Arknights: Mobile City

Yu stared blankly at the swiftly departing Dali Temple official, then down at the money hastily left on the counter.

He didn't even have a chance to tell the official that he'd overpaid…

Heal, however, seemed utterly unconcerned, simply sipping her wonton soup leisurely and exhaling contentedly.

Unable to help himself, Yu gave Heal another long look before finally blurting out:

"So… was this your doing?"

"Oh, careful there. You can't just throw around accusations like that," Heal replied lightly, eyes narrowed slightly in amusement as she set her bowl down. "It's simply that… he believes he overheard something valuable."

Earlier, Heal had made a mistake—she had underestimated the True Lung's perception of the ampoules' value.

Ampoule production had recently skyrocketed, leading Heal to momentarily forget that their price couldn't yet be lowered significantly. Unintentionally, she'd set a lower price than she should have during her initial negotiations with the True Lung.

She should have aimed higher, especially after mentioning immortality.

To rectify this mistake, Heal had to take corrective measures. Accepting a slightly lower profit was acceptable as long as the resource shortage was covered. However, she couldn't risk damaging K Corp's reputation in the True Lung's eyes.

If the True Lung perceived K Corp as short-sighted, future cooperation could be jeopardized. Although this was just one possibility among many, Heal naturally wouldn't neglect it.

So, she dropped hints about acquiring the Sui Xiang, intentionally misleading the True Lung with false information. This would give her more leverage in upcoming negotiations, allowing her to increase her asking price again.

And if the True Lung did eventually agree to surrender the Sui Xiang someday, Heal would certainly not refuse.

If they ever acquired L Corp's Singularity from the Well, Obsidian would genuinely consider testing whether the Sui Xiang could be turned into a power source.

An enticing idea, wasn't it?

Though that day was still far off, Heal felt confident the True Lung would likely agree. After all, having someone else deal with such a dangerous entity would be convenient. As long as it posed no threat to him, the True Lung—indeed, all of Great Yan—had little reason to refuse.

Heal's consciousness returned to the present. She finished off the last drops of soup, casually placed payment on the counter, and waved lightly to Yu with a gentle smile:

"Alright then, I'll head off now. Next time I visit for wontons, add a bit more seaweed for me, would you?"

"Oh, sure… Take care…"

Yu stared in confusion at Heal's retreating back, shaking his head in bewilderment.

What an odd woman.

For the next several days, Heal awaited the True Lung's summons, mostly idling and occasionally visiting Yu Wei Restaurant for meals.

Forging a good relationship with the Fragment of Sui wouldn't hurt, after all. Whether it brought profit or not, at least it kept her occupied during the wait.

---

Meanwhile, Pioneer had become quite busy in Kazimierz…

"Sir, here are the knight novels you ordered. Where would you like—"

"As usual, send them to the City. The address is the same as before."

Such exchanges were frequent at the bookstore. Pioneer took his receipt, stepping outside into the bright sunlight.

This marked his third bulk purchase of knight novels. The first shipment had already arrived at the City, where Obsidian, synchronizing his consciousness across multiple bodies, was rapidly reading them simultaneously, separating historical facts from fictional elements suitable for Don Quixote.

Ever since becoming the City's Will, Obsidian had discovered a massive growth in his mental capacity. Multitasking like this was practically effortless.

Leaving the bookstore, Pioneer summarized his recent activities in Kazimierz.

He'd essentially bought every knight-themed novel available in Kazimierz, more than justifying his multiple trips. The critical main objective was thus complete.

Now, numerous smaller objectives remained.

Pioneer had briefly attended the Knight Tournament. Nearl was undoubtedly close to claiming victory—he'd even spotted her fighting in person. Originally, Pioneer intended to make a goodwill gesture by offering Nearl an ampoule from afar, but unfortunately, no opportunity presented itself.

Nearl had crushed her opponents ruthlessly, emerging nearly unscathed every time—so thoroughly that Pioneer couldn't find a single chance to offer an ampoule.

At one point, he even wondered if tossing an ampoule to her dying opponents might be necessary, just to prevent accidental deaths…

Quickly shaking his head, Pioneer sighed softly.

Though Nearl's matter remained unresolved, he'd still managed to recruit several other knights.

Some struggling campaign knights had already been persuaded to move to the City, soon becoming the first members of the Second Association, responsible for maintaining order.

How he'd convinced them varied—ampoules, money, promises. With the right incentive, there would always be volunteers.

"Nearl's case can wait—other opportunities will arise. Right now, I should solve the weapon supply issue."

After a moment's thought, Pioneer moved swiftly toward another part of town. Next, he planned to negotiate a deal with a weapons manufacturer.

But as Pioneer walked, his gaze caught a figure seated awkwardly on a bench nearby, prompting an amused smile.

Miss Pegasus sat stiffly, a newspaper raised in front of her face. Despite this, her eyes kept darting furtively toward Pioneer, quickly averting her gaze whenever he glanced back.

This was none other than Centaurea of Kazimierz's Platinum lineage.

At that moment, Centaurea was internally panicking.

Did he notice me?

He definitely noticed, right?

Ever since Pioneer first mentioned the City's address days ago during his first book purchase, someone had taken notice. Monique had immediately ordered Centaurea to tail Pioneer closely and monitor his actions—leading to the present situation.

But Centaurea was utterly miserable!

She constantly felt Pioneer's subtle gaze upon her, leaving her in a cold sweat…

What kind of torture is this?

She lowered her head, staring at the newspaper, complaining silently. Pioneer watched her reaction, smiling slightly as he raised his prosthetic limb.

Time to tease the child a little. She seemed quite suitable for recruitment into the City anyway.

[TT2 Protocol: Localized Time Acceleration—Tenfold].

An instant later, when Centaurea raised her head again, Pioneer had vanished. Just as she began to panic, a calm voice suddenly spoke up right beside her—

"Hey there, what's so interesting in the paper?"