Arknights: Endfield story · Event missions
Chubby Lung Journey III
The Endministrator encounters Watchguard Zuo Guyan at Sky King Flats. He seems to be looking for something. Ask him if he has any problems.
3 scenes, 79 lines
1. Part 1
6 linesEndmin, you're here.
Are Yan Ning and Bai Shuang coming?
The two of them are reporting the latest updates of our investigation to Viceroy Zhuang. They told me to come here first and contact them in case of emergencies.
That means everyone's here already. So, Endmin, can you tell us what's making all the weird data?
If everyone's here, I shall reveal the truth.
Wait for a bit. Gotta take care of something first.
2. Part 2
3 linesEndmin, can you tell us what's causing the anomalous data?
If everyone's here, I shall reveal the truth.
Wait for a bit. Gotta take care of something first.
3. Part 3
70 linesThe "anomalous data" reported by the sky poles is actually...
A misreport? But didn't Zuo Guyan say that the sky poles are error-proof?
Yes I did, Endmin. These sky poles never made a mistake in the exclusion zone. Why would they start getting buggy at Wuling?
Exactly. The sky poles are error-free, and it's this exact feature that caused the misreport.
Wha?
I have the evidence!
But ... Tianshi Yan Ning and her team checked it like ... multiple times. The sky poles aren't faulty at all.
Chen is correct, Endmin. Or did you ... head to the Tianshi Bureau Academy to check the sky poles yourself and found out about something?
That was just a joke to liven up the atmosphere. The truth is...
Ætherside disaster... Æther and ... Wuling?! Wait. Are we getting another Very Large Rift in the city?
If there's a new VLR we would've detected ages ago. So that's one guess we could eliminate. The truth is actually...
Suppressor? Oh, I get it. Endmin, did you see the truth with your Originium Arts?
Wha...? That's actually possible? No wonder you're the Endmin!
Ahem. Nothing of that sort. I was just fooling with you. The evidence is actually...
Me...? Really?
But how? How is Operator Chen ... linked to the sky pole?
She is definitely linked. Chen, you said you suffered gastric pain after having some hotpot.
Oh, yeah. I remember. It was super spicy and I had to chug an entire bottle of cold drink. It made my tummy hurt. Like, a lot.
Remember the damaged detection module of the Chubby Lung?
After entering a Blighted environment, the on-board Xiranite reserve of a Chubby Lung drone would be quickly depleted. This then activates its detection module...
The gourd carried by the Stockade resident is also giving off Xiranite. This is why the detection module picked up anomalous data.
Designs of the Xiranite Chubby Lung were rushed and did not include protective measures against this rare exception. This is why the detection module kept malfunctioning.
Oh! I get it! This means the Chubby Lung also has a tummy ache!
We know why the Chubby Lungs aren't working properly. But does it have anything to do with the misreports sent by the sky poles?
Of course it does.
I have more evidence!
Really...?
You do...?
Yes. It's...
That?!
Well, the evidence is...
Your suppressor mask...? Does it have anything to do with this?
Hmm... Perhaps it's like the story of "Originio-Man". The Originium leads the way! Perhaps the Originium told the Endmin everything!
Erm, maybe not. Ahem. The evidence is actually...
ME...?! AGAIN?!
Yes. The evidence is the Stockade resident you rescued with Zuo and —
The gourd she's using! The gourd only gives off Xiranite when there is Blight nearby.
Oh. I got it!
Wha...? But the sky pole... Oh! So I guess the sky pole detected some crazy Xiranite and Blight reaction that took place in the gourd!
This advanced sky pole has served in the North Wuling EZ for a while. It is definitely sensitive enough to pick up tiny fluctuations.
That does make sense, but why would the sky poles interpret such tiny fluctuations as Blight disasters?
Hold up. I'm not done yet. I actually have more evidence!
That's right. You told us a story of your childhood, Chen. Remember?
Chen was headbutted into mid-air by a burdenbeast. Her trauma made her treat any loud noises as a charging burdo.
I couldn't make the link at first, but Chen mentioned how the sound of running burdenbeasts probably terrified them as well.
This can happen to sky poles! And the reason is due to data overfitting! Overfitting made them interpret normal readings as something anomalous!
Over ... fitting? Let me wrap my head around this. So the sky poles spent too long in the North Wuling EZ, and they got used to extreme Depth environments?
You said it yourself. The gourds have been given to people for protection against the Blight.
The gourds would disperse aerosolized Xiranite. This is actually an unprecedented variable only introduced recently.
It might seem like a gentle fluttering of butterfly wings, but these sky poles are already trained to operate in extreme-Depth environments —
When re-deployed in areas with complex Depth distributions compared to the EZ, these sky poles may pick up tiny fluctuations and give off wildly overfitted reports.
So this gourd is the "chief culprit" behind the anomalous data reports!
......
Erm, Tianshi Yan Ning, Watchguard Zuo here. We ... erm, actually the Endmin found out something about those anomalous data reports from the sky poles...
And what is ... that?
You really helped us plenty this time, Endmin!
Just like what "Endfield Industries and Talos-II" wrote — The Endmin's gaze can discern the truth! Nothing escapes the Endmin's wisdom!
I've reported the situation to Tianshi Yan Ning. She and the other Tianshi are running technical validation trials. Once they get the results, you'll be the first to know!
A buggy misreport!
Caused by poor quality sky poles!
Triggered by a mysterious Ætherside disaster!
(Points at the suppressor mask) This!
(Points at Chen Qianyu) You!
(Points at the sky) That!
(Points at something) That! See? Evidence!
(Points at the suppressor mask) This!
(Points at Chen Qianyu) You!
(Points at Chen Qianyu) You!