Ever since choosing to leave Kazdel and travel the world with Liz, using their own power to try and alleviate the suffering of Oripathy patients everywhere had become Shining and Liz's current life goal.
However.
The more places they went.
The more they felt that their strength as just three people was far too insignificant.
They had once rescued ordinary people and Infected who were injured by bandits and the flames of war in a lawless land. But when they left and later returned, a village that had been peaceful just a moment before had been turned into a living hell by the cruel hands of those same bandits.
They had also seen far too many Oripathy patients die in their hands.
They clearly had the heart to save people.
But they lacked the ability.
Once.
Shining had even doubted herself.
She wondered if her efforts were truly effective. The power of a single person was too small. Shining and Liz had considered joining an organization dedicated to Oripathy research, to share the specialized medical Originium Arts from Kazdel with experts in modern medicine, and then, through the efforts of a team, truly develop a medicine that would benefit all the Infected in the world.
But...
Clearly.
Shining had been too optimistic.
There were many excellent pharmaceutical research institutes in the world, but none were willing to touch the field of Oripathy. Even if some did, they only served the wealthy who occasionally contracted Oripathy. Medical fees that could run into the millions or tens of millions essentially shut the door on ordinary people. And these institutes had no interest in seeing or understanding Shining's so-called healing Originium Arts... they considered it useless.
It was because they had traveled to so many places.
That Shining and Liz were so excited when they saw the Oripathy-suppressing medicine that Lucas Reeve brought today.
This meant!
Not everyone in this world had abandoned the Infected...
There was still hope.
That's why.
She had chased after them.
"If the three of you don't mind, why don't you come to our temporary residence first?"
Shining and the other two exchanged glances, then nodded.
They weren't afraid of a trap.
Lucas Reeve could clearly sense that Shining was very strong. While the Kuranta knight lady next to her wasn't as strong as Shining, she was still at the level of a top elite Operator. With such strength, ordinary forces couldn't stop them.
It was no wonder these three dared to travel the perilous lands of Terra for so many years.
For an ordinary person.
Let alone traveling the world.
Surviving for three days in the uninhabited wilderness after leaving a city would be enough to be called a master of outdoor survival, the Bear Grylls of Terra.
The trio of Shining followed behind Lucas Reeve and FrostNova, returning to the villa.
All the while, Liz was curiously observing Lucas Reeve from the back.
Because she could see Lucas Reeve, she was incredibly curious at this moment. She had traveled with Shining for a very long time and had seen many strange phenomena, including things like souls, which were incomprehensible to ordinary people.
However.
The vast majority of souls Liz had seen were incapable of thought.
Rather than souls.
They were more like a lingering obsession from when they were alive.
Based on this obsession, they would endlessly repeat a certain action, or simply devour the host's soul and take over.
This was the first time Liz had ever seen a soul that possessed its own almost complete intelligence and could coexist peacefully with its host.
The villa was quite far from here.
They hailed a cab, and a little over twenty minutes later, they arrived at the villa's entrance. Upon entering, the members of the Yeti Squadron were all there. Having been cooped up in the villa for some time, they mostly spent their days accompanying Misha, watching movies in the living room to pass the time.
Lucas Reeve didn't disturb them and led Shining's group directly to the second-floor conference room.
"They... seem to all be Infected...."
As they went upstairs, Liz whispered in Shining's ear.
"I noticed that too."
Shining replied in a low voice.
"But... these Infected are different from others. Their souls aren't crying, there's no sadness, no sorrowful wails. They seem to have the same mindset as ordinary people. For them, Oripathy is like a common cold, something that can be ignored...."
Shining's eyes flickered.
What kind of organization was this...
She had a feeling that after traveling for so many years, she had finally come to the right place.
Taking in Infected, or rather, having comrades who were Infected, and even being able to develop a medicine to alleviate Oripathy. Moreover, these Infected were different from others; their hearts were not filled with excessive despair, only happiness.
This was truly rare and commendable.
Closing the conference room door, Lucas Reeve had FrostNova shut it, and then he got straight to the point.
"I'll be direct. If I'm not mistaken, you two should have seen my true self, right..."
Lucas Reeve felt that his soul state had a great advantage.
He could directly perceive the nature of a person's heart through the deepest essence of their soul, which was like having a label on their forehead saying whether they were a good person or a bad person. It was incredibly convenient. While the souls of these three weren't as pure and flawless as Alina's or Jessica's, the depths of Shining's white soul contained a hint of slaughter, which might be related to the sword in her hand. When that sword was drawn, it meant the slaughter in her soul was completely unleashed, though it was usually kept firmly suppressed by the purity.
Liz's soul was purer compared to Shining's, but, like Jessica's initially.
It was as pure as flawless colored glass, but within this flawlessness, there was an added shade of gloom and timidity...
As for Nearl, her soul's nature was also good—passionate and soaring. But beneath the passion and responsibility lay the angry flames of vengeance.
All three seemed to be carrying some kind of burden.
But their fundamental nature was much better than that of an average person, which was why Lucas Reeve chose to invite them directly.
This ability was like sticking a "good person" or "bad person" label on everyone's face, a label of whether they were worth befriending. It was very convenient, eliminating the need to spend time trying to figure people out.
She didn't expect Lucas Reeve to be so frank so quickly.
Shining's heart tightened for a moment, but she quickly relaxed and nodded.
"Yes."
Huh?
As for Nearl, who was beside them, she was a bit confused.
She didn't quite understand what that sentence meant.
After looking back and forth a couple of times, she simply pretended she understood and nodded as well.
"That's for the best~"
From another box nearby, Lucas Reeve took out one of the remaining injections and pushed it in front of the three of them.
The round syringe rolled across the table and came to a precise stop in front of Shining.
Shining, now a little excited, carefully picked up the syringe. Liz quickly leaned her head over, her brilliant, jewel-like eyes faintly shimmering. A medicine that could alleviate Oripathy... the impact of this was somewhat immense for the two of them.
Shining examined it up and down, but without any instruments, she couldn't discern much with the naked eye.
Lucas Reeve, meanwhile, began to introduce the Reunion Movement.
"Although you probably heard about it in Mr. Hellagur's office, allow me to introduce it again. The Reunion Movement is an organization formed by Infected who have been oppressed by Ursus and the world. Our mission is to provide a place where all the oppressed Infected of this world can survive."
"Reunion Movement..."
Shining repeated the name, seeming quite interested.
An organization that could develop a medicine to alleviate Oripathy couldn't be too bad. After all, Oripathy research was known to be a money-losing venture. What normal person would develop something like this?
"The three of us are the [Followers]... an Infected treatment squad. We've spent these years traveling the world, trying to alleviate the suffering of the Infected. However, after so many years of travel, I've increasingly felt my own inadequacy. There's one thing I'd like to ask, M... Miss Alina..."
Shining asked.
"Why exactly did you decide to develop a medicine to alleviate Oripathy? I think you must be well aware that it's nearly impossible to recover the costs of this research."
Lucas Reeve smiled faintly. "For all the Infected in the world, of course~ And for the people by my side."
In reality, in Lucas Reeve's heart.
Of course, it's for the Prayer Power!! And to quickly get the 1.7 million points to cure the Oripathy of Alina, Patriot, and the others, and while I'm at it, create a physical body for myself. Being a soul is never as comfortable as having a solid body.
Shining's lips curved up slightly, forming a gentle smile.
At that moment.
She felt that after traveling with Liz and Nearl for so long, she had finally met a kindred spirit in Ursus, someone whose ideals were completely identical to her own, even if this person was just a soul...
A true friend is hard to find, a kindred spirit is a rare encounter.
"If it's convenient in the future, we would like to visit the Reunion Movement."
Lucas Reeve was inwardly delighted.
She put it subtly, "I would like to visit the Reunion Movement," but it was basically equivalent to, "Can I join you?"
However.
Lucas Reeve naturally wouldn't leave these three talents in the Reunion Movement. Instead, he planned to send them to the [Raythean Medica] that Jessica was about to establish. The addition of two Sarkaz physicians, combining Sarkaz medicine with modern medicine, could be a great asset to Silence and Ptilopsis. He and Jessica were essentially tied together now, and Jessica would become a great help to him in the future.
Lucas Reeve and Shining chatted about a few other things.
Mostly about their views on the Infected, and the views of various nations' governments on the Infected.
Lucas Reeve's insights were quite in tune with Shining's.
However, Lucas Reeve would not be returning to the Reunion Movement anytime soon. For now, he had Shining's group go on their own to the soon-to-be-established Raythean Medica in Columbia, under Jessica. In any case, a remnant of his soul was there and could receive them.
As for Chernobog, Lucas Reeve was also unsure of how to proceed for the time being.
With the [Black Serpent] watching from the shadows, Lucas Reeve didn't dare to act rashly, and the [Black Serpent] didn't know how to deal with him, leading to this strange stalemate. The original plan was to bring the members of the Reunion Movement over in batches after confirming that Chernobog was safe, and then, under the protection of [Azazel], the two organizations would gradually cooperate. This medicine was, in fact, the basis of Lucas Reeve's cooperation with [Azazel].
However.
He hadn't expected the [Black Serpent] in Chernobog to discover him so quickly, preventing Lucas Reeve from bringing the Reunion Movement members over. And now, in this situation, Lucas Reeve couldn't go out and act either. Fortunately, he had also established contact with [Azazel], which would be a source of continuous Prayer Power in the future, even more so than the Reunion Movement.
And [Azazel], as the underground sanctuary for the Infected in Chernobog, couldn't possibly be as simple as it appeared on the surface. This meant that in the future, if there was enough medicine, perhaps all the Infected in Chernobog would continuously provide Lucas Reeve with Prayer Power. In that case, collecting over a million would be within reach.
The following days were uneventful. Lucas Reeve spent almost all his time in Columbia, helping Jessica with company matters, while the Yetis simply lazed around at home watching movies all day, enjoying the leisure.
And then, a week later...
Suddenly...
While Lucas Reeve was in Columbia with Jessica in Silence's research lab, a sharp, needle-like sensation suddenly pricked the depths of Lucas Reeve's soul.
"!!!"
Lucas Reeve quickly said something to Jessica and returned to Chernobog.
When he left the Reunion Movement, to prevent any accidents, he had forcibly split off another bean-sized piece of his soul and left it with Talulah. If an emergency occurred, she could immediately crush this soul fragment to alert him.
Since the soul fragment with the Reunion Movement had shattered.
It meant!!
The Reunion Movement had very likely encountered a situation that even Talulah and Patriot couldn't handle.