Arknights, Suika's Messenger Journey

Previously, she had always thought this world was a game from her past life, and that she might be a "crossover character" who had somehow wandered in here, like Luo Xiaohei or the Rainbow Six Squad.

But now, she felt that this land was so real. At the very least, she had not encountered an elderly person like Granny Wang in a very long time.

With a coat, she no longer had to sneak around the streets like before. Instead, she walked openly down the middle of the road.

Although her exaggerated outfit looked strange enough to outsiders, considering how young Suika appeared, everyone merely took her for a naughty child who had stolen an adult's clothes to wear outside.

Just as Suika was wandering the streets, Hoshiguma arrived at the Guard Department.

After entering, she greeted Chen familiarly.

"How are things here? Have those traffickers confessed yet?"

"They've confessed to most of it. The situation with the child on your side is a little unusual...

Does she know where her home is?"

Chen picked up a case file and handed it to Hoshiguma.

"What do you mean?" Hoshiguma asked as she opened the file and began reading through the results of last night's surprise interrogations by the Guard Department.

"Based on the combined interrogation results, the homes of the other children have basically been identified. Only the child you brought away...

She was picked up from the roadside when that trafficker's group was nearing Lungmen. She was sleeping by the road then. Those traffickers figured that since they were selling children anyway, one more child meant more money, so they tossed her into the vehicle.

She didn't wake up until we rushed in and rescued everyone.

So even those traffickers don't know her name, surname, or where she lives..."

Chen watched Hoshiguma as she carefully read the case file.

"I have a feeling there's something wrong with that child... Why don't you bring her back to the Guard Department? There are more people here. Even if something really happens, we can look after one another."

After finishing the file, Hoshiguma rubbed her brow.

Chen was not wrong. Every interrogation record concerning the child at her home, Ibuki Suika, said the same thing.

Yesterday had been a surprise operation. The other side could not possibly have had a chance to coordinate their stories. Besides, all the other children had provided information. There was no reason for everyone to lie specifically about this one child.

"Alright, I'll head back and bring her over first!" Hoshiguma handed the file back to Chen and turned to leave.

Punishment for the Guilty

"I'll come with you!" Chen felt there were too many suspicious details in this matter. She was worried that something might happen if Hoshiguma returned alone, so after thinking it over, she took a sword and got into Hoshiguma's police sidecar motorcycle.

With a roar, the vehicle drove out through the Guard Department gates.

At that moment, Swire came out from the other side, yawning. Seeing Hoshiguma and Chen disappearing into the distance, she assumed the two had slipped away without her and stomped her feet in anger.

Suika had not gone far, because going any farther would take her into Lungmen's commercial district. However, much of this area was still under construction, so unfinished buildings stood everywhere, making it look even more desolate than the residential district.

After deciding to turn back, she thought she should return the coat first. After all, the old woman did not look well-off, and this thick, warm overcoat might be one of the few winter garments she had to change into.

Suika was not some heartless bastard who borrowed things and never returned them.

When she was not far from the old woman's shop, she saw a crowd gathered around it.

Instinctively, she felt a trace of unease.

She hurried over and found the old woman lying on the ground with blood all over her head, unconscious. Beside her was a box that had been rummaged through messily. From the scattered scraps of paper and pens on the ground, it was not hard to guess that this was the box where the old woman kept her money.

At the sight, Suika's eyes immediately turned bloodshot.

At that moment, she hated herself for leaving. If she had known something would happen here, she never should have gone.

"Ugh, Granny Wang is really unlucky. Who would've thought those little punks would be so vicious?

She sells breakfast tea. How much money could she possibly have? Not only did they rob her, they even hurt her..."

Suika walked over and grabbed the speaker by the clothes.

"Who hurt Granny Wang?"

Someone had grabbed his clothes. He had originally wanted to curse at them, but when he looked down and saw Suika, he froze before speaking.

"Aren't you that little girl from earlier?

Come to think of it, you're really lucky. Not long after you left, those punks having breakfast tea nearby made their move and robbed her..."

Suika did not listen any further. Instead, she looked toward a nearby alley.

The scattered remarks from the surrounding crowd all pointed to that alley as the direction in which those people had fled.

Determination flashed in her eyes. Indeed, in her past life on Earth, he had been an ordinary person incapable of even trussing a chicken.

But whether she had been an ordinary person then or was who she was now, there was a fierceness in her heart. Granny Wang was a good person. She should not have suffered such misery.

She had no ability to save people, and someone skilled in treating external injuries had already rushed over to tend to Granny Wang. What she needed to do now was find those people who had hurt Granny Wang and make them pay a sufficient price.

With that thought, she charged into the alley without hesitation.

"Hey, don't go over there! It's dangerous!" Seeing the little girl rush into the alley, the people nearby tried to stop her, but all they caught was air.

By the time they ran to the alley entrance, they saw only the coat Granny Wang had put on Suika lying on the ground, while the girl herself had vanished before their eyes.

After entering the alley, Suika immediately used her ability and turned herself into mist.

She understood that in her normal state, it would be difficult for her to catch up with those thugs who had already fled. Only by using her ability could she achieve her goal as quickly as possible.

As for what those people looked like, she still remembered them vaguely.

She was absolutely certain that if she saw them, she would recognize them.

Although these alleys branched in every direction, they were not without traces to follow.

For example, the fresh footprints left by the water on the road told Suika which direction those thugs had gone.

Before long, she found the three of them dividing the spoils in a secluded alley.

At that moment, the three thugs were cursing at one another over the uneven division of money.

One of them said they had agreed to rob only the money, yet another person had actually hurt the old woman who ran the breakfast tea stall.

If the Guard Department caught them over this, their whole group would be in serious trouble.

Yet the money stolen from the breakfast tea stall was barely anything. Even split three ways, it would not be enough to fill their teeth. Overall, this job had been a huge loss.

The one who had struck her was unconvinced.

"That old hag was clutching the box so tightly. If I hadn't knocked her down with a stick, how would any of us have gotten a chance to take the money?

So I get the biggest share. I take half, and you two split the rest equally."

While they were shouting at one another, they suddenly noticed that the sky had somehow grown gloomy, and their surroundings had become difficult to make out.

"Where the hell did this Great Fog come from in November!"

The man who had attacked Granny Wang was clearly hot-tempered. Seeing that the other two disagreed with his plan and even seemed to be considering cutting him out, he cursed and pulled a butterfly knife from his pocket.

But just as he prepared to strike, he discovered that his surroundings had become as rigid as stone.

He could still breathe and see, but he could not move his body even the slightest bit.

The other two were the same. When they saw him pull out the butterfly knife, they instinctively tried to dodge, but although their minds issued the command, their bodies could not react at all. It was as though they had been stuffed into barrels filled with cement.

"Jingle, jingle..." As the three fell into panic over their situation, the sound of iron chains dragging across the ground traveled through the Great Fog and into their ears.

"Every evil must be purged, every sin must be cut down...

How laughable that outsiders call me an evil demon, when your viciousness far surpasses mine.

In my eyes, none of you deserve to be human...

You damned bastards, go repent for your crimes in hell!"

As the crisp voice of a child fell silent, all three felt an immense force seize their hands and feet.

"Aah!" Amid their screams, their limbs were forcibly kneaded into pulp by the surrounding air.

Just then, a familiar voice came from outside. "Old Chen, over here! I heard screams coming from this direction!"

Hoshiguma? Why was she here?

Suika frowned. She had not expected to run into Hoshiguma here. Having no intention of meeting her, she turned into mist again and vanished from the alley just as the two arrived.

After leaving the alley, Suika felt irritated. Though the outside world looked beautiful and harmonious, this was still Terra—Terra, which devoured people without being picky.

Thinking of Granny Wang's injuries, she flew back outside worriedly. Right now, she only hoped that good people would be rewarded and Granny Wang had not been hurt too badly.

Once outside, she found that the breakfast tea stall was already empty. Only a few scattered scraps on the ground showed that a stall had once stood there.

Suika walked over to a snack stall across the street.

"Uncle, how is Granny Wang, the woman who was selling breakfast tea here earlier?"

Evil Deeds Meet Their Due

"Huh! Little girl, are you alright?" The uncle froze when he saw Suika, then looked her over, taking in her thin outer garment.

"Don't worry, Uncle. I'm not cold...

Where did Granny Wang, who was hurt earlier, go?" Suika was very worried about Granny Wang's condition.

"You mean Granny Wang? Who would've thought that after being kind to others for so many years, she'd suffer like this at such an old age? Good people die young while disasters live for a thousand years.

Oh, right. A doctor passing by took her to the clinic nearby. There, the one on the street corner."

The uncle leaned halfway out and pointed toward the nearby street corner.

Suika thanked him and jogged over.

Upon reaching the clinic entrance, she pushed open the door and walked inside. The moment she entered, she saw Granny Wang lying on a bed some distance away, her eyes half-closed.

She walked to Granny Wang's side. Only after seeing the overcoat resting on a nearby stool did she look at Granny Wang, who had already woken up.

"Granny Wang, how are you feeling?"

"Mm, child, why did you take off your coat?

It's cold outside. You should put it back on!"

Rather than answering Suika's question, Granny Wang pointed toward the clothes nearby and spoke worriedly.

"Granny Wang, I'm fine. I'm not cold..."

"It's good that you're fine, good that you're fine..." After saying that, Granny Wang seemed to have exhausted all her strength. She curled back up on the bed and closed her eyes again.

"Granny Wang needs rest right now. You'd better not disturb her." A little old man came over, looked at Suika, and spoke.

Suika nodded, then stepped aside and asked softly.

"Doctor, is Granny Wang's head injury serious?"

The little old man shook his head. "The injury itself isn't serious. Those little thugs were focused on taking the money. If this old woman Wang hadn't insisted on stopping them, she wouldn't have suffered even this much.

Still, although the blow wasn't very hard, she is old after all. We'll need to observe her for a while to know the exact situation."

After speaking, the little old man clasped his hands behind his back and returned to his seat.

Suika sighed, tucked the money she had taken back from those thugs into Granny Wang's clothes, then walked out.

After watching Suika leave, the little old man looked at Granny Wang and shook his head.

"I really don't know whether you're lucky or unlucky. If that girl had been there at the time, you probably wouldn't have had to suffer this.

But that trace of bloodlust on her... I imagine those little bastards aren't doing much better either."

Even though he had not personally seen Suika act, the doctor had accurately caught the faint scent of blood on her.

He had been one of the people who saw Suika run into that alley, and he was also the one who had picked up the coat from the ground. So after seeing Suika return and put the money into Granny Wang's pocket, he had more or less pieced the whole matter together in his mind.

That also explained why this little girl was walking outside in such thin clothes on such a cold day. It was probably part of her "training."

After leaving, Suika thought of Hoshiguma and Chen, whom she had encountered earlier. Though she did not know why they had appeared there, she instinctively felt it might have something to do with her. So she decided to return to Hoshiguma's home and see what exactly was going on.

Ten minutes earlier

Hoshiguma and Chen returned to her home. After opening the door and searching around, they did not find any sign of Suika.

"Her appearance is very distinctive. If she left this place, the neighbors around here definitely would have seen her." Since Suika was not in the house, Hoshiguma decided to look outside.

After all, Suika's pair of exaggerated horns were extremely eye-catching. Hoshiguma believed that if Suika had left, someone would surely know which direction she had gone.

Sure enough, they had not gone far after leaving before asking fewer than two people, and they learned the direction Suika had taken.

When they arrived at Granny Wang's shop, they saw a large crowd gathered there and immediately sensed that something was wrong.

After walking in, they heard the people inside discussing the situation in twos and threes.