"Cooperation..."
The white-haired, handsome middle-aged man narrowed his eyes. His golden pupils were as sharp as a falcon's, incredibly brilliant. His tall, burly figure was like a city wall. Though he was much taller than Alina and FrostNova, his gaze held no condescension, but rather looked at them as equals.
He was also somewhat puzzled.
He looked at the Elafia girl before him, who appeared to be an ordinary person by all accounts.
However.
What intrigued him the most was not Alina's own strength, but the ancient and profound temperament hidden beneath her petite body.
She looked so young on the outside.
But when he met her dark, deep eyes, he only perceived a sense of serene calm.
An mismatch between her appearance and her inner self?
Interesting...
As for the other white-haired Cautus girl, she also impressed him slightly. As an Infected, the power hidden within her body was immense. Although not as strong as himself, to have reached this level of strength in her early twenties... one could only say she was much stronger than he had been at her age. If she had the opportunity to continue improving in the future, she might surpass him. No... or rather, she would definitely surpass him.
If two ordinary Infected had come to him and suddenly proposed cooperation, he might have scoffed at them, but now...
These two good-looking Infected girls were clearly not ordinary.
"Please, come in..."
The handsome middle-aged man turned and invited the two of them to walk deeper into the inpatient department.
No one spoke along the way.
Although this inpatient department looked dilapidated on the outside, the deeper they went, the newer the interior decoration became. And when they went up the stairs to the second floor, the environment was completely different from the first. The paint on the walls was vibrant, and one could even see many stickers that children would like, as well as children's scribbled drawings displayed on the walls. There were also children's toys scattered on the floor.
As far as the eye could see.
It looked like a simple children's playground.
"This..."
Lucas had never expected that the legendary [Azazel] would look like this. And now, the children playing in the hallway saw the handsome middle-aged man and called out cheerfully.
"Grandpa Director!!"
The middle-aged man just smiled and nodded, then led Lucas and FrostNova to a relatively old office on the top floor.
He invited them to sit down.
The handsome middle-aged man then got straight to the point: "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Hellagur, the director of this hospital... How did you two young ladies find this place? And this cooperation you speak of..."
However.
Lucas didn't answer his question directly, but instead voiced a doubt in his heart.
"Hello, Mr. Hellagur. My name is Luc... Alina. Before I answer your question, I also have a question for you. Why would you so trustingly and openly admit that this is [Azazel], and even bring us to your office when we've only mentioned cooperation? You know, this is Chernobog, Ursus's Chernobog..."
Hellagur smiled slightly, his fingers nimbly fiddling with a pen on the desk.
"Miss Alina, are you trying to say that since this is Ursus, with its aggressive stance towards the Infected, we should be hiding in the shadows with our tails between our legs instead of being so conspicuous?"
"....."
Hellagur straightened his back.
"This clinic... since you were able to find it, how could the Chernobog government possibly fail to? The fact that they tolerate its presence here means that I am not afraid of it being exposed...."
As expected...
Hellagur's words confirmed Lucas's previous suspicion.
This clinic's existence was 100% due to a powerful umbrella protecting it, and Hellagur, as the director, was likely that umbrella...
No wonder he was so confident.
"I've answered your question. How about you answer mine? Where are you from, and why do you want to cooperate?"
Lucas said slowly, "The Reunion Movement... I wonder if you've heard of it."
"Reunion Movement?"
Hearing this name.
Hellagur's golden, hawk-like gaze sharpened once again.
"Oh~ It seems you've heard of it, and your impression isn't very good."
"Just hearsay."
Lucas had actually guessed as much.
Recently.
The media in the Ursus heartland had been constantly fabricating false information to slander the Reunion Movement. They even pinned the blame for some malicious terrorist attacks on the Reunion Movement, who were minding their own business in the frozen tundra. This caused the hatred for the Reunion Movement among many civilians in many places to surpass other issues.
That tactic.
Is called shifting the focus of conflict...
Using a larger conflict to temporarily cover up one's own.
Ursus's internal conflicts were currently ridiculously large.
And the appearance of the Reunion Movement served as a convenient scapegoat for all sorts of problems, diverting the public's attention entirely onto them.
Lucas continued, "Our Reunion Movement has been living deep in the northern tundra. The areas near the cities have long been surrounded by the Third and Fourth Army Groups. I believe you should be well aware of the purpose behind the various rumors circulating among the populace.."
"Mm."
Hellagur nodded.
"Living in the tundra is not a long-term solution, so we've been thinking of infiltrating the Ursus heartland, and we hope to cooperate with you, Mr. Director."
Hellagur looked at Lucas with great interest.
Hellagur had naturally heard of the name Reunion Movement; he had seen it in the news countless times.
However.
He was well aware of the methods of these politicians, so he had never believed the news that the Reunion Movement was a terrorist organization. At least, he didn't believe it now. He crossed his legs and said.
"So, how do you want to cooperate? And even if we do reach an agreement, this is Chernobog. I can protect [Azazel], but adding your Reunion Movement... I think... that would be very difficult. Moreover, your Reunion Movement seems to have become a thorn in the side of certain politicians, as is evident from these news reports. And... they don't touch [Azazel] not because they're afraid of me, or don't dare to, but because they have their reservations. But these reservations don't mean I have the capital to protect more people.."
Hellagur shook his head.
He was very rational.
Ever since taking over this [Azazel] clinic for the Infected, one could say that Hellagur had come to regard this [Azazel] as his everything. He also considered all the Infected protected in [Azazel] as his children. Hellagur did not want this place to suffer any harm due to his own wrong decision.
Hellagur thought for a moment.
"I'm sorry, I cannot agree to this cooperation. You can try to find a way to infiltrate Chernobog, and I can provide you with some important intelligence about the city, but... I cannot offer you sanctuary. My abilities are limited, after all. Just like there are plenty of Infected in Chernobog whom I cannot protect, I know my own limits. So, I'm sorry... I am no savior. If it's just the two of you who want to stay and live in [Azazel], I don't mind. You can stay. But for an entire organization... there's nothing I can do."
Regarding the rejection.
Lucas had actually already anticipated it, so he wasn't too surprised. The first purpose of his trip was to confirm the existence of [Azazel]. Since it existed and he had found it, a large part of his objective was already achieved. As for cooperation... that could come slowly.
No cooperation is sealed in one go.
Achieving it all at once would be somewhat unrealistic.
"This is my contact information, Mr. Hellagur."
Lucas placed his business card on Hellagur's desk and then said slowly, "I imagine that even though you call this a clinic, you probably don't have many effective medical means to alleviate the symptoms of the Infected."
Lucas's words made Hellagur's expression freeze slightly.
He had hit a nerve.
Indeed...
Although [Azazel] was called a clinic for the Infected, in reality, they had very few effective methods to alleviate Oripathy. At most, they could use painkillers to temporarily relieve an Infected person's suffering during an outbreak, preventing them from passing out from the pain. The mortality rate when conscious was often much lower than when unconscious. Another method was surgery, removing the Originium crystals from the surface of the body and infected organs. This seemingly crude surgery could temporarily alleviate Oripathy, but... it was still not very useful.
Moreover, it couldn't be used during the acute phase.
For the Infected, the most fatal period was the acute onset phase.
"...."
Hellagur remained silent, waiting for Lucas's bargaining chip.
"I do have a way to temporarily alleviate the acute onset phase of Oripathy. The steps are a bit complicated, but the effect is quite good. Also, I imagine your clinic's funding is a major issue..."
"In any case... we'll take our leave for now. I expect to be in Chernobog for a long time."
After Lucas and FrostNova left.
Hellagur sat silently in his chair.
He had initially rejected the Reunion Movement, but the conditions offered by the young lady named Alina were just too... outrageous. Both were things [Azazel] currently lacked. However... it was just words. Whether it was true or just a bluff to fool him, he didn't know.
In any case...
Hellagur carefully put the business card Lucas had given him in his pocket. It might come in handy in the future.
When the two of them left the inpatient department.
Lucas returned the body to Alina.
Alina, in turn, said with great admiration.
"As expected of Mr. Reeve!"
However, FrostNova thought for a moment before speaking.
"So... will that Mr. Hellagur choose to cooperate with us?"
"He will..."
Lucas said confidently.
"For an organization of the Infected, no one can resist the temptation of alleviating Oripathy, unless he is confident in his own medical skills. However, I think that's unlikely. Besides... my initial goal was not to have the Reunion Movement under the protection of [Azazel], but to unite more of the Infected."
Another thing Lucas didn't say.
It could also provide him with more Prayer Power...
And in Lucas's plan, this was the only way to acquire more Prayer Power.
And another point.
The matter of creating a medical company that Jessica had mentioned before was already underway.
As titans of Raythean Industries, Jessica's parents were incredibly gratified to hear that their daughter wanted to start a company. With a wave of their hands, they directly gave Jessica several billion in start-up capital, with more available if needed.
Now the money was there.
With Silence, a genius researcher who once served as the lead for Rhine Lab's most core project, one could say that Silence alone was comparable to an entire team. And under Silence's command, the customization and procurement of various equipment were quickly deployed.
Another point.
Lucas also spent a portion of his Prayer Power to extend his [Oripathy Suppression] ability, granting it the additional function of allowing him to manifest the raw energy used to suppress Oripathy. Lucas then transferred this energy to Silence for research, hoping to develop a potion that could temporarily suppress Oripathy based on this energy as soon as possible. The effect might not be as good as him personally intervening, but it would be much more convenient.
In that case, Jessica's company would likely become a holy land for all Infected in the world! And he, as one of the hidden core figures, would continuously receive a greater stream of Prayer Power. The amount from a single individual might not be much, but the total number of individuals would be massive!
The two of them, along with one soul, returned to the villa, picking up some snacks for Misha on the way back.
In the evening.
The other three Yeti Squadron teams also returned.
Lucas could only say that the Yeti Squadron truly lived up to being a unit personally trained by Patriot.
After just a few days of observation and familiarization.
The acting skills of each member of the Yeti Squadron were so good it was as if they were actual members of Chernobog's upper class. One team had even successfully infiltrated a high-society cocktail party and had seen the city's mayor from a distance.
This rate of progress was somewhat surprising to Lucas.
That night.
After dinner, as the eight of them were holding their daily intelligence briefing in the conference room.
Suddenly...
A doorbell rang.
The sound wasn't loud, but it silenced the entire villa in an instant.
Misha, who was watching TV in the living room, immediately turned off the sound and scurried into her room. Lucas, who was in the middle of the meeting in the conference room, couldn't help but frown.
Who was it...
They had only been in Chernobog for a little over a week...
Moreover, wherever Lucas went, he would deliberately erase his image from the memories of those who had seen them. Logically speaking, there shouldn't be any acquaintances.
Just then.
The voice of the visitor came through the doorbell's speaker.
"Hello, we're from the waterworks. We'd like to check the reading on the underground water meter, as this villa has been vacant for a long time..."
"...."
Lucas didn't speak. A thought flashed through his mind.
Checking the water meter?