Time quickly passed, and it was now two days before the transport team was set to depart. By this time, most of the goods had been prepared, and Dropper had checked them repeatedly to ensure everything was in order. The warehouse where the goods were stored was located directly behind the Lungmen Guard Department. Not only could any suspicious activity be easily spotted from the Guard Department, but if anything were to happen, they could arrive on the scene within two minutes.
At this moment, Flandre Scarlet was listening to rap... and the one "singing" was neither the "Penguin" Emperor nor the "Rat King" Lin Gerui, but a squirrel spirit named Shaw. As for how Flandre came to know her... Flandre described it as an ill-fated encounter.
After the fire a month ago, many firefighters learned that the one who controlled the wind to allow them to safely clear the scene was Flandre, and many of them enshrined her portrait. Coincidentally, because the cargo this time was extremely valuable, Wei Yenwu invited people from the Fire Department to assist in the inspection to prevent any warehouse fires. Flandre followed along out of curiosity at the time.
Then, among the group of firefighters, she spotted Shaw's big tail at a glance. Driven by her overwhelming curiosity, she sneaked up to that big tail and gave it a pluck while Wei Yenwu was chatting with the Fire Department staff.
"Eeeeek!~~~"
Accompanied by a sharp scream, everyone looked over. They saw Shaw tightly clutching her big tail, and Flandre standing nearby, still pinching the tip of someone else's tail. As compensation, Flandre suggested that Shaw could touch her wings. Later, the two, who had met through a tail-plucking incident, became friends.
It just so happened that the warehouse needed a resident firefighter during this period, and after some discussion, the task was given to Shaw. Shaw was extremely diligent and responsible in this matter; not only would she repeatedly emphasize fire safety and common sense every time someone entered or exited, but she would also inspect the warehouse several times a day to ensure no safety hazards existed.
Because of this, everyone who entered or exited the place witnessed Shaw's mouth, which, once opened, spoke at a speed so fast it was like she had eaten Stride gum and simply couldn't stop. As a typical example of someone who knew her faults but refused to change, and who was also extremely skilled at playing with fire, Flandre became Shaw's greatest adversary. Every time she came here, she would be caught and lectured for a long time.
"Ah, Master, stop chanting... stop chanting!" Flandre mimicked a Monkey Spirit from her other memories, clutching her head and swaying.
"NoFlandreyourunderstandingofdangeristooscarceyoumustundergosystematicfirefightsafetytrainingandplayingwithfireisanextremelybadhabiti'tdon'tmatterifit'sLaevatainoraDragonryuukenanywayaslongasitinvolvesfireit'saverybadbehaviorparticularlyinawarehousewithsomanyflammableandexplosivematerialsandpreciousitemssinceI'myourfriendImustcorrectthisbadhabitofyours..."
(No, Flandre! Your understanding of danger is too scarce. You must undergo systematic firefight safety training. Playing with fire is an extremely bad habit.
It doesn't matter if it's Laevatain or a Dragonryuuken; anyway, as long as it involves fire, it's very bad behavior—particularly in a warehouse with so many flammable and explosive materials and precious items.
Since I'm your friend, I must correct this bad habit of yours!)
Shaw made it clear that she had to listen whether she wanted to or not, not only to avenge the tail-plucking but also to keep Flandre from playing with fire so often. Flandre tried to run away, but the quick-handed Shaw grabbed her arm and lectured her for another half hour. By the time she left the warehouse, her head was buzzing. After stumbling all the way home, she collapsed onto the sofa and didn't recover for a long time.
When she woke up and ate the pudding brought by the maid, she looked around in a daze. "Why am I here? Shouldn't I... ah, I can't think about it, I can't think about it, it seems like something terrifying!" Flandre shuddered and decisively stopped thinking about what had just happened. After a few more bites of pudding, she finally relaxed completely.
"That was close, I felt like I was almost purified there. Fortunately, I'll be free soon." Flandre felt it was best not to go to the warehouse again before they set out. After all, being caught by that terrifying squirrel was an unspeakable, horrific torture.
Luckily, there were only two days left; she just had to avoid that warehouse. Flandre repeatedly encouraged herself. But as someone once said, if a situation has a worst-case scenario, it is very likely to lean toward that outcome.
Just as Flandre made up her mind to stay away from the warehouse, bad news arrived: Dropper had sprained his ankle while working. Even after treatment, the doctor advised him to rest for at least two days to ensure no issues with his ankle joint. And he was a vital part of this logistics operation; all materials needed to be inventoried by him. Since he couldn't work, the task had to be handed over to someone he trusted. He knew very few people in Lungmen to begin with, and the only one he could trust was Flandre.
So, the task was passed to her through Ch'en Huijie.
"Huh?" Flandre looked at Ch'en with great reluctance.
Ch'en also knew why Flandre was unwilling to go, and she said with a smile, "Everyone thinks you're the most suitable for this, Flandre. Besides, haven't you always said you want to be a trustworthy adult? Now that everyone trusts you, why are you afraid?"
Spurred by these words, Flandre accepted the task decisively. But then, she regretted it as soon as she arrived outside the warehouse. Because from a distance, she saw the big squirrel watching her intently. Flandre swallowed hard and then walked over.
"I'm not afraid of you, rawr!" Before Shaw could even speak, she instinctively jumped back and spoke with a show of bravado.
Looking at Flandre, who was constantly retreating with small steps, Shaw uncharacteristically said nothing. She beckoned Flandre over. Flandre walked over cautiously and was grabbed by her.
"You..."
"TheseareMr.Dropper'sbelongingsheentrustedmetogivethemtotoyoueverythingthatneedstobeinventoriedisrecordedonitjustworkaccordingtoyourjudgment"
(These are Mr. Dropper's belongings. He entrusted me to give them to you. Everything that needs to be inventoried is recorded on it; just work according to your judgment.)
Fortunately, she managed to finish word for word. After finishing, Shaw breathed a sigh of relief and handed the notebook to Flandre. After taking the notebook, Flandre took a deep breath and prepared to start working.
"No playing with fire, I'll be watching you." Shaw pointed to her own eyes, and Flandre grabbed the notebook and ran into the warehouse.
"Flandre definitely won't play with fire!" Flandre said in a very loud but timid voice.
Once inside the warehouse, Flandre finally breathed a sigh of relief. She picked up the notebook; most of the items had already been successfully stored, and there weren't many things that needed to be registered in the final two days. This was why Dropper felt comfortable leaving the matter to Flandre. She didn't actually need to do much here; she just needed to ensure the basic security of the warehouse.
After all, during this time, he had cooperated with the people Wei Yenwu stationed here to catch several groups of people trying to get their hands on the supplies. Some of these people only knew the items were valuable and wanted to steal a bit, while others intended to completely destroy the supplies to disrupt Wei Yenwu's plans. It was because of these people that he needed to screen for danger more carefully, which led to him accidentally spraining his ankle. He had a premonition that once those people learned he was injured, they would definitely come to do something. So he had to have a powerful teammate guarding this place. In his view, these were not just a pile of supplies, but the very livelihood of the Infected in the Reunion Movement.
Flandre held the little notebook, registering items while flipping through it. Suddenly, she looked up at her surroundings. "Eh? Does someone want to come and play a game with Flandre?"
Meanwhile, back in Gensokyo, everyone was complaining that Remilia protected Flandre too much, making her too well-behaved and kind. Despite her immense strength—not to mention that squirrel spirit named Shaw—Flandre could have easily broken free from the other's control if she wanted to. However, she endured it, preferring to let her head spin from half a day of nagging rather than using her abilities to harm the other person in the slightest. Of course, the real reason is because Flandre already knew these people from the memories she gained about Arknights.
This kindness wasn't very yokai-like at all, but Reimu was very satisfied. She said it would be great if all the yokai in Gensokyo were like the current Flandre; as long as no one caused incidents at every turn and let her slack off properly, those would be her happiest days.
Hearing everyone's words, Remilia's expression stiffened slightly. Flandre and "kindness" had absolutely nothing to do with each other. At this moment, she thought of the "other soul" Flandre had mentioned before and couldn't help but narrow her eyes. Although Flandre always said she was in absolute control, from her observations during this period, that soul's influence on her subconscious was not low.
However, what had been revealed so far were relatively benevolent directions... Remilia took a sip of black tea and then thought that the matter of the soul was a problem after all. Once they got over there, she would have Eirin Yagokoro give her a proper check-up. Currently, the equipment outside had entered the final debugging stage. Before long, she would be able to go to that place called Terra again.
Flandre was unaware of her sister's plans. At this moment, she was closing her eyes, feeling the strange gazes peering from the surroundings. She had thought the result of coming to the warehouse would be getting nagged by the big squirrel for a few days and then being a bored warehouse manager. But she didn't expect that as soon as she took office, someone would come to cause trouble... no, she should say, to provide some fun.
She was simply too happy. She looked at the Lungmen Guard Department, which was just a stone's throw away. Forget it, better not tell them. Otherwise, if the toys are all taken away, what will I have to play with?
Humming a little tune, Flandre decided to wait right here for the game's guests to arrive. Time quickly reached the afternoon. After finishing her final inspection, Shaw was preparing to leave when she saw Flandre still sitting in the office.
"Aren'tyougoingback?"
(Aren't you going back)
Flandre shook her head and pointed to the bed in the office. "Flandre already told Beatrice that for these two days, Flandre has decided to work hard, so I'm staying here da-ze!"