Arknights: The Life Inside-Chapter 74

The port is very quiet at night, and the sound of waves can be heard from afar.

Different from the beautiful coastline, the air here is filled with the smell of sea water, engine oil, and rust, and at the same time, there is an invisible sense of depression.

In this environment, the strange sound coming from behind was even more terrifying.

"Buckleknockda~yo!"

This voice seems to contain a strange magic power. Whether you are a master or a liver emperor, a rich man or a big boss, the moment you hear this voice, you will feel as uncomfortable as a ball of black mud on your face.

Hearing this voice, everyone was stunned.

Yoren felt that his hair was standing on end. As an African chief who had spent three times at 648 but still failed to draw a lamb, he already had an instinctive fear of this voice.

Under the dark passenger ship, Brother ACE quickly turned around and protected Snowsant and Ifrit behind him.

"Who!"

Ifrit stuck out half of her head and roared at the top of her lungs.

"What the hell, stop pretending like I am and come out."

"Hi~Hi."

Under everyone's nervous gaze, a short figure slowly walked out from the shadows.

Big ears, fluffy hair, thick short legs, and a pair of squinting eyes that seemed unable to bear to look at this cruel world.

After seeing this guy's appearance clearly, Yoren next to him covered his face.

Damn it, it's really her, the number one blind sniper in Rhodes Island three years later, the Demon King Kroos who is known as the devil that never fades away.

Kroos carried a short sword on her back and asked everyone with a signature smile on her face.

"Who are you? It's not time to board the ship yet."

"Who are you?"

Ifrit was just about to add, "Can you take care of it?"

Before the words were spoken, the Philin crew member who brought them into the port quickly took two steps forward and explained to Kroos in a panic.

"Ah, that's it. These people are our new crew members. This is their first day at sea. I took them on board in advance to familiarize themselves with the environment."

Kroos narrowed her eyes.

"Work ID."

"Well, today is the first time for some of them to go to work. The crew certificate has been issued, but they didn't have time to wrap it with plastic wrap. As you know, the sea is very rough and it will easily get wet and rotten without wrapping it. For safety reasons, this time I didn't bring them with me. Next time, next time I go to sea, I will definitely ask them to bring their crew certificates."

Yoren, who was next to him, was stunned for a moment. What kind of nonsense is this? Only a ghost would believe it.

But then again, why does this crew member need to explain this to Kroos?

Yoren took a closer look at Kroos's outfit. At this time, she was wearing a light green coat, a pair of short boots, and a symbolic hat between her two long ears.

Although her clothes seemed to match her, what Yoren paid attention to was not her clothes, but the badge embedded in the middle of the hat. If Yoren remembered correctly, it should be the national emblem of Colombia.

Until here, Yoren recalled one thing.

Kroos was born in Rembilo, but she later attended a training camp for the Colombian army. Before joining the regular army, she served in a Colombian security force.

Yoren's eyes suddenly changed when he looked at Kroos. Combining this information, he quickly thought that Kroos was now a military police officer!

Fate, wonderful beyond words.

After listening to the crew's words, Kroos nodded thoughtfully.

"Ah, so that's it. Then remember to bring your crew certificate with you next time."

Damn, she really believes it!

Kroos's current appearance is still slightly different from that in the vertical painting. Although she can be recognized at a glance, her face is more immature. In addition, she is short and looks about the same size as Snowsant.

Seeing her smiling face, Yoren felt that Kroos was actually quite cute even though she was silly.

Recalling his previous experiences, Kroos was the first operator he met when he came to the world of Terra. On the cold streets of Chernobog, she told him personally that this was the Ursus Empire.

Yoren took two steps forward, stood in front of Kroos, and smiled at her.

"Hi, Kroos, we meet again."

Kroos squinted her eyes and looked carefully.

"Who are you and why do you know my name?" ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

"I..."

Yoren felt very sad that this little guy had forgotten about him. If he had no hair yesterday, he would still be able to accept it, but his hair has grown out today, and there should be no change compared to that time.

Yoren put his face in front of her.

"It's me, have you forgotten?"

"I do not know you."

"Think about it carefully. We met in Chernobog two months ago, and Migru. You forgot that I was threatened by an evil woman with a hammer in that alley, and you still came to save me."

After hearing Yoren's words, Kroos fell into deep thought.

Yoren thought in his mind that it seemed Kroos's memory was not very good, but since it came to this, she would definitely be able to remember it. If she really forgot, there was nothing he could do about it. After all, he was in the eyes of others, not that important.

However, Kroos's next words stunned Yoren.

"Two months ago? I have never been to Chernobog."

The sound of waves came from far away from time to time.

"Dip~~~~~~"

A cargo ship started to leave the port and let out a long blast.

The Philin crew member looked at the time and then greeted everyone.

"Come on board, get you settled, I have other things to do."

ACE nodded to him, then pulled Yoren, who was stunned on the spot. He could tell that Yoren seemed to have met an acquaintance, but now was obviously not the time for small talk.

"Yoren, let's go."

"Wait a moment."

At this moment, Yoren's expression showed an unprecedented seriousness. He took two steps forward and held Kroos's shoulders with both hands, staring at her with narrowed eyes and asked.

"Kroos, I hope this is just a joke. You saw me in Chernobog two months ago. That's right."

Yoren grabbed her shoulders. Although Kroos's expression was still her signature smile, her voice was obviously no longer easy-going.

"Kroos never jokes with strangers. I have never met you. Not only have I not been to Chernobog two months ago, but I have never been to Ursus since I was a child."

Yoren's brows were twisted into goubuli buns.

"Kroos, do you have a twin sister?"

"No."

"Do you think there is someone in the world with the same name as you who looks exactly like you?"

"I don't think so."

"Can you sleepwalk?"

"No."

Looking at Kroos's serious face that was obviously not lying, Yoren felt a bone-chilling chill hit his heart from the back.

If his existence had changed the course of Terra's future, that was natural.

But the past—his own past—had changed, and that made no sense at all.

The surroundings were quiet, with only Kroos's voice echoing in the air.

"Not only had I not been to Chernobog two months ago, but I had not been to Ursus since I was a kid."

Yoren tightened his grip on Kroos in excitement.

"If you think about it again, you may have remembered it wrong."

"I remember correctly."

"It was just two months ago, Chernobog."

"I have not been to Chernobog."

Yoren still refused to give up.

"Kroos, it's me. Look at my face. You forgot that you called me from behind and thought I was asleep on the street like you. Don't you remember?"

"Let me go."

"Think about it again."

"I don't know you. One last warning. Let me go immediately, otherwise I will take you back to the guard station."

ACE immediately walked up to Yoren and pulled him back.

"Yoren, what's wrong with you? We had a good chat just now."

"I..."

Yoren didn't know how to answer. To outsiders, he really looked like a lunatic. As a smuggler, he was yelling at the military police and forcing others to know him.

However, Yoren didn't have time to think about those issues. He couldn't remember wrongly. When he first traveled to the world of Terra, he was 100% sure that he had met Kroos.

Snowsant grabbed the corner of Yoren's clothes somewhat helplessly.

"What's wrong with you, Dafengche?"

Yoren wanted to say something but couldn't. His clenched fists gradually loosened.

"Nothing."

He knew that no matter what he said, Snowsant would believe him unconditionally, but that still meant nothing.

He had met Kroos in Chernobog two months ago, but now Kroos said that she had never been to Ursus. The world was like a sophisticated machine, and a certain gear in the normal operation had suddenly changed—unable to connect correctly.

Yoren only felt that his brain was a little dazed. He knew that something must have gone wrong, but he could not figure out what.

At this time, a calling voice came from a distance.

"Kroos, what are you doing there?"

Yoren looked at the source of the sound and saw a short Kuranta girl moving towards Kroos. The girl was wearing the same military police uniform as Kroos and was carrying a slender short gun on her back.

If Yoren's guess was correct, this girl should be Fen, who was a member of the police force with Kroos.

Kroos also waved to Fen.

"I'm on patrol. Fen, is it time for your shift?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, let's go back together."

After saying that, Kroos walked in the direction of Fen. Before leaving, she turned back and said to Yoren and his party,

"Be careful next time and be sure to carry your crew ID with you. Goodbye, Kroos loves you."

Yoren stood there blankly, not stopping Kroos from leaving.

After Kroos left, the crew member who led them also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, the military police are gone. I'll take you to the boat."

Everyone nodded and followed him onto the boat.

After boarding the deck, Yoren turned around and glanced down. Kroos was jumping next to Fen, and the two were walking towards the exit of the port area together.

Standing on the deck, Yoren took a deep breath and began to control himself to calm down.

He needed to think from scratch.

To be honest, based on the current situation, this was not a discovery of great importance, and it did not affect Ifrit's escape plan.

But Yoren had a hunch that, to some extent, this seemed to be a major event involving a deeper level of the world, or it might have something to do with the reason for his time travel.

Kroos didn't remember him, and according to her, she had never been to Ursus in her life, let alone Chernobog.

Yoren analyzed it carefully and found several possibilities.

The first possibility was that the problem lay with Kroos. First of all, he did not think there were two Kroos in the world because he remembered that Kroos in Qicheng clearly showed her identity and was with Migru, which meant that they had a relationship with the Colombian Guard.

And the Kroos and Fen he saw together today were, of course, members of the Colombian Guard. Kroos also stated that she had no sisters, so he temporarily concluded that there was only one Kroos in the world.

So, this situation may occur because Kroos had lost her memory. For example, she was in a car accident and her brain was traumatized, resulting in partial memory loss and confusion.

However, Yoren himself did not believe this possibility.

The second possibility was that Kroos was pretending to be stupid. She had been to Chernobog and had seen him but lied that she had not been there.

Yoren couldn't think of a reason why Kroos would lie. If Kroos hadn't just decided to lie when she saw him today, it would prove that she had planned it long ago. In other words, when he met her in Qicheng, she already knew who he was.

Then here came the problem. For all the creatures in this world, it was impossible for anyone to know his identity because he was a person who did not belong to this world. Not to mention Kroos—even the Great Demon King Piccolo would not know this kid. Why had he come? Even he himself didn't know what he wanted to do.

Recalling the details of Kroos's contact with him in Qicheng, everything had been so natural and there was no abnormal behavior. It was obvious that Kroos did not know him at that time.

So if the above two possibilities were eliminated and Kroos had neither amnesia nor was pretending to be stupid, then there was only the third possibility.

The problem was with himself.

Had he remembered it wrong?

Had he been driven insane by a series of unexpected situations?

After careful consideration, according to the butterfly effect, if he had not met Kroos, it seemed that things would not have had any qualitative change. Regardless of whether Kroos appeared or not, he would have known that Chernobog was there. Even if Kroos didn't come to save him in that alley, Vina wouldn't have killed him either.

But his intuition told him that things were not that simple.

He stretched out his palm and shook it gently.

Yoren knew very well whether he was awake or not. He could never remember it wrong. If he was asked why he was so sure, it was because from the moment he saw Kroos's face, he knew that he had definitely seen her before—not as a game character or a three-dimensional painting, but as a real, living Kroos.

He was 100% sure that he had really seen the real Kroos in the real world of Terra.

Kroos did not lose her memory, nor did she lie, and he himself did not remember wrongly. He had really met Kroos.

Yes, there was no problem with each of these conditions, but when added together, it became an extremely huge contradiction.

Suddenly, a terrible thought came to mind.

Standing on the deck and looking at the moonlight reflected on the sea, Yoren actually doubted his own existence at this moment.

Was this world really the one he saw when he first traveled through it?

And was he really still the same Yoren as before?