Chapter 141: Terra's First Taste of Melodrama

The trance lasted only a fraction of a second. Slipping back into the present, the Doctor realized he hadn’t just inherited the brutal combat experience of his past self—he had also awakened a terrifying talent for absolute, stoic emotional regulation.

To Kal’tsit, the man slumped in the interrogation chair wore a mask of utter indifference. His expression practically screamed ‘kill me if you have the guts.’ Not a single shred of guilt flickered in his eyes when she brought up Amiya’s desperate concern.

Even traveling across the scarred wastelands of Terra hadn’t made him waver on the brutal calculus of civilization’s survival. He looked like a hollow, heartless shell. Kal’tsit knew he usually hid this terrifying facet of his personality behind a veil of lighthearted idiocy. He was the kind of man who would gladly bleed out to save a random little girl on the street. Yet, when the two of them were alone, he dropped the act entirely. He offered no excuses. He revealed the cold iron beneath the flesh. He would spare no cost to save two poor children, yet his grander schemes casually condemned thousands to death.

Kal’tsit had already paid the price for harboring wishful thinking about this man years ago. Even if her heart wanted to trust him, her razor-sharp reason instinctively assumed the absolute worst of his intentions.

“Doctor, you never used to refer to your past self as ‘I’.” Kal’tsit lifted her gaze. Her voice was a low, warning strike. “I do not know what exactly you did during your recent absence, but I can feel the shift. You are merging. You are beginning to lose the distinction between your current self and that madman from Babel.”

She leaned forward slightly. “I know your returning memories can solve immediate crises. But this is a Pandora’s Box. In the short term, walking his path might clear the obstacles in front of us. But once you start relying on those memories, it is only a matter of time before you spiral completely out of control.”

‘Am I starting to accept the identity of Tabo?’

The thought echoed in his mind. The person in the middle of the storm is usually the last to see the rain. It wasn’t until Kal’tsit pointed it out that he realized the subtle, creeping changes in his own psyche. But unlike her deep-seated vigilance, he accepted the shift without a second thought. He actually welcomed it.

The weapons that 0325 left behind for him were literally named ‘Red Flag-1’. How crazy could the guy really be? As for losing control? Never being able to return home was the only true loss of control. If their moral positions differed, she should just say so directly instead of lecturing him about a Pandora’s Box. He didn’t need a bunch of furry little animals teaching him about his own true intentions.

Thinking one thing while saying another, he decided to put his recent castle-trip acting lessons to the test. He summoned the exact same gentle, reassuring smile his past self used to fool Theresa.

“Is it really that dangerous, Kal’tsit?”

‘Don’t ask anymore,’he prayed internally.’If you keep pushing, I’ll just hit you with the classic I trust you, Kal’tsit, or tell you to come supervise me. She definitely can’t see through this.’

Wait. Why was Kal’tsit raising her hand? Keep smiling. Stay calm. There was absolutely no reason his past self could fool her but he couldn’t. Why was she clenching her fist? Was the smile not natural enough? Stay calm. Stay—

Bang!

A heavy fist slammed into his skull. Kal’tsit slowly withdrew her hand. She watched the Doctor clutch his head in agony, the creepy smile completely wiped from his face, and finally let out a quiet breath of relief.

That smile had been entirely too unsettling. He wasn’t even acting properly anymore. To help the Doctor find his true self, she had no choice but to apply percussive maintenance. Did he really think she hadn’t made any progress over the years? Breaking complex psychological manipulation with sheer physical violence was her greatest learning outcome!

On the other side of the landship, Talulah walked out of the confinement room. She was entirely alone. There were no heavy shackles binding her ankles, and none of the rushing Rhodes Island operators even spared the former tyrant a second glance.

“Move aside! The Medical Department needs this batch of supplies immediately!”

Several frantic Logistics operators pushed a heavy transport cart stacked high with IV bags and medicine bottles down the corridor. The cart wobbled dangerously. Talulah instinctively reached out, catching the tipping metal frame and steadying it back onto its wheels.

“Thanks, sister,” the scrawny Liberi operator gasped. He strained against the weight of the cart, shooting her a deeply grateful look. “Another Ursus mobile city had its structural integrity fail from aging, and a catastrophe grazed the outer sectors. The Medical Department is flooded with patients transferred from the branch office. Gavial is completely overwhelmed! I’ll treat you to a meal later!”

The medical cart rumbled away, racing down the metallic hallway. Talulah stood in silence, watching their retreating figures. She hesitated for a fraction of a second before turning her boots to follow their path.

If she didn’t know where she belonged right now, she would simply go where she could save lives.

By the time Talulah used her terrifying Draco strength to single-handedly push five fully loaded medical transport carts into the chaotic Medical Department, she paused. She looked around the bustling room. Was the Reunion Movement holding a mandatory team-building event in here?

Crownslayer had been camping out in the department all day trying to ambush Kal’tsit. She hadn’t caught a single glimpse of the elusive feline, but she had somehow become entirely familiar with half the medical staff.

Why was the head of the Medical Department never actually inside the Medical Department? Kal’tsit would rather vanish into a Sargon black market to catch up with old contacts than sit at her own desk. If Crownslayer didn’t occasionally hear operators whispering that Kal’tsit went to catch the Doctor, she would have seriously doubted the woman was even on the landship.

Crownslayer muttered a string of bitter complaints under her breath, though her hands moved with practiced speed, rapidly sorting through crates of medication. She glanced up. Standing right in front of her was the former leader she had recently backstabbed.

Crownslayer froze. ‘…!’Did Rhodes Island finally decide they wanted her dead?!’Lyudmila, Lyudmila, use your brain,’she screamed internally.’Think about what preparations Rhodes Island has made for this exact scenario. If you were a Rhodes Island medical operator right now, what would you do?’

Crownslayer racked her brain. What was Warfarin doing earlier? The vampire had mentioned something about this exact kind of dramatic confrontation. What was the protocol again?

Ah. Right. ‘When a Traitor is Caught by a Serious War Criminal Old Woman.’

No, wait, that was a trashy doujinshi!

The supernaturally strong old woman, shedding her usual serious demeanor, with red eyes, fiercely grabbing the slender waist of the Blood Demon and pinning her against the wall: “Woman, call me Head of the Medical Department, and I’ll give you my life…”

‘I’ll give you my life…”I’ll give you my life…”Give it to you.’

Talulah brought the transport carts to a smooth halt. She looked at Crownslayer, who currently looked like her brain had completely short-circuited. The Draco frowned slightly and held out a stack of medicine boxes from the cart.

Crownslayer flinched, instinctively yanking her hands back and nearly knocking the precious supplies onto the sterile floor.

Talulah paused. “Why aren’t you taking them? Do you have enough already?”

“No, it’s not that…” Crownslayer stammered. Her racing heart settled slightly, instantly replaced by a tidal wave of crushing embarrassment.

What in Terra was she just thinking about?!

It was all Warfarin’s fault. There had never been such an absurd, melodramatic plot anywhere on this cursed land. God only knew how devastated Crownslayer had been when the vampire tricked her into reading dozens of chapters of deep love-hate entanglements, national righteousness, and tragic ideals—only for the grand finale to turn out to be a cheap, trashy internet melodrama!

“Hey? Lyudmila?” Talulah tilted her head.

Why was the Lupo spacing out again? Wasn’t this supposed to be an emergency?

[Rhodes’s Note: “Tabo” is a common Chinese Arknights fandom nickname for the pre-amnesia Babel-era Doctor, derived from shortening “Babel Doctor” (Ba Bie Ta Bo Shi -> Ta Bo).]

[Rhodes’s Note:

Enjoying the operation so far, Doctor?

(This daily grind literally pays the landship’s rent! 🙇‍♂️):

Massive thanks for reading and supporting the operation!]