Death Volunteers

Not to mention, she also refused painkillers.

Now, she was practically lying on the hospital bed, talking to Oute with her face turned to the side.

"It's alright." Talulah tried to smile, but her lips twitched, though she still managed to force a warm smile.

Her disheveled hair barely concealed her slender neck, her thin lips were almost bloodless and even a little chapped, and her hands, clasped together near her lower abdomen, trembled slightly from time to time.

Oute stared at her for a while, then meticulously entered her information into the medical record and tucked the pen back into his chest pocket.

"The patient... is determined."

"Although we've had many indirect clashes through the Black Snake, this should be the first time we're face-to-face." Oute turned his head and introduced everyone to Talulah: "Amiya, the leader of Rhodes Island; Kal'tsit, the head of the Medical Department; and I'm in charge of Originium, Catastrophe, and military command."

Talulah's voice remained loud and clear. "I've heard so much about you, Doctor. Oute."

Oute raised an eyebrow. "If the first step of the conversation starts in such a pointless way, then it will take us a long time to exchange our demands."

"No, I said, I've heard so much about you, Doctor. Oute." Talulah glanced at the emblem again.

Five sharp protrusions run along the dark arc, resembling a crown.

"Since the Kazdel Civil War, there has been no news of a new king. The Sarkaz mercenaries' defection, and the Patriot' failure to kill me outright..."

The Sarkaz political ecosystem is relatively closed, not to mention that as the leader of the Reunion Movement, Black Snake's intelligence channels are bound to be affected to some extent. Now, Talulah has inherited this intelligence, and with the help of her own experiences, she will naturally draw some strange conclusions.

In this way, it can be confirmed again from an outsider's perspective... We can try to push it forward.

Oute incorporated it into his plan.

"And that illusion too." Talulah closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said sincerely, "Thank you."

That illusion where Alina resides.

"I think I understand... why the Sarkaz were willing to go through fire and water for their king."

Amiya gave an awkward but polite smile, while Kal'tsit tried her best to suppress the urge to facepalm.

It seems that Talulah only accepted those explanations because of the urgent situation at the time. Now that she finally has a chance to calm down and think things through, she quickly gave herself an answer to everything.

Oute said frankly, "Whatever your guesses, I'm not the one you're thinking of."

"Besides, I'm not here to provide you with end-of-life care." Oute Talulah: "Your condition is rapidly deteriorating, and your injuries are very serious."

"But you won't die yet."

"At least I won't die in front of Alina —or in front of me."

Talulah stared blankly at the gentle Elafia before her, quickly suppressing her anger as she asked, "Demon King! Why do you continue to toy with this scene!?"

"First of all, I am not Sarkaz. Secondly..."

The "ghost" stepped forward with a heavy heart, collapsed in front of Talulah's bedside, and eagerly grabbed the dragon girl's hand.

She missed her target.

Alina knew this would happen.

When they possessed W together with Oute, they should have conducted detailed experiments. However, Alina's meeting with Talulah in reality made her temporarily forget about this.

The Deer Woman looked at Talulah, bewildered, before turning to Oute after a long while.

Seeing this, despite firmly believing that the Elafia before her was merely an illusion created by magic, Talulah still trembled as she placed her palm against Alina's ethereal little hand.

Kal'tsit leaned slightly forward and asked in a low voice, "Amiya, can you see?"

The little rabbit twitched its long ears, first shook its head, then nodded slightly. "I can't see it, but I can feel it."

In this way, Talulah's deeply moving "reunion" in reality feels more like a one-woman show.

If you have no conscience, it's still a comedy!

"She can't be real."

Koschei has indeed taught Talulah very well, and she still tries to maintain a poker face even now.

But could you put your hand down while you're saying that?

Aren't you tired of being practically glued to the air right now?

"She has lost her life, but that doesn't mean she's gone forever," Oute explained. "For some unknown reason, Miss Alina's soul was captured by that realm and has regained consciousness."

"Doctor. Oute, you're talking about the soul."

"I am a materialist, therefore, when the existence of the soul has been proven by our reality, I cannot choose to turn a blind eye."

"So..." Talulah laboriously reached out and touched the void.

So, she really is Alina!

If Alina were to collapse on the hospital bed, where should her cheek be?

Kal'tsit pondered to herself, then said, "Miss Talulah, how much do you know about the current situation?"

If we set aside personal moral considerations, Talulah is indeed an excellent successor.

She sat upright, neither sad nor happy, as if describing someone else. "The Reunion Movement has effectively disintegrated; the mobile landmass of Chernobog is fragmented, and the parts accessible to the Infected are highly contaminated with Originium; an Ursus unit was sent by 'me' to attack you, and regardless of success or failure, they will become Ursus's backup pretext for waging war."

"The army at Lungmen has assembled, and there have also been small-scale military movements in the direction of Jade Gate."

Talulah concealed a lot of information that Rhodes Island shouldn't have known: for example, Wei Yenwu, Ch'en, and her blood relation.

That's a really good prospect.

No! My little bunny is the best!

Chapter 206 Death Volunteer

"Mr. Wei Yenwu of Lungmen hired us for some personal reasons."

"..." Talulah smiled at the air before turning to Oute: "A private military contractor—despite its sufficient combat capabilities—is not suited to handle the disaster I caused."

"It's no longer possible for infected individuals to access Chernobog, and it will only become a trigger for conflict between the two countries."

Strictly speaking, the current situation is slightly different from what Oute originally planned. He had no intention of dealing with the "main event" for Wei Yenwu, nor did he have the desire to immediately eliminate the Black Snake.

The original Plan A was actually to force the Black Snake to fight fiercely in Hamlet Town, ensuring that Talulah's physical body remained on the Lungmen Passage in reality.

Plan B, anticipating the possibility of failure in forcibly summoning Black Snake into the Interstice, specifically selected Team Ace and Team Scout to entangle and delay Wei Yenwu in reality, while waiting for his arrival.

Other variations of the plan mostly originate from two points: "the Black Snake's consciousness is trapped in Hamlet" and "the Black Snake's consciousness is not trapped in Hamlet".

But reality often surprises us.

Black Snake's attempt to escape the Interstice actually expanded the boundaries of Oute's perception of the Interstice. She made Oute realize his gradually "growing" ability to control that world.

In gratitude for this act, Oute mercifully loosened his grip, allowing the Black Snake to escape—half of it.

Thus, when one powerful enemy turned into two vulnerable ones, Oute immediately overturned all previous plans. He even proactively resolved the Black Snake issue before Wei Yenwu had even paid him.

After Talulah inquired, Amiya nodded to Oute, confirming Oute's prior judgment with her authority.

Oute didn't answer Talulah immediately. Looking into Talulah's eyes, he guessed that this Draco might already be plotting how to atone for his sins.

As expected, Talulah viewed all of Black Snake's actions during his reign as her own sins.

While Oute personally admires this attitude, it would leave Talulah with extremely strong feelings of martyrdom, a need for compensation, and guilt. In short, Talulah's current mental state is not ideal for Oute.

Oute emphasized. "The actions of the Black Snake are bound to create a political upheaval, and generally speaking, they can only be dealt with through political means."

"But whether it was a spur-of-the-moment decision or not, the key she used to unlock all of this became precisely the breakthrough that allowed us to bypass the political handling of the Chernobog incident."

"You mean that Catastrophe?" Talulah dug into her memories, then suddenly realized, "If all of this was because of Catastrophe... if it was all because of the Reunion Movement..."

She murmured to herself, "At least the war... probably won't happen."

It's not impossible for the infected to take over Chernobog. Furthermore, this region is located at the crossroads of multiple countries and in the relatively warm "southern" area. Without the Black Snake intervening and pulling the Yan out of the picture, the Reunion Movement could have taken Chernobog —or at least several territories—to fish in the chaos at the border of Ursus, perhaps even developing it into another "festering sore" and another "bandit problem."

They might even become a huge pitfall that the bureaucratic system and army groups would avoid in the short term, giving them three to five years or even more than ten years to catch their breath.

Original.

But now we have to settle for second best.

Perhaps... it's not particularly bad?

A wicked thought began to sprout somewhere deep within Talulah's heart.

All the plots of land in Chernobog are now traceable! It's entirely possible to find several production plots and then expand and grow while both sides are preoccupied with the war between U-Yan and U-Yan!

Then!

Get out!

Talulah shook her head abruptly.

"... both sides can gain an excuse to cease hostilities..." Oute paused, "... Miss Talulah?"

"It's nothing!" she instinctively tried to hide it, then, seeing Alina's worried expression, she said, "... No, something's wrong."

She took a few deep breaths, then said with difficulty, "I think the Black Snake is still in my brain."

There really wasn't one this time.

"If you need it, we can provide you with treatment, or a prison." Oute whispered to Kal'tsit for a moment, then looked up. "The bill can be put on Ch'en's tab."

"Ch'en?" Talulah somewhat taken aback. "Huijie... Ch'en?"

"Wait, you guys know!?"

They knew the blood relationship between Talulah, Ch'en, and Wei Yenwu.

"Due to some irreversible factors, although she is not yet the Governor of Lungmen, she has almost completely seized power in Lungmen." Not only did Oute avoid the key issue, but he also used formal honorifics. "If Mr. Wei Yenwu wants to use public funds instead of his private money, then we will probably have to talk to Mr. Ch'en."

This is most likely a deliberate reminder to Talulah.

Having personally experienced it, Oute is now probably one of the people in the world who understands the Black Snake technique best. The Black Snake's "immortality" is hard to call true immortality. It's closer to... forcing others to uphold similar ideals, beliefs, and personality traits as the caster, and to relentlessly pursue the same goal.

If the practitioner views it as a "completely new self," then it is indeed a way to prolong life.

For Oute, this move looked quite familiar...