Chapter 138: I Want to See Talulah, Now, Immediately!

The sky was gradually brightening, the pale morning glow washing over Saria’s blood-stained fists. She stood with an expressionless face, her golden eyes coldly observing the two Victorian thugs twitching in the dirt at her feet. Slowly, she retracted her hand, the jagged edges of her calcified armor receding with a heavy, grating sound.

The Victorians are truly… courageous.

Back in Columbia, those who knew her by reputation only dared to admire the elegant shape of her fists, the smooth, pale whiteness of her calcification Arts, and the intimidating curve of her dragon horns from a very safe distance. She had never seen anyone so utterly fearless in the face of death!

Saria didn’t quite understand it, but her strange, preconceived stereotypes about the people of Victoria had just deepened significantly.

The only fortunate thing was that Saria, having entered the country properly with a valid Columbian passport, was a truly self-disciplined and law-abiding citizen. Even though she thoroughly despised their thuggish behavior, she firmly restrained her lethal instincts with sheer willpower. With a cold snort, she reluctantly let the two terrified, broken men go.

“Scram! Don’t let me see you again.”

“Doctor, is that Saria?”

Inside the transport vehicle, Yato poked her masked head out of the window, her keen eyes tracking the three figures flashing by outside.

You maintained an absolutely inscrutable expression, your fingers continuing to slide frantically across your terminal as you typed out a string of desperate apologies to someone. You merely glanced at the trio’s attire out of the corner of your eye and instantly realized exactly what had just transpired.

Truly… brave warriors! To pick a fight with Saria of all people.

“Don’t worry about it. Floor it. You saw wrong,” you interrupted, your voice dropping into a tone as cold and unyielding as the Babel-era Doctor commanding the frontlines of the Sarkaz Civil War. “That is a localized Catastrophe forming. If we get too close, we’ll be pulled into the Originium storm. Take a detour.”

The effect was outstanding. Yato instantly jerked the steering wheel, her posture stiffening as she replied nervously in a tone ready for absolute combat: “Yes! Yato, received.”

Rosmontis, however, tilted her head in genuine confusion, her feline ears twitching. “But… I feel like that scent is Sister Saria…”

This return journey was miraculously free of any further accidents. Honestly, if there had been another accident, it would have been comparable to the mysterious will of the universe actively trying to stop you from going to Sami. However, the atmosphere inside the transport vehicle was as suffocatingly oppressive as a Victorian morgue.

Rosmontis couldn’t read the room and didn’t like to talk much anyway. Yato had just received your ‘Catastrophe’ warning and had entered a deadly serious combat mode, her eyes scanning the horizon for threats. Muro had already crushed a GPS unit in his hands out of sheer nervous energy, and now his expression was as melancholic and reserved as a foreign princess married off in a tragic stage play. Projekt Red and the Playwright—the two newest and most dangerously scheming additions to your roster—were huddled in the back, trembling slightly and pretending they didn’t exist.

…So in the end, Steward, the only actual chatterbox in the group, was sandwiched between you and Phantom, two absolute, radiating iceboxes. The poor Caster held his tongue for the entire trip, sweating bullets and not daring to breathe too loudly.

You’ve worked hard, Adnachiel! Taking this guy’s shifts must be a nightmare.

It was rumored that the very first thing Steward did upon returning to the landship was to frantically check his field wages. After discovering that they had been automatically transferred to Adnachiel’s account by the logistics department, he engaged in a passionate, three-hour argument with the logistics operator just to confirm his vocal cords hadn’t atrophied from the silence.

As soon as Phantom stepped out of the car, he melted into your shadow with a soft whoosh. No matter how much you called him, he refused to come out, didn’t say a single word, and absolutely refused to take the mandatory entry medical examination.

Under Gavial’s highly suspicious glare, you helplessly crouched down in the hallway, curled your index finger, and knocked on your own shadow as if knocking on a wooden door.

“Phantom… come out for a second. Let’s just do a quick medical checkup, okay? You can go right back into the shadow after the checkup is done.”

The shadow didn’t move.

“Phantom? Phantom?”

The shadow offered zero reaction.

Left with no other choice, you took the Originium detection collar from Gavial’s hands, placed it gently on the ground covered by your shadow, and pointed to the Rhodes Island logo stamped on the metal. “If you don’t want to, forget it. But this marks that you belong to my subordinates now, not the Crimson Troupe. It also lets me know your location at any time.”

This time, the feedback came quickly. As soon as you set it down, the shadow began to squirm and ripple like a living thing, slowly ‘swallowing’ the collar into the darkness before quickly returning to its normal, flat state.

Gavial crossed her arms, her tail swishing in shock. “Is there really someone inside there?”

“You didn’t even know if there was anyone in there, so why did you go out of your way to get me the detection collar?” Now it was your turn to look at her incredulously.

“Because Kal’tsit said that you would probably have severe hallucinations after returning from Sami,” Gavial said bluntly, shrugging her shoulders. “She told us not to ask any questions, just go along with whatever crazy things you say, and to notify her immediately if you started acting unusual.”

In other words, Kal’tsit meant that if you returned from Sami with your personality drastically altered and started acting like a lunatic, everyone should just ignore your orders so you wouldn’t accidentally recreate the Babel war era.

…What a remarkably sloppy defense strategy. Kal’tsit’s political acumen is truly terrible sometimes.

At that moment, another operator from the Medical Department pushed the door open and stepped into the hallway. “Doctor, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. I am the person in charge of this medical examination, Quercus. I’ve come to the headquarters for further training.”

Gavial turned around and sighed, waving a hand at the empty floor. “You’re late. The patient is currently not cooperating with the treatment, and we can’t physically drag him out for the time being.”

You immediately stepped forward, raising a hand. “No, you came at just the right time!”

Faced with the completely contradictory statements, Quercus blinked, a bit confused for a moment. “Doctor? Can you convince the patient to cooperate with the treatment?”

“That’s not it,” you said, keeping your voice perfectly level. “But since you’re here, I can tell you that you don’t need to go back to Green Spark after your training is finished. I sold the shop.”

Quercus froze. “…Huh?”

Doctor, is there some massive, secret expense in Victoria that requires liquidating an entire branch base?

Quercus’s first reaction wasn’t to mourn the loss of her building. She immediately stepped closer, her voice dropping to a serious whisper. “Doctor, did you encounter any major trouble in Victoria? If the funding gap is that severe, I will contact the nearby branches to move our emergency funds over. We should be able to scrape together tens of millions of LMD if we pool our resources.”

You guiltily lowered your gaze, clearing your throat as you forced your expression into a mask of deep, calculating depth. “It’s nothing like that. I simply planted a backup plan. Your branch’s tasks should be paused for now. Caster City is about to get heavily involved in a political crossfire between Rhine Lab and the Columbian government. It will be very troublesome if you and your operators get dragged into that muddy water.”

Quercus nodded slowly, her eyes widening in realization as she looked at you, clearly moved. “So that’s it!”

The Doctor heard the wind before the mountain rain and went completely out of his way to evacuate the operators on the island? He deals with such heavy, world-altering affairs every single day, yet he still takes the time to personally protect their ordinary little branch. No wonder the elite operators at headquarters can’t wait to rush out and risk their lives for the Doctor the moment his name is mentioned!

Next time, I have to go to the frontlines too!

The remaining few operators didn’t cause any further trouble. While sitting in your office, processing the mountain of files that had piled up over the past half month and monitoring the new operators taking their entry medical exams, you suddenly flipped to a very specific application.

[Doctor’s Private Meeting Application]

[Applicant: Talulah]

[Risk Assessment: High Risk]

[Human Resources Opinion: Rejected]

Talulah wants to see me?

After a brief hesitation, you picked up your pen and signed off on the document with a bold, sweeping stroke.

[Final Review: Approved.]

At that exact moment, several messages suddenly popped up on your terminal in rapid succession. The notification chime sounded like a death knell.

Kal’tsit: [I saw the operator files updated. Are these people from the Crimson Troupe?]

Kal’tsit: [You didn’t go to Sami at the time, did you? You went to the castle? Who exactly did you meet?]

Kal’tsit: [You are currently in the Medical Department, right? Don’t leave. I am coming to find you immediately.]

You stared at the screen….Oh no!

Your hand reacted entirely on instinct, moving faster than your brain could process the sheer terror.

[No rush, I’m going to see Talulah first.]

Once the heavy steel door of the confinement room is closed, it becomes an absolute, impenetrable private space. You desperately need this right now. You would rather face the former leader of Reunion than face Kal’tsit’s wrath!

[Rhodes’s Note:

Enjoying the operation so far, Doctor?

(This daily grind literally pays the landship’s rent! 🙇‍♂️):

Massive thanks for reading and supporting the operation!]