Miss Vulpo's Rhodes Island Operator Life

"Without force as a guarantee, the Infected will never be able to hold their heads high." FrostNova's attitude suited her identity as a warrior. "Too weak."

Perhaps that was the difference between Rhodes Island and the Reunion Movement.

But considering the environments they were in, it was not hard to understand.

The Reunion Movement had been born in Ursus. As Infected, they did not even have the most basic human rights or right to survival. Under such circumstances, they had to fight for their most fundamental rights.

Rhodes Island, on the other hand, had chosen to tackle Oripathy as the solution. If Oripathy could be cured, then the Infected would fundamentally be no different from ordinary people, and the widespread discrimination and injustice across Terra could be eliminated.

But neither path was easy.

Having already chosen to travel alongside Rhodes Island, Fengling naturally had no intention of considering joining the Reunion Movement.

Rhodes Island traveled the land, giving back to various places through its research achievements, always putting its chosen path into practice. Fengling was willing to contribute her own strength to something like that.

And earn a little reward while she was at it.

Still, Fengling had to offer a small rebuttal here.

She raised her hand again.

"Um... I'm Infected!"

That was all Fengling wanted to say.

There was nothing to argue over when it came to ideals. They had merely chosen different paths. Perhaps one day, they could walk side by side.

But perhaps one day, they would part ways.

That depended entirely on what the Reunion Movement's leader chose.

"...I couldn't tell." FrostNova looked surprised.

"It's nothing. The doctors said I was lucky and mutated perfectly." Fengling pointed at the three tails she was so proud of.

"I thought you were born that way... Both Yan and Higashi have Vulpo who naturally have many tails, though they're extremely rare." A trace of apology appeared on Talulah's face.

After all, across the land, non-Infected generally had easier lives than the Infected.

As an Infected herself, Fengling might not have suffered any less than the people here.

Yet here, being Infected might instead make one feel more easily accepted.

Even FrostNova's attitude softened somewhat.

By then, the other personnel responsible for the inspection had nearly finished as well.

"Please, come in. Welcome to... the Reunion Movement."

FrostNova formally greeted Fengling.

"Mm, thank you, Miss FrostNova!"

Out of politeness, Fengling extended her hand to FrostNova.

But FrostNova did not take it.

After a brief silence, FrostNova explained, "Sorry... My Originium Arts are somewhat out of control... I can't hold your hand. I'm afraid I'll give you frostbite."

No wonder she had kept feeling a chill earlier. It had come from Miss FrostNova!

Fengling finally understood why.

Still, she was quite confident in her physique.

Without another word, she clasped FrostNova's hand with both of hers.

It was icy to the touch, so bitterly cold that Fengling could genuinely feel the discomfort.

But it was completely within the limits of her body's resistance.

And aside from the calluses where FrostNova gripped her weapon, her hand was no different from that of any other girl.

Fengling beamed brightly. "See? No frostbite."

There were very few people around FrostNova who could steadily hold her hand.

The rare warmth she felt left FrostNova somewhat startled.

"You... aren't afraid at all?"

For an ordinary person, this would have been enough to cause severe frostbite by now.

"I'm just tough!" Fengling released her hand and spread out her palm for FrostNova to see.

There was not a mark on it. She was not putting on a brave face.

"It's actually true..." FrostNova looked at her own hand. After a moment of surprise, she broke into an obvious smile. "I'll remember you. But if you keep holding on, I'll be the one getting burned."

"Alright, enough talking. Get inside."

It seemed FrostNova's body temperature was not only lower than normal; even her perception of temperature differed from ordinary people's.

Could uncontrolled Originium Arts really lead to such severe consequences?

Since coming to Rhodes Island, Fengling had learned some basic pathology regarding Oripathy.

FrostNova's Originium Arts were terrifyingly effective, but that also meant her illness was already extremely severe.

The Reunion Movement's settlement did not look like a place with adequate medical conditions.

Convincing a warrior like her to leave the front lines of battle and recuperate was probably impossible...

Compared to peaceful rest, perhaps a stabilizer injection was what a warrior needed.

"Wait here!"

Fengling bounced back into the truck and began rummaging around.

Rhodes Island's truck actually had something like that in reserve. After all, it was a proper medical company.

Fengling only knew the most basic effects and the possible side effects she might have to face.

But that was enough. She was not a Medic; she only needed to know how to handle emergencies.

FrostNova's body temperature was too low, so Fengling had no choice but to place what she found into the hands of a warrior standing beside her.

During her time at Rhodes Island, Fengling really had become more and more like a proper Rhodes Island operator.

What she could not stand most was seeing the Infected recklessly abuse their own bodies.

"This injection should be used once every month. A normal intravenous injection will do. These two boxes will last you two years. It may weaken your Originium Arts a little, but it'll help stabilize your condition. At the very least, it won't deteriorate so quickly, and that preserves the possibility of treatment."

"Take your medicine properly, and don't give up on treatment!"

Miss Talulah Really Was Such a Blockhead!

After Talulah explained a few matters to FrostNova, the vehicle slowly entered the Reunion Movement settlement.

In the end, the warrior beside FrostNova also promised Fengling that he would make sure FrostNova took care of herself.

He had probably mistaken Fengling for a Medic. Though with Fengling's half-baked, last-minute medical knowledge, she really could be useful in places like this.

"Continue your watch!"

FrostNova stopped watching the vehicle as it drove away and gave the order.

"Yes!"

The warrior who had been holding the injections glanced at FrostNova somewhat cautiously. "Boss, how about... taking one now?"

"No need... Someone else probably needs it more than I do." Although FrostNova accepted Fengling's gift, she did not really want to use it.

Her condition was severe, but there were people in the Reunion Movement whose illnesses were even more dangerous.

FrostNova was willing to give such an opportunity to someone else.

"But, Boss..."

"Enough. That's final."

The warrior seemed unwilling to accept it.

Though FrostNova was not very old, she was a true warrior respected by the people here.

Naturally, many people also knew about her condition.

With a chance to stabilize her illness before them, no one present wanted FrostNova to miss it.

"Boss! My stomach hurts! Requesting a temporary shift change!"

The warrior holding the injections suddenly said that.

And FrostNova knew what trick he was trying to pull.

"It won't help even if you go get the old man to persuade me. If it were him, he wouldn't trust these suspicious injections from outsiders in the first place." FrostNova spoke with complete confidence. "Though I don't think Fengling would use a fake to deceive us. Go ask the old man if you don't believe me. As long as he agrees, I'll agree to take the injection."

Fengling had also mentioned the side effects. It might weaken the power of her Originium Arts.

But as a true warrior, FrostNova had never relied too heavily on a single form of strength.

Even if she did take the medicine, its impact on her would be minimal.

"Alright, I'll go find Mr. Patriot right away!"

Clearly, that warrior was not someone who gave up easily either. With that, he left carrying the boxes of injections.

Meanwhile, Fengling followed Talulah's instructions and finished parking the truck.

But it was already far too late. It was the middle of the night, not a suitable time for trading.

"Let's begin the transaction tomorrow. You may need to stay here for several days, though. Gathering the Originium ore you need from the scattered settlements will take some time."

Once she saw that Fengling had finished dealing with her matters, Talulah made the suggestion.

Fengling's original schedule would have taken several days anyway, so waiting here and conserving her energy was not bad.

"Then I'll trouble you for a while! Mm, you don't need to worry about me. I have all my daily necessities in the truck, so I'll stay in it for the time being."

"That won't do." Talulah smiled at Fengling. "You were kidnapped by me, Miss Fengling. So for the time being, you should obediently stay where we arrange for you to stay... Life may be somewhat austere here, but we can still provide basic hospitality."

"Ha..." Fengling shrugged, a helpless smile appearing on her face. "Whatever you say, Miss Kidnapper."

If she could not stay in the truck, then keeping regular contact with Rhodes Island would be somewhat inconvenient.

Perhaps Talulah had considered that as well.

Fengling could only handle part of the matter openly. "Then, regarding regular contact with Rhodes Island's main ship..."

"You may contact Rhodes Island's main ship only when either FrostNova or I am present. At other times, you may not get into the truck as you please."

Just as expected, Talulah was not that easy to fool.

Even if Fengling had earned some of Talulah's trust now, as a leader, Talulah would naturally eliminate any potential risk she could conveniently remove.

Fengling had no choice but to pick up the radio in front of Talulah and make her routine report. "Rhodes Island, this is Fengling. Everything is currently safe, but I have deviated from the original mission route. The trading mission will continue... The target client has temporarily changed to the Reunion Movement. Report complete. I will continue making regular reports tomorrow."

"Rhodes Island acknowledges. An assessment has been completed, and trading activities with the Reunion Movement are authorized. Operator Fengling's mission status has been classified as special status. Please maintain timely contact. We also ask members of the Reunion Movement to protect our operator's life and safety as much as possible. Thank you!"

The final sentence over the radio was clearly directed at Talulah.

And for them to use such wording, they must have received approval from higher-ups at Rhodes Island.

With everything laid out in the open, naturally, there was room to negotiate.

Talulah led Fengling out of the truck.

"Those children probably aren't asleep yet at this hour..."

Children?

Seeing the confusion in Fengling's eyes, Talulah continued, "We've taken in many children with nowhere to go... When I left today, I promised to bring them back some gifts."

"So where are your gifts?" Fengling asked.

A moment of silence.

Stare...

Fengling pointed at herself. "Don't tell me I'm the gift! I may be cute, but I'm not for sale!"

"Now I really do think keeping you was a good choice... Just kidding. We've already taken everything in your truck, so we'll let them choose for themselves tomorrow." Talulah looked back at the vehicle, her smile full of comfort. "Those children haven't received gifts like these in a long time."

"Then you need to make sure those children's hopes don't fall through, you blockhead!"