Arknights Endfield 1.2 Patch Story - First part was good, but second one felt...

I finally got around to reading Patch 1.2 of Arknights: Endfield, and I have mixed feelings about it. It is primarily divided into two parts: the first concludes the Nefarith and Ardashir invasion of Wuling, while the second focuses on the aftermath with Zhuang Fangyi as the central character.

The first half was good; I had no issues there. The experience starts at a fast pace, with you and Arcane (a new character) infiltrating to stop Ardashir from destroying a device. The developments move quickly, and we receive plenty of interesting information from Ardashir, perhaps a bit too cryptic, but enough to pique a reader's interest. 

When are you coming back home Arcane? You were the good new character from the patch, I need you!

I know the whole workaholic character trope is this, but come on Zhuang Fangyi. You just recovered.

Eventually Ardashir is out of the picture sealed away from Arcane, but the section doesn't end there because there is a large-scale battle to defend Wuling and defeat Nefarith. It had great momentum and an amazing boss battle, honestly the best one we have seen so far, with multiple phases and apocalyptic animations. It concluded on such a smooth note that I thought the patch content was over at that point.

However, I noticed there were two more chapters, and I was confused about what the next stage could be. It turned out to be a slog of a companion quest centered around Zhuang Fangyi. It was one of the most boring quests I have played in a while: just following a one-dimensional tunnel and watching flashbacks of her past with a few sprinkles of battle in between.

I am not joking; the vast majority of it took place inside an underground dungeon where you traversed a single corridor, clicking on bubbles that conveniently displayed her memories from 10 years prior during the last catastrophe. It is arguably the worst way to deliver world-building in a game.

Waking up to Perlica is always a good thing, girl though still is kind of suspicious with her worry whenever Ardashir tries to talk.

Tangtang and Mi Fu continue to carry Wuling story, they're actually fun to watch instead of the plain 'can't do wrong' Zhuang Fangyi. Hope we get more characters like them

The whole time I was playing, I kept thinking, "Why is this here? It has no bearing on the main storyline whatsoever." I understand that this may have been an attempt to sell the character of Zhuang Fangyi to the player, but it felt so plain that it had the opposite effect on me.

Now we wait for the next patch (I am looking forward to pulling for Mi Fu), and I am genuinely curious to know where we go from here. Killing off Nefarith is a bold move, considering that we do not have a large roster of enemies to use in her stead. Will they manage to create a compelling storyline anyway?