Arknights: It Can't Possibly Be My Fault... Right? — Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Operation BeginsYou'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.

“Do you really have to stick to me like glue, M3?” Kai asked, letting out a long, helpless sigh.

To ensure his safety—and likely to keep him on a tight leash—Kal’tsit had issued a strict directive. From the moment they stepped out of Rhodes Island until the operation concluded, M3 was to act as his personal shadow.

Kai didn’t exactly mind the arrangement. Having a beautiful girl act as his bodyguard was a perk most would kill for. The problem was her execution. M3 was taking the ‘guard dog’ role a bit too literally, greeting any operator who dared step within a three-foot radius of Kai with a hostile, feral hiss.

“You’re overdoing it,” Kai muttered, rubbing his temples after watching yet another terrified logistics staffer scurry away from M3’s bared teeth. “You’re interrogating everyone who walks past.”

“Ahaha… am I?” M3 averted her gaze, suddenly finding the steel floor plating incredibly interesting.

“Of course you are! You know these operators. Do you really need to pull them aside and glare them down every single time?” Kai grabbed her wrist, pulling her out of the corridor’s center before she could pounce on the next unsuspecting passerby.

“Hehe… well, maybe it’s because this is the first official mission Kal’tsit gave me since I got this human body.” M3 scratched the back of her head sheepishly, sticking her tongue out in a blatant, weaponized display of cuteness. “I just wanted to take it seriously!”

Before Kai could respond, she planted her hands on her hips, leaning in close. “Besides! I used to act exactly like this before. Why are you suddenly complaining so much now that I have a face? Do you not like me being human?”

“It’s not that,” Kai said, waving a hand to dismiss the accusation.

“Then what is it?” She tilted her head, eyes narrowing as she waited for his defense.

Kai found himself momentarily speechless. He dug through his meta-knowledge of the original timeline. The Mon3tr he remembered was a terrifying, crystalline spine-monster—impulsive at times, sure, but brutally efficient and reliable. It certainly didn’t pout. How had she ended up acting like a petulant teenager?

Ah, Kai realized with a dry inward chuckle. It’s because the ‘Old Cat’ finally ascended to a higher plane of existence.

“It’s… whatever, never mind,” Kai said, executing a clumsy pivot. “Amiya and the others are waiting at the staging area. You wouldn’t want to hold up the entire mission, right?”

“Is… is that so?” M3 blinked, entirely unequipped to handle such a blatant change of subject. The tactic was super effective.

“Then let me carry you there so we’re faster!” she volunteered, throwing her hand into the air.

“Eh? Wait, why would you—”

By the time the two finally arrived at the assembly point, the infiltration team was fully gathered. Dobermann stood at the forefront, her posture rigid and commanding. Tonight was the night. They were dropping into the burning ruins of Chernobog to extract the ‘Private’ Doctor from the Sarcophagus.

“Ah, Mr. Kai, Miss M3, you made it.” Amiya offered a bright wave, though her smile faltered as they drew closer. “Eh? Are you hurt?”

“It’s nothing. We aren’t the last ones to arrive, are we?” Kai stepped forward, casually resting his hand on top of Amiya’s head and giving her soft hair a gentle ruffle.

“Mr. Kai… please don’t do that…” Amiya protested weakly, though she made absolutely no effort to step away from his touch. “Operator Blaze hasn’t arrived yet, and Big Brother Ace’s squad is still making some final preparations. And… um, it’s very sensitive there… please…”

“Don’t bully Amiya!” M3 hissed instantly, her eyes flashing.

Yielding to the feral bodyguard, Kai sheepishly withdrew his hand from the Cautus girl’s ears. He had to admit, they were incredibly soft.

“Whew…” Amiya let out a long, quiet breath, her cheeks dusted with a faint pink. “Also, Operator Nearl mentioned she needed to swap out her equipment, so we have a few more minutes.”

“Oho, then we’ve got this in the bag.” Seeing the sheer level of preparation the elite operators were putting into this run, Kai felt a heavy weight lift from his chest.

Since Amiya’s ears were currently off-limits, Kai casually shifted his target, dropping his hand onto M3’s head instead and scratching through her hair.

“Ha! What do you think you’re—hey, don’t rub my head!” she snapped, trying to swat him away.

Kai ignored the protest, his fingers finding a sweet spot.

“Mmm… wait, a little to the left…”

The hissing kitten was subdued in record time, leaning into his palm with a soft hum.

“It seems you and Miss M3 are getting along wonderfully,” Amiya noted, a genuine smile breaking through her previous anxiety.

Kai shrugged, keeping his tone light. “After all, M3 is just as cute as Amiya now.”

“Mr. Kai!” Amiya gasped, her face flushing a deeper shade of red. A ripple of laughter echoed through the surrounding operators, the lighthearted banter cutting through the heavy pre-mission tension.

A few minutes later, the remaining stragglers arrived. Just as Amiya had mentioned, Nearl stepped into the staging area clad in her heavy spear-and-shield knight armor, radiating the imposing aura of the Radiant Knight. Kai raised an eyebrow. It was a slight deviation from his memory of the timeline—she shouldn’t be donning that gear quite yet—but he wasn’t about to complain about having a powerhouse on the field.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.

Ace and his squad approached next. On the surface, the veteran defender looked the same as always.

“Big Brother Ace,” Kai called out, eyeing the heavy gear. “What exactly were you guys preparing?”

Ace let out a deep, rumbling chuckle. He unslung the massive tower shield from his back and held it out. “We paid a visit to Closure. Had her specifically reinforce our gear against extreme heat and open flames. Take a look. Think it’ll be enough?”

Kai took the heavy shield, running his fingers over the surface. A specialized, heat-dissipating coating had been applied to the exterior, while a thick layer of thermal insulation lined the inner grip. Tucked away in the bottom corner, barely visible, was a tiny cartoon sticker of Closure’s grinning face—the profiteer’s signature.

“It’s definitely a massive upgrade from the standard issue,” Kai said, handing the heavy metal back.

“Damn right it is,” Ace grinned, strapping it back onto his arm.

“Yo! Looks like everyone’s here!” Blaze’s energetic voice boomed across the hangar as she jogged up to the group. She skidded to a halt, leaning in to squint at Kai’s forehead. “Eh? Kai, why do you have a bunch of fresh bumps on your head?”

Kai shot a deadpan glare at M3, who suddenly looked very guilty. “I’m growing muscle,” he replied through gritted teeth.

Seeing the roster complete, Dobermann ran a final check over her comms and tactical harness. She turned to face the squad, her expression hardening into pure military discipline.

“Prepare to move out!”

“Moving out, moving out~” Blaze cheered.

“Let’s go.”

Chernobog. A nomadic city now suffocating beneath the dual shadows of war and an impending Catastrophe.

Shattered concrete. Raging fires. The metallic scent of blood mixed with the bitter taste of Originium dust in the air. Only by standing amidst the burning ruins did Kai truly comprehend the sheer, suffocating hellscape of Terra.

After a grueling trek through the outer sectors, the infiltration squad finally breached the core area of Chernobog. The towering, brutalist structure housing their objective—the Sarcophagus—loomed in the near distance.

The journey had been surprisingly quiet. Following their revised tactical plan, Nearl, Ace, and his Vanguard squad had broken off to secure the rear, establishing a reinforced fallback line. The main extraction team pushed deeper, keeping their footprint small and their movements fast.

But as they drew closer to the target, the silence began to weigh heavily on the group. Amiya had grown entirely taciturn, her knuckles turning white as she gripped her staff.

Kai exchanged a brief glance with M3. He stepped forward, gently resting a hand on the young leader’s shoulder.

“Ah—Mr. Kai!” Amiya jolted, a small gasp escaping her lips as she snapped out of her dark thoughts. “Is… is something wrong?”

“You’re spiraling, Amiya. You’re too tense,” Kai said, his voice low and steady.

“I… I don’t know.” She looked out over the ruined skyline. Thick black smoke choked the buildings, while the unnatural, swirling clouds of a brewing Catastrophe stained the heavens a bruised purple. “The Doctor is a very important person to me. I’ve imagined a hundred different ways we might reunite, but… never one like this.”

The grim reality of the operation had been thoroughly briefed before they deployed, but seeing the devastation firsthand was entirely different.

“And I’m so worried about Nearl and Blaze,” she continued, her voice trembling slightly. “I know leaving them behind to hold the line is a strategic necessity, but I can’t help it. Mr. Kai… will the Reunion Movement really mobilize their entire force against us, just like you predicted?”

Kai shifted his stance, offering her a reassuring smile as he patted her head. “Don’t worry, Amiya. Even if you doubt my meta-knowledge, don’t you trust Kal’tsit’s planning? Look, she even sent M3 to babysit me. Plus, Blaze and Ace are armed to the teeth and prepped for the worst. If things really go south, we’ll just have them carve a path out for us.”

Catching her cue, M3 puffed out her chest and flashed a confident, sharp-toothed grin, thumping her fist against her collarbone as if to say, Leave the heavy lifting to me.

Seeing the absolute confidence radiating from the two of them, the tight knot in Amiya’s chest finally loosened. A small, genuine smile touched her lips.

“Hearing you say that almost made me forget that you’re technically a VIP who needs protection,” she murmured. “But you’re right, Mr. Kai. Thank you. I need to pull myself together. We’re still in hostile territory, and…” She paused, her ears twitching as her face flushed again. “…can you please stop rubbing my head now?”

“Eh? But it feels so calming.”

“That’s not the point… you… ugh, forget it.” Giving up the struggle, Amiya let out a defeated sigh, her cheeks burning as she allowed Kai to continue messing up her hair.

Chomp.

“Ouch! Let go, M3! Let go!”

“I told you not to bully Amiya!” M3 growled around his forearm, her jaw locked in a vice grip.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.