Story Reader / Affection / Wanshi: Hypnos / Story
Control center dispatching reinforcements for mission R40-119. Operator: [player name], supporting: Red Robin. Mission coordinates transmitted. Please check them and set off in 5 minutes.
Commandant, we've sent you the route to the support location. Please be careful.
We expect the mission to be completed in 18 minutes on our end. We'll meet up with you as soon as we are done here.
Okay, then...
Suddenly, you see Lucia raising her katana in a defensive stance in the comms. The camera shakes for a second, and you hear the hiss of Corrupted from where she is.
I'll see you in a second, Commandant.
You were on a ground mission in a city nearby, but a support mission ordered by the higher-ups means you have to leave Lucia and the others and head off to the new location alone while waiting for the other handler.
The coordinates show that your destination is underground. You hurry to the marked location following the underground tunnel.
You hear a cry for help at the end of the tunnel. Two Constructs sitting back to back on the ground are surrounded by a swarm of Corrupted.
Ah... It's reinforcement! Finally!
It's the commandant... Is it just... you?
I'm okay, but there seems to be a deviation in his M.I.N.D...
I was careless to let him touch the Red Tide.
C-connect...
Watch out!
You have been so focused on the Construct with the deviated M.I.N.D. that by the time you hear the warning and notice the Corrupted leaping toward you from behind, you are already too late.
You raise your arms subconsciously to shield your head—a few seconds pass, and you still do not feel the impact.
All you hear is the sound of a bullet flying by your ear at high speed.
Gray Raven Commandant... we meet again.
Don't stand still. I'm not as good a melee fighter as you are.
Are you surprised? I'm also a Support-type Construct.
...Besides, I was nearby.
Wanshi has not stopped shooting as he talks.
Probably better to connect with me for now.
There is no commandant in Strike Hawk. As far as you know, no one from Strike Hawk has ever had their M.I.N.D. connected before, but Wanshi does not seem to care.
Once the symptoms of M.I.N.D. deviation appear, your connection could only soothe it. He needs to return to Babylonia for further treatment.
The terrain here is unstable. It's very likely to collapse, based on what I saw on my way here. We can't stay here for long.
Connecting with me now is the most efficient way to end the battle ASAP.
Let's begin.
...Wanshi's M.I.N.D. is calm. If you do not force yourself to feel it, you may have forgotten that you are connected to a Construct.
With the help of your connection, Wanshi is more efficient and deadly than ever.
After getting rid of the Corrupted nearby, Wanshi takes off the bag he has been carrying and expertly treats the injured Constructs.
Strike Hawk? That's reassuring...
Just doing my job... Gray Raven Commandant, your hand needs to be treated as well.
Thank you. If it weren't for you, we'd be doomed today.
Don't say that... Paloma's still waiting for us to return. Didn't we agree to go on a mission together again? Besides, worst come to worst, there is still recalling.
Wanshi's hands suddenly get a little forceful. You instinctively cry out, and that is when Wanshi lets go of your hand.
Alright. If you two can still move, get ready to retreat.
Judging from the signals, more Corrupted are coming this way. Head for the supply station first—the reinforcements should be coming from there.
What about you?
I'll stay behind.
We'll leave it to you then...
Wanshi grips the stock of his gun, then stops and looks at you.
Well... you should leave as well, [player name].
It'd be safer to have someone escort them.
...Very well.
Given the emergency treatment I just gave you, your mobility should have recovered. I'll be monitoring your signals in real-time, so go retreat for now.
Roger!
With the help of his teammate, the other Construct begins to move as well.
After escorting the Construct to the cave entrance, a violent shake comes through, and a loud quake explodes by your side as a puff of smoke rises from the ground.
Before you can react, Wanshi has already flung himself upon you from behind. The two of you quickly crawl to the open space behind you.
After the shaking has stopped and the dust has dissipated, you look up in the dim light to find the face of Wanshi right on top of you.
With both hands on your shoulders, Wanshi lifts you up with astounding strength and steadily puts you aside.
As a veteran commandant, this is something you have never experienced before. But his moves have been so smooth and natural that you have not had time to object.
Gray Raven Commandant.
Wanshi says it so calmly before reaching out to you. It is hard for you to guess what he is intending by his expression.
Your hand...
Your wound is open again.
Well, consider it a personal request... I'm not used to seeing people getting hurt...
...And not being treated.
Even though it is said in a calm and sleepy manner, his subtle "complaint" has hit you nonetheless.
Though you have no idea why he has made such a request, you still give him your hand.
I'm surprised by the kind of stuff in your head, Gray Raven Commandant... but, really, have you not felt your wound torn open?
A stream of sunlight shines through the cracks in the stones blocking the exit. Wanshi wipes your wound clean with a cotton ball dipped in disinfectant, then wraps it with a bandage, his movement calm and precise.
...Well, a little bit. Learned it before.
And... done.
You were on a mission before coming straight here after receiving the message requesting support, right?
As you are thinking about what to do, Wanshi stands up all of a sudden and walks over to the open space nearby to pick up a brick.
Wanshi solemnly puts the brick on the ground, sits down, and lies down, using the brick as a pillow matter-of-factly.
This is a war, after all... We'll have to make do.
Speaking of which, the pillow you gave me last time was indeed quite comfortable.
Well... there's nothing else to do anyway, right?
Commandant, you might as well get some sleep. Perhaps we'll be saved when we wake up.
That's not gonna happen.
I've contacted Strike Hawk through our special channel, and they'll immediately inform Gray Raven of your whereabout. Given the closest support distance... the Babylonia reinforcements will arrive in about ten minutes.
So, close your eyes and get some rest.
The Gray Ravens will be here once you wake up.
But Wanshi has already gone silent. Everything seems so quiet in the narrow space.
...
Hmm, not really.
This time he answers pretty quickly. But then he falls into silence once again, and you wonder if he is still awake.
You hear the sound of gravels falling, rustling...
Nope.
No.
The two of you begin this loop of purposeless conversations like children.
Perhaps it is the medication, the wound on your arm starts giving you a searing pain, and you begin to feel dizzy.
...They have.
It is only a short phrase, but Wanshia's voice seems to have the power to convince others.
...Well, my next dream says so...
Perhaps... he also has the power to spread sleepiness...
Before you can resist it, the last trace of your consciousness slips away, and you fall into a quiet dream.
