Arknights: I became an NPC in the online game

"Brother Pioneer, let me get the tools for you."

"Master... here's some water."

"Brother Pioneer, I'll move the materials for you."

"Master, do you need a back massage?"

"Why... why do you call Pioneer Brother Master?"

Mandragora stood with her hands on her hips, visibly upset. Even as someone from the bottom of society, she still understood basic decorum. She glared fiercely at Senomi. The girl's face looked fresh and delicate after being washed, with a faint blush tinting her cheeks. Her brows furrowed in displeasure.

"How... how can you be so shameless?"

Senomi's cheeks turned slightly red. She realized Mandragora had misunderstood her intentions. Glancing briefly at Felix—who was working nearby with a mask on—she snorted softly.

"Master is Master. You're the one who's misunderstanding."

"You!"

Mandragora stormed forward, her temper rising. When had the Pioneer Brother picked up such a shameless girl? Reaching out, she tried to grab Senomi, intending to lift her up and demand an explanation.

But Senomi reacted quickly. With a swift backhand, she seized Mandragora's wrist, twisted her body, and threw Mandragora to the ground with surprising force.

"Ah...!"

Senomi stood frozen, startled by what she had done. Her training with Degenbrecher had always felt more like physical conditioning than real combat. She hadn't expected that the simple grappling techniques Degenbrecher taught her in passing could be so effective. She was momentarily shocked by the result.

Mandragora landed hard on her backside. Stunned and aggrieved, the little girl burst into tears.

Senomi panicked. She didn't know how to handle this. Before being sold into slavery, she'd had a family. She remembered clearly that hitting others was wrong—only bad kids hit people. And she didn't want to be a bad kid. She didn't want Master to see her that way.

"Waaah! Waaah!" Mandragora cried, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

Felix lifted his mask, revealing a smile as he watched the scene unfold. Senomi stood helplessly, head lowered, fingers nervously clutching the hem of her clothes. Mandragora sobbed on the floor, full of both pain and injustice.

He was quite entertained, watching how the two little girls interacted on their first meeting.

Mandragora had clearly grown jealous seeing how close Senomi was to him. From her perspective, this reaction was completely understandable. She wasn't educated, nor did she know how to observe from the shadows. She wasn't the scheming type. When she was upset, she acted. Pure shame and frustration drove her to try and "take back" her Pioneer Brother.

This was typical of those from the lower rungs of society. They didn't fear consequences. If something couldn't be accepted peacefully, it was handled with fists.

But Mandragora hadn't expected Senomi to be such a formidable opponent.

Senomi had a very good teacher. Watching that clean, practiced throw, Felix realized: in close combat, without armor or gear, he might not be able to beat this little girl.

This crying was, of course, full of sorrow—but also carried a hint of calculation. Mandragora was likely trying to use her tears to draw his attention, to test Senomi's place in his heart... Honestly, it wasn't surprising. Mandragora was far more mature than most girls her age. For a little girl to play a few tricks? That was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Alright, that's enough crying." Felix reached out and gently patted Mandragora's head. "Did you get hurt from the fall just now?"

Mandragora sniffled and mumbled softly, "...Can you rub it for me?"

…?

A question mark popped up in Felix's mind. Mandragora, what are you even saying? If I were a player in a game right now, I'd probably be forcefully logged out.

This little girl was too young to be acting like this, already learning all the wrong things. No sense of martial ethics! Cheating, scheming... He was only seventeen—was this really okay? Absolutely not.

He silently advised the young lady to reflect on her actions. Don't use clever tricks for the wrong reasons. Harmony should be the principle of small groups. Don't fight among yourselves.

Felix narrowed his eyes slightly, and Mandragora quickly shook her head. "It just hurts a little from the fall... it's already much better."

He let out a sigh and shook his head. Mandragora knew when to retreat when the situation turned against her. Felix turned to look at Senomi, who stood with her head lowered, seemingly on the verge of tears.

Felix sighed inwardly. What kind of team is this? Am I running a kindergarten? Either the original plot had completely fallen apart, or the characters were all just children—this was starting to feel like a daycare.

"Senomi." He gently stroked her head.

"Master... Master, I was wrong."

"No, you actually didn't do much wrong."

Upon hearing this, Mandragora lowered her head again, looking pitifully at the ground, as if she were about to cry once more.

Felix's molars nearly cracked from grinding. I didn't even have a girlfriend in my past life, and now that I'm stuck raising two little girls?

Even Degenbrecher wouldn't be much help. She'd always been a loner, with no rumors of romantic entanglements. Of course she didn't have any children. Her way of raising Senomi was close to Spartan, though she still managed to be gentle.

But now, asking him to raise two little girls and guide them through life?

Felix silently swore to himself: once they left Oak Grove County, he had to find someone in the team to play the role of a kindergarten teacher—otherwise, he'd go bald from all the child-managing stress.

Though it gave him a headache, he still tried to explain patiently. "Senomi, you were defending yourself when you were being attacked. That's not really wrong."

"The only issue is that Mandragora is our companion. We should speak kindly to one another. Even if there's a misunderstanding, we should try to resolve it with words."

He turned to the sulking Mandragora. "Mandragora, Senomi is also our companion, and a girl about your age. Wasn't your reaction just now a little too impulsive?"

"…Sorry."

"I was wrong…"

The two girls quietly apologized.

Felix patted his forehead. "Apologize to each other and introduce yourselves. We're all companions while we're in Oak Grove County."

Senomi looked at Mandragora and noticed that the color of her eyes was the same as her master's—but Mandragora's eyes were a little dim, unlike her master's, which always seemed to burn with golden light. She opened her mouth slightly and said, "Um... I'm sorry for attacking you without permission."

Mandragora felt a mix of emotions. Her mother rarely spoke to her like that. Although the pioneer brother was scolding her, his tone didn't feel like a reprimand—it felt more like something a real older brother would say to his younger sister.

She pursed her lips, her voice carrying a faint tinge of envy. To be honest, she was very envious of the relationship between Senomi and the pioneer brother. She didn't want to be excluded. She had finally met someone who could treat her kindly, only to realize she wasn't the only one.

Perhaps the pioneer brother's kindness didn't belong to her alone. The thought made Mandragora feel a little sad, but she was already content just to have someone who noticed and cared for her.

"I'm sorry... Senomi. I won't act so rashly again."

Felix nodded in satisfaction. This was more like it. The two little girls should get along. If they argued, it would only make things awkward for him.

As for Mandragora, it was best to keep a close relationship with her for now. Her family was still in Oak Grove County—it wouldn't be right to take her away and separate her from them. That would be too cruel.

Of course, it was unrealistic to expect Mandragora and Senomi to truly reconcile so quickly. They had just gone through a conflict, and even after apologizing, things still felt a bit awkward. But they were just young girls, and in time, they would forget the unpleasantness.

Later, Mandragora curiously asked Senomi why she called the pioneer brother "Master." Senomi softly spoke of her past. She once had a happy family, but when she was still young, she was abducted to Kazimierz. The village where she was sold into was filled with endless labor and beatings. Even after escaping, she couldn't escape the fate of being treated like property.

And then… in that "market," the moment her eyes met her master's—

That was the first time fate had shown her any kindness.

After hearing this, Mandragora's cheeks turned red, and she was left speechless. So she had misunderstood from beginning to end. There was nothing wrong with Senomi calling him "Master"—it was a respectful title for someone who had saved her from hell.

Without the pioneer brother, there would be no Senomi today.

Compared to her, Senomi's life had been far more painful and bleak. Although Mandragora had faced discrimination and oppression as a Taran, at least she still had a complete family. Senomi couldn't even remember the way home. Her life in the slave market had been nothing short of hell.

Mandragora apologized once more, her voice soft. "I'm sorry. I misunderstood you... I thought..."

Senomi blushed. "Actually... it's nothing."

The two girls finally made peace. They had no tasks at the moment and were mostly just watching the situation unfold. Unless Felix gave them instructions, they had plenty of free time—so they started chatting privately.

This was also the main reason why Felix brought Senomi here. The key point was that he needed to hammer the iron himself. Yesterday, Mandragora had been here alone with no one to talk to. She had kept staring at him while he was hammering, making Felix feel as if he were just fooling around—it was a bit embarrassing. So he brought Senomi over, which was, in a way, like finding a playmate for Mandragora.

At the same time, he hoped Senomi could help "bring Mandragora back to normal." Although Senomi was born in a slave market, she was naturally gentle, kind, and sometimes shy. Over the past few months, living with Felix, Degenbrecher, and Muelsyse, she had gradually adapted to her new life.

He had to admit—Muelsyse was incredibly good at coaxing children. Was it because she was so charming? Or was her personality simply well-suited to getting along with kids?

Senomi affectionately addressed Felix as "Master," Degenbrecher as "Degenbrecher Sister," and Muelsyse as "Mumu."

Even the nickname "Mumu" had stuck. It could only be said—Muelsyse's charm was truly irresistible.

The two girls sat chatting in hushed tones while Felix continued hammering away at the materials. Victoria covered a vast area—though not as large as Ursus and Yan—which meant there would be plenty of potential customers. In addition to working, he was also studying blueprints, hoping to roll out a mechanical design of the highest blue quality.

[Explore new mechanical blueprints, spend 200,000 LMD and 20,000 experience points—confirm/deny?]

Confirm.

[Congratulations on obtaining: Storm Mechanical Shoulder Pads]

Shoulder pads? What would he even use those for?

[Congratulations on obtaining: Mechanical Blade - Frenzy]

What is this? A wrong set? Is this some kind of joke? Why would he need a mechanical sword?

"Brother Pioneer, what's wrong?"

"Master… you look kind of upset. Did something happen?"

Felix looked up from the workbench, his face twitching slightly. He shook his head and patted the two girls on the head. "It's nothing. Just ran into a small issue. You two go ahead and have some fun."

Senomi and Mandragora exchanged a look and pouted in unison. The Pioneer Brother—or Master—was clearly lying. His expression just now screamed despair. How could he say everything was fine?

Then Felix noticed something slightly off-topic: Mandragora looked very clean today, and there was a faint fragrance on her—she must've thoroughly cleaned herself after a long time. He could still smell traces of both Senomi and Mandragora lingering on his hands.

Confirm.

[Congratulations on obtaining the drone: Extreme]

What the—! He actually pulled a Golden Legendary?!

This wasn't an exaggeration. As a trainee mechanic, the odds of rolling this blueprint were close to 0.005%. It was a blueprint that trainees usually couldn't get at all—far too advanced—and the chances of getting it significantly increased only after a mechanic had been promoted.

This drone: its highest quality could reach purple, with the minimum being green. As long as a minor module was added, it could be upgraded to blue quality.

More importantly, this piece of equipment was incredibly practical. Apart from its steep price, it would eventually become a staple item for everyone in the later stages.

Although classified as a drone, it could execute preset commands through programming and didn't require manual control.

Imagine a palm-sized drone, shaped like an irregular cube, floating beside the player using its own magnetic propulsion and power supply. It could function as a companion, scout, manage the player's equipment, illuminate dark environments, and even warn the player of approaching hostile threats.

Its codename: Extreme.

But among players, it was more affectionately known as—Clever.

How did my luck suddenly spike like this? Wait, isn't my luck stat just E? How on earth did I manage to roll such an incredible blueprint?

His eyes drifted toward Senomi and Mandragora, who were still whispering quietly to each other. A strange expression crossed his face.

Did I... just absorb some of their good luck?