Chapter 277

Red frowned and pondered for a moment, seemingly considering whether to provide FrostNova with information about the organization's internal workings:

"The Patriot's forces are not in the city, but outside. According to our intelligence, there is a tens of thousands of Ursus Army Group stationed outside the city. The leader sent the Patriot to keep an eye on them, but they did not enter the city. After the withdrawal from Chernobyl, the officers will need to give 20% of the profits to the Patriot as a reward."

Upon learning that Broca wasn't in the city, FrostNova secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The man was right; he had indeed been involved, just not in the city.

"I heard that you harmed many people after entering Chernobyl's city area. Is that true?"

Red raised his hand and pulled his mask up slightly:

"I'm very sorry, Miss FrostNova, I can't answer that question. I can only say that our squad is not like that. Other officers may have their own ideas, but that's not something I should be concerned with."

He knew the limits of his abilities and would only restrain those around him who could be restrained. Red wouldn't interfere with those stronger than himself.

"Well, what are your plans next?"

"I don't know. Let's see where people need rescue first. The leader hasn't assigned us any tasks; we have to find things to do ourselves. If we still haven't received orders when the Catastrophe is about to strike, we'll leave here."

"Do you know where Talulah is?"

Red stared at FrostNova before him and answered truthfully:

"Seeing you here, I knew you were looking for the leader. But I'm a member of Rhodes Island now, and I won't betray her whereabouts. Even if I'm defeated and die today, I won't reveal a single word to you. If you don't want war, go look elsewhere. Time is running out."

FrostNova gazed at the approaching Cataclysmic Clouds in the distance and uttered a similar sigh:

"Yes, time is running out."

U-block.

After a large number of members were eliminated by the Female Lupo and the gender-blind Sarkaz, the SS captain led the remaining thirty-odd members back to the Signal Tower.

They met Talulah, the leader of the Rhodes Island, on the rooftop of the Signal Tower 'Control Room.

She stood alone at the edge of the railing, gazing at the approaching Cataclysmic Clouds. She held a wine glass in her hand, gently swirling it, exuding an air of aristocratic elegance.

"Leader!"

The captain of the royal guard knelt on one knee and reported to Talulah what had just happened.

"I'm not making excuses for my subordinates, it's just that those two guys are too strange. No matter how we attack, we can't cause any real damage."

Talulah slowly turned around and looked at her:

"Besides you, is there anyone else who knows about this?"

"It should only be Mephisto, but I feel he can't stop those two."

Talulah's eyes narrowed, and she suddenly unleashed a thin flame from her palm, sweeping it towards the members of her personal guard.

The captain of the royal guard's face changed drastically, and before he died, he only had time to utter his last words:

"If you're not the leader, then who are you?"

343 Koschei's Sophistry 3K

U-block.

After determining the approximate location of the target, Shi Lei flew at low altitude to the only Signal Tower in the western urban area.

There is less than an hour left before the Catastrophe hits Chernobyl. He doesn't have much time left to capture Talulah and then retreat.

After Shi Lei to the Signal Tower, Shi Lei did not find Talulah there. He spread his Psychic Power outwards and discovered that there was only one person in the entire area. He then took off again and flew directly two kilometers away.

This is a palace abandoned by nobles who moved out, and it has a very classical architectural style.

In front of the palace, a plaza surrounds an artificial lake. Coupled with exquisitely designed stone pillars, it evokes the feeling of a landscape painting. Although no gold was used, the air of wealth permeates the space.

Shi Lei flew low overhead, assuming the person there was a noble member who hadn't had time to evacuate.

He was slightly taken aback when he spotted Talulah standing on the third-floor balcony.

It really was her.

Could it be that they're reminiscing about their former aristocratic life and want to come here to relive it?

According to Shi Lei's Psychic Scan, there were no other living beings within several kilometers of Talulah.

With her strength, she certainly doesn't need guards; perhaps they've all been sent to the battlefield.

Upon seeing the man wearing the golden mask fly over, Talulah showed neither surprise nor panic. She stood up and gestured for him to enter, saying:

"Mister Zhongli, I have been waiting for you for a long time."

Upon hearing the other party call out his code name, Shi Lei landed on a balcony of about ten square meters.

There was a table, two chairs, and several plants on the balcony. On the table were two cups of coffee steaming. Judging from the temperature, the coffee had been brewed in no more than three minutes, indicating that the other party already knew he would be coming.

Talulah placed her hands on her lower abdomen, interlacing her fingers, which looked a little strange.

"Mister Zhongli, this is a freshly brewed Pour-over Coffee. Please enjoy it. I knew you would come as soon as my subordinates reported that someone was immune to damage."

"I didn't see any subordinates."

Talulah grinned slightly, her smile quite subtle:

"Don't worry, they've already been driven away. I don't want anyone to disrupt our talks."

Shi Lei found it baffling; who would be in the mood to discuss business during Catastrophe? So he corrected him:

"I'm here on Chen's orders to bring you back. If you want to talk, go talk to her."

"No, Mister Zhongli. I believe only you can answer the questions in my heart. Could you spare a moment to answer a few small questions for me?"

Shi Lei turned his head to look in the direction of the Cataclysmic Clouds, then sensed the positions of the others and estimated:

"Okay, but you only have ten minutes. Once the time is up, I have to take you away. So, what do you want to ask?"

Seeing that Zhongli did not refuse the offer, Talulah's smile deepened, making her appear extremely approachable.

"Ten minutes is enough. Thank you so much for taking the time to listen. I'd like to know, what kind of organization do you think the Rhodes Island is?"

Throughout the entire conversation, the other party used honorifics. They were not only respectful in attitude but also paid great attention to etiquette.

This aristocratic demeanor made Shi Lei feel that Talulah was like a completely different person, with a completely different temperament:

"I'm sorry, I have no experience in the Rhodes Island, so I can't answer that question. Besides, is my opinion really that important?"

Duke Koschei had already taken control of Talulah's consciousness, appeared calm on the surface, but was inwardly groaning. Zhongli's answer was completely unpredictable.

Faced with this kind of closed-ended question, a normal person would answer "yes" or "bad." This way, Koschei could guide the conversation according to the pre-designed script.

But the other party neither said anything good nor bad, directly disrupting the flow. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and steer the conversation back to the pre-planned content:

"In the eyes of the world, the Rhodes Island may be a very bad and violent organization. But in the eyes of the Infected, we are a source of hope and light. Sometimes, looking at things from a different perspective can make all the difference."

"I know, that's why I didn't comment on the Rhodes Island earlier. From my personal perspective, I certainly can't give you the answer you're looking for."

This statement, seemingly a positive answer, actually blocked any further options for Koschei, leaving him unable to continue.

If he goes on to elaborate and tries to redefine the nature of the Rhodes Island, it will seem very forced.

Tsk, chatting with Zhongli is really exhausting.

This topic has died out, so we have to change it:

"Mister Zhongli, don't you think this is a very terrible world? Regardless of race, people are divided into different classes based on wealth and status. Wealthy nobles and Ruler can fully enjoy material comforts. As the class decreases, the wealth they acquire also decreases. And the poorest people at the bottom can barely make ends meet."

These impoverished people receive the lowest pay for the dirtiest and most exhausting jobs. Sometimes they also have to endure extremely high risks of infection, which can lead to them developing Originium-related illness.

If we ask ourselves honestly, don't they want to live a normal life? But this terrible world doesn't allow them to have that wish.

If a person has no money, they will fall to the bottom of society. Even if this person is exceptionally talented or possesses profound insights, they will be filtered out by the sieve of society.

The kinder a person is by nature, the more easily they are manipulated by those in power. In today's world of confused values, wealth has become the standard by which a person is measured.

I don't understand why these rich people can be so high and mighty. Why can they acquire vast wealth without working? Why should they make ordinary people at the bottom struggle and endure hardships they shouldn't have to bear?

In the past, Shi Lei might have been intimidated.

But after reading day and night for over two years, his mindset was completely different from when he first transmigrated. His views on worldly affairs and his values had also become much clearer.

"I think your statement is biased. There are many kinds of evil in the world. Should we attribute them all to money and wealth?"

"Your murders and arson can be attributed to the plunder of wealth. But is your revenge against ordinary people also for money? There's an old saying in Yan: 'A gentleman loves wealth, but acquires it in a proper way.' Only those who always think of getting something for nothing will steal and rob. Clearly, evil isn't formed by money, but by people."

Seeing that Zhongli had finally responded directly, Koschei grinned. Discussing these things was pointless, but it allowed him to conceal his other purpose:

"Undeniably, most evils stem from money or the unequal distribution of wealth. Whether it's mining oppression, selling counterfeit drugs, or human trafficking, which of these doesn't bear the mark of money?"

The poor are trapped in their misery because they lack money. Take this trip to Chernobyl as an example: after a natural Catastrophe, all the supplies in the city will be destroyed anyway, so why can't we get some? We just want to get things that were destined to be destroyed anyway; it's not like we're getting something for nothing, is it?

Shi Lei had no idea where the other person had learned all this, and he frowned slightly.

"Talulah, you're twisting the facts. You emphasize that the Rhodes Island is acquiring things that should have been destroyed, but those things don't belong to you. Essentially, it's still a form of resource plunder."

Money, by its very nature, is a mindless, lifeless thing. The evils you speak of, are they caused by money or by people? If they are caused by money, then money is the Source of Sin. Does that mean that in the future, when you commit robbery, you can claim you were tempted by money?

Koschei was momentarily speechless, but he had already subtly moved behind Shi Lei. He needed to use conflicting viewpoints to lower the other's guard and thus bridge the gap between them:

"Alright, Mister Zhongli. If you think evil has nothing to do with money, then let's go back to evil itself. When you see a wild beast eating Fowlbeast, do you think the beast is evil? If you protect these Fowlbeast from being eaten, isn't that the same as destroying the beast?"

You only see the bad things that infected people are doing, but have you ever thought that we have no choice but to do so?

It's precisely because the path of hard work and perseverance is blocked that they resort to plundering others to survive. The infected are now in a situation akin to wild animals. Most of you may hate us, but we have to live too.

Hearing this, Shi Lei became somewhat angry. Talulah's fallacious argument was utterly absurd.

"Please stop confusing the issue. Aren't you just trying to glorify the actions of the Rhodes Island? You think you'll die if you don't plunder others, and you have to plunder to survive? What about others? Are they just destined to be plundered by you?"

What I find most objectionable about you is that you commit various crimes under the guise of survival. We certainly need to uphold justice, but is allowing Peterheim's students to eat people because of hunger truly upholding justice?

And aren't those who oppress the infected nobles and Ruler of various countries? The Rhodes Island doesn't dare to resist them, so they target the weak common people, right? They lack the courage to challenge the nobles, only daring to bully the weak and fear the strong?

Koschei knew he would lose if he continued the discussion, but winning or losing was no longer important. He walked behind Shi Lei and slid a strangely shaped dagger from his sleeve:

"Mister Zhongli, what you're saying now is exactly from the perspective of the Ruler ..."

Before he could finish speaking, Koschei suddenly struck. He gripped the hilt of the dagger tightly and plunged it into his opponent's back.

Shi Lei had noticed Talulah had circled around to his back and knew she was hiding a weapon. After all, with his Psychic Scan, he could see the scene clearly even with her back turned.

As he struck Zhongli, Koschei revealed a smug, triumphant smile:

"Hahaha, I knew you didn't take me seriously, you're completely unprepared. Your shield can block physical attacks, but can you withstand mental attacks?"

An ancient and eerie symbol suddenly appeared on the forehead of Talulah, whom he controlled:

"I want your body!"

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344 Sending heads a thousand miles away 4K

More than 20 years ago, the Duke Koschei infiltrated Lungmen and declared war on Governor Wei Yenwu.

Although the latter won with the help of the Rat King Lingerui and Adams Swire, it paid an extremely heavy price. Koschei used the opportunity of blowing up half of Lungmen as leverage to kidnap the young Talulah.

In the days that followed, Koschei Talulah to adulthood with the treatment due to an Eldest Daughter. He constantly instilled his geopolitical ideas in her, attempting to control her mind through subtle influence.

For example, they plunder the wealth of all commoners and create internal conflicts between the infected and the uninfected. By concealing these conflicts, they maintain the rule of the nobility.

Talulah seems to be born rebellious, always wanting to go against Koschei. Like a rebellious teenager, the more you tell her to do something, the less she will do it.

Talulah always believed that Koschei wanted to groom her as his future successor.

In defiance, Talulah pricked her finger with Originium crystal, voluntarily becoming Originium-related illness patient. She thought that by doing so, she would make the other party give up.

Koschei did indeed give up, but he died because he had brainwashed and controlled Talulah's mind. He wanted to take over Talulah's body, so he led her to kill him.

In this way, Koschei could use special Originium memories to possess Talulah. Through dream suggestions, mental suggestion, and other methods, he could gradually cultivate her into an extreme Infected leader.

The day Talulah fully accepts his distorted ideology, she will be completely stripped of control of her body. At that time, this body, possessing the bloodline of the Victoria Red Dragon Royal Family, will belong to Koschei.

However, the plan, which had been in the works for nearly twenty years, encountered a major change last year.

Two of His Majesty the Emperor's personal Inner Guards arrived at the Rhodes Island camp near Lake Baikal to check if Koschei was still asleep.

However, these Inner Guards, who rarely socialize, seem to have some mental issues. They actually asked Koschei if he had been resurrected in front of countless Infection members of the Rhodes Island.