Chapter 280
With the recent Catastrophe in Chernobyl, the wealthy and nobles have all fled. The remaining Ursus residents, with their families, are mostly homeless. The wilderness has extreme temperature fluctuations between day and night, making it unsuitable for habitation. The best option is to go to Lungmen and rebuild their homes after the Catastrophe has completely subsided.
December 24, 1996, 10:30 AM
Before the Catastrophe struck, Shi Lei used Rock House to carry everyone away from Chernobyl.
He bypassed the Lungmen border checkpoint and prepared to make a high-speed vertical landing on the open ground in front of the Taiheng Road warehouse.
Each fall from a height of several thousand meters elicits excited shouts from Exusiai, who says it's several times more exhilarating than emptying her magazine.
With the sturdy Rock House protecting them, the people will not feel any wind pressure or physical discomfort during the fall.
The simple act of freefall allows them to experience weightlessness. It's like jumping off a snow-capped mountain and enjoying the exhilarating feeling of accelerating downwards.
The body will produce a large amount of adrenaline and cortisol in a short period of time. Among these hormones is dopamine, which makes the body even more excited.
Considering the effects of repeated free fall on the human body, Shi Lei rarely does this.
After landing, he dismantled the Rock House and faced the crowd, saying:
"Thank you all for your hard work today. I'll treat you to a nice meal tonight. Everyone come, no one is allowed to refuse. As for the reward for this operation, I'll have Texas distribute it to you once I receive it."
Surtr doesn't need much money; she's content as long as she can eat Ice Cream every day.
"There's no need, Lord Shi Lei. It's my honor to work for you; there's no need to pay me."
FrostNova, who was lodging here, chimed in:
"Yes, consider it payment for my food and lodging. Otherwise, I'll always be troubling you, and I'll feel really bad."
"One thing at a time, and they can't be confused. This operation is special, and I can't handle it alone. You've put in the effort, so you definitely deserve compensation. Even if you don't need it, you can save it for a meal later."
Seeing that Shi Lei insisted on distributing the payment, everyone stopped refusing. They readily agreed and expressed their gratitude.
In fact, he's short of money and can print money anytime. High-purity pure Pure Gold is a hard currency in this land.
Yes, but it's not necessary.
Shi Lei didn't have that kind of perverse taste for golden palaces and golden toilets; on the contrary, he thought it was too vulgar.
Exusiai used to live paycheck to paycheck, but since moving to Texas, she's had some extra money. She's more interested in the evening parties than the payment.
"Let's have a celebration party tonight to 'defeate Rhodes Island and adventure in the Catastrophe '!"
"What a weird name, it's so long."
"Hahaha."
Amidst the laughter and chatter, Alina, who was temporarily staying there, followed the sound and came out of the warehouse. She saw Talulah sleeping on the floor and ran over with concern, asking:
"Sir, what's wrong with her?"
Upon hearing this, Shi Lei offered words of comfort:
"She's alright, she just fainted, but she's fine. However, I can't leave her with you; I have to take her to the Lungmen Guard Department later. Don't worry, Chen is her sister, she shouldn't do anything to her."
Alina wasn't an unreasonable person; she knew Talulah had made some mistakes. But regardless, she was still her best friend.
"I understand, as long as she's safe."
Shi Lei was decisive and efficient. He gave Texas a look, and the latter instantly understood. He went back inside to get his car keys, preparing to take Talulah to the Lungmen Guard Department.
Shi Lei used Rock Constructs to secure Talulah to the back seat. Sitting in the passenger seat, he took out his phone and made a call.
"Inspector Chen, I've brought Talulah back. Where should I take her next? To the Lungmen Guard Department?"
Chen, this workaholic, is usually not in the bureau, but spends all her time running to the branch office in the Lower City:
"No, no, no, here's my home address. You go there first, I'll come back as soon as I'm done here."
11:30 am
Between Chernobyl and Lungmen lies a wasteland.
Kal'tsit left the lab and encountered Rhodes Island engineer Closure in the corridor. The latter gently waved her left hand in greeting.
"Hey, Kal'tsit. I heard the Doctor is back. Can I go see him later?"
This Sarkaz with pointed ears, like Warfarin, has the blood of the Bloodfiend. As one of Rhodes Island's veteran Operator, she is mainly responsible for water and electricity engineering and maintenance, and is an old acquaintance of the Doctor from the Babel era.
Seeing her playful expression, Kal'tsit warned:
"Have you been itching to play a prank on the Doctor for a while now?"
"Hehe, don't be so wary. I'm suppressing those thoughts and preparing to care for her."
Seeing the other person's indifferent expression that Closure chuckled and said:
"Okay, okay, I did want to tease him."
"The Doctor is currently suffering from amnesia; whether he can remember you is still unknown."
"Huh? Did he sleep in the Stone Coffin for too long and become stupid? That's so sad. I should bring some special snacks and go visit him properly."
Kal'tsit stared at her and reminded her again:
"Closure, think about what you did to him before. This may be your chance to rebuild your image in the Doctor's eyes, so make the most of it."
"Okay, I'll throw him a welcome party."
Closure shrugged, seemingly oblivious to his words.
"Kal'tsit, I need to talk to you about something else. We're heading to Lungmen next, right?"
"Um."
"Can I move around freely? I promise I won't wander off this time, please, please."
Kal'tsit wasn't having any of it and politely declined.
"It's best not to. Lungmen will become quite dangerous in the near future."
"Hey? Isn't the area over there pretty safe?"
"The closest Mobile Cities to Chernobyl is Lungmen, I don't need to say more, right?"
Closure pursed her lips upon hearing this, then raised her arms above her head to stretch her muscles:
"Okay, actually I want to go to Lungmen to buy a batch of materials and make some quick money. If I can't move around freely, I'll think of something else."
Seeing that she had nothing else to ask, Kal'tsit walked through the corridor and headed straight for Rhodes Island's dining hall.
The Doctor has only recently regained consciousness and is still quite weak. He can only consume liquids for the time being.
Upon entering the dining hall, Kal'tsit noticed many unfamiliar faces. They were all teenagers, and appeared to be underage.
The clothes have the Peterheim Middle School badge printed on them, so they are probably students from the Chernobyl area.
Amiya was introducing things to the students when she saw Kal'tsit and came over to introduce herself:
"Doctor Kal'tsit, these are refugees we just treated. They were trapped in the school and must have been rescued by Mister Zhongli."
A blonde Ursus girl with orange eyes smiled infectiously upon hearing this name:
"Oh, so the masked benefactor's name is Zhongli. I'll remember that. It's a pity Leto didn't come along, otherwise I would have let her know the benefactor's name too."
"No, that's a code name, not a real name."
Zhongli?
Kal'tsit had lost contact with Amiya's team since the rescue operation began. This was the first time she had heard of this information, and she was quite surprised.
"Zhongli to Chernobyl?"
"Yes, he also brought a lot of helpers. If it weren't for their help, the number of Operator we lost in this rescue the Doctor would probably have doubled."
Miss Nian alone saved everyone who wasn't injured from the Rhodes Island's executives. And then there was the red-haired Sarkaz, who rescued Scout Squad. It was thanks to their help that the losses were minimized.
Amiya noticed that she seemed a little lost in thought and tilted her head, saying:
"Doctor Kal'tsit, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing, I'm just surprised that he ended up in that place."
Kal'tsit didn't linger; she grabbed some porridge from the window and left with her tray. But as soon as she returned to the lab, she saw a large Operator gathered at the entrance.
11:45 am
Chernobyl, outside the city.
Patriot, along with his guerrilla members, waited at the Rhodes Island's evacuation assembly point.
The long wait yielded no results.
Talulah has not appeared yet; perhaps she has already been executed or taken away by Zhongli.
Regardless of the outcome, the Patriot will not pursue the matter. His ideals have clashed with those of Talulah since the time at Lake Bel. Their irreconcilable differences even led to a split between the two organizations.
He later joined the Rhodes Island not because Talulah conquered Schuratzburg City, nor because he gradually came to agree with Talulah's extreme ideology.
Instead, they stand from the grand perspective of 'the future of those infected,' wanting to protect this spark of hope.
Unfortunately, the fire is probably out now.
"Grown ups!"
Suddenly, a shout interrupted my thoughts.
Patriot looked toward the guerrilla Scout to the sound. A muffled thud came from inside the Antler Helmet. He asked, "..."
"What happened?"
"At the foot of the mountain, we found a group of local infected people who had escaped from Chernobyl. Roughly estimated, there were more than a thousand of them. Their leader saw the Shield Guard squad and said they were your old friends."
Did he say what his name was?
"Yes, sir, he calls himself Hegre."
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Upon hearing the name Hegre, Patriot's mind conjured up a vague image of Liberi.
After all, there are very few Ursus generals left who haven't been executed. Usually, only three types of people can survive the fierce political infighting.
The first type is the high-ranking Duke. They possess fiefdoms, recruit soldiers, and control their own territories. Even if they face condemnation from political enemies, it doesn't have much of an impact.
The second type is generals who, like Patriot, betray Ursus and establish their own independent forces. However, such individuals will be wanted and hunted down by major army groups and Duke powers, and their survival depends entirely on their own abilities.
As the last pure-blooded Wendigo in the world, Broca's situation is somewhat special. He is someone that only a few army groups know where he is, but dare not provoke.
The third type is like Hegre. Generals who never participated in political struggles or aligned themselves with any faction during their military service. These politically marginalized generals are less likely to be targeted by political enemies.
Broca had heard rumors that Hegre had gone into seclusion in Sistag. He was surprised to see him in Chernobyl and instructed the guerrillas:
"I have something to attend to and need to go down the mountain first. You all stay here and don't wander around. If any cadres from the Rhodes Island return, report to me immediately."
"Yes, sir!"
Seeing that Patriot wanted to go down the mountain, and considering his heavy armor, the scout Scout suggested:
"Sir, should I ask him to come up the mountain?"
"Need not."
Broca the offer firmly.
"I haven't seen General Hella for a long time; I should be the one to greet him."
Before Broca betrayed Ursus and fled to the Lake Bel area to establish his own power base, he had served as a captain in the army. However, Hegre, as a general, was at least three ranks higher than him: colonel, lieutenant colonel, and major.
If I remember correctly, Hegre distinguished himself in the Four Emperors War in 1053. He gained widespread fame in the Tenth UCA War in 1063, and subsequently distinguished himself in several major battles. Unlike incompetent commanders who relied on hereditary titles, he was a general with genuine talent and ability.
Even though Hegre has now retired, Broca still holds him in high esteem.
In short, there are very few generals who don't engage in political struggles and only focus on combat command.
The guerrilla Scout, Broca and several Shield Guards, arrived at the foot of the mountain.