The Matter of Me Being Picked Up and Adopted by Talula

Talula, who had been so aggressive moments before, slumped into a chair, her entire body deflating as she sprawled across the wooden table.

"I can't keep this up anymore..."

Talula's weak complaint was barely audible.

"You're doing great! A nouveau riche second-generation heiress, completely out of touch, with an overbearing desire for control, acting like a spoiled brat, wah wah wah wah wah!!"

Orson, who had been teasing her from the side, was quickly cooked to medium-well by Talula before he could finish gloating.

"Is this the only way..."

Talula grumbled in exasperation, while Alina smiled and massaged Talula's shoulders.

"You've worked hard, Talula. We've practiced this, and it's the most effective method. Only by adopting a high-handed approach to negotiate can we quickly gain acceptance. Plus, we can subtly promote the idea that Infected are harmless, and also—"

"—And also use the trade network as a cover to connect the intelligence networks of the villages."

After her display of childishness, Talula sat up again, returning to her usual demeanor.

"Thanks to Orson, we've actually managed to build an intelligence network."

Alina looked at Orson with admiration.

"Yeah, I never thought the communication problems that had been holding back the guerrilla teams would finally be solved by Orson's Originium Arts. I really found myself an incredible human signal tower," Talula joked with Orson.

"And no phone bills, super affordable, right?"

Orson quipped, then noticed that "that thing" was missing from Talula.

"Talula, you forgot your insignia."

"Hmm? Oh, I'm still not quite used to having a proper name yet."

Noticing she had forgotten to wear her armband, Talula took one out and put it on her left shoulder. It was a red cloth with a pattern resembling a DNA helix.

Its name was—

Reunion.

21. Reunion Adrift

A full year and two months had passed since Alina awoke.

In that time, much had happened, though perhaps not enough to fill a book, but certainly more than a handful of events.

First, the organization that had gathered around Talula finally settled on a name that would accompany everyone for the rest of their lives: Reunion.

This name was proposed by Orson, and everyone, including Talula, the Abyssal Hunters, the Shieldbearers, the guerrilla teams, and the Infected soldiers, chose it immediately. Perhaps this was also a choice of the timeline.

Because of this, all other names proposed by Orson, such as "Chaldea," "Griffin," "Iron Blood," "Iron Blossom," and so on, were rejected.

With the change of name and Alina's return, the policies Reunion had been implementing began to shift.

Talula realized the limitations of their past methods. While actively inviting and accepting Infected could gather many sparks initially, they were too concentrated to ignite a prairie fire.

The true catalyst for Reunion's complete change in behavior was an advancement in Originium Arts developed by "Tuner Orson."

People who had been struggling to obtain official Ursus communication devices suddenly discovered that Orson's tuning of objects could maintain them at a special frequency. By creating another item at the exact same frequency, signal transmission and reception could be achieved. On top of that, with a little DIY work on a signal amplifier, a communicator was created.

And it was a private channel, a completely encrypted communicator.

"Indeed, what's frightening is my own talent...!"

Orson, who dubbed himself "Terra's Edison," not only failed to grasp the difference between Bell and Edison but was later dragged by Talula to make a whole batch of communicators, burning himself out into white ash.

Thus, Reunion gained a power that would cause a qualitative change—the power of communication, or rather, the power of connection.

Some Infected and impoverished villagers had their lives already bound to the land beneath their feet. Forcing them to leave and instilling in them the will to pursue freedom and warmth was, in a way, a form of arrogant plunder.

If that was the case, then the choice was to let them remain in their villages, but also provide them with opportunities to access information from the outside towns.

The final outcome was to connect the villages through a trade network under the guise of trade, facilitating the exchange of goods. On one hand, this could improve the living conditions of these northern residents, and on the other hand, it could more directly allow them to feel the gap between their lives and those in the towns.

After all, when people witness a disparity, they inevitably develop certain emotions.

The noble education Talula received from Koschei was indeed effective. Over 70% of the villages were directly intimidated by Talula's aura and demeanor, allowing her to sign contracts with them smoothly.

For the very few villages with clear territorial jurisdiction, Talula would first attempt to sign an agreement, and then use Koschei's identity to probe.

The greatest advantage of "The Undying Black Serpent" was that no one dared to definitively conclude that this fellow was truly dead, and no one could be sure if this silver-haired Sankta in front of them was merely bluffing.

With a slight change in their operational mode, Reunion's objective for each village was no longer "to test Infected and mobilize them to join us," but rather divided into the following elements:

1. Construct a trade network to ensure that the existence of "Reunion" genuinely improves the living environment of the villages, increasing its influence and credibility.

2. Transport external luxury goods, provide villages with information from the outside world and surrounding villages, and make them clearly aware of class differences.

3. Through trade and other means, infiltrate a few Reunion members, openly or covertly, into the villages to act as operators for intelligence nodes, while gently promoting the idea that Infected are "usable productivity and there is no need to panic," using benefits to gradually accustom people to the presence of Infected.

4. Establish an intelligence network that can control the movements of over 80% of the enforcement teams in the North, and allow villages to exchange information.

After eight months of Reunion operating in this manner, over three-quarters of the villages on the northern tundra had established an intelligence trade network.

Although the intelligence network's connections were not deepened further due to concerns about "spies" and "informants," the situation had changed drastically compared to the early days when Reunion could only survive by operating around its strongholds.

While these villages did not fully accept the Infected as their own, they would, for their own benefit, shelter those Infected and gradually adapt to a daily life of coexisting with them.

Some villages even proactively reported their hidden infected individuals to Reunion, which also became one of Reunion's main methods of absorbing new blood.

Returning to the village, the transaction proposed by Talula had been accepted by the village chief, and everyone was preparing to leave at the village entrance.

"Thank you very much for your help... noble lady. I will take in those infected individuals. As for our village's coal for the winter, and those... cough cough, cigarettes, I'll be counting on you."

"And thank you for being content with your current way of life. Otherwise, these city goods wouldn't be much of a profit."

Talula responded with a smile, a remark that struck a nerve with those around her who had never considered moving south.

"Just kidding. I know that on this frozen tundra, simply surviving is already incredibly difficult. But even so, I still hope you can aspire to the towns in the south. After all, aspiration is the first step to action."

"...Mm, noble lady, you might be right."

"Then, we should be going too. Make good use of those infected individuals. Their value is more than just a few packs of cigarettes, and of course, it wouldn't hurt to get along well with them."

Talula nodded at the infected individuals assigned there, then left the village with Orson and Alina in an off-road vehicle.

"Haaaa~~~~"

Once in the back seat of the car, Talula's true nature resurfaced. She leaned directly onto Alina's shoulder.

"Leader, Lord Orson is still driving. Is this okay?"

Alina asked with a smile, looking at Talula leaning on her shoulder.

"Orson is fine. If anything, I can just secretly get rid of him."

"Can I pull over and cry for a bit!?"

Orson exclaimed loudly, while Talula and Alina both smiled.

"Then..."

After their playful banter, Talula took out a map and marked the location of the village, noting down their needs and the supplies they could provide.

"Hmm... the villages in the north have basically all been 'sown.' Our trade network, apart from grain, which isn't a resource anyone is particularly rich in, can already achieve mutual supply. So, the next step, as expected, is..."

"We're going south, Talula. That's the goal you've spoken of since back then."

Alina gently stroked Talula's hair beside her, her tone soft and calm.

To have reached this point, although everyone shared this belief, actually uniting the north felt somewhat surreal and hard to believe.

"Yes, everything before was just accumulation. Every step we take from now on will become increasingly difficult."

Talula put away the map as Orson suddenly slammed on the brakes.

"Stop! Where are you people from? Never mind where you're from, hand over everything valuable you have!"

Several people dressed like refugees, holding broken weapons, perhaps because the off-road vehicle was such a rare sight in the north, immediately mistook Orson and his companions for plump sheep with plenty of oil.

"Sigh... Alina, Sister Talula, wait for me."

Orson sighed, opened the car door, and walked to the center of the group of thugs.

"Alright, I'll ask three questions. First, have you killed anyone before?"

Orson held up three fingers, showing no fear towards them at all.

"What? Damn it, who are you looking down on! Of course, we've... grumble grumble... killed people!"

"The rumbling of your stomach completely drowned out the crucial part... Never mind, second question, have you heard of Reunion?"

"Huh? What are you talking about? Hurry up and hand over your money and food!"

It seemed these robbers were unaware of the up-and-coming organization known as Reunion.

"Then the last question— Rest Note"

Orson snapped his fingers, and a huge, two-person-tall, pure black, formless shadow appeared behind him.

"Have you heard of The Silence of the North?"

Before he could get an answer, Rest Note lunged at the weak and helpless robbers like a grizzly bear.

22. Kindling, Scattered Everywhere

The off-road vehicle rumbled back to the settlement. Orson skillfully parked the car by the tents, then got out and threw various goods from the trunk, including a few unlucky individuals who had been knocked out and tied up.

To try and rob the "Leader of Reunion," the "Living Manifesto of Reunion," and "The Silence of the North" was, to say the least, a gathering of exceptional talents among a small group of refugee bandits.

"Teacher Orson!"

According to the "First Law of Ino," as long as Orson went out on a mission, within 3 minutes of his return to the settlement, he would inevitably attract the Liberi white-haired boy.

"Good afternoon, Ino. Have you been studying obediently today— oof!"

Orson's words were cut short as Ino's enthusiastic hug nearly pushed his lungs out.

Although the child still appeared delicate and submissive on the outside, his physique had improved significantly thanks to Reunion's increasingly abundant resources.

"Hmph..."

While Ino and Orson were having their intense moment, Sasha on the other side gave Orson a look as if he were trash.

Orson could understand. After all, when his own student was snatched away by Alina, he had also stared at Alina with the same expression.

"Teacher Orson, I learned a new song! damedane, dameyo~"

Ino hummed a strange song she'd learned from somewhere, and Orson, upon hearing it, declared her a natural.

"It sounds great, but you need to loosen up your facial expressions a bit more to really capture the feeling."

"0v0?"

Orson ruffled Ino's hair. This young boy had loved to sing more than anyone, but after Originium shards were deliberately inserted into his throat, he lost his voice completely. Now that Ino could open his mouth and sing again, Orson felt a profound sense of accomplishment, like "the child I raised has grown."

"Oh, right, this is your gift for this time."

Orson thought of something and ran to the off-road vehicle, bringing back several cardboard boxes.

"This is for you, Ino. Inside is a harmonica, a really fun little instrument. As for Sasha, here's a switchblade for you. Young people like these kinds of things, right?"

"A harmonica...? Anyway, thank you, Teacher Orson!" "...Thanks."

"Ahaha, you're welcome—though it would be even better if you stopped trying to secretly poke me with those weird psychic control feathers when you hug me!"

Ino acted up again, and to protect his soul, Orson made a hasty retreat.

Not long after greeting the twins, Orson ran into FrostNova, who had also just finished her mission.

"Good afternoon, Snow Rabbit."

Orson waved to FrostNova. Upon seeing Orson, FrostNova's face lit up with happiness, but when she noticed Talula and Alina behind him, her expression became a bit awkward.

"How did your mission go? Talula and I brought you your favorite carrots, you know. Sister Talula is very considerate of her comrades, pfft—!"

Orson cheerfully offered the carrots, only to be hit away by a snowball from FrostNova.

"Idiot Signal Man...!"

FrostNova huffed and stomped off to the other side of the settlement. But after only a couple of steps, she turned back, snatched the carrots from Orson's hand, and then ran off defiantly while munching on a carrot.

"...What's going on? Did the mission run into trouble?"