Arknights: The Prophet of Penguin Logistics — Chapter 94

Chapter 94: Winds of the Era (Part 2)

The heavy door of the central office slid open. Amiya stepped through the threshold, her slender arms wrapped around a towering stack of mission reports and logistical manifests.

“Amiya, what do you think?”

“…What is this?”

“A general distress letter sent from Kazimierz.”

Kal’tsit sat behind her pristine desk, bathed in the cool, sterile light of the overhead monitors. She barely glanced up from the data pad in her hand. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed a sealed, gold-stamped envelope across the table. It slid to a halt near the edge. The hierarchy within Rhodes Island was fluid among its core founders; as the public leader, Amiya often pitched in with the endless tide of paperwork during her rare moments of downtime. Setting the heavy stack of folders aside with a quiet sigh, she picked up the ornate envelope and broke the wax seal.

“What is the cause for this?” Amiya asked, her brow furrowing as she scanned the elegant, sweeping handwriting on the parchment.

“A twenty-four-hour coup broke out in Kazimierz,” Kal’tsit replied calmly, finally setting her data pad down. “The radical factions attempted to permanently alter the political landscape by assassinating the conservative ruling class. They failed. An anonymous hero intervened and stopped them.”

Kal’tsit laced her fingers together, her expression unreadable. “A fifth of the Order Knights were slaughtered. Nearly half of the Armorless Union’s top-tier assassins were wiped out. Kazimierz lost almost a third of its high-end combat power in a single night. Despite the bloodshed, the incident did not escalate into a widespread riot; the city-state remains stable. The problem lies with the hero who turned the tide. He sustained severe injuries, and the local authorities are entirely incapable of treating him. They are broadcasting a plea for help to global medical organizations.”

Amiya tilted her head, her rabbit ears twitching slightly. “If it is a matter of severe trauma, shouldn’t the local medical facilities in Kazimierz be more than sufficient? They have advanced technology.”

“The letter explicitly states that this hero possesses a highly unique constitution,” Kal’tsit explained, her voice steady and measured. “The local medical infrastructure is completely helpless against his condition. Consequently, they are demanding that any responding medical team strictly adhere to the highest level of confidentiality protocols and maintain an absolute professional psychological state.”

“But Rhodes Island is a pharmaceutical aid organization dedicated to the Infected,” Amiya pointed out, tracing the gold foil of the letterhead. “We are not particularly specialized in catastrophic physical trauma…”

“I am aware. The invitation only reached our desks because it was a general broadcast.”

Dr. Kal’tsit frowned slightly, a rare crack in her stoic facade, showing her mild dissatisfaction with this sudden influx of foreign political baggage.

Since the distress signal was transmitted globally, virtually every renowned medical team and organization had received a copy. From the syndicate-run clinics of Siracusa to the ancient medical sects of Yan, even independent mobile medical units were flooded with the request. As a wandering landship and an asylum for the Infected, Rhodes Island was inevitably caught in the wide net. It was a desperate, blind cast by the Kazimierz authorities.

Rhodes Island did hold a formidable reputation. Among its founders, the Doctor and several elite operators were legendary in specific medical fields. Their hematology and botany departments were world-class, and even supplementary treatments like specialized aromatherapy yielded miraculous results.

Yet, the core issue remained: they specialized in treating the Infected. Handing them a mysterious, politically sensitive trauma case was a fundamental mismatch.

“If the Doctor were here, it would be fine, right?” Amiya murmured, her gaze dropping to the floor. “The Doctor would definitely know how to handle this.”

“That person… indeed, they could. But we cannot afford to do so right now.” Kal’tsit shook her head, her tone leaving no room for argument. She reached over, plucked the letter from Amiya’s hands, and dropped it into the wastepaper bin.

“Rhodes Island is a neutral organization. We must carefully weigh any political implications. We cannot abandon our non-political stance to rush across the continent just because some foreign dignitary or vigilante took a severe beating. Our primary mission is to gather and treat the Infected, transcending borders and political conflicts. As for this grand medical gathering in Kazimierz, I can only say it is a pity.”

“What about Senior Warfarin?” Amiya suggested tentatively.

“They do not lack blood in Kazimierz,” Kal’tsit replied flatly. “Her expertise lies strictly in hematology. Her general trauma skills cannot compete with a dedicated Kazimierz surgical team; there is no need for us to embarrass ourselves on an international stage., if this mysterious patient’s blood possesses some unique anomaly, we must consider the safety of our personnel and the reputation of Rhodes Island.”

“Ahaha…” Amiya laughed awkwardly, a bead of sweat forming on her cheek as she recalled Warfarin’s notoriously unhinged behavior whenever she caught the scent of the Doctor’s blood.

Kal’tsit did not elaborate further. She simply shook her head and snapped her fingers. The sharp sound echoed in the quiet office.

From the darkest corner of the room, a deep red shadow detached itself from the wall. The figure moved with absolute silence, gliding across the floor until she stopped beside the desk.

“…Red, arrived.”

“Inform SWEEP to gather more intelligence on this mysterious individual,” Kal’tsit ordered, not looking up. “Although we have no intention of involving ourselves in their politics, we must still understand the pieces on the board.”

Red tilted her head, her hidden gaze fixed on Kal’tsit. “Is he very strong?”

“You have crossed blades with the Knights of Kazimierz before, have you not?”

“Yes,” Red replied, her voice flat and clipped. “High-ranking Knights. Heavy armor. High skill. Troublesome enemies. But Red can win.”

“This person slaughtered nearly a hundred knights in a confined alleyway,” Kal’tsit stated, her voice chillingly precise. “Among the dead were knights far superior to the ones you encountered. There were even titled knights, the absolute elite of their ranks. The final outcome was total annihilation. Not a single knight survived. Not a single one managed to escape.”

Red stood perfectly still. “…So strong.”

“Just do your best. You do not need to uncover every detail. Simply find out the identity of this person and assess the current state of Kazimierz.”

“Red, mission accepted.”

The crimson figure gave a single, sharp nod and vanished from the room, melting back into the shadows as smoothly as she had appeared. Amiya and Kal’tsit were long accustomed to this ghostly routine; neither flinched. Yet, the sudden emptiness in the room cast a brief, dim shadow over their thoughts, a stark reminder of the one person who should have been standing by their side.

If that person were still here, a crisis like this would have been managed with effortless brilliance. But reality was harsh. Kal’tsit was anchored to the landship, unable to leave. Amiya, despite her title as the leader, was still growing and lacked the deep, cynical understanding of international politics required for such a maneuver. The rest of the elite operators either lacked the necessary authority or possessed highly sensitive backgrounds that made them political liabilities. If they just had one more capable hand, one more brilliant mind, the crushing weight of their operations would normalize.

“Is it still not enough with just the two of us?” Amiya asked softly, her voice tinged with a quiet sorrow.

“With the Doctor, I believe we could handle this flawlessly. Even if the price was…” Kal’tsit trailed off, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Do not speak in absolutes, Amiya. The world is changing far too rapidly now. It is moving so fast that even I occasionally feel out of place. If Umbrella truly succeeds in its endeavors, then our current concerns and the condition of your body will no longer be an issue.”

“But is it really acceptable to leave our lives and our future in the hands of others, Dr. Kal’tsit?”

“A valid point, Amiya,” Kal’tsit conceded, her tone softening just a fraction before returning to its usual clinical edge. “Now, let us get back to work. You still have a mountain of reports to process. You cannot afford to rest just yet.”

The distress letter from Kazimierz lay forgotten in the wastepaper basket, its gold stamp catching the dim light one last time before being buried under discarded drafts. As an asylum for the Infected and a wandering hospital, Rhodes Island simply could not spare the elite personnel required to attend such a volatile gathering. It was far better to keep their heads down and focus on the endless work right in front of them.