Miss Vulpo's Life as a Rhodes Island Operator Chapter 24

Talulah didn't seem like the sort of gourmand who traveled the world in search of delicious food...

How had she identified these as Frozen Lemon Gummies made in Lungmen with a single bite?

"My, Miss Talulah, you really know your stuff! Looks like you like these?" Fengling handed her a small bag of separately packed gummies. "You can have this one. I still have plenty."

After a moment of silence, Talulah finally reached out and accepted the little bag of gummies.

"Thank you."

Though her expression remained unchanged, there seemed to be an indelible nostalgia in her eyes.

Fengling caught that unconscious look as well.

Thank goodness Miss Talulah was a little slow when it came to details!

The distance Fengling had driven after being intercepted wasn't short, so it would definitely take Talulah's companions some time to get here.

So there was no rush.

Though they had only spent a short time together, Fengling had roughly figured out Talulah's personality.

Leaving everything else aside, this little fox was exceptionally shrewd when it came to dealing with people.

In Fengling's judgment, Talulah had some intelligence, and her combat strength probably wasn't low either, but she always seemed rather slow in certain respects.

Talulah's strange behavior gave Fengling a vague guess.

If Fengling's guess was anywhere near the truth... Talulah would come talk to her.

If Fengling took the initiative to ask about certain matters, it would instead be easy to arouse suspicion.

If Talulah didn't say anything, Fengling would rather keep some questions buried in her stomach for now.

She wasn't going to get carried away. On the surface, she really had been "kidnapped."

If Talulah truly came to see Fengling as some sort of threat, then Fengling might actually be in danger.

And just as Fengling had expected, boring waits always gave rise to conversation topics.

If it was a topic the other party desperately wanted to discuss a little more, then it would naturally be easier to keep talking.

"Miss Fengling... are you from Lungmen?"

A faint smile appeared on Fengling's face. "(Lungmen dialect) That's right, I'm a little sister from Lungmen."

"Ah..."

Talulah seemed somewhat dazed.

Clearly, she understood it.

Whether it was Fengling's appearance or the approachability that came from the bottom of her heart, to some people, she was a poison.

Poisonous enough to make them lower their guard... even reveal sides of themselves they normally would not show.

But this wasn't some strange hypnosis play, so it could only go this far... though even this was enough to determine many things.

For example, something must have happened between Talulah, leader of the Reunion Movement, and Lungmen.

Or, more radically... Talulah might have lived in Lungmen.

"(Lungmen dialect) Sister Talulah?"

Seeing Talulah spacing out, Fengling followed the humble tone of her own words and addressed her that way.

It had to be said that Fengling's soft, sweet "sister," coupled with her adorable and lively appearance, was not merely sugary—it was also absolutely devastating!

"(Lungmen dialect) No... don't... I'm not a qualified sister."

After saying that, Talulah hurriedly covered her mouth.

Clearly, she had only realized after coming back to herself that she might have said something she shouldn't have.

Unfortunately, Fengling also realized that she might have casually bluffed out something she shouldn't have heard simply because she was having fun.

She quickly raised both hands, her face crumpling as she surrendered in a hurry.

"Um... I didn't mean to! Please don't kill me, or turn me into a fox-fur coat!"

She had only wanted to try drawing a little closer to Talulah, so she could facilitate this deal and gather a little more intelligence to bring home.

Who knew she would blow up such a secret?

Talulah, leader of the Reunion Movement within Ursus... it was practically certain that she was probably from Lungmen, and she might even have a younger sister in Lungmen!

Talulah Might Be a Little Fierce

"I won't do anything to you!"

Seeing Fengling immediately admit defeat, Talulah felt an inexplicable mixture of irritation and amusement.

For once, Talulah felt the urge to complain.

Talulah had accidentally exposed a secret buried deep in her heart, but to her, it was only a secret.

The ones who absolutely had to guard that secret were, instead, those on the other side of it.

At this moment, Talulah even felt somewhat relieved.

This was a past she had never mentioned to the Reunion Movement's members, not even to some of the people closest to her.

Today, under unexpected circumstances, she had revealed this secret to an unrelated Vulpo girl. Instead, it felt like she had put down some of her burden.

"You really won't kill me?"

Clearly, the Vulpo girl before her still hadn't let go of that tiny concern.

"Really not. (Lungmen dialect) I swear to heaven."

"Then it's a deal!"

Only then did Fengling lower her raised hands.

And only then did she have the mood to sort through the intelligence she had just obtained.

Talulah had two horns that looked exceptionally distinctive. Judging by their shape, she looked like a Vouivre.

In Lungmen, and even Great Yan, that was an extremely rare race.

Even counting outsiders, Fengling herself had never seen a local Lungmen Vouivre.

The reason she had guessed Vouivre was also because Talulah's features leaned more toward foreign-looking ones... but in Lungmen, or Great Yan, there was another extremely rare race that resembled Talulah in appearance—the Lung.

But the Lung... were practically synonymous with...

"Imperial relatives," "great aristocratic clans."

No, no, no... that couldn't be possible, right...

Fengling desperately wanted to dismiss that thought.

If she leaned further toward the idea of "noble bloodline," Fengling recalled that Rhodes Island's records regarding Lungmen intelligence might contain another race even more fitting for Talulah's appearance.

"Draco [Red Dragon]"...

The reason she thought of that was because—though he had already passed away... there really had once been a Draco in a high position in Lungmen's public history!

She had heard he was Governor Wei Yenwu's sworn brother, though he had died young.

There was no public record of anything... but if that Draco had left behind descendants... then judging by their age, one might really be about Talulah's age, around her twenties.

Once her imagination took off, Fengling simply couldn't stop those thoughts from running wild.

"...I think I regret this a little. Maybe I should keep you here after all! I have a feeling that little head of yours has thought of something very dangerous!" Talulah watched Fengling's lively eyes darting around and instinctively placed a hand on her sword.

Without hesitation, Fengling immediately raised both hands again.

And blinked innocently.

Don't ask. If you asked, she surrendered.

Having grown up in the Lungmen Slums, Fengling had very, very low standards in certain matters.

When it was time to admit defeat, she never hesitated.

Unless one side could utterly crush the other, it was best to avoid armed conflicts between individuals and organizations.

Fengling's instinctive sense of danger told her that it was best not to clash with the Reunion Movement unless necessary.

Getting back alive and completing the mission along the way was what mattered most.

Besides, for now, they seemed to be getting along fairly well.

Suddenly, Talulah seemed to think of something, and a somewhat mischievous smile appeared on her face.

"Since you love thinking so much, why don't you guess? When you and Rhodes Island learn too many secrets, who do you think will be the first to make a move against you?"

If Fengling considered things according to the most outrageous extent of her earlier train of thought, then Lungmen, or even Great Yan, might come to silence her!

The descendant of someone important in Lungmen had pulled together an armed organization in Ursus. If that went wrong, it would absolutely become an international conflict!

"No, no, no! I don't want to know!" Fengling hurriedly shook her head like a rattle.

This was way too high-level. Miss Vulpo declared that she couldn't handle it!

But the more Talulah said that... the more it proved... that the thoughts Fengling had let loose for that instant were probably right...

"Ha... I'm not teasing you anymore. Though you may have guessed many things already... I think that even Rhodes Island, if it wants to protect itself, won't dare talk about them everywhere." Talulah pointed at the radio in the vehicle, its green indicator light flickering faintly.

After all, something like that was easy to be wary of. If someone truly looked for it, they could still spot it.

"I don't know whether that thing of yours is operating, so I'll assume Rhodes Island heard everything."

After all, she was the leader of a force large enough to pull together an entire army. It was impossible for her to lack even this much vigilance.

One had to consider the worst-case scenario in all things.

Though most worst-case scenarios were basically disasters that would wipe everything out, such preparations still had to be made.

Then, on that basis, a qualified leader should strive to gain every advantage available.

The confidence Talulah carried was indeed not something ordinary people could possess.

Given enough time to grow, she really could become an extraordinarily capable leader.

But this young leader was clearly not there yet.

At the same time, deep in her heart, she still retained a few lingering attachments to her childhood.

Having talked to this point, Talulah no longer needed to hide much.

Rhodes Island would guard these secrets closely for its own survival.

"Fengling... put your hands down first. Let me ask you something."

"What?" Fengling immediately lowered her hands, a standard seven-tenths-sugar sweetness appearing in her smile.

"In Lungmen... do you know someone named Ch'en Hui-chieh?" Talulah asked the question with a mixture of caution and expectation.

But in a city as vast as Lungmen, casually grabbing someone and asking whether they knew another person by name basically meant there was no reason to hold out much hope.

At this moment, Fengling truly wished she didn't know that name, but unfortunately, she did.

And Fengling couldn't lie here.

Whenever Fengling intended to brush someone off with a lie, she always made absolutely thorough preparations first.

Right now, she lacked the conditions.

Most of the time, sincerity was the most important trait Fengling had come to recognize throughout her journey.

People accustomed to lying had an indescribable quality about them, something that naturally made others dislike them.

Fengling's cunning lay in exploiting information gaps to obtain things useful to herself.

But toward others, she was always sincere. That was also the core reason why she was so well-liked wherever she went.

So Fengling answered.

"I know her. We're familiar enough to speak to each other."

The one Fengling knew better was Ch'en Hui-chiehs colleague and friend—Hoshiguma.

But no matter what, Hoshiguma was a friend of a senior who had looked after her. To Ch'en Hui-chieh, Fengling was at least something like "a not-so-close friend."