Arknights: I became an NPC in the online game

Felix could handle most of the work on his own, and having a young girl assisting him hadn't slowed him down in the slightest. After briefly introducing her to the names of some equipment, Felix suddenly tapped his head.

"By the way, I haven't asked your name yet."

"My name…"

The black-haired girl opened her mouth but then paused, shaking her head. "Brother Pioneer, is 'Pioneer' a codename?"

"It is."

"Then I'll have to come up with one too," she said with a smile. "Once I have a codename, I can work with Brother Pioneer using codenames."

Felix sensed a hint of childish innocence in her words. In that regard, she was still very much a young girl. But at times, her seriousness and quiet determination reminded him of Degenbrecher. He could still clearly recall the day she stood in front of her mother, risking everything.

To both the girl and Felix, they were little more than passing acquaintances, yet this idea of calling each other by codenames in private created a special kind of silent understanding—one that quietly drew them closer.

From this moment, it was clear that the black-haired girl had a few little schemes of her own. But given her age and the way she expressed herself, she seemed more clever and endearing than anything else.

Felix didn't say much. He hadn't expected her to be of any real help from the start. But to his surprise, she turned out to be a fast learner with a sharp eye. She was more than capable of being a reliable assistant.

He had already considered bringing more production-oriented Terrans onto his team. After all, he was the only one doing the heavy lifting. As the number of players inevitably grew, so would the demand for equipment. He couldn't possibly manage the load alone—not even if he locked himself in a small, dark room for days on end.

The girl's performance gave him a new idea. Perhaps it really was worth considering the recruitment of younger people like Snowsant. He wasn't even twenty yet, but already found himself thinking like a veteran. As for the black-haired girl, Felix had no intention of taking her under his wing permanently. She had a family in Oak Grove County. Her mother was still recovering from her injuries. He couldn't possibly take her away at a time like this—and she likely wouldn't want to go.

Maybe the only real favor he had done was standing up for her and her mother, speaking a few words on their behalf. That had helped. Of course, it didn't hurt that she had such a charming face either.

"Brother Pioneer! I've decided on my codename!"

After the factory shift ended, the black-haired girl didn't run off laughing like the other child workers, nor did she trudge home with a weary sigh like the Taran workers. Instead, she waited quietly outside while Felix packed up his things.

"Oh? What is it?"

"Mandragora."

She lifted the corners of her lips in a proud smile. "At first, I wanted to pick something similar to Brother Pioneer. But after thinking it through, I figured it'd be better to choose something that reflects who I am."

Felix was taken aback. The name Mandragora sounded oddly familiar.

In my previous life, during the main storyline mission for Victoria and Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals… wasn't there a senior executive among the enemies named Mandragora? Is this just a coincidence—or are they the same person?

In his previous life, Felix had never seen Mandragora in person, but he had seen photos of her uploaded by players on the forums. He remembered the cat-eared girl in those pictures—black hair, golden eyes, and an arrogant, twisted, contemptuous smile. That face now slowly overlapped with the innocent smile she wore in front of him.

No one is born a villain. Felix firmly believed this. A person's path diverges based on the circumstances of their upbringing. That alone can shape a vastly different future.

Why had Mandragora turned out the way she did?

It wasn't hard to imagine. In a world without someone like Felix, her mother would likely have been left ill, disabled, or even dead. The family's only source of income would fall entirely on her father. Considering the Victorians' oppression of the Tara people, it was hardly surprising that Mandragora would become what she did.

The reasons behind her transformation were unclear. But what Felix did know was that if her current life continued on the same trajectory, she would very likely become the same person she had been in his previous life.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Brother Pioneer? You look a little strange."

Children often sense who truly means them well. Mandragora, feeling no ill will from Felix, took a few curious steps forward, studying his expression.

"Nothing. Just thinking," Felix replied, gently rubbing her head.

Mandragora closed her eyes slightly, savoring the warmth of his hand. A contented, dreamy smile appeared on her face.

"Brother Pioneer talks just like Mother."

"Yeah."

Felix smiled and pulled a few Victoria gold coins from his pocket, handing them to her. "Here's your pay for today. Get yourself something to eat on the way home."

"Okay! Thank you, Brother Pioneer!"

At the door, Mandragora turned and waved cheerfully. Her clothes were still worn, and her face smudged with dirt, but her smile shone brightly at Felix. "See you tomorrow, Brother Pioneer!"

She had already come to see him as her only "brother." In her harsh, miserable life, he had appeared like a sudden burst of golden light… and she couldn't help but want to follow him.

If only Brother Pioneer were truly my older brother…

The thought drifted through Mandragora's mind, and then she shook her head. No—if Brother Pioneer were a Taran, he'd be oppressed too. And she didn't want that for him.

Felix sat in his chair and sighed, then stood and walked into the setting sun. His feelings toward the girl were complicated.

He knew well the crimes Mandragora had committed in his previous life. Player-collected reports had documented them clearly, in black and white—every detail etched into his memory.

Her evil wasn't the grand kind, nor was it trivial. To put it simply, her evil was grounded—painfully real and close to everyday life.

There were many memorable villains in Ark, like Andoain. Even as a villain, Andoain had ideals—lofty goals that shaped his evil. He was a martyr, someone who accepted his own darkness.

And Mandragora's evil…

When she had no power, she would complain endlessly. But once she gained power, she made life difficult for others—even conducting violent dormitory inspections after joining the student union.

When there were no opportunities, she shouted slogans like "power devours people" and "capital exploits the weak." But when opportunity finally came her way, she wouldn't hesitate to burn, kill, and loot.

When she was the one being bullied, she screamed louder than anyone. Yet toward colleagues with weaker personalities, she was scathing, sarcastic, and cruel.

Her evil wasn't grand. But it was more irritating than most.

In truth, this was what one called the banality of evil.

Players had once investigated Mandragora's backstory. They compiled fragmented records from Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals and pieced together a speculative profile and NPC interpretation—after all, though she was a villain, she was still a beautiful cat girl. Those who understood, understood.

It was believed she had grown up in poverty, lacking love. She likely hadn't experienced any grand tragedy, no shattering loss, nor had she been twisted by manipulative leadership.

She was simply unremarkable. So much so that people didn't even bother to judge her as good or bad—because she wasn't worth the effort. Cynical by nature, sharp-tongued, she masked her deep-seated inferiority and sensitivity with a shell of verbal thorns. She despised the powerful and envied them. Her admiration for strength was always tangled with contempt. And she had never made an effort to distinguish between the two—perhaps she wasn't even aware of it. Nor did she want to be.

Then, one day, someone pulled her out of the mire.

The world around her remained just as twisted. There was nothing in her environment to guide her toward kindness. But now she had power.

She had no talent. She wasn't especially capable, wasn't particularly good. She lacked ideals. She was easily swayed… Mediocrity defined her—and in that mediocrity lay the seed of her evil.

Especially once she gained power, no one taught her how to restrain it. And she never thought to restrain herself.

There are very few people at the bottom of society who don't end up bullying those even lower than themselves. Even when she no longer belonged to the bottom, she clung to that behavior. She took pride in verbal superiority. Crushing others with her words gave her a false sense of victory. Anyone who didn't talk back was weak—and therefore deserved her ridicule. She treated them with condescension.

She was so deeply mediocre that she refused to acknowledge it. Whether actively or passively, she never recognized her double standards, her cruelty, her blind conformity, or her own incompetence.

Her childhood must have been filled with mundane misery—no companionship, no redemption. Her life was like a shadowy current in a sewer, too insignificant to be worth describing.

She was a villain. But just an ordinary one. The kind of villain no one liked. The kind of villain people hated. She wasn't evil enough for players to be consumed with rage and wish her erased, nor was she so evil that players could at least respect her as a formidable foe.

Now, however, Mandragora was still young—still struggling against the odds of life. She hadn't yet become that person.

Felix found himself in a dilemma.

In this world, even in Yan, there is a saying: people are born good...

What if he intervened? What if he guided Mandragora toward the right path? Could she become a truly charming, upright character?

Because he had no intention of using Mandragora from the beginning—he didn't even want to talk about PUA tactics. Before learning her codename was Mandragora, Felix had only felt sympathy for this poor girl. But now, after hearing that name, he fell into deep thought.

He had already changed the plot significantly. Degenbrecher had become a companion. Senomi "Gravel" was in the process of being trained as a maid-secretary. He had even become a shareholder of Rhine Lab. So why couldn't he also guide Mandragora—who was a villain in his past life—toward a better path?

The fact that Mandragora became the person she once was had everything to do with her upbringing and the environment in which she grew. She had joined a so-called villain organization, and the education she received shaped her acquired personality.

Wasn't it enough if Felix could now provide her with a healthy environment in which to grow?

Felix believed it was worth trying. Since he had traveled through time, then as a pioneer, he could change the trajectories of those who had once been burdened by regret. Let them live differently in this life.

In fact, he had already started doing so.

---

Degenbrecher had noticed that Felix's mood today was much better than in the past few days. She didn't say anything—just quietly stayed by his side. In a way, Degenbrecher's role in their little group was to hold Felix back when he got too reckless. She really did carry the aura of a big sister.

"How's your training been lately? Wow, these muscles are starting to take shape."

Felix pulled the somewhat shy Senomi over and began to touch her—ahem, her arm. To be honest, he didn't know much about martial arts, and the muscles on his own body weren't a result of hard training. They came from leveling up Deep Blue and hammering iron. According to the fitness gurus from his previous life, his body was just a shell full of dead flesh.

Degenbrecher nodded. "Senomi's appetite has grown lately. Her body needs to stabilize during this development phase."

"She's not suited to my style," Degenbrecher added. "I'll determine her combat specialization based on her eventual height and flexibility, but right now, Senomi's body is very limber. That makes her highly suitable for the path of an agile knight."

"You mean like Light Kinght?" Felix asked.

Degenbrecher was silent for a moment. "The Light Knight's style is too flashy, too superficial. Their movements may look elegant, but they can only deceive novice knights with little combat experience. Even if someone like the Green Flow Knight took the field, the Light Knight wouldn't stand a chance."

Hearing that, Felix suddenly remembered something. "That thing you said during your duel with the Green Flow Knight…"

Degenbrecher lowered her gaze. A flicker of emotion stirred within her soft golden eyes.

"She was begging me to end the fight quickly—so her conscience wouldn't suffer."

Degenbrecher looked at Felix. Her lips curled into a faint, sarcastic smile. "Before the match, the Chamber of Commerce used her family to threaten her. Green Flow Kinght never expected her parents—who lived far away in the countryside—would be brought to the match just to watch her fight."

"…"

Felix sighed.

"The 22nd Kazimierz Knight Tournament is still two years away. Who knows what kind of chaos will unfold by then." Degenbrecher shook his head. "The knight tournament is a giant melting pot. Once you're inside, it's hard to stay pure."

"Two years from now, huh?"

Felix grinned. He recalled that in two years, the daughter of the Nearl family would come of age.

From the later archives, he had learned that Margaret, the eldest daughter of the Nearl family, had won the championship at the 22nd Knight Tournament. But the aftermath was messy—the Commercial Federation stirred up all kinds of trouble, ultimately forcing Margaret to leave the Grand Knight Territory and, after many twists and turns, take refuge at Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals.

After dinner, Degenbrecher took Senomi by the hand, ready to leave with her. But the pink-haired Zalak girl suddenly turned her head back.

"Master… Master."

"What is it, Senomi?"

No matter how many times he heard that little sweetheart call him 'Master,' Felix always felt a surge of warmth. Was this the joy of nurturing?

"Um… can I go to the factory and help you tomorrow, if I have time?"

Senomi was a little nervous. This was the first time she'd ever made a request. "I… I want to be of help to Master as soon as possible."

Felix gently rubbed her head and smiled. "Sure."

The next day.

Mandragora arrived at the factory in high spirits. She knocked lightly on the Pioneer Brother's door and pushed it open—only to see a girl about the same age standing inside.

The girl wore a timid, gentle smile. Her long pink hair looked soft and glossy, and the way she gazed at the Pioneer Brother was full of admiration.

Mandragora's smile slowly faded.