No, actually, it had already gone off the rails once.
Oute's original plan had merely been to show off a little force here, tempt the greedy old fool Wei Yenwu—who wanted everything—to place bigger stakes on Rhodes Island, and put out a "recruitment ad" for Lungmen's slums.
He truly had not expected Black Snake to react so strongly.
When he speedran Chernobog, he had only detonated Talulah's stress levels; he had not caused Black Snake any substantial harm. But Black Snake's imagination when it came to fearing death had exceeded Oute's expectations somewhat: merely encountering an unfamiliar mental technique had made her react so severely that she played a whole slew of cards.
At least her fear of death was quite true to the original Slavic tales...
Oute shook his head. "Keep some of the emergency suppressants in reserve. Use the rest for the free clinic."
He added, "Unlike painkillers, Originium Infection suppressants can be used on acute cases. If they can be injected on the spot, inject them right there."
Set out a trap for acute infections here. Whether it worked or not, might as well give it a shot.
Unlike most other Rhodes Island employees, Meteorite's first thought was, "Doctor, if we do this, our medical supplies may run short in the near future!"
"By my estimate, Dylan should be arriving soon. Besides, the landship will be here by tomorrow afternoon at the latest."
Besides... if an operator got hurt, they'd need ten days to half a month to recover. Where was he supposed to find that much Columbia time for grimdark misery?
Oute had some minor objections to giving the operators sick leave. So he decided to micromanage things to the bitter end and aim for a flawless run.
"Oh, right. Find me a piece of pure