A Vulpo Lady's Life as a Rhodes Island Operator

They were definitely no longer strangers.

Talulah blinked in disbelief. She had not expected such a question to actually yield an answer.

"How is she doing now?"

"Officer Chen?" Fengling organized her words. "She's a very good police officer. She's already a Senior Superintendent now. I heard from the news a while back that she'd recently made another major contribution... She might get promoted again. At this rate, she'll probably become the youngest Director of the Lungmen Guard Department."

Arrival at the Reunion Movement Settlement

Fengling's answer was quite formulaic.

It was the sort of information anyone could find in the news.

Although Fengling knew some other things about Officer Chen, even as a relatively distant friend, she could not casually gossip behind her back.

But for Talulah, whose access to information was now relatively limited, learning this much was already satisfying enough.

And from that question... Fengling was not stupid. Talulah had practically spelled it out...

Officer Chen might be that "younger sister."

Holy crap!

Fengling's lips twitched slightly.

That was explosive news.

There was nothing in the public records, but Officer Chen's dragon horns already proved she was no ordinary person.

And now Talulah had appeared as her older sister.

Fengling did not even dare imagine the rest.

The difference between the sisters' circumstances was actually this vast...

Clever as she was, Fengling naturally knew it would be best to erase this matter from her mind as soon as possible.

And the best way to forget a memory was to stop thinking about it, fill one's mind with other things, and let it fade over time.

Though if anyone brought it up, she would definitely remember it immediately...

Let Rhodes Island record all this. She had dug deep enough already; Fengling was giving up on thinking about it.

Fortunately, enough time had passed.

The other Reunion Movement members had finally caught up as well.

Talulah naturally said nothing more about what had just happened.

She had already reminisced about what she wished to remember.

She was still the leader of the Reunion Movement, raising the banner of armed force for the rights of the Infected and walking the path of struggle.

"Boss! We're here!"

"We cleaned everything up."

The Reunion Movement members, their faces wrapped tightly, greeted Talulah.

"Get in the truck. It's time to head back."

Talulah gave the order.

Fengling promptly opened the temporary living compartment. The tiny lounge could still seat a few people.

"Guys, help yourselves to the drinks, snacks, and alcohol in the truck. Your leader and I have already reached an agreement, so consider these freebies."

Fengling said generously as she showed the Reunion Movement members how to open the snack cabinet.

As for why there was alcohol in the truck, the stuff itself was a high-energy product.

As long as no one drove dangerously, alcohol could handle certain emergencies, especially high-proof liquor.

It could be used as ignition fuel, emergency disinfectant, a source of heat, and so on.

In any case, Fengling would not leave her own share of supplies and snacks out in the open.

The rest was all meant either for doing favors or for selling.

At this point, she could temporarily place some trust in the Reunion Movement.

—But only in their leader, Talulah.

Faced with Fengling's gifts, the Reunion Movement members naturally cheered.

And after living with scarce supplies for so long, they naturally did not stand on ceremony.

"Wow! This beer tastes way better than the stuff we brew ourselves!"

"This jerky... How is it not tough at all? I've got to bring some back for my kid!"

"Boss, can we really take all these good things?"

Fengling had already returned her attention to driving. While giving directions, Talulah also answered the members' question from the tiny rear compartment.

"Take what you want. Eat while you can; you'll still have work to do later. We're using Originium ore to exchange for all the supplies on this truck. Those things are useless to us anyway, so give the best of them to our guest."

"Got it, Boss!"

"Miss Vulpo, thank you so much! With this, we definitely won't go hungry this winter!"

If the supplies on this truck were properly managed and not wasted, they could keep a certain number of people from worrying about food for a very long time.

But the Ursus Tundra was not suitable for year-round farming. Many crops could only be planted for one season, so even though Fengling's truck provided a large number of seeds, the local residents would still need to supplement their food through livestock raising, hunting, and other means.

And besides... for people struggling on the tundra rather than living in mobile city-states, the occasional Catastrophe was the most terrifying thing of all.

That was also one of the major variables Fengling worried about when she said the supplies must "not be wasted."

Not to mention that, beyond Catastrophes, there could also be man-made disasters.

Especially in wartime, burning an enemy's food stores was basic practice.

But overall, it was undoubtedly another form of internal attrition.

Do what one could, then leave the rest to fate.

Fengling had done what she could.

This batch of supplies had indeed reached the people who needed them most.

The Reunion Movement still had a decent reputation among the public, which was one of the important reasons it had only been classified as a "civilian armed organization" so far.

They had hijacked a Rhodes Island truck, but ultimately returned both the vehicle and its members, while also providing compensation unknown to the outside world. That would help maintain their reputation afterward.

As for whether it was legal or criminal...

The organization's very existence trampled on Ursus law... If Ursus had not dealt with it, perhaps it simply believed there was no need to do so yet.

Or perhaps there was some other reason.

"Talulah, how far are we from your settlement?"

Fengling suddenly remembered something and asked sharply.

"We're already very close. What's wrong?"

Seeing Fengling's serious expression, Talulah became serious as well.

"I think I overlooked something. How many people did the guys deal with in total just now?"

The Reunion Movement members in the back looked at one another.

"Eight, I think? What's wrong?"

"Eight..."

That was one more than Fengling had roughly observed earlier.

But Fengling still could not let her guard down.

She could not bring harm to her "customers" because of her own oversight.

At the very least, she needed to warn them of the risk.

"In the previous town, two soldiers saw my truck. But among the people who surrounded us earlier, I only recognized one familiar face. In other words... if we keep going, your settlement could be exposed."

"I understand. It doesn't matter; keep moving. The supplies you provided are worth taking some risk for. Besides... I never believed that settlement could remain hidden from everyone."

Talulah considered it only briefly before telling Fengling to continue along the planned route.

Under Talulah's guidance, the truck passed through a dense coniferous forest beneath the cover of night.

Towering mountains appeared on both sides, and the truck climbed higher and higher.

Until even the temperature outside dropped to a certain point.

An orderly settlement gradually came into Fengling's view.

The tall walls built from thick logs had an aesthetic that suited Ursus.

Through the dim lighting, she could see several neatly dressed people standing guard at the entrance to the walls.

"The bearing of these people... They don't look ordinary."

They were different from the people who had followed Talulah to find Fengling.

Fengling could tell that the people Talulah had brought were, at most, ordinary people with some combat training. With the aid of tools, they could threaten regular soldiers.

But they were far inferior to these guards.

The White Rabbit Called FrostNova

"Stop! Everyone get out!"

A tall Cautus girl stepped out from the group guarding the gate.

Her condensed aura made one instinctively feel that she was absolutely a dependable warrior.

White hair, gray pupils.

But regrettably, a long scar ran across the bridge of her beautiful nose.

With steady steps, she walked over and stopped the truck.

Fengling parked and opened the door.

The others got out as well.

The Reunion Movement's checkpoints seemed quite strict. Even Talulah, as their leader, cooperated fully with the inspection.

"FrostNova, it's me."

Talulah greeted her after getting out.

"I know it's you."

The rabbit-eared girl called FrostNova tugged slightly at the corner of her lips, seeming to smile.

But that name... clearly did not sound like a real name, but rather some kind of codename.

"Is this the newcomer you brought back?"

FrostNova glanced at Fengling with mild curiosity and asked Talulah.

Fengling raised her hand.

"I'm not joining! I was kidnapped!"

"I see." FrostNova nodded. "Rare."

Talulah possessed an exceptionally strong charisma as a leader.

So quite a few Reunion Movement members had been "lured back" by Talulah.

In a sense, FrostNova was one of them.

Their aligned ideals and compatible fighting styles had gradually brought her and Talulah onto the same front.

"Seriously... what do you take me for?" Talulah scratched her hair awkwardly. "Besides, Rhodes Island is an organization that serves the Infected. Non-Infected people like Fengling will surely help their Infected comrades elsewhere too."