A Vulpo Lady's Life as a Rhodes Island Operator

"Like this..."

Fengling held Alina's bonelessly soft hand and guided her movements, driving a training spear precisely into the straw dummy's chest.

Before Fengling's body had grown strong enough to solve problems with her fists, she had been used to dealing with trouble with long-handled weapons.

It was no proper school of fighting, but it was certainly a technique suited for weaker people to defend themselves.

"See? Alina's learning really well!"

Danger Signs

"Hmm... Why are those little ones so quiet today?"

As the moon began to rise, Talulah returned home. Looking at Alina, who had dinner ready, and Fengling, who was sitting beside the table and waving at her with a smile, she asked in confusion.

Normally, this would have been the time when those children were at their noisiest.

Talulah had made a habit of returning at this relatively peaceful time of day for precisely that reason.

So she could help Alina keep them in line, more or less.

"They're all asleep. I guess they were tired today."

Alina served Talulah a large bowl of stew.

"Talulah, this one is yours. I added extra meat today, so it's even more delicious!"

"Okay." Talulah took the slightly scalding bowl and set it on the table. "But... what exactly did you do today to tire those little ones out so badly?"

"It wasn't me, it was Fengling." Alina sat down at the table as well, ready to eat. "Fengling gave the children a whole day of physical education today. She wore them out completely."

"Of course... me too."

With that, Alina let out a huge yawn. She looked exhausted as well.

"Hehe~ That's what you get for not exercising regularly, Alina. Now even the children can outdo you." Fengling laughed.

But Alina's perseverance truly impressed Fengling.

Once she seriously committed herself to something, Alina was the kind of person who would give it absolutely everything.

How could Alina, who followed Talulah, possibly be nothing more than a pretty ornament?

Those weak in physical strength could still be strong in spirit.

Alina's presence had been indispensable in supporting Talulah through her journey.

"Ugh... I want to sleep after dinner too." Alina wailed. "Talulah, you do the dishes."

Physical training had to be gradual.

There would not be dramatic results in the short term, but if Alina kept training like this, she would at least develop above-average stamina.

If danger came, at least it would raise the odds of successfully choosing to run away.

"Okay." Talulah nodded in agreement.

In peaceful daily life, someone still had to handle the chores.

"Is FrostNova not coming back?" Fengling asked curiously.

Though she now knew her real name, Fengling seemed to have grown accustomed to calling Yelena FrostNova.

A faintly grave expression appeared on Talulah's face. "I sense... some strange signs. I had FrostNova reinforce the defenses. Later, I'll rotate shifts with her. Fengling, try not to go out lately either. There may be danger. We're stepping up reconnaissance as well."

Danger?

Seeing that Fengling did not quite understand why, Talulah explained, "Near the Reunion Movement settlement, there are subordinate forces from the Ursus Third Army and Fourth Army that have formed several small warlord factions. Those warlord groups are deeply corrupt and extremely greedy. They operate under the banner of the regular army, which makes them quite troublesome to deal with."

"Fortunately, they aren't united. It is only because of that balance that the Reunion Movement settlement has been able to find an opening and survive peacefully."

Even the Ursus military had problems like this?

From what she had heard, Ursus's current emperor was supposed to be highly capable. Did he not know what was happening inside the army?

Fengling thought about it.

Or perhaps... Ursus had problems even more serious than this, forcing the emperor to prioritize.

An outsider saw more clearly.

In Fengling's eyes, the Reunion Movement's combat strength was certainly not weak.

Leaving aside anything else, in merely small-scale battles, the Reunion Movement had powerful high-level fighters. Even if they could not win head-on, they could at least retreat safely or gain advantages through guerrilla warfare.

Of course, Fengling also knew that aside from formidable individual combatants, the truly terrifying things on a battlefield were war machines.

She had only ever seen Lungmen's city-defense weapons from afar.

But Fengling had no desire to find out firsthand what kind of power those things could unleash.

Pulling her thoughts back...

"So, Talulah, you mean one of their factions has started making moves?"

"Yes. So we cannot let our guard down." This was not Talulah's first time dealing with such a situation. They had won even more dangerous battles before.

When this kind of private fighting between warlords reached the higher-ups, it would long since be smoothed over.

The mountains were high and the emperor was far away. On top of that, Ursus's old nobility had never been obedient, especially those within the Third Army and Fourth Army. That was why this region was so chaotic.

But if things truly got out of hand and both sides were brought before the emperor, the limited violations of the Infected Regulations would be far less serious at the national level than military corruption.

At least the current emperor genuinely intended to improve the treatment of the Infected. It was simply beyond his reach.

So the Reunion Movement was not afraid. If they had to fight, they would fight.

But the core issue was still—whether they could win.

For the Reunion Movement, if they could not survive, nothing else mattered.

"In any case, if fighting involving the Reunion Movement breaks out, Fengling, just hide with the children." Talulah pointed at the Rhodes Island logo on Fengling's coat. "After all, I understand that the Reunion Movement, at its core... cannot be considered a normal organization. So you must avoid these battles, or Rhodes Island will be dragged into trouble. Do you understand?"

"I understand."

Fengling did not say much, merely stated her position.

If danger truly came, Fengling did not believe those greedy people would spare her.

But Talulah was right as well. Unless it was truly a critical moment, Fengling should not casually involve herself in the Reunion Movement's battles.

Rhodes Island operators had unrestricted authority to defend themselves when faced with mortal danger, and Rhodes Island would firmly uphold that right.

So Fengling had a second option.

If she was truly forced to act—she had to leave no loose ends.

That was what Dobermann had told Fengling before the mission.

No one could cross a swamp and remain clean. Even Rhodes Island would use force in exceptional circumstances.

Or... there was a third option.

She could immediately retreat with the Originium ore that had already arrived.

In terms of total value, it would only mean taking a small loss.

But the thought was extinguished the moment it appeared.

If even Talulah had noticed signs of danger, then it was hard to say whether the road back would be safe.

Fengling could face the pursuit of many people without panicking.

But in the hands of people equipped with military gear, there were far too many things that could prove fatal.

Giant crossbows, Originium artillery, military-grade group Arts Units.

On Terra, an individual's combat ability could be immensely powerful. But Fengling was certainly not strong enough to calmly face a small army that might be equipped with weapons of war.

Besides... speaking selfishly.

Although Fengling had taught the children to learn how to run away during the day,

Fengling herself was now absolutely unwilling to flee in such a pathetic manner.

...At the very least, if she was forced to run, she had to make it look good!

Talulah's Goodwill

Over the following days, everything continued along its predetermined course.

More and more minerals arrived at the Reunion Movement settlement, and Fengling's truck bed gradually filled up.

"Such insane profits... This is all insane profit! Selling a truckload of minerals like this could probably buy me a huge villa in Lungmen's Upper City, sob sob sob."

As the accumulated value of the minerals rose higher and higher, Fengling could not help sighing like this.

But Fengling knew perfectly well that this was not business just anyone could do.

After hearing the information the old gentleman Patriot had revealed, Fengling also understood why Rhodes Island could obtain certain privileges in Ursus.

During this time, Fengling had not triggered her talent for finding objects, so her daily life in the Reunion Movement had become peaceful. She truly spent several days as a teacher there with Alina.

Playing with the children.

Teaching them genuine self-defense techniques.

Helping Alina train hard and teaching her how to exercise on her own in the future.

Along the way, Fengling had also become a familiar face throughout the Reunion Movement.

She was pretty, pleasant to talk to, and had Talulah and the others vouching for her. Fengling's arrival brought plenty of laughter to this ordinarily rather serious settlement.

Having basically relied on herself for everything since childhood, Fengling naturally had to deal with all kinds of miscellaneous chores on her own. Those experiences also allowed her to help the people here solve a number of difficult problems.

After today's shipment of Originium ore arrived, only the final batch remained before Talulah fulfilled her promise of minerals.

But at such a moment, the cold wind that blew today made Fengling instinctively sense a crisis.

"If nothing goes wrong... then something might go wrong..."

Fengling had always trusted her intuition.

Talulah found her at that moment.

"I'm sorry, Fengling. We may not be able to deliver the final batch of minerals we promised you."

With a trace of reluctance on her face, Talulah looked at Fengling.

"But in terms of value, I think it should be more than enough to pay for everything in your truck... You need to retreat quickly. This settlement... may not be defensible."

Seeing Talulah's expression, Fengling understood that something serious must have happened.

"Did something happen?"

"One of the trailers carrying the supplies you brought disappeared several days ago, along with the person driving it." Talulah's expression was filled with grief and indignation. "Today, the comrades responsible for reconnaissance... found the body, as well as the trailer after it had been completely looted. Following that lead, we have confirmed that the warlords belonging to the Ursus Third Army have set their sights on us."

A portion of the scum beneath a large army group could run rampant through an entire region, acting like kings and tyrants. Yet on the surface, they had never rebelled, allowing them to constantly skirt the line, concoct all sorts of excuses, and enrich themselves through plundering supplies.

The appearance of the Reunion Movement had undoubtedly disrupted their arrogant behavior. To those warlords, the Reunion Movement was a thorn in their side.

But because of that, they had fallen into a strange balance.

There was also conflict and mutual plundering among the warlords, and the Reunion Movement posed a major threat when facing a single small warlord faction of this level.

So none of them was willing to strike first and let a third party reap the benefits.

However... if the profits were large enough, that was another matter.

The transactions taking place within the Reunion Movement settlement had clearly been exposed to one of those factions—according to Talulah's current information, a warlord faction under the Third Army.

The value of Fengling's truckload of supplies might not have been high enough on its own.

But added to the Originium ore that the Reunion Movement had likely gathered by emptying a great deal of its reserves, it became an entirely different matter.

Raw Originium ore and Originium mines had vastly different values in Ursus.

And the spoils seized from the Reunion Movement could be legitimately claimed as their own.

So, they acted.