#arknightc gacha

[exoticalmonde]

Arknights Chapter XIII - The Whirlpool That Is Passion (Part V)

ALSO, a reminder that I am currently waiting for the new event, so perhaps I am going to move through the story of that before finishing Chapter 13 here. I already got through all the levels, so I need to just read the story. HOWEVER, since this is also a Leithanien event and that means I AM A WINNER (together with Dr. Lundi who is cuffing Arturia to herself to make sure she doesn't run amock), there will be an update about the pulls later.

WARNING: This post is going to contain a lot of yapping from me about Hoederer and how much I love him and will also have a LOT of spoilers.

As I was saying... Health-ism.

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LIKE WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING BETTER TO DO YOU SUDDENLY START EXPLODING US ARE YOU NOT HAPPY WITH ALREADY BEING A TORN-DOWN COUNTRY LEAVE THEM ALONE GOOD GOD.

Yeah? They're trying to attack out of nowhere, desperate and mostly just ravaged by the war? Crawled out of the trenches like 3km away? I wonder what could be the reason for Victorians to do that.

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Absolute utter control of the situation, I REALLY regret not paying attention to Guard. One day... One day I will reread everything and perhaps finally start noticing things that are important in the story.

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I'm so mad. He's the problem. That's the problem. Victoria obviously is not adept at keeping them, just like all the other countries we have seen so far. They never learn.

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For context, the Angry NCO was asking whether despicable people get infected, or if Infected people are just despicable; and suddenly Guard shoots a:

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They didn't even get inhibitors. As chaos breaks, people who have never had to hold a weapon suddenly have to face a foe and pull the trigger. Nothing to help them, nothing to make it easier. Simply cannon fodder to buy time until the big pieces come to a conclusion on what they have to do...

But this is how it works.

But what about their backs?

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First of all - he's a gonner.

Second of all... OH GOD, HE'S A GONNER!!!

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I was not here for the R6 Siege event where they explained the entire problem with corpses of Infected, and those who did not really notice what was happening with Frostnova at the time couldn't have possibly known either.

The horrifying part about this conversation is the realization that they were lied to: The troops heard explosions, and crackling, the same as the one they are hearing here, but they were told that it was just artillery.

In reality, this is the sound that the bodies begin making when they are ready to erupt. Well... Erupt is not a good word. Explode is an option, but that's too gruesome to imagine. Basically, the bodies of the infected proceed to deteriorate and the sickness spreads so quickly that it becomes unstable, and the way that Oripathy spreads further is by disintegrating the victim into a cloud of originium particles.

This makes it impossible for this body to stay so close to camp being a health hazard for those that have survived and are recuperating. Unfortunately, I feel like they will have to be sent away.

But it's fascinating to see it MENTIONED finally, after so many years of hints.

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For this level, this is what I have used, but technically speaking all you need is a Mountain, a good sniper, a Mudrock, a good caster and a medic defender. I made Ebenholz hold the bottom line, but then the enemy there slipped and I almost failed at holding him down with Hoederer (who wasn't max level at the time). I also took Heidi (but any bard will do) for the passive healing on Mudrock because she was not enjoying her time back under the cannon.

This is the video I used as a guide.

A reminder that the Environmental Conditions are: Touches of the Sanguinarch have significantly increased HP.

Bring additional blockers with high enough damage to put in front of the bottom blue box so Heidi can kind of heal them while they deal with the problematic ones.

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13-2 After: The Injury At Hand

But accidents happen...

Ah... canon-typical loss.

[exoticalmonde]

Arknights Chapter XIII - The Whirlpool That Is Passion (Part IV)

Wow, relishing the Logos art while also staying tuned to what happens in the chapters for REAL this time? Well, all I can say before we continue is a reminder:

WARNING: This post is going to contain a lot of yapping from me about Hoederer and how much I love him and will also have a LOT of spoilers.

This kind of reminds me of 'The Lion's Song' because there was a person there, I think, who wanted to commemorate all the soldiers' lives in paintings I think. Those who passed away in the war he'd send to their families. But I don't remember how that ended honestly...

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Sometimes I forget their dynamic and because I don't usually use W and don't pay attention to her that much (considering she is Pinkie's crazy wife to deal with), she ends up saying something so out of the left field I get vertigo.

"GOOD NEWS THOUGH-" **Insert explosion**

W: [Hard to say. There's an old hag kind of keeping me at arm's length from their beloved 'Doctor'.]

Yes, and boy do I feel safe with her.

W.

I will learn to use the word lollapalooza unironically.

HAVE ANY OF YOU HEARD OF A WAY TO KILL A LITCH?

YEAH? IS IT BECOMING PROBLEMATIC NOW?

This is terrible to say and at the meantime gosh has it been since chapter 9 that we have been crying and suffering from litches.

13-2 Before: The Injury At Hand

...

Oh... Oh god what is that?

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In the following story, we're in the POV of Guard who we know from a couple chapters before, but I forgot about him as a whole. Which I am sorry for, because he's turning out pretty cool. He took part in saving the Doctor from Ursus initially, but after staying behind and being a little affected by the situation and the worsening of the situation leads to the death of Ace and Scout.

Now we are reminded that he's part of Nine's gang - Reunion, or what was left of it, being picked up again after Talula... Who didn't even stay at Rhodes for long enough, she got kidnapped again and is basically being used as some type of glue for the group even though she is falling apart herself, not willing to off herself but not wanting to continue the same path she was forced to take.

We met him in chapter 7 again before Lungmen and Chernobog were about to crash.

I've also forgotten what is reunion doing here out of all places. They are putting themselves between a rock and a hard place while also saving lives... Since, apparently, Victorians are very openly against the infected and the presence of Litches, Sarkaz and originium in general is going to lead to many, many infected.

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Not to mention having to leave their homes. I know I will lose my soul if I actually have to abandon my house for any reason. They just get what they can use, not just something they find precious that should be carried, and they have to leave. Marauders could be in any corner, you can't really take valuables, so you just have your life, some clothes, perhaps enough food until you HOPE you find somebody who can help.

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I love the hair gel detail, why is everybody talking about this now? What does it matter if your hair looks good or not, you are half-dead 63% of the time! We all have depression and look after each other only because it's easier than to allow yourself to affect the mentality of someone else by being allowed to slack off.

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Oh no, he has a headache. You have been assigned the Ebenholz disease.

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Also, imagine having rock cancer and suddenly the place where you work is like 'No, you don't actually get insurance for *checks list* dying, so it would be best if you get fired and maybe go home to see your kids for like 2 days before perishing because we have NOTHING to help with.'

That's the type of health-ism we are talking about.

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Unfortunately, Guard decided that just searching for medicine, meddling in politics, meeting people, going on operations, saving people, treating people for free most of the time, hiring operators and ALL WE ARE TRYING TO DO. Is not enough. Infected need the aggression, to put themselves out there and...

We see how different the Sarkaz and general Infected are, and both sides take different approaches with the same outcome. It's tragic and useless, and it creates even more problems that are hard to mend in the hearts of people who are afraid.

[exoticalmonde]

Arknights Chapter XIII - The Whirlpool That Is Passion (Part III)

Perhaps we are all familiar with this already but I actually spent the time to read it before starting because I didn't want to have yet ANOTHER 'Wow, why did X thing happen?' with Pinkie immediately responding 'Did you read the enemy description?'

WARNING: This post is going to contain a lot of yapping from me about Hoederer and how much I love him and will also have a LOT of spoilers.

13-1 Across the Battlefield's Line

Pinkie: "Dr. Seuss? Like... the one who writes children's books with rhymes?" Me: *Unhappy because from the first moment, I realized that this is Hoederer and he's probably going to start me off with a little trauma and a little loss, a sprinkle of sadness just so I know not to be optimistic about the future*

... I've said it before and I will keep saying it - the history of Sarkaz as a race is so incredibly sad to the point it's a relief that the person you are talking to doesn't actually know who you are because otherwise, they would never treat you with even a smidge of kindness. And in the end, what do you even have to do in a jail cell? He waited around for nothing and got executed.

Of course, not that he had a choice.

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After Hoederer's introspection we have, what I understood to be, a couple of Sarkaz mercs standing and waiting for commands while trying desperately to get something in their stomachs from what they managed to take steal from around. Including some... very important books perhaps from the library of this mansion.

Calfskin books... I can't decide if that would be more precious than paper.

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I believe we spoke with Pinkie about this, but it is so immensely sad to see how the Sarkaz race has been in this situation for so long that they actively do not even NEED to be able to read. I can't imagine myself being unable to read, even if it's signs. Letters. How would they otherwise communicate with each other over a long distance? They don't even have families to message sometimes. They probably don't have the paper or means to send them about, since Catastrophe messengers... would probably never be able to take on such messages.

Many of them probably don't have families either. Devastated.

But with this line, it also gives me hope. Sometimes we take the things we have as a given and, at least I, forget that they still have ways of enjoying things by:

Making up stories based on the drawings they see. Which also makes me happy because books with drawings SHOULD be more of a thing, it's so wonderful. I miss it.

Beleaguered Mercenary: [Y'know. If we put houses on the moons, plant our own food, maybe we won't have to keep fighting like this in the future? Maybe something even bigger'll happen, and everyone'll stop wanting to be up in arms?]

He just solved an international crisis with 2 sentences.

Pinkie: "How to solve the problem - we move to the moon." Me: "Multiple even. I forgot they have two moons." Pinkie: "They have one. It was believed that they had two, but one is only a reflection from the barrier." Me: "OH RIGHT!!! I was a common Terran for a second."

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Not that I was endeared to the press in Kazimierz initially after everything in Maria Nearl and Pinus Sylvestris, but for goodness sake... They actually sound like how I imagine the actual press to sound. What they actually do sound like "Shock and awe and make us popular for being the first to write about it."

The things people WITH a press do in comparison to those who need it but do not have it. Perfect way to pace the story, I'm so happy chapter 13 came out.

Have I mentioned that already?

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SHE IS GOING TO LEITHANIEN!!!!!

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Crying and sobbing.

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I don't even know what to think about Trillby Asher anymore. Because I very recently finished the Kal'tsit and Passenger story, I kind of know that things are NOT going well with the Emperor's Blades... To see them show up again is giving me wild anxiety because we already know that they are super unstable and they can cause a catastrophe just by showing up.

What even is your purpose? Why are you here?

What even is the point of this, I don't know, but we're saving it in case it shows up again. 11, 29, 1 (code word) I wish this was translatable into English, frankly, your alphabet doesn't have 29 symbols.

HAH! At around this point I was like "OH MY GOSH IS THIS A COLLAPSAL WHAT DO YOU MEAN BLACK SNOW" and then Panko deadpans 'We have seen this before somewhere else' and I realized.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[exoticalmonde]

Arknights Chapter XIII - The Whirlpool That Is Passion (Part I)

GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY AND I WISH ALL THOSE WHO WISH TO BE HOEDERER/VENDELA/VERDANT OWNERS TO BE HAVERS BECAUSE IT'S A WONDERFUL DAY AND I AM SO OVERDUE WITH WRITING THIS ACTUALLY!!!!

WARNING: This post is going to contain a lot of yapping from me about Hoederer and how much I love him and would also have a LOT of spoilers.

I am also a great yume-shipper, so my Dr. and Hoederer are married, that information should help with the weird comments sometimes.

Might make it different parts because all those SS will never fit even up to the part I am right now.

Perhaps first of all I need to mention how the pulling went? Apart from my day being catastrophically long and arduous, I managed to sneak some snacking in-between the one additional hour I had left after returning home.

I was actually shaking. Jittering out of my bones, near-heart attack type of activity was happening on my side of the screen while everybody else watched. I was supposed to take SS of every 10-pull but... I got ahead of myself. I think I had around 130 pulls, excluding the ones that I could buy from the ticket shop and the Originium that I blew for a skin.

I even kind of... Skipped my first Hoederer. The one below is the second one, that I ended my funds for, until I could buy the level 60 pack from the shop.

But we caught the third one.

And as it happens I was underprepared with money and XP cards, though I had all the materials for his skills. Bless the green tickets for allowing me to bulk-buy some of them actually since... My god farming for the RMA70-12 is tedious, fruitless and sad.

If I could get a penny for every single time this loser was being problematic I would have enough to buy them and never have problems again.

In any case, he could be immediately E1 lvl80d, and I have been grinding enough to get him to E2 on the same day. He's currently lvl60, cooking his M3 on S1 with Wishlash giving him a thumbs up every time he pulls out a whole boiled chicken to eat.

Starved Sarkaz, am I right?

Even his little token that you get when he joins you another time... I am actually crying, I love him so much and I am so happy he became playable.

Speaking of, did anybody know that the furniture set is separated into a couple other, smaller sets, or was I supposed to learn this from googling it myself?

Apparently, the whole set is called Mercenaries' Hideout, but the smaller sections of it are:

Writing Is Meaningless

Don't Ever Truly Rest

Secondhand Goods

Maintain Your Health

And I am sitting here, tears in my eyes reading their descriptions... When I first remembered that Chapter 13 was coming with a new set I almost screamed. Dr. Pinkie was making fun of me for calling this jail cell basically the same epithets you would use for a five-star hotel, but it really was close to my heart the way it mixed compact with DIY/'Hey, you'll never guess what I found on the street' kind of interior.

And because it is based around Hoederer, we are going to look through it first and read the descriptions before I actually descend into the story.

Description of the full set reads:

A recreation of a hideout in Kazdel, based on Hoederer's description and a number of additional details provided by Ines. As for anything not recreated from their recollections, it's best not to touch—Anything added by W might just blow up.

I love to imagine that these three have to share a dorm and the Doctor just goes up to Ines and Hoederer and asks if there is anything they can do to make it cosy or somehow homey. Also to think that both of them would have recollections of these 'hideouts' in Kazdel... Meanwhile, W seems like she's never been in those? My memory is kind of fuzzy about just how old the three are in comparison to each other.

Before/After Kazdel is pretty much like Before/After Eve was on the internet.

Basement Flooring:

Flooring that recreates the vibes of the basement where the mercenaries lived back in Kazdel. Ines sometimes muses that the place would be more suitable as a small shop. The two both ignored W's suggestion to sell potatoes there.

Basement Wallpaper:

Wallpaper that recreates the look of the basement where the mercenaries lived back in Kazdel. The gray walls look almost exactly the same as before. This time, when they look out the window, it is not the dust-covered Kazdel that they see.

'Our Current State'

A light tube is attached to a frame haphazardly welded together from multiple iron plates, letting out a warm glow despite its appearance. No matter how unstable it may seem, its light can carry the mercenaries through the dark night.

Somehow this little light contraption is 10000x better than any glaring white LED lightbulb that you could ever introduce to me these days.

Rust-colored Rug

A rug showing signs of age that look almost like rust. For some reason, this makes it blend in with the room's style. Is there a color that better reflects life in Kazdel? At least it's not blood-colored.

WHAT IF I JUST EXPLODE IN TEARS???!!!!????!!!!!

Writing Work Desk

A desk piled with books and documents. There are clear traces of manual craftsmanship. Few of the Sarkaz publications sitting on the desk are actually written in the Sarkaz language.

Hoederer's writing desk, I love him so much. The place he might be writing down the different things he wants to be telling to his class, because you KNOW I will absolutely be filing for sponsorship to get him those books and songs he might want to use. Pull in other Sarkaz on the ship to help. Not sure who I have who could be specifically from Kazdel times, but we will find them for you sweetie.

Intel Organizer

A must-have document pegboard for mercenaries, usually used to confirm target information and locations prior to missions. The photographs are always taken down whenever their owner returns. Yet sometimes, their owner never returns.

... I think I am actually going to die from sadness and we have not even started the chapter yet.

Storage Steel Pipe

A rack welded together from steel pipes and plates, normally used to hang clothes and hats. "How many times do I have to say this? Do not hang your work aprons here!"

I don't know who is speaking but the 'work apron' looks like it's Hoederer's and if I have to assume it's probably Ines who is scolding him about it. Little rebel, does it anyways.

Mercenaries' Bed

A flatbed trolley turned sofa bed. The fabric has frayed, but it is indeed soft and roomy. The broken wheel hubs ensure that it stays in place. For a very long time, this was the only place where the nights were not plagued by nightmares.

Imagine being on your trolley sofa-bed and suddenly RI begins moving because there is an emergency and your silly wheels go squeak-squeak towards the other end of the room at the same speed at which you were sitting still because everything else is moving but the bed is trying to stay at the same spot---

Me: "Do we know how fast RI moves?" Pinkie: "As fast as Czernobog can move towards Lungmen. It has to be fast enough to outrun a tornado." Me: "OH. Alright. Yeah, that makes sense."

"No Overloading"

Originally an exquisite wooden hanging lamp that lets out a warm glow. There are always knickknacks piled on top. It has a warning placed above: "No stacking!" Hoederer asked Ines, "Is this really something we can use?" Ines answered, "Yes."

IS THAT A PHOTO???? IS THAT??? WHAT ARE THEY???? Books???

Simple Study Ceiling Light

A part that the mercenaries removed from who-knows-what and hung from the ceiling. It started glowing, and not only is it very bright, it's also very hot. Ines asked Hoederer, "Is this really something we can use?" Hoederer answered, "Yes."

Hoederer, sweetie, I think if Ines gets to ask 'Can we use this safely?' then perhaps we might not have to use a random fire stick someone found somewhere.

Portable Stove

A stove that's portable, easy to assemble. What's on it likely belongs to a certain dangerous individual. Do not touch. "Oh, the paper in the stove? I ran out of fuel. By the way, Hoederer, you hungry? I cooked some potatoes over there."

YEAH? WITH HIS BOOKS, DIDNT YOU W???

"Versatility"

A bookshelf put together from multiple recycled materials. The lamp at the top was brought back by Ines. She said it was to make it easier to see shadows. The box at the foot of the shelf is full of historical studies.

Yeah, I too need a dowry chest full of books to feel satisfied.

Secondhand File Cabinet

A heavy steel file cabinet containing the historical data of each Sarkaz clan. Today, even the names of many of the clans documented within are indecipherable.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[exoticalmonde]

Arknights Chapter XIII - The Whirlpool That Is Passion (Part II)

ACTUALLY, BEFORE I FORGET, I heard that the friend count will rise to 100, so that means that anybody who needs an Ebenholz/Hoederer and doesn't require them to be max pot... can add me, so we can work together to cry a little less with each passing event.

WARNING: This post is going to contain a lot of yapping from me about Hoederer and how much I love him and will also have a LOT of spoilers.

Anyway, continuing where we left off last time with the furniture sets.

Secondhand Leather Chair

A sturdy, durable chair. It may be called secondhand, but it has actually changed hands plenty more times than that. There used to be many chairs like this in their hideouts, though the number who sit on them has dwindled over the years.

STOP ANOTHER ONE ABOUT THE LOSS OF SARKAZ LIVES, I AM DEVASTATED. Yeah, nothing can beat the sheer loneliness that Mlynar Nearl has soaked into his furniture descriptions because at least Sarkaz sticks together, but there's so much to unpack here I don't even know where to begin.

Portable Mailbox

A small, movable desk with a pile of letters stacked on top and a small lamp inside. Sometimes, Hoederer gets pieces of historical excerpts sent to him, but their senders have often already become part of history before he is able to reply.

This is what got me crying in bed when I first bought the room and went through all the pieces to read their descriptions. There is something so heart-rending about living a life full of loss. Home. Friends. Family. Relationships. Everybody turns against everybody and you have to both accept it and move on with it, because if you linger for too long - you end up dead, but if you keep being paranoid about it you will just never know peace.

I lost two close people and have been wallowing in my misery for months now. Maybe that is one more thing that really makes me like Hoederer. And I do like him.

The way I see him, he is somebody who strives to move forward without never forgetting where he started from and who he was. It's both endearing and charming and it's a great characteristic to have. It's so HARD to have it, regardless if we are talking Arknights, another game character, or IRL in general. Maybe /I'm/ being too much about it, but that's what 'comfort characters' are about, right?

Basement Wall Lamp

A lamp installed on the wall with a yellow glow and exposed wires. A red scrap of cloth is tied around the metal ring. Eventually, Ines broke free of the rope tied around her wrists and took her out in her sleep.

I genuinely love the design of the wall lamp. Except when it comes to the description. What the absolute ever-loving hell.

"Door Of Life"

A heavy double-action door that separates the living space from the workspace. One side is for living, and the other side is for making a living. To Sarkaz mercenaries, the two might not be all that different.

If this is also a sliding door I can absolutely confirm that maybe I am a part Sarkaz in the way I live, because my bedroom is separated from the living room with a sliding door like that with a handle and it is a big difference where you are living and where you are 'making' the living.

Work Area Rug

A rug resistant to stains and heat, ironically covered in tracks and oil stains. The good news is that the deep red color did not originate from dried blood.

Yeah? Thank goodness. We'd have to run some tests to figure out whose it is if we find a random blood puddle on Rhodes Island.

Simple Welded Chair

A high chair put together from industrial waste. Sturdy and durable, the beast skin covering it was specially treated and seems smooth and sleek to the touch. In Kazdel, kids tend to grab waste materials to renovate their dust-laden lives.

Work Area Wall-mounted Rack

A rack used to hang tools. Pieced together from recycled metals and extremely heavy, the good thing is that it saves space. Once, the mercenaries would hang their equipment from it. That equipment has long since scattered across the lands.

"Maybe a Bonsai"

A handcrafted cabinet used to store tools. In the vase sitting atop—welded together from scrap metal—is the only splash of green in the room. Back in that small house in the cramped Kazdel slums, it wasn't a sprouted potato they planted.

Okay, but, do you know what this means? Kazdel is familiar with what bonsai is. They know that little planted trees in pretty, perhaps painted or perhaps simpler in style potteries get to be a breath of green inside your house. Everybody and their aunt get to have a bonsai because it represents life and new beginnings and whatever folk tale they might have abound them.

I'm falling apart.

Weapon Maintenance Table

A small maintenance table used for the repair and upkeep of weapons. Not only do you need to smooth out any blemishes, you also need to wipe away the blood. This is where Ines learned to sew and mend her clothes years ago.

Me hanging out there for absolutely no reason with my overhead lamp and under-hand lamp while I'm cross-stitching. That's how I imagine this being used. Perhaps me and Ines can have tea here.

Work Area Ceiling Lights

A light source used for precision tasks. Warm, stable, and dependable. Comes with an air ventilation system to ensure that any volatile gases or metallic dust can be removed in time. Hoederer often worked under its light, quiet and taciturn.

Now that I am well-prepared with the horrors that are the living conditions of the Sarkaz, I'm going to go check out how things have been going with Hoederer's skills and then we actually start Chapter 13 reading.

In the meantime, this is what the Bandorio list looks like. Except here, I forgot to take out Noir and Nothing because Lessing, Zhuo Le and Logos are coming. A lot of men with L in their names approaching my vicinity.

Decided to start top to bottom since I don't think I might need him yet for the Adverse stages. It's been two weeks almost, so he's pretty much complete. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had the gall to offer my services to those who got him but have other priorities.

...

You--- What even is this? Cyclicene Prefab? Another rock? It was a joke at first, but this is becoming ridiculous. ALL my men either huff paint or eat salt and nobody is going to bat an eye for it? What do you NEED this for???

An industrial product arrived at through the introduction of several excellent materials into the synthesis process, preserving luminous transmittance while vastly increasing strength and shock resistance. Prospects are high for its wide adoption in the field of defense.

Guess we are going to deal with M3-ing the other skill while I am dealing with this.

...

...

You're joking.

The gel. He wants his gel back.

At least I got to grind enough to get him up as fast as possible. Every single day was a: log-on, get base money and cards, level him up with like... 2-3 levels and leave up to 80 and then every day was a single level grind until I had no sanity.

Well, Mrs. Zofia, we are on a standstill until I manage to procure any coagulated gel. Tempted to pump levels into Crimson Solitaire or some other, but I'm not in the mood.

Imagine Zofia walks into the training room, having come from Lundi's RI specifically because she has to train with Hoederer and then just spots him eating a whole, boiled chicken for his regimen.

Pinkie: "She would thumbs-up him as a greeting." Me: "I love him."