Arknights: The Scarlet Devil of Terra — Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Accident

“How did you manage to teach the contents of that book so flawlessly?” Wei Yenwu asked, a hint of genuine curiosity breaking through his usual stoic demeanor.

Flandre Scarlet blinked, shifting her ruby eyes toward Beatrix Swire. The feline heiress giggled, recounting how just a few days prior, Flandre had been practically tearing her hair out in distress over that dense pile of heavenly texts. The image of the terrifyingly powerful Vampire pouting over textbooks drew a round of warm laughter from the group.

“Flandre isn’t actually that strong,” the little Vampire declared, puffing out her chest. She knew perfectly well they were praising her, and she soaked it up with a deeply smug sense of modesty. “Flandre just reads a lot of books!”

Wei Yenwu chuckled, highly amused. “We all know our little Flandre is incredibly impressive. To celebrate today’s success, I will play host. Let us head back to the Governor’s Mansion for a casual meal.”

The journey back to the opulent Governor’s Mansion was brief. Inside, Madam Fumizuki had been diligently assisting with official paperwork. Hearing the lively chatter of their return, she set her brush aside and glided toward the backyard pavilion.

The group settled around a low table, the fragrant steam of freshly brewed tea curling into the afternoon air.

“It seems today’s instruction went smoothly?” Fumizuki asked, her voice as elegant as rustling silk.

Ch’en Hui-chieh and Beatrix Swire immediately stood to offer respectful greetings. Flandre, meanwhile, had her face entirely buried in a massive teacup, aggressively gulping down the hot liquid. Lecturing a room full of adults for three straight hours had left her utterly drained.

“More than smooth. It was simply eye-opening,” Wei Yenwu said, reaching over to affectionately pat Flandre’s blonde head. He then recounted the afternoon’s events in vivid detail.

Fumizuki listened intently, her eyes widening in mild surprise as she looked at the little girl. Flandre finally lowered her cup, panting softly, a few stray water droplets clinging to the corners of her mouth.

“I know that Lin Yuhsia child very well,” Fumizuki murmured, a knowing smile touching her lips. “She is an immensely proud girl. If little Flandre didn’t possess true, unquestionable substance, Yuhsia wouldn’t have given her a second glance, let alone proactively recommended her. It is quite clear that little Flandre gave her a deep shock today.”

The others nodded in agreement. Earning the Rat King’s daughter’s respect was no small feat.

Over the next few days, an anonymous user uploaded a recording of the lecture to the local Lungmen networks.

Initially, the public treated it as a comedy sketch. The sight of a tiny, doll-like child standing at a podium, lecturing a room packed with uniformed L.G.D. officers, was inherently absurd.

However, the amusement quickly morphed into shock. Esteemed professors from Lungmen United University and elite casters from the Tianshi Bureau publicly expressed their astonishment and deep approval of the material.

Netizens were left utterly dumbfounded. Did this little pudding of a girl, who looked barely ten years old, actually possess such monstrous academic strength? What were they doing at ten? Playing in the mud, while this child was teaching advanced Originium Arts to the city’s finest.

Skeptics began dissecting the footage. The deeper they dug, the more horrified they became. Flandre’s explanations were not only flawlessly accurate but stripped away the dense academic jargon, making complex Arts theories far easier to digest than any standard textbook.

also, analysts peeled back the layers of her curriculum and discovered its source: Originium and Sorcery, the notoriously difficult mandatory textbook of the Tianshi Bureau. It was a tome every Tianshi studied, but to master it so thoroughly and translate it into layman’s terms was a feat of sheer genius.

Accusations of a staged publicity stunt flared up, only to be immediately crushed by Lungmen locals. As if the Chief Executive and the entire L.G.D. would waste their time playing actors for a child. Combined with the lingering awe from her previous press conference, the public consensus solidified: Flandre Scarlet was a reclusive, naive, but terrifyingly brilliant Vampire noble.

In response to the lingering whispers of doubt, Flandre released a simple public statement: If anyone questions Flandre’s knowledge, they are welcome to attend the second session next week.

The announcement ignited a firestorm of attention. Capitalizing on the momentum, Wei Yenwu declared that the second lecture would be broadcast live on Lungmen TV. Now, every eye in the city, supporters and conspirators alike, was locked onto the upcoming Saturday. They wanted to witness the truth, and some desperately hoped to find a flaw in the child’s logic to politically attack Wei Yenwu’s administration.

“Are you absolutely sure there won’t be any problems? Shouldn’t we improve the lesson plan a bit more?”

Inside the Swire family villa, Beatrix paced nervously behind the sofa. Flandre sat cross-legged on the cushions, completely engrossed in a colorful cartoon playing on the television.

Flandre tore her ruby eyes away from the screen, looking at the anxious feline with mild helplessness. “Sister Beatrix, there is no need to worry so much. Flandre has already revised this material several times. Changing it again is just a waste of time.”

“But there are so many eyes on you this time!” Beatrix stressed, her tail flicking frantically. “I even heard that high-ranking Tianshi have traveled from neighboring cities just to see the ten-year-old Vampire genius who mastered Originium and Sorcery!”

“So what?” Flandre tilted her head, genuinely confused. Whether those Tianshi came or not, she was just going to read her notes. Why should she care? Just because they wrote the book?

“Sigh… alright. Maybe I am just overthinking it,” Beatrix muttered, collapsing onto the sofa beside the little Vampire.

Flandre calmly picked up a steaming thermos from the coffee table and pushed it into Beatrix’s hands. “If you are feeling restless, drink more hot water.”

“Pfft, cough! Cough, cough!”

Beatrix nearly inhaled the scalding liquid, choking violently. Once she caught her breath, she dramatically threw her arms around Flandre’s waist, burying her face in the girl’s side. She wailed that she was fatally wounded by the dry remark and could only be cured if Flandre called her ‘Sister Beatrix’ ten times in a row.

Flandre stared blankly at the ceiling as the wealthy heiress threw a clingy tantrum against her ribs. In that moment, she suddenly understood exactly how her older sister felt whenever she acted like a brat back at the mansion.

After begrudgingly coaxing the feline, the two settled back down to watch cartoons.

The week evaporated quickly. Saturday morning dawned crisp and bright.

“Waaah! I am so nervous!”

Beatrix was practically bouncing off the walls of the villa before the sun had fully risen. Flandre, rudely awakened by the racket, seriously considered blasting the feline with a Sleep Charm. Deciding against property damage, she dragged herself out from under the heavy blankets.

The moment her foot crossed the bedroom threshold, she was scooped up, hoisted over Beatrix’s shoulder, and marched directly into the dressing room.

“You have to let me do your makeup today, or I am going to explode from the anxiety!” Beatrix declared, brandishing a set of expensive brushes. She had no idea how else to help the overpowered child.

Just as her manicured claws reached for Flandre’s soft cheeks, the door swung open. Ch’en Hui-chieh leaned against the frame, arms crossed.

“I knew you wouldn’t be able to sit still,” Ch’en sighed.

“But I don’t know what else to do!” Beatrix whined, clutching her head after Ch’en delivered a swift, reprimanding knock to her skull.

“If you don’t know what to do, just sit on the sidelines and cheer,” Ch’en said dryly. She stepped forward and pinched Flandre’s cheek, marveling internally at how ridiculously soft and bouncy it was. “With little Flandre’s natural looks, what point is there in painting her face?”

“Fine…” Beatrix pouted, obediently sitting down on a velvet stool.

Ch’en shifted her focus back to the little Vampire. “Chief Executive Wei asked me to check on your preparations for this afternoon. How is it looking?”

Flandre flashed a confident thumbs-up. “Flandre finished preparing a week ago.”

“Good. Then we are heading to the L.G.D. headquarters early,” Ch’en stated, her tone shifting to strict professionalism.

“This early?” Beatrix blinked in surprise.

“The crowd for today’s lecture is massive. It includes several elite Tianshi from Shangshu, alongside plenty of individuals harboring ill intentions,” Ch’en explained, her eyes narrowing slightly. “The Chief Executive is concerned that if we move at noon, someone might orchestrate a disruption to delay her arrival. We leave now to avoid the risk. Besides, there are structural experts at headquarters reviewing the expansion plans for the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Flandre can offer them some guidance to pass the time.”

Ch’en gestured toward the hallway. “The transport is waiting. Pack up. We move.”

Beatrix immediately grabbed a secure briefcase, carefully stuffing Flandre’s handwritten drafts inside before hugging it tightly to her chest. “I will guard the lesson plans! I guarantee nothing will happen to them.”

As they stepped out of the villa’s heavy front doors and into the crisp morning air, Flandre paused. Her ruby eyes drifted toward an empty, shadowed street corner.

“What is it?” Ch’en asked, her hand instinctively resting on the hilt of her sword.

“Flandre feels like someone is watching us,” the little girl murmured, her voice devoid of its usual childish lilt. The gaze was incredibly well-concealed. Had Ch’en not just warned them about potential threats, Flandre might have brushed it off as background noise.

Neither Ch’en nor Beatrix took the Vampire’s instincts lightly. Their postures stiffened, vigilance spiking as they escorted Flandre into the armored vehicle. As soon as the engine roared to life, Ch’en was on the radio, calling for discreet backup along their route.

Moments after the L.G.D. vehicle disappeared down the avenue, the air near the street corner shimmered. Several cloaked figures materialized from the optical camouflage.

“What a terrifyingly sharp little monster. I only glanced at her for a fraction of a second, and she pinpointed us,” one figure whispered, a tremor in his voice.

“Don’t forget who you are looking at,” another hissed. “That little thing might look like a harmless doll, but she is the anomaly that butchered Ursus’s Fourth Army Group. I still don’t understand how Wei Yenwu managed to leash her to Lungmen.”

“Keep your voice down!”

“Relax. We are alone. What is there to fear?”

The leader of the cloaked group shook his head. “Let us move. The plan to intercept the child before the broadcast is a bust.”

“A shame. We spent weeks tracking down this safehouse.”

“Who could have guessed she was cooped up with the Swire family heiress, never stepping foot outside? If it weren’t for that… speaking of which, how do you think the citizens of Lungmen would react if they knew their beloved Chief Executive was feeding a Blood Fiend with their donated blood?”

“You are welcome to go preach that to the masses,” the leader scoffed, turning away. “Just make sure you stand far away from me when you do. I have no interest in getting carved to pieces by that sword of his.”

With a series of quiet rustles, the figures melted back into the shadows, vanishing from the district.

Meanwhile, inside the moving L.G.D. transport, the atmosphere was tense.

“Do you still feel it?” Ch’en asked, her eyes darting between the rearview mirror and the road ahead.

Flandre shook her head, her blonde pigtails swaying. “It vanished after we left the residential grid.”

“Could it have just been a nosy neighbor? Or a rogue surveillance drone?” Beatrix suggested from the backseat, still clutching the briefcase like a lifeline.

“No. The sensation was distinct. It was a person’s gaze,” Flandre replied flatly.

“Then we maintain high alert. If they found the safehouse, they might have set up an ambush along the route…”

Ch’en never finished her sentence.

With a deafening screech of tires and a horrific crunch of rending metal, a massive industrial transport truck slammed into the side of their vehicle. The sheer kinetic force launched the armored car several meters across the asphalt, shattering the windows in a spray of glittering glass.

But in the microsecond before the crushing impact, Flandre Scarlet moved.

With a casual, devastating kick, she blew the reinforced car door completely off its hinges. Moving faster than the human eye could track, she seized the stunned Ch’en and Beatrix by their collars and hurled them out of the tumbling wreckage into the safety of the open street.

The two L.G.D. officers hit the pavement, coughing and disoriented by the sudden violence.

Before the twisted remains of their car had even finished scraping across the road, Flandre’s boots touched the asphalt. A terrifying, manic grin split the little girl’s face. Without a moment’s hesitation, the Vampire launched herself directly at the massive truck.