Cannon Fodder Is the Ursus...ian Fate!

"--As a supplement to the Lungmen Guard Department in the slums."

Oute looked out the window, resting his chin on his hand, and said casually, "After all, no matter how diligently the Lungmen Guard Department protects the city, it always seems that only a few people, including Superintendent Ch'en, are willing to keep watch here."

His brow furrowed slightly, as if he were worried about the infected.

Seem.

Can PRTS operate drones itself?

Swire somewhat deflated, and said, "... Yes. Now, we can only rely on you in this matter."

In Lungmen, something entirely unfamiliar to Swire is happening right now... the shrinking of the Lungmen Guard Department and the troop movements.

Logically speaking, a frontier governor should have both military and political power in his hands—if he had to seek instructions from the imperial court on everything, he would have been too late to catch up.

The saying "A general in the field may disobey the emperor's orders" illustrates this point.

However, as a border governor, a blood relative of the emperor, and a former crown prince, Wei Yenwu faced implicit constraints regarding military power that were actually greater than those from humble backgrounds...

Much, much, much more.

This is one of the reasons why the Lungmen Guard Department, a semi-police agency, is so prominent in Lungmen.

But now, Swire could clearly sense that the Lungmen Guard Department was shrinking back into the city. Those posts on the outskirts of the city had been quickly replaced by familiar yet unfamiliar Lungmen soldiers.

Could it be...? No, no, no, that's impossible.

But how exactly did he obtain the court's permission?

In any case, just imagining those possibilities made Swire breathless.

Perhaps she deliberately used the fact that "Rhodes Island has actually become a private prison operator" as an excuse to meet with Oute, hoping to indirectly extract some information from this point?

"Very good, our future cooperation will definitely go smoothly." Oute signed his name on the blank job application, handed it to Specter standing beside him, and said, "Take Miss Swire to run the procedures."

The nun nodded, opened the office door, and invited, "Swire... Operator, please come with me."

After finishing his business, the little tiger looked back at Oute several times, reluctant to leave.

Only after Specter urged her repeatedly did she hurriedly chase after him, shouting, "Wait for me!"

After the nun Swire out of the office, Oute turned his attention back to Kal'tsit.

"Okay, I'm back. How's the Engineering Department?"

"There's a lot of complaining," Kal'tsit said succinctly. "You've given them far too much work."

"It's alright, depending on how the plan changes course; they have plenty of working time at their disposal."

Kal'tsit looked around and Oute realized that they were actually on the deck.

"How many plans have you prepared this time?" The cat lay on the railing, idly watching the direction Rhodes Island was heading.

After many days of sailing, Rhodes Island had moved far from the wilderness and, separated by the border, was now indisputably part of the Yan territory.

Administrative District 019, Lungmen.

Lungmen, this Mobile City, is the seat of Administrative District 019, which shares the same name.

Strictly speaking, however, the land where Rhodes Island operates is undoubtedly, in a broader sense, "Lungmen".

"There aren't many plans; it's mostly about improvisation. The longer a plan is developed, the more likely it is to encounter unforeseen problems. I'm simply pushing the ever-changing situation in the direction I hope for."

With a slender finger, she stealthily touched Kal'tsit's lips, feeling a distinct force feedback.

"Why are your lips so dry?" Oute asked.

The lynx was somewhat annoyed, and her right hand swiftly grabbed her own misbehaving left hand.

As expected of a cat!

Just as the two were playfully bickering, there was some noise coming from the elevator.

Kal'tsit's cat ears twitched, and she said "calmly," "Don't be silly, someone's coming!"

But Oute could clearly sense her embarrassment.

"Kal'tsit, those little bears have been settled... Hmm?" Warfarin rushed over as the elevator doors opened.

Wait a minute, this scene looks familiar.

The Bloodfiend sniffed the air, quickly pressed the elevator button, chuckled, and said, "Well, actually I haven't..."

A red light flashed on the control panel, and a "Prohibited" sign stamped with the PRTS electronic seal floated on the display screen at the top of the control panel.

Her actions were intercepted by Oute.

"Well, since you're here, I happen to have some other work to give you."

"Oute said."

"Gurgle!"

The Bloodfiend emitted a strange sound.

"There's no need to be so afraid. I won't go in if you don't agree." Oute, through Kal'tsit's words, uttered something blatantly threatening.

"Then what about that kind of mental link?!" Warfarin blurted out.

"Hmm... want to rub against the outside?"

With a scallion finger touching her lips, the lynx tilted its head, a hint of playfulness appearing on its cool face.

This action, however, harbors a captivating "poison."

If it were Oute himself who made that move...

A blush crept onto Warfarin's cheeks.

No, you haven't even seen his face yet, why are you blushing?

Besides, Oute deliberately used Kal'tsit's body to make her act like a little girl in order to "make her blush," so he shouldn't have used his own body to do such a thing.

"Anyway, I have extra work to assign you." Kal'tsit lightly leaped onto the railing, her hands behind her back, moving with the agility of a feline as if on flat ground.

"That is, to supervise the training of those Ursus people." The lynx turned its head and stared into Warfarin's eyes.

The two looked at each other from a great distance.

Warfarin quickly looked away.

"Those Ursus children?"

"No, it's those adults from before."

"But didn't you say those kids are natural reserves for Rhodes Island's core strength?"

Among the children of Ursus are not only the children from the Ursus Student Self-Government Association who can be drawn in the original game, but also a large number of passersby, who naturally include both boys and girls.

"What that means is that they're basically useless now," Oute said calmly.

"Isn't that too harsh? They'll be heartbroken if they knew."

"Although their bodies are fully developed, and in a significant part of Terra they can be considered adults," Oute said, "We adhere to higher moral standards."

Kal'tsit was having a hard time keeping up.

This is clearly a reaction to some of Kal'tsit's actions.

However, Kal'tsit doesn't send every child to the battlefield... Many of the operators that can be recruited actually work in the logistics department, and due to issues with the art style and writing, many adult operators look like middle school students.

"Of course, behavioral therapy based on specific psychological conditions... is another matter." Oute tried to salvage the situation for Kal'tsit.

Chapter Ninety-Six: The Fill-in-the-Line Baby is the destiny of the Ussians!

As a native Terra and a member of the long-lived Bloodfiend race, Warfarin actually had no objection to "child soldiers" and "child laborers."

Terra is in an era that is exceptionally awful when compared to its own past performance.

At a certain point in time on Earth, in Victoria London, there were many jobs in factories specifically prepared for child laborers—because they were small in stature and paid very low wages (yes, factory owners sometimes simply refused to pay), and when faced with large machines, the child laborers could often crawl inside to handle them.

Lacking bargaining power and often confused, even if they disagree with their compensation, including food, they are unlikely to resort to violence like adult workers...

In the Victoria era, London workers were considered living machines with an average lifespan of five years.

Incidentally, this was also the core competitive advantage that enabled Britain to defeat the Netherlands in industrial production—when Britain is not acting like a human being, it is always acting like one.

And "Victoria Britain" is the prototype of the Victorian Empire.

In this day and age, is the use of child labor and boy soldiers something to be criticized?

Criticizing this? That's going too far! You're practically going against the grain of the entire world!

There's definitely something wrong with you guys.

While remaining noncommittal about child labor and child soldiers, Warfarin still remarked sarcastically, "Doctor. Oute, your final twist was really abrupt."

Kal'tsit shrugged, and Oute turned slightly, facing away from the direction Rhodes Island was heading, and stepped onto the railing.

The cat, facing Warfarin directly, said, "Those proper adults are better at filling in the blanks."

Reduplicated words, disgusting.

"They are all from Chernobog, speak the same language, and are more hostile to the Reunion Movement. They are also relatively physically healthy. As citizens, their literacy rate is also usable, and we can barely muster enough non-commissioned officers to relieve my micromanagement burden."

Warfarin countered, "But most of them have just been infected, and their physical condition has deteriorated drastically. Even if their Originium Arts are enhanced, they will ultimately be of little use after compromise."

"It's alright, as long as they can still pull the trigger."

Essentially, at that time, these Ursus people will just be an extension of the Oute military strategy, pawns on both feet. As long as their bodies can still carry liquefied gas backpacks and their hands can still lift the "Winter Soldier," operating them will simply be a matter of how much energy they consume.

But the problem remains: forcibly manipulating someone else's body can have a significant and permanent negative impact on the victim.

Depending on the degree of resistance, it can range from temporary hypoglycemia to something as serious as having your brain roasted.

As for how Oute verified this... remember how Rhodes Island essentially seized control of the infected prisoners?

They were more than happy to exchange "voluntary" participation in the experiment for a substantial reduction in their sentences...