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ArabicArknights: How Did I Actually Become the Doctor? — Chapter 40
Chapter 40: The Great Ward Escape!
Honestly, when Mephisto tremblingly strapped on that wristband and confessed his desperate desire to live, I actually approved of the kid.
Even if the path ultimately leads straight to death, having the sheer courage to confront exactly where you screwed up the first half of your life is commendable.
But my approval absolutely does not extend to letting him stand by and watch while Kal’tsit uses me as a human grip strengthener!
“Doctor, I have long since realized just how deeply you distrust me. I am also well aware that I lack the capability to unearth whatever secrets you have buried.” Kal’tsit hoisted me up by the collar with the effortless ease of someone lifting a lightweight thermos.
“But for you to stay awake for days on end without breathing a word to me—isn’t that crossing the line into sheer arrogance?”
Medical Department reports fluttered around us like a localized snowstorm. Kal’tsit snatched one out of the air at random, a visible surge of anger cracking her usual icy composure. “The only reason you can still hold a rational conversation with me right now is entirely thanks to the medical staff and that sarcophagus where you lay dormant for so many years. Your neural stress index has spiked seventy percent past the absolute limit. Should I applaud your iron will for not descending into madness right in front of me?”
Me: Meow meow meow?
I have no idea what you’re talking about! I’m just an innocent, fragile human from a bygone civilization!
Kal’tsit sneered. She tossed the shrunken, spherical form of Mon3tr into the air with one hand, catching it with a rhythmic, menacing smack. It looked like she was debating whether to slam it directly into my skull to deliver a kinetic lullaby.
Could it be… could my glorious, free-roaming journey across Terra end right here in this sterile ward?
No, that can’t be right. I still have one trap card left to play!
Mephisto, for my sake, use Fire Punch on the old lynx!
Mephisto, who had been huddled on the neighboring bed, trembling like a frightened quail under the weight of my natural authority, suddenly caught my intense stare. His face contorted in sheer disbelief. Without any prior training, the boy suddenly unlocked the highest tier of telepathic eye contact.
Doctor (winking aggressively and gesturing): Go, Mephisto! Take her down!
Mephisto (conveying pure agony through his pupils): Yesterday’s multiple-choice survival game didn’t include this kind of suicide mission, did it?!
Doctor (narrowing eyes with deadly intent): If this isn’t the most high-stakes tactical operation, what is? Go!
Mephisto (looking absolutely miserable): Asking me to do this is like drinking liquid Originium to quench my thirst! Show the same terrifying momentum you used to crush me!
I summoned every ounce of my commanding, oppressive aura and swept a freezing glare over him: Go! Do you need me to issue a formal command?
Thus, while Kal’tsit was busy delivering her sarcastic lecture, a deeply bizarre scene unfolded.
The scrawny Liberi, who had just been curled up obediently on the mattress, suddenly sprang to his feet as if he’d swallowed a fistful of Originium slugs. Armed with a level of suicidal courage unmatched in the history of Rhodes Island, he pointed a shaking finger right at Kal’tsit’s nose and began to shout.
“Can you shut up, you nagging old hag?! My good mood from just waking up is—”
Before he could even finish the sentence, the compressed black mass of Mon3tr streaked across the room like a localized meteor and planted itself squarely into his face!
Smash.
The young master seemed to instantly realize that his mood was, in fact, terrible, and promptly collapsed backward into a deep slumber, resuming his exact previous posture.
A synchronized gasp—an equal mix of awe and sheer terror—echoed from the medical staff lingering in the hallway.
I lunged forward, throwing myself over Mephisto, who was now enjoying a baby-like coma. “Oh my god, are you okay?! Speak to me!”
I tightly embraced the brave Liberi who had heroically sacrificed himself for my sake. I made absolutely sure to sandwich Mon3tr directly between our bodies so Kal’tsit couldn’t just reach in, yank it out, and use it to bludgeon a second victim. By using my own body as a meat shield, I forced Mon3tr into a state of hesitation. The summon didn’t dare expand or fly back on its own for fear of crushing me.
Tactical planning: S-Rank!
Kal’tsit clearly saw right through my shameless maneuver. Unfortunately for her, she lost the engagement simply because she cared too much about her professional dignity. Using the exact same physical assault twice, and having to awkwardly march over to pry Mon3tr out from between two hugging men? That completely broke her aloof character.
After maintaining a terrifyingly straight face and glaring daggers into my soul a few more times, Kal’tsit finally extended a reluctant hand. “Mon3tr.”
“What do you mean?” I blinked, playing the fool.
“Drop the act. If you pull a stunt like this again, we will settle the score for both incidents at once.”
With my primary objective achieved, I cheerfully extracted Mon3tr from my arms and handed it over. While I was at it, I gave Mephisto’s hair a deeply moving, affectionate pat.
Good kid. You soaked all the aggro for me!
Kal’tsit recalled Mon3tr and turned on her heel to leave. Halfway to the door, she paused, glancing back at me with deep suspicion.
“You aren’t planning to run away again, are you?”
I looked at my nose, and my nose looked at my heart, the picture of perfect innocence. “I won’t.”
She fell silent for a long moment. Then, she turned and walked away, leaving behind a fragmented whisper that dissipated into the sterile air. “…How boring. I should hate you.”
Even though she had long known that if everyone else perished, the Doctor would still emerge unscathed. If our positions were reversed, this seemingly heartless tactician would likely dispose of me the very second I woke up. Doctor, what on earth goes through that mind of yours?
Under normal narrative circumstances, catching that line would surely allow me to deduce a massive chunk of tragic backstory.
But as a fragile, baseline human from a past era, I am functionally deaf when it comes to anime-style dramatic whispering. I couldn’t hear a damn thing! If a Terran speaks softly enough for my ears to pick it up, then every single operator within a ten-meter radius can hear it in high definition! Eyjafjalla being the sole exception, of course.
After solemnly promising the old lynx that I would get some proper rest, I immediately spun around and set my sights on the bespectacled owl-girl I had been plotting to poach for quite some time!
Silence nervously adjusted her glasses, took a deep, steadying breath, and pushed open the ward door. “Doctor, you requested my presence?”
The former commander of Rhodes Island had returned. This was a monumental event capable of shaking the very foundations of the landship. Even someone like her, entirely dedicated to scientific research, had heard the terrifying rumors from her colleagues.
The mastermind who orchestrated the slaughter through Chernobog, the architect of the Lungmen meat grinder, the legendary Ghost of Babel… Why would such a deeply scheming, ruthless figure suddenly summon her for a private meeting? What dark potential did he see in her?
Regardless of his demands, she would absolutely never comply if it meant sacrificing Ifrit… Huh?
What met her eyes was not the freezing, oppressive interrogation room she had envisioned. The legendary Doctor was crammed into a standard medical ward, just like any ordinary operator. The room had only just settled down from Kal’tsit’s explosive departure, and the white-haired, gray-eyed young man was currently tucking the blankets around a soundly sleeping little boy, acting for all the world like a grieving widow at a funeral.
Far from possessing a demonic visage with green skin and fangs, the young man was actually rather delicate-looking. Wearing his signature black coat, he looked up, flashed a bright smile, and gestured toward the hallway. Let’s talk outside.
The sheer whiplash between the blood-soaked rumors and this domestic reality was staggering. Silence forgot her carefully rehearsed speech in an instant. Her mind completely blank, she followed the young man out of the ward, finally unable to hold back her confusion. “You…”
“Shh.” The young man pressed an index finger to his lips, glancing up and down the corridor with the shiftiness of a seasoned thief. He leaned in close to her ear and whispered, “Let’s keep moving. There are fewer patrols over there. I snuck out.”
In that split second, Silence’s brain had already constructed a massive, complex political conspiracy rivaling the darkest days of Rhine Lab.
Is Kal’tsit refusing to relinquish military control? Have Amiya’s wings grown too full, forcing a factional split? Could it be that even after fleeing all the way to Rhodes Island, I still can’t escape the shadow of political warfare? Should I never have answered this summons? In the eyes of the other operators, I must have already been marked as a member of the Doctor’s extremist faction…
Silence’s mind spun at terminal velocity.
“If anyone asks why you’re escorting me, just remember to tell them it’s for a specialized physical check-up.”
The Doctor’s hushed instruction instantly validated her worst fears. To be this incredibly secretive, he must be assigning her a highly classified black-ops mission!
I need to refuse. But if I reject him, he might fly into a rage and have me silenced. I need to think of a diplomatic way to handle this…
“Understood, Doctor. But please, tell me first why you singled me out. What specific value do I possess that warrants this level of… special effort?” Silence employed a classic negotiation tactic, retreating to advance, desperately trying to probe his true intentions.
“Your high-level clearance as a medical professional, and your past experiences.” You answered without a second of hesitation.
Obviously! If I want to break out of this medical prison, I need a high-ranking doctor to run interference for me!
It was exactly as she feared. A man with his terrifying reach and ambition would never ignore the destructive potential of the Diabolic Crisis. Silence felt the blood drain from her extremities. Her hands and feet turned to ice.
“Then… you summoned me today because you intend to…” She realized the nightmare was repeating itself.
“Exactly. This way, everyone will see that I was officially escorted out by you.”
It’s a trap. He’s forcing me into public complicity so I have no choice but to be chained to his war chariot.
“And once we’re clear, I can finally…”
Recreate the Diabolic Crisis? Restart the Loken Water Tank Experiment? If a warmonger like the Ghost of Babel gets his hands on that kind of biological weaponry, will Terra face a second Nightmare Empire?
Silence squeezed her eyes shut in absolute despair, awaiting the final, crushing judgment. She had fled Rhine Lab all those years ago. She had spent her life running from the ghosts of her past, but in the end, she couldn’t escape—
“Escape today’s nutritional menu!”
…The ‘Escape Today’s Nutritional Menu’ experiment? Wait. Let me think. Which classified project was that again…? Hold on a second.
Silence snapped her eyes open, staring dumbfounded at the energetic young man standing before her.
He stood tall, one hand planted confidently on his hip, the proud ahoge on his head standing at rigid attention. “The dietary restrictions in this place are absolute hell! Who on earth designed this menu?! It’s practically on par with Hibiscus’s cooking!”
“I…” Silence had never felt the biological urge to molt her Liberi feathers so intensely in her entire life.
“You designed it?”
“Wait, wait, what is happening right now?!”