Regarding How I Was Picked Up and Adopted by Talula Chapter 16

It was difficult for FrostNova to feel guilty about it, which was quite awkward.

24. Miss Talula wants to go on a date with me! Reunion Leaders' Love Brain Battle (?)

After the plan to head to the southern city of Chernobog was temporarily finalized, this news also spread on a small scale through the intelligence network, and as a result, everyone really gained an unexpected harvest.

In one of the villages, a villager named Isaac said that he used to be a member of the engineering team for Chernobog's propulsion equipment. Later, he contracted Oripathy due to a colleague's misoperation and was then exiled to this remote village.

Isaac told Talula and the others that he knew a maintenance passage in Chernobog that could bypass more than 80% of the security checkpoints and lead directly to the central station. However, this maintenance passage could only be opened by him once every 30 days, and tomorrow happened to be the maintenance day for the team he belonged to.

Upon receiving this news, everyone convened another meeting, and this time the topic was whether to start acting tomorrow.

30% of them said that the opportunity should not be missed. No matter how Reunion collected intelligence about the south, it was all peripheral information. They had to reach the interior of the city to expand before they could take the next step.

30% of them said that they needed to continue waiting for the right time. After all, the situation in the south could not be generalized with the North. It was intertwined with various forces of old and new nobles. If they were not careful, Reunion would be easily extinguished like a flame in winter.

The remaining people did not express their opinions.

"In short, we neither need to nor are capable of rushing in. The discussion now should not be about how to infiltrate Chernobog. What we need to do is treat Chernobog as a slightly larger village. The first step is still the same old way: send a few people to investigate the situation and build an intelligence network."

Talula stopped everyone's discussion and proposed her idea—to send advance personnel for exploration.

"Me, me, me!"

As soon as he heard that someone was going to Chernobog, Orson stood up and raised his hand with a snap. It was very fast!

"—The fiery groups of Ursus! The illegal older sister Zaoba, the frustrated Junjun, Misha, and Rexa(?), here I come!"

"Alright, then Orson is excluded first."

"Why!?"

Talula directly vetoed Orson with one vote, and the latter immediately vomited three catties of blood.

"You are the core wing of Reunion. The risk of infiltrating Chernobog is too great. We cannot afford such dangerous behavior from you as during the previous [Silence Campaign]."

Talula looked at Orson with a serious expression. FrostNova looked away with a hint of dejection.

"There's no risk, that was an exception. Sister Ta, you know me well. When I encounter difficulties, the first thing I will definitely do is—"

"Rush to help?"

Talula interrupted Orson, and the others nodded in agreement that Talula was right.

"Ah, this..."

Orson moved his lips, speechless.

After defeating Orson, Talula seemed to think of something and continued:

"Then the best candidates for infiltrating Chernobog are FrostNova, Alina, and then a few more people."

"Your targeting and purpose are too obvious, Talula!"

FrostNova directly pointed out that Talula's personnel composition was as obvious as Sima Guang's heart.

"Hmm? This is just reasonable tactical deployment."

Talula said shamelessly with a straight face, not blushing or skipping a beat.

"Talula is finally starting to deceive her comrades..."

Alina said sadly from the side, like a parent who found out their child skipped school to go to an internet cafe.

"I know...! Then let's change the approach. Who here cannot participate in this mission?"

It seemed that it was indeed a bit too obvious, and Talula had to choose people again under the pressure of those around her.

"First, it's me. Due to my identity as Koschei's daughter, I will be watched by unnecessary informants. Then it's FrostNova. You have participated in the armed liberation of mines multiple times and may have been recorded by the Ursus military. Then it's Old Man Patriot—no need to consider him at all. As for Orson... if we disregard the danger, Orson is indeed one of the most suitable candidates. Then it's Alina. Alina seems to be fine too—okay, let's try another plan!"

Talula, who was only one step away from the correct answer in her reasoning, quickly pulled the plug.

"...???"

Orson looked bewildered. Although he usually didn't understand Talula's righteous speeches, this time he still didn't know where the seemingly reasonable deduction had gone wrong.

"You kid, tsk tsk tsk, I'm really envious."

Big Bear from the Abyssal Hunters patted Orson's shoulder with emotion, making Orson even more confused.

After a period of discussion, the meeting, which no longer knew what it was discussing, finally reached a conclusion that was not much different from what Talula had finally pulled the plug on.

Orson, Alina, and the engineer Isaac. These three will serve as the advance team to Chernobog for intelligence gathering.

Orson is the team's communication and escort expert. Unless these three happen to run into more than 20 Imperial Guards holding a "If You Are the One" event in Chernobog, no one can threaten Alina's and the engineer's lives from Orson.

Alina is the team's commissar (crossed out) social expert. No one can refuse Alina's gentle voice! If there is, then that bastard is no longer human.jpg.

The engineer, who calls himself Isaac, is literally an engineer and can also serve as a half-guide to Chernobog.

"Can I resign from my position as leader of Reunion right now..."

Talula looked awkward, and Alina hugged Talula and soothed her, saying it was okay.

"Orson is actually much more dull than you think, Talula. You don't have to worry too much."

"I'm not sulking because of something like this..."

Talula turned her head and complained in a low voice.

"Wait a moment—I think there's still room to discuss this. Alina can't participate in this operation either."

FrostNova's words made everyone tense up again.

"The children in the settlement can't go without a teacher for too long, and Alina's hand injury will not only attract unnecessary attention, but as a non-combatant guide, she might be in danger—this has nothing to do with Orson's protection. You can't protect Miss Alina at all times. Even a warrior like me has been on the brink of death. We can't take that kind of risk...!"

It was thought that the personnel selection was settled, but FrostNova did not seem to agree with ending it like this.

Although her words had a clear purpose, they were also sincere. Snow Rabbit was indeed worried about the safety of Alina, a non-combatant.

Everyone in Reunion knew that the weapon this little deer used to fight the world was her spirit, but sometimes, the land of Ursus would devour everything indiscriminately.

"FrostNova is right. Although I can protect Alina, I can't maintain this vigilance all the time. Talula, Alina, please reconsider."

"...Mm, I understand. My own weakness sometimes becomes a weakness for all of you."

Alina nodded in understanding. She looked at her slender arms and secretly set a goal.

"Then, as a replacement, I—"

"No, Miss FrostNova, it's over. To prevent this possibility, I have already made emergency arrangements."

"Emergency arrangements...?"

Although she was also excluded from the list, Alina looked at FrostNova firmly, with an expression that suggested everything was under control.

"I'm sorry, Orson."

"Ah?"

Alina gave Orson an apologetic glance. At the same time, a Reunion cadre who had been absent from the discussion due to other matters appeared on the scene—Patriot.

"Mr. Patriot, thank you for coming. But there's something I must tell you—Orson wants to go on a date with FrostNova to Kazimierz City!"

"Eh!?" "Mmph—!"

At Alina's words, FrostNova was startled, and Orson finally understood the situation—he was probably going to die here.

"Very well, Orson. Then let's have a Wendigo-style duel, to decide the winner and settle our lives."

Patriot calmly activated his overload mode, directly entering the second stage and drawing his anchor.

"Don't settle our lives!?"

Orson was on the verge of tears.

"It's okay, Talula, don't worry."

And the instigator of all this, Alina, leaned against Talula and said softly with a smile.

—So scary...!

Talula looked at her best friend in front of her and once again realized that the Commissar was not to be trifled with either.

Finally, for various reasons, the discussion resulted in:

Orson and Isaac, the former engineer from Kazimierz City, would have a sweet double-queue.

Although Talula, Alina, and FrostNova all expressed their acceptance of this arrangement, Orson, the person involved, seriously suspected that the development was not quite right.

"Teacher Orson? What happened?"

Sasha, who was practicing archery outside the settlement, saw Orson walking shakily with a bump on his head from a distance.

"Nothing much... I got beaten up by old man Patriot. No, I can't say I was beaten up. It was a tie, I often kill him solo too."

Orson spoke tough while painfully trying to rub the bump on his head back into place.

Opponents like Patriot were the type Orson was worst at dealing with. After all, the premise of using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds was that the opponent really only had a thousand pounds. This old monster, who could turn a spear throw into a near-Earth satellite by accidentally putting too much force into it, clearly surpassed the thousand-pound level.

Moreover, in the end, it was just a spar between Reunion cadres. Orson couldn't really use all his martial arts. The result was that Orson, whose basic stats were crushed, took a beating.

Regarding Patriot, a warrior who had lived for hundreds of years, there wasn't much Orson could change about him. Patriot had his own firm beliefs and goals, and his worldview had long since formed its own unique system.

If there was anything about Patriot that Orson had indeed changed, it was probably the slowing down of the spread of Originium infection.

After all, with the addition of an elite troop named "Orson" in Reunion, the burden on the "big daddy" naturally lessened accordingly.

In fact, [The Silence of the North] had already become a top combat force in the emerging faction of Reunion, just like [Patriot].

"Teacher Orson, did you bother FrostNova again?"

"Not at all, but it seems to be about the same? We were discussing, uh... it's nothing, really."

Orson trailed off, remembering that it was best not to discuss matters concerning Kazimierz City with Sasha and Ino.

They were children who had escaped from Kazimierz City due to abuse. Mentioning Kazimierz City at this time might touch upon the scars deep within their hearts.

"Is it Chernobyl?"

"—Mm, you heard that, Sasha."

"My hearing and vision are surprisingly useful."

Although Orson wanted to conceal the matter of Kazimierz City, Sasha had already indicated that she had heard the contents of the previous meeting.

"Teacher Orson, you don't need to worry too much about our past. Perhaps our memories of Kazimierz City are only filled with tragedy. That period once tormented us, but... it's different now."

Sasha put down her crossbow. Her snake eyes, mature for her age yet still clear, looked at Orson.

"New scenes are gradually replacing the traces of the past. Life here is much better for me than it was back then. Ino, Talula, Teacher Orson, Teacher Alina, FrostNova—I like everyone here, and Ino likes you too."

"Ah, this..."

Upon hearing this, Orson's face was covered in dark lines, and he almost suffered a PTSD relapse. Sasha noticed Orson's awkwardness. He glanced at Orson, then added.

"Ino... he's a very introverted person with few opinions of his own, but even he is gradually changing. Perhaps he just doesn't know the right way to express his gratitude. But he really is opening up little by little. Thank you, Teacher Orson."

Sasha expressed his sincere and unadorned gratitude to Orson, not only for their care but also for Orson's consistent, calm, and gentle way of looking after his close friend.

"It's just that Teacher Alina taught him well. Besides, having you as a friend is his greatest fortune."

Orson ruffled Sasha's seaweed-like hair. The boy had shed the initial ferocity and immaturity from when they first met, gradually becoming more composed and steady. He believed that with a little more time, he could truly become the "Faust" from the stories—the one who led the crossbowmen, low-key and diligent.

Only this time, his ending wouldn't be a lonely death in a Lungmen alley.

Perhaps he would become a renowned crossbowman, perhaps a writer, or perhaps he would become Ino's manager, as Ino had already transitioned into becoming an idol—

His conversation with Sasha was an unexpected encounter. After hearing the boy's recognition of his efforts, Orson happily went to the room where Talula, the leader of Reunion, was staying.

"Sister Talula?"

"Just a moment—"

Orson knocked on the door. He heard Talula's slightly flustered voice from inside, followed by a clatter of unknown sounds.

"Come in, Orson."

A few minutes later, Talula opened the door, slightly out of breath. The room behind the door was impeccably clean and tidy.