Chapter 199

"Yes, I need to show the recruitment notice to the heads of each department right away... and whether I can recruit workers from the patients on board also needs to be discussed with the director... FrostNova, you should get some rest."

With that wave, the two said goodbye in the hospital room.

Looking at the calendar, Medic sighed.

In a few days, it will be the New Year.

PS: Waaaaaaah!

PSS: Regarding the illustration of Nana's new uniform... I searched for ages and ended up finding it on the mobile game's Big Eyes forum.

First, there's the black and white everyday dress with a cross decoration, an open back, and the ability to attach a robotic arm, etc... Ignore the slightly over-the-top arm sleeves; the Medic version's arm sleeves have a normal length-to-width ratio.

Next up is Orchid's 'design'... although it was also copied from Big Eyes Mobile Games.

First, it features a close-fitting bodysuit as its signature, and then it comes in two styles: winter and summer.

Winter... that's roughly how it feels.

In summer, it would be as mentioned in the text: a swimsuit plus a sailor uniform.

It might not be very clear, so let's look at two more images from the summer version:

Swimsuit lingerie, long boot-style footed socks, a short skirt and sailor uniform... this is roughly what summer uniforms look like.

Don't ask why it's supposed to be a black coat but the picture shows it's all white... After all, we need to emphasize the bodysuit attribute, and if the bodysuit is black, then the other clothes need to provide some contrast... Blue is Rhodes Island's attribute color, it's just that the color code is a bit off.

This is roughly what Nana's Elite Operator uniform looks like.

In addition, as you can see from the text, Nana wants to push for an expansion of Rhodes Island's patient hiring program...

While in the game, everyone who comes to Rhodes Island for treatment or other reasons naturally becomes a Rhodes Island... in this article, using the Human Resources Department as an intermediary—a 'isolation system'—allows patients to access Rhodes Island at a relatively safe distance and then reciprocate with service work... this is something only Medic could establish.

6th Patriot's Gun: 217 Treat every day as if it were your last.

That evening, Medic casually ate two biscuits for dinner and then immediately went to find Kal'tsit.

Generally speaking, Medic wouldn't cause trouble for his boss during holidays like Christmas and Chinese New Year. But then again, the sheer volume of work at Rhodes Island is enough to make even an outsider like himself sweat. If Kal'tsit, as the true maintainer of Rhodes Island, can sleep well under such conditions, then Medic can only say he admires her.

In fact, you could tell from Kal'tsit's persistent dark circles that Kal'tsit hadn't slept well since Theresa and the Doctor left.

The Medical Department's research, the treatment of patients with difficult cases, the operation of Rhodes Island, the mediation with various countries, the investigation into the murder of the Doctor and Theresa... almost everything had to be handled by Kal'tsit.

Perhaps, as FrostNova said today, the fact that this Landship can still maintain its planned voyage is itself a testament to the operations team's capabilities.

In order to get Rhodes Island back to normal operations as soon as possible, Medic also began to work overtime voluntarily... After knocking on the door, under Kal'tsit's strange gaze, Medic presented Kal'tsit with his plan to recruit the Infected to work on the main island of Rhodes Island.

"... We've been recruiting the Infected with specific skills to work on the Landship..."

Seeing Kal'tsit's calm reply despite her dark circles, Medic frowned slightly. Clearly, Kal'tsit was avoiding the real issue... So Medic directly countered with:

"So, since the Ticarondo Incident, when I officially joined Rhodes Island and began operations, how many the Infected have successfully settled down on Rhodes Island Landship?"

After a moment of silence, Medic retrieved the Human Resources Department's records for the silent Kal'tsit:

"Less than twelve people... Of them, only Cardigan, Stewart, and Adnachiel have truly entered Rhodes Island, completed their organizational structure, and can be said to have 'settled down'... And they've been at Rhodes Island for almost four years... The Human Resources Department's records even show that they've barely completed their field operations training."

"This is because Rhodes Island's fieldwork is indeed challenging, and the importance of providing them with professional training... As Elite Operator has participated in and led several field missions, Medic should be well aware of this."

Seeing that the emerald cat seemed about to casually move the documents Medic had brought aside, Medic raised an eyebrow and stepped forward, grabbing Kal'tsit's hand:

"I wouldn't stoop to making someone undergo four whole years of internship training, Kal'tsit..."

In the office lit only by a desk lamp, standing before the other person and looking down into Kal'tsit's eyes, Medic felt he might be able to guess why Rhodes Island was still understaffed after all these years.

"... Are you really that unwilling to let 'strangers' enter Rhodes Island?"

Although Medic had discussed similar topics with Kal'tsit before, his position as an agent prevented him from interfering further... Aside from offering some counter-espionage advice, the Kitty Killer did not participate in any of the related matters.

But that was before. Back then, Nana even thought that Kal'tsit wasn't too overwhelmed by the pain of her friend's death... Now it seems that Nana was simply overestimating this Emerald Feline... Although both are AMA-equipped machines, Kal'tsit is clearly more affected by emotions than she is.

If Kal'tsit were all alone, it would be one thing, but now Rhodes Island... including Little Cat, himself, and many friends, all rely on Kal'tsit's judgment, yet she seems prepared to shoulder everything on her own, which makes Medic extremely anxious.

It's almost 1095 now, and Rhodes Island's workload is only going to get busier. If Kal'tsit continues like this, I'll just break down. Medic can't find a neutral organization with the same attitude towards the Little Cat anytime soon... Rhodes Island's staff shortage needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

Not tomorrow, not the future!

Now, take immediate action!

Medic doesn't want to have to work overtime before the New Year.

"Unwilling to accept newcomers... that's how I appear to you..."

Kal'tsit rubbed her face slightly, looking at Medic with a narrowed eye and holding the file. "Fine."

"Is it possible... I mean, possibly... that my reluctance to readily accept ordinary people into Rhodes Island stems from considerations of the worldview of those people during those days, and the earth-based threats on par with Demons?"

Seeing Kal'tsit try to explain, Medic simply tossed her head, indicating that she didn't want to hear such empty reasons:

"... It's useless for you to tell me this... I only know that Kal'tsit, you're forcing yourself to walk."

"The Human Resources Department's job is to recruit enough staff for everyone, and prioritizing the Infected is for those on Rhodes Island struggling with medical expenses... This has basically nothing to do with the dangerous factors you mentioned, Kal'tsit."

"Kal'tsit, you could say Rhodes Island was born from the Babel, so Kazdel will inevitably have a foothold in Rhodes Island... that's only natural."

"But to say that in order to deal with those unknown threats, we cannot add ignorant masses as our helpers is pure nonsense."

"Those professional teams that are supported by large sums of money are not for you to collect. The Blacksteel BPRS Squad has always maintained its combat effectiveness, and based on the mature experience they bring from Blacksteel, Rhodes Island only needs to form a special team centered around them to deal with heavily Pollution projects."

"As for the crisis you mentioned, the one that ordinary people are better off not even knowing about... all I know is the Demons... and speaking of them, I'm about to perform equipment adaptation surgery for Non-Entropic Applications... based on the Cyclopes's suggestion, Typhon, who came to my side, seems to be becoming increasingly adept at dealing with the Demons' dream world..."

"Everyone is trying to adapt... but if you close your eyes and those threats just vanish into thin air... then Kal'tsit, you can hide it however you want, even if you use Rhodes Island to suppress the threats under the ship's hull, using ourselves as a seal and then just let it pass for tens of thousands of years, it's not impossible..."

"But here's the problem: crises need to be weathered. If you rely on concealment and mysticism... in the end, everyone will just die together, and before they die, they'll all bitterly blame you for not letting them know when things were still under control."

Seeing Medic's unusually long explanation, Kal'tsit stared blankly for a while before finally managing a helpless smile:

"Is this also your experience after going back to your hometown and looking at your past memories?"

Kal'tsit's teasing instantly brought back memories of 'Zero' making Memory-Erasure Drug for him in Medic's mind.

Medic couldn't help but wonder what he would be like now if Zero hadn't chosen to tell Diana everything, but instead concealed the consequences of his emotions reaching their limit... and decided to deal with the potentially chaotic future on his own.

Perhaps there would be far fewer people in the world worrying about whether the world will end because of their relationship status.

But whether 'Nana' as an individual can still gain 'freedom'... As someone directly involved, Medic can only say that the hope is slim.

Perhaps in Kal'tsit's view, so casually involving those who lack the ability in these matters is irresponsible... But, in the end, history cannot be controlled by one or two people.

Temporary concealment may control the situation, but ultimately, no matter what kind of hardship one faces, it requires the collective strength of the people to fight against it.

After all, as individuals, both AMa-10 and AMa-77 are extremely limited.

Medic acknowledged this, having already experienced the challenges of dealing with a group with limited support the previous week... Cat couldn't believe that Kal'tsit, her 'predecessor,' couldn't understand this.

Although Kal'tsit's reluctance to participate in 'danger' may well be part of the lessons learned.

But Medic still maintains that an apocalyptic crisis will not spare anyone on this land, and if the people cannot unite their strength into a 'fist'... then at least let them experience what it feels like to be beaten by a crisis.

Catastrophes can bring together a kind of alien solidarity like the Contingency Contract... Air Dam (V) IV Lu Baqi Wife Group So Medic also believes that no matter what kind of danger Kal'tsit is worried about, life will always find a way out.

Seeing Medic insist on looking her in the eye and demanding her approval of the document allowing the Human Resources Department to conduct a recruitment pilot program, Kal'tsit finally sighed and signed her name on the document.

"... Seriously, why do you make it sound like I'm being unreasonable..."

"Well, if I had to say who's being unreasonable, it would probably be me... after all... I'm the one who's anxious."

Seeing that Medic seemed much more relaxed after she signed the papers, Emerald Feline stopped looking at her original documents and instead got up to take out a box of coffee powder and a pour-over coffee kit.

"Anxious? Hmm... I think so... Is it the Rhodes Island operational status that PRTS is reporting to the Human Resources Department that's making you uneasy? Actually, it's been four years since the action teams started rotating shifts... I thought everyone was used to it."

"... Using overtime regularly? That can't be right..."

As she spoke, Medic tilted her head slightly, inhaling the hazelnut aroma emanating from the coffee Kal'tsit was brewing. She rubbed her hands together, her tail wagging back and forth in anticipation of her boss's hand-drip coffee.

"Kal'tsit, you said that in order to mitigate the Collapse effects I cause to the surrounding area, I need to complete the adaptive surgery of Non-Entropic Applications as soon as possible..."

That's right.

"However... on the first day we received the new Tactical Unit, the second day we were notified to begin the extraction of Non-Entropic Applications... at the same time, the Engineering Department began modifying the new Tactical Unit... on the third day, when I went to check on the Tactical Unit, they already had a complete set of standards for the application and compatibility environment of the entire system..."

"I can sense it, Kal'tsit... you're anxious for me to complete the installation and adaptation of that set of heavy individual equipment... but I don't know what you're worried about... so I'm very anxious."

Unbeknownst to her, Kal'tsit silently avoided Nana's gaze, but Medic didn't seem to care... Holding the unsweetened coffee in his hands, whether as an assassin or a doctor, Medic would always be the first to face any mission.

But the current Medic is somewhat different from the Killer Number Seventy-Seven of the past... Nana now hesitates, worries, and thinks in her spare time... Will she end up lying in bed for another three years after going under the knife?

More than his own affairs, Medic was worried about the ship... and the Little Cat, Emerald Feline, and other friends who had turned the ship into their current home.

"... Can I handle those new threats? I definitely can, after all, those are weapons that my manager and Kal'tsit gave me together... But if I can't, then Kal'tsit, you really need to stay far away from me..."

"Don't always think about solving things alone. Ask for help from those who support you... After all, if a crisis affecting the entire land could be solved by one person, this land wouldn't be in this state now..."

"You need to consult with others more, and only after confirming a definitive solution should you use your main force, with the extra resources, to complete the task... Isn't everyone's training and Rhodes Island's various assessments precisely for dealing with those crises...?"

Seeing Medic muttering to himself while holding his coffee cup, Kal'tsit's expression gradually fell silent and stiffened.

Seeing that Medic was still rambling on and on, Kal'tsit took a sip of coffee to relieve her migraine, and then, just like the Doctor in her memory, she reached out and touched Medic's cat ears.

"... Meow?"

"In your words, I don't know if the new weaponry will give you an advantage in those crises... I want to restore you to a certain level of weaponry, but I'm also worried that excessive weaponry will cause you to reactivate military mode... If you go berserk while the Doctor is still receiving treatment, I will lose control of your condition."

"I can tell you directly, the new tactical equipment is less of a controller to help you control your abilities... and more of a 'limiter' with a certain degree of armament... In my opinion, using that thing makes you like a warrior using shackles as a weapon... Unfortunately, I have to do that."

Feeling Kal'tsit's slightly awkward touch, Medic thought for a moment, then reached out and took Kal'tsit's hand... and let her hug him.

Yes... although just a hug didn't improve the current situation... Medic felt much more at ease.

Is there Empathy among the AMa series?

But Medic always felt there was something between him and Kal'tsit... The Empathy of Halo wasn't as clear as it was with Sankta.

But the emerald-green cat harbored a vague sense of worry, pacing cautiously through her life.

While the other side regarded her as an important force, they were also worried about whether she would be in trouble... Just as Kal'tsit said, she felt vaguely guilty.

But Medic didn't care.

It doesn't matter whether the new equipment is a limiter or a controller.

She wanted to help Rhodes Island and Kal'tsit because of her own self-awareness.

If I have any grievances, they will probably vanish in a soft, comforting embrace.

Whether Kal'tsit understood Medic's "it's okay" through Empathy or not, the two remained like this for about ten minutes. Then, with another time notification Terminal her phone, Medic once again smiled at Kal'tsit with her fiery heterochromatic eyes.

"No matter what, I'll do my best... Kal'tsit, do your best too... Narcissa, and everyone... I'll be counting on you while I'm gone."

Seeing the warm smile on the face of the black-haired Feline, who was slightly shorter than her, Kal'tsit wanted to reassure her with a smile too... but her own lips felt as heavy as if a Landship was pressing down on them, making it impossible for her to smile.

So at least maintain a calm expression to ensure things are still under control.

After watching Medic leave, Kal'tsit returned to her desk without changing her expression.

Yes, this is all part of the plan.

The night passed in a flash, and as the morning of December 28, 1094 arrived... those who were very familiar with Medic quickly noticed the changes in their friend, the young girl.

Compared to Medic, who always greeted everyone with a sweet smile, Nana today had a serious expression on her face, pursing her lips, ever since she was pulled up from the lounge.

Even the Little Cat that had been pampered before was caught by Nana several times this morning for issues with eating and washing, and was then disciplined seriously.

"... You should wash your face properly in the morning... cold water? You should wash with cold water too, it's perfect since we just came out of a heated room, washing with cold water can constrict blood vessels to help them adapt to the cold air..."

"Narcissa, finish your food... Every gram of food on Rhodes Island is transported with fuel and manpower, don't waste it."