I'm living off a woman in Arknights.

Page 91

Volume 2: Fireworks at Lungmen: Chapter 162 Hoshiguma: Trying to mess with me? No way!

Indeed, the concept of chip implantation has been very popular in recent years, and there have even been a few rumored successful cases. However, there is no company that has made a big fuss about achieving initial success in chip implantation.

At least not in the information that Hoshiguma knows.

As Hoshiguma recalled, Minerva rubbed her cold mechanical fingers, calmed her tone, and continued, "Along with the ultimatum arrived at the base, along with the successful experience from another base. The base leader immediately took the data and began experimenting, but still failed repeatedly."

“During this process, my sister passed away,” Minerva calmly revealed her identity. “My sister was the one who came closest to success, and the people in my laboratory firmly believed that I would take my sister’s place and fulfill their wish—as an experimental subject.”

Hoshiguma listened quietly. She didn't know much about Columbia, and she was even less familiar with Rhine Lab. She could only determine the truthfulness of Minerva's words by observing her own expression, emotions, and body language, as well as a small amount of relevant information.

Currently, it is determined that most of the cases are true.

Hoshiguma's gaze became more serious. Colombia has a high international standing and is one of the main regions where their terminal plan is being promoted.

The existence of such unscrupulous companies in the area, if handled well, might give their plans in Colombia a successful start.

Therefore, such potentially valuable internal information should not be missed.

Minerva continued her narration under Hoshiguma's increasingly intense gaze, "But they didn't hide well enough. I was discovered by another, relatively stronger laboratory. After some maneuvering, the stronger laboratory took me to a new place, pretending to give me a chance to break free of my restraints."

“I complied with their plan and used my Originium Arts to kill them all.” Minerva curled her lips into a smirk. “Afterward, I implanted a chip in myself and installed the closest but faulty prosthetic body, and successfully escaped from the laboratory.”

"You know biotechnology?" Hoshiguma glanced at Minerva, then revealed an expression of expectation. "As expected, you weren't an experimental subject, at least not at first."

Otherwise, where would the other side get such detailed intelligence?

It's important to understand that experimental subjects are usually in dire straits, and only a very small minority have the energy to inquire about information from the laboratory. It's even rarer to be able to glean a complete message from a group of experimental staff who don't take the experimental subjects seriously at all.

Many test subjects die without ever knowing what their laboratory does or who it belongs to.

“Yes, I was a member of Rhine Lab until my sister was transferred to that base and disappeared.” Minerva admitted decisively, raising her hand to her chest, her gaze firm. “My sister is innocent; she never participated in those illegal experiments!”

“In recent years, factional struggles at Rhine Lab have intensified. My sister was unlucky enough to be involved and was sold off. After I investigated that person, I confirmed my sister’s death,” Minerva said, lowering her eyes to hide the tears welling up in them. “I killed her and was preparing to turn myself in with the evidence of the illegal experiments they provided, but I was caught and taken to the lab.”

“Then it will be as I said before.” Minerva paused for a moment, her gaze drifting vaguely to Hoshiguma, as if looking through her to the being behind her. “For this reason, can you grant my wish?”

Yun Yi's fingertips, which were tapping the armrest, paused slightly. Was it just his imagination? It seemed like Minerva wasn't asking about Hoshiguma, but about her?

Hoshiguma's golden eyes deepened slightly, and she replied firmly, "I will give you a unified answer later."

“Okay.” Minerva let out a barely perceptible breath, nodded gently, released her mechanical knuckles, and took a step back. “Then I won’t bother you any longer. Conar is near room 1496 on the 14th floor of Zone 3.”

"Okay, see you later." Hoshiguma gave a short reply, and Yunyi immediately closed the elevator door in cooperation.

Minerva's figure was completely obscured by the elevator doors, and the floor numbers on the elevator display began to jump rapidly as the elevator whistled and left the floor.

Hoshiguma's solemn expression relaxed, and he looked up at the sky. "It's almost certain that Miss Minerva's lifespan problem is due to the chip implant and prosthetic modification. Do you think 002 can solve it?"

“I think it’s possible. We’ll have 002 come and take a look later to find out the specifics.” Yun Yi stroked his chin, his expression equally relaxed. “Well, thankfully it’s just the chip and the prosthetic body. If the experiment had damaged his body, it would have been much more difficult to save him.”

"That's all thanks to you." Hoshiguma chuckled, holding up the cloth bag that was still slightly warm and shaking it. "You've finished the dumplings and potato pancakes, right? How about another serving to treat yourself?"

"Is this not going to work? Why don't you eat it yourself?" Yun Yi politely declined. The portions at the apartment restaurant were quite generous; she had already eaten her fill of two potato pancakes and a whole serving of dumplings.

It's not some divine delicacy. If you're not hungry, eating the same dish too often will only make you tired of it and ruin the flavor.

"This is a bit of a hassle." Hoshiguma gestured to Yunyi, as she was holding a bag in one hand and a hannya in the other, making it impossible for her to eat dumplings.

Unless she completely lets her guard down—which is impossible.

Seeing this, Yun Yi patted the armrest, and the cloth bag in Hoshiguma's hand disappeared instantly, reappearing beside Yun Yi.

Yun Yi fiddled with the cloth bag, his tone playful, "Then how about I feed you?"

“If you don’t mind the trouble, sure,” Hoshiguma said with a smile, readily accepting the offer. “Just be careful not to get my clothes dirty. In case of a conflict, the oil might affect my movements.”

Yun Yi felt bored and waved her hand, "Never mind, let's focus on finishing the task first."

“Minerva’s location is correct, but you’ll need to transfer to elevator number 3 on the 20th floor first, and then take elevator number 3 to the 14th floor.” Yun Yi said as he stabilized the randomly jumping floor display screen, making it move smoothly towards the 20th floor.

Hoshiguma, now with one hand free, cracked her knuckles, switched hands to hold the shield, stretched her tense arm, and her once-raised eyebrows returned to a composed expression. "Understood."

With Yunyi's acceleration, the elevator went from the 22nd floor to the 20th floor in just a few words.

With the familiar "ding" sound, the elevator doors opened again. Hoshiguma looked up, picked up her shield, and was about to walk out when she found that the elevator area on the 20th floor was different from the previous times, which were either empty or only had temporary workers.

Outside the elevator, at a glance, there were about a dozen people with different expressions.

Some sat on the sofa with their eyes closed, some stood in front of different elevator doors chatting, and some walked in the corridor as if just passing by, but all of them looked over when elevator number 4 opened.

Volume Two: Fireworks at Longmen: Chapter 163 Yun Yi: I don't care about open schemes, as long as you're willing to risk your life for me.

The sight of Hoshiguma's dark and unfamiliar figure caused the dozen or so people to change their expressions drastically. When they saw the sharp-edged, enormous Hannya in Hoshiguma's hand, they all shuddered and immediately lowered their heads to examine the floor, becoming as quiet as chickens.

Hoshiguma observed the group for a moment. They were dressed neatly and cleanly, but most of them had sallow complexions and their eyes were filled with fear and unease.

Some of them had bodies that looked as if they were pieced together; certain parts of their bodies, such as their arms, fingers, and faces, were exceptionally white, as white as the skin of a newborn baby.

Hoshiguma realized that these people must be among those saved by Yunyi's potion.

This situation, where one person lowered their eyes to scan the entire room while more than a dozen people kept their heads down and dared not breathe loudly, did not last long.

Soon, elevator number 3, which was parked nearby, opened with a "ding" without anyone operating it.

Hoshiguma, who had no intention of frightening the victim, immediately stepped into elevator number 3, and the elevator doors closed rapidly behind her.

"Hmm, very good, the people with severed limbs and disfigured faces have recovered." As soon as the elevator started running, Yun Yi spoke happily in Hoshiguma's ear.

As she spoke, she couldn't help but rest her chin on her hand and think, "The potion is indeed very effective for ordinary people. I'll see if I can persuade a top scientist to help me develop a mass-produced version. The number of potions that the Nirvana carries is limited, so we have to save them for those of you who are large in scale."

"The potion should prioritize your own needs; you are the core." Hoshiguma turned around and shook her head in disapproval.

Yun Yi raised an eyebrow. "Although the potions are limited, there are still quite a few. Don't worry, of course I kept my share for myself."

“That’s good,” Hoshiguma’s furrowed brows relaxed, and she began to consider Yun Yi’s idea. “Hmm, if we really want to research a mass-production version…”

After pondering for a moment, Hoshiguma tapped the Hannya and offered Yunyi a suggestion: "As an internationally renowned biotechnology company, Rhine Labs should have many experts in the field of biology. If you agree to Minerva's wish, we can see if we can invite a few innocent scientists while we are supervising her revenge."

"Okay, okay, let's do it that way." Yun Yi nodded. Her wet nurse from her previous life, Herm, was inside. She would invite her later.

I just don't know if the other person is still around at this time.

By the way, if all else fails, just go to Rhodes Island. With Amiya there, you shouldn't have to worry about being betrayed.

As for Minerva...

“We have few people at the moment, so we will take in as many as we can. Therefore, I certainly agree with Minerva’s wishes.”

Yun Yi leaned back in his chair, his hand behind his ear. “Improving Minerva’s strength is simple. 002 can make a low-end version of the Nirvana mecha, and that should be enough. Then we can take some time to let her take her revenge. Once she succeeds, she can come back and work as our manager.”

“That’s already two wishes—to become stronger and to get revenge.” Hoshiguma touched the end of her eyebrow with her finger and laughed heartily. “You don’t seem to mind? Haha, as expected of a well-laid plan.”

Minerva said that in front of Hoshiguma in order to safely fulfill two wishes through one wish.

There are many inducements involved. If Hoshiguma and those behind her value profit, power, and fame, then the chip implantation technology obtained from attacking the base, along with the apartment's rational planning strategy and Rhine Life's scandals, internal intelligence, and the current situation, could sway them.

If Hoshiguma and the people behind her are relatively innocent, a tragic event that is very similar to the truth in nine stories could move them.

Yunyi hadn't thought that much about Hoshiguma. She simply sensed that the other party wanted some kind of protection and confidently assumed that it was just a convenient thing to do.

“If I don’t sense that Minerva is lying, then whether it’s an open conspiracy or not doesn’t matter.” Yun Yi glanced at Minerva, who was still standing in front of the elevator door in another projection.

She was clenching her fists, closing her eyes and tilting her head back in a posture of devout prayer.

Yun Yi looked away and exhaled. "No matter what, we need this person, so it's not a bad thing to put in more effort for him."

That way, it's less likely to be betrayed.

"As long as you don't mind, that's fine. As for the limited number of usable people?" Hoshiguma raised an eyebrow. So that's what Yun Yi was worried about. "No need to worry. There are plenty of usable people among the infected population you plan to employ."

"Really? I thought it would be difficult for infected people to access knowledge and develop great talents?" Yun Yi raised an eyebrow in surprise. In her mind, infected people were excluded by ordinary people, and learning and practice should be more difficult for them than for ordinary people.

Under such high pressure, the quality of learning may be better than that of ordinary people, but the success rate is likely to be much, much lower.

"Not entirely—hmm? We're almost there." Hoshiguma saw that the floor number on the display screen was about to change to the 14th floor, so she simply ended the conversation. "The situation with the infected is complicated. I'll explain it to you in detail after you finish your tutoring."

"OK." Yun Yi responded, rubbing the handrail. As soon as she finished speaking, the number on the display screen changed to "14", and the elevator slowly came to a stop. The doors slid open to the sides with a "ding", revealing more victims outside than on the 20th floor.

People seemed to be going up and down the 14th floor frequently. Although there were many people walking in the corridor and sitting on the sofas on this floor, not many people immediately looked at Hoshiguma when they heard the sound.

Hoshiguma was able to observe the normal state of people living in apartments.

At a glance, she noticed that most of the people had clean clothes, bright eyes, radiant faces despite their sallow complexions, and relaxed body language, clearly indicating that they were quite comfortable in the apartment.

A small number of people, however, had worry in their eyes, their brows furrowed, and their expressions seemed shrouded in gloom.

They sat stiffly on the sofa, shutting out the sounds of people nearby, immersed in their own world.

As Hoshiguma scanned her surroundings, more and more people noticed her.

The fragile joy and peace in their eyes were quickly shattered, replaced by negative emotions such as shock, anger, and confusion.

Finally, their expressions all turned to a self-aware fear, which spread to those around them as the individuals themselves fell silent.

The lively atmosphere outside the elevator quickly cooled and froze amidst the rapidly spreading fear. Gradually, all that could be heard from the surrounding silence was the rapid heartbeats and breathing of these people.

Hoshiguma felt helpless. She had originally planned to ask for directions, but now it seemed that the apartment staff were more hostile to strangers than she had imagined.

"Go straight and you'll see Conar." Yun Yi's subtle whisper immediately reached Hoshiguma's eardrum.

Hoshiguma nodded slightly without changing her expression, stepped out of the elevator, and walked steadily forward.

Those who had previously frozen upon seeing her moved aside as Hoshiguma advanced, like Moses parting the Sea, spontaneously making way for her.

As they retreated, they noticed that Hoshiguma, who had been walking by with his head held high, remained motionless. The fear in his lowered eyes slowly faded, replaced by blank stares as they looked at each other behind Hoshiguma.

Volume 2: Fireworks at Lungmen: Chapter 164 Hoshiguma: ...This is too weak!

Who is this super dangerous-looking big shot?

do not know.

This looks so unfamiliar. I feel like I've never seen it before. Could it be someone from that person's group?

do not know.

The people behind Hoshiguma, exchanging glances, knew nothing about each other, their communication ultimately fruitless.

One of them, Pero, who had been slumped on the sofa looking melancholy, broke the silence as Hoshiguma's figure disappeared into the distance. "Everyone, daydreaming is useless. Let's take action. Those who want to stay, go and bring back the people still in the rooms to the 20th floor. Those who don't want to, come with me to find the temporary workers and report the situation. Also, don't worry about rooms 1490 to 1499. The temporary workers from Conner are over there."

Most of the people present were either full of questions or their minds were blank. When they heard Pelosi's clear and well-defined instructions, they were immediately taken aback and began to act.

The vibrations from dozens of people stomping their feet traveled all the way to Hoshiguma's feet as they approached their destination.

With her keen hearing, Hoshiguma knew exactly where the vibration was coming from. She smiled and said, "Not bad."

Some people are thoughtful and willing to take responsibility, while others are willing to follow instructions and not act presumptuously. These future employees are better than she imagined.

Yunyi sat in front of the projector and nodded in approval. Compared to Hoshiguma, who had gleaned some missing information from the audio, she noticed many more details by watching the projected footage live.

For example, after Pelosi made the arrangements, several people immediately stepped forward to organize two groups of people to carry out the plan as team leaders, instead of actually dividing the group according to Pelosi's statement of willingness and unwillingness.

Or perhaps everyone was willing, so they followed the arrangements of those team leaders.

The people in the apartment are quite loving, even though she and Swire had just seen them arguing and misunderstanding each other.

Yun Yi tapped the handrail, wondering to himself, "Could it be that Minerva and the others separated those who might clash into different groups when arranging accommodations?"

As she began to speculate, Hoshiguma saw a head taller than her, a primal figure named Pello-Connell.

Konargay's body, covered in fur beneath his gray patchwork casual clothes, was entirely covered in hair. The exposed fur reflected a smooth, glossy sheen from being carefully washed. His rolled-up sleeves revealed forearms with muscle lines that even the thick fur couldn't conceal. Combined with his spirited appearance, he looked energetic and refreshed.

Yun Yi looked at him with a strange expression.

She touched her chin, wondering why she didn't feel anything for Connar's otherwise decent-looking hair.

Come to think of it, I only casually stroked the fur of the two shrewish birds, without any strong urge to ruffle or bury them. But with Swire and Lappland... no, no, I can't make a judgment yet. I'll have to wait and see.

Yun Yi suppressed his suddenly racing heartbeat, his gaze sharpened, and he looked intently at the projection.

In the projection, when Hoshiguma saw Conar, he deliberately made his footsteps louder.

Conar's ears immediately turned to her, and his beastly eyes swept over as well, before he was startled by Hoshiguma's ferocious dreadful aura and overall imposing presence.

He bared his teeth uncontrollably, his body tensing as he shielded the two people beside him behind him, his massive, trailing tail bristling wildly. "Stop! Who are you?!"

"The one who will determine your wish." Hoshiguma smiled enigmatically. She didn't stop, but instead quickened her pace, carrying Hannya. "Konar, tell me your temporary worker wish."

Bright lights shone evenly over Hoshiguma's entire body, absorbed by her black uniform, only reflecting a slight metallic luster.

As she strode aggressively toward Konar, her flowing green hair accentuated her bright, deep golden eyes, making her appear almost ghostly and putting immense pressure on Konar, who was acutely aware of Hoshiguma's power.

Connar held his breath under the pressure, his mind not even having time to process Hoshiguma's words.