the card back to Han Fei. "It's useless to me, but judging by how happy you were earlier, it should be quite helpful to you, right?"

"Helpful might be overstating it. It's just worth a little money."

Han Fei took the keycard and casually put it into his backpack. He had just taken out an apple, so there was exactly one empty slot for the card.

"Then keep it safe."

Talulah withdrew her hand and added, "You just got back, so you must be hungry. Have something to eat first. After that, I'll have someone arrange a place for you to stay."

"Then I'll trouble you." Han Fei said, "I won't eat and stay here for free, either. If there's anything you need done over the next few days, just say the word. I'll help however I can."

Talulah didn't stand on ceremony and agreed, "All right. If I need anything, I'll let you know."

Alina stood up, walked to one side, and tied an apron around herself. "We got so caught up talking that I forgot how late it was. Wait a moment—I'll go make dinner."

"I'm not in a hurry."

Han Fei said it casually and watched Alina head over to the fireplace to get busy.

Before long, Alina brought steaming hot dishes to the table.

After setting everything down, she said to Han Fei, "The food is a little simple. I hope you don't mind."

"It's fine. This is already quite a spread," Han Fei said.

On this barren tundra, there naturally were no delicacies from land or sea. The bowls and plates were filled with vegetable stews Han Fei couldn't name, without even a trace of meat.

Still, Han Fei didn't care about that. A hot meal was good enough. There was no need to be picky.

"If it isn't enough, there's more in the pot." Alina smiled. "Don't be formal with us. Just treat this place like home."

The crisp crackling of resin in the fireplace mingled with the bubbling of the earthenware pot, pushing the howling wind and snow into a distant, blurry backdrop.

Han Fei blinked and said, "I think I'm pretty relaxed."

"I suppose so."

Alina covered her mouth and laughed softly. "From beginning to end, you haven't seemed very nervous at all."

"Because there's no need to be nervous."

As Han Fei spoke, he scooped up a spoonful of stew and put it in his mouth. After chewing, he gave Alina a thumbs-up and said, "Your cooking is amazing."

"You flatter me."

Alina pulled out a chair and sat between Han Fei and Talulah.

Soon, no one spoke around the wooden table. Only the soft sounds of eating remained.

Outside the cracks in the window came the mournful howl of the north wind gnawing at the tundra, but the scorched fragrance and warmth of burning resin had seeped into every grain of the wood, keeping all the tundra's chill outside the cabin.

There was naturally no nightlife on the tundra. After dinner and a little more conversation, it was time to rest.

Talulah led Han Fei to a cabin and said, "Lodging is limited, so you'll rest here tonight. Aside from you, there are two children in this house. You should get along well."

Han Fei said, "I don't mind, but I won't have to squeeze into the same bed as them, will I?"

"That won't be necessary."

Talulah shook her head. "There are spare beds inside."

"That's good."

Han Fei breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't too picky about where he stayed, but if he had to share a bed with strangers, he would rather sleep on the floor.

Perhaps someone had heard the conversation outside. The wooden door suddenly opened from within, and a little boy poked his head out. He happened to see the two people standing outside.

"Big Sister Talulah."

"Good evening, Sasha."

Talulah bent down and said to the little boy, Sasha, "This is our guest. He'll be staying with you tonight. Can you squeeze in with Eno?"

Sasha readily agreed. "No problem, Sister."

"Good."

Talulah straightened up and said to Han Fei, "Then I won't disturb your rest. Sleep early. See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

Han Fei waved goodbye to Talulah, then walked inside.

There was another little boy in the room—Eno, the one Talulah had mentioned—who was curiously studying Han Fei.

Sasha closed the wooden door, walked over to Eno, and quietly explained why Han Fei had arrived.

Only then did Eno nod as though he half understood, though the curiosity in his eyes did not fade much.

Han Fei was a considerate man. He pulled out a chair and sat down, then took a can of cola he had picked up during the day from his bag and handed it to the two boys. "It's our first meeting, and I don't really have anything to give you. Take this can of cola as a gift. You can share it."

Eno was clearly shy around strangers. He looked timid, and in response to Han Fei's kindness, he merely shrank farther behind Sasha.

"Thank you for your kindness, Big Brother."

Sasha stepped forward and declined. "But we don't need a gift. Please put it away."

The moment he finished speaking, there was a crack, followed by the hiss of fizzing bubbles.

Only then did Sasha see that Han Fei had opened the can while he was talking.

"Too late."

Han Fei held up the opened can of cola and said to them, "I've already opened it. Once this stuff is opened, it goes bad if you don't drink it within a day. Are you going to find some cups and share this cola with me, or wait for it to spoil?"

Volume One: Nighttime

The two children looked at each other, apparently completely thrown off by Han Fei's sudden move.

After a long moment, Sasha suddenly got up, found two cups, and walked over to Han Fei. "Thank you."

"Why be polite with me?"

Han Fei poured the cola into the cups and said, "All right, go share it with your friend."

"Mm."

Sasha answered, turned around, and handed one cup of cola to Eno.

Watching the two children sip the cola little by little, Han Fei suddenly felt that they looked familiar. He asked, "You're Sasha and Eno, right? I'm Han Fei."

"Big Brother Han Fei."

Sasha was very polite as he introduced them. "I'm Sasha, and he's my best friend, Eno."

Eno was a little shy around strangers and shrank farther behind Sasha, peeking out to study Han Fei curiously.

"Don't be nervous."

Han Fei smiled at Eno and said gently, "I'm not some bad guy. Is the cola good?"

Eno fell silent for a moment, then said timidly, "It's good."

As though he felt that description was too vague, he added, "Very sweet."

"That's good."

Han Fei casually tossed the empty cola can into the trash. The more he looked at these two children, the more familiar they seemed. He had the feeling they were probably characters from Arknights.

But Han Fei truly couldn't remember who they were. They probably weren't popular characters.

Noticing Han Fei's gaze, Sasha asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No."

Han Fei waved his hand. "I just think you two look familiar."

"Us?"

Sasha and Eno looked at each other. Eno shook his head, and Sasha then said, "But we're sure we've never met you."

"It's normal that you haven't," Han Fei said.

He was a transmigrator. It made sense that these two children had never seen him. It would be strange if they had.

Han Fei didn't want to dwell on it and added, "Just pretend I didn't say anything. Don't mind it."

"Oh."

Sasha nodded as though he half understood.

Han Fei stood up, stretched, and said, "All right, it's late. Get some rest."

The cabin's bedroom was not spacious. With two beds inside, it felt even more cramped.

Moonlight seeped through the gaps in the wooden boards, weaving silver threads across Sasha's deerskin blanket and bringing a little light into the cramped room.

The two children curled up on the wooden bed by the door. Eno clutched the hem of his clothes and shrank into the shadows, while Sasha hooked the edge of the blanket with his frost-reddened toes. The two pressed close together like a closed pinecone.

After washing up, Han Fei quietly entered the bedroom. His movements were light, afraid of disturbing the children's rest, but the moment his back touched the straw mattress, he heard the bed frame creak like ice cracking.

The wooden bed was far from comfortable. Even with some dry grass underneath, it was still not very soft.

Bits of straw poked at Han Fei's waist through his coarse linen clothes. He turned over, and moonlight from the window happened to wash over his eyelashes.

Han Fei actually hadn't gone to bed early in a long time—he had stayed up late waiting for the new Delta Force season to launch, so he definitely wasn't the type to sleep early and rise early.

Driven by his body clock, even though he was in bed now, Han Fei couldn't sleep at all. He wasn't the least bit sleepy.

A rustling sound came from the neighboring bed.

Eno quietly lifted the edge of his blanket and peeked at this adult who was completely different from them.

Han Fei suddenly winked at him, startling the child into immediately shrinking behind Sasha's back and even holding his breath.

"Big Brother, aren't you sleeping?"

Sasha noticed the movement, turned his head toward Han Fei, and said, "It's already late."

"I can't sleep."

Han Fei grinned. "I haven't gone to bed early or gotten up early in a long time."