About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

"Secondly, you're not Tallulah, right, Black Snake-senpai?"

Alina held up two fingers and put forward her guess.

"...Are you really just an ordinary girl from a village in the North?"

Seeing that the truth was revealed, Black Snake no longer concealed it, but she became more and more confused about Alina, a seemingly ordinary little deer.

"That's indeed the case, Senior Black Snake."

Alina tilted her head and smiled, while Orson, who was still lying on the sofa, kept blinking.

"Uh, what's going on?"

"So, Senior Black Snake probably just wants to scare you, Orson. You're not stone-faced when it comes to emotions, but you're certainly not very good at it. If a girl truly wants to offer herself to someone she likes, her eyes will be even more excited and happy."

Teacher Alina’s love class is now open!

"Just to scare...?"

Orson looked at Black Snake, who shrugged helplessly. She didn't know how Alina could see through her acting and Black Snake's identity at a glance, but since it had been exposed, she could only admit it.

"That's right. Do you think I would compete with my own daughter for a guy like you? Don't take it for granted. Today I just want to teach you a lesson. You will remember this day from now on—woo!"

The cold touch interrupted Black Snake's harsh words. It turned out that Alina had come behind Black Snake at some point and placed her "civilian mineral laser cutting machine" on Black Snake's neck.

"Alright, alright, putting aside the harsh words for now, you haven't been punished for fooling Orson yet."

"Punishment...? Ha, how amusing, poor little deer. Do you think I haven't considered this situation? I can easily return this body to my daughter. Facing the real Tallulah, you will still..."

[Reminder, #Tallulah# rejected your exchange request]

—Tallulah aa ...

Black Snake only thought that he could return his body to Tallulah, but he never thought that Tallulah could also refuse his request.

After all, Tallulah is still the absolute administrator of this body, and Black Snake is just a temporary visitor who sneaked in through the backdoor using a hacking program.

"Hmm? Looks like the switch wasn't successful, Black Snake-senpai. Is there something wrong with Tallulah?"

Alina smiled and moved closer to the black snake, but the black snake's thousand-year-old instinct for survival kept telling her that the little deer was dangerous.

"What a terrifying creature! So, what are you going to do, little deer? Even if my consciousness is that of an immortal black snake, this body still belongs to Tallulah. Will you punish me?"

Black Snake used Tallulah's face to make a mocking smile. (For this expression, please refer to the picture in Chapter 8 where Black Snake holds a knife to his neck.)

"How could that be, Black Snake Senior? I won't harm either you or Tallulah—give me a hand, Orson. I'll control Black Snake Senior's limbs, and you'll be responsible for helping."

Alina looked at Orson for help, but the latter still looked confused. However, the political commissar was already full of aura at this time. If she didn't do as he asked, she would be killed by the laser in 3 seconds!

——What can a bunch of greenhorns do?

Black Snake looked at Alina and Orson with disdain, not thinking that his accident would lead to any serious punishment.

Ten minutes later——

“Wait… wait… at least let me catch my breath… Ahahahahaha! Hahahaha… enough, enough…!”

"Okay, Orson, that should be about right, right?"

"Actually, I thought it was supposed to end a few minutes ago—uh, I-I didn't say anything."

Orson saluted in French style to indicate that he would fully obey all the orders of Political Commissar Alina. At the same time, he glanced at the black snake lying motionless on the sofa next to him with some reluctance, only occasionally twitching to prove that he had not yet died.

At this time, the black snake lying on the sofa was as limp as noodles, its eyes had lost their focus, and it didn't even have the energy to notice the saliva flowing from the corners of its mouth. Its silver hair had already become a mess like a bird's nest.

There was nothing she could do about it, after all, she had just endured a full 15 minutes of tickling punishment.

At first, Black Snake laughed loudly, "That's all?" But soon he changed his tone and said, "Hahaha, you guys did a good job, hahaha, enough of the trouble, hahaha."

And then it turned into intermittent gasps, pleas for mercy, and messy, short laughs.

[A horrific punishment that does not cause harm to the host's body, but is extremely insulting and torturous - tickling]. This was the first time that the black snake, who had lived for 2000 years, had experienced the terrifying power of tickling.

After a while, Black Snake finally regained consciousness from the aftermath of the tickling. As she trembled and stood up with the help of the sofa, she wondered in her heart whether Alina was also an immortal species like herself.

"Are you thinking of something disrespectful, Black Snake Senior?"

"……No."

Black Snake chose to follow his heart. After all, he was unarmed, while the other party had a cremation cannon that could blow him away with one shot.

"Then please let Talula come back, Black Snake-senpai, and don't try to tease Orson again, okay?"

Alina used writing to persuade, which was also interpreted as coercion, to signal Black Snake to return the authority of his body to Tallulah, and the latter had no choice but to accept the defeat.

"I know... huh?"

The black snake nodded, but soon froze again.

"What do you mean by not exchanging for the time being—"

Black Snake showed a subtle expression for a moment, and then acted as if someone had suddenly hung up on him.

"Tallulah said to maintain the status quo for now."

After a moment's silence, Black Snake raised his head and told Orson and Alina about this.

"Maintaining the status quo?—I can probably understand Tallulah's thinking."

Alina thought about it for a moment, then said that she might understand what Tallulah was going to do.

"?" "?"

Black Snake and Orson stood side by side with their heads made question marks. Seeing them like this, Alina couldn't help but sigh.

"Haaa... Black Snake-senpai really doesn't understand his own daughter at all. As for Orson... you're actually quite cute just like this, right?"

"Hey!"

One of Hanhan’s biggest characteristics is that he hates being called Hanhan.

"I admit, you guys tricked me this time. It seems the Reunion Movement's progress wasn't just due to luck."

Black Snake sighed and stood up from the sofa, walked to the mirror and straightened his messy hair.

Orson watched Black Snake's skillful and natural movements and slowly began to believe that what she said about her past was not false.

But if that's the case, what exactly did she witness during this thousand-year journey that made her so paranoid, so extreme, believing that only absolute rule and war could allow her to survive on Terra?

"Since Tallulah has given her permission, this is a rare opportunity. Senior Black Snake, why don't you also join this operation?"

"action?"

Black Snake frowned at the noble military uniform on himself in the mirror and asked curiously.

"Well, I came to Orson because I wanted to ask him to accompany me on a mission. Because of the nature of the mission, I need to minimize the risk."

“I don’t seem to have the right to refuse.”

Black Snake sighed, then his eyes moved to the wardrobe in the corner of the office.

——However, it seems that I have the right to change my dear daughter's dress taste?

69. A thousand years late understanding

“Is this a building blueprint?”

Outside the office, Orson looked at the picture displayed on the tablet in his hand and asked Alina beside him.

"Yes, from the outside it looks like a textile factory, but there are strange spaces underground."

"...An arena for the infected?"

Orson guessed the real purpose of this building, and Alina nodded to indicate that Orson's guess was correct.

"A few days ago, I gathered some intelligence about this underground arena. Because the Infected Arena is the dirtiest and bloodiest of all the shady industries in Casimir, the amount of information I was able to obtain was limited. Finding this base was already very difficult."

Alina spoke with a serious expression. It seemed that she had put a lot of thought into obtaining information about this arena.

It was obvious that Alina wanted to find herself, and she needed a helper to ensure that the rescue plan was foolproof.

"What is my responsibility?"

Orson didn't ask any more questions. He knew Alina's goal and was willing to help. That was enough.

"After I successfully infiltrate and unlock the cages, protect the children. Time may not allow me to specifically single out the cages holding the infected. The claw beasts that were released along with them will be left to you, Orson."

As Alina spoke, she handed Orson a pure black combat uniform and a skull mask.

From the North to Casimir, everyone has changed in some way along the journey. Even Alina, who initially could only educate the children and soothe Tallulah's fawn, has gradually become one of the secret weapons of the Unity Movement, capable of easily tearing through the enemy's defenses.

And the political commissar who 'smiling but makes people creepy'...

"So what's my job?"

Black Snake's voice came from inside the office. She reached out, pushed open the door, and walked straight out.

"what--"

Orson stared at the black snake in shock for a moment. The black snake, who was now using Tallulah's body, took off the noble military uniform that he had hardly changed since the Northern Territory, and put on the black lace dress again. However, the style was a little different from the one he had occasionally seen before. It seemed that Tallulah had bought it again at some point.

"Is there anything to doubt, Orson?"

Black Snake straightened the hem of her dress, adjusted the straps around her waist holding the greatsword, and turned to ask Orson.

"No… uh, nothing."

Orson stammered, not knowing what to say.

For Orson, he likes both Tallulah in military uniform and Tallulah in women's private clothes equally, but he can only see Tallulah in military uniform after all, so even though he knows very well that the guy in front of him is "Black Snake", he is still amazed by this fresh outfit.

"I've occasionally tried to persuade Tallulah to wear something more in line with her girlish temperament, but I never thought it would come true in this way..."

Not only Orson, but even Tallulah was a little dazed after seeing Black Snake's costume.

"Your job is to observe the perimeter of the building. This textile factory is located next to the headquarters of Allen's Select Protective Gear and Weapons. It's understandable that the leader of the Reunion Movement would be inspecting a competitor's base, right?"

"Very thoughtful."

Black Snake took the portable walkie-talkie from Alina, and then looked at Orson again.

"Isn't it rare to see Tallulah dressed like this? You've been staring at me practically the entire time."

"No... although it's rare, what I really want to ask is, how should I put it - why do you suddenly find it so easy to assume the identity of a woman?"

Until a few hours ago, Orson's impression of Black Snake was still that of an 'old man with white hair and a Sima face'. But after Black Snake took over someone else's body, or rather, after Tallulah forced him to change bodies, which was less than two hours ago, Orson had slowly accepted the fact that Black Snake was once a woman.

"This can be considered one of my abilities—'Mimicry.' I can mimic the host's personality to a certain extent, though only less than 5%. And since I'm a woman, there's nothing strange about this. As for all your subjective judgments about 'Kosice,' they are all due to my mimicry and induction. After the entity 'Kosice' disappears, my imitation of him will slowly fade over time."

Black Snake stretched out his hand and looked at Tallulah's palm and said.

"So, if you stay inside Tallulah's consciousness until the influence of 'Kosice' completely wears off, then the next time you appear with your consciousness, you'll be able to transform into a 140cm tall, white-haired, red-eyed, bandaged-eye, silent, artistic, and tsundere vampire lolita with a chuunibyou, a bandaged eye?"

"climb"

The black snake responded in the most elegant and concise ancient language of Yan State.

After determining the specific division of labor for the task, the three of them headed towards their destination separately.

Black Snake and Orson went to the textile factory together by car, while Alina arrived first on a motorcycle alone.

"So, Old Black... uh, Miss Black Snake, you still don't understand why Tallulah took the initiative to give this body to you temporarily?"

In the car, Orson gripped the steering wheel while questioning Black Snake, who sat in the passenger seat. Knowing snippets of Black Snake's past, and given that Black Snake was now occupying Tallulah's body, Orson initially wanted to simply call him "Old Black Snake," as he had done before. But halfway through, he felt incredibly awkward, so he resorted to a rather unconventional and mysterious name.

"It's quite amusing to see you so embarrassed. This time, the 15 minutes of tickling weren't in vain. Of course, I never want to try it again in my life. As for your question, yes, my daughter still refuses to tell me the purpose of this behavior. Is this considered growth? Humph."

Black Snake raised her eyebrows. She had always been able to observe and know Tallulah's behavior - behaviors like suddenly getting mad and running to Orson's face for free were not among them.

But the aftermath of this incident was indeed something Black Snake could not understand. She did not know what Tallulah wanted her to do with this body and what she would get.

"It's just a guess, but... maybe Tallulah wants you to get along well with me?"

Orson made an uncertain guess, and Black Snake suddenly laughed when he heard this, and looked at Orson with a mocking look.

"Get along well? I'm surprised you could even come up with that. Can you and Tallulah really 'get along well' with me? Get along well with an executioner like me who's been wandering around for a thousand years? Sometimes you're even more ridiculous than I expected, Orson."

Black Snake's ridicule and disdain were almost written on his face.

"To be honest, I'm not sure. Actually, I've never given up on mastering my Originium technique, 'Tuning,' just so I can one day completely wipe you out of this continent."

"It's a very sensible idea."

Black Snake himself also agreed with Orson's view that he wanted to eliminate him. After all, in these thousand years, betrayal and fighting have been almost his inescapable fate since the very beginning.