Chapter 1376: NO.280: There's a situation! The water temperature is absolutely wrong!

NO. 280: There's a situation! The water temperature is absolutely wrong!

Tear of Yishamala

The concrete embodiment of Yishamala's exploration and struggle essence.

——Arknights SY7 item text.

'Captain, may I ask you a question? How do you view me and Sikadi?'

'……'

'Regarding… "I am Sikadi or Yishamala" this issue, the Second Captain and Shayu now hold completely different views; I want to ask how you see it.'

'Every hunter is our kin; when everyone's internal structure is no different from that of the Faction, only the self determines identity—you think that way, then this body, that consciousness, that she is undoubtedly Sikadi, right?'

'What exactly do you want to ask? Do you care about our feelings?'

'In my memory, you never worry about how many problems students have; you always answer them one by one.'

'You are not my student… so I demand you answer my question first.'

'I want to ask…… I keep thinking, I keep thinking, is Aomo's unwillingness to accept me the same as your worries?'

'……'

'Is this problem difficult?'

'No, this problem is not difficult.'

'Then why…'

'Just watching you ponder this makes me feel nauseated; I think everyone feels the same.'

'……Sorry.'

'Your hesitation is not because of the death of a compatriot, but because you're thinking about whether you should say this.'

'Yes.'

'As an Initial, we all look like this; the entire Faction still has a long way to go before reaching humanity.'

'Is this your answer… Thank you.'

'Do you think this is the answer to your question?'

'I don't think so, but I know my existence causes you great pain; Sikadi is urging me to leave.'

'Then go bother the Ghost Shark, then go find Gele diya?'

'I must obtain an answer.'

'Stop bothering them; I will answer your question without bias.'

'Really?'

'I won't waste words; first, give up your urgency regarding kin.'

'Kin……'

'Although it's true that many choose to become Faction members, that doesn't represent everyone; although my chances to talk with Aomo Lindun are few, I firmly believe he does not want to become Faction.'

'But if he is unwilling to become kin, how can I keep him by my side?'

'In Terra, on that land likewise called Terra, she once gazed anxiously into the distance at the temporary settlement marked out for the Faction.'

'There, countless kin residing above the Mist Stain were asleep.'

'They evolved under Yishamala's guidance, able to adapt to terrestrial life and even venture toward the skies, but before reaching the altered rings of Sami, they had to trek long distances conserving nutrients, and under the guise of escort but actually vigilance of the Deep Sea Hunters, they traveled along the routes planned after human seminars.'

'The Faction had no objection to this, after all, whether it be individuals permitted to possess personhood or those lower units lacking personhood and intellect, all must obey the Initial's orders.'

'And the Initial's orders have always centered on the survival and expansion of the group.'

'As long as this is achieved, individual losses and deaths are trivial; this indifferent, unfeeling sensation that never even raises anger is precisely why many humans find it repulsive and even horrifying.'

'Even if Yishamala spent over two months fully integrating the Faction, becoming the sole supreme Initial, gaining the ability to bind the entire group, humanity's evaluation of it would not change.'

'Yishamala originally didn't care about human attitudes, but that similar appearance constantly reminded Her of the individual who gave Her all help yet continually resisted Her own life.'

'Aomo Lindun, is his reason for resisting the same as these humans?'

'How should I keep him by my side? How can I make him a member of the group, my family, just like that self?'

'She does not understand.'

'Sikadi's captain, that aloof man rumored among some Deep Sea Hunters to be especially versed in art and romance, merely answered her question without offering corresponding guidance.'

'Rather than saying Uerbian is extremely aloof, it's more that the guidance itself is meaningless.'

'Because even if Yishamala is the source of the Faction and holds the highest authority, She should not be able to escape the Faction's unique way of thinking, and within the Faction's mindset, abandoning kin is impossible.'

'Unable to be incorporated into Gestalt thinking, unable to truly become a part of the Faction, thus unable to truly be considered kin; in the Faction's underlying logic of survival and expansion, one cannot judge having stabbed through, violating the Faction's original developmental intent.'

'Yishamala's demand should also stall here, but evidently, the difference between Yishamala and the other few born greatest lies in that Her predecessor used Herself as nourishment, fully supplying a Deep Sea Hunter—at that moment, the name Yishamala completed its succession.'

'The result of that Deep Sea Hunter's memory and personality being completely preserved is that it gained a completely new cognition and vision.'

'However, surveying the entire Deep Sea Hunter population, you would also find it hard to pick a second individual capable of matching Sikadi's straightforward thought loop.'

'This straightforwardness brought resolve, making Yishamala's self-awareness remain unclear for a long time.'

'But when Yishamala's self is awakened, this simple mindset indistinguishable from the Faction's style instead lets the two personalities subtly influence each other; the fully shared memory also aggravates the "condition," gradually making it unclear who is possessing whom.'

'Not mentioning how this change affected Sikadi's interpersonal relationships, Yishamala instead, through Sikadi's memories of terrestrial culture, found a way to dare to defy the underlying mindset.'

'Mating and reproduction, forming family ties through blood bonds, is the most common concept of kinship among terrestrial organisms.'

'This appears as an extremely low-efficiency breeding method to the Faction, yet to countless Faction members possessing personhood and terrestrial knowledge, it is highly feasible, deemed unanimously approved—although the truly effective vote still lies in Yishamala's hand, this need not be mentioned.'

'Thus a decision that defies ancestors but is made by the ancestors themselves, so it's fine, was passed; although there had been plans then, and Shayu was occasionally coaxed into offering ideas for the Ghost Shark, there was at least a gradual arrangement.'

'But……'

'After more than ten days of waiting, those arrangements' traces only grew fainter, only making the silver‑haired, red‑eyed girl's urgency increasingly unbearable.'

'From the day of awakening, He waited; even after being resisted, He continued waiting; He who had waited too long finally lost patience under the nerve‑paralyzing liquid brewed by surface dwellers.'

'It is worth noting that the wines at this banquet are of many varieties.'

Considering everyone comes from all corners of the world, even from various other worlds, the containers on this table are not only the liquor jars personally brewed by Shu, with an antiquated packaging style, but also various local liquors produced by the Federation, among which there are plenty of famous liquors prepared specifically to get certain special individuals drunk.

This then gave rise to the following extraordinarily peculiar sight—

The Faction, which had once used neurotoxin to make countless land-dwellers and Aoguer people suffer terribly and loathe intensely, had its nerves paralyzed and its thinking dulled by the 'neurotoxin' brewed by the locals.

Forgot the front, forgot the back—just express your demand!

Although claimed to be an attack in the manner of land-dwellers, it was actually a passionate confession blending Faction and Sikadi styles, and thanks to Isamara's habit prevailing, the opening was still relatively restrained.

If Sikadi were holding the controller, it might well be an expression pack of 'I want to left‑ai with you,' even restoring seventy percent of a steadfast gaze.

But even Isamara‑style deep affection and restraint could likewise provoke the stare of Xin Tiaoxian, who, though expected, would still glare in pure, unadulterated character.

"Ha! What is this woman saying? Quickly get off the little snake! Little snake, you still haven't chased her away!"

"... How much did she drink?" The relatively calm Aomo did not react dramatically as his girlfriend said, nor did he reply to her words, because he had already smelled that alcohol capable of masking any scent the moment she approached.

"What are you going to argue with a drunkard about?" Out of consideration for his girlfriend's face, he didn't speak that way; instead, he freed a hand from her embrace, picked up the wine glass she had placed aside, and gave it a sniff.

"Blood‑mixing leaf, ghost‑killing grass, imperial god rice refined…" The experience of illegally working part‑time at a bar gave him this connoisseur‑like ability to discern ingredients, and also gave him this moment's unusually subtle expression: "This is a specially prepared liquor for those ghosts; does anyone else among you have prepared this?"

"That Nian fellow wants to see if he can get drunk," Xi said from afar, "He bought several bottles!"

You see, this is why I've never put high‑energy food on the table…… Aomo called out to Ling not far away: "Come pull her up."

Isamara was holding on so tight that Xian, who was trying to pull, couldn't budge her; although Aomo was confident he could break free, using brute force against her was inadvisable—it could easily injure someone, possibly destroy clothing, and might even cause accidental bodily contact.

"Well~ her alcohol tolerance is far worse than I imagined." Ling approached; that ability called Carefree, which not only looks vague but whose actual use is baffling, and she hasn't seemed to do much—just watch her easily pull the sea‑dwelling koala from Aomo's body.

There was hardly any sign of exertion, and even their collars remained hardly messed up.

"I thought the deep‑sea hunter's perfect physique would also be impressive when drinking."

"That doesn't mean they live in liquor, does it?" Aomo replied speechlessly, gently hugging Xian, patting her back, comforting this girlfriend who had 'lost all face,' yet he couldn't help glancing at the expressionless Qielienina.

Compared to Xian's slight restraint, far from reaching a flushed state, let alone a broken‑defense reaction, his girlfriend's quietness unsettled him all the more, especially since she had just slightly avoided his gaze.

This is backwards!

This situation shouldn't be that the male side's heart races nonstop from being stimulated by the opponent's fully pressed‑against voluptuous body and whispered confession of love, while facing the girlfriend's gaze he feels ashamed and avoids it, unable to meet her eyes at all.

How come putting it here instead made me tense up, while she didn't?

Upon thinking this, a strange conclusion rose in his mind, letting him continue to lightly pat Xian's back while glancing at the backs of Ling and Isamara walking toward the guest rooms, then looking toward the two empty tables where Bicuikes and Huoerhaiya stood.

Even the girls at the other two tables.

Everyone also had various styles of alcohol containers in front of them.

And those glances that all seemed somewhat off.

He thought, he ought to give his afternoon self a slap.

Running away is just human nature!

Running off now is nothing wrong!