About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

"Here, here, over here..."

A familiar voice came from near the transport plane. Orson went over and found that Zaozi's father was giving directions to Javier with an expression as if he had been robbed by bandits.

Basically, patients who meet Gavial for the first time will show an expression similar to doubting their lives.

"Long time no see, Master Andre."

Although it was amusing to see Zaozi's father getting so frightened by Javier, he felt it was inappropriate to just watch the show, so Orson went over and said hello.

"Huh? Orson, that's great... I thought I got on the wrong plane and was taken to some gang's base.

"Seeing an acquaintance, Marquis Rostov wiped his sweat. At the same time, Gavial pushed a girl out of the transport plane in a hurry.

"Zarak? And he's seriously injured."

Orson noticed the red-haired Zarak girl lying on the emergency cart. Her small body was covered with wounds of varying depths, and the most life-threatening one was the crossbow wound in her side.

"I picked up this child from the northern border near Casimir. I was just planning to find a place to bury her, but I didn't expect that the child was still alive. It's incredible."

Marquis Rostov followed Orson to the operating room in Rhodes Island, and on the way he talked about his situation with the Zalak girl.

"She has a strong will, and tensing her muscles can slow down blood loss to a certain extent. Your team should hire a qualified doctor. The hemostasis method is too crude."

Kal'tsit was already equipped in the operating room. After observing the girl's condition, Gavial immediately contacted Kal'tsit. Although he didn't want to admit it, the girl's condition could not withstand the slightest misoperation, which was definitely Gavial's shortcoming.

After all, Gavial's treatment method is at the level of "Don't scream if your ribs are broken, I didn't give them to you... Oh, it was really me who broke them."

"Prepare for surgery and clean the wound first."

Kal'tsit turned on the operating light, but the medical operators beside her had some subtle expressions.

"Dr. Kel'tsit, um... our budget is really running out of money. After this operation, maybe—"

"The operation went smoothly."

Kal'tsit didn't hesitate much, sticking with her original decision. If the Doctor were leading Rhodes Island, she would have chosen to sacrifice the life of the Zalak girl. But I won't. I can never be like the Doctor. So... I'll continue to try to build the Tower of Babel in my own way, reaching the realm that Ikaros couldn't reach.

Saving the life of this Zalak girl is something only Kal'tsit can do.

"Don't worry, everyone in Rhodes Island. Since I picked up this girl, I should naturally pay the bill—wow, 84 yuan for surgery!?"

Marquis Rostov was patting his chest and making solemn promises one second ago, but the next second he almost fainted after seeing the estimated cost by the medical operator. If Sister Hayako saw this capitalist face, it would probably be another wave of fatherly love and filial piety.

"Can I get a discount? Or a discount if I don't get enough! At least buy one get one free, huhuhuhuhuhu..."

"Don't embarrass yourself."

Orson used the rest to plug Marquis Rostov's mouth. Just as Orson was about to leave, he noticed something was wrong with the Zalak girl.

"Wait a moment, Dr. Kelsey—her condition isn't looking good. Can I take a look first?"

Orson found that the "melody" of the Zarak girl was becoming chaotic and messy. Kal'tsit didn't say anything, she nodded. Orson immediately walked to the girl and gently stretched out his palm to her.

"Soul Tuning—as expected, her melody is filled with fear. If left untreated, it might affect her sanity. In the worst case, it could lead to the failure of the surgery... Strangely, her fear isn't rooted in her own experience or injuries, but rather in her concern for others."

Orson frowned, and then a light blue light flickered from his palm, and the Zarak girl's frown barely relaxed a little.

Kal'tsit and Orson nodded to each other to indicate that they could continue, then Orson left the operating room and the door was closed.

A group of medical operators including Yaye stared in amazement. What kind of magical idealistic healing technique was this?

But I have to admit that the patient's heart rate, blood pressure and breathing have indeed stabilized a lot...

Orson didn't care about the strange looks from the medical operators. After all, the next battlefield belonged to Kal'tsit and the others.

---after a while---

"Will the child be alright? I don't want to end up with the only 'goods' I've brought back after all this effort to be unable to save them."

"Trust Dr. Kelsey, Mr. Rostov, compared to those... only?"

Outside the operating room, Orson and Prince Rostov sat chatting.

"Ah, this expedition was basically a dead end. While there are abundant resources in the undeveloped areas on the northern edge, the cost and difficulty of building a railway are prohibitive. Relying solely on off-road vehicles for transportation wouldn't even cover the fuel costs. Plus, there are so many weird things in those wastelands. If it weren't for Master Ai, the captain of the engineering team, who destroyed all those valuables, Natasha would probably be an orphan now."

"Your description... Anyway, is it really that difficult to obtain additional development resources?"

"It's difficult. The obstacles facing Checheng are actually more than you imagined, but they are not as big as the obstacles you and Natasha face when they marry—wait wait, I'm just kidding...!"

Zaozi's father was halfway through his speech when Orson used a pause to lift him up high, scaring him so much that he admitted defeat on the spot.

"My waist... young people don't have martial ethics. Anyway, I've taken a look at the situation in Rhodes Island. Combined with your previous research, this place actually has a pretty good foundation."

Prince Rostov said this while rubbing his waist and wiping the sweat off his face.

"But it seems the leader has absolutely no financial sense, is arbitrary, and has a pretty good self-esteem. Otherwise, Rhodes Island wouldn't have messed up its current hand like it has."

"Um... er, Mr. Rostov?"

"If a company like this truly wants to rise from the ashes, the first step is to make the guy behind the scenes—leak?"

Marquis Rostov felt something dripping on his head when he was halfway through his speech. He looked up and saw the lovely Mon3tr and Kal'tsit standing behind him with an expressionless face.

“Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!?”

Along with Zaozi's father's screams, it was the first time that Orson saw the scene of mon3tr swallowing people in the third person.

To be honest, it's really the fault of the people.

Orson was referring to Kal'tsit, who had an expressionless face.

113. Target, Knight Competition!

"The patient has regained consciousness."

After spitting out Marquis Rostov, Kal'tsit, who was obviously in a bad mood, spoke calmly.

"Eh, so fast!? I thought it would take a long time. Can I get a half-price refund?"

Orson felt that the businessman was worthy of being a businessman. Even when mon3tr was pestering him, he still wanted to bargain.

Now that the patient has regained consciousness, Orson and the current nominal head, Marquis Rostov, followed Kal'tsit back to the intensive care unit.

On the bed in the intensive care unit, a red-haired little Zarak girl was wrapped in bandages, with an IV hanging beside her and all kinds of life-support equipment piled around her, the purpose of which Orson didn't know.

"Doctor... please save my friend! I'm the Infected Knight of Casimir, and I have to go back!"

After noticing Kal'tsit, the girl excitedly tried to get up, but fell back onto the bed because of the tearing sensation in her wound.

Through the other party's somewhat intermittent words, everyone roughly understood some information. This girl from the Zalak tribe was called "Sona" and was an infected person who escaped from Casimir.

"You can't go back anywhere. Did you see this indicator? I'll only consider transferring you from the inpatient department when the comprehensive test value is greater than 75. Your current indicator is 45, so there's still a possibility of worsening coma."

Kal'tsit said this without mercy. Hearing Kal'tsit's cold response, Sona opened her mouth and tried to say something.

"But my friend..."

"Putting aside all my identities, I was just a doctor before this. This is non-negotiable."

"..."

Sona was so refuted that she didn't even know how to respond. The squirrel also knew very well that she had no capital to ask for help from others in her current situation.

Looking at Sona's extremely lost and anxious expression as she lowered her head, Kal'tsit sighed.

"But—besides my identity as a doctor, I am Rhodes Island's executor. I am interested in what you said earlier. Please explain your situation as concisely as possible."

Kal'tsit said this calmly, while Marquis Rostov leaned over to Orson's ear.

"Could this be the legendary older tsundere, Orson?"

"I can hear you, Prince Rostov."

Before Orson could comment, the voice of the green cat head came out first.

"Ouch ^q^"

Zaozi's father laughed, then tried to escape but failed, and was then severely bullied and tortured by mon3tr.

After eating up Zaozi's father, everyone began to listen to Sona talk about her own experiences.

From Sona, everyone roughly understood what happened to the little squirrel before it arrived at the border of Ursus.

Sona was originally an "Infected Competitive Knight". The so-called "Competitive Knight" is a regular player in the extremely popular commercial event "Knight Competition" that has attracted the attention of the entire nation in Casimir.

Sona was originally an infected person, but Casimir's knight competition also provided a channel for the infected to be promoted. Sona was one of those who emerged from the vortex of the infected.

Later, she participated in the Knights' Games and earned a lot of money. Sona used this money to buy many infected people like herself and tried to form a knight group for the infected: the Red Pine Knights.

But the act of purchasing infected people to set up her own business seemed to touch Casimir's high voltage line. Sona was attacked by an assassin, the Knights were destroyed, she herself lost contact with her companions, was seriously injured and almost died on the way to escape.

Apart from Sona's own experiences, her words also contained a lot of intelligence about the various forces in Casimir today.

From the Knights' Association to the United Chamber of Commerce, from the Heroesless Alliance to the War Knights, from the Supervisory Board to the National Council - after listening to Sona's narration, everyone present fell silent.

"...Why are you all so silent? Is it because of my identity...?"

Sona asked the three people helplessly.

"That's the reason, Sona. I'm analyzing the scope and severity of the incident you brought up."

Kelsey responded with a frown.

"I was thinking about the operating mechanism of the knight competition you mentioned. Maybe this is my chance to find the real estate deed."

Zaozi's father showed an unfathomable smile, and this capitalist looked a bit like a villain at this time.

"So... uh, the Helmetless is like the League of Assassins, the Brotherhood? Their, uh, purpose is to protect the Apple of Casimir?"

"..." "..." "..."

After Orson spoke out what he had been thinking silently, he was stared at by the other three people with subtle eyes.

Everyone is very strong, why are you the one who lets down your arse?

"We have a general understanding of your situation. This matter involves a wide range of issues, and we need to discuss it seriously. Furthermore, it will take at least five days to get from here to Casimir. I understand your anxiety, but this won't change anything. Your current task is just one: focus on recuperating."

"Yeah... I understand. Thank you so much for saving me."

The little squirrel looked at Kal'tsit and her group and nodded gratefully. Regardless of whether they were willing to help her, the mere fact that they were willing to rescue her as an infected person and listen to her tell the story of what happened to her made Sona very grateful.

"Huihao, everyone... please be safe and sound..."

After the group left the intensive care unit, Sona murmured softly, and then fell into a coma again due to mental exhaustion.

On the other side, after leaving the intensive care unit, Kal'tsit and her group immediately called together the people of Rhodes Island for an emergency meeting, and the topic of the meeting was to discuss Casimir's current situation.

"I don't agree to wade into this muddy water."

Elite operator SCOUT directly expressed his opinion.

"The intelligence on Casimir hasn't been updated in a long time. We don't know the situation there."

"We should go to Casimir. Our mission in Chernobog is over. There's no point in staying here now. And you heard what that kid described—the infected fight their brothers every day in the underground arena just to survive, just to become toys for those bigwigs!!"

The semi-elite operator Huang refuted Scout's opinion in an excited tone.

"Casimir... Although I'm from there, I can't say I truly understand that city-state. That country, once renowned for its knights, is now utterly corrupt."

Lin Guang's face was solemn, and she seemed not to want to talk about Casimir at this time.

"Can I ask a question? Why do I feel like there are so many strange people in this conference room?"

Huafalin pointed to the side of the conference room, and Orson Patriot, Marquis Rostov of Frost Star, and even Tallulah in the tablet computer whispered.

"Because several leaders of the Reunion Movement are recuperating on your island, and our contract also states that if there is a possibility of breach of contract, the Reunion Movement has the right to participate in the relevant meetings and discussions."

Tallulah calmly spoke as she followed a contract, looking like a sophisticated leader who was in control of the situation.

However, the sharp-eyed Orson discovered that the hands holding the contract on the other side of the screen were actually Alina Xiaolu's fingers, and Sister Tazi's eyes would look outside the camera from time to time.

"That's right. Everyone in the Reunion Movement also has the right to participate in this meeting and discussion."

Amiya confirmed the rationality of Orson and his group, but this also made the meeting more chaotic.

Generally speaking, there is a 50-50 split between those who believe it is necessary to go to Casimir to interfere with the United Chamber of Commerce's oppression of the infected, and those who believe Rhodes Island is not yet capable of carrying out the mission in Casimir.

"To J"

"Do not"