To Old Kitty: Watch Closely and Learn

She encountered many familiar faces, many Sarkaz. After the fall of Sarkaz Babel Tower, Kal'tsit had assigned most of the Sarkaz who remained on Rhodes Island to positions far from the fighting, conducive to post-war recovery. This weakened Rhodes Island's offensive capabilities while providing respite for these poor souls who had suffered years of war... Some smiled and nodded at her. Some ignored her. And a small minority avoided her, casting resentful glances at her from the shadows.

Theresia's death had nothing to do with Miss Surtr.

However, many of the old Sarkaz Babel Tower residents who had not yet recovered from the death of the Princess still placed part of the blame for the conspiracy on her.

Miss Surtr ignored them—it wasn't worth it, nor was it necessary. Because just as they were casting their angry glances at Miss Surtr, Theresia, on another dimension visible to Miss Surtr, was also casting a melancholy, pitying, or regretful look at them.

They have already received the maximum punishment they could possibly receive, so there is absolutely no need to increase it in any way.

So Miss Surtr walked past them.

After them, she saw many more unfamiliar faces—most of them didn't belong to the Sarkaz; they might be from Columbia, Lateran, Sargon, or Siracusa —many of these faces were simply unfamiliar. For example, Angelina and Poncire, whom she recognized immediately. Others were people she had no recollection of, and couldn't find any corresponding characters in her mind.

For example, there was a girl of unknown race wearing a bandage cloak, wandering around the door, who at first glance was almost mistaken for Huaiying, but was definitely not.

For example, a few young, strong men from the Perro, probably from Bolívar.

For example...

Many, many—she saw many people she didn't recognize. And most of these unfamiliar faces were not combatants.

Ah, Rhodes Island has really changed a lot.

—No wonder Huang was worried that I wanted to rebuild the Sarkaz Babel Tower ... The current Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals is indeed more like an ordinary medical company with its own defense capabilities, rather than the military-political group of the past.

—Hopefully, Persephone can settle them down... In any case, sending ordinary civilians who just want to earn a living to the battlefield is still somewhat cruel.

The young girl thought to herself, mentally preparing her advice to Persephone —though she felt it was probably unnecessary. But before trusting Persephone's 'understanding' that was only directed at her, she felt she shouldn't neglect her necessary preparations.

She stopped in her tracks.

A familiar door appeared before her, and as she reached out her hand, the steel sliding door opened in front of her.

Arrive.

This is her room, her dormitory. Her destination. The place she lived for many years ago.

As she took her first step, the aura she encountered was both familiar and strange—familiar because she knew the original owner of these auras. Strange because she couldn't understand why these auras were here!

—Liz, Kal'tsit ...they've both been to my room more than once. Sniffing...the smell is a little strange. Is it due to lack of ventilation...? Hmm? There seems to be another one?

The girl was stunned for a moment—and after that moment of surprise, she darted to her bedside.

And then...

—Damn it! Why is Rosemary taking a nap on my bed?!

What came into view was a young Feline with short, light blue hair—and she was curled up, biting her fingers, lying on the bed that Miss Surtr hadn't touched in years!

—Did I go into the wrong room?!

5/72?

Chapter 165 - To Old Cat: Watch carefully, learn well.

The shock only occupied her thoughts for a very short time.

She didn't speak loudly, scream, or do anything that would disturb others' naps—she simply took out her terminal and texted PRTS to ask about her room location and the condition of the Rosemary.

PRTS responded quite quickly. Within seconds, several lines explaining the cause and effect appeared at the top of the terminal screen in her hand.

--I see.

—Is it because I taught her for a while before, that we have that connection, and also because my residence has excellent natural light? Is that why Amiya gave Rosemary special permission to use my room during her afternoon nap?

As her emotions calmed down, some recent memories surfaced—she remembered Rosemary. Over a year ago, while patrolling outside Rhodes Island, she happened to encounter a team of operators returning from Columbia in the wasteland. That team was the same field team that had rescued Rosemary from the giant corporation and brought her back to Rhodes Island for treatment.

It was obvious that Rhodes Island's reputation wasn't particularly strong in the wasteland—the team had encountered some trouble and problems. And I, who always played the role of the 'miracle worker' in those saga of divine intervention, naturally stepped in after noticing the distress signal.

As expected, the entire team escaped unscathed—and Rosemary, who was still completely unable to control her power at that time, naturally received a gift from herself. It was a seal, a Fire Lock that bound her power. And the invisible entity with four arms that accompanied Rosemary's spirit was thus locked and suppressed by her own flames.

The ending of this interlude is that Rosemary is no longer a walking time bomb, no longer plagued by intermittent amnesia and cognitive dissonance. Although when he was teaching her how to use her powers, this little Feline would always mischievously try to break her own fingers. But children are children... it's always good for them to be lively and energetic.

—She's not even as old as Amiya.

Miss Surtr thought to herself as she quietly sat down at her desk, which she hadn't touched in years—the afternoon sun streaming in through the window, making the neatly arranged spines of the books gleam.

The books are mostly history books, with a small portion being specialized texts— Terra's mathematical progress isn't actually slow. But at least for now, the most advanced knowledge on Terra is still below her level of understanding.

She casually opened an algebra book and read it in the sunlight—she didn't intend to wake the Rosemary, but she also didn't intend to leave her old home just because her bed was taken.

After all, she hadn't received such a request before, and besides, Rosemary was different from the skinny, small Feline in the game's setting.

She is no longer Elite Operator —in the original game setting. She became Elite Operator for two reasons: first, because she possessed immense power with tactical and even local strategic value; and second, because this power needed someone to share the burden, otherwise it would spiral out of control and burn. Therefore, she needed a squad to assist her.

Strength is not the key point; controllability is.

On Rhodes Island, there are no shortage of operators with combat power, and even physical destructive power, that surpass Rosemary's. However, their power is controllable, and they don't require a dedicated squad to coordinate with them. Therefore, they won't become Elite Operator, even though a few of them hold authority that surpasses that of ordinary Elite Operator.

The Rosemary in the original setting is different from them—so in the original setting, Rosemary has her own team and the main function of her team is to help her bear the cost of using her abilities.

However, the price Rosemary now has to pay for her power has been transferred to Miss Surtr. And this price is far too heavy for her. Miss Surtr couldn't even perceive it when she wasn't carefully monitoring the amount of energy she was losing.

The mountain that fell on the head of the girl from Feline was merely a grain of sand stirred up by the wheels of time. And as the one driving those wheels, Miss Surtr truly had no recollection of having such a connection with Rhodes Island.

—But this is also a good thing.

—Rosemary is no longer Elite Operator, no longer troubled by Rosemary and uncontrolled power... Although I cannot restore her childhood to its former glory, at least I can let her youth bloom freely in the sunshine... I just looked through her file; two months ago, she even carried out a combat-type field mission alone and received an excellent rating.

—It's already a good cat.

Miss Surtr pondered, her gaze shifting—only then did she notice a notebook on her desk that wasn't hers—she raised an eyebrow, about to open it, when the latest entries flashed through her peripheral vision. Some entries in fresh handwriting caught her eye.

"... Sister Surtr is coming back today. I'm going..."

She raised an eyebrow.

A gust of wind, stirred by her will, silently closed the half-open notebook—she had recognized the notes as belonging to Rosemary. She simply hadn't expected that Rosemary would not only control her illness but also develop the habit of keeping a diary.

—No, let me correct you slightly. That might not be a diary. It's more like a project plan...

A subtle sound came from behind her—very faint, but it didn't escape her ears. Her senses told her that little Feline on the bed had woken up. And then, the little one moved silently and swiftly, just like a real feline.

It landed gently on the ground and cautiously approached from behind—ah, it seems this little Feline is planning a surprise attack.