English
Indonesia
Chinese (Simp)
Japanese
Korean
Spanish
Portuguese
French
German
ArabicArknights: The Prophet of Penguin Logistics — Chapter 11
Chapter 11: Special Operator: Sora
“I am truly, deeply sorry! I completely misunderstood the relationship between you and that person, Senior Texas. I’m really, really sorry!!” Sora’s voice pitched an octave higher in her panic.
“It’s fine,” Texas replied, her tone as flat and unbothered as a still lake.
“I—what should I do to make it up to you? Do you need coffee, Senior? Ah, wait, I remember you’re trying to quit smoking. Do you want some smoking-cessation chocolate? I specifically bought some on the way here. Senior, please, just see if these are okay as compensation…”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind at all.”
“But I do! If you don’t accept them, Senior, I, Sora, will feel absolutely terrible!”
A beat of silence passed. Texas sighed softly. “…Alright.”
Lynn sat beside Exusiai, watching the frantic girl hover over Texas with a head full of questions.
What is going on here?
What about me? I was the other half of that massive misunderstanding.
Did a stinky guy only warrant a couple of casual, half-hearted apologies before being entirely forgotten? He wanted a gift, too.
Sora was technically a new Operator for Penguin Logistics. Despite the “new” label, she had actually joined the company much earlier than Lynn and was considered a full-time employee. However, due to her primary career as a rising idol, she only occasionally returned to the logistics hub to report in. All things considered, her status within the company was delicate at best.
, she clearly hadn’t arrived alone today. While she was inside the dormitory offering solicitous care and frantic apologies, two imposing guards stood outside the door. They wore heavy black armor bearing the insignia of a prominent security contractor, their faces completely obscured behind tactical helmets. They stood at attention with rigid professionalism, looking every bit like Sora’s personal, high-end bodyguards. They were also burdened with bags of various sizes, frantically passing items inside under the guise of compensation for her recent absence.
Who had ever seen an employee insist on shoving compensation into a coworker’s hands?
“This Sora…” Lynn murmured, leaning closer to his companion. “She feels a bit strange.”
“Hmm? In what way?” Exusiai asked curiously. She was leaning against Lynn, her eyes closed as she rested her head near his shoulder. “Sora has always been like this, hasn’t she?”
“Everything about her is strange. Whether it’s her dialogue or her emotional shifts. Ah, I don’t mean it in a bad way, but how should I put it?”
While idly organizing a stack of files next to Exusiai, Lynn watched Sora practically vibrating around a very reluctant Texas in the opposite cubicle. Drawing on his extensive past-life experience of reading web novels, he pondered the scene for a moment before muttering his deductions.
“I get the distinct feeling she only joined Penguin Logistics because of Texas. Look at her ears—they don’t look real. They look like they were intentionally styled that way. This girl isn’t a Lupo, is she? Although I haven’t seen many, my intuition is screaming that she isn’t. Plus, she doesn’t carry the aura of someone who has undergone combat training, and her reactions just now were incredibly naive. But most, why does a logistics Operator have heavily armed personnel from a private security company tailing her? How much does a detail like that even cost?”
Lynn pointed a finger toward the two professional security operators who had been standing like statues at the door, looking utterly speechless.
Was this even considered coming to work? It looked more like a sheltered young lady descending into the slums to experience the life of the common folk. And judging by how obsessively attentive she was to Texas, she probably harbored some intense yuri tendencies. No wonder she had worn that world-ending, apocalyptic expression earlier—she had looked exactly like someone whose husband had just been stolen.
But then again, was Penguin Logistics really a functional workplace? The interpersonal relationships here were a tangled, chaotic web. Sora harbored a massive crush on Texas, Texas clearly had some deep-seated feelings for Exusiai, and in the eyes of everyone else, Exusiai’s relationship with Lynn was dangerously ambiguous. Thinking about it carefully, Penguin Logistics was a total disaster. It was exactly like one of those four-person college dormitories that somehow had five different group chats.
If he followed that logic, what was his role as the newest arrival? Should he go have a deep, heart-to-heart chat with Croissant to complete the circle?
“Achoo!”
Across the room, Croissant, who had been dozing peacefully in her chair, suddenly jerked awake. She shivered violently, her eyes darting around the room with intense wariness.
“What’s wrong, Croissant?” Lynn asked.
“Nothin’, I just feel like someone’s castin’ a malicious curse on me…”
Looking around with neurotic suspicion, Croissant scratched her head in utter confusion. Out of sheer habit, she pulled out a small protective amulet, tied it securely to her horn, and then slumped back into the armchair, her snores resuming a moment later.
Lynn’s expression grew complicated.
Sorry, Croissant. I didn’t mean it.
Offering a silent apology to the perpetually cheerful girl, Lynn turned his head away, unable to bear the guilt of looking at her.
“Hmm, security personnel? Spending money?”
Catching up to the earlier part of Lynn’s rant, Exusiai poked her head up and glanced toward the door, spotting the two heavily armored guards instantly.
“Ah, the people from Blacksteel Worldwide? Actually, there’s no need to worry about the cost. Blacksteel Worldwide’s main focus has recently shifted toward Lungmen. Lately, they’ve been operating at a massive loss just to establish a foothold and make a name for themselves here; their contracts are currently very cheap. They can’t survive in Columbia anymore, so if they want to pivot to Lungmen, they have to rely on aggressive price advantages. Given Sora’s status, hiring them right now is quite normal.”
“What do you mean?” Lynn frowned.
“Haven’t you noticed how chaotic things are lately? Columbia is practically teetering on the verge of an all-out civil war. Because of that, security contractors like Blacksteel Worldwide are caught in a highly delicate position over there. Blacksteel is primarily responsible for protecting high-level VIPs and handling biochemical and Originium-based mineral virus outbreaks. But recently in Columbia, it’s precisely those high-level figures who are tearing each other apart, which has caused the biochemical and mineral virus situations to completely blow up. Before, those corporate entities maintained a shred of rationality, so Blacksteel was doing fine. But it’s a completely different game now.”
“How is it different?” Lynn asked, genuinely puzzled. “At a time like this, shouldn’t they need private military companies like Blacksteel Worldwide more than ever to guarantee their safety? Shouldn’t the security business be making an absolute fortune?”
“That’s assuming the people in charge haven’t gone completely insane. Here, look at the news.”
They’ve all gone mad.
Exusiai casually plucked a few recent newspapers from the chaotic pile of files on the desk and slid them in front of Lynn. He glanced down and immediately locked onto a massive, bold headline detailing a catastrophic bombing.
A biological laboratory belonging to Rhine Lab had exploded, allegedly due to a gas leak. Several subordinate workshops publicly claimed their safety could no longer be guaranteed and subsequently severed ties, fleeing the region. Below that massive headline was a rapid-fire series of grim reports: critical pipe repairs, total area lockdowns, rampant epidemic infections, and the like. There were also chillingly brief obituaries of several prominent political figures who had suddenly fallen ill and died unexpectedly in their own homes.
Even a fool could read between the lines. The situation in Columbia had devolved into a completely cutthroat bloodbath. Forget private security companies; if this were any other less powerful government jurisdiction, even the official state military might not be able to suppress the escalating violence. It was hard to fathom what could drive a region that led the world in economy and technology to such a state of absolute madness. Even a prestigious, heavily armed security contractor was scrambling to flee, preferring to scrape by in Lungmen rather than stay in the Columbian meat grinder.
In a place like that, you were liable to catch an RPG to the face just walking down the street to buy groceries.
Blacksteel Worldwide was actually in a rather pitiful spot.
“But then again,” Lynn muttered, tapping the newspaper, “even if their rates are cheap right now, isn’t it a bit much for a simple logistics Operator to have two dedicated, heavy-duty bodyguards?”
“Hmm? Didn’t I mention it?” Exusiai blinked, tilting her head. “Sora isn’t just an Operator. Her primary job is being an idol.”
“Huh? An idol?”
Lynn looked back across the room. He watched the way the girl was desperately hovering around Texas, practically vibrating with eager desperation. She looked vastly more like a sycophantic lackey than a glamorous, untouchable idol.
Lynn just shook his head in deep disbelief.