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ArabicArknights: How Did I Actually Become the Doctor? — Chapter 28
Chapter 28: Pursuit, Pursuit, We Haven’t Even Started Fighting Yet, How Did My Mon3tr Disappear?
“Such a remote place… Is FrostNova planning to take her subordinates back to their ancestral roots and eat grass to survive?”
You had just been picked up by Mon3tr for the thirty-second time, dragged bodily through a treacherous, overgrown path choked with jagged ice and frozen thorns. By now, you lacked even the energy to complain out loud.
How on earth did they manage to hike to such an impossible location? You had been tracking their coordinates for six grueling days, yet the distance between you and the target had only widened.
In this minus forty-degree wasteland, you had stubbornly refused to wear the local specialty thick padded coats. To maintain your classic, enigmatic hooded mastermind aesthetic without freezing to death, you had resorted to strapping a miniaturized mobile city heating core directly inside your uniform.
Mon3tr suddenly let out a low, vibrating warning screech. It seemed you had accidentally stumbled upon a Yeti squad that had separated from the main Reunion force to carry out a side mission.
With a sharp hand gesture, you ordered your combat squad to halt. The operators instantly fell into dead silence. A scout skilled in stealth operations crept forward, deploying directional listening equipment to carefully eavesdrop through the howling wind.
This particular Yeti squad was in abysmal condition. They had completely lost their basic ability to maintain a perimeter, and their signature white cloaks were shredded and stained.
“Auntie Adra, why did you leave?” asked a young, trembling voice, laced with poorly concealed terror.
“I’ve traveled north and south with Big Sister for six years, and I’ve been to this specific wasteland four times,” an elderly female voice replied. She calmly extended a hand entirely crystallized by Originium, showing it to her young companion. “Every time we come here, we leave one or two companions behind in the snow forever. I miss them.”
“I’m old now,” she continued, her tone entirely devoid of fear. “My Oripathy is becoming impossible to suppress. In my final moments, I would only slow down Big Sister’s advance. Besides, I want to spend my last days keeping my old friends company.”
“I asked someone to leave a message for Big Sister. I told her I don’t want to fight anymore, that I’m defecting to join Rhodes Island where I’ll live a good life.” She turned her gaze to the pale young man who had just spoken, offering a silent question. What about you?
The young man gritted his teeth, his breath pluming in the freezing air. “My leg is broken. I studied medicine before all this. I know exactly how much medical care a person with a shattered leg needs just to survive out here. The Yeti squad is practically being dragged to their deaths by us newly joined wounded.”
He wiped at his face. “I’m useless. When I first contracted the infection, I got my little sister killed. If it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t have had to expose her identity to save me. I refuse to get everyone who has been so good to me killed too…”
“And me! My mother was just trying to sneak a little food to me…” A middle-aged man joined the conversation, the sorrow of a decade-old tragedy washing over him, his voice thick with choking sobs.
The voices joining the huddle grew noisy, each carrying their own heavy burdens and worries. Yet, not a single person spoke of their impending deaths.
It was as if the terminal infection and the agonizing wounds no longer registered as pain. Here, in these frozen ruins where no one would sneer at them, their long-suppressed longing and regret could finally be spoken aloud.
In your earpiece, the Rhodes Island operators fell into a heavy silence.
They had assumed the Yeti squad might be suffering from supply shortages, but they never imagined the reality was this utterly miserable.
“Close the net. They don’t have the capacity to resist anymore.” You hesitated for a fraction of a second, but ultimately decided not to let the operators continue listening, even if the enemy might accidentally reveal useful intelligence.
You could already see the logistics girl wiping away tears. She had a similar tragic backstory, and listening to this was like staring into a cruel mirror.
Let it be said again: the entire foundation supporting this land of Terra was Hypergryph’s mysterious obsession with the beautiful, strong, and tragic aesthetic. In this grimdark world where even random background villains harbored noble ideals of saving the common people, you had already witnessed countless stories exactly like this one. Your heart was already as hard as stone, completely unruffled!
You absolutely refused to be derailed by this kind of emotional plot device!
“Mon3tr, I’ve already contacted the Rhodes Island Ursus branch to prepare for a rendezvous. Can you escort these people back?” You stroked Mon3tr’s jagged head, your expression softening. “The others don’t have the physical ability to travel alone. If we don’t get them back for immediate medical treatment, they only have death waiting for them.”
Mon3tr let out an uneasy, metallic screech. It remembered Kal’tsit’s absolute instructions perfectly: it was the ultimate safety guarantee meant to stay by the Doctor’s side at all times.
You patiently explained your logic. “I know you want to fight Patriot with me, but if these people aren’t sent back right now, it will be too late.”
“Look at them,” you continued, gesturing to the huddled Infected. “This group includes the rarest operator archetypes on our island: the rugged adult male, the gentle grandma, and the ultra-rare sunny genki girl. You know I can’t refuse these pulls.”
Mon3tr roared anxiously, waving its crystalline scythes to illustrate the sheer danger of leaving you unprotected in enemy territory.
“Please, I have a gamer’s premonition. With this many people, Reunion might even trigger a hidden faction cooperation trait. I really can’t pass this up.” You patted Mon3tr’s massive claw. “Go! Escort them quickly and come right back. You might even make it in time for the final boss fight!”
Mon3tr roared in protest. It roared again, attempting to explain the tactical flaw in this plan. It let out a third, even more frantic roar as you simply shooed it away.
Time rewound to not long ago. 2:00 AM Kazdel time, in the dead of night.
Regent Theresis, exhausted from a grueling day of political maneuvering, lay in his grand bed, savoring his only moment of true relaxation.
Peaceful, secluded, undisturbed. No one was demanding he take responsibility for the future of the Sarkaz race. It felt just like the tranquility of the old days, back when he and his sister had only each other to depend on for survival.
Suddenly, a powerful, rhythmic bass drop connected through the entire royal bedchamber. The elite communication system howled like a fire alarm cranked to maximum volume.
“Oh baby watchin’ burn! Send death to isolation! Oh watchin’ burn! Ain’t got no hesitation! Watchin’ burn! We’re fallin’ higher! Oh, oh, oh, oh!”
“You Sarkaz profanity!” Theresis was so startled he nearly launched himself out of bed, slamming his hand down to slap the power off.
The very next moment, his terminal smoothly bypassed the manual override and blared again at deafening volume.
“Fall to my name!! Fall to my name!! Fall to my name!! Fall to my name!! Fall to my name!!”
In perfect synchronization with the drop, the entire Shard emitted blinding, dynamic RGB light waves, the massive structure actually vibrating to the beat.
How many years had it been, damn it? Why was that shitty prank program the Doctor wrote still running in the mainframe!
Those useless Nachzehrer boomers had been connected to the royal intranet for years. Could they seriously not figure out how to clear out one damn computer virus!