About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

Kal'tsit glanced at Ghost Shark, confirmed that the other party's vital signs were normal, and prepared to leave the ward.

Ghost Shark has not been idle during this period. She has been trying various ways to actively return to her daily life where she can interact with people normally. At the same time, she has to frequently resonate and select those sea monster fragments on this basis.

Perhaps the shark also realized that its mission had been accomplished, so it was able to fall asleep peacefully for the time being.

Of course, Phantom Shark is just a microcosm of all the operators. During this period, Rhodes Island, an absolutely neutral faction that can act freely regardless of the ownership of territory and territory, has been very busy. The world has suddenly fallen into the threat of natural disasters and Originium-infected creatures. Rhodes Island and the Reunion Movement must do their utmost to save lives and avoid disasters.

After the two arrived at the command center, Kal'tsit summoned PRTS and entered the coordinates obtained earlier into the system.

Not long after, the coordinate location map appeared in front of the two of them, but after looking at the big screen in front of them, they both made a slightly distressed sound of "hmm..."

The reason is very simple. The location represented by that coordinate is deep in the ocean northwest of Terra, which has long exceeded the maximum boundary that can be displayed on the map.

"Hmm... In this case, if the coordinates themselves are correct, we must use tools that can be transported over long distances by sea to reach this location."

"Haha... where can we get a ship like that? This is really..."

Orson sighed. Although Kal'tsit didn't explicitly say that she couldn't arrive, Orson was not very happy.

In Terra's world, there's no distinction between "ocean" and "unknown dead zones." Therefore, no company would be so idle as to build a large-scale vehicle capable of sea travel. Short-term yachts like the Xiosta are already the limit. And it's obvious that reaching the coordinates with just a small cruise ship wouldn't be possible. They'd likely be sunk by the wind and waves before even leaving the coastline.

“It’s not actually impossible.”

"Eh!?"

Kal'tsit's words were so calm, like "We'll have mapo tofu tomorrow", that they startled Orson who was standing beside her.

"Is it really possible to find such a ship? Where is it, Iberia?"

Orson asked hurriedly, and Kal'tsit pointed to the ground.

"You are inside the ship now, Orson."

"...Can the Rhodes Island sail across the ocean?"

Orson was stunned for a moment, and after a while he understood what Kal'tsit meant. He asked in disbelief.

"To be precise, the current Rhodes Island can't do it yet. It needs some modifications. However, there's no problem with the basic theory. This ship was designed from the beginning to have a dual-base structure for land and sea use."

"As for the transformation... will it be handed over to Klosier?"

"The specific system level requires the attention of many engineers, and Kalshiel is one of them. The main problem is that we need to purchase a large amount of modification materials, so we must get help for this."

Kal'tsit looked at Orson and sighed. It seemed that she didn't really want to be helped by others.

"With whose help?"

"Longmen, the world's most prosperous and largest trade and financial market."

Kal'tsit spoke word by word.

----------

"Well……"

Orson sat at a corner of the dining table in the sunroom on the top floor of a restaurant. Although there were all kinds of delicious delicacies in front of him, from the shape to the smell, Orson had no appetite. He tactically moved the dishes on the plate with one hand, but his eyes were constantly secretly observing the situation around him.

This is the top floor of a restaurant that looks extremely luxurious from the decoration and is specially prepared for "banquets and meetings". You can see the afternoon dragon gate around it. The sun hangs in the sky and slowly slides towards the horizon. The joy of the city at night is ready to take off.

The scenery is pretty good...if I really have time to appreciate it...

Before Orson's gaze could fully shift to the scenery of Longmen, the words he received in his ears kicked his brain, forcing him to quickly pull his gaze back, because there were more important things to deal with at the moment.

"Hehe... I never thought you would dare to appear in front of me like this, Black Snake."

"Hmph, even you can be so carefree and act like a local tyrant in this city, so why can't I show up? You don't think you can confidently claim to be on the side of justice, do you?"

On both sides of the dining table, Wei Yanwu, the supreme leader of the mobile city-state Longmen and director of the Longmen Guard Bureau, was holding a teacup and confronting the undead black snake in front of him, which appeared in the form of "Talulah".

The aura between the two was like a tense duel between samurai warriors or a death bet between western gunslingers, causing the people around them to hold their breath unconsciously.

Sitting next to the two of them were Tallulah and Chen Huijie, who were once sisters, but later separated temporarily for various reasons, but now came together again.

Unlike their father/mother, the two young dragon girls had expressions on their faces that seemed more like they were suppressing certain emotions than solemn ones.

"Forget it. There's no point in discussing bottom lines or morality with a fellow like you. Let's get down to business. You need help from Longmen because it's the only place where you can source the resources you need, and it's also the only place where credibility can be used as currency, right?"

"That's right. Although this proposal was put forward by Rhodes Island, it's so interesting and illogical that even I've become very interested, Wei Yanwu."

Black Snake and Wei Yanwu looked at each other, and the latter sneered.

"Of course I can help you, but you should be aware that exchange is the most basic deal - keep Orson here, and I'll agree to this incredibly troublesome job."

“Uh huh!?”

Orson on the side was startled. He had been trying desperately to conceal his presence from the beginning, fearing that he would be targeted by the two big guys. However, it was obvious that this was ineffective. Wei Yanwu finally suddenly shifted the topic to Orson, who was still in a daze.

"Haha, you haven't changed at all—when it comes to daydreaming. Want us to keep Orson? You might as well consider giving up your own house wine, that would be more realistic."

The black snake hit back without mercy.

"Really? You're really confident, Black Snake. But that's why you always fail—conceit is a harmful character. You think you have a sure win, but have you considered Orson's own thoughts? Obviously, when it comes to being efficient and dashing, my Huijie is definitely better!"

“Hmm… Ugh!?”

Chen Huijie, who had been sitting next to Wei Yanwu from the beginning but had not spoken a word and just stared at Orson, was as startled as Orson when he was suddenly called.

"Oh, that's not necessarily true, is it? If we compare the morale and size of our subordinates, it's obvious that my daughter is more powerful!"

“Puff, cough, cough—!”

Black Snake patted his chest and said proudly. Like Chen, Tallulah, who had been sitting next to the Black Snake shadow from the beginning, almost choked herself.

The confrontation between Black Snake and Wei Yanwu was like a floodgate suddenly opened. At first, they were just secretly making sarcastic remarks to each other, but when the topic turned to "My daughter is still more awesome", both of them had completely gone into a state of rampage.

"Huijie was already the best fighter in her class at the age of 10!"

"Tallulah had already mastered the technique of burning flames when she was only 11 years old!"

"Hui Jie won the Most Popular Police Officer award again yesterday!"

"That's simply because you don't have Orson in your Guards Bureau!"

“——” “——”

The initial tense atmosphere between the two of them was completely gone. Instead, they were like two stupid parents who happened to sit next to each other at a parent-teacher meeting at school and started bragging about their own children.

In fact, both Heishe and Wei Yanwu were quite bad at raising children. The proof was that although they were bragging about each other, neither of them noticed that the "child" sitting next to them had more and more black lines and blue veins on his face that were visible to the naked eye.

Not only that--

"So, what do you think, Huijie!"

"Show your love directly, Tallulah!"

The two of them seemed to think they were lucky and turned around to ask the people around them.

Chen was already on the verge of exploding, and Wei Yanwu's action was like moving his face closer, and the result was naturally -

“You bastard—!!”

“Bang! Bang! Bang! ”

Tallulah and Chen Huijie stood up and delivered a powerful Filial Rising Dragon Kick directly to the chin of their respective "family members".

"Let's go, Orson!"

After knocking Wei Yanwu down, Chen and Tallulah stood up immediately. The two of them angrily approached Orson without saying a word, and directly wrapped their arms around Orson's arms on the left and right, and carried Orson out of the room as if they were escorting him to the execution ground.

"Ah, have you finished talking with Wei Yanwu?"

"Mrs. Wen Yue? Um... ahaha, we had a very pleasant chat."

Orson, who was dragged out of the private room, met Wei Wenyue outside the door, who could only greet him awkwardly but politely.

"Even though time is tight, you still have to have fun, Talulah, Huijie~"

"Hmm... I see."

Wen Yue looked at the children with a smile, and the latter seemed to have returned to the past for a moment, nodding shyly in response.

So……

After watching Osentalula and Chen Huijie leave, Wen Yue put away her smile and gently pushed open the door of the room.

"Ha... Really, that Black Snake guy has changed so much. Damn, he doesn't look like a disguise at all. In this case, how can I vent the disgust I have for him for so many years?"

After confirming that the few people had left, Wei Yanwu sat on a chair, holding a wine glass in his hand, shaking it slowly while looking at the Longmen scenery outside the window. It was unclear whether his tone was self-deprecating or complaining, but it could be heard that there was not much anger in it.

"Yes, people's positions and relationships are always changing. We all thought that Tallulah would one day become Black Snake's replacement, but the truth is, under the guidance of that young man, Tallulah became a girl that everyone could be proud of, and Black Snake seemed to finally let go of its impossible dream."

Wei Wenyue walked to Wei Yanwu and gently placed her hand on his shoulder.

"So—even though you can't vent, I still can, right?"

"It's really Canghai... Wait, wait a minute Wenyue!?"

When Lao Wei was halfway through sighing, he suddenly sensed murderous intent coming from behind him.

"I've told you many times not to interfere with Huijie and the others' thoughts, but you still put on such a show - come on, Wei Yanwu~"

Wen Yue's tone was extremely sweet, and the smile on her face was as hot as fire, but the washboard in her hand did not seem very happy.

"This, this place is not very good, my dear wife——Awww!!"

A dragon's roar was heard from the top floor of the luxury business hotel, and it was extremely miserable.

On the other side, Orson was carried by Tallulah and Chen Huijie, and unknowingly arrived at the downtown area.

The original name of the Lower Town was "Slums", of course this name is already history for Longmen.

After the incident that once again affected the entire Longmen, the slums were not cleaned up. Instead, they were renamed the Lower Town and officially incorporated into the control of Longmen.

Although the downtown area may still look a bit messy at first glance, it is much better than when it first became a slum. There are many stalls selling goods, and there are groups of customers around these shops, including passers-by who are infected by the virus.

Although the public security and environment in the downtown area are still far inferior to those in the city center, at least everything is moving in a good direction. It is precisely because of this "expectation" that the people in the downtown area are once again full of passion for life, rather than giving up.

"Brother Orson!? Come on, here, I'll give you a barbecued pork bun, free of charge!"

"Eh? Um... Wow! Thank you—"

When the three of them were strolling in the downtown area, they would occasionally think about this situation. Suddenly, someone recognized Orson and immediately gave him something with great enthusiasm.

At first, Orson thought he was an exception. After all, he was actually different from Casimir in Lungmen. He was not a very famous guy. At most, he was regarded as a mascot and was very popular in the Guard Bureau.

But more and more people came over, and Orson's hands were filled with "souvenirs", and even Chen and Tallulah could hardly hold the food in their hands.

Later, Orsen asked someone and learned that Longmen had previously used official media to inform everyone about Orsen's actions. Although Wei Yanwu's original intention was to create a "totem" to connect the residents of the Lower Town with those of Longmen, he also incidentally made Orsen a popular idol.

It seemed that they could no longer stay on the main road in the downtown area, so the three of them hurriedly ran to a relatively remote park and sat on a bench.

"Huh... Seriously, that group is a bit too crazy about Orson, but—it feels like we haven't hung out like this together in ages, Tallulah."

Chen sighed and turned to Tallulah beside him.

"Yeah, it's been a long time..."

Tallulah closed her eyes slightly and recalled her childhood. At that time, she had nothing to burden and naturally had no worries.

Tallulah now carries countless burdens, but looking back, she does not feel that her experience was so "tragic and painful".

On the contrary, Tallulah cherishes and is proud of her experiences along the way.

"Huijie, have you ever felt regret or anger about your life so far?"

Tallulah looked at Chen Huijie, her gem-like red eyes staring at her sister.

"...Well, when I'm asked this kind of question out of the blue, I might get angry sometimes, but generally speaking..."

Chen glanced at Orson beside him and smiled.

"I don't feel any regrets."

"Yeah, that's good."

Tallulah also nodded, her expression extremely calm.

"...Haha, anyway, let's go back. Our goal is to get Longmen's permission from Wei Yanwu."

After a brief silence, Tallulah stood up and prepared to go back to find Wei Yanwu. After all, the modification parts of the Rhodes Island needed to be obtained through Longmen's channel network.

"Regarding this, I actually received Wei Yanwu's decision-making authority from the very beginning. In other words, I can now decide whether Longmen will open all trade ports and credit lines to Rhodes Island."

Chen showed a rare smirk and said this to his sister and Orson.

"In that case, then hurry up-"

"On my side... ahem, I have a request too."