After finishing the equipment requested by Sandrone, Jester also apologized to her. Why?
……
"Pierro, I could make it, so please apologize to Sandrone as well. After all, this counts as a kind of contract, and you wouldn't want to suffer the punishment of the Rock, would you?" (This should probably count as a joke.)
Pierro: ……
……
At this moment, Dottore was still working tirelessly to manufacture brand-new elemental equipment.
I wonder how the Abyss would react if it saw a tank?
——————At the Border with the Abyss——————
"Finish checking this area quickly so we can regroup," a Fatui sergeant shouted.
"Yes!" ×5
Unbeknownst to them, rows of Abyss monsters were staring at them intently.
"Wait."
"What is it, Captain?"
"Something is wrong with this area." With that, he pulled a detector from his coat.
(When the military factory was manufacturing equipment earlier, a new blueprint had been produced, but its endurance was poor, so it was used to survey the surrounding situation.)
He opened the detector and froze instantly. "Come over here quickly!!!" Several subordinates rushed to his side in a flash. One-time teleportation device, activate!
In an instant, the Fatui squad vanished from the spot.
—————Fatui Frontline Base—————
"Hurry! Use the teleportation equipment immediately! Target: Snezhnaya City!"
A Fatui soldier charged straight through the portal, arrived in Snezhnaya City, and anxiously searched for Capitano.
Seeing the portal close, the others shouted, "Everyone else, prepare for battle!"
"Yes" ×N
At that moment, Capitano had just received the report and wanted to use the teleportation device to head over, but found it inoperable. He immediately set off for the frontlines to stabilize the situation, while instructing the soldier to relay the news to Jester.
Just as he finished delivering the blueprints to the military factory and prepared to get back to farming, Dottore was hauled off straight to Snezhnaya Palace.
By this time, all the Fatui Harbingers except Capitano had gathered.
Sandrone: "Thank you for helping me improve my laboratory, Dottore. By the way, do you have any more of those candies you gave to Columbina?"
Dottore: ……
Pierro: "Alright, you can discuss these trivial matters yourselves after this issue is resolved. Right now, what we need to discuss is how to deal with the invasion of the Abyss."
In the end, those dispatched for reinforcement were:
Second Harbinger — Dottore
Fourth Harbinger — Arlecchino
Seventh Harbinger — Sandrone
Eighth Harbinger — Signora
With the Fifth Harbinger — Pulcinella securing logistics.
"Why are you following us?" Signora asked Sandrone after leaving Snezhnaya Palace.
"Just tagging along to see if the Fatui actually have the capability to resolve this crisis."
Dottore pressed a switch, and the Harbingers felt a gust of wind.
The Titan Monitor — Synthesizer appeared, squatting down to place its hand on the ground.
Dottore stepped up first, and the rest of the Harbingers pushed away their looks of shock and followed him onto the Titan's hand.
Once the Harbingers were standing steady, the thrusters on the Synthesizer's back deployed, and it began to fly at high speed. To accommodate Sandrone, the Synthesizer generated a small elemental shield over its hand.
The moment Dottore transmitted their destination, he felt someone grab his clothes.
Sandrone was just about to speak when Dottore cut her off: "The blueprints are in the basement of my laboratory. If you want them, go get them yourself after this matter is settled." Sandrone simply changed her question: "Do you have any more of that candy?"
Dottore (silently): "I am a researcher, not a pastry chef. I don't make candy."
"Then how do you farm?"
"That's talent."
"Then you must have a talent for making desserts as well."
Dottore: I'm exhausted, just let the world end.
…………
Meanwhile, at the battleground against the Abyss monsters, Capitano had already arrived and begun clearing them out, easing the pressure.
Although the Fatui troops were equipped with the gear developed by Dottore, most of them still sustained heavy injuries, though emergency life-stabilizing devices ensured they kept their lives even from fatal wounds.
…………
Dottore now wished he could beat up his past self from a few days ago. Why did he have to meddle in that business for no reason? Why was Pierro's mess his to clean up?
Resisting the intense urge to beat Sandrone up, he finally reached the battle zone.
Saved at last.
He flew straight ahead to shake off Sandrone's pestering. After setting the group down, the Synthesizer joined the battle as well.
Dottore condensed a scythe in mid-air (he personally felt it looked cooler that way) and helped Capitano clear out the monsters.
"Let's wrap this up quickly, Capitano."
"Mm."
By then, the Synthesizer had also reached the battlefield, and the number of monsters plummeted rapidly. Once the very last one was dealt with:
"Is this the project you mentioned yesterday?" Capitano asked, looking somewhat moved by the Synthesizer's massive mechanical body.
"That's right. I've decided to lend the Synthesizer to you. With this, the pressure of fighting the Abyss will be reduced significantly." (PS: The Titan Monitor — Synthesizer had already agreed.)
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me, thank him." He pointed at the Synthesizer.
"Thank you, Synthesizer."
The Synthesizer gave a thumbs-up in response.
At that moment, Signora walked over. "The wounded have already returned to Snezhnaya City through the teleportation device, and Pulcinella's troops will be coming to assist."
After Capitano expressed his gratitude to Signora, he said, "I'd like you all to stay here with me for a few days. The Abyss's offensive certainly won't stop at just this."
All four Harbingers indicated they had no objections.
…………
Right now, Dottore was holding a ladle and preparing a rich broth at the Fatui logistics station.
After all, staying in the freezing cold for so long would make even someone with God-level combat strength feel the chill.
The beast-meat soup was finished. He scooped a bowl of rice from the side and said, "Time to eat!"
…………
"What are you lot doing here?"
Dottore looked at the four Harbingers with a face full of dark veins. (If your meal was interrupted right in the middle, what would you do?)
(Author: Guess which poor Harbinger didn't get a share?)
"We smelled the food and came over."
Capitano and Columbina were fine, but Sandrone — what is going on with all that drool in your mouth?!
Dottore: My friends, who understands this? I'm having a nice meal and four people show up to snatch my food.
Looking at the bottom of the pot, Dottore shattered a little inside.
Yet he still didn't know this was only the beginning of his nightmare.
Over the next few days in camp, to prevent another invasion, every time Dottore cooked, Capitano, Columbina, Sandrone, and Signora all came over for a free meal.
And every time they finished eating, they kept asking when he was going to become a chef!
Sandrone was even worse, asking when he would become a chef and adding that he should double as a pastry chef too!
"I'll say it again! I am a sci-en-tist, not a cook!"
Yet that only earned him a few knowing looks that said everything without words.
Dottore: …… (too exhausted to complain)
……………………………………………