Getting Natasha on a Leash

For a moment, Seele did not know what to say.

She felt that the extraordinary debate she had carefully prepared had ended before it even began.

All the rebuttals and arguments she had anticipated had come to nothing.

Looking at Jiang Mo's indifferent expression, she felt a strange sense of disappointment rise within her.

"You... aren't worried about me?"

She asked softly, her cheeks flushing slightly.

The moment she asked that, even she felt a little foolish.

Why would Jiang Mo worry about her?

He was Jiang Mo, after all.

Jiang Mo raised his head, his black eyes looking at her seriously.

"I am worried," he said. "But I believe in you."

Believe... in me?

Seele froze for a moment.

She had always believed that, in this world, she could only rely on herself.

Fight, snatch things away, and lick her wounds alone.

She was a solitary beast.

Yet Jiang Mo said he believed in her.

"Alright."

Seele nodded. "Then I'll go today."

"Okay," Jiang Mo replied. "Remember to come back early for dinner."

Seele looked at him... and inexplicably began to feel at ease.

Then, she suddenly stepped forward, stretched out her small arms, and fiercely hugged Jiang Mo.

Jiang Mo's body stiffened.

Seele buried her head against his shoulder and held him tightly for several seconds.

Then, before Jiang Mo could react, she quickly let go and hopped back a step.

Seele's ears had turned bright red, and even her neck was tinged pink.

She did not dare meet Jiang Mo's eyes and stammered out a sentence.

"S-See you tonight!"

As if fleeing, she dashed out of the shelter and vanished around the alley corner.

Jiang Mo remained in the position of being hugged, clutching that piece of wood in his hand as he stood there dumbfounded.

After a while, he finally came back to his senses and looked down at his shoulder.

Then Jiang Mo smiled.

He was not worried about Seele.

He knew very well what Underworld would become in the future.

To Seele, it was safer there than wandering alone, and besides...

This counted as a job, didn't it?

She could earn food or supplies. That was pretty good.

Of course, more importantly...

At that moment, Jiang Mo had a new plan in mind.

A plan that would let him and Seele live more easily in the Underworld.

When that time came, it would not matter where Seele wanted to go or what she wanted to do.

Getting Natasha in the Palm of My Hand

Seele jogged all the way until she was far from Jiang Mo's shelter before slowing down.

She touched her burning ears, her heart pounding wildly.

She did not know what had come over her just then. As if possessed, she had hugged Jiang Mo.

Shaking her head, Seele crossed the streets and finally arrived before that abandoned-looking warehouse.

Seele took a deep breath and walked inside.

The warehouse was more spacious than it appeared from outside. The lighting was dim, but she could make out some crude bedding and piled-up supplies.

In the middle of the warehouse, more than a dozen figures had gathered.

Oleg stood in the center of the crowd, saying something.

At that moment, he saw Seele enter, and his eyes lit up.

"Child, you're here."

Oleg nodded at her.

Seele rushed straight up to Oleg and handed the flyer in her hand back to him.

"Mr. Oleg."

She raised her head, her gaze resolute.

"I want to join Wildfire!"

Oleg looked at the small but sharp-eyed girl before him, an approving expression appearing on his face.

"Very good, Seele." He took the flyer. "Welcome aboard. From today onward, you're a member of Wildfire."

Some time passed.

Life in Boulder Town was still difficult, but because of Wildfire's emergence, order gradually began to return.

Oleg led his people on patrols through the town, driving away Riftworld Monsters that approached Boulder Town, stopping the bullying of vagrants and thugs, and even organizing people to clear the streets and repair damaged houses.

Though their strength was limited, they acted actively and soon won the favor of Boulder Town's residents.

Natasha's clinic also gained a foothold in Boulder Town.

Her medical skills were superb, and she was kind-hearted, earning the trust of many residents.

Though the clinic was crude, patients came every day seeking treatment.

That afternoon, there were not many patients in the clinic.

Natasha was sorting medicine when the door curtain was lifted and a figure walked in.

Natasha looked up.

The moment she saw who it was, her pupils suddenly contracted.

That black-haired brat.

Jiang Mo.

He had come.

Natasha's heart skipped a beat.

The instant she saw Jiang Mo, she knew that what was coming had finally come.

She forcibly suppressed the turmoil in her heart and squeezed out a smile.

"Jiang Mo? Why are you here?"

Jiang Mo walked to the table and looked at her. He wore a childlike smile, but his eyes held a maturity unfitting for his age.

"I came to visit Sister Natasha."

He pulled over a chair and sat down. "And to see how business at the clinic is doing."

"Oh, business is so-so."

Natasha answered, though she was on high alert inside.

Ever since their last meeting at the orphanage, this child had changed.

That look in his eyes... made her deeply uneasy.

Natasha did not want to beat around the bush with him either.

"What do you need from me?" she asked bluntly. "Just say it."

Jiang Mo looked at her, the smile on his face fading somewhat.

"Sister Natasha, do you remember our previous agreement?"

"I said that whatever I asked you to help me with, you would help me. Does that still stand?"

Natasha's fingers trembled slightly.

Of course she remembered.

"What would you do if I said it didn't?"

After some thought, Natasha decided to test the waters first.

Jiang Mo seemed somewhat surprised. He raised an eyebrow and said,

"Could it be that warm-hearted Doctor Natasha doesn't keep her word either?"

His words made Natasha feel stifled.

"Tell me what you want me to help with first. Then I'll decide."

Seeing that she would not easily give in, Jiang Mo did not waste any more words.

"Do you know Wildfire?"

Hearing that word, Natasha's heart tightened, but she did not show it on her face.

"Wildfire?" She pretended to be confused. "I've heard a little about it. It seems to be some newly established militia organization. What about it?"

But upon hearing that, Jiang Mo smiled.

That smile carried a shrewdness that seemed to see through everything.

"Doctor Natasha, you're really bad at playing dumb."

Natasha's heart skipped a beat.

"What do you mean? Playing dumb about what?"

Jiang Mo did not answer.

He merely looked quietly at Natasha, his gaze seemingly able to see through the deepest secrets in her heart.

After a brief silence, he finally spoke.

His voice was not loud, yet it was like a bomb dropped directly into Natasha's heart.

"Oleg of Wildfire is only the leader on the surface."

Jiang Mo said, "Sister Natasha, you're Wildfire's true leader... You and Oleg had contact long ago, then founded Wildfire together. Am I wrong?"

Natasha was completely stunned.

How did he know so much?!

Clearly, only she and Oleg knew about this...

No, could Oleg have...?

And Jiang Mo seemed to see through her thoughts.

"Oleg didn't tell me."