“I also feel this is a memory of Patriot and young FrostNova.”
“It feels like the boss really loved this 'daughter' he suddenly gained back then.”
“The last ones whose background stories were unlocked were Faust and Mephistopheles, this…”
“Don’t jinx it, this is clearly paving the way for FrostNova to land on the island.”
…
The water friends chattered endlessly, clearly immersed in Miss FrostNova’s memories and unable to extricate themselves.
Mo Zhi didn’t waste any words, quietly accompanying everyone in uncovering the mystery of FrostNova’s origins.
“I’m awake now.”
FrostNova slowly opened her eyes. It was then that Mo Zhi noticed her eyes were very beautiful, her pupils very dark, and her gaze resolute.
“You didn’t kill me when I was unconscious, was it out of confidence, or something else?”
【It seems this kind of thing has happened before… Could I do that?】
“Regardless, you didn’t do it.”
FrostNova’s tone softened slightly.
【Perhaps it’s because you kept talking in your sleep.】
“……” The Doctor’s words made FrostNova’s expression turn cold. She returned to her usual icy demeanor: “I’ll assume you showed mercy just now. I won’t kill you now, considering it a debt repaid.”
Mo Zhi believed this. A weakling like the Doctor, who couldn’t even lift a chicken, would be no match for FrostNova, who could do as she pleased with just a flick of her finger.
【……】
“What’s with that expression?” FrostNova frowned slightly. “Is it because… I revealed everything from my dreams?”
She seemed a little scared.
【Can I inquire about your background?】
The Doctor was finally no longer just an interval timer, and could occasionally ask questions.
Mo Zhi was very pleased.
“It seems I really did reveal some rather unpleasant things in my sleep.” Hearing this, FrostNova said lightly, “Memories are truly hard to discard.”
“You looked around and couldn’t find an exit, did you?”
“It seems we’ll be staying here for a while.”
Seeing that the Doctor didn’t pick up on her change of topic, FrostNova fell silent for a moment, then slowly said, “My father’s name was Borjaskas, and he was aUrsus officer.”
Once FrostNova let down her guard, her voice was quite pleasant, crisp like a yellow oriole. She continued, “My real father died a long time ago.”
“When I was young, I vaguely remembered a man blocking crossbow bolts and protecting a woman; and the woman, holding me in her arms, used her back to block the second wave of crossbow bolts.”
Her voice was very calm, but Mo Zhi’s heart felt an unusual ache upon hearing it.
These few short sentences contained the most sincere love a parent could give a child.
【You witnessed it firsthand…】
“At that time, I couldn’t comprehend what was happening before my eyes at all, and this memory just happened not to fade.”
“As for what truly happened, my grandmother told me later. When I kept asking about the meaning of that scene, she couldn’t fob me off any longer and finally told me.”
“They were my birth parents, and they protected me before they died. It’s laughable that I didn’t even recognize them; apart from that one scene, I have no other memories of them.”
“My birth parents were thus forgotten by me, and it’s even difficult for me to say what feelings I have for them.”
FrostNova spoke as if stating a fact, without any emotional fluctuation.
However,
The colder she was, the more sorrow and anger Mo Zhi felt.
She was heartbroken by FrostNova’s experiences and even more enraged by the cruel empire of Ursus.
The intense familial love stood in stark contrast to her 평淡 tone, highlighting the empire’s indifference and cruelty.
【So your grandmother raised you.】
“Half and half. The other half is the blood of Ursus Infected.”
【What?】
“Heh~”
FrostNova gazed into the distance, her thoughts drifting, and the scene seamlessly shifted to a frozen minefield.
“I was born in a mine in the Northwest Tundra, where you couldn’t see anything but snow all year round.”
“This mine was equivalent to an execution ground, built solely to propagate death and enslavement. There were countless such snowy minefields, and my birth parents were indeed miners at this mine.”
FrostNova quietly recounted her past, and Mo Zhi’s thoughts gradually became clearer.
Ultimately, the rise and prosperity of the entire Terra civilization were built upon the flesh and blood of the Infected. These barbaric civilized people enjoyed the benefits brought by the Infected while cruelly persecuting them.
FrostNova’s grandmother had always refused to tell her why her parents were serving time there.
It wasn’t until she was older and inquired everywhere that she learned her parents had both opposed the Ursus emperor’s wartime strategies.
But their arrest was also an accident. The bottom two lines of the arrest list were blank, and the searching officer casually wrote down the names from the house number plate. Her grandmother, also considered a ‘harborer,’ was sentenced to mine labor along with them and brought to this mine.
As expected, all the miners excavating Originium there were infected with Originium disease.
However, even so, the overseers felt that the natural death rate of the Infected was too slow.
Therefore, they drew lots to decide the fate of those with Originium disease, killing for sport.
When FrostNova was five years old, her parents drew the black lot.
At ten years old, her grandmother drew the black lot.
At eleven years old, she herself drew the black lot.
By then, the overseers no longer cared about drawing lots; they just wanted to abandon the entire mine and execute the last batch of Infected… some Infected children, to cover up their crimes.
As FrostNova and the children she grew up with were being executed, her magic erupted from within her body, killing four officers on the spot.
But, it was only four, and it didn’t change the tide of battle.
Just as the other officers subdued FrostNova and prepared for the final slaughter, a guerrilla force arrived.
That was Borjaskas’s team, the nightmare of all Ursus soldiers guarding the Infected in the Northwest Tundra, their most terrifying nightmare.
From then on,
FrostNova realized that the ones who were wrong were not the officers guarding them, but Ursus itself, wrapped in the vast expanse of white snow.
Upon hearing this, everyone was extremely angry, and at the same time, they marveled at how vast the world view of Arknights was, even possessing historical depth.
‘So the Ursus garrison never intended for the Infected to leave alive from the start!’
‘Such a vast world view!! Ling Jing is awesome!’
‘Honestly, FrostNova is very clear-headed and sees things very clearly.’
‘It feels very similar to the description of the Bastion in Dead Cells… [When the jailers are bored, they take prisoners to the Bastion and throw them off, taking pleasure in the prisoners’ shrill screams.]’
‘Arknights’ plotlines are almost always based on historical prototypes. Ling Jing is truly amazing for being able to weave them together!’
‘I have a feeling this is a satire of something, hope I’m not overthinking.’
…
“Hiss, ugh…”
Having said so much, FrostNova, lying on the ground, murmured softly. She looked at the Doctor with a hint of shyness, “Please… do me a favor.”
“In my left jacket pocket, there are a few candies. Take one.”
“If you want to try one, you can take one yourself.”
…