After seeing Ifrit.
Silence resolutely chose to resign. Even without Jessica and Lucas Reeve's invitation, Silence would have chosen to leave Rhine Lab and take Ifrit elsewhere.
Under normal circumstances.
A behemoth like Rhine Lab would not allow a researcher who had participated in a top-secret core project to leave. This was no longer a simple matter of handing over all documents. As the head of a core project, much of the information was already stored in Silence's head.
For any company.
The loss of a core researcher is unacceptable.
A normal, legitimate company would, at most, order the employee to sign a very long non-compete agreement and forbid them from leaking any core company intelligence. Leaking such information would result in massive fines.
But..
Rhine Lab didn't seem to be a normal, legitimate company. After all, if it were 'legitimate,' it wouldn't be able to openly conduct human experiments, and many of its departments even had their own armed forces.
If any other core researcher wanted to resign, it certainly wouldn't be so easy. They might even face life-threatening consequences.
But Silence's departure went incredibly smoothly, thanks to Saria's protection.
The main reason was.
Parvis, who was on 'vacation,' didn't know Silence's destination. He didn't even know that Raythean Industries had little interest in Ifrit from the start and was willing to return her to Silence. Parvis thought Silence was simply unable to accept the facts and chose to leave. Otherwise, he would never have agreed so readily.
Furthermore.
Parvis had already handed over the [Flame Demon Project] to the current acting director, his other student, to continue. Even without Silence, Parvis believed that with the complete [Flame Demon Project] plan and experimental procedures, another [Flame Demon Vessel] would be born soon enough, perhaps even stronger than the old test subject.
Meanwhile, Parvis was engrossed in researching another project on artificial infected organs with the people from Loken Water Tank.
He had been secretly researching this project for a long time and had recently made some progress.
The test subject he had ordered to infiltrate Jessica's villa was one of his creations. The effect was quite good. If not for Lucas Reeve's presence, even the bodyguard lady, whose strength surpassed that of an ordinary elite operator, would have found it difficult to defeat this test subject.
However.
This project was not yet complete.
Although it could grant the test subjects immense power, the cost was too great. These test subjects were basically single-use. The one heavily injured by Lucas Reeve had died the day after returning to Loken Water Tank due to severe mental energy depletion. Only a small number of test subjects could withstand using their abilities a few times. The issue of the host body became a major problem for the Loken Water Tank experimental project.
But today.
He received some exciting news.
A young Feline girl had perfectly withstood the first stage of the experiment, with a compatibility rate as high as 99%. She was very likely to become the most perfect host for the project in all its years.
——————
After leaving Rhine Lab, Silence had nowhere else to go. At Jessica's invitation, she moved into Jessica's villa to live with Ifrit. A certain young lady came with her.
Rhine Lab's data maintenance specialist, Ptilopsis.
Ptilopsis was a rather good-looking Liberi woman, the same race as Silence. When she walked in, she wore a pure white long dress, long shoes, and had long hair of the same color as her dress. Her expression was slightly cold and numb, the image of a typical kuudere girl. Standing there, she looked like a cold, white little bird, truly stunning.
Ptilopsis's resignation was relatively simple.
As the head of the [Flame Demon Project], Silence was already a core researcher at Rhine Lab. Ptilopsis was different. She was just a data maintenance specialist. Although she had considerable achievements in the medical field, in a place like Rhine Lab, filled with geniuses and prodigies, she was just an ordinary employee. Her resignation faced no obstacles.
So she came here with Silence, also preparing to join the pharmaceutical company Jessica was about to create.
Ifrit was very happy now.
Because she had finally escaped the horrid white coats and could live with Silence every day. She also had the lovely Sister Jessica and the soul-state Brother Lucas Reeve to chat with her every day, and Ceobe as her playmate.
Just before, she had even gone to the amusement park she had longed for, accompanied by Jessica and Lucas Reeve.
These days.
Ifrit, in a constant state of excitement, provided Lucas Reeve with a lot of Prayer Power, over 1500 in total. Indeed, a child's gratitude is the most potent and pure. The Prayer Power from one person was already comparable to what more than half of the early Reunion Movement provided.
Of course.
Ifrit was only happy for three days.
Three days later.
When Silence dropped a large pile of textbooks in front of her, Ifrit's face fell instantly. For a moment, Ifrit even felt a little nostalgic for the happy times she had lived with Jessica and Lucas Reeve before Silence arrived.
Lucas Reeve also felt incredibly gratified these days.
Jessica no longer needed him.
She had grown up and could stand on her own two feet. In the past, she needed his help just to chat with Miss Sora from Lungmen, but now she could discuss future matters with Silence and Ptilopsis as a principal figure. And... Lucas Reeve had finally once again recognized the power of influence.
Without Jessica, Lucas Reeve could not have fulfilled Ifrit's wish so smoothly. In fact, throughout the entire Ifrit incident, Lucas Reeve was more of a bystander, while Jessica was the MVP who contributed the most.
No wonder there was that joke in his previous life.
Jack X meets a genie. The genie says, "Three wishes." Jack X says, "You tell me."
Ifrit had also fulfilled her initial wish: no more annoying white coats giving her shots, and living happily with Silence and her other friends every day. The only drawback was the absence of Saria.
And Lucas Reeve gradually shifted his focus back to the Reunion Movement in Ursus.
——Ursus——
"Mr. Reeve! Mr. Reeve!!"
Alina looked at the vast, snow-covered mountains in the distance and excitedly called out to Lucas Reeve.
"Look over there!! Isn't the snowscape over there beautiful? Isn't it romantic?"
Ever since the bracelet Lucas Reeve had inhabited was shattered, his residence had been changed to the necklace passed down from Alina's ancestors. Although this necklace wasn't expensive, and could even be described as cheap, it was one of the most proper items Alina owned.
These days, Lucas Reeve had been by Alina's side. After confessing to Jessica, he had also confessed to Alina that he had a split soul in another place. Alina didn't mind at all, only hoping that Lucas Reeve could spare ten minutes a day to talk with her.
"But... don't you see snow every day? Are you still amazed by it?"
"?"
Alina puffed out her cute cheeks like a hamster.
"Mr. Reeve, you really don't know how to talk... Do you often speak like this to Miss Jessica?"
After watching the snow for a while longer, the person and the soul returned to the settlement. But at this moment... the atmosphere in the settlement seemed a bit off...
A group of people were gathered together, sighing heavily.
"That's the fifth one..."
Two Shieldguards stood watch nearby, their expressions filled with regret.
"What happened again?"
Alina walked over and asked. Upon seeing the two of them approach, the Shieldguard quickly straightened up.
"Mr. Reeve, Miss Alina."
"Another one froze to death today... that's the fifth one already."
Hearing this.
Alina couldn't help but lower her long eyelashes slightly.
It had been a month since they had successfully repelled the Emperor's Blade.
On this frozen tundra far from the Ursus mainland, if not for Lucas Reeve's abilities, even getting food would be a problem.
However.
Even with Lucas Reeve around.
The cold temperature was still a huge issue.
The Shieldguards were fine.
Even though the weather was very cold now, through constant training, their physical strength had far surpassed that of ordinary people, and they were more resistant to the cold. But some of their comrades who were originally weak couldn't withstand such temperatures. Even some with good physiques had developed various health problems due to the cold.
However.
Since experiencing the incident with the Emperor's Blade together, these comrades had become much more understanding.
They knew that this was the best condition the Reunion Movement could provide. As long as there was food, being a little cold was bearable... No one protested, and no one clamored to return to a warmer place.
Although none of the Infected protested.
As leaders, Talulah and Patriot also needed to consider this problem.
After burying the comrade who had frozen to death, Talulah called Patriot, Alina, Lucas Reeve, and FrostNova for a meeting.
"Senior Patriot... many of our comrades can no longer bear the cold.."
Talulah sighed.
She had witnessed the suffering of her comrades these past few days. As a Draco, she possessed unparalleled fire Originium Arts, so this temperature naturally wasn't cold for her, but the ordinary Infected were just ordinary people.
"Why don't we just move again? Move to a relatively warmer place."
Lucas Reeve floated above everyone, offering his opinion.
"A warmer place..."
Everyone couldn't help but feel troubled.
Patriot frowned.
"The southern part of Ursus is relatively warmer. However, according to the news from our scouts, as early as half a month ago, the Empire's Third and Fourth Army Groups have completely sealed off the entire ice field... It's almost impossible for us to head south without forcibly breaking through the regular army's defensive line... and if we do go south, we'll immediately be trapped like a turtle in a jar. This is very disadvantageous for our Reunion Movement..."
Although with Lucas Reeve's help.
Patriot and Lucas Reeve had successfully repelled six Emperor's Blades together.
But... this didn't make everyone arrogant enough to think that Patriot was now invincible.
Six Emperor's Blades wasn't a small number... truly not small, but was it a lot? Definitely not. The Ursus Empire had over a hundred Emperor's Blades in total. Furthermore, according to Patriot, the Emperor's Blades themselves were divided into different ranks. The older generation of Emperor's Blades who had fought alongside Patriot were certainly not as strong as the next generation, and with the deepening research on the Demon Fragments, the next generation was certainly not as strong as the newest generation.
The ones who had intercepted Patriot were not from the newest generation.
Their strength was between the old batch and the new generation, and they were also the most numerous.
Furthermore.
Among the Emperor's Blades, there were also leadership ranks like squad leaders and captains. These Emperor's Blades were even more powerful. The strongest one might even be able to match Patriot in his prime.
And besides the Emperor's Blades, there were also super-soldiers like the War-Arts Masters, who were as renowned as the Emperor's Blades and the Wendigo.
No matter how strong Patriot was, if he went deep into an encirclement, he would die in an instant.
On Terra, there are almost no single beings that can contend with an entire nation.
Even the legendary gods of Yan, who could obliterate Catastrophes with a flip of their hand and whose powerful presence could cover an entire city, still died at the hands of Yan.
The state apparatus...
It is almost impossible for a single living being to stand against it.
But...
Right now, everyone was in a dilemma.
If they maintained the status quo, people would continue to suffer from frostbite. The number of people with frostbite in the Reunion Movement team had now reached nearly a quarter. This was not a good sign. Long-term frostbite could even lead to amputation, and if they were unlucky, it could be life-threatening.
And.
If they continued to march, they would very likely fall directly into Ursus's encirclement.
Although they could perhaps make a wish to the 'omnipotent' wish-granter Lucas Reeve.
But Patriot and the others were reluctant.
Lucas Reeve had already helped them a great deal, and he was still continuously providing food for everyone as best he could. Although Lucas Reeve would use the excuse that he was continuously gaining the power of faith, this... power of faith was too ethereal for everyone.
It was equivalent to... free...
Although Patriot and the others hadn't made a wish to him.
Lucas Reeve had also tried to use his few remaining free wishes to exchange for some way to keep everyone warm.
But...
They were all severe stop-gap measures that couldn't last long. The system wouldn't let Lucas Reeve get more powerful abilities for free, and with his meager twenty-thousand-something Prayer Power, he couldn't afford any ability anyway.
In other words, the Reunion Movement ultimately still had to find a relatively warm place, preferably similar to the last one. But according to the scouts' intelligence, to prevent the Reunion Movement from returning to the snow plains and hiding as an ordinary village, Ursus had increased the number of Infected Pickets and regular troops in the ice fields.
Now the only option was... a city!
The most dangerous place is the safest...
"Mr. Patriot, we can choose a place with relatively weak defenses. I can use my illusion abilities to temporarily put the defending forces under an illusion, and we can immediately rush through the defensive line. After we reach the city, we can split into small teams and disperse, making it harder for Ursus to find us."
"By gradually integrating into the 'shadow side' of the target city, if we succeed, our Reunion Movement can also transform from an organization on the snow plains to one of the city's 'underground' organizations."
The only good thing about Terra.
No satellites.
So, there's no need to worry about 'eyes' in the sky.
Patriot pondered for a moment and felt that this method might be worth a try.
However, at the beginning, when they didn't understand the situation, the vanguard couldn't be too large; it was just for reconnaissance. Moreover, the Shieldguards and Patriot were too conspicuous targets; they couldn't go... In the final decision, Patriot's daughter FrostNova, Alina, Lucas Reeve, and a small part of the Yeti Squadron would act as the vanguard in a small team.
If they had a chance to gain a foothold in the city, it would be much more convenient to secretly transfer other members later.
Besides, the smaller the team, even if Ursus discovered and surrounded them, with Lucas Reeve present, they could basically escape safely.
To be honest.
Cities were where Lucas Reeve's abilities truly shined.
Because cities...
Only require money! And with money, it's actually easier to hide the Infected in a city, because...
The Infected Pickets never investigate the rich.
And... these people would certainly never imagine that the Reunion Movement would dare to go to a city. It's the darkest under the lamp. This gamble was based on Lucas Reeve's Mirror Flower, Water Moon ability. Without Lucas Reeve's ability, they wouldn't dare to gamble like this even if they had ten thousand guts...
As for the city...
After some discussion, they chose.
Chernobog.