Chapter 246

After a moment of awkward hesitation, the Doctor nodded, fiddling with his fingers:

[... Um... thank you...]

Whether it was to help Nana out of a predicament or out of jealousy, the phone used for communication was then taken away by Huang, and the members of the group took turns introducing themselves with Amiya's help.

The Doctor also took this opportunity to understand his own position and Chernobog's current situation from everyone's accounts.

... group

[War... refugees... and crime... um, I have a general understanding of the current situation.]

Looking at the corner of the phone screen, Folinic and Ptilopsis were Terminal at the Doctor with tablets, their mouths seemingly saying something like 'Logical thinking is fine'... Nana tried hard to ignore it and convince herself that this was normal medical procedure, then turned her gaze back to the Doctor in front of her... whose hairstyle was somehow somewhat similar to hers: Piper

"The sudden appearance of enemy members claiming they were involved in human trafficking angered everyone, but the first failed attempt had already wasted a lot of time, so..." Dad

[A waste of time? Not necessarily... Didn't you already confirm their camp relocation? This tells us those criminals are more cunning than you thought, so it's not a waste of time.] Dove

Perhaps due to being confined in the Sarcophagus for so long without speaking, and being still weak from recent surgery, the Doctor not only appeared exhausted in the eyes on screen, but even his lips were pale.

Clearly, Folinic and Ptilopsis had also noticed this, and as they approached to prepare, they saw the Doctor raise a hand to stop them. 'Doctor... seems to have recovered somewhat...' Amiya's quiet exclamation was keenly picked up and amplified by the loudspeaker.

[In short, the primary task at present is to leave this war zone... A secondary objective is to help local refugees escape as well, and to deal with the current crimes against humanity... However, due to the prolonged war, supplies are clearly insufficient, and the level of security is almost non-existent. Time is of the essence... Medic, why aren't you dividing your forces? Is it due to insufficient capabilities?]

Although the Doctor's last sentence seemed a bit tactless, it wouldn't be a problem if it was a joke. Nana had nothing to hide from the Doctor. The cat, acting as Medic, explained to the Doctor that the team had only just regrouped today, and the reason for everyone's disguises for Rhodes Island's international reputation.

"... So, splitting up is also a solution... but we've just regrouped. Our original plan was to inform the refugees along the way and then protect you as you leave. Compared to that, those criminals can perhaps be left to Ursus to deal with; your safety is the top priority." (Neighbor)

[But if that's the case, what is Rhodes Island's position...? Amiya told me a lot about Rhodes Island today...]

Seeing the Doctor's slight upturn of the lips on the screen, Nana wanted to say something but said nothing, just like when they first met... Even though her body had shrunk, the Doctor still exerted an almost innate, controlling force on her. (Lin)

[So, what exactly constitutes "ensuring" my personal safety... to what extent would you consider acceptable?]

"... at least, that's about 90% of all the combat personnel in the team."

[Amiya said, "Medic, you're the strongest individual fighter in the team... Does that 90% include yourself?"]

The cat shook its head, realizing what was happening:

"You... want me to be separated from the team on this mission?"

[Yes, this is the optimal solution considering your persistence, the team's mission objectives, and the current situation in Chernobog... I have a feeling that dealing with those criminals would be a very easy task for you.]

[In contrast, we'll go and complete the errand-running task you were originally planning to do yourself...]

"Isn't this... too dangerous? Although the inside of the Mobile City isn't in a state of war like on the surface... the current security situation here..."

Didn't you say that I could feel at ease if I had 90% of my team members around me?

Looking at the Doctor's smile as he rested his chin on his hand, Nana suddenly had a fleeting illusion... Just a few years ago, did she also have the thought that 'XXX is definitely safe under XXX's protection'?

The ever-present tremor almost instantly crept up Nana's spine and up to her neck. This time, even when the Doctor made his request, Nana resolutely shook her head and refused to comply.

"No, I won't leave your side until I've confirmed your safety... The entire team will maintain communication along the way, with returning to you as our primary objective... This detour to confirm the criminal camp has already crossed the line."

[... that...]

"No means no!"

The killer's sudden increase in volume not only stunned the Doctor, but also confused the rest of the team with Nana's overly excited demeanor... At that moment, only Cole and Kate, invisible to ordinary people, embraced Nana to comfort her.

Meanwhile, only Typhon and Mika, due to the characteristics of their racial magic, saw the ethereal shadows around Nana and the cat's tearful heart. Then, the Doctor's smile on the phone turned slightly awkward:

[Well, alright, since you don't like the most efficient approach, then we'll try another method... But I still insist on upholding Rhodes Island's principles... I really like Amiya's description... So, I'll go with you to notify the other refugee camps one by one. Would you agree to that?]

"I have no right to restrict your freedom. I will only take action when I confirm that your life is threatened... You can do whatever you want; that has nothing to do with my job."

Although Nana's expression didn't change, the Doctor's slight puffing of his cheeks clearly indicated that he had noticed an inexplicable barrier between them... but that was acceptable.

Unlike the Rhodes Island that Amiya described, which seemed so distant and had no connection to him whatsoever, Medic's account of receiving his kindness and being willing to fight for him made the Doctor feel much closer to him.

Moreover, the first thing the Doctor saw when he opened his eyes was the figure of that black-haired girl, Feline. Even though she was still wearing a disguise, it didn't change the fact that the Doctor just felt that the child was more pleasing to the eye.

"But... does Nana... have some kind of... um... trauma?"

When the Doctor asked her a question after the communication ended, Amiya blinked in confusion:

"About Medic? I know a little... but for more details, you might need to confirm with Dr. Kal'tsit... It's about my friend, the child Medic adopted. Although she's not here, I can tell you some parts that aren't personal..."

PS: Waaaaaaah!

PSS: The underlying reason for the close relationship between the Doctor and Nana is the natural attraction between Ancient Humans and AMa Machine. The underlying logic of Nana's Halo System is 'protecting humanity'... Therefore, their guess about the chick effect has absolutely nothing to do with it. Please be aware of this.

7th Chernobog's Blood Money: 276 Old Friends Meet Again

A brief routine communication reminded Nana of her primary mission. Even though the assassin shared the same hatred for human trafficking as the rest of the team, the final battle plan was still required to remain unchanged—to merge with the guerrilla squad within three days and then lead everyone back to VIP.

Because Nana led the team to change course to check on the criminals' camp, the group had to change their route again, changing their original plan of detouring to notify the various refugee camps to a plan to return directly to the location of the Exploration Vehicle.

As a result, the effectiveness of notifying more refugees to go to official shelters and using this as an opportunity to create evacuation routes is naturally greatly reduced. Compared to Nana's team of armed men knocking on doors one by one to notify them, the word-of-mouth communication among the Ursus people becomes "rumored" and is regarded as "rumor".

But no matter what, the Doctor's safety is the top priority, Nana reminded herself repeatedly not to get the priorities mixed up... But she still had to do what she promised Dalia, since the return of the Exploration Vehicle would take her through the underground block of the public high school.

In the past, Liskarm has reported instances of students being brought together by teachers and campus administrators to support each other. Due to their age, these children are naturally at a disadvantage in war, and initially, people took extra care of students who were unable to return home because of the war.

However, as the war continued and external pressures increased, the students' living standards declined repeatedly. But the academy's leadership, who coordinated manpower and planned tasks, became the camp's leadership with abundant manpower.

Although there is no shortage of truly noble individuals among the teaching staff of Ursus, the so-called trust is worthless as the collective credibility spreads once one person is discovered to be seeking personal gain.

The children no longer trust the 'teachers', and without the authority of the highest level to suppress them, the student groups themselves begin to split... They plan their lives around their circle of friends or daily social circles, becoming individual people who are only responsible for their own small groups.

Children's impulsiveness is a terrifying thing. After losing control over the children at school, within just two weeks, small groups of students broke out into bloody fights with injuries and even death over disputes over the distribution of supplies and the right to use the premises.

Children see the world in black and white; they have no experience with their own bodies or the power that those bodies can generate.

Even though the school belatedly called in adults from other camps to help stop it, it was clearly too late.

When the shared identity of 'student' is brutally destroyed by violence, children are forced to experience the hardships of being part of society before even entering it.

Unlike adults who understand that even with conflicts, the best way to survive is through unity, children are impulsive. In their daily lives, the originally united groups gradually break apart: the school becomes the grade, the grade becomes the class, the class becomes rows, and then tables... In the end, apart from the small groups formed by sharing interests through 'clubs' that still maintain some cohesion, the children's unity has entered a stage where it can be infinitely divided.

"So, the Academy Shelter has essentially lost its administrative function... Should we still rely on the official shelters to spread information? Won't that cause resentment among the children?"

Although Mika is still a child at heart, she is, after all, a child who has received higher education. As the former Red Coat of Lycoris, psychology is a required course for her. Although her suggestions and ideas are superficial, they are clearly issues that children of middle school age may indeed encounter.

But unlike Mika, who always approaches things from a negative perspective, Nana, while reaching the same conclusion, always takes a more relevant approach to the mission itself.

"After all, we still need to gather information about Zhuoya and Fufu. Considering the distance between student groups and adults, let's entrust both tasks to the student group..."

"So the question is, which student group has the cohesive power to command the respect of other groups?"

As Mika drew circles in the air with her finger, everyone's attention was drawn to Liskarm, who had been monitoring the area. Razer, completely ignoring Mika's antics, pondered for a moment and came to a conclusion:

"Considering both the size of the student body and their prestige... the 'Ursus Student Council' is probably the best fit for our needs."

"... Tell me more?"

"That's basically the original Student Council members from Chernobog Public Middle School. Most of those who hold positions come from aristocratic families or are quite wealthy... Due to their family backgrounds or their parents' work relationships, there's an invisible entanglement of interests among these people, so they usually have considerable prestige among the students and their cohesion is stronger than those ordinary small groups."

"A group made up entirely of children from wealthy families... While it certainly sounds prestigious, isn't their social circle a bit small? Even in a commercial city Chernobog, it's impossible for all the children to come from wealthy families. Besides... Zhuoya and her friends aren't exactly from aristocratic circles... Shouldn't there be more down-to-earth student groups?"

These words, coming from Jessica, were surprisingly convincing, and Liskarm then touched his lips and thought for a moment:

"In that case, we'll need to find kids from the outer areas... Although they're smaller in scale, the kids from the outer areas are all from legitimate fighting backgrounds, and their combat strength is above that of ordinary people... Once their territory is stable, we can find out who's not to be trifled with and who has the highest prestige."

Nana nodded in agreement with Liskarm's suggestion, and the cat, after a moment's thought, flicked its tail and made arrangements:

"After all, the academy's shelters have now become small, fragmented groups. While it might be impossible to notify everyone, starting with the 'Student Council' should definitely work... However, Jessica is also right; we need to consider notifying and inquiring about the outer areas as well... Let's handle them separately."

As she spoke, she pushed the pink-haired girl, who had stood behind her without thinking when she heard about the split, to the other side. After thinking for a moment, Nana decided not to let anyone accompany her.

"Children from wealthy families are naturally inclined to trust and obey the government and military. You just need to bring all your heavy equipment and knock on their doors. This should just be a simple errand..."

"Nana, are you going to deal with those border groups yourself?"

"... How can this be called 'handling'?"

After checking her belongings and the time, Nana waved and turned to leave.

"Like you, I'm just going to pay a visit."

Finding suitable people to ask questions wasn't complicated. Although Nana's actual age was impossible to verify, with her face that didn't look much older than Rosemary, Nana, who called herself an 'outsider,' didn't have much trouble asking many people about the situation in this area.

The intelligence gathered by Liskarm was largely accurate: the 'Student Council' controlled what should have been the workers' dormitory, the warmest central area. After a period of mutual distrust, the students on the periphery each occupied and claimed their own 'territory'.

Although the vast majority of students still rely on relief food from the school to barely survive, many students from peripheral clubs have begun to scavenge for food and usable warm clothing to help them get through the winter.

Undoubtedly, Zhuoya's disappearance was likely based on this reason as well... However, the operation to inquire about Zhuoya and Fufu while informing the students of the existence of the official shelter was not going smoothly.

Whether it was the name 'Radrovna Alexandra Scaya' that Nana knew, the title 'Zhuoya', or the description 'the child of the Loban family, the captain of the second Rapid Response Force,' Nana found nothing.

"... After all, there are few children of government employees in the outer districts, and most families in such circumstances should have left before the situation deteriorated."

The one speaking was Ursus child who had been observing Nana's actions all along, carrying a demolition axe with a handle extended by steel pipe and tape on his shoulder, seemingly both on guard and perhaps just chatting.

The Ursus girl with shoulder-length brown hair and trendy pink highlights in her bangs maintained her distance from Nana, her gaze occasionally drifting to Nana's weapon.

"The people living here are all from ordinary families. Didn't everyone already tell you? There's no one named Zhuoya or that Fufu."

"Besides that, I also have the task of notifying the official camp... I can't just leave like that."

"I can take care of that for you. It's too scary to see you running around among the tents in the outer area all fully armed... If there's nothing else, please leave quickly."

Looking at the girl in front of her, who was still quite young but had a somewhat protective look in her eyes, Nana tilted her head and asked:

"So, who are you?"

"Haven't you already heard it from others?"

"The children along the way talked about many people... Some distributed food, some helped mend clothes, some went to the surface to find supplies, some cooked, some fetched water, some got into fights... Which one are you?"

"The one who's fighting."

"Oh, 'General Winter'."

"I don't really like that title. If you insist on calling me that, you can call me 'Zima'."

Nodding, Nana thought to herself that she had finally found this person who seemed to have beaten up every group in the vicinity.

"Are you the protector of this camp?"

"Just maintaining order..."

"Hmm, order, I like that word... So, how much do you know about why I'm here?"

Seeing that Nana seemed to still be chatting with her, the Ursus girl who called herself Zima frowned and slammed her extended axe on the ground with a thud.

"The official shelter thing, then 'Zhuoya' and that other girl... anyway, it's about Fufu's girl, right? You're in the military? Did those old men send you to find their own daughter?"

"No, I'm just an unlucky guy who wanted to leave the battlefield... and Zhuoya's father is someone I've met, a very conscientious soldier in this city. He's not some nobleman you're describing. Making unfounded judgments about people you don't know isn't a good habit."

Whether the girl in front of her was intimidated by Nana's weapon or had genuinely heeded Nana's advice, the Ursus girl slammed her weapon against the floor in frustration and said: Q

"... Hmm, you're right, you have a point. So, can you leave now? To be honest, you've been in our community long enough. I'm worried you have ulterior motives." U

"Anyone with ulterior motives wouldn't drag this out with you... Also, if you really discover someone has ulterior motives towards you and that person is carrying a deadly weapon, you'd better pretend you don't know anything about their intentions. That's experience, kid." N

At this point, Zima noticed the person in front of her momentarily pause, then immediately wiped away their faint smile.

"Anyway, just make sure the message is communicated. You can figure out what to do next... or the various groups could connect and make decisions together, that's also a good method... Ursus schools should have taught about the importance of unity, right?... I won't say any more." Dad

With that, Nana, who had been dawdling for a long time, turned and left without hesitation, leaving Zima standing there, full of questions.

This somewhat abrupt action clearly indicated something was amiss. Nana wandered through the industrial area, making several turns, before finally stopping in a gap in the machinery... A moment later, the sound of footsteps followed behind.

"I initially thought it was just that someone thought I'd been there too long... but now it seems they came specifically to find me?"

As the long-haired Liberi woman, dressed in an elegant gown and wearing a black and red shawl, approached her, the enamel butterfly knife at her waist trembled with each step the woman took closer. The growing sense of danger forced Nana to activate her magic. As black flames erupted from her emerald eyes, Nana felt the resonance of the Warp and asked with a furrowed brow: a

"... Ursus's Inner Guards?" Mio

"Me? No... I'm not... but I think you might be looking for him?"

As the woman politely tilted her head, Nana drew her gun and vanished instantly into the black flames. When the assassin reappeared from a distance, the spot where she had been standing suddenly... or as if it had always been there, stood a bizarre figure in a black military coat, wearing an alien helmet with tubes inserted into the back of his head.

Without a doubt, that was another Inner Guards.

"Or rather, are you looking for them?"

As the woman moved forward again, one after another, black- Inner Guards emerged from the shadows. Seeing that they had surrounded her, even Nana, whose resistance to Demons had been enhanced, couldn't help but feel a growing sense of pressure.