I'm living off a woman in Arknights.

Page 136

I found a new and interesting cover: a collection of chibi-style operators.

It's a pity I couldn't find a full version featuring all female operators. There was an original version with all operators, but it was too blurry to use on the cover.

Volume Two: Fireworks at Longmen: Chapter 276: Please pay close attention to your personal safety.

Yun Yi was well aware of this, but it was also one of the reasons she loved him in the past and still loves him now. Shouldn't the police enforce the law impartially? Shouldn't those who uphold justice follow the justice in their hearts?

Giving up these things for so-called feelings or something else is truly uncomfortable—not that it's impossible, but it would give Yunyi the illusion that his persona has collapsed.

Although real people with flesh and blood don't have a persona, it's still regrettable when they give up what they hold dear in their hearts for others or for some other reason.

Yunyi didn't want such a situation to happen at all. This was also the fundamental reason why, when Swire, Hoshino, and Chen Huijie tried to persuade her before, she would usually listen obediently after being persuaded a few times as long as it didn't violate her own bottom line.

After all, she didn't need to put her friend in a difficult position or even put her friend's soul in danger because of a moment of willfulness.

The reason she didn't listen to advice all at once was simply because she was being coquettish—she had already given up being willful, so it was only natural that she wanted more attention and love!

Yun Yi thought this with a sense of self-righteousness, then reluctantly withdrew his gaze:

Chen Huijie was obviously going to interrogate these two unlucky guys next. There was no point in her, an outsider, watching. She might as well take this time to deal with the few troublesome things that were still in her space.

After assigning herself the task, Yun Yi looked up at the several black icosahedrons on the edge of the disc, where the inner guards who had prompted her to go to Ursus were imprisoned.

The "rules environment" simulated by the Nirvana based on cosmic-level technology completely countered these top-tier combat forces that were on the entire continent of Terra.

As long as Yun Yi stands here and has a thought, the flesh and blood of these inner guards will clump together and become research material for her organization in the future. The demonic fragments in the inner guards' bodies will be put into the energy furnace of the Nirvana and transformed into energy used by the Nirvana.

But... Yun Yi glanced at Chen Huijie, who had awakened Luper with a punch and initiated high-pressure interrogation, and his gaze towards the dark figure couldn't help but shift slightly:

Although Swire said these were all novices who wouldn't yield much useful information and that there was no need to waste time on them, what if—?

Maybe these greenhorns have some interesting intelligence on them. After all, they must have had some identity before becoming internal guards, right? They must have come into contact with something, right? And as long as they have experience, the possibility of them encountering secrets before this is not zero.

The more Yunyi thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. A gambler's common sense of luck suddenly took root in her heart, and she unconsciously stepped towards one of the icosahedrons on the edge.

As soon as Yun Yi moved, the mace that was watching her moved as well.

As she moved, Jian quickly deduced from Yun Yi's gaze that her target was one of the eight polyhedrons emanating a strange aura.

The presence of the eight polyhedra has always been very strong. The senses of eeriness, chaos and order are intertwined on their surface, and they occasionally emit powerful fluctuations.

This made it impossible for her to determine the purpose of the maces, and she also felt apprehensive. However, due to various reasons such as unfamiliarity and wanting to avoid suspicion, she had not asked directly before.

Now that Jian knew he had been identified as one of Yun Yi's men, he immediately asked, "Yun Yi, what are these polyhedra?"

"Huh? Oh, these." Yun Yi, who was thinking, paused for a moment before realizing what Jian was asking her.

Yun Yi, who indeed regarded the other party as one of his own, shifted his attention to the mace and answered seriously, "These are the venues I told you about before, which I can create. However, the purpose of creating them is different; they are made to target the enemy, so they are more dangerous."

"An enemy? Could it be that the powerful fluctuations emanating from here are because there are enemies inside?" Upon hearing this, Jian drew the black sword hanging at his waist in the blink of an eye, quickened his pace, and stood in front of Yun Yi, "Be careful."

The fluctuations within the pitch-black polyhedron are quite strong. Jian felt he could barely handle two of them, but there were eight here, making the level of danger extremely high!

“It’s alright, there are some rules inside the polyhedron…” Yun Yi said, carefully considering his words. “Simply put… it makes it so that the enemy’s movements inside will be as slow as a snail, and all abilities such as Originium Arts will be ineffective. They will be unable to damage the polyhedron or get out of it.”

Jian understood; this was indeed very powerful and unsolvable, and the enemies inside were basically trapped and killed inside.

But she still disapproved and grabbed Yun Yi's wrist, stopping his arrogant steps as he nonchalantly tried to continue towards the polyhedrons. "Yun Yi, let's go back. It's dangerous for you to keep getting close to these polyhedrons."

Yun Yi looked down at her wrist, which was being held through her clothes. After barely ignoring the warmth emanating from the other person's palm, she looked up at Jian in confusion. "Inside the polyhedron, the rules must be followed. The enemy cannot get out."

What danger could she possibly be in? Yun Yi thought dismissively.

"I know." Jian's intelligence is not a problem; she understood this from what Yun Yi had said earlier.

But that wasn't what worried her. What she was worried about was, "Yunyi, if I'm not mistaken, your physical condition is quite... fragile."

Especially compared to her own boundless pressure, it was extremely fragile.

“This fragility is dangerous. Even if the polyhedron can completely contain the enemy inside, you may not be safe once your body gets close to it.” Jian’s eyes were solemn as he analyzed for Yun Yi with all his heart. “Spirit and matter, there are all sorts of strange things and people in this world. There are always some things that can reach you unconditionally, even through the polyhedron.”

A hint of worry flickered in her eyes as she gripped Yun Yi's wrist even tighter. "If we really encounter them, your physical constitution might crumble at the slightest touch. Look, their auras are leaking out—isn't that proof of that possibility?"

At that time, Jian believed that neither the seemingly non-lethal pressure nor the strange environment could directly save Yun Yi, so it was best to avoid this possibility from the source.

Yun Yi raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised to the point that his attention was completely diverted. "Huh? Is my physical strength that obviously inferior? How did you figure that out?"

She looked down at her outstretched hands, her slightly pink fingertips gleaming with a healthy sheen in the light.

Immediately afterwards, she rolled up one sleeve and gripped her hand tightly, revealing a clear yet beautiful muscle line on her bare arm. Although her arm still appeared slender, it exuded a resilient strength.

In Yun Yi's eyes, she didn't look like someone with extremely poor physical condition just by looking at her appearance.

Watching Yun Yi's display of skill, a bright smile flashed in her eyes. She sheathed her sword back at her waist, put one hand on her hip, and said, "Judging physical fitness is related to appearance, but not by much."

The kind of person who appears weak but is actually incredibly strong, or who appears tough but is actually a complete novice, is not common, but it is not uncommon either.

Volume 2: Fireworks at Dragon Gate: Chapter 277 The Mace (Silently observing, earnestly responding) / Yun Yi: She's so beautiful!

"Not looking at appearance? Then what do we look at?" Yun Yi lowered his sleeves and looked up curiously, "Aura?"

It seems that some martial arts novels mention that some powerful individuals can accurately judge a person's physical strength or internal power by observing the aura emanating from their blood and qi.

Could this method also be applicable to Terra?

“Aura…” Jian lowered his eyes and glanced at Yun Yi. Yun Yi’s entire body exuded a terrifying aura.

Even though the aura no longer exerts pressure on the mace due to the master's will, its power can still be sensed, so it is impossible to judge Yun Yi's physical qualities from it.

“No, your powerful aura is extremely prominent, and I can't discern which part of it originates from your physical attributes.” Jian shook his head, denying the guess, and then stated the answer decisively, “My way of judging is by observing your reaction.”

"Reaction?" Yun Yi muttered to himself, puzzled, tilting his head to guess, "You mean my reaction speed?"

She pondered for a moment, her eyes showing confusion, "Hmm, there seems to be a saying that reaction speed is linked to physical fitness, but that's not absolute, is it?"

There are many people who are slow to react but strong and have great endurance. How can you judge someone just by their reaction speed?

“It’s not absolute, but based on my perception, it’s sufficient.” Jian bent down towards Yun Yi, and the distance between them quickly shortened until they were almost breathing together. “Your reaction will tell me your body’s speed, agility, and flexibility.”

As she spoke, Jian narrowed her golden eyes, which still shone faintly even though the light was blocked by her eyelashes, and her gaze swept over Yun Yi's slightly heaving chest with great presence.

Then her sheep ears twitched as if they had heard some key information, and her calm voice told Yun Yi what she was listening to: "The sounds of your heart pumping blood, the flow of blood, and the contraction of your muscles will tell me about your body's strength and endurance."

Yun Yi tilted her head slightly to meet the gaze of the eloquent Jian. The much closer distance compared to before caused her attention to be drawn to Jian's magnified, bright golden eyes.

Upon closer inspection, she discovered that the mace's eyes were not pure gold; in the center of this dazzling golden ocean stood a pure white spring that stood out from its surroundings.

A speck of white in his golden eyes was like a snowflake falling into molten gold, making his eyes appear less sharp and slightly unfocused, giving him a dull yet somewhat inexplicable divine quality. He was both gentle and extremely distant, which was quite contradictory.

Controlled by this sense of contradiction, Yun Yi's pupils slowly widened. In her expanded field of vision, the golden eyebrows of the sword flashed before Yun Yi like a dazzling sword in flight, while the long eyelashes below the sword-like eyebrows were as thick as raven feathers.

They pressed down in patches on Jian's conflicted eyes, casting soft shadows that made her golden eyes appear and disappear, irresistibly arousing a deep desire to explore them, all while complementing Jian's cool, resolute, and undeniably charming mature woman face—

It's beautiful, it's so beautiful!

Yun Yi slightly widened his eyes, a hint of undisguised amazement flashing across them, followed by a gleam of excitement.

However, after being impressed by the equally stunning beauties before her, she was still excited, but not so much as to completely forget the important matter. Despite her excitement, she was still listening attentively to what Jian said.

It was precisely because she heard this that she immediately showed a subtle expression. Her first reaction was not anything else, but rather a complaint: "Huh? He can hear heartbeats, blood flow, and muscle contractions from a distance, and make accurate judgments? What kind of incredible hearing is this!"

Knowing this, even ordinary people and some doctors, even with a professional-grade stethoscope or other instruments placed in the correct position, probably cannot fully understand and accurately judge it.

Jian didn't rely on any external force; he accomplished it solely with his ears and his brain.

unbelievable.

Speaking of which, Hoshiguma and the others' listening skills seemed to be just as good, as you could hear her muttering even from a great distance.

Thinking of this, Yun Yi couldn't help but add, "How come everyone's hearing is so good? Is this some kind of Terran characteristic?"

She immediately contradicted herself, "No, my physical abilities are just at the level of an average Terran person, and my hearing isn't that incredible—could it be that good hearing is a characteristic of the strong?"

Yun Yi felt that his guess must be the truth. After thinking about it carefully, whether in the story or in reality, it seemed that those non-deaf strong people did have good hearing.

Jian listened quietly with his eyelids half-closed, observing Yun Yi's lively thoughts and the subtle yet ever-changing expressions and emotions on Yun Yi's face.

The golden strands of her hair that slipped off her shoulders were slightly transparent and faintly glowing in the light, weaving a secret and hazy space in mid-air, where time and space seemed to quiet down and stand still.

When Yun Yi asked his last question, paused his conversation, and looked back at Jian with curiosity, the lake in Jian's eyes, which had been stilled along with time and space, finally rippled.

She didn't give Yun Yi a perfunctory answer, nor did she press him about his strange statement that made it seem like she wasn't from Terra. Instead, she replied seriously, "Yes, generally, strong people have good hearing. There are also some who specialize in using their senses. My hearing is nothing compared to theirs."

“It’s not difficult for someone with a special hearing ability to hear a heartbeat from hundreds of kilometers away,” Jian told Yun Yi about similar enemies he had encountered in the past. “But it is still hearing, which can be blocked by soundproofing materials and interfered with by some special abilities. Moreover, they process auditory information with their brains, and once the amount of information increases to a certain level, it can cause them to become confused.”

Yun Yi nodded. Sure enough, strong hearing was a standard feature of the strong. In addition, the existence of those with even more heaven-defying hearing than the mace was expected, but the unexpected ones were abnormally powerful.

Jian is clearly a front-line fighter, a specialist in direct combat. Her physical attributes and skills are her core strengths, while her hearing is probably more of a supporting ability. So it's perfectly normal for someone whose primary strength is hearing to be stronger than her, but I never expected them to be this strong...

Yun Yi rubbed his forehead, feeling a bit of a headache. "Jian, your hearing is already ridiculously strong, surpassing some professional machines. I didn't expect someone with even stronger hearing than you to be even more outrageous. This is practically a human radar perfect for eavesdropping, isn't it?"

That's really terrifying.

It is important to understand that the outcome of a battle can be influenced to some extent by information warfare. When the gap between the two sides is not so large as to be hopeless, the side that obtains more key information usually has a much higher chance of winning.

If a person can lock onto an enemy from a great distance by listening, and can eavesdrop on the enemy's intelligence, information, and even secrets at any time, and set up targeted traps and plans at any moment, the scales of victory will naturally tip infinitely in that person's favor.

Volume 2: Fireworks at Dragon Gate: Chapter 278 (Main Story) Yun Yi: Protect... That's right, mace, let's form a contract!

Thinking about all this, Yun Yi became somewhat worried. She wasn't worried about herself, though, since as an immortal, she couldn't die.

Now that she has a pocket anchor point as a resurrection point, she no longer needs to worry about her immortality being exposed, thus attracting disaster and imprisoning her before she has fully developed.

Therefore, Yun Yi had no need to worry about her own safety; what she was worried about were her companions, prospective employees, and future colleagues.

They don't have Yun Yi's immortality; they will die if they are killed.

The system store, which contains everything, sells various items that can revive anyone. In theory, Yun Yi doesn't need to worry too much about this: even if everyone dies, they can be revived.

However, buying things in the store requires points, and points need to be accumulated over time. The points required for resurrection items are quite high, and those without any side effects are extremely expensive.

Although she will be able to redeem it sooner or later, the long time involved in the process will be more troublesome for her to make up for, and the pain her companions will suffer when they die cannot be ignored.

Yun Yi was troubled, his expression slightly bitter. He observed her and frowned, wondering why Yun Yi had a headache.

Jian found an answer that deviated slightly from the truth in Yun Yi's worried eyes.

She looked at him with understanding and said reassuringly, "People who specialize in hearing are indeed troublesome and dangerous, but don't worry, I can protect you even so."

Jian spoke with confidence, or rather, in her own mind, she was that powerful.

This confidence allowed her to remain unfazed even when there were eight powerful figures nearby, enough for three people to completely subdue her. After all, even if she couldn't win, she could still escape.

Moreover, Yun Yi, as the one being protected, wouldn't be a hindrance—in the event of a ranged attack, it's uncertain who would protect whom.

Jian believed that even if all eight powerful individuals were freed, she and Yun Yi could still face them head-on, provided that Yun Yi, being relatively fragile, wasn't ambushed and killed instantly.

Therefore, Yun Yi decided it was best to stay away from those eight people and made up his mind.

She straightened up, slightly raised her chin, and tossed her stray blonde hair behind her before looking down at Yun Yi, who had fallen silent for some reason after hearing her words. She said in a low voice, "Yun Yi, as I said before, my judgment based on observation and listening is usually accurate in terms of physical condition. Your body is indeed a bit too fragile."

Her hand, resting on her waist, lightly touched the cool belt. She didn't let her thoughts run wild. Her gaze towards Yun Yi remained calm, and her tone, when questioning him, was more of a respectful and composed expression of his opinion, without any impatience or forcefulness. "To avoid any accidents, why don't we go back to the chairs?"

"It's okay if you don't want to—" I will definitely protect you.

Before Jian could finish his sentence, Yun Yi, realizing Jian had misunderstood, raised his hand with a hint of helplessness.

In an instant, the eight pitch-black polyhedrons with a strong presence in the corner of her eye suddenly moved together. When she looked over, they collided together, trailing a slight blue light, and transformed into a larger polyhedron.

The polyhedron suddenly trembled a few times, and the eight powerful auras emanating from it vanished instantly. Then, starting from the top, the polyhedron turned into light fragments and gradually dissipated in front of the mace.

Seeing this scene, Jian paused for a moment, swallowing back the words that were on the tip of his tongue. Yun Yi had actually annihilated those eight powerful figures in an instant...

From the moment they met, Jian knew that even if Yun Yi's physical body was fragile, his terrifying aura made him incredibly strong—stronger than she had ever imagined. But only after witnessing Yun Yi unleash his immense power did she gain a sense of certainty, a connection between the unreal and the real.

Yun Yi is truly strong.

While Jian was adjusting his mindset, Yun Yi closed his eyes and used his mind to make the most of the internal defensive items he had casually dealt with, collecting what should be collected and converting what should be converted into energy.

This fleeting thought, sweeping across the entire driving space, brought her to the attention of the prospective employees at the apartment she had forgotten about.

Fortunately, with the help of 001 and 002, the people in the apartment have returned to normal and seem to be doing quite well.

Relieved, Yun Yi withdrew her attention and opened her eyes to look at Jian, who was unusually lost in thought and not looking at her.

Yun Yi did not disturb the other party's thoughts, but turned to look at Chen Huijie, who was being interrogated in the external projection, with a cold and chilling expression.

Jian is right. No matter how troublesome or dangerous the enemy is, she should protect all her own people, including Chen Huijie.

This is the responsibility she should fulfill as a friend, leader, and initiator of the contract. She should not be troubled by whether she will die or not, but should be determined to protect everyone and start improving her strength from now on!

Swire is right. There's no need for the Imperial Guards to waste time interrogating Yun Yi, especially since interrogation is neither her forte nor her responsibility. Trying it rashly would only cause trouble and create more problems for everyone.