Arknights: I'm Pretty Strong With Minecraft — Chapter 58

Chapter 58: A Battle of Dragons and Tigers, A Fear Even for Ghosts

“Hoshiguma, what’s your situation?” Ch’en asked, her voice clipping sharply over the tactical terminal.

“Suppression complete. All resistance points cleared. We’re organizing the transfer as planned.”

“Understood. Stay in contact.”

A piercing shriek tore through the sky.

It was the unmistakable, high-pitched whistle of incoming artillery. A shell of unknown origin ripped through the smoke-choked air, its trajectory locked dead onto Ch’en’s position.

The armored door of the command vehicle beside her was violently kicked open. Swire leaned out into the open air, her eyes wide with sudden, desperate panic as she screamed at the stunned L.G.D. officer.

“Ch’en! Get out of the way—”

Boom.

A deafening explosion swallowed the rest of her warning. The scorching blast wave and a deadly spray of jagged shrapnel instantly engulfed Ch’en’s figure, turning the world into a blinding flash of heat and white noise.

Splash.

A cup of freezing cold water was unceremoniously dumped directly onto Ch’en’s face.

She gasped sharply, her lungs burning as she dragged in a breath of sterile air. Her eyelashes fluttered violently against the harsh fluorescent lighting. Slowly, she forced her eyes open, her consciousness clawing its way back from the dark, chaotic void as the blurry ceiling of a sickbed came into focus.

Ch’en wiped the dripping water from her chin and shifted her gaze. Standing right beside the bed, hands firmly planted on her hips, was a very familiar, very annoying feline.

“Explain to me, what exactly is the situation now? Swire.”

Seeing her finally awake, Swire’s shoulders dropped in a fraction of a second of visible relief, before she instantly masked it behind her characteristic expression of haughty disdain.

“Hmph, finally awake? Officer Ch’en, could you please stop being such a massive burden to me? Do you have any idea how urgent the operational situation is right now?”

“This is… Rhodes Island’s Medical Department.”

Ch’en’s mind rapidly cleared, the sterile smell of antiseptics grounding her. The memory of the blinding flash and the shockwave suddenly crashed back into her thoughts. She sat up, ignoring the dull ache in her ribs, and asked urgently, “How is the team?!”

“The team is perfectly fine.” Swire’s tone was deliberately stiff, her chin tilted up. “It’s just you who ended up looking like a complete disaster. You almost bit the dust out there.”

“Then… how did I end up here?”

“While you were busy commanding the front-line troops to fall back, you took a near-direct hit from a shell fired by the Reunion Movement!” Swire crossed her arms, her tail flicking in agitation. “You’ve been lying here like a dead dragon for a full forty-five minutes! Do you seriously have no recollection of it? Did you sleep yourself silly, or has that thick skull of yours finally turned to mush?”

She leaned over the bed, looking down at Ch’en with a demanding glare. “Ch’en, since you are clearly in such terrible shape, hand over temporary command of the L.G.D. squad to me.”

Ch’en stared back at her with a deadpan, utterly speechless expression, looking at the feline as if she were a complete idiot.

“You’re the one who has slept herself silly, Swire. You have absolutely no right or authority to demand I transfer command to you. Or do you honestly think you are up to the task? Miss Shi?” She deliberately emphasized the surname ‘Shi’, knowing exactly how much it grated on the other woman’s nerves.

Predictably, Swire bristled instantly, her ears flattening like a cat whose tail had just been stomped on. “How many times do I have to tell you! My surname isn’t Shi! It’s Swire!”

“Then why do you go around telling everyone my private nickname?” Ch’en shot back immediately, her eyes narrowing as she recalled the humiliating moniker ‘Pink Sausage Dragon’.

“Huh?” Swire blinked, her anger momentarily derailed by sheer confusion. “Has your brain actually been damaged by the shrapnel? When did I ever…”

“Wait.” Ch’en stopped, a sudden realization hitting her. “Do you know Ivan?”

“Ivan?” Swire frowned, her nose wrinkling in thought. “That guy who completely turned the Reunion Movement upside down?”

“Exactly! Him!”

“I know of him, obviously, but I’ve been stuck coordinating logistics in the office! I haven’t even spoken a single word to the man!” Swire explained, her frustration flaring up again.

Ch’en instantly understood. She had been played. That block-placing, rule-breaking maniac Ivan had completely tricked her!

“That guy…” Ch’en ground her teeth together, a dark aura practically radiating from her hospital bed. “Next time I see him, I am going to make him pay.”

“Damn it! You!” Swire was even angrier now, pointing an accusing finger at Ch’en. “To distrust your own colleague this much! You actually preferred to believe the absolute nonsense of a complete outsider over me!”

Just as the argument was about to escalate into a physical brawl, the heavy door to the ward slid open.

Hoshiguma ducked her tall frame into the room, her face etched with genuine concern. “Old Ch’en, you’re finally awake?”

As she stepped fully into the room, she froze. Swire and Ch’en were standing practically nose-to-nose, their faces inches apart, the air between them crackling with enough static tension to power a small city block.

“Rotten Dragon!”

“Are you looking for a beating, Char Siu Cat?”

Hearing the door open, both of them snapped their heads toward Hoshiguma simultaneously, shouting in perfect unison.

“Hoshiguma! Come over here and be the judge!”

“This stubborn dragon girl has gone completely crazy! Her words and actions are entirely abnormal!” Swire added, refusing to back down. She shook her head dramatically, adding fuel to the fire. “I think it is absolutely necessary for Rhodes Island’s Medical Department to give her another full brain scan! Especially right here!” She tapped her own forehead mockingly.

Hoshiguma looked at the bickering pair, letting out a long, helpless sigh that ended in a fond smile. She pulled a folded document from her pocket. “Alright, both of you, stop arguing. The Medical Department just handed me Old Ch’en’s diagnostic report.”

She opened the file and read out the results. “The examination results are good. Although she was caught in the blast radius of a shell at close range, they found no fractures, no severe internal bleeding, and no concussions.”

Swire scoffed, summarizing the medical jargon with a wave of her hand. “Which means, you just temporarily fainted from the shockwave impact. That ridiculously sturdy body of yours really is your only redeeming quality.”

“Hmph. That’s enough.”

Swire suddenly seemed tired of the argument, or perhaps the confirmation that Ch’en was truly out of danger had finally drained the nervous adrenaline from her system. She smoothed down the wrinkles in her high-end tailored jacket and slowly walked toward the door, her tone dropping back to its usual, business-like calmness.

“I warned you, time is running out. Since you are perfectly fine, don’t waste any more time lounging around.”

As Swire turned her back to leave, Ch’en’s sharp eyes caught something. Beneath the collar of that expensive jacket, she noticed the faint, stark white outline of fresh bandages, accompanied by the subtle, stinging scent of medical ointment.

Ch’en’s expression shifted. She immediately looked at Hoshiguma, lowering her voice so it wouldn’t carry into the hallway. “What happened to her back? That looks like a fresh injury.”

Hoshiguma sighed, her own voice dropping to a quiet murmur. “After you took the hit and went down unconscious, she abandoned cover. She rushed straight into the blast zone, dragged you out of the rubble herself, and hauled you into the command vehicle.”

Ch’en froze. She looked back toward the open doorway, staring at the empty space where Swire’s retreating figure had just disappeared. Her eyes were dark and incredibly complex.

Without a word, she threw off the thin hospital blanket, stood up, and walked over to the small mirror bolted to the wall. She quietly adjusted her collar, smoothing out her somewhat messy clothes and tying her hair back into its strict, familiar style.

Hoshiguma walked up behind her, her reflection towering over Ch’en’s. “This time, Old Ch’en, you really owe her a favor,” she said softly. “It’s about time… you were a little more direct with her.”

“You don’t need to tell me that.” Ch’en looked at her own reflection, her jaw tightening as she took a slow, deep breath. “That annoying cat is absolutely right about one thing. We don’t have any time left.”

When she turned away from the mirror, her eyes were sharp, cold, and entirely resolute once again. “Let’s go, Hoshiguma.”

Stepping outside the Medical Department into the bustling corridors of Rhodes Island, a passing Medical Operator noticed them and hurried over, his face lined with stress. “Officer Ch’en, are you feeling better?”

“Yes, much better.” Ch’en gave a curt, polite nod in acknowledgment. “I apologize for the trouble I caused your department.”

“Where are you going now?”

“I am returning to Lungmen immediately.” Ch’en’s tone was absolute, leaving no room for debate.

“But… the Doctor and Mr. Ivan, they haven’t returned from the ruined city yet.” The Operator hesitated, his hands fidgeting with his clipboard. “The situation out there seems incredibly dangerous and complicated… Are you… are you really going to abandon them?”

Ch’en’s footsteps stopped dead. She slowly turned her face toward the Operator. Her voice was low, heavy, but perfectly clear.

“I apologize for this. But we are the L.G.D. We have our own responsibilities that we must bear.”

Upon hearing that bureaucratic answer, a flicker of raw, barely suppressed anger crossed the Operator’s tired face. He looked down, muttering something under his breath. Although it was spoken softly, the corridor was quiet enough that every word landed like a stone.

“…As expected. That’s exactly what you Lungmen people would choose to do. Because they are Infected, they just deserve to be abandoned and sacrificed, right?”

As soon as the bitter words left his mouth, his eyes widened in panic. He realized his massive slip-up in front of a foreign dignitary and quickly bowed his head. “Uh! No! I’m so sorry, Officer Ch’en, I just… I spoke completely out of turn! Since your health is no longer an issue, I will go report to Kal’tsit that you are preparing to depart.”

He clutched his clipboard and tried to scurry away quickly.

Ch’en didn’t yell. She didn’t reprimand him. She merely looked at his retreating back and spoke with solemn, heavy sincerity.

“Thank you, Rhodes Island, for your medical assistance this time. The Lungmen Guard Department will remember this favor.”

The Medical Operator paused mid-step, his shoulders slumping slightly. He gave a stiff nod without turning around, and then quickly disappeared down the hall.

When the corridor was finally empty and only the two of them remained, Hoshiguma crossed her massive arms and asked the question that had been eating at her for hours. “Old Ch’en. Back then… in the ruined city. Why did we suddenly issue a full retreat order? That is completely unlike your usual style.”

“I have already said it. That is my responsibility as commander,” Ch’en replied, staring straight ahead, her tone entirely flat.

“But it still doesn’t seem like something you would ever willingly do,” Hoshiguma persisted, her voice dropping lower.

“Does it matter whether it’s like me or not?” Ch’en retorted, her hands clenching into fists at her sides.

Hoshiguma was silent for a long moment, studying her friend’s rigid posture. Then, she voiced her darkest suspicion. “It’s Chief Wei, isn’t it? What exactly did he say to you on that encrypted channel?”

Ch’en stopped walking. She stood perfectly still in the sterile white hallway, staring at the floor tiles as if weighing the heavy cost of her own words. Finally, she looked up, meeting Hoshiguma’s gaze.

“Chief Wei’s direct order was this: If we can recruit Ivan, we are to do our absolute best to bring him into Lungmen’s fold. If he refuses, we are to maintain a safe distance and strictly monitor his every single move.”

She paused. The temperature in the hallway seemed to drop as her voice grew colder, speaking each subsequent word with mechanical precision.

“But—if Ivan’s existence, his strange abilities, or his actions pose any substantial threat to Lungmen’s safety… then we are to eliminate him at all costs.”

Hoshiguma’s eyes widened, her face twisting in shock and utter incomprehension. “Why? Ivan has helped Lungmen so much! Without his intervention, the Chernobog Core City collision might not have been resolved at all!”

A flicker of deep, painful complexity crossed the depths of Ch’en’s eyes, but she forced her voice to remain perfectly calm, repeating the harsh truth of the city she served.

“An organization… is sometimes exactly like that, Hoshi. It never considers personal grievances, debts of gratitude, or affections. It only considers overall interests and absolute stability.”

Before Hoshiguma could argue further, the heavy silence of the corridor was shattered.

Ch’en’s personal tactical terminal suddenly began to ring with a blaring, urgent alarm.