"My neighbor is a blacksmith."
"He gets up before dawn every day, swinging a hammer heavier than himself, and pounds away in front of the forge all day long. Sweat soaks his clothes, and sparks burn his skin!"
In the slums, inside a tavern, a young man was giving a passionate speech in the small clearing at its center.
"He works so desperately just so his son can go to school, learn to read a few words, and not have to spend his life doing manual labor like him!"
A crowd of men had gathered around the young man, listening quietly to his speech.
The young man was, of course, Lacey. He swept his gaze over everyone around him and continued loudly, "My father was a teacher."
"He spent his life teaching and educating. He told me that knowledge can change one's destiny."
"His greatest wish was to see every child in Leithanien, rich or poor, be able to sit and study in a bright classroom!"
"I also know a soldier." His voice began to rise.
"He fought desperately against the Gauls on the battlefield to defend this country. He wears the Medal of War's Flame on his chest, Leithanien's highest honor!"
"He thought he had protected his home with his blood and his life, but when he returned, his home was gone. His parents had been hanged in the square as 'remnants of the Witch King'!"
Lacey pointed to his own chest and said, word by word, "That soldier... is me!"
Boom!
The entire tavern instantly erupted.
People's faces were filled with shock, sympathy, and anger.
"On what grounds!" Lacey's voice thundered, echoing through the small tavern.
"On what grounds should we, the hardworking common folk, be trampled under their feet like ants?"
"On what grounds can our sons not afford school, while our daughters are violated by them at will?"
"On what grounds must a hero who protected his country end up with his family destroyed and his home in ruins?"
"Is it just because they were born nobles, and we were born commoners?"
"I refuse to accept it!"
These words struck a heavy chord in the heart of everyone present.
The men, who had been crushed by life, felt a fire rekindle in their eyes.
They remembered the humiliations they had suffered, the lands that had been taken from them, the families that had been unjustly oppressed.
"Well said!" It is unknown who roared first.
"To hell with the nobles!"
"We shouldn't have to live like this!"
Angry shouts rose and fell, nearly tearing the roof off the tavern.
[Your words have ignited the flames in the hearts of the people.]
[The dozens of people present have developed a strong sense of identification with and expectation for you.]
In an inconspicuous corner of the tavern, Serafina held a drink, quietly watching it all unfold.
Her Originium Arts allowed her to "see" things that ordinary people could not.
In her world of perception, a bio-electric glow representing "anger" and "hope" lit up on every person here.
These faint lights were continuously converging on the man in the center, causing his entire being to radiate a dazzling brilliance.
She was profoundly shaken.
This man, with the simplest of words, had awakened the dignity and resentment that had long been worn away in the hearts of these lower-class people.
For the past few days, speeches like this had been taking place in every corner of the slums.
In filthy alleys, in crowded markets, in front of the shacks where relief food was distributed... Lacey's figure was everywhere.
His followers grew in number, from the few dozen in the tavern at the start to several hundred soon after.
They were no longer numb, walking corpses. There was a light in their eyes, and they stood up straighter.
Serafina continued to watch in silence.
She watched as Lacey forged a scattered handful of sand into a unified force, watched as the tender shoots of hope sprouted once more from the land of despair.
The scales in her heart, without her realizing it, had already tipped completely in this man's favor.
Her thoughts of leaving Leithanien had long since vanished into thin air.
Leave?
No, she would stay.
She wanted to witness with her own eyes whether this single spark could truly start a prairie fire.
Finally, on a drizzly night, she took the initiative to find Lacey.
When Serafina pushed open the creaking wooden door to the attic, Lacey was sitting at a table, writing something on a rough piece of parchment by the light of a dim oil lamp.
"Is that you?" Lacey looked up, somewhat surprised.
He had a deep impression of this kind girl who quietly helped others in the slums every day.
"May I come in?" Serafina asked with a smile. The rain had dampened the ends of her hair, making her look a little frail.
Lacey nodded, motioning for her to come in and sit down.
"Serafina Ivanovna Petrova, that is my real name." After sitting down, the girl stated her full name bluntly, hoping to earn a basic level of trust from this man.
"Of course, in some places, they're more used to calling me by my codename—Arc."
Lacey's eyes instantly grew wary.
A codename. Usually, only soldiers or special agents had those.
"I am not your enemy." Serafina seemed to see through his thoughts. She met Lacey's gaze calmly. "I come from Ursus. I was once a member of a special department in Saint Petersburg, responsible for... interrogation."
She briefly recounted her past, from her work in Ursus and her escape due to being unable to bear the cruelty there, to arriving in Leithanien only to witness the even more chaotic situation after the Twin Empresses took power.
"My Originium Arts allow me to perceive bio-electric signals," she said, looking at Lacey seriously. "In other words, I can 'see' people's truest emotions. Lies have nowhere to hide from me."
Lacey's heart jolted. He instantly understood the value of this ability.
"I have been observing you these past few days." A faint smile appeared on Serafina's lips.
"I saw that beneath your calm exterior, a fire burns that is strong enough to set a prairie ablaze."
"I saw that your compassion for those who suffer is sincere."
"I saw that your determination to change this country is pure."
She paused, leaning forward slightly. Her silver-gray eyes shone strikingly in the dim light.
Lacey's heart pounded.
Seeing emotions? What kind of Originium Arts was this?
He instantly understood why he always felt this girl's gaze could see through everything.
She wasn't guessing; she could actually "see."
"You are doing what I have always wanted to do, but never dared, and never had the ability to do."
"You have shown me hope."
"So, I don't want to run anymore."
"Lacey, I am willing to join you. I will use my abilities to be your eyes and ears, to help you achieve your goals."
Lacey was silent. After a moment, he voiced the question in his heart: "Why me?"
"Because you are the first ambitious man I have ever met with such a 'clean' heart." Serafina's answer was somewhat unexpected.
"Your wish is not for yourself, but for those who, like you, are trodden into the mud. I feel that I am willing to help someone like you."
Lacey looked at her, silent for a long time.
A long silence fell over the attic, broken only by the crackling of the oil lamp's flame.
An intelligence expert who could see into people's hearts would undoubtedly be of great help to what he wanted to do.
Lacey had been worried about his lack of manpower, his inability to understand the movements of the upper class, and his inability to discern the loyalty of his followers. Serafina's appearance could perfectly fill this gap.
However...
"Why should I trust you?" Although he had already accepted her in his heart, Lacey maintained necessary caution.
It was mainly her identity that made him feel a bit unfamiliar.
In his past life, although he wasn't a dedicated Arknights player, he had at least played for a few years. He had never seen her among the operators on the island, nor among the enemies that appeared in the stages.
She said she was a Liberi from Ursus, but the only Ursus Liberi he knew was Hellagur.
If it had been an operator like Exusiai or Texas who had come to join him, he would have agreed without a second thought.
"On the basis of..." Serafina's expression suddenly changed. She lowered her voice and said urgently, "Someone's outside! Three of them, all armed! Their footsteps are light, and they're coming for us! They're closing in from both ends of the alley!"
Almost as soon as her words fell, Lacey's ears also caught the faint sound of footsteps.
Under the enhancement of [United We Stand], his five senses were also somewhat strengthened, and he determined that Serafina was not lying.
They're so fast! Are they reinforcements hired by those two thugs? Or people from the Purification Committee?
With no time to think, Lacey made an instant decision.
"Out the window!" He grabbed the oil lamp from the table, blew it out, and at the same time, pulled Serafina's hand and rushed toward the attic's only window.
The moment they climbed out the window, a loud "bang" echoed as the fragile wooden door was kicked open, and three dark figures rushed in.
"Where are they?"
"The window! They escaped through the window! After them!"
Lacey and Serafina landed in another small alley behind the attic. A pile of filthy garbage below served as a good cushion.
"Who are they?" Lacey asked in a low voice as he pulled Serafina along, running through the alley.
"Not guards. They seem more like mercenaries or assassins." Serafina followed closely behind him, her breathing a bit ragged, but her thoughts were still clear. "Their emotions are cold. Their objective is clear: to kill you."
Assassins!
Lacey's heart went cold.
It seemed his activities during this period had already attracted the attention of certain people.
The local thugs in the slums couldn't afford such professional killers.
"Run east. There's an abandoned dyehouse over there. The terrain is complex; it'll be easier to shake them off!" Lacey knew the terrain of this area like the back of his hand.
The two darted through the darkness, the pursuers hot on their heels.
The assassins were clearly familiar with the terrain as well, nearly cutting off their path several times.
"It's no use, we can't escape like this!" Serafina said, panting.
"At the next intersection, they will definitely split up to surround us! The one on the left is their leader. He's the strongest; his emotions are the most stable!"
An idea flashed in Lacey's mind. He stopped, pushed Serafina behind a wall at the corner, and said quickly:
"Listen to me. In a moment, I'll rush out and draw them away."
"You find a chance to circle around behind them. Use a rock or anything to make a noise. All I need is to distract them for a single second!"
"That's too dangerous!" Serafina immediately protested.
"Trust me!" Lacey's gaze was unquestionable. "This is our only chance!"
After speaking, he no longer hesitated. Taking a deep breath, he suddenly dashed out from the corner, deliberately exposing himself to the three assassins' line of sight.
"He's there!"
The three assassins immediately moved to encircle him in a triangular formation. The leader was the fastest, his short blade glinting coldly in the moonlight as he stabbed straight for Lacey's heart.
At this critical moment, a loud "clang" suddenly came from behind them, as if something heavy had fallen.
The three assassins subconsciously glanced back.
That one second!
Lacey moved.
He didn't retreat. Instead, he met the leader's blade, taking a sharp step forward and twisting his body to narrowly avoid the fatal blow.
At the same time, his elbow slammed viciously into his opponent's jaw.
With a sharp "crack," the assassin leader collapsed limply without even having time to scream.
The other two were shocked and were about to react, but Lacey had already closed in.
His movements were clean and efficient, without any flourish—all lethal killing blows honed on the battlefield.
Fists, elbows, and knees rained down on the remaining two like a furious storm.
Although the two were also skilled, before Lacey—who was fully enhanced by [United We Stand] and possessed rich combat experience—they were no match at all.
In less than ten seconds, the fight was over.
In the alley, only Lacey was left standing, his chest heaving slightly.
Serafina walked out from the shadows, her face filled with shock as she looked at the three bodies on the ground.
She never expected the unassuming Lacey to possess such strength.
Lacey walked over to her, and looking at her face, which was pale with tension, he smiled for the first time.
He extended his hand.
"Welcome aboard, Serafina."
Serafina was stunned for a moment, then smiled as well, taking his hand.
"The honor is mine."
[You have gained your first true ally—Serafina Ivanovna Petrova (Arc).]
[Her abilities greatly compensate for your shortcomings in intelligence gathering.]
[Your cause has taken its first solid step.]
________________________________________
Get rewarded for helping with our community goals!
🎯 Reward for all: +1 bonus chapter at 50 Powerstones.
🚀 Tier Reward: Help us reach 10 members for +5 chapters on all stories!
👻 Join the crew by searching Ms. Medusa on (P). You know the spot! 😉