Wherever There Are People, There's a Jianghu

'Smack—' The sound was very loud.

Because a large cat just fell face-first onto the metal floor of Rhodes Island right in front of her, making a loud, painful thud.

"That's so mean, Surtr!" The large cat rubbed its head, turning over to look at her with a wronged expression. As it got up, it loudly complained, "Everyone says you've changed, and I thought so too. But your heartless little face is exactly the same as before!"

Miss Surtr, however, simply watched her quietly.

"The place you jumped from is only thirty meters above the ground, and I don't think that height could hurt a single hair on your thick-skinned cat—maybe I should arrange a thirty-kilometer freefall for you. Then I can discuss with you what 'exactly the same' means?"

Her words easily silenced the cat in front of her—so the cat whimpered twice, trying to act as if nothing had happened. It got up, dusted itself off, and then gave her a warm hug.

"Welcome back to Rhodes Island, Surtr."

She patted Miss Surtr on the back, her delight evident.

The Flame-haired maiden hair nodded.

"You're still exactly the same as before, Huang."

I originally wanted to write more as a two-in-one story... but never mind, I won't try to reach the word count.

Today's update will just be a normal one.

Chapter 163. Wherever there are people, there is a world of rivers and lakes.

Strictly speaking, Huang wasn't a native of Sarkaz Babel Tower —she had eight years of combat experience—but during Theresia's time, Sarkaz Babel Tower was actually a political force within Kazdel. As a Yan with many secrets surrounding her bloodline, she naturally wouldn't easily get involved in the internal affairs of the Sarkaz.

She does not belong to the Sarkaz Babel Tower.

But that doesn't mean Miss Surtr didn't know her.

In the later stages of the war, Persephone, for manpower deployment reasons, recruited a considerable number of mercenaries from abroad—these foreign warriors had no contact with her and were unaware that they were serving the Sarkaz Babel Tower. However, their presence, to some extent, influenced the outcome of the war.

Certain wars.

Some wars... are not very important, but they are quite troublesome and destined to be costly.

Miss Surtr met her during one of those battles—a bloody one in which Persephone treated the mercenaries as expendable resources, not expecting them to survive. And just when the tide of battle seemed to be turning against Blaze's mercenary group, Miss Surtr stepped in as a savior of justice.

Persephone's arrangement for that battle resulted in 90% of the mercenaries being killed, Theresis's two legions being delayed by five hours, thus missing the opportunity to participate in an important battle.

Miss Surtr changed the outcome of that battle to—seventy percent of the mercenaries survived, while the two legions were completely wiped out in that treacherous, difficult terrain.

The overall situation remains the same, only the details have been changed. It's not too bad.

So, Miss Surtr, who recognized Hoshino, spent some extra time settling the foreign mercenaries and protecting Persephone's secret and already less-than-ideal image. Ultimately, Hoshino, feeling a sense of compensation from Miss Surtr, became her friend.

She has many such friends. But she's unsure if these people she considers friends also consider her a friend.

Fortunately, Blaze was probably one of the people who considered her a friend. Through this relationship, and some trivial matters that followed, after the collapse of the Sarkaz Babel Tower, Blaze naturally joined the newly established Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals. After a period of assessment and personnel changes, she successfully rose through the ranks and became one of Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals' Elite Operator.

And now, she is here.

"How have you been these past few days? I mean, the time I've been away from Rhodes Island," Miss Surtr asked casually as she walked into the Rhodes Island's interior corridors—she didn't encounter many people along the way, as most of them had been called upon by Persephone or were currently busy in the maintenance area at the dock.

"Not so good." The large Feline beside him shrugged. "With you gone, Amiya is still young, Kal'tsit is in charge. But unfortunately, that respectable lady is clearly not good at administrative work—keeping Rhodes Island running is probably her limit. But the monthly budget deficit is still as glaring as ever."

"Ah," Miss Surtr uttered a simple word expressing her emotion.

"That doesn't seem to be ideal."

"Yes, although we're still getting paid, everyone's been feeling hopeless... Thank goodness you're here, Surtr. I knew things would be alright when Amiya messaged me three days ago saying you were planning to come back. I just didn't expect Rhodes Island to be able to cooperate with the higher-ups at Chernobog... Hmm, are those people easy to deal with?"

"Uh..." Miss Surtr struggled to choose her words—though she wasn't unaware that Rhodes Island's main fleet lacked a complete understanding of the situation in Chernobog. But how could she possibly explain it with the right words?

There is no such thing as a high-ranking official in Chernobog? The entire city is currently under the control of Persephone, and this power will soon be transferred to your hands.

That might not be entirely unreasonable, since Persephone's lack of a strict demand for secrecy suggests she wasn't concerned about this level of leak—but Miss Surtr also believed Persephone was equally well-informed about the internal situation of Rhodes Island's main ship. And the fact that even this veteran operator was unaware of Rhodes Island's actual control over the city might be part of one of her schemes?

It's possible, and quite likely.

So...

"You can ask Persephone yourself about this. She's in charge of it."

"Is that so?" Miss Huang tilted her head, seemingly uninterested in this vague reply. "Then I'll ask her when I have time... The Doctor from Rhodes Island, Persephone... I often hear people mention her name. She seems to be a rather... well, aloof person."

Miss Surtr felt she might prefer the word 'cold'. And Persephone deserved... correct, that word suited her.

But that must have been the woman of the past. The current Persephone is quite different from the one before.

"She's just a bit introverted," Miss Surtr said somewhat sheepishly, offering a rather one-sided view. "She's actually very capable and good at getting along with other people. Hmm... you'll understand once you spend some time with her."

"I believe she's capable, after all, you, Amiya, and Kal'tsit all trust her so much... I heard Kal'tsit is very ill right now?"

"Hmm..." Miss Surtr blinked, her ICU-bound clone glancing at the Rhodes Island Medical Operator who rushed in from the porch—she saw Shining and Nightingale simultaneously use magic to examine Kal'tsit, and then let out a sigh of relief a few seconds later.

"It's not too serious," she said. "Persephone is an excellent doctor. She has helped Kal'tsit through the critical period and stabilized her condition. It seems that all that's needed next is a period of recuperation before Kal'tsit can return to her post—she should be healthier. Because Persephone removed her hidden injuries and old ailments, and even reduced her Originium fusion rate to a very low level—perhaps Kal'tsit won't even need to wear off-the-shoulder dresses anymore."

"Eh... a blessing in disguise? That's a good thing." Huang's voice became a little lighter, and her long tail behind her also jumped up and down, patting the ground on its feet. She sniffed, and just then, a smell of food wafted through the air. At the same time, Miss Surtr heard the sound of her stomach rumbling.

"Want to go out for a celebratory meal?" Miss Surtr pretended not to hear, but helpfully offered a way out. "I haven't had lunch yet, and it's been a long time since I've had Rhodes Island food."

Huang gave her a thumbs up.

The head chef on duty at Rhodes Island's dining hall was a taciturn, middle-aged man named Zalak, whom Miss Surtr hadn't seen when she left Sarkaz Babel Tower. However, it must be said that compared to the Sarkaz's wartime culinary skills during the Sarkaz Babel Tower era, Rhodes Island's dining hall, having enjoyed several years of relative peace, had far more time to refine its dishes—because it was already 1:30 PM, there was no one else in the dining hall, and the food was prepared quickly. Within minutes, several steaming hot dishes were placed in front of Miss Surtr.

"Try it. Master Li's pan-fried tofu is a delicacy from Rhodes Island. It's just as good as the private dishes I used to eat in Yan."

Huang highly recommended a plate of neatly arranged golden squares—crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and incredibly fragrant. Miss Surtr carefully picked one up and put it in her mouth. The melt-in-your-mouth texture and slight chewiness rolled on her tongue, while the rich broth and filling created distinct layers of flavor.

It's really good.

"Master Li?" Miss Surtr asked indistinctly as she ate her next piece—she remembered that there seemed to be a girl named Li in the game. But that should be a Feline and she was long dead.

"Hmm." Huang Maomao rested her chin on her hand, stuffing food into her mouth while watching her—she, with Yan blood, was clearly also proficient in the Yan's skill of discussing anything at the dinner table, and there was no trace of interruption between her speaking and eating.

"After you left Rhodes Island, there were several personnel reorganizations here. Some familiar faces left, and some new operators were recruited—unlike before, the newly recruited operators are often not good at combat. For example, Master Li in the cafeteria, Miss Tavel in the library, and many others. They took charge of Rhodes Island's daily operations. Making this Landship more like a pharmaceutical company, rather than the one it was when you were here..."

She didn't continue, only giving a helpless "I understand" gesture. And with this exchange, the previously lively atmosphere subtly cooled down a little.