A Quiet Resolve / The Price

Startled by Oute's remark, W suddenly realized, "Wait, where are they?"

"They were taken away by Closure."

"Take them away!? Where did you take my men!?"

"Provide them with 'Dream-Sleep Device'."

W quickly realized what was happening. "You bastard, you're trying to steal my team!"

"No, that's not accurate. What I want is you."

Chapter 231 Making a Secret Resolve

What you want is... me?

The Sarkaz girl's breath hitched, but having been through countless battles in some respects, she quickly regained her composure.

"You stinky otter, I won't fall for it again! What's the second half of that sentence!?"

After all, Oute has used this trick several times before. W is just uncultured, not stupid.

"I have a small objection to 'again' and 'being fooled'," Eyjafjalla said, a hint of amusement in her eyes.

Oute made his demands on W clear from the beginning: he needed W to build a new legion.

"The same legion again!?" W complained. "Don't you already have one?"

"We currently have two units of Deepwinter Soldiers," Oute explained, "But their basic skills are rather low. To make them truly effective, I need to take charge."

The Sarkaz girl raised an eyebrow and said, "Doc Otter? Doc the Lazy!"

W inadvertently uttered something that Oute had once said.

"I don't deny that." Eyjafjalla stood up, and Oute turned to W and said, "The Sarkaz mercenaries are all seasoned veterans, but their organizational methods have long meant they still lack certain qualities, qualities I need more."

"Real-world training is certainly good, but I've decided to drag you all into the Interstice to quickly resolve the organization issue."

Watching Eyjafjalla's departing figure, W muttered sullenly, "The Legion has been rambling on for so long, at least give us a proper name!"

After a moment's thought, Oute said, "Sarkaz mercenaries like to use greatswords, right?"

She was somewhat confused. "Of course they prefer greatswords—they're easy to handle, powerful, and easy to repair."

Even a broken sword that's beyond repair is worth a good amount of money if sold as scrap metal!

"Then let's call them... 'Del Diener'."

"Del Diener? Sounds like someone who works for Theresis," W quipped.

No, that's not right.

It's not Theresis!

Realizing this, the Sarkaz girl suddenly looked up. "Hey!"

Unfortunately... Eyjafjalla's ears really can't hear her from this far away.

[Senior, regarding the trajectory of the "Boomerang," Provence and I have made many more discoveries...]

While the Sarkaz high-class cheese connoisseurs were engaged in a dialogue with Oute amidst swords and spears, Eyjafjalla was actually having an academic exchange with Oute...

It can't be discovered casually.

Before the progress of the refugee resettlement work is enough to shroud Oute in a divine aura, it wouldn't be good if an honest and kind-hearted operator discovered that Oute had actively drawn in Catastrophe.

[Thanks to you these past few days.] Oute transmitted his thoughts, [If it weren't for your guidance, this work related to Originium would have been really difficult to handle.]

[No, no, no, this knowledge and skills were dormant within you, senior. I merely helped you awaken them!]

The little lamb is somewhat sensitive to the concepts of "teaching" and "learning." She seems very reluctant to be categorized as a "teacher-student," regardless of who is the "teacher" and who is the "student."

In contrast, she ingeniously came up with an interesting title based on the order of precedence in the field of "Catastrophe research": "Senior".

This term instantly transformed the authoritative figure "Doctor. Oute" into someone of Eyjafjalla's own generation, bridging the age gap between her and Oute.

If it was intentional, then her talent in a certain field is no less than her talent in Volcano or Originium. If it was instinctive, then she is actually quite terrifying.

[Without your help, it might have remained asleep forever.]

[Absolutely not! Your prediction about the "Boomerang" is completely wrong...]

"... otter!"

A faint, mosquito-like sound came from behind.

As they drew closer, the message became clearer. "Stinky otter! Give me Deldi and explain yourself!"

A good opportunity.

Eyjafjalla turned around, her cold expression melting away, her large eyes blinking, still not understanding what had happened.

W had caught up from behind.

She was determined to get to the bottom of the question, "Whose country do the Del Diener support?"

A heavy pressure rose from the nerve endings of the Sarkaz girl, gradually gathering in W's spinal cord, and then penetrating her brain.

"Gulp!" The Sarkaz girl shook her head vigorously.

Depending on each person's capacity to bear the effects and the degree of Oute's dominance, those possessed will experience varying degrees of stress. However, the level of stress an individual ultimately perceives also depends on their level of sensitivity.

If the possessed person is extremely sensitive (and there is a significant chance that such a person is also an artist or scientist), then even mental activities that do not involve a large amount of parallel computing will cause them to experience extremely terrifying pressure.

However, in W's example here...

[You stinky otter, what are you doing!?]

It was Oute's initiative and intention.

"Miss W? Are you alright?" Eyjafjalla seemed a little confused, but just in case, she still took the Sarkaz girl's arm.

"... It's nothing, just a bit of a headache." W cursed Oute inwardly, but put on a brave face in front of Eyjafjalla.

She might ask me some questions I'd rather not answer.

But you could have just told W directly, asked for her help, or even demanded it.

[Including?] W was somewhat curious.

[Including "What exactly is this problem?".]

[What are you doing here again!?] W complained.

[She is also an outstanding scholar in the field of Catastrophe. Therefore, she should have some conjectures, and these conjectures, given her scientific background, will point to some extremely clear and unambiguous answers.]

[Wait, why are you answering my question!?]

You know the answer.

Having been repeatedly scorned like this, W secretly made up his mind: You just wait!

However, don't get me wrong, her idea wasn't to listen to her father Hedley, spout a few fancy words and gain some "cheese."

You're such a weakling who can't lift a finger!

We're waiting for you to come back!

When you return to Rhodes Island!

I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget!

While W secretly made a vow, he didn't even consider what exactly constituted "good-looking".

For Sarkaz like her, who came from a background of child soldiers, imagining all sorts of "torture" and "revenge" was an instinct. She had also demonstrated this cruel instinct not long ago: with just a thought, she did not hesitate to behead the Ursus soldiers.

However, even the slightest measure of violence did not enter her mind, which was filled with a desire for revenge.

Based on her experience, she assumed that as long as she closed her mind, Oute would be unable to read her mind directly.

Unfortunately... Oute could "hear" it from the very beginning.

"Thank you." W declined Eyjafjalla's offer of help, but added a sentence.

The little lamb also showed a bright smile.

Fine snowflakes drifted down, dotting the coats of the Sarkaz girl and the lamb. They reflected the sun's rays, giving the two girls a halo of light.

Chapter 232 The Price

The enormous Mobile City moves slowly, the alternating sounds of its wheels creating a melody. The melody is simple yet not monotonous; it seems to repeat itself endlessly, yet each movement is different.

Despite the recent heavy rainfall, almost every drop of water has evaporated again. Although the air is oppressively thick, the ground is covered in dust.

As the governor of a city, Wei Yenwu's departure was almost a humiliating affair: only those closely associated with him were involved.

"After things settle down, please apologize to her for me?"

Wen Yue Yueji spoke softly, reciting the words that Wei Yenwu had recently asked Shirayuki to convey (Chapter 150: Astounding Wisdom).

"A great hero, you are truly a great hero. A great hero who saved the country and its people."

When they saw the couple talking, whether it was the military supervisors like Jie Zhen, Tai He, and Lin Qingyan, or relatives like Ch'en, they all adopted the classic "eyes down, nose up" posture.

"This..." Wei Yenwu was somewhat embarrassed: he hadn't expected to have to face all of this alive when he said those words!

"I could let it go," she said quietly, "But you actually forced Xiao Chen into this position!"

"Have you considered what this will do to her?!"

Wei Yenwu unconsciously reached for his pipe, then suddenly remembered that he seemed to be, probably, maybe, perhaps, having quit smoking for an unknown number of days?

Ch'en is a very responsible person.

If Wei Yenwu hadn't made those decisions, hadn't pressed her head down and placed the burden of the Lungmen on her shoulders... then once she learned of any clues, she would definitely have tried to kill the Black Snake alone, just like Wei Yenwu.

However, it was Wei Yenwu's forceful entrustment of past responsibilities that compelled Ch'en to watch helplessly as Wei Yenwu went to the meeting alone.

With a flick of his dragon claw, Wei Yenwu rubbed the "Boomerang" report that Rhodes Island had just given him, and said bitterly, "It will turn into another me."