Arknights: Mobile City

"Honestly… Why did you have to agree so quickly...?"

A little later, back at La Mancha Fixer Office, Nearl sighed as she looked at Don Quixote, unable to suppress a mild complaint. Don Quixote rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Well, I just got carried away… Sorry, I forgot to ask your opinion first."

"Forget it. I don't think we had any disagreement on this mission anyway. Just… next time, don't agree so fast. At least talk it over with me first," Nearl said resignedly.

She turned away, silently replaying the afternoon's battle in her mind, lapsing into thoughtful silence for quite a while.

Abnormalities, huh...?

X had offered a high price, and the work itself seemed straightforward enough. The commission required La Mancha Fixer Office to regularly hunt Abnormalities in the outskirts and deliver them to Lobotomy Corporation…

Though she couldn't help but wonder what exactly they intended to do with these monsters.

Well, that was none of her concern anyway.

Nearl shrugged to herself, stretching her arms wearily.

Tomorrow, we'll hunt another Abnormality.

This thought simultaneously flashed through Nearl's mind as she prepared to rest, and through Don Quixote's, who was still buzzing with excitement.

At the same moment, at Lobotomy Corporation's newly constructed facility, X gently carried the egg-like form of the Firebird down the corridor.

The facility had rapidly taken shape: Research Labs, Extraction Facilities, Rest Areas, Workstations, and Storage Units—all ready for use. Currently, X was in the Workstation area.

Thanks to recent efforts, X had managed to construct two Containment Units. He walked to one of them with practiced familiarity, opened the door, carefully placed the Firebird's egg inside, and stepped out again.

These units did not yet have [Qliphoth Deterrence] systems installed. Even though he had the technological know-how, their current energy reserves were insufficient to produce these devices.

Yet, operating without [Qliphoth Deterrence] was undoubtedly risky… X was relieved, at least, that their first Abnormality was something like the Firebird—relatively safe and manageable even if it escaped. Thus, containment remained feasible even without full deterrence measures.

Nevertheless, work with the Abnormalities needed to begin immediately to secure a steady supply of energy. Currently, their surplus energy barely sustained the two existing Containment Units.

After all, the containment chambers themselves were products of the [Mental Manifestation Singularity Technology]. Without them, synthesizing the emotional and experiential energy of employees into [Enkephalin] would be impossible.

With these concerns in mind, X patiently waited in the Rest Area.

After a short wait, monitors showed the Firebird emerging once more from its egg. At precisely the same moment, a "new visitor" arrived at Lobotomy Corporation's entrance.

"Well, it's time to begin working."

X rose, opening the main entrance, welcoming in the visitor—Hai himself.

Naturally, Aberration work required employees. But therein lay a problem: the Firebird was a WAW-level Abnormality, and currently, there were hardly any individuals in The City capable of handling such high-level work.

Thus, after some hesitation, X's chosen candidate was none other than "himself."

More specifically, Hai—who shared Obsidian's consciousness yet possessed the highest combat capability among his personas.

It just meant a few extra hours of overtime for Hai. He was already overworked to death anyway; what difference would a little more overtime make?

Thus, X's plan was simple: during the day, Hai would handle the Hana Association and Great Lake affairs. At night, he would come to Lobotomy Corporation to work with high-level Aberrations and produce large quantities of [Enkephalin].

That was precisely why Hai had arrived here tonight.

No words were exchanged between the two. Hai silently entered the containment chamber, while X monitored closely from the observation room, focusing on energy extraction rates.

The first extraction yielded fourteen [PE-Boxes]—a solid start. X let out a relieved sigh.

This will work.

At least it was enough to sustain them during the initial stages.

Hai returned to the Rest Area, quickly downing several sips of a regenerative Ampoule, then immediately returned to work. On the other side, X rushed to the Extraction Facility to convert the harvested [PE-Boxes] into usable [Enkephalin] wafers.

Thus, the night passed in busy productivity.

At daybreak, Hai dragged himself exhaustedly from the facility.

Off work? What off work? Do you still dream about going home, my friend?

No sooner had Hai stepped out of Lobotomy Corporation than he headed directly to the Hana Association, promptly diving into the day's administrative tasks. With the Zwei Association soon to be established, Hana Association was busier than ever.

Meanwhile, X stared at the monitors, smiling faintly as he checked the energy indicator.

Over the course of the night, Hai alone had produced over three hundred [PE-Boxes].

After conversion, this yielded roughly one thousand [Enkephalin] wafers… the sheer efficiency of Lobotomy Corporation's [Singularity Technology] was truly staggering.

"With this, our energy problem is solved for now… I just hope Don Quixote can bring me an Abnormality with a slightly lower danger level next time. Then we can start recruiting ordinary staff. The [Feather of Honor] can wait until we find a suitable user. For now, I should quickly finish building additional containment units and install [Qliphoth Deterrence] systems."

X murmured thoughtfully to himself, before plunging into another day of ceaseless work.

Indeed, X—who remained behind in The City to manage Lobotomy Corporation—shared Hai's inevitable fate of dying from overwork.

Meanwhile, compared to Hai and X's exhausting grind, Da'at's situation was positively relaxing.

Or rather, exceedingly pleasant.

"Alright! Look, Skadi, this is The City!"

That afternoon, after traveling for the better part of the day, Da'at smiled brightly as she walked along the streets with Skadi. The Orca lifted her head, glancing around at the bustling cityscape, lips pressed thoughtfully together.

This place isn't exactly small…

How long would it take her to find Laurentina in a place this vast?

For a moment, anxiety crept into Skadi's heart—but quickly, she rallied her courage again.

It'll be fine. I survived wandering the wilderness aimlessly. Now that I have a clear destination, it should be much quicker…

"Hmm, but there's a slight issue, isn't there? Skadi, you plan to search for that person in The City, right? It's rather big. That might be like looking for a needle in a haystack..."

Da'at suddenly spoke, an expression of gentle concern on her face:

"I'm sure you'll find her eventually, but in the meantime… How will you manage living here? You can't exactly sleep on the streets…"

Skadi's expression stiffened, her newly gathered confidence rapidly deflating at Da'at's words. Observing this shift, Da'at chuckled quietly to herself.

"Well… I might know a place offering basic accommodations and employment… But of course, it all depends on what you prefer, Miss Skadi…"

"…Please, take me to see it…" Skadi swallowed hesitantly before answering softly.

Da'at smiled sweetly at her, nodding knowingly.

All according to plan.