Arknights: Mobile City

Walking through the bustling streets of Kazimierz, Pioneer's steps appeared carefree.

His gaze wandered, taking in every detail of his surroundings, utterly indifferent to the curious glances thrown his way by passersby.

Lowering the brim of his cowboy hat, Pioneer pondered his next steps.

His mission in Kazimierz was straightforward. The City's population was rapidly rising—soon likely reaching tens of thousands, according to Obsidian's predictions.

As the population surged, one crucial change would inevitably follow: human emotions would multiply.

Underneath Alley One, Don Quixote—who had long been carefully monitored by Obsidian—might soon awaken.

At this stage, perhaps Don Quixote could initially suppress his bloodlust upon waking. But what about afterward?

Obsidian urgently needed a solution. To manage Don Quixote, he planned an approach similar to Barry's from the original story:

Tell Don Quixote a story.

First, use his position as a Head Executive to intimidate him temporarily, then slowly introduce stories, aiming to spark Don Quixote's interest and ultimately ignite his dream of becoming a Fixer.

Bloodfiends fed primarily on emotions. If Don Quixote found a dream of his own, his bloodlust would diminish considerably—perhaps he wouldn't even need to drink blood.

This was precisely what Obsidian needed, hence Pioneer's presence in Kazimierz. His main objective was clear:

Obtain enough stories about knights and use them to influence Don Quixote. According to the original scenario, this would at least buy them some precious time.

But naturally, Pioneer had bigger ambitions than merely collecting knightly tales.

Such stories were easily obtained from any roadside bookstore—in fact, he'd essentially completed this objective the moment he set foot in Kazimierz.

Yet Pioneer thought that since he was already here…

Wouldn't it be a waste to simply return home empty-handed?

It would be rude to leave without bringing something special back to the City.

So, Pioneer started pondering carefully, trying to decide if there was anything worth taking from Kazimierz to the City…

"Hmm… perhaps I could bring a couple of knights back for Don Quixote to play with?"

Pioneer mused aloud, gradually becoming more intrigued by the idea.

Bringing knights along would also lend greater credibility to his storytelling.

Furthermore, the City currently faced significant public order issues. Pioneer had some ideas on how to tackle this, too.

It was about time… The Fixers had existed informally in the City for a while now. Without official recognition, they were little more than unemployed wanderers relying on odd jobs.

It was finally time to formalize things.

If the moment had come to organize the Fixers into a proper Association, then it was also high time for a second Association to emerge—one dedicated specifically to maintaining public order.

This would, of course, require a significant amount of weaponry. The City couldn't currently spare resources to produce arms domestically, so imports would suffice temporarily. Fortunately, Kazimierz was a convenient source for quality equipment.

Multiple plans quickly formed in Pioneer's mind:

Collect knight stories, acquire Kazimierz weapons and gear, and ideally… persuade a few knights to join the Fixers back in the City.

Just then, a flyer blew straight into his face. Pioneer paused, peeling it away and glancing curiously at its contents:

[Knight Tournament ongoing! Will the Radiant Knight advance to the quarterfinals? Find out more in the next issue of Red Wine Magazine!]

Reading the announcement, Pioneer froze briefly before his lips curled into a satisfied smile.

Well, it seemed he'd found a perfect place to begin.

---

"Why? Surprised to see me back so soon?"

Elsewhere, at Yu Wei Restaurant, Heal lounged lazily against the counter, smiling gently at Yu, who stood behind it in the kitchen, and spoke softly.

"…What would you like this time, miss?"

Yu sighed lightly, choosing not to answer her directly.

"A bowl of wontons, please. Just something simple to tide me over."

Heal waved casually, smiling patiently as she awaited her meal. After a moment, as Yu placed the bowl carefully before her with a focused expression, she casually remarked:

"By the way… Little Mister Fragment of Sui, are you perhaps curious about the City?"

Yu placed the bowl down, replying indifferently:

"The place you're from? What's your angle now?"

"Nothing much—I'm just inviting you to visit the City sometime."

Heal smiled sweetly as she spoke. Yu frowned slightly, but before he could respond, Heal immediately continued, sounding mournful:

"Oh, the City's in quite a sorry state these days, you know. Food shortages, people barely scraping by on tasteless nutrient paste… truly a miserable existence."

As Heal finished speaking, she clearly noticed a slight flicker in Yu's expression. However, after hesitating, Yu ultimately sighed:

"I'm sorry, but I can't leave Yan. If you know who I am, you'll understand why."

"Well, that's a shame."

Heal shook her head, her tone quickly returning to calm indifference:

"I was considering bringing back the Sui Xiang itself."

"What would you even do with the Sui Xiang—wait, what did you just say?!"

Yu began responding casually at first, but then suddenly registered the absurdity of Heal's words. He whirled around, staring incredulously at her.

"What did you say you want to take back?!"

"The Sui Xiang, of course."

Heal replied as though it were perfectly obvious.

"…What exactly are you planning?"

"I told you already—I'm a merchant. If I take the Sui Xiang back to the City, I could sell it to others like myself. It'd make quite the profit. Someone out there definitely needs such a thing, and naturally, I'd gain handsomely from the deal."

As Heal explained, she leisurely took a bite of wonton, amused at Yu's bewildered expression.

"Relax, it's just that someone back in the City genuinely needs a monster like that. All I'm doing is fulfilling a merchant's role, making money where there's demand. But since you've turned me down, it's no longer relevant. After all, I'm not sure if my fellow merchants even want a creature like the Sui Xiang—I won't risk a loss on a gamble."

Heal shrugged nonchalantly, turning slightly to watch a nearby diner hastily paying and leaving. She chuckled softly to herself.

It seemed that official from Dali Temple wasn't particularly skilled at eavesdropping…

Which, of course, was precisely her intent.

After all, this would only help mislead the True Lung about her true motives.