A Vulpo Lady's Life as a Rhodes Island Operator

A smile brimming with fighting spirit.

That was why it had seemed so familiar.

"Not today. A newcomer arrived, and I'm preparing to conduct a live combat test."

For once, Gavial had turned down Blaze's sparring request.

"You're giving the newcomer a live combat test?"

Blaze looked at Fengling with a smile that carried a few other implications.

"Little fox, you'd better be careful. She's far more than just a doctor."

In Blaze's view, with Gavial's strength, having her conduct a live combat test for a newcomer...

She was more worried that the newcomer would be left traumatized.

"Thank you for the warning, big sister."

Fengling replied with a polite smile.

"Enough talking. Let's get started." Gavial stretched hard. "So? Fists? Or are you a Caster? Do you have a weapon you're used to?"

"I only have experience with street fights." Fengling gave a slight shrug, sounding somewhat helpless. "Though I do have some experience using weapons... using my fists directly was more convenient in the Lungmen Slums."

"Of course, as an Infected, I also possess Originium Arts that I can use at any time."

As she spoke, a fierce gust swept across Fengling's body.

"That works. Though we generally prohibit Infected operators from using Originium Arts barehanded, who can say what might happen in an emergency?" Gavial seemed to have finished warming up as well. "Besides, based on the examination, your Oripathy is in a very stable condition. After this fight, we'll start correcting that habit of yours."

Gavial and Fengling stood facing each other from afar.

Gavial planted her feet and beckoned Fengling over.

"Come on. You can attack whenever you're ready! Go ahead and try to take me down."

Gavial was overflowing with fighting spirit. "I'll hit everything you throw at me right back!"

Rhodes Island really was a place full of hidden talent.

Even the doctors could fight like this.

Standing there, Gavial gave Fengling a sense of threat no less than Ace's.

She might even have surpassed him—in terms of sheer aggressiveness.

"Then... please forgive this young lady's offense!"

Fengling pushed off with force.

A powerful blast of air erupted.

Riding the wind, Fengling charged forward!

Sparring with Gavial!

"Good!"

Seeing Fengling ride an explosive current of air and come crashing toward her with unstoppable momentum, Gavial showed no fear.

She responded with a direct clash of fists!

Fengling's fist, using seventy percent of her strength, collided with Gavial's.

She had used seventy percent so that she could retain thirty percent to pull back her move.

It was a habit she had developed from years of street fighting.

Whether she needed to change moves afterward or withdraw in time,

a seventy-percent punch was easier to control.

But the instant their fists collided, Fengling immediately sensed that something was wrong!

Gavial's punch was immensely powerful and heavy!

With a bold smile, Gavial had put everything into that punch—she had not held back at all!

As a doctor who had even seen Fengling's physical report, Gavial did not hesitate to strike with her full strength.

Fengling's physique made it impossible for her to be injured by such a simple punch.

At most, she would be put at a disadvantage.

Whether that disadvantage would be minor or major depended on Fengling's own ability to respond!

Blaze, watching from the side, widened her eyes slightly instead.

She knew how powerful a strike like that from Gavial could be.

But Gavial had actually used that much force against a newcomer?!

Very soon, however, Blaze understood why.

At the moment of impact, Fengling's body retreated slightly to disperse the force.

Yet their fists did not separate. Instead, they entered a strange, calm contest of strength.

Under normal circumstances, Fengling, who had opened with only seventy percent strength, would have difficulty producing any further force after losing the advantage, especially if she chose to continue wrestling for power.

And the reason Fengling dared to make that choice...

Bang!

After a dull burst of compressed air, a powerful current pushed Fengling's forearm forward, forcibly driving Gavial back for a brief moment!

"Pure strength may put me at a disadvantage, but I still have Originium Arts to assist me!"

Wind Riding was not merely about condensing wind into blades to cut down enemies.

At its core, controlling airflow could also generate powerful thrust.

And conversely... it could draw the air from a certain area until it became thin.

If one was strong enough, one could even create a vacuum for a brief moment!

Fengling's abilities could not accomplish that, though.

At least, not yet.

As for the future, that was hard to say.

The reason was simple. Fengling herself knew that when she had two tails, she had been weaker than she was now with three. But if she gained even more tails, then, to put it in terms she now understood, the fusion rate between her somatic cells and Originium would rise further. Whether the infection would become fatal was impossible to know.

After being pushed back, Gavial showed the faintest trace of surprise before unconsciously revealing a somewhat wild smile. She shouted, "Hey, Blaze! Did you see that? This girl might actually have something in common with you!"

"Similar fighting styles."

Blaze nodded in confirmation as an observer.

"But the essence is different. I specialize in heating gas to create thrust. She directly manipulates gas."

In terms of pure output, Blaze surpassed Fengling by a margin.

But Fengling's Originium Arts were clearly more flexible and unpredictable.

"With strength like that, she can't simply be treated as an ordinary newcomer."

"Again!" This time, Gavial charged toward Fengling.

Having clashed with her once, Fengling chose to widen the distance this time.

The method of using air pressure to push her forearm had indeed allowed Fengling to win their previous exchange.

But that method of forcibly increasing her output also caused a certain amount of damage to her own body, so she could not keep using it.

Gavial was like a humanoid tank. Constantly trading blows with her was not a particularly wise choice.

As for Gavial, her Originium Arts were related to healing.

In a prolonged exchange, Fengling would absolutely have no advantage. If it dragged on, defeat was inevitable.

Since her goal was to try and defeat Gavial, Fengling would not choose that approach.

So she had to change tactics!

Although the physical examination had accidentally revealed Fengling's weight earlier, when she actually fought...

She was as light as the wind.

After dodging Gavial's attack, Fengling waved a hand, sending three wind blades slashing toward Gavial from multiple angles.

The wind blades' attacks focused on cutting power.

At Fengling's current level, those wind blades could inflict wounds deep enough to expose bone on people with ordinary physical strength.

Against those with standard or even excellent physical strength, the damage would be slightly lower, but enough to leave several cuts.

Yet Gavial's method of dealing with the wind blades was even cruder than Fengling had imagined.

Her crocodilian tail lashed out fiercely behind her like an iron whip, forcibly scattering the wind blades.

But Gavial's assault did not stop there. Borrowing the force of her tail, Gavial leaped into the air, then aimed at Fengling and hurled her entire body down at her.

"If both your feet leave the ground in front of me, that's very dangerous!"

"Hehe~" Fengling chuckled softly, curling a finger and lightly raising her wrist.

This was a kind of "suggestive gesture," a small technique Fengling had developed herself.

By combining specific lines or movements, it allowed her to rapidly trigger the result of a particular Originium Arts calculation.

It was like preparing the answer to a long problem in advance.

Put simply, it was like a mage chanting a spell in a story, or a warrior performing a specific move.

And the result of that gesture was—

Bang!

After an explosive burst of air, a powerful whirlwind surged upward before Fengling.

It blew Gavial straight away! At the same time, several wind blades carried within it inflicted a measure of damage.

After landing, Gavial blankly touched the wound left on her upper arm.

A slight trickle of blood...

Then Gavial's expression turned completely excited!

"Next... warm-up time is over!"

"It might start hurting a little now!!"

If Gavial had previously been like a tank,

then at this moment, she was like a cannonball fired from its barrel!

Irresistible!

"The blood test results are out?"

"Mm, it tastes wonderful... Uh, I mean, the results are excellent!"

In Warfarin's laboratory in the Rhodes Island Medical Department.

Kal'tsit was with Doctor Warfarin, who had just been released from bridge duty.

Upon hearing Warfarin's brief reply, the corners of Kal'tsit's mouth lifted ever so slightly.

"You couldn't resist?"

She seemed to be asking Warfarin.

Unlike her usual somewhat unreliable appearance, Warfarin answered with genuine embarrassment. "Mm... I did lose control for a moment."

Although Warfarin was a Bloodfiend, as a doctor, she had always been able to distinguish between "food" and "patients."

Her usual sneaking of a taste was more often just her way of joking with Kal'tsit.

As one of the veterans who had helped Kal'tsit establish the foundation of Rhodes Island's Medical Department, how could Warfarin truly be someone unable to distinguish right from wrong?