Following Alina to her dwelling, an ordinary thatched cottage, Flandre was a little surprised.
"Sister Alina, why are you living in a place like this?"
"Because everyone lives in these thatched cottages."
Alina recounted their journey, traversing mountains and rivers to get here. Fortunately, it was summer, and even Ursus wasn't cold, so the thatched cottages were still habitable. But winter would be impossible. So, they had new adobe houses, built from rammed earth, in a sheltered area not far away. Just like the one Yelena was currently living in.
However, due to the limited construction speed, priority was given to children, Rhodes Island doctors and patients, followed by the elderly, and finally, the able-bodied youth. They had only arrived less than a week ago, and even the first batch of people hadn't moved into the adobe houses, let alone them. Luckily, Talulah led by example, stating that as long as there was one person outside living in a thatched cottage, she would absolutely not enter an adobe house. This stabilized morale.
Flandre nodded blankly after hearing this. Although she didn't understand the meaning of doing so, it was impressive that Talulah could use this method to make everyone listen to her.
"So where do I live?" Flandre asked.
"Of course, you'll live with me!" Alina reached out, hugged Flandre, and lifted her high.
Flandre's eyes widened. "But Flandre won't be well-behaved when she sleeps at night..."
"It's okay, I'll hold you!" Alina's words greatly shocked Flandre. Indeed, there were no extra rooms for her here; even the three Shadow Guards could only temporarily squeeze into one room. Seeing this, Flandre could only agree.
After putting her things away, she took out a pile of candies, saying they were specially brought for everyone. Alina took out a bamboo basket woven from bamboo strips, put the candies into it, and then handed the basket to Flandre.
"You'll take the bamboo basket and hand out candies to everyone later; it looks much better this way."
After tidying up, the two went out together towards the classroom. Seeing Flandre return, everyone gathered around to give her a warm welcome.
"Flandre is back and has brought gifts for everyone! It's candy!"
"Wow!" Hearing about candy, everyone excitedly looked at the bamboo basket in Flandre's hand, their eyes full of anticipation.
"Ahem! Everyone, please come and choose in order!" Flandre opened the bamboo basket in her hand and placed it on the table. The other children immediately lined up in order from smallest to largest and came forward to choose.
After distributing the candy, Alina began teaching with everyone. Flandre sat among the children, not at all shy. On the contrary, her Ursus language had greatly improved after helping Alina translate those professional books from Great Yan language to Ursus language. Although she didn't attend classes with the others, her Ursus language didn't fall behind; instead, it was much better than many others'.
Many children were shocked and asked, "Does Lungmen also speak Ursus language?"
"Lungmen certainly doesn't speak Ursus language, but Flandre is a genius! Geniuses learn quickly even by self-study!" Flandre's self-praise elicited a chorus of "Oh!" from everyone. Then they studied even harder.
Alina smiled and nodded, seeing this scene. Many of the older children in the class had much faster comprehension abilities than the younger ones, so they were usually a bit proud in their studies. But she hadn't expected to meet Flandre. Thinking of Flandre's ability to help translate those works, she deliberately let her show off a bit to put some pressure on those children. To let them know that there's always someone better, and there's always a higher peak.
The first two days after her return were very peaceful. Flandre spent her days attending classes and playing games with everyone, having a great time. But on the third day, she was urgently called out.
"Our scout sent word that we might have been discovered!" Talulah's expression was very grim.
"Ah? What happened?" Alina was very shocked to hear Talulah's words.
"Our scouts in Ursus found a large number of Reconnaissance Squad members appearing in these three places recently... Look at this terrain. These three places happen to be the only routes for us to reach other areas. The people I sent to investigate reported that traces of the Reconnaissance Squad were indeed found in all three places. If all three places simultaneously close in on us, then we have no other option but to head south.
However, to the south lies an extremely vast and uninhabited wilderness. It contains many fierce beasts, various insects, and miasma. If we go there, setting aside whether we can adapt to life in the mountains, the wild beasts and miasma in these mountains alone would cause us immense casualties."
Talulah took out a topographic map and pointed at it as she spoke.
"Then what should we do? Also, this gathering place was only established recently; how did they confirm our location?" Alina was momentarily flustered after seeing it.
"Lord Patriot and I have already discussed it... one word: fight! But we definitely can't handle all three routes... Flandre, can you help us out?"
Flandre nodded. "I can!"
Talulah was not surprised that Flandre would agree. Instead, she pointed at the map and said, "These three roads vary in difficulty. The easiest are the eastern and northwestern lines, while the straight northern road appears shortest but is actually the most difficult. Passing through here requires traversing a very treacherous valley. This valley is very fragile due to geological reasons, and rockfalls often occur. Therefore, not many enemies will come through this route.
Patriot and I will each lead a team to intercept the enemies on the eastern and western lines. Flandre, I need you to annihilate all the enemies coming from the northern line, leaving no one alive. Can you do that?" Talulah looked at the northern route and asked with a solemn gaze.
"Yes, that's not difficult," Flandre said, looking at the map.
Just as Alina was about to speak, Talulah looked at her. "Alina, after we leave, I'll have to rely on you here. Stabilize everyone's emotions and wait for us to return!"
Alina sighed, then nodded. "Don't worry, I'll keep everyone's emotions stable."
"Of course, I'm confident in your abilities, Alina. I will leave a Yeti Squad for you to command. And there's something more important. I suspect there's an informant among the crowd; otherwise, the Reconnaissance Squad couldn't have found us so quickly... After Patriot and I leave, that person will definitely try to stir up trouble in the camp. Find them!"
Talulah now understood a truth: human hearts are complex. Even if they are all Infected, not all of them are good people. Some people, because they are not doing well themselves, cannot bear to see others doing well, or even simply feel that other Infected are doing better than them, or smiling more than them, and out of resentment, they go and inform. Such things are not unheard of.
Moreover, during this migration, many Infected from along the way gathered with them. So, when dealing with external enemies, it is necessary to simultaneously stabilize the internal situation.
If Yelena could fight, this task would certainly be given to her. However, although she had woken up, her injuries had only barely recovered, and due to her oripathy, the doctor required her to remain in bed. Actually, it was already quite astonishing. Just two days ago, she was on the verge of death, and her oripathy was quite severe. Two days later, she was already conscious. If she weren't still unable to get out of bed, Yelena would probably have stubbornly forced herself to stand up.
After Alina accepted the task, Talulah looked at Flandre. "You must be careful when you act. Ursus is still looking for you. Originally, your appearance in Lungmen forced Ursus to swallow their anger, but if they learn that you have returned, they will likely send a large army."
Flandre said she wasn't afraid. With the combat power of Ursus's Reconnaissance Squad, she would beat one if one came, and two if two came.
"Even so, it's best to be careful. Once you strike, try not to leave anyone alive. Only then can you maximize the assurance that your information will not be leaked."
Flandre nodded at Talulah's words; she was indifferent to it, but Alina, beside her, stated that if the Ursus people knew Flandre was here, a large army would surely come, and then the Reunion Movement would be forced to migrate again. It should be known that the previous migration had already caused heavy losses for the Reunion Movement. If they couldn't plant a crop and race against nature for a harvest now, they would have an even harder time when the winter snows arrived at the end of the year.
This was also why Talulah chose to fight the Reconnaissance Squad in a bloody battle. Because the Reunion Movement had no retreat. Going deeper into the mountains, even if they temporarily survived, winter would be a big problem. Only by hitting them hard, making the Reconnaissance Squad feel the pain, and ensuring they wouldn't have the opportunity to target the Reunion Movement again this year, could they have a slightly better time here.
A day later, Talulah sent word that the Reconnaissance Squad had begun to gather and was heading their way. She and Buldrokkas'tee had each led a team to intercept the enemies in the east and west, leaving the northern Reconnaissance Squad to Flandre.
"Sister Alina, does Sister Talulah's message mean Flandre can play however she wants?" Flandre looked north, a smile playing on her lips.
Alina reached out and ruffled Flandre's head. "Little Flandre can play however she wants, without the restrictions like in Lungmen!"
Unlike others, Alina, as Flandre's blood relative, fully understood what she meant by "play." Hearing her words, Flandre laughed and rushed north. By the time she reached the valley, the enemy had not yet arrived.
Flandre sat on top of the valley, looking down at the road below, her mind racing. It wasn't difficult to deal with that group of people, but what she wanted was a fun game. So, she definitely couldn't just solve them directly.