Arknights: Reunion's Conqueror Of The North

You get a rifle! And you get a rifle!

Chapter 6:

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{Before Blitz left to fetch the rest of his men, he detailed the appearance, the address, and location of his apartment building to Varus. Varus knows what to do, and while reluctant, he accepted this mission he was given}

After Blitz left, Mr. Zhabid—out of the kindness of his heart, and because he owes Blitz a lot of favors—called in more of his traders and merchants, and ordered them to set up shop in the town because he guessed Blitz would settle into the town.

They would arrive post-haste, but it's guaranteed they'll arrive in a few hours or so.

Detaching the trailer so Blitz would have something to stand on to address his troop in an elevated position, Mr. Zhabid gave a spot for Varus in his merchandise truck, and after recalling the caravan guards, they were off. Back to whatever trader ship, Mr. Zhabid used to get here.

~~~

Inside the food truck was a bit cramped. With wares and merchandise that Varus may find interest in. Especially these feather earrings that Mr. Zhabid said 'Totally did not take from a liberi.' Varus traded his obsolete staff for the earrings, to which Mr. Zhabid claimed he was giving out too much.

Varus replies, "My arts are...pretty much unreliable. I'm as useful as a toaster oven, so, me being a caster is not preferable."

Mr. Zhabid sympathizes with this otherwise low-self-esteemed liberi, so he proposes something that might help Varus. He gives him a book on fire bending, to which Varus was dumbstruck when handed.

"Fire arts is the simplest and deadliest of arts," Mr. Zhabid says, "One such customer traded for a few weeks worth of food for a book detailing how to use your arts better, and this lab coat that I gave to my second grandson as a gift. He said he made it himself, but I think he took it off some explorer or something."

"Weird," he added, "He must've been a wanderlustful explorer if he gathered so much information that is as heavy as a crappy romance novel. It also has this...thing about smashing an axe into the ground to make magma spew out. I think at that point, he must've eaten bad shrooms. Well, we all make mistakes. Am I right?"

Before Varus could speak, Mr. Zhabid returns to tending to his wares. Varus holds onto the journal of sorts, as he waits for them to arrive at their location.

~~~

Out the open window of the truck are more merchant trucks zooming past. They must be the traders that will settle on the town for the sake of Blitz. Confused at the many automobiles Mr. Zhabid has, Varus asked why.

"Well," he said, "So much scrap metal from cities that were abandoned to switch to safer city ships, that I cannot let them rot away. One man's trash...is another man's treasure, is it not?"

Varus wasn't willing to suspend his disbelief on that, until he added, "Of course, other city ships also have cars. There's just not much. I buy; I reverse engineer; I sell, and profit." To which Varus concedes his suspicions.

~~~

Skipping the details of entering the lower levels of a trader ship, going up to surface level, and the ship itself setting course for Lungmen, Varus was given a disguise to aid him on this journey.