Arknights: Mobile City

"To think there'd be a creature like this here. I'll deal with it now—"

Kal'tsit narrowed her eyes, gritting her teeth as she prepared to issue orders at the sudden appearance of the enormous creature.

It's gigantic… It didn't look so big underwater, but now that it's surfaced, it must be at least ten meters long…

Is it some kind of Sea-born? But I've never heard of this variant before…

"Wait a moment, Kal'tsit."

However, Theresa suddenly intervened, stopping Kal'tsit's hand mid-motion. Confused, Kal'tsit turned back to Theresa, awaiting an explanation.

"I…can sense emotions from this creature," Theresa said, pausing as if astonished by the realization herself.

"…You mean it's possible to communicate?"

"Most likely. The emotion I sense is anxiety—it seems to be searching for something."

"These creatures…they all seem to have emotions of their own."

Theresa spoke confidently. Kal'tsit stood quietly for a moment before finally nodding:

"In that case, Your Highness, I'll leave it to you."

Theresa responded softly with an affirmative hum, then carefully stepped forward. Approaching the eyeless whale slowly emerging from the lake, she noticed its body was covered in faintly glowing rods, several of which appeared damaged. She stopped a few steps away, as if respectfully waiting for it to speak first.

"…Please…help me…"

The [Dreaming Current's] massive mouth gently opened and closed, releasing these unexpected words. Kal'tsit and Laurentina both stared, astonished.

This thing…can actually speak?

"What has happened to you?" Theresa gently asked, her voice soothing and comforting. Slowly kneeling down, she reached out to gently stroke the [Dreaming Current's] gelatinous skin.

Yet simultaneously, she felt the immense, terrifying power emanating from it.

This was a completely different level from the monster they'd faced earlier in the flower field.

"My dreams…have been stolen…"

"Someone came and took them away from the depths. They took the abandoned dreams left behind in the Current…so I surfaced, hoping to retrieve them."

"Are they these glowing rods?"

Theresa lifted her head, gesturing toward the luminous rods scattered along its back.

"Yes…"

"These rods…are they dreams?"

"No… they're dreams that have been abandoned. Dreams forced to be discarded in the Current. My role is gathering these lost dreams, lighting a faint glow for them."

"And this 'Current' is…?"

Theresa murmured softly, but upon sensing the Abnormality's emotions, she fell silent, quickly understanding its meaning.

"…Some unavoidable force, isn't it?" she quietly whispered to herself, realizing the truth.

It's reality itself.

For a brief moment, as she understood this, a terrifying thought crossed Theresa's mind:

Will my own dreams end up abandoned like this, cast aside into the Current, reduced to mere faint glows before finally sinking into the depths?

She shook her head quickly, dismissing that troubling thought. Turning back to her companions, Theresa asked softly:

"What should we do? Should we help find these glowing rods?"

The other two glanced at each other uncertainly, deliberating for a moment before finally nodding.

"Let's go," Laurentina said casually. "Not like we have anything else to do."

Reassured, Theresa turned again to comfort the [Dreaming Current].

"Well then…we'll help you search for these abandoned dreams."

"So, do you perhaps know where the lost dreams are now? We can help you retrieve them."

The Dreaming Current remained silent briefly, then one glowing rod gently detached from its back and floated into Theresa's waiting hands.

"Dreams will naturally attract one another…"

"With this rod, you can find the other dreams similarly abandoned."

After speaking, the Dreaming Current turned slowly, swimming along the coastline in search of its stolen dreams. Theresa gazed thoughtfully at the glowing rod in her hand before turning toward her companions.

"Shall we go together?"

Holding up the rod, Theresa offered them a gentle smile.

"Let's finish this thoroughly. What do you think?"

---

Obsidian shifted his consciousness back to The Great Lake, immediately noticing Theresa and Laurentina's actions.

However, upon recognizing the Abnormality, he couldn't help but scratch his head in mild surprise.

"The [Dreaming Current]? The one that devours dreams?"

"So this thing was hiding out here?"

Remembering this particular Abnormality, countless memories resurfaced in Obsidian's mind. He smiled wryly, organizing his thoughts.

Fortunately, this Abnormality was relatively easy to contain—and more importantly, it was capable of communication, which was particularly advantageous.

I should make time to retrieve it soon.

With this thought, Obsidian turned his attention back to his current tasks.

Quickly, he confirmed that Hai had securely delivered the [Meat Lantern] egg into its containment unit. Not long afterward, the [Meat Lantern] itself appeared safely inside Containment Unit 3.

With the [Meat Lantern] secured, Obsidian stared briefly at the newly obtained [Lunacy] points, hesitating briefly before making a sudden decision:

"Alright! Time to pull!"

Thanks to recent accumulations and the capture of the [Meat Lantern], Obsidian now had enough [Lunacy] for five pulls from the [Well].

Nothing else urgent to do right now… Might as well see what the gacha offers today.

Eagerly, Obsidian approached the [Well], tossing all his freshly acquired [Lunacy] points inside without hesitation.

Under his expectant gaze, the Well suddenly shone brilliantly gold.

Here it comes! A five-pull jackpot!

What exciting new thing will I get this time?!

With growing anticipation, Obsidian eagerly reviewed his rewards. Unsurprisingly, most were common junk and low-level items—unimportant to him. Instead, he focused intensely on the shining golden item, his breath catching slightly.

[Technology Obtained: Memory Incinerator]