Hello, Arknights

Chapter 258: The Old Dream is Over; The Black Steel Man Comes

In Changmeng's ancient pavilion, the three mountains are intoxicated and the face of each peak is forgotten.

This time it seemed like he was really dreaming. He saw the bustling streets of an ancient Yan country city. He heard the hawking of local dialects which are rarely used nowadays. He saw the bustling crowds carrying the splendor of the city. The ancient bridges that carried the years breathed the fireworks of the world, quiet and motionless. Only the shadows in the water rose and fell and looked around. The air was filled with an unforgettable sense of changing times and a faint swan song of being close yet far away.

The next moment the scene changed. He came to the bridge from the mountains. The cook shouted "make way" as he passed by him. The bustling crowd reminded him of the market during festivals in his hometown, and it was the market when he was a child.

He felt very strange. These people gave him the feeling that they could see him and yet not see him. Occasionally someone would push him aside so that he could watch the fun, but more often they would walk straight through him, leaving him standing there in confusion, not knowing what to do.

Guqiaochang Town was like a replay of a memory that was so real that it seemed like a dream. He finally followed the flow of people across the river and past the long stack. All kinds of novel handicrafts could be seen on the stalls, as well as a simple but very practical stage. The masked fire-breathing performances on the stage illuminated the faces of the young and old. Finally, feeling a little tired, he walked down casually. The crowd went away, and he found a tavern that seemed less crowded, located beside the green mountains and rivers.

Because the newly opened restaurant opposite had taken away most of the business due to promotion, the shopkeeper was furious. The waiter was happy to be busy, after all, there were still many customers. Ling Dengxian was not sure whether they could see him, so he simply found a seat to sit down first, in case there was no one available.

"Oh! A rare guest! Boss, the 'big dish' is here again!" The waiter was overjoyed and hurried to report, but was hit hard by the boss:

"Idiot! I've taught you that the master is a 'great talent'! Where did the food come from! Go away! Don't make a fool of yourself in front of the hall, why don't you go and warm up the wine for the master?"

"Okay, okay, sir, I'm not good at talking, please don't blame me!" The waiter smiled and didn't get angry. He ran errands obediently.

He raised his eyebrows, thinking it was something interesting, because the "Mr. Talent" these two people were talking about was not referring to him, and they seemed unable to see him. The person who actually bore this title was a person he was already very familiar with.

The man was dressed in white, but the corners of his clothes were stained with mud. A dagger was casually stuck in the book bag he was selling in the market. It was obvious that he did not take good care of the collar of his clothes before going out. His sleeves and body were all wrinkled. His long sky-blue hair was simply groomed, which gave people the impression of being free and unrestrained rather than sloppy.

make……

"The wine is warm, but what about the filing, boss?" The dragon girl was sitting right at his table. Just looking at the situation, he didn't know whether the Ling in the dream could see him.

"Ah, a short poem you wrote on the guardrail by chance was seen by the teacher in the prefect's mansion, and was passed to the prefect for review. After reading it, the prefect praised you highly. Now the entire Shangshu literary circle is very curious about you! But you are always elusive. This time you come to drink again, I would like to ask you to write a few more masterpieces...haha."

Seeing the shopkeeper's apologetic smile, Ling also smiled, but did not say anything. He just shook his head and said, "I wrote it on impulse, so it's hard to add more highlights. Shopkeeper, I can't write. I just came here to drink."

"Sir! Sir! This... well, how about this? You just write a poem, and today's wine will be charged to my account." The shopkeeper was anxious.

It’s not that he likes it, but the literati in Shang Shu like it.

"Really... Never mind. The wine is another matter. I'll just write a poem."

"Okay! Okay! Sir, please take a seat. The wine will be here soon!"

The middle-aged shopkeeper went to greet the kitchen excitedly. Ling just turned his head and looked at Zhujiang Peak in front of him. The river was vast and misty, which was quite interesting.

"What are you looking at? Hey, why are you in my dream?" Just as Ling Dengxian was hesitating whether to test whether Ling could see him, another person reached out and patted him. When he turned around, it was also a man in white, and it was Ling.

"Two you? What's going on?" Ling Dengxian was very surprised. It turned out that Ling, who was sitting opposite him, could not see him.

"Yes, this is a dream of mine. It happened a long time ago... At that time, Shang Shu was still three mountains and eighteen peaks." Ling was only surprised by his appearance at first, and then he said no more. He just sat down next to him. His aura and demeanor were quite different from the Ling opposite him.

"It feels like... a lot of things happened in between?" Ling Dengxian noticed this, looked back and forth between the two leaders, and couldn't help asking.

"Well, it is true. At this time... I have been here for only a short time. At that time, I traveled in Da Yan for a hundred years and thought I had seen through the world. This was probably the first time I came to Shang Shu. All I saw was this little accident in front of me."

"First time?" Ling Dengxian seemed to have heard a key word.

"Hmm? Are you curious about my experience?" Ling smiled, gently stroked the lantern in his hand, and sighed slightly in Ling Dengxian's expectant eyes, satisfying his curiosity:

"In my early years, I lived in the south of the Yangtze River and chanted some poems about the warm wind and the intoxication. Later, I felt that I should gain more experience, so I traveled to the north and south of Da Yan. This scene was when I passed by Shang Shu. I sighed that the road to Shu was indeed difficult. Now that I think about it, the railing is actually a more realistic feeling at that time."

"Afterwards, I met with my brothers and sisters. My eldest brother taught me how to practice sword and gave me guidance. He asked me if I wanted to go with him to the frontier."

"So I went, passed the frontier, and arrived at Yumen. Seeing the endless desert, I realized how big the world is, and how small my ambitions are. I began to feel humble and respectful. I followed the soldiers to fight against the strange creatures. I have been guarding the border for a hundred years. My eyebrows and eyes are carved by wind, frost and snow, and my poems are shaped by swords and axes. Only then can I gradually chant my own poems worthy of drinking."

"Later, I left Saibei and returned to Shangshu. I had two different moods. Times had changed, things had changed, and there were too many things that were not satisfactory. I had nothing to avoid and nothing to fear, but I didn't have the heart to win or fight. So I climbed the most beautiful and steep peak and settled down there."

"I drink all the time, witness the four seasons, toast to the heavens, write about the mountains and rivers, meet too many people, sweep the snow on the long mountain roads, come here for the second time, and stay here. What I write now... I don't know whether I drink to write poetry, or write poetry to drink."

"That's really exciting... Wait, how long did you say you stayed in Saibei?"

"It's only a hundred years, what's the problem?" Ling said with a smile.

"You...are not kidding?" Ling Dengxian looked at that face and remained silent.

Ling smiled and waved, motioning him to come closer.

The breath beside my ears is as real as reality:

"I am indeed not an ordinary person."

Ling Dengxian's pupils suddenly froze, because he saw that the eyes of Ling, who was sitting opposite him, gradually became deep, and his pupils slowly turned into inhuman vertical pupils.

It was like a power outage in a movie theater. The screen in front of his eyes suddenly went black. He leaned back and lost his balance, about to fall to the ground, but a hand supported him and helped him stand steady.

"Order?" Ling looked around and found that he was still at the three-way intersection, with the vast green peaks behind him.

"I'm sorry I didn't notice and you accidentally broke into my dream, but now that you've seen it, tell me what you think." Ling crossed his arms and wrapped his long tail around the lamp stick, looking very interested.

"Thoughts... So you are -"

"It looks like you've almost fallen asleep. I'll listen to your thoughts next time. Go and get busy." The dragon girl poked his forehead with her tail. He leaned back and opened his eyes to feel the soft bedding, the ceiling of the dormitory, and the bright lights in the room.

"...What a weird dream within a dream..." Although he complained like this, Ling Dengxian had already begun to doubt whether it was a dream or not. The white-clothed dragon girl who loved poetry and wine, the magnificent royal city, and the unknown and weird sea of ​​flowers...

"Oh, that's not right...I remember I turned off the lights before going to bed."

"Hmm... Xiao Xian, you won't talk in your sleep now..." The sound of the bagpipe scared Ling Dengxian so much that he jumped up suddenly. With messy hair and an equally messy mood, he stared blankly at the Vaifan girl sitting beside the bed: "Flute?"

"It's me!"

"How did you get in?" Ling Dengxian's thoughts were still a little stagnant.

"Eh? Have you forgotten? Didn't you have a backup and gave me the original room card?" Feng Di took out the room card that Ling Dengxian had given out from his chest pocket.

"Oh, that's right. I was half asleep and didn't remember it. Sorry." Ling Dengxian woke up, stretched and returned to normal. "But I was indeed scared..."

"Puchi." Fengdi suddenly laughed. Ling Dengxian looked at her suspiciously: "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with me?"

"No...it's just that I remembered that Xiao Xian was in a similar situation when we were in Qicheng Town. He called me Dizi for the first time when he woke up."

Ling Dengxian blushed. He didn't expect that she still remembered this... He thought he was the only one who remembered it.

"Come to think of it... Xiao Xian has really been busy since he came to Rhodes Island." Fengpi turned her head. As soon as she entered the room, she saw the books on the desk and discovered that the boy in front of her seemed to have grown a lot taller.

He didn't stop yet.

"Because there is something I want to do..." Ling Dengxian got up from the bed, and Xiao Jiao burrowed deeper into the quilt. He saw the clothes again, and as if possessed, he opened them and tried them on.

"What kind of clothes is this, Xiao Xian? They look a bit like the uniforms of Mr. Ace and the others' operators." Fengdi asked curiously.

"I think so too. I heard from Director Kai that this is a relic of the previous owner of this dormitory... He can't come back now."

"Ah... a little, a little sad." Fengpi thought about what he had experienced along the way and felt a little depressed.

"Well... and his code name is also White Dove, so I thought, could it be fate? I just wanted to give it a try. Di Zi, do you think... his figure is similar to mine?" Ling Dengxian's thoughts did not stop there.

In fact, he also wanted to know if there was something wrong with his memory.

"That's not right... It doesn't fit you at all. This dress is obviously two or three sizes bigger than your body... Xiao Xian, do you have any guesses?" Feng Di saw that he was thinking about something and asked with concern.

Ling Dengxian nodded and told Feng Di his thoughts. She knew his background and was one of the people he trusted the most.

"Memory...Deng Xian, do you think there's something wrong?" Fiona thought seriously for a moment and shook her head. "From my perspective, there's nothing strange about you except that you came to our world a little abruptly. After all, I picked you up with my own hands."

"Indeed..."

"However, Dengxian, I need to point out that this is the conclusion from my perspective. The facts may not be so. You can retain some doubts." Fengdi said seriously. This matter concerns Ling Dengxian's return home, and she cannot afford to be careless.

"Forget it. Without evidence or clues, worrying any more will only add to the trouble. The most important thing is to live well in the present." Ling Dengxian shook his head, no longer worried.

"By the way, Director Kai said he didn't know when he would arrange the mission. I still need to look up Provence and the others' information."

"I'll accompany you." Fengdi smiled and came closer, and Ling Dengxian felt warm in his heart.

Just as he finished speaking, Ling Dengxian's phone rang again, and the caller ID showed it was Amiya.

"Ms. Amiya?" This was the first time that Ling Dengxian received a call from this little leader, and also the first time he really heard her voice.

"Well, Operator White Dove, I don't know if I disturbed you. Is it convenient for you now?"

"Please speak." Ling Dengxian said simply.

"We have contacted Black Steel and the operators who are coming for exchange and study are about to arrive. As a leader, I have thought a lot... I wonder if I can ask you to help and other operators to be responsible for receiving them?" Amiya's voice is soft and cute, but the seriousness contained in it makes people think seriously.

"So, what are the details?" Ling Dengxian didn't refuse at all.

"Well, you may be required to show the exchange students your daily training with Miss Rosina, which may make you feel a little uncomfortable..."

"Why?" Ling Dengxian didn't feel that there was any constraint in it.

"Because Operator Franka will also come back, and you also know the reason related to Rosina..."

"That's nothing." Ling Dengxian smiled brightly, "It's just right for her to see if I'm qualified as an agent. If she's not satisfied, she can retaliate on the spot."

"Operator White Dove...you are supposed to represent our Rhodes Island." Carters' voice sounded somewhat helpless.

"Just kidding." Ling Dengxian smiled, "No problem."

"Well, I'll leave it to you then. In addition, Dr. Kal'tsit seems to have started planning your first mission. The location should be Longmen. Operator White Dove must perform well."

"Also, try not to make any mistakes in front of Black Steel."

Hearing Amiya's instructions, Ling Dengxian nodded, thinking it was natural:

"Naturally, what could possibly happen?"