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ArabicArknights: It Can't Possibly Be My Fault... Right? — Chapter 30
Chapter 30: Take Another Look
Seeing Kai plummet from mid-air, M3 didn’t hesitate. She launched herself forward, catching him securely before he could hit the ground. As soon as her boots hit the rubble, she set him down, but his knees immediately buckled. He swayed dangerously, forcing M3 to wrap an arm around his waist to keep him upright.
“Mr. Kai!” Amiya’s voice rang out as she and the rest of the Rhodes Island operators rushed over. “You… what happened?!” she cried, her eyes wide as she stared at the bright, shimmering Arts patterns snaking across his exposed skin like glowing circuitry.
Kai forced a weak, lopsided smile. “It’s nothing. I’m not dead yet. It’s just that this thing packs quite a punch.” He broke off into a harsh fit of coughing.
The good news: he had successfully saved those Reunion Movement members, and the entire process had been exceptionally flashy. The bad news: his stamina gauge was completely bottomed out. If M3 hadn’t caught him, he probably would have earned himself a second-degree disability. Being able to wheel his own chair around the landship for the rest of his life would have been considered a lucky break.
“Honestly… Mr. Kai! Could you please warn us before pulling off something so reckless next time?!” Amiya fumed, her rabbit ears pinning back in agitation.
“I did tell you, though… I just skipped over the exact consequences,” Kai chuckled, though it sounded breathless.
“That doesn’t make it okay!” Amiya opened her mouth to lecture him further, but the Doctor stepped in, gently patting her shoulder.
“Alright, Amiya. The situation was critical, and the kid seems fine. He just looks a bit worse for wear…”
“Doctor, you’re just as guilty! Even though you’re the field commander and I shouldn’t question your tactical decisions, you still shouldn’t have let Mr. Kai take a risk like that!” Seeing the Doctor jump to Kai’s defense, Amiya instantly redirected her artillery.
“Uh… well, I…” The Doctor scratched the back of his hood, thoroughly outgunned by the young Cautus. Defeated, he smoothly changed the subject. “Kai, how are you holding up? Any specific discomfort?”
Kai shot him a deadpan glare. “I’m uncomfortable everywhere right now.”
“You know what I mean. I don’t have a mirror handy, but are you aware your entire body is lit up with glowing patterns?” the Doctor asked, exasperated.
“Oh…” Kai offered a completely unbothered, perfunctory nod.
At that moment, heavy footsteps approached. The Lungmen Guard Department had sent a representative over.
Hoshiguma stepped forward, her towering frame casting a shadow over the rubble. “Everyone from Rhodes Island, we really owe you one this time.” She offered a respectful nod, referring to how the operators had absorbed the frontline pressure when the LGD was swarmed by Reunion earlier.
Her gaze shifted to Kai, and she raised an eyebrow. “Whoa, what’s the deal with you? Get hit by some kind of curse?” she asked, taking in his glowing, half-collapsed state.
Kai waved a dismissive hand. “It’s nothing, I’ll live. By the way, why are you the one here? Where’s Officer Ch’en?”
Seeing that Kai had zero intention of explaining his glowing skin, Hoshiguma tactfully dropped the subject. After all, she had just witnessed the sheer scale of what he had pulled off. She pursed her lips, her expression shifting to something more complicated. “Old Ch’en… I don’t know what’s eating at her. She seems completely preoccupied. I didn’t think she was in any state to handle diplomatic interactions right now, so I came in her place.”
Preoccupied. Kai could easily guess why Ch’en was spiraling. She was an Infected, after all. Even though Wei Yenwu had buried that secret deep, the hypocrisy of her position tore at her constantly. And today, she had come face-to-face with Talulah—the very person haunting her thoughts.
Ch’en had always pursued absolute justice, yet her very existence in the LGD was built on a foundation of injustice. According to the game’s original script, her true awakening was supposed to happen much later. Perhaps today’s chaotic events had given the plot a little premature nudge.
Leaning heavily against M3, Kai coughed to clear his throat. “In that case, we’ll leave the wrap-up to you, Officer Hoshiguma. If you need anything, you can coordinate with Miss Amiya here.”
Amiya shot Kai a sharp glare. Was he trying to get rid of her? But with an LGD VIP standing right there, she couldn’t exactly throw a tantrum.
Hoshiguma grinned broadly, reaching out to give Amiya a friendly pat on the head. “Sure thing. Actually, we have some fresh intel we’d like to share with your side. Miss Amiya, walk with me?”
“Understood, Miss Hoshiguma. Please lead the way, I’ll be right behind you.” Amiya let the tall Oni step ahead, then leaned in close to Kai. “Mr. Kai, don’t think pawning me off means you’re off the hook. The second we get back to the ship, I’m telling Dr. Kal’tsit!”
With that, she spun on her heel, leaving Kai staring at her merciless, retreating back.
“Uh… well, damn,” Kai muttered, suddenly feeling a chill that had nothing to do with Arts exhaustion.
“It is fine, Kai. I will help you block Kal’tsit when we return,” M3 offered from his side, her tone perfectly flat.
Kai glanced at her. “Can you actually stop her?”
“Of course not,” M3 replied matter-of-factly.
“Right… good talk.”
With Amiya out of earshot, the Doctor drifted back over. He looked Kai up and down. “Kai, can you even walk in your current state?”
Kai stared at the Doctor like he had lost his mind. Wasn’t it painfully obvious that his legs were currently functioning as decorative noodles?
But the Doctor just stood there, arms crossed, waiting expectantly for an answer.
“…Uh, not very well. Why?” Kai asked slowly.
The Doctor clapped his hands together. “Then don’t you need someone to escort you to the bathroom!”
The gears finally clicked. Kai nodded solemnly. “You know what? I think I do. How about you help me find a spot? Nature is definitely calling.”
M3 watched the exchange with visible confusion. Why did the Doctor need to remind a grown man about his bodily functions? But her logic circuits didn’t dwell on it. She simply stepped back, letting the Doctor sling Kai’s arm over his shoulder and drag him off toward the ruins.
“I gotta say, your excuse is absolutely garbage,” Kai complained as he hobbled along, leaning on the Doctor’s coat.
“Oh? Then please, oh great hero, enlighten me. What other reason could I possibly invent to drag you away without M3 tagging along?” the Doctor retorted without an ounce of mercy.
“I’m no hero,” Kai brushed off the teasing. “What’s the deal? Something you need to discuss off the record?”
The Doctor glanced over his shoulder, ensuring they were completely isolated behind a collapsed wall. His casual demeanor vanished. “Give it to me straight. Is it serious?”
“Is what serious?” Kai asked, genuinely puzzled.
“Don’t play dumb. Do you really expect me to believe these glowing symptoms on your body are just a fancy new tattoo?” the Doctor pressed.
“Uh… if there were a few more enemies and I kept the output up a bit longer, I probably would have blacked out on the spot. Does that count as serious?” Kai considered his own internal state. “Aside from that, I really don’t feel anything else. Just incredibly weak. That’s it.”
“That’s it?” the Doctor echoed, his tone dripping with skepticism.
“What else do you want? You think popping a couple of pills is going to kill me?” Kai rolled his eyes.
“Fine. But regardless of how you feel, you are undergoing a full medical scan the second we get back,” the Doctor ordered.
“I know, I know. The medical bay is basically my designated respawn point at Rhodes Island anyway,” Kai sighed, nodding. “Did you really drag me out here just to play mother hen?”
The Doctor let out a long breath, exasperated. “What else? I thought you were just playing tough so Amiya wouldn’t panic—that you were actually bleeding out internally but passing it off as a scratch.”
“Screw you. I’m not made of glass. And if I were actually dying, I’d definitely drop some cryptic last words. Otherwise, it’s just a waste of a good death scene.” As he spoke, Kai pulled his arm off the Doctor’s shoulder and took an experimental step forward. To his surprise, his legs held. Only a few minutes had passed, yet he had gone from a crumbling mess to bearing his own weight.
“Your recovery rate…” The Doctor narrowed his eyes behind his visor. “That’s not right. You’ve never bounced back this fast before.”
Kai flexed his fingers, forming a tight fist. He could feel it too. The raw stamina and cellular recovery surging through him were leagues above his usual baseline. A thought flickered in his mind. He raised his hand and conjured a miniature fireball.
He stared at it. Hmm… still looked the same.
“Hey! Are you insane? What are you doing?” the Doctor hissed, watching Kai casually play with Arts while recovering from severe exhaustion.
Kai ignored the scolding and just waved his hand, gesturing for the Doctor to step closer.
The Doctor leaned in cautiously. “What? You want me to admire how perfectly round your fireball is? And since when can you cast without popping pills?” The Doctor was well aware of Kai’s usual strict casting limitations.
Kai rolled his eyes again. “I’ll conjure your head and see how round it is. I could always do basic casting, alright? Just look closely at the flame. Doesn’t it look familiar?”
“How can a fireball look familiar? Fire is fire. Wait, is this…” The Doctor’s complaint died in his throat as he stared intently at the hovering sphere of heat.
“It looks exactly like the ones Talulah throws around, right?” Kai said quietly.
Even though a fireball was a basic manifestation, every Caster had a distinct, recognizable Arts signature—like Amiya’s dark, rippling energy. Talulah’s signature was notoriously distinct: a heavy, sulfurous, choking heat. And the small flame dancing in Kai’s palm radiated that exact same oppressive, smoky aura.
“This… what the hell is this? Did your Arts mutate?” the Doctor asked, stunned. It wasn’t entirely impossible for two people to share a similar frequency, but Kai’s magic had never felt like this before.
“Mutate my ass. Take another look.”
At Kai’s mental command, the heavy, sulfurous orange rapidly bled out of the flame. Within a second, it was replaced by a nearly translucent, shimmering fluctuation of pure energy—completely plain, devoid of any distinct signature, and entirely unremarkable.