Poseidon in Arknights

"Hoo..." Shattered Bone sighed deeply, then looked at his comrade who was speaking beside him, "How is it? Any leads?"

The man hesitated for a moment before speaking, "The search is progressing very slowly. We don't have enough manpower, so it's difficult to find anyone here..."

"And the people here... completely ignore our propaganda."

"I understand." Broken Bones nodded wearily. He knew their current situation was not good, because they had originally thought they could quickly develop into a team wherever they went.

So, the only people Shattered Bones brought to Dragon Gate from the beginning were only a dozen or so. They originally thought they could quickly recruit a group of members here.

But to their surprise, reality slapped them hard several times. The people here completely ignored them, whether they were infected or ordinary people.

Some refugees who secretly entered Chernobog slum through smuggling or other means even revealed to the residents what their Reunification Movement was doing in Chernobog.

After that, they were beaten wherever they went. Looking for people? They were being chased every day, and they could only look for people while they were running away.

It only got a little better recently after they removed all the symbols of the Reunion Movement from themselves.

"Boss, this can't go on like this, can it?"

Broken Bones glared at his comrade, "What can I do? Keep searching. Once we find them, we'll leave immediately..."

"This damn place..."

—————Longmen City Lord's Office—————

"I'm sorry, Miss Xiyue, we didn't know you were coming." Wei Yanwu looked at Xiyue, who had already found a place to sit down, and said somewhat awkwardly, "Would you like anything to drink?"

Standing behind Wei Yanwu, Chen Huijie looked at him with a strange expression. It was the first time she had ever seen Wei Yanwu so restless and so respectful to someone.

"How about black tea today?" Xi Yue smiled as she looked at Wei Yanwu, who was sitting uneasily in front of her. "Don't be nervous. You do your thing and go talk to them. I came here today just to talk to you about the situation in the lower city and a few other things."

Wei Yanwu looked at Xiyue, his lips twitching slightly. "It's precisely because you're here that I can't go and talk to Rhodes Island."

"There shouldn't be any problems in the lower district recently. Speaking of which, Old Lin mentioned that someone from the Reunion Movement came by, but it seems they were just looking for someone, and nothing bad has happened so far, so it's probably not that."

Wei Yanwu quickly reviewed the recent events in the lower city in his mind, and only breathed a slight sigh of relief after confirming that nothing had gone wrong.

As long as Xi Yue isn't here to interrogate him, everything is fine. Even if the oppressive aura from a while ago was only for a moment, it still made Wei Yanwu break out in a cold sweat.

After receiving Hei Suo's report and learning the cause of the incident, he couldn't sleep and sat in his office waiting for the situation to unfold. Even after the incident was over, he immediately pulled Lao Lin and Da Di aside for a short meeting.

So after confirming that there hadn't been any problems in the lower city recently, and realizing that at least Xi Yue wasn't here to interrogate him today, Wei Yanwu finally felt relieved. Then he looked at Amiya and the others who had already sat down.

"Alright then, Rhodes Island, let's begin."

"Miss Xiyue, here's your black tea." While they were discussing something, Bai Xue brought a cup of brewed black tea and gently placed it in front of Xiyue's table. "Please enjoy."

"Thank you." Xi Yue nodded slightly to Bai Xue, then picked up her black tea, took a sip, and said, "It tastes good."

“Let’s put the Reunion Movement aside for now, everyone at Rhodes Island,” Wei Yanwu interrupted Kal’tsit. “As you can see, Lungmen is fully prepared, and the Lower City is perfectly safe. We don’t need any assistance from Rhodes Island.”

“Of course.” Wei Yanwu took the pipe from his mouth and tapped it lightly on the ashtray. “We don’t need to cooperate on this matter, but I think we do need to cooperate on other matters.”

"please say."

“We need a large quantity of painkillers and various medical supplies, but there are no large pharmaceutical factories or enterprises in Lungmen, which is a real headache for me.”

Kal'tsit nodded, turned around and took a report out of her bag from Amiya. She hadn't come directly here today; she had first inquired about the current situation in the lower city.

As Wei Yanwu said, the current Lower City District will not listen to the incitement of the Integration Movement at all, not to mention that the real danger has long been eliminated. This aspect of the bargaining chip can only be used as an additional measure and cannot play a real role.

However, in contrast, Longmen does not have any large medical enterprises, but the free clinics currently being held in various urban areas require a large amount of medicine.

Therefore, Kal'tsit had already asked Amiya to prepare a cost-effective shopping list.

Kelsey pushed the report in front of Wei Yanwu: "In that case, I think we can achieve deeper cooperation in this regard."

Chapter 103: Sisters Meet

"This is indeed a very reasonable price. It doesn't seem like a one-off deal." Wei Yanwu put down the list and then looked at Kal'tsit. "So, it seems that the people of Rhodes Island are looking to establish a long-term partnership with us?"

“Yes.” Kal’tsit nodded. “Commander Wei’s current methods of winning over the hearts and minds of the slum people are not very sophisticated.”

Before Wei Yanwu could say anything after Kal'tsit said this, the Doctor sitting next to him quickly nudged Kal'tsit's leg twice with his own.

"Does this look like a collaboration, Dr. Kal'tsit?" The Doctor glared at Kal'tsit from beneath his hood. "We're discussing a collaboration with someone else, not the other way around!"

He probably knew why Rhodes Island's finances had been so poor before; with Kal'tsit's negotiating attitude, who would be happy?!

This isn't the other party approaching them for cooperation. They don't believe Rhodes Island is the only place on this land that can produce large quantities of drugs. Aren't you afraid this cooperation will fall through?!

“That’s an interesting point.” Wei Yanwu narrowed his eyes, looking at Kal’tsit in front of him. “Then, Miss Kal’tsit, why don’t you tell me about the mistakes in my current strategy?”

"The Lungmen side initially started the first free clinic by leveraging Miss Yuzuki's reputation as a trusted physician and your publicity efforts." Kal'tsit seemed completely oblivious to the Doctor's earlier hint, "With slow and steady goodwill, they began to drive the first nail into the Lungmen Guard Bureau."

“That’s right.” Wei Yanwu nodded. “But so what? Does this have anything to do with our cooperation?”

“Excessive kindness is also meaningless; they will only expect more and more from you.” Kal’tsit continued to ignore the increasingly hopeless look in the Doctor’s eyes beside her. “If you give them these kinds of treats every day, they will only ever want to wait for your treats.”

“Until the day when Mr. Wei Yanwu stops giving us more…” Kal'tsit finally stopped speaking, looking at Wei Yanwu, perhaps waiting for him to continue.

Wei Yanwu paused slightly, then finally took the pipe from his lips and gently tapped it on the ashtray: "Then they will start to hate me and may even break free from Lungmen's control again, right?"

"This is indeed a fact I have to consider, Dr. Kal'tsit, but since you've brought it up, it proves you want to talk to me about this group of infected people. Otherwise, as a pharmaceutical company, it would be meaningless for you to bring this up in your negotiations."

“To resolve this issue, we can’t rely on endless free clinics. That would be a waste and unfair not only for Lungmen but also for everyone else.” Kal’tsit nodded to Wei Yanwu, then patted the Doctor beside her. “As for how to resolve it, our advisor, the Doctor, might have a better approach.”

"Eh!" The Doctor, whose eyes had already shown despair, was suddenly called upon. His gaze, hidden beneath his hood, widened in astonishment as he looked at the perfectly normal-looking Kal'tsit beside him. 'No way, Dr. Kal'tsit, I have amnesia! You dragged me here, and now you're asking me what my opinion is?!'

Sitting at another table behind them, sipping red tea, Yuuki shook her head helplessly: 'Doctor, you should have firmly refused to come back then. But I was really looking forward to seeing what kind of solution you would come up with.'

"Oh?" Wei Yanwu raised his voice as if he had become interested, then looked at the doctor beside him, "Then let's hear from our doctor lady?"

"Um, um..." The Doctor took a deep breath, using this time to quickly go through the information he and Kal'tsit had gathered that afternoon in his mind. Gradually, a large net began to unfold in his mind.

As the network gradually became clearer, an idea clearly emerged in the doctor's mind at its center. With the idea clearly in his mind, the doctor breathed a sigh of relief.

"Free clinics can continue, but their scale must be reduced, transforming them into more organized clinics..." The doctor began his narration, following the thoughts in his mind, "At the same time, we will begin constructing the lower city and slums, not requiring them to be completely identical to the upper city, but they will need housing..."

“I’m sorry, Doctor,” Wei Yanwu interrupted the doctor by tapping his pipe, “Renovating a slum is not an easy task. What about funding? What about materials? Most importantly, how many workers are willing to go there to do this?”

“That’s the key point: let them build and renovate themselves.” The doctor nodded. “We can provide the materials, we can pay them wages, or we don’t even need to pay them wages, as long as we promise them that one of the houses they build in the future will be theirs.”

“That’s right, but what about the infected?” Wei Yanwu put his pipe back in his mouth, his eyes thoughtful. This method is good. The slums will have to be rebuilt sooner or later after they are taken back. It’s just a matter of time.

Wei Yanwu knew that the free clinic method was unsustainable, but what was needed now was to win people's hearts. For the lower district, the current method might not be efficient, but it was enough if it was effective.

However, this method has its limits. There aren't that many people who need treatment, and they can't endlessly provide free medical services to the slums. This could also lead to dissatisfaction among people in the uptown area.

The method proposed by the doctor is worth considering. Since construction is inevitable, why not use the construction work as another kind of bargaining chip and throw it at the people in the slums?

The only question is, after the construction, what will happen to the people in the original slums, those who are infected?

"Building the factory area, closing off the factory, reducing contact, dividing the area—these are all up to you, Commander Wei, to arrange," the doctor said, looking at Wei Yanwu. "But I still want to say that infected people aren't so scary..."

Wei Yanwu raised his hand to interrupt the doctor: "Perhaps, doctor, but whether it's scary or not isn't something I can say casually. Everyone's rejection of the infected is obvious, and I can't stop that."

"..." The Doctor paused slightly before looking at Amiya beside him.

Amiya sensed what the Doctor had done to her, and then slightly turned her gaze to Kal'tsit sitting in the middle. After Kal'tsit nodded slightly, she...

"Commander Wei, Rhodes Island is willing to build a factory in the soon-to-be-completed new factory area and recruit as many infected-related employees as possible."

“Oh, then this is no small business.” Wei Yanwu raised an eyebrow, then tapped the list on the table. “But let’s talk about our medical supplies purchase agreement today, everyone from Rhodes Island?”

"After all, we need to choose a good location for the new factory area, right?"

------------

“In that case, Officer Chen.” Wei Yanwu put the contract aside and looked at Chen Huijie standing behind him. “See the Rhodes Island team off for me.”

"Oh, Officer Chen, please come back after you finish delivering the goods." Xi Yue, who had been sitting for a long time, stood up with a cup of red tea. "There's someone you need to see."

Chen Huijie paused slightly after taking a step, nodded to Xiyue, and then led Kal'tsit and the other two away.

After watching the others leave, Xi Yue sat down in the spot where Kal'tsit had been sitting, holding a cup of red tea. She raised the cup to Wei Yanwu in front of her and said, "It tastes good."

"As long as you like it."

“Their proposal is actually quite good.” After finishing the last sip of her black tea, Xiyue placed it on the table. “Which aspect should we start with?”

Wei Yanwu stopped smoking his pipe abruptly: "We can only discuss this with Lao Lin first, and there might be other concerns as well."

"You mean the snake?"

Wei Yanwu suddenly looked up, staring intently at Xi Yue: "How much do you know, Your Excellency?"

"Not much~" Xiyue took out another pot of brewed black tea from her clothes and poured herself a cup. "But it's enough for this. Would you like a cup?"

"...No need, thank you for your kindness."

"Is that so? Then forget it." Xi Yue put the teapot on the table, smiled at Wei Yanwu who was a little tense, "I told you there's no need to be nervous. I'm just here to let you meet someone. As for that snake, don't worry, it won't dare to come."

"Why?" Wei Yanwu took a deep breath. "He's determined to get Longmen."

“It’s simple, because I’m here.” Xi Yue took a sip of black tea. “He wouldn’t dare come over.”

"If you want to know the reason, it's actually very simple. Not long ago, I was angered by something, so I taught him a little lesson."

"Is that so?" A hint of joy appeared in Wei Yanwu's eyes, and his hand unconsciously reached for his pocket. He knew that Xi Yue wouldn't lie to him about something like this, so he was thinking of having a drink tonight.

"So go ahead and do it." Xi Yue smiled at Wei Yanwu in front of her, then turned to Chen Huijie who had just come in. "By the way, could you also call out Commander Wei's commanding officer?"

"What brings you here, Lady Xiyue?" Before Wei Yanwu could do anything, Wenyue had already come out from inside with Baixue.

"It's nothing, I just think it's better when everyone is here~" Yuzuki smiled and tossed something to the side from her hand. "Wait a moment, I'll bring that child over."

'That child?' Wen Yue was slightly taken aback, and then a person came to mind. After exchanging a glance with Wei Yanwu, who was also looking at her, Wen Yue seemed to have an idea of ​​who it was.

The small, ice-crystal-like object fell into the air, then cracked and formed a vortex emitting a ghostly blue light.

Portable Time-Space Teleportation Crystal

[Effect: Opens a small teleportation channel, allowing for two-way teleportation for up to ten minutes. The optimal stable duration depends on the distance between the two ends; the longer the distance, the shorter the duration.]

[Note: This is a convenient and quick way to return to town. It requires specific or accurate coordinates as the destination; otherwise, it cannot be activated or will not enable random teleportation. This random teleportation carries a high risk, such as getting stuck inside certain physical objects.]

Price: 10000 Medical Points

[B+ Medical Access]

It's not that Xiyue lacks the ability to grab people directly from a distance; for example, she used it before to catch those two escaped rats.

It's easy for that vortex to grab people, but it's a bit difficult to send them away. Talulah doesn't live here; she has to go back. So using the vortex to grab people isn't a good idea.

"Wait a moment, I'll be right back~"

—————Chernobog Central Command Tower—————