Arknights: How Did I Actually Become the Doctor? — Chapter 42

Chapter 42: An All-Star Lineup is Coming!

I rested a hand weakly against my forehead. The headache wasn’t from any Originium interference in the basement—it was pure, unadulterated mental exhaustion.

My past self hadn’t even focused on saving Theresa, but he went out of his way to save the Witch King? My tastes back then were truly, horrifyingly unique.

“Doctor, there is no need to be wary of me. You are the person I trust most… the only future I crave.”

The towering, demonic form of the Witch King spoke. Bizarrely, his voice shifted from its initial grating, abyssal croak into a pleasant, melodic female voice, dripping with an unsettling amount of gentleness and longing. It was painfully obvious that he had rehearsed those first two sentences countless times in the dark. But the moment he went off-script, his vocal cords started to glitch out.

“Take me with you. You said you would… have a use for me.” His massive figure suddenly flickered, dropping frames like a corrupted video file. The surrounding PRTS monitoring curves and gauges rapidly spiked, shifting from a stable pale blue to a blaring, critical dark red.

How is this ancient monstrosity still so unstable after all these years?!

I scrambled backward in fright, terrified that his physical form wouldn’t be able to hold it together. If he fully transformed into a rampaging demon right here, I’d end up with my brains splattered all over the sterile walls.

The Witch King’s body pixelated like a censored mosaic for a long, agonizing moment before finally reassembling into the opulent, majestic form of Terra’s greatest nightmare.

“Please rest assured, Doctor,” he rasped, stabilizing his tone. “I will not… collapse easily.”

Which means there is still a very high chance of you collapsing! I screamed internally. You’re not going to just shatter into a fleshy heap while I’m in the middle of commanding a high-stakes battle, are you?!

The Witch King seemed to sense my blatant distrust. The imposing figure shuffled about hesitantly, reaching into a distorted subspace within his own chest to pull out a physical reel of recording tape. “An explanation…” he offered slowly. “He left this for you.”

I took the tape. PRTS immediately scanned and read the archaic medium, a faint blue light sweeping over the magnetic strip. For the first time since waking up in that sarcophagus, I heard the voice of my past self.

Whether due to the degraded quality of the tape or some lingering Originium interference, my past voice sounded thick with bone-deep exhaustion and heavy suppression.

‘Don’t worry. I’ve already handled everything. You won’t have to face any more dark, cruel, or hopeless situations.’A pause.’Also, you can safely use the Witch King. This time, Terra will be a heartwarming fairy tale… I promise. If I’m lying, may my Sarkaz Roguelike high-ascension run end with me dying suddenly to a leak in a second-floor air vent.’

Holy crap! What a ruthless oath! Any gamer worth their salt knew the sheer despair of losing a god-tier roguelike run to early-stage chip damage. I spent exactly 0.01 seconds doubting him before fully believing his promise, my mind instantly racing to imagine ten thousand different ways to exploit the Witch King’s monstrous stats.

“Can you turn into Kal’tsit in a French maid outfit?” I asked immediately.

The Witch King stared.

“Or can you just transform into a mobile landship directly? Wait, can you possess other people and synthesize a temporary Ursus Imperial Guard?”

The ancient sovereign stared at the man before him. Just a moment ago, the Doctor had been cowering in fear. Now, this amnesiac tactician was eagerly pondering a thousand different ways to push his unstable physical form to the absolute limit. Now, it was the Witch King’s turn to worry.

“Ahem. It is also… not quite that stable,” he cautioned.

“Nonsense! I believe in you!” I declared, patting his arm.

In the end, after a brief negotiation and some heavy compromise, I walked out of the basement fully satisfied. Perched comfortably on my head was the Witch King, now taking the form of Kyubey from Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

Sure, my new mascot would occasionally flicker and drop frames like a dying hologram, which was honestly quite terrifying, but the aesthetic was obvious.

Making my way back up to the Medical Department, I kept a pleasant smile on my face, greeting the various operators passing through the metallic corridors of Rhodes Island.

“Good afternoon, Doctor.” The standard, respectful greeting from the logistics staff.

“Doctor! When are you taking our squad out for a mission? We want to pursue the enemy across miles too!” The eager, bloodthirsty plea from the combat operators.

“I baked apple pie again today! Would you like to try some?” The cheerful offer from a certain cute, halo-wearing Sankta girl.

“…Heh. Greetings, Lord Doctor.”

I paused. The voice belonged to a striking Sarkaz woman with flowing silver hair and piercing crimson eyes. She flicked her heart-shaped demon tail, offering a reluctant, haughty nod as she greeted me.

Who is this? I stared. How could someone with a character design this exquisite not be in the gacha pool?

I was stunned for a solid two seconds before recovering my professional composure. I reached out to shake her hand. “I don’t seem to recognize you. What’s your name?”

The woman frowned instinctively, a flash of aristocratic disdain crossing her features. Still, she extended her hand—soft, cold, and smooth as polished jade—and shook mine perfunctorily. “I am a newly joined reserve operator of Rhodes Island. Dureka.”

At that exact moment, the Kyubey perched on my head flicked its fluffy tail, transmitting a telepathic message directly into my mind.

‘This person is quite strong. She carries a heavy scent of blood on her.’The Witch King paused, then thoughtfully added a word of comfort.’Do not be afraid. She is not as formidable as… me.’

My hand suddenly froze mid-shake. I looked at this curvaceous, stunning woman with a rising sense of utter despair.

Sanguinarch, why the hell is it you?!

It didn’t take a genius to figure out the Blood Demon Lord’s intentions for infiltrating Rhodes Island. But rather than letting this ancient vampire run loose around the landship—completely lacking any self-awareness of how out-of-character he was acting—and risking some blind fool exposing his disguise, causing him to fly into a rage and slaughter half the engineering department, it was infinitely safer to keep him right under my nose.

Honestly, it would be best if he just entered the gacha pool in this gender-bent form!

Thus, just as Duq’arael began to narrow his eyes, wondering if he had revealed any flaws in his disguise, the supposedly naive, amnesiac Doctor offered a warm, trusting smile.

“Hello, new operator,” I said smoothly. “Say, can I bring you along on my next mission?”

Duq’arael felt a sudden surge of triumphant joy. He had managed to get close to the legendary Doctor this quickly? He always knew he possessed an unmatched talent for undercover espionage!

The silver-haired woman couldn’t quite suppress the corners of her mouth from twitching upward into a smirk. Still, she feigned aristocratic disdain, tilting her chin up before condescendingly withdrawing her hand. “Fine. If that is your wish, see to it that you do not disappoint me.”

That’s the vibe! I wept tears of blood in my heart. Such a perfectly standard tsundere queen vibe! How could it be the Sanguinarch underneath all this?!

“Alright,” I murmured. Stepping into her personal space, I leaned in close. Amidst her genuinely shocked expression, I lowered my voice to a husky whisper right next to her ear. “Tomorrow at four in the afternoon, wait for me in the backup conference room. I have a secret mission. Keep me company.”

Why is the Doctor leaning in so close?! What does he mean by this?! Duq’arael’s pale cheeks flushed a deep crimson instinctively. His current identity was that of a beautiful woman—did this man have absolutely no sense of personal space or propriety?!

Amidst the envious gazes of the surrounding operators, I finished my smooth delivery, turned on my heel, and walked away without looking back, leaving the flustered vampire surrounded by gossiping colleagues.

“So lucky…” Duq’arael heard a medic whisper nearby.

For the sake of maintaining his flawless disguise, even though he desperately wanted to declare that he didn’t care about the Doctor’s attention at all, Duq’arael let out a textbook tsundere huff. He generously remained in place to accept the awe and congratulations of his new ‘colleagues’, secretly delighted by his own success.

He knew it. His infiltration skills were absolutely top-tier among all the Sarkaz Royal Courts! The Doctor probably never expected to be so easily manipulated by his brilliant disguise!

Returning to the safety of the Medical Department, I sat down at my desk and mentally tallied up my current roster for the upcoming operation.

The demonized Witch King cosplaying as an anime mascot.

The disguised Sanguinarch acting like a tsundere waifu.

Saria, the immovable object.

And the hidden Wis’adel, ready to blow everything to kingdom come.

To think that a tiny, insignificant mobile prison was about to host such an absolutely outrageous, meta-breaking all-star lineup.

I leaned back in my chair, a dry, amused smile touching my lips.

Jesselton isn’t actually going to try and fight them one by one, is he?