Arknights: Mobile City

As X left the room, Skadi's eyes followed him until he vanished beyond the far doorway.

"Well…how should I put it? He certainly has a distinct personality."

Sensing Skadi's lingering gaze, Da'at quickly offered this explanation:

"He doesn't always consider how his words might affect others… but deep down, he's genuinely kind and thoughtful. Honestly, I often rely on him to see things I overlook!"

Hearing Da'at's assessment of X, Skadi silently nodded.

That's probably a fair evaluation.

"But what exactly are these 'Abnormalities' you mentioned earlier?"

Recalling Da'at's previous comment, Skadi felt curiosity rising within her, prompting her to ask this question directly.

"They're one of our company's primary areas of operation…but the specifics will have to wait until you officially join and sign the confidentiality agreement."

Da'at shrugged casually, though inwardly delighted.

Skadi showing interest in the Abnormalities…that was fantastic news.

It meant that soon Skadi could handle Abnormality-related tasks during the day, then shift focus at night to using the [PE-Boxes] generated from them for [EGO] development!

Truth be told, given Lobotomy Corporation's chronic manpower shortage, Obsidian desperately wished to split one person into two—or more. If possible, he'd gladly give Hai even more work. That included X as well. Unfortunately, time simply didn't permit it.

Thus, whenever a new employee joined Lobotomy Corp, Obsidian's first thought was always…

Can they handle overtime?

Da'at briefly shook himself from those thoughts and continued conversing with Skadi.

Meanwhile, Don Quixote stood near the entrance, cradling a newly obtained egg.

An Abnormality in its weakened form.

X approached the doorway to meet Don Quixote. Seeing the egg in Don Quixote's hands, X frowned slightly.

"Do we have a combat description? Let me see—I need to confirm what kind of monster this probably is."

"Here you go."

At X's request, Nearl, the record-keeper standing nearby, immediately handed him a sheet of paper. X glanced at it briefly, eyes twitching involuntarily.

Spider-type Abnormalities…most of those stayed quietly within their nests. Don Quixote, however, had apparently punctured this particular nest in half with brute force during battle…

The instant he saw that description, Obsidian realized exactly what monster had perished.

[Spider Bud]—a TETH-level Abnormality. Individually, its combat power wasn't particularly strong… but forcibly extracting an egg from something normally docile and securely contained was frankly rather bizarre, even for Don Quixote…

Yet despite its modest combat capabilities, [Spider Bud] had a redeeming quality:

Energy output.

Among TETH-class Abnormalities, [Spider Bud's] productivity was absolutely top-tier.

Specifically, it possessed a unique trait allowing humans to be converted into cocoons under certain conditions. Each cocoon, in turn, significantly boosted energy generation…

Thus, maximizing the number of cocooned individuals could produce remarkable energy yields—surpassing even something like the [Firebird] wouldn't be inconceivable…

At that thought, X felt a faint surge of excitement.

As for sourcing people to convert?

K Corp embryos aren't exactly scarce, are they?

"Alright, no issues here. Your payment will be sent soon. Looking forward to your future cooperation."

X took the [Spider Bud] Egg, placed it carefully within Containment Unit #2, exhaled softly, then exited.

Next, he simply had to wait quietly for the Abnormality to recover…

Then, tonight, he'd call Hai over again—for more overtime!

"But staying understaffed like this definitely isn't sustainable. The number of Abnormalities will only keep increasing. At this rate, even splitting Hai into three wouldn't suffice…"

X sighed deeply. His mind quickly sharpened, a resolute look entering his eyes.

"It's about time. We really need to recruit more people for Lobotomy Corporation."

...

The following day, news quietly circulated through The City:

A newly established company called Lobotomy Corporation had begun recruiting.

Initially, most residents paid little attention. After all, the City's population wasn't exactly small. Counting recent migrations and newborns, it already housed around fifteen thousand people.

Within that sizable population, many sought to replicate K Corp's phenomenal success by establishing their own companies. Naturally, these attempts usually ended in failure.

Thus, in the eyes of most citizens, Lobotomy Corporation wasn't much different.

Just another flash in the pan.

Nowadays, City residents had grown accustomed to believing one thing:

The most worthwhile place to join would always be the Wings of the World.

Thus, the ideal workplace for the average citizen was clearly K Corp. As for Lobotomy Corporation, few even knew exactly where it was located.

However, perceptions quickly changed overnight.

When Lobotomy Corporation suddenly announced a collaborative research project with K Corp, countless residents were astonished.

A partnership with a Wing of the World?

This was unprecedented!

Could it mean…Lobotomy Corp was poised to become the next Wing?

This speculation quickly spread, igniting widespread excitement. Soon, anticipation for Lobotomy Corporation's upcoming interviews surged. Many began secretly preparing, determined to seize this opportunity to join the promising new company.

It was amid this rising fervor that two figures quietly stepped onto City territory.

"So, this is the City?"

Surveying her surroundings, Theresa clasped her hands gently together, closing her eyes momentarily as she murmured softly. At her side stood Kal'tsit, silently observing their new environment.