Chapter 260
"Ah... I see. The Infected insurance... Mr. Sicily, are you referring to the kind where one portion goes to the government, and the other nine, plus overdue interest, go to you?"
Seeing the other person's face turn a deep red from being pinched, Nana politely shook her head.
"Okay, that doesn't really matter. What matters is that you just tried to stop my friend, a Rhodes Island Oripathy specialist, using that excuse... knowing full well that she has nothing to do with your work, you still acted so rudely... so where's your apology?"
"I'm so sorry!"
"... You sound a little weak, but our company's employees aren't like you, you little punk... We won't yell at you and say 'Are you fucking messing with me?' and then make you disappear with that flimsy excuse... After all, we're very polite. So, please pass on the greetings of Rhodes Island operator Medic to your superior."
"And for your last question before you leave, tell me about Vulpo, the one you guys were chasing."
At this point, the Sicilians thug in front of him had no mental resistance left. Faced with Nana's questioning, he blurted out everything he knew in an instant.
Just as Typhon said at the beginning, that Vulpo was not 'Lisa' or her mother, but a Vulpo girl named 'Anshin'in Angelina'.
Around sixteen years old, she dropped out of high school due to Oripathy, but fortunately, her Originium Arts are exceptionally unique, and she is also very talented. After her family took out a loan to buy a new staff, the girl began traveling among various city-states as a novice messenger...
"That sounds quite inspiring, and since she's capable of being a 'city-state messenger,' her financial situation must be pretty good... So it was you who overstated the insurance amount, forcing people to avoid you?"
"No, no, no, from what I understand, An Xinyuan probably used her own money to pay the insurance premiums for others. During this time, she has been using her messenger privileges to come and go as she pleases, using that levitation spell to avoid the brothers who are collecting debts... That's why we had to send so many people to block her!"
With Nana's exclamation, "That's not some kind of levitation spell," the rude local gang thugs finally escaped the inn somewhat disheveled, with Su Sulo's approval.
Although honest Typhon wanted to say that the other person had forgotten his wallet and dagger, Su Sulo showed a somewhat indescribable expression at that moment.
For the sake of the child's mental health, Nana suggested that the belongings could be temporarily stored at the hotel front desk, so that they could be found if the other party came back looking for them.
"But, that girl who just ran over... her name is An Xinyuan, right? She's also the Infected. Shouldn't we go help her?"
"Of course I'd help if I could... Even if the Infected, I'd still help her because of that spell... But it's probably too late to chase after her now."
While chatting with Su Sulo, Nana glanced at the street, where even the Sicilians procession was nowhere to be seen, and scratched his cheek helplessly... This was clearly no longer a convenient scene for tracking.
After everyone entered the suite and checked the room's security, Nana drew all the curtains and blackout hinges.
"This city is more chaotic than I imagined. We can deal with Anshin'in Angelina later; the key is to contact our mission target..."
As Nana explained the mission priorities, everyone exchanged bewildered glances at the contact number, which was conveniently disconnected. Nana, however, didn't show much expression; she had handled countless missions like this where the contact person had lost contact.
"Although it sounds strange for me, a Columbia, to say this, in my hometown, the worse the municipal finances are, the more likely they are to specifically target the so-called 'The Infected insurance fund'."
"Just like in Ursus, you can tell if a city is safe by whether there are Infected Guerrilla Force. Similarly, in cities using Columbia's insurance system, you can tell if a city is healthy by looking at the insurance payments made by the Infected."
Whether she was refuting Nana or the existence of the Infected, Folinic sighed and sat down, taking out her equipment to check it.
Can a city with the Infected truly be considered 'healthy'?
"Oripathy is just Oripathy; how we view it is our own business... Just as this land has merciless places like Ursus and Siracusa, it also has pristine places like Laterano, and warm havens like Rim Billiton, filled with humanistic care and embodying the ideals of family and love in every member. Sulfur"
"But even in Rim Billiton, Oripathy will consciously exile themselves. The Infected are ultimately at the bottom of the social hierarchy, which is the main reason I say the Infected are the core of the city's status bar." - Lin
Through the gap in the blinds, Nana glanced at the group of people in suits pointing and whispering at her window, then turned to look at her students, juniors, and friends: 2
"The atmosphere here is off... The Infected messenger is being chased for insurance premiums, and the family members are on edge like they're in a war zone... We might have to split up again."
"Again? You mean like Chernobog?"
Nodding in agreement with Typhon's guess, Nana took Terminal her tablet and connected it to the Rhodes Island vehicle's computer system.
After the dashcam was turned on, everyone saw the footage of Sicilians in suits walking by.
"Now that we can't contact the mission target, local gangs have become the first choice for supplementing intelligence... But the 'family' has always been ruthless and vicious, and their obsession with saving face is basically inversely proportional to their size. It will likely be difficult to maintain a peaceful approach when dealing with them, and it's hard to gain an advantage fighting on foreign soil. Therefore, I'll handle this contact personally."
"Therefore, finding alternative intelligence sources becomes an unavoidable task..."
"Coincidentally, a courier with special magical abilities, whom I believe deserves Senior Operator referral privileges, is right in front of us. She is also the Infected and a suspected the Infected's sympathizer."
"Typhon, tomorrow you take your equipment and go find and support that messenger. Remember to bring a copy of Rhodes Island's Human Resources Department manual and internal documents... and don't forget the Human Resources Department expedited commuting permit... You haven't forgotten what that's for, have you?"
The purple-haired, twin-tailed Sarkaz archer puffed out her cheeks slightly, clearly disapproving of Nana's talkativeness.
"It's that red one, the permit that reimburses all travel expenses... I know it."
Watching the two combat-oriented members of the team quickly decide on tomorrow's tasks, Su Sulo pointed slightly uneasily to herself:
"What about me? Should I stay at the hotel with Folinic and wait for our contact to re-establish contact?"
"... You guys must be working in pairs with us... It's too dangerous for you to stay alone in the hotel."
"So, what are the specific group quotas?"
Nana glanced at Su Sulo, who seemed excited, and blinked before continuing:
"Folinic's mobility is better Su Sulo's, and she has also received sniper operator training. Folinic, you will be with Typhon tomorrow as the secondary shooter... Su Sulo, you will be with me."
Watching the Little Fox quietly shout "Yay!", Nana picked up her teacup and said with a smile:
"After all, Su Sulo, you don't have much combat power, so you should stay by my side... Once we receive the mission objective, you'll need to examine and assess Lisa's physical condition... The same applies to Angelina or other the Infected."
"Get some rest, we'll have a lot to do later."
After the conversation ended, Nana, still wary of the family members outside, took a short rest in the suite's living room lounge chair, fully clothed, essentially taking on the role of guard and watch all by herself. As for the others, they all found their places in their rooms.
It's their first day back in the city, yet they haven't even gone out for dinner together...
In other words, all three people present had just come from a war zone like Chernobog. Even Su Sulo adhered to the principle of majority rule and did not give much thought to the traditional Siracusa delicacies that were not far from the hotel.
As night fell, Nana and her companions were awakened by the hotel staff... Watching the staff take two large takeout boxes from a nearby pizza shop and deliver them to their target room, the burly man in a suit, who had stood expressionlessly in the spring rain across the street all night, looked at the family's sentries:
"... Have you found out everything?"
"Yes, Rhodes Island... the data is all here."
"... Oripathy... problem expert..."
Seeing his team leader looking thoughtful as he held the newly printed document, the short Sicilians rubbed his hands together and added:
"It's basically a hospital for treating Oripathy... The leader, Medic, is a registered Catastrophe Messengers, who may have had dealings with the family in the past; he seems to be an insider... The other Sarkaz are bodyguards, and the other two are doctors."
"A doctor... a doctor specializing in Oripathy, coming to the city at this time?"
With a seemingly cold laugh, the burly man in the suit tossed the documents back at his subordinate.
"Go find a judge tomorrow and have them leave."
"... Well, team leader, Rhodes Island is part of the Contingency Contract. The judge alone might not be enough to make them obey... Besides, apart from that Sarkaz, the others don't seem like much of a threat. Is it alright to just leave them alone?"
"Of course we can't be indifferent... Have you forgotten why that madwoman turned this city-state into such chaos? Her daughter was punished and developed Oripathy..."
It was a mixture of a sigh and a lament. Although the burly man and the woman were undoubtedly enemies, the reason behind the woman's mad attack on all the families in the city-state still left the man feeling deeply troubled.
"In short, like other hospitals and clinics that can treat Oripathy... keep an eye on this group. The Grey Hall Family has given a death order; that woman broke the rules, and she needs to give Lady Sicilia an explanation."
As he spoke, the man glanced again at a hotel room... Now that the woman's daughter had become the Infected, a company claiming to be experts in Oripathy had suddenly arrived from outside?
This looks suspicious no matter how you look at it; it's practically as if it's written all over his face: 'I have a relationship with that woman.'
By marking the hotel on the map as well, the clues in the man's notebook now connected seamlessly:
So, where will you appear?
PS: Waaaaaaah!
PSS: It took me a while to work on the new exam outline QAQ
8th Spring of Siracusa: 293 - Begin Action
Just like the jokes agents sometimes make in the past, the time it takes for a family to retaliate after you offend them basically reflects how much they value you.
If the other party doesn't retaliate at all, it means that you might have become a key target in their minds that requires careful planning before taking action.
Nana was quite surprised by the Sicilians's calm demeanor in not knocking all night. Even the next morning, Nana only saw two guards changing shifts at the door through the gap in the blinds.
So, is this reaction because the other side values Rhodes Island too much, or do they simply not have the energy to care about Nana and her group at all?
Generally speaking, to ensure one's safety, hiding in the shadows from the beginning is the right choice... but that only applies to Nana when she's alone; Rhodes Island is far too special in every sense.
This organization, which is always under the spotlight, makes it difficult for Nana to be as flexible as she was at the ICA.
Well, since things have come to this, let's eat first.
Nana called the hotel room phone to have breakfast delivered to her room. After routinely confirming the safety of the hotel and its food, she called Typhon and Folinic, who had been preparing their equipment since early morning. Su Sulo also obtained a simple tourist map booklet from the hotel. After comparing it with old maps saved by Rhodes Island and confirming the changes in the city-state's terrain over the years, everyone's preliminary preparations for the mission were complete.
Although the combination of croissants and coffee is hardly a Siracusa specialty, Nana can understand their desire not to go through the trouble of preparing meals so early in the morning.
In short, the local golden-yellow specialty jam helped to make up for the psychological gap of everyone's journey of hundreds of kilometers, which felt like they were still eating Chernobog pre-made food. Nana first looked at Typhon and Folinic.
"Your task today is to find the messenger who brushed past us yesterday, a girl named Anshin'in Angelina."
"If the family thugs weren't lying to us yesterday, that girl should be homeless right now. But since she's still active in the city, it's almost certain she has local connections... most likely a local the Infected, and the support of related personnel."
"Your goal is to find her, protect her, gain her favor, find out why this city is so restless, and where our target is."
"So the key question is, how do we find her?"
Typhon, who could now see the city as another kind of wilderness, another kind of forest, Typhon the map in his hand... and quickly determined the best location for the ambush... or more accurately, the 'hunt' target, based on his hunting experience.
However, upon seeing the location Typhon had chosen as his base, Folinic couldn't help but frown slightly, looking worried.
"... The church... well, since 'Guns and Order' were brought back from Laterano, establishing a church to curry favor with Lady Sicilia is a clear sign of taking sides... but, Typhon, as a 'bodyguard,' it's fine to travel with Rhodes Island, but if you're acting independently, a Sarkaz entering the church... ah, I'm not saying you can't go in, after all, you often go to Rhodes Island's churches... I mean..."
Seeing that Folinic was becoming increasingly flustered as Typhon his head in confusion, Nana reluctantly took over the conversation:
"What Folinic means is that Typhon is likely to be harassed by the local church because of his Sarkaz identity... It doesn't make much sense, but it's very possible. Typhon, this isn't something that can be solved simply by you not being hostile to the church... Fortunately, we can indeed solve it."
As she spoke, Nana pointed to everyone's suitcases. As Typhon's halo appeared and disappeared, the girl, who was switching between Sarkaz and Sankta forms, suddenly realized what was going on and immediately took out the 'Arius Special Operations Team' uniform she had worn in Chernobog.
Although Typhon still retains some of the cold-region habits of not liking to change clothes, and his coat and combat suit are made by the Cyclopes Alki, making them very durable, Typhon should theoretically have no need for clothing other than the innermost jumpsuit.
Even so, Typhon possessed three sets of camouflage: the beige Lycoris uniform suitable for everyday wear in urban environments, and the one he was presenting now... the 'Arius Special Operations Team Uniform' which had undergone secondary fitting at Rhodes Island and was now perfectly suited to his combat uniform wearing habits.
Although Typhon, who already carried two weapons—the ordinary giant bow and the Black Collapse Greatbow— did not bring the much heavier anti-material sniper rifle, given that the initial mission was not difficult, his clothing and Nana were sufficient for camouflage.
As long as Typhon reveals his Halo, this racially altered 'disguise' is sufficient, whether as a secondary identity or to sever ties with Rhodes Island.
However, because Nana's disguise has been frequently questioned recently, the already insecure Nana finds Typhon's wine-red eyes, purple twin tails, and innocent face awkward no matter how he changes them.
You said 'Typhon' has become a different person, and that's true... but do you think she's completely different from you now? That's a matter of opinion.
After all, unlike Nana, who can switch her aura at will, Typhon's appearance is different. If someone were to confirm Typhon's appearance up close, it wouldn't be impossible to connect "a certain giant bow Sarkaz" with "a certain purple-haired Sankta".
What if they are completely wrong in their process but right in their conclusion, and believe that 'Sarkaz Typhon' used some means to hide its aura, put on fake horns and a tail, and disguised itself as 'Sarkaz Typhon'?
Unlike Nana's counterintuitive technology that allows her to change size at will, Sankta's field personnel do possess technical equipment that reduces or even shuts down the Halo at the cost of diminishing Empathy.
To cover for Typhon, who was still inexperienced as a freelancer, Nana unwrapped two rolls of bandages as a base material, then pulled a thread from the liquid metal that had solidified into his combat suit and freed part of his own suit... After restoring and reprocessing this part of the material, Typhon quickly obtained a mask that looked like metal but was actually made of fabric.
It looks like it's made of matte black metal, with an enigmatic X-shaped glowing magical decoration... Anyone who wears this mask, even someone very familiar with Typhon, would hesitate for a long time upon seeing him.
As for the recognizable giant bow, thanks to Typhon's increasingly sophisticated space-folding technology over the years, unlike the initial situation where the giant bow could only be roughly folded in two and stored in a suitcase, the black giant bow, after numerous meticulous folds that make the most of every available space, has clearly achieved a space compression rate exceeding one hundred percent.
Now, those dangerous weapons can even be compressed along with their giant arrow pouches into two 'compression packs' that can be hung on the back of the waist, so there's no need to worry about Typhon, in his 'Arius Special Operations Team' disguised form, being unable to fight in an emergency.
As for the potential risks of doing this... well, Nana's originally very well-covered combat suit now has a noticeable gap of about four fingers wide on her stomach.
The shortened bodysuit clung to the assassin's body, slightly revealing her small belly. The cool touch made Nana feel quite bewildered.
Putting aside the fact that revealing part of her skin greatly reduces the concealment effect, the original menacing aura of being fully equipped will also disappear as Nana reveals part of her belly.
Even though she still carries Firearms Arts, Nana now looks more like a wild wildernesser carrying weapons than an elite combatant.
After all, Nana's appearance is actually quite soft and gentle, and as long as there is a slight change in her style of dress, her entire temperament will be dissolved... Nana herself understands this best.
In comparison, the fact that Folinic had tied her hair into a high ponytail, taken off her white coat, and put on a short-sleeved top and footed socks for easy movement, and that she was carrying a longbow, became inconspicuous.
Although it may seem insignificant, Folinic's desire to participate in frontline operations has never been extinguished.
The drug shrapnel projectile system, which was originally designed for combat, has now been augmented with increased high-pressure gas tank capacity. Additionally, the projectiles have been fitted with two rolls of high-strength tensile wire with grappling hooks. This modification was made after Folinic was unable to participate in Nana's infiltration mission in Chernobog.
Through a projection system worn on her body, Folinic can perform three-dimensional maneuvers that would be difficult to do without corresponding magic by launching steel wires in an crisscross pattern... She does this not through magic or physical ability, but simply by relying on equipment and trained skills.
Although Folinic didn't usually talk about it, her habit of working hard in secret was probably demonstrated by Huang and other front-line action team members.
Although due to limited training time and a significant gap in combat capabilities compared to Senior Operator or those with special physical attributes like Typhon.
However, within Nana's team, the ability to act alongside Nana essentially defines the difference between second-tier and first-tier roles, and Folinic's efforts to break through from second to first place have undoubtedly earned Nana's recognition.
"Well then, the battle plan is pretty much finalized... Since we can't get in touch with the client, I'll go with Su Sulo to the safe house on Rhodes Island to check things out... Typhon and Folinic set off first, reinforcing the family's impression that you're a 'Sarkaz,' then shake off the pursuers, change clothes, and begin searching for the messenger girl, focusing on churches with tall buildings... If the local families are keeping a close eye on you, then just stroll around the city center where a conflict is unlikely, consider it a vacation."
"Since everyone is going, bring all your equipment, and don't leave valuables at the hotel... Also, regardless of whether the plan goes smoothly or not, you must return with me."
"Since we don't know if the family will allow us to leave and make any arrangements at the inn, let's treat this city-state as the battlefield for now... Now check the time, make sure the radio and signal flares are working properly... See you at five o'clock this afternoon."
After saying their farewells, watching Typhon and Folinic leave the room one after the other with half-hour intervals, Su Sulo, counting down the seconds on her watch, looked at Nana with concern:
"Is everything alright?"