Arknights: Suika's Messenger Journey

"Did you really just let that person go?" Yukari Yakumo asked before leaving.

"Otherwise? Killing her wouldn't mean anything.

Besides, you didn't bring the coordinates with you, so if we want to contact that side again, we'll have to wait until she asks for help next time.

That world is strange, but if we handle things properly, it might really become a new home for the youkai. So no matter what, I couldn't possibly lay a hand on her, right?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Yukari Yakumo stepped into a gap and vanished before her eyes.

Back to the scene at hand.

After Yagokoro Eirin left, Talulah and Alina came out of the settlement.

"Doctor Eirin left?" Alina asked as she looked at Suika standing alone.

"Yeah, she's gone."

"What a shame. We were going to throw her a farewell party." Alina looked into the distance regretfully.

"Forget it. With the supplies we have right now, it'd be better to save them.

Don't be fooled by Ursus's army staying quiet lately. Winter has hindered their movements too. Once spring arrives, their campaigns against Reunion Movement will probably become even more frequent.

Besides, she didn't come here for a little food. Protecting those children who learned how to make medicine, allowing Reunion Movement to grow stronger and become a force that can truly speak for the Infected in Ursus—that's what really matters."

Suika waved a hand. Forget Yagokoro Eirin—even she herself wouldn't think much of Reunion Movement's food.

After returning to town, Talulah had things to handle and left first.

Alina, meanwhile, went to the classroom with Suika.

That's right, the classroom.

After arriving here and discussing it with the other leaders, Reunion Movement decided to set up a small internal class to teach the children how to read.

And Alina became its first teacher.

Everyone had quickly agreed to the decision, and once word got out, both adults and children were enthusiastic.

The adults hoped their children could learn something and recognize a few words, while the children felt there were more kids their own age in class. Not going would be like getting isolated by everyone else.

On top of that, Alina's gentleness made her popular with everyone, so lessons soon got underway.

For Alina, the only troublesome part about being a teacher was that it hadn't even been long, yet Suika had already turned several children in the classroom into little drunks.

Fortunately, spring soon arrived. Even in Ursus, once the white wind and snow receded, green took over the forest from top to bottom.

Suika also told Talulah and Alina that she was preparing to leave.

"Can't you stay a little longer?" Alina asked reluctantly.

"I've been here for half a year already. That's long enough!

Besides, aren't you afraid that if I stay too long, I'll turn the next generation into a bunch of drunks too?"

There was no sadness on Suika's face as she spoke with a grin.

"So when are you leaving?" Talulah asked.

"The day after tomorrow! The snow has only just melted, so the ground's muddy and hard to travel on. I'll set out after a couple of days, once it's dried up a little."

Suika thought about it. She could leave whenever she wanted, but forest paths were difficult to travel in the first place. With the snow having just melted and the muddy ground full of water, they were even worse, so she pushed the date back by two days.

"New" Reunion Movement

When they returned to the settlement, they saw a member of the Yeti Squad run up to Talulah, panting heavily.

"Emergency! General, please come with me at once."

"Have we been discovered again?" Alina asked nervously upon hearing that.

Talulah reached out and patted Alina's shoulder.

"Don't panic. Let's go see what's happening first!" Then the three of them followed the Yeti Squad member to the training grounds beside the settlement.

There, they saw Patriot and FrostNova discussing something.

Talulah hurried over. "What happened?"

"This is intelligence our scouts sent back from outside. An Infected self-help group called the 'New Reunion Movement' has appeared in a town to the south."

As he spoke, Patriot handed Talulah a letter.

"Isn't that a good thing? We can contact them. Since we're both fighting for the Infected, whether we become allies or merge, wouldn't that be beneficial?"

Talulah spoke as she took the letter and began reading it, but Patriot didn't answer. He simply let her read the intelligence herself.

After only two lines, she understood why Patriot had wanted her to see it for herself.

Though the organization called New Reunion Movement also used the slogan of liberating the Infected, it came with a qualifier—through force.

They advocated settling every grievance and repaying blood with blood. However Ursus had oppressed them, they would strike back with the same methods, or even crueler ones. "We Infected clearly possess greater power than ordinary people. Why should we bow and scrape before them? Originium gave us brief lives, so those lives should blaze with even more brilliant fire."

They also claimed that the original Reunion Movement was a trash organization led by weak, spineless people. Talulah, its leader, was even an aristocrat, while that so-called 'Patriot,' Patriot, had also been a general of Ursus.

They had reason to suspect that Reunion Movement was an organization deliberately arranged by the Ursus authorities to grind down the fighting spirit of the Infected. Thus, they chose to establish a "new" Reunion Movement, one meant to truly lead the Infected down the right path.

This intelligence was viciously aimed at their hearts. The declaration sounded wonderful, and it aligned with the thoughts of many Infected who had been rescued after suffering oppression and abuse.

Because it mixed truth with lies, such as Talulah's identity.

It was obvious that the core members, perhaps even the leader, of this new Reunion Movement had once belonged to Reunion Movement.

But what they preached made Talulah uneasy.

Reunion Movement wasn't trying to yield before Ursus. It was simply that refusing to yield would only result in total annihilation.

They had the forces Patriot had brought with him, and the senior leaders were all quite capable, but they still couldn't clash head-on with a regular army.

Because the absolute disparity in numbers and equipment often wasn't something a few powerful individuals could overcome.

Besides, the caster units and drone strike formations within Ursus's army groups were no weaklings in actual combat.

Even Patriot wouldn't dare face the saturated Arts bombardment of a large group of casters head-on.

So while the slogans of that so-called New Reunion Movement sounded wonderful, if anyone truly acted that way, Ursus could wipe them all out in a single campaign.

And attacks targeting ordinary people would only make conditions for the Infected in Ursus even worse.

After all, ordinary people were already terrified of the Infected before anything happened. Once something like this occurred, even fewer ordinary people would be willing to have anything to do with them.

"No. We can't let them continue like this.

They're treating the future of all Infected as a joke."

Talulah looked at Patriot, her tone resolute.

"But so far, they've succeeded, haven't they?

And look—the Ursus military has even allowed their actions to continue."

Patriot walked over to a map nearby, pointed at one location, and continued.

"Here is the headquarters of this New Reunion Movement. And here, and here, there were clearly two armies stationed before. As long as they blocked the left and right sides, then sent another army in from the south, there would be no way out at all.

But according to the intelligence, those two forces withdrew under the pretext that unrest had appeared at the border and more troops were needed.

And the Ursus military seems completely unconcerned that this New Reunion Movement is operating within their heartland.

That's far too strange."

Unlike Talulah, Patriot explained his view from a military perspective, but in the end, they arrived at the same conclusion: the New Reunion Movement's position and operational policy were extremely dangerous.

"Can we find out who leads this New Reunion Movement?

I suspect it's another one of that man's schemes."

Talulah looked up at Patriot.

"I've already sent people to investigate. If we're lucky, there'll be news within the next two days."

"New Reunion Movement? And so radical..." Suika muttered as she stroked her chin in thought.

The policies of this so-called New Reunion Movement felt far too familiar to her. Wasn't this exactly how Reunion Movement had acted after Talulah was corrupted by The Black Snake?

She didn't even need to guess. She was ninety-five percent certain this was the work of that black loach.

Even after losing Talulah as his vessel, The Black Snake still hadn't given up on using the Infected.

But even Suika had to admit that The Black Snake's slogan was extremely appealing.

More precisely, many Ursus people were hot-tempered to begin with. After being oppressed, most of them wanted to vent their anger once they were rescued.

But even armed with weapons, the Infected found it difficult to stand against regular troops. Naturally, their targets would turn toward the military's "accomplices"—those ordinary people who were also unarmed, yet had oppressed and persecuted them.

That old, immortal Black Snake had a firm grasp on the minds of many Infected.

If the New Reunion Movement's slogans reached their side, Suika believed quite a few people would choose to join them.

After all, venting one's emotions was more direct over there, and Ursus people liked that kind of directness.

"Actually, I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing.

That New Reunion Movement obviously isn't the sort that can develop peacefully. Since they've chosen this policy, they'll definitely attack the surrounding villages and even towns.

The Ursus military's attention will naturally be drawn to them. During this time, we can quietly develop.

Once they fail, we can spread slogans about how hatred can't resolve conflict and let the Infected understand that an organization driven by hatred won't last. That'll make it easier for the Infected to believe in Reunion Movement's ideals."

Seeing everyone frowning, Suika spoke up with a different perspective.

Farewell Advice

"Let's put aside the news about this 'New Reunion Movement' for now. Regardless of who their leader is or whether this is someone's scheme, we can't figure it out through a few words alone.

But Suika is right about one thing. Their actions will definitely draw the Ursus people's attention. Taking this chance to develop is the best opportunity we have."

Although this decision was practically equivalent to selling the members of New Reunion Movement to the Ursus army, Patriot still agreed with the plan.

More accurately, some of the people who had split from Reunion Movement thought the future was bleak and didn't want to keep following them, while others felt Reunion Movement's policies were too weak.

Both types would respond to the New Reunion Movement's call.

Because the other side had a very clear goal—revenge.

Using hatred to drive the Infected into action could indeed gather a large number of supporters quickly.

But an Infected force lacking weapons and equipment, relying solely on passion, could never defeat Ursus's regular army.

So Patriot felt that since someone had stepped forward to draw Ursus's attention, they should take the opportunity to rest and rebuild.

After all, if they went to tell the New Reunion Movement now that their path wouldn't work, those hot-blooded people wouldn't listen at all.

Only after they hit a wall, suffered setbacks, and calmed down could Reunion Movement approach them. Taking in those willing to accept their ideals would be the best solution.

After all, if those people continued to carry New Reunion Movement's desire to take revenge on the world and attack every non-Infected person, bringing them into Reunion Movement wouldn't benefit them at all. It might even split the Reunion Movement, which had only just stabilized, apart again.

After Patriot explained his opinion, the others agreed with his view.

Talulah had originally wanted to ask whether they could contact the other side, at least make an effort to save more Infected, when Suika stepped in front of her.

"Do you remember what happened before?

Last time, we got lucky. I was there, so Alina wasn't in danger.

But what about next time?

Those people don't agree with Reunion Movement's ideals, so they can't be companions walking the same path.

Leaving is only a matter of time.

What if they're like those people before? What if, after being driven out, they turn around and attack the ordinary people in the camp? What if they join the Ursus military and lead them here?

Most people won't turn back until they hit a wall. Unless they see with their own eyes and feel for themselves that the direction they're heading is wrong, that it won't work.

Otherwise, they'll never understand your choice. A single sentence from someone with ulterior motives could move them, and then they'd point their weapons at you.

Think about it. A group going in the opposite direction, or companions willing to gather at your side—which is more important? Which are the family members you should protect?"

Suika knew Talulah wasn't a saint. She simply hadn't seen enough filth, so she still believed that people were fundamentally good.

Even people living prosperous lives could develop inexplicable malice toward strangers, let alone in Ursus, where they lacked food and warm clothing. No one could guarantee that, in the next moment, the person beside them wouldn't point a weapon at them for a chance to survive.

So Suika needed to correct that view of hers. At least in Ursus, the price of giving equal trust to everyone was not something Talulah could bear.

Talulah clenched her fists and closed her eyes.