Arknights: I'm Pretty Strong With Minecraft — Chapter 27

Chapter 27: The Ultimate TacticYou're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.

A white-haired Ursus girl pressed her trembling back against the cold, damp brickwork of the alleyway. She moved with agonizing slowness along the shadows of the wall, her breath catching in her throat as she constantly checked over her shoulder. Every step was light and desperate, the frantic stealth of a cornered animal trying to evade a pack of terrifying hunters.

Despite her extreme caution, the grim reality of the slums did not favor her.

“Over here! I found her tracks!”

A rough, grating shout shattered the tense silence of the streets. Several heavily armed enforcers of the Reunion Movement rounded the corner, their eyes glinting with the cruel thrill of a successful hunt. Spotting the girl, their expressions twisted into fierce sneers as they immediately lunged forward.

Misha’s heart seized in her chest. Abandoning all pretense of stealth, she spun on her heel and sprinted blindly into the maze of the slums, her slender figure desperately weaving through the labyrinth of decaying buildings and narrow, trash-filled corridors.

She ran until her lungs burned, finally diving into a dead-end alcove piled high with rusted, discarded junk. She curled into a tight ball, clamping her trembling hands over her mouth to muffle her ragged breathing. She squeezed her eyes shut, not daring to make the slightest sound.

The heavy, rhythmic thud of combat boots grew closer and closer. Each step echoed against the narrow walls, stomping directly on her fraying nerves.

Just as the shadows of the Reunion soldiers fell over her hiding spot, the approaching footsteps abruptly stopped.

A heavy, suffocating silence stretched for a fraction of a second. Then came a series of rapid, muffled thuds, followed by the distinct sound of armored bodies collapsing heavily onto the concrete.

Misha went completely rigid. What had just happened out there? Paralyzed by fear, she squeezed her eyes shut even tighter, her mind racing with the worst possible outcomes.

“Yo, Miss Misha?”

A relaxed, almost cheerful voice drifted into the alcove, completely devoid of the malice she expected.

Misha opened her eyes in sheer terror. Standing amidst the unconscious bodies of the Reunion enforcers was a strange Ursus youth. He was casually dusting off his hands, strolling toward her with the leisurely pace of someone taking a walk in a park.

Panic overriding her senses, she instinctively scrambled backward, preparing to bolt.

“Wait!” Ivan called out, raising a hand to stop her. “Don’t be afraid. A few kids asked me to come help you out. The little ones who gave you those doll charms.”

Misha froze, her voice trembling with a mixture of disbelief and desperate hope. “Those… those children… what happened to them?”

“Don’t worry,” Ivan said, his tone softening as he stopped a respectful distance away. “They’re perfectly fine. I made sure they got to a very safe place.”

The rigid tension in Misha’s shoulders finally began to ease. Hearing about the children drained a fraction of the heavy wariness from her eyes. If this stranger had been sent by them, perhaps he wasn’t an enemy.

“Mr. Ivan! Have you located Miss Misha?”

A young, clear voice echoed from the far end of the alley. Ivan turned his head, waving casually.

“Yeah, I found her. You guys can come over.”

Hearing unfamiliar voices approaching, Misha instantly tensed up like a startled rabbit, retreating deeper into the pile of junk as her eyes darted around in renewed panic.

“Hey, don’t be afraid,” Ivan quickly reassured her, keeping his posture relaxed. “They’re my companions. We’re all here to get you out of this mess.”

“That’s right.” Franka stepped out from the shadows, a playful, teasing smile resting on her lips as she leaned forward. “Besides, if we actually wanted to capture you, you wouldn’t have been able to run away anyway.”

“Franka,” Liskarm warned quietly, stepping up beside her partner with a disapproving frown. “Watch your phrasing.”

Misha stared at the newly arrived group, taking in their professional combat gear and weapons. Her eyes dimmed, and she wrapped her arms around herself defensively. “I’m sorry… but I don’t trust you. I know exactly how the Infected are treated in a place like this.”

Her voice dripped with years of accumulated bitterness and survival instinct.

Amiya did not offer empty words of comfort. Instead, she stepped forward in silence and slowly rolled up the sleeve of her right jacket arm. The dim light of the alley caught the jagged, unmistakable black Originium crystals growing across the back of her hand.

Misha’s eyes widened in deep shock. “You… you’re also Infected?”

“That’s right,” Amiya nodded, her gaze steady and full of quiet resolve. “I am also Infected. We understand exactly what you are going through, Miss Misha. Please, trust us and let us take you away from this place.”

Misha stared at the dark crystals on Amiya’s skin, then looked up at the faces of the others. The hostility had vanished from her posture. She took a deep breath and finally nodded. “I understand. Let’s go.”

Amiya immediately pulled out her communication terminal, tapping a secure frequency. “Officer Ch’en, this is Amiya. We have successfully secured Miss Misha.”

“Understood. I will now transmit the coordinates for the rendezvous point. Escort the target there safely,” Ch’en’s strict, authoritative voice crackled through the speaker.

“Understood.”

“The Lungmen Guard Department has already secured the perimeter of the rendezvous point. That is all for now.”

Before Amiya could end the transmission, Ivan smoothly plucked the terminal from her hand. “Officer Ch’en. It’s me, Ivan.”

A brief pause hung on the line. “What do you want?” Ch’en asked, her tone laced with suspicion. “Once you bring Misha to the designated coordinates, the L.G.D. will take over the operation.”

“After we drop her off, I’m going to tag along with your squad to escort Misha,” Ivan stated, leaving no room for argument.and support the real translator.Read at elysianreads.com This is a stolen translation. You're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.

“Absolutely not,” Ch’en refused instantly. “Do you doubt the operational capabilities of the Lungmen Guard Department?”

“Then let’s make a trade,” Ivan continued, entirely unfazed by her strictness. “You agree to let me join the subsequent escort detail. In exchange, I’ll give you some very interesting intelligence regarding… Talulah. Do we have a deal?”

Dead silence fell over the communication line. The heavy tension of Ch’en weighing her options practically bled through the speaker.

A moment later, her voice returned, noticeably colder. “Alright. But I expect this intelligence to be worth my time.”

Ivan ended the call and tossed the terminal back to Amiya. “All sorted. Let’s head to the rendezvous point.”

He turned around, only to find Misha standing completely still. She was staring at him, her eyes brimming with fresh hurt and deep suspicion.

“You… you intended to hand me over to the Lungmen Guard Department from the very beginning?” she asked, her voice cracking.

“No! That’s not it at all!” Amiya stepped forward, waving her hands in a panic. “The Lungmen Guard Department officially entrusted us to protect you and ensure your safety! We aren’t just handing you over to be locked up, I promise!”

Ivan stepped in, placing a gentle, reassuring hand on Misha’s shoulder. His tone was incredibly relaxed, carrying a quiet strength that anchored the tense atmosphere. “Relax, take a breath. Don’t worry about the L.G.D. I’m right here. As long as I’m around, absolutely no one is going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do. I’ll be going with you, Miss Misha. You have my word.”

Before Misha could process the comfort, a cheerful commotion erupted from the rooftops above. A nimble figure vaulted over the edge of the building, landing lightly on the pavement directly in front of the group with a dramatic flourish.

“Hey everyone! I missed you all so much!” a vibrant, energetic voice rang out.

“Miss Exusiai?” Amiya blinked in surprise at the sudden arrival of the red-haired Sankta.

“How was my entrance? Did I surprise you?” Exusiai grinned brightly, adjusting the glowing halo above her head.

Franka sighed from the back of the group, resting a hand on her hip. “Seriously, dropping out of the sky like that nearly gave me a heart attack. Are all Penguin Logistics employees this bored?”

“No, no, nothing like that.” Exusiai waved her hands dismissively, though her cheerful smile faded into something much sharper. “I just dropped by to offer a friendly warning. It looks like a whole lot of very terrifying guys are closing in on our position from every direction.”

She drew her vector submachine gun, checking the safety. “To put it bluntly, every single evacuation route out of these slums is currently crawling with enemies.”

The moment the words left her mouth, Exusiai’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Incoming!”

A searing, volatile fireball erupted from the shadows of the adjacent alley, hurtling directly toward the group without a shred of warning.

“Doctor!” Amiya shouted, bracing herself.

Standing at the rear, the Doctor reacted with mechanical precision, his tactical mind instantly analyzing the ambush. “Amiya, Exusiai! Fall back, find immediate cover, and provide suppressing fire!”

“Understood!” the two ranged operators replied in unison, scattering to the flanks.

“Liskarm! Step up and absorb the frontal impact!”

“Understood.” Liskarm smoothly unholstered her heavy shield, planting her boots firmly into the concrete as she stepped in front of Misha to block the incoming blast.

“Ivan, Franka! Act as the vanguard and clear out the approaching hostiles!”

“You got it, Doctor.” Franka drew her rapier, a dangerous, eager thrill lighting up her eyes as she prepared to charge.

But before Franka could even shift her weight, Ivan was already gone.

He didn’t run. He simply vanished, leaving behind a violent distortion of air and a pitch-black afterimage. A terrifying streak of dark sword light tore through the dim alleyway, zigzagging through the shadows with physics-defying speed.

Enemies? What enemies?

By the time Liskarm had fully braced her shield, and before Exusiai could even raise her gun to eye level, the rushing wind settled. Ivan was already standing back in his original spot, casually shaking out his wrist.

The entire group slowly turned their heads toward the direction of the ambush.

A dozen heavily armed Reunion soldiers, who had been roaring and charging forward just a fraction of a second ago, were now scattered across the concrete. They lay perfectly neat, completely silent, and entirely unconscious.

Franka blinked slowly, lowering her rapier. She let out an impressed whistle. “Wow. Brother Ivan, you really don’t mess around, do you?”

Liskarm lowered her shield, her expression returning to its usual stoic calm as she evaluated the scene. “Indeed. The hostile clearing efficiency far exceeded all standard operational expectations.”

Misha and Exusiai, witnessing this absurd display of power for the very first time, simply stood frozen, their mouths hanging slightly agape in sheer disbelief.

The Doctor stood in silence, looking at the unconscious bodies littering the street, and then down at his own hand, which was still raised from issuing his rapid-fire tactical commands. He stood there for a long moment, lost in deep thought.

Gradually, a look of absolute clarity washed over the Doctor’s concealed face.

‘So… the ultimate tactical maneuver… is just to deploy Ivan? I think I’ve just reached enlightenment.’You're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.