About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

"Aha……"

In the corridor, Orson hung up the phone with Kongxian, and while complaining in his heart whether he could perform crosstalk by himself in the future, he called Mostima.

"Dududu-"

It was still a busy tone, but that was consistent with Teemo's unpredictable style.

Although he found the box, he still lacked the key to activate it. He didn't know if the doctor had performed any operation on the sarcophagus before, but now it had no response except for supplying energy.

So, we have to go to Iberia after all... But it's very far away from Longmen Ursus, and it's said to be very dangerous.

Orson looked at the cube module in his hand, which might hide the origin of everything, and remembered the "actions" he and Tallulah (and Black Snake) had taken after finding the module, and couldn't help blushing again.

After parting from the North that day, Tallulah quickly returned to Che City because Junjun said that he had inexplicably received a bunch of contracts from Rutland, and if Tallulah's key was not returned within three days, he would find a pit to jump into.

This kid is really pushed into a corner.

"Dr. Orson, SUKI!"

"Medical cart?"

A familiar female mechanical voice interrupted Orson's memories. A round medical cart was standing on the side of the road, waving an IV tube at Orson.

"Dr. Orson, the profiteer master is looking for you. Of course, I hope you will ignore the master's wishes and leave Rhodes Island with me to Detroit, where humans and machines can coexist peacefully—"

"I appreciate your kindness, but please don't shove the stethoscope down my clothes..."

While blocking the sexual harassment from the medical vehicle, Orson followed the vehicle to the R&D department.

"Hey, Orson! The knight's sword has been repaired and will be delivered in a couple of days. Do you want to give it a name? I need to tell you in advance about the inscription, so I'm looking for you."

The profiteer Klushier waved his hand when he saw Orson, and came over to try to get close to him, which was unusual for him.

"Uh... for the inscription, just call it [Red Queen]." I really appreciate your help. How much does it cost in total?"

Orson had originally thought about changing the name of the knight's sword, but after thinking of several names such as "Evil-Breaking Sword", "Flaming Broadsword", and "Levatin", Orson realized that his naming ability might be comparable to Junjun's path-finding ability, and finally gave up.

"Look at what you said. We're just friends, so of course it doesn't cost any money!"

Kluchil put her arm around Orson's shoulder and spoke in a friendly manner.

"Then...anything else you need?"

Orson was also very clear that although this profiteer would not be too fussy about Rhodes Island, he would definitely get benefits from private jobs such as "repairing personal weapons".

"Hehehe, you really found out? In that case, I won't hide it anymore - can you help me trick the Snow Pheasant over here?"

Seeing that her purpose had been exposed, Lucille stopped pretending.

"That girl truly possesses a unique understanding of mechanics! If I could lure her over... hehe, I'm sure I could create even more powerful machines! Of course, Maria is also a gem in the rough, but her identity is probably going to be difficult to pry open..."

"Uh...how can this be fooled?"

"Um, with food?"

"You underestimate the Snow Pheasant... uh..."

Lucille answered without hesitation. Orson wanted to scold her, but the answer was honest and reliable...

Just as Orson was thinking about what reason to use to politely reject Kal'tsit, the door of the engineering department was pushed open again, and it was Kal'tsit, whom they had just parted ways with.

"Orson—do you want to go to Xiosta?"

"……Eh?"

Orson blinked, still not reacting.

02. Kal'tsit, you are embarrassing yourself again

"Ah~ More, more~! I'm so brave and I'm so good at drinking~!"

"Boss, how much is this mojito? 120 a cup? Is this cup made of gold, or is the mint leaf made of gold?"

"Come on, Xiaoliang, give him a whole life and swallow Baimachun raw!" "Fuck, go, ignore it!"

"Beer, drinks, mineral water, chicken feet, instant noodles, ham sausage. Come on, put your tails away."

……

In the cabin of a large long-distance land transport ship, many noisy voices merged together. Countless people of different races, genders, and beliefs gathered here, and everyone was in groups of three or five, laughing and joking loudly and indulging themselves.

The entire cabin was as lively and cheerful as if it were a holiday. None of the passengers felt uneasy about the "journey", but instead enjoyed this trip which was neither far nor near.

The reason why these people are so happy is very simple, because this route is somewhat "special" and the people who set foot on this route have a common goal.

This is a ferry that departs from the border between Victoria and Letania, and its destination is Xiosta, a tourist coastal city-state that is well-known in most of Terra.

In other words, almost everyone on this cruise ship is heading for that beautiful and pleasant coastal city-state.

Of course, there are exceptions to everything. Even in such a frenetic ocean, there are still some people who "don't fit in":

In a two-person seat by the window in the cabin, a man wearing a green suit that looked a bit like a medical uniform but also a bit like a scientific research uniform leaned silently on the edge of the bed, flipping through the book in his hands from time to time.

Opposite her was a young man of a strange race. He was looking at the tablet on the table, nodding and writing something in his notebook.

The two were Kal'tsit and Orson who set out from Rhodes Island.

"..."

Kal'tsit frowned. Although her eyes were on the books most of the time, they would occasionally drift to Orson who was working in front of her with his head down.

Kal'tsit opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but every time the words came to her lips, she swallowed them back and continued to use the book to cover her face.

As for Orson, he didn't notice Kal'tsit's repetitive little movements at all. He was concentrating on recording the work records of the Integration Movement during this period.

After all, it is called the "security force". The integration movement is now a legitimate enterprise in Ursus, and the demand for orders has naturally increased.

Most members accepted the change in their status quite quickly. After all, using the identity of an infected person to protect those who were not infected was the ultimate irony and publicity. Moreover, this way, at least they and their families would be adequately protected.

The only one who is a little "out of tune" is the Patriot. Bozhukas once vowed to fight against the corrupt machine of Ursus and fight for the rights that belong to the infected. As a result, the Integration Movement has become an "ally" of Ursus in a sense. The old man Patriot is embarrassed to go back to work for Ursus, but he doesn't want to be idle, so he simply set up a training department with his shield guards, which is responsible for teaching a lesson to those new recruits who don't know the cruelty of war.

The establishment of the training department has enabled the integration movement to absorb many outstanding elites, and has also boosted the revenue of the "Post-War Stress Psychological Counseling Department".

Far away.

“…Haaaa.”

After keeping her eyes on Orson for who knows how many times, Kal'tsit sighed. She put the medical journal aside, coughed lightly, and no longer dodged like she did before, but looked directly at the boy in front of her.

"Orson, don't you have anything you want to ask?"

Kal'tsit was the first to break the silence that had lasted since they boarded the ship.

One day ago:

——Would you like to go to Xiosta with me?

In fact, when they were in Rhodes Island before, although Kal'tsit asked Orson whether he wanted to go to Xiosta, it can be said that she regretted it the moment she said it.

The de facto leader of Rhodes Island and the core mascot of the Reunion Movement were traveling to such a distant coastal city together? This kind of thing was unacceptable.

Kal'tsit realized that her behavior was probably influenced by some abnormal hormone secreted in her brain. She originally wanted to find a random excuse to evade the invitation she had blurted out. After all, in Kal'tsit's understanding, for an invitation of this scale, the person involved would generally consider it carefully before giving a response.

But what she didn't expect was——

"Okay, now?"

Orson answered very readily and agreed to Kal'tsit almost without thinking.

"Well, we should think about this carefully...eh?"

Kel'tsit froze mid-sentence. She'd expected Orson to respond with something like, "Xista? Let me take a look," which would allow her to stall out by saying, "Yes, we should think this over before making a decision," and then she'd have plenty of ways to dodge the invitation.

But who knew that this idiot would agree right away!

Kal'tsit deeply realized what it meant to be straightforward and counter-intuitive. All the countless responses she had prepared in her mind were useless. When she came to her senses, she was already on the ship heading to Xiosta.

Back to the present——

"Don't you have anything you want to ask?"

Kal'tsit looked at Orson and asked the question that concerned her the most. From the time he agreed to her to the time he went to Xiosta, Orson hadn't even asked any related questions along the way. Even when chatting with her, he just asked her like a fool whether she wanted to listen to the "newly researched one-man crosstalk between men and women."

To be honest, crosstalk itself is indeed novel and interesting, but it cannot answer Kal'tsit's confusion.

“There are some problems… actually.”

Orson closed his notebook, ruffled his hair, and looked into Kal'tsit's eyes.

"Xiosta—where is it from? I seem to have some impression of it, but I can't quite remember it, hehehe..."

"..."

Kal'tsit blinked. Orson's question was more "basic" than she had imagined.

"You... Haha, I didn't remember you being such a reckless and impulsive person. At least you wouldn't act without even knowing your destination."

Kelsey pinched her nose. Orson's response left her unsure how to react. Agreeing to go with him without even knowing where they were going? Only a fool would do that.

Oh, this chimera is just an idiot, that's okay.

"After all, it's not easy for you, Dr. Kal'tsit, to be willing to go out. On the other hand, I don't really care where you go. After all, as long as you can come out and rest, I will definitely support you unconditionally."

Orson responded with a smile, and Kal'tsit sighed again when she saw that the boy in front of her had no intention in his smile.

"Your way of thinking is too childish..."

Kal'tsit scolded Orson, but her ears kept shaking, revealing the little thoughts she was trying to suppress.

For Kal'tsit, whether it was an invitation or being invited, she had experienced too much during her time walking on Terra, even to the point of being numb.

However, faced with Orson's decisive, even "reckless" invitation, the old lynx showed its inner fluctuations for the first time in a long time.

"Anyway, there's still time. I'll first tell you the basics of our destination."

Kal'tsit took out a brochure from the pocket on the back of a chair beside her, unfolded it, and threw it on the table.

"Xiosta—this is our destination. Unlike ordinary mobile city-states, Xiosta is a real land city-state."

Kal'tsit pointed to the panoramic view of the city-state on the brochure.

"Wouldn't a city-state on land be susceptible to natural disasters?"

"Normally, that's the case. However, due to the unique characteristics of some regions, natural disasters rarely spread into their path. For example, Kjerag, located deep in the snowy mountains, settlements on the outskirts of Sargon, and the coastal city-state of Xiosta, which has a volcano that has never erupted. Many researchers believe that Xiosta's volcano has the ability to absorb the spread of surrounding Originium, thus 'suppressing' the accumulation of natural disasters. However, these theories have no actual research basis."

"Hmm...there are quite a few similar places in Terra."

Orson nodded in affirmation. Thinking about it carefully, it seemed that the North had never encountered a natural disaster, but it was obvious that what took lives in that place was not a random and uncertain natural disaster, but an endless cold disaster.

Perhaps the occurrence of natural disasters is indeed related to geographical location. I heard that many natural disaster scholars have been studying this aspect.

"The coastal city-state of Xiosta—it's called a coastal city, but it's actually just an inland lake. Because Xiosta hasn't experienced any natural disasters, and its surroundings are beautiful, it's gradually developed into a burgeoning tourist city-state in recent years. Our visit happens to coincide with Xiosta's Obsidian Music Festival, and it's clear that the other passengers in this cabin have the same destination."

Kal'tsit glanced at the people behind her who were eating and drinking, sighed softly, and continued to explain.

"Isn't this great? I didn't expect you, Dr. Kelsey, to be so interested in music. We can also go shopping there."

Orson enthusiastically remarked that he didn't really care where they went, as long as Dr. Kal'tsit could find time to rest, even if it meant a $20 high seas cruise to catch up on her lessons. But Orson was certainly happier that Kal'tsit had chosen such a touristy destination, as it showed she truly wanted to relax.

"...Don't get me wrong, Orson. We're not going on a trip."

Kel'tsit noticed Orson's obviously happier expression and looked away, throwing a shot of cold water on him.

"Catastrophist Eyjafjalla seemed to have noticed something unusual while investigating the local volcano in Xiosta. She had originally planned to collect further data, but her visa had expired and she had to leave. She was concerned about this, so she contacted me."

"Eyjafjalla?"

Kal'tsit mentioned a new name, and just like Xiosta, Orson also had some impression of this name, but it seemed a little vague.

"She's a young Lethanian Scourge scholar. I once treated her for Oripathy, and I think it was during that time that I gained her trust. Anyway, we're not going on a trip, but to gather intelligence on the Xiosta volcano. Besides that, I have a business contract with Rhodes Island to process. These things won't take too long. We'll be back in two and a half days at most. Do you understand?"

Kal'tsit spoke in a somewhat nagging tone, and even she herself was not quite clear why she was so "active" in telling Orson that this action had practical significance and was not just a "trip for two".

"I kind of understand, but... um, what about the commercial orders, Dr. Kal'tsit? I remember you specifically emphasized in the previous internal meeting that Rhodes Island should temporarily halt its commercial development and focus on its core mission of treating oripathy."

"Ugh...!"

Orson just asked casually, but Kal'tsit let out a short cry of pain, and her whole body became nervous all of a sudden, and her ears even drooped back a little like airplane ears.

"Nothing, Orson... Rhodes Island is not static. We need to constantly adjust our positioning and direction in order to survive on this land—"

“Healthcare spending increased by 78% last month…?”

Orson had the operational authority over all back-end systems of Rhodes Island and the Reunion Movement. Before Kal'tsit could try to fool him with her classic theories, he had already entered the Rhodes Island financial system through his tablet computer, and discovered that the economic curve, which had not risen for a few months, had turned into a full screen of deficits.

"..."