it is Arknights!

Chapter 49 Is there no one who likes me?

Humans, or rather, intelligent beings, are creatures inherently possessing a sense of ownership .

They firmly believe in the world they perceive, never passively changing their thoughts, pursuing recognized matters with utmost devotion, and turning a blind eye to unrecognized matters. Errors, cognitive mistakes, emotions, are all formed through the interaction and collision of such messages and beliefs.

The experience of transmigration caused Li Lin to undergo a drastic ideological change; although he knew his experience might be unique, he felt bewildered and unappreciative of this fortune, because he himself did not wish to arrive in a world of war and chaos. Towards this kind of self-centered protagonist spirit, Li Lin disapproved from the bottom of his heart, thereby choosing to believe in the investigation of most data and his own observations, rather than judging through self-applied emotions as before.

And very clearly, Sora was the one who perfectly fit Li Lin's judgment as suitable to become an ally.

She was a lesbian, completely outside the scope of being conquerable. According to Li Lin's observation, Sora clearly had an interest in Texas exceeding ordinary friendship. This interest was even different from Lappland, who talked a big game but actually was just a tsundere big kid wanting to hang out with Texas.

Sora was clearly the type of lesbian who was thoughtful and had her own ideas. Her goals were clear, actions decisive, thinking mature, and combat tactics sharp. Although due to professional issues she really couldn't launch offensives year-round, judging from the result that Texas already couldn't leave Sora's "little tunes" , this girl clearly had a very mature emotional combat strategy. And there were no overlapping areas between the two; quite the opposite, they could utilize each other's resources, a perfect match made in heaven .

At least, Li Lin thought so.

He was a person who dared to think and act; since he thought so, he said so. Thus earning Sora's expression of utter disbelief.

"…Tsk."

The behavior of a broken beautiful girl idol appeared.

Looking at Sora who turned her head away with a "tsk", Li Lin felt he seemed to have witnessed a rare scene.

And after that behavior that shattered her idol image, Sora let out a long sigh, leaned on the armrest of the sofa, impatiently tapped Li Lin's foot with her bare toes, and looked at the nervous Li Lin askance as if looking at trash, constantly venting her dissatisfaction.

"Eh… Ah mm… So that's how it is… My opinion of you has changed, Operator Prophet."

"Why are you looking at me like I'm trash?"

"Of course, it's because you're completely wrong. Luckily it was me; otherwise, if it were Senior Texas, you'd be lucky to just get a beating. Proposing to a girl to date her friend, are you really that clueless or what… What a headache… How could I have such a friend…"

"?"

Did I do something wrong? Clearly, it's a perfect complementary advantage?

Looking at Sora rubbing her brow with a headache-stricken expression, Li Lin, sitting beside her, thought somewhat strangely, unsure what he had done wrong.

After all, he was someone who knew various overpowered protagonist romance novels, absolutely wouldn't mindlessly think that with a shake of his mighty body, other girls would bow down in submission, or that if he tried his best, all girls would be moved to offer themselves to him. Comradeship-in-arms is comradeship-in-arms, love is love, family affection is family affection, gratitude is gratitude. These are all different.

He never felt that just by helping others overcome difficulties, people would offer themselves to him. A significant increase in favorability was certain; for example, if he were to say who he had the deepest feelings for now, it would definitely be Exusiai, but whether it was love, that wasn't necessarily so. It's modern society now; offering oneself and such things don't work. So if you want to pursue a girl, first build a good relationship with her best friend; no matter how you look at it, there's no problem, right?

Could it be because I asked her for girls' information?

That can't be it, she's a Texas-lesbian, and an idol; such a judgment definitely wouldn't be wrong.

Looking at Li Lin, who still wore an uncomprehending expression, Sora, leaning on the sofa beside him, sighed exaggeratedly, twirling her hair with her fingertips somewhat lonesomely.

"How should I put it, it's not like I can't understand, after all, your body is fine now, no need to worry about lifespan issues, the biggest limiter is gone. So it's not impossible to have some thoughts."

Sora pouted, tapping Li Lin's foot, and muttered with a depressed look:

"But acting like a monkey, starting to think about finding a girlfriend and having kids in such a short time, I'm still a bit surprised. Although it's not incomprehensible, it's just very surprising, extremely surprising. You could have been a bit more tactful; if you do it like this, I can't pretend to be dumb anymore."

"I thought I was tactful enough?"

"That's not what I mean, how should I put it… Aiya, anyway, luckily you told me this time. Otherwise, if you told Senior Exusiai and Senior Texas, you'd be dead for sure. Really dead for sure. In the future, don't even mention such things in front of Senior Exusiai and Senior Texas, especially this kind of experiment, absolutely cannot be done. I'm really saying this from a friend's perspective; otherwise, you'd definitely be in big trouble."

"Huh? Why? Could it be they actually have feelings for me?"

"…You really are rotten to the core."

"?"

For a moment, Li Lin felt Sora's eyes seemed to have died.

But the idol singer sitting on the sofa, truly worthy of someone who had been on world-class big stages, immediately eliminated the negative emotions from her heart. Instead, under Li Lin's strange gaze, she moved even closer, extended a finger towards Li Lin, and said in a low voice:

"But, you're right, we indeed have a mutually complementary relationship. However, I have one more condition."

"What condition?"

"Be my fake boyfriend."

"…"

"Why are you showing such a disgusted expression?!"

"Because novels say this kind of fake boyfriend often becomes real, and aren't you in love with Texa—"

"No no no no, don't be so confident in your charm. Absolutely not. Novels are novels, reality is reality. Bringing plots from novels into reality, your thinking is definitely very problematic, right? And I really need this. Your identity is actually very useful."

Seeing Li Lin's disbelieving expression, Sora simply sat on his lap and started counting on her fingers.

"Look, I'm a sweet-type idol, right? I'm using some of your songs to transition, but the idol image is hard to manage; if an idol suddenly transitions, the problems caused can be social issues, okay?"

"Then a boyfriend is no problem????"

"No, because if I transition, it's equivalent to me abandoning them; for example, if an original sweetheart type suddenly turns towards a debauched image, the original audience will definitely be dissatisfied, so they will be very angry. But with a boyfriend, their bottom line will lower; although a batch will still be lost, that's them choosing to give up. The impact is relatively smaller, and it's also suitable for later transitions. It's really that simple."

"Is this true? I haven't read many books, don't lie to me ( common internet meme)."

"You're this dissatisfied with being my fake boyfriend? Is our friendship only this much? Mr. Operator Prophet?"

"…"

Although he really wanted to say decisively that it indeed was only this much, looking at the cute face before him, Li Lin felt it was still acceptable.