Chapter 196: Kal'tsit: Could It Be
"So, are you signing?"
Xia Yu looked at Theresa and said, "If you don't sign, I have backup options."
Even though she wouldn't be able to gather ten million people, that is.
"I'll sign!" Theresa said without hesitation. "Enough food to feed thirty million people for a year... how could I not sign!"
After all, given Kazdel's international reputation, basically no country would engage in large-scale trade with the Sarkaz. Even if they lacked food, they had nowhere to buy it.
Therefore, she couldn't possibly pass up free food.
What? You ask what if it's a scam?
Hah, first of all, this was someone vouched for by the Doctor, and the Doctor was someone vouched for by Kal'tsit, so the option of being scammed basically didn't exist.
Furthermore, with the way the Sarkaz were right now... what was even left worth scamming for a figure like this?
Taking a step back, even if this was a sugar-coated bullet, she would still have to peel off the outer layer of sugar and eat it.
The Sarkaz were simply too poor.
"But... sigh, food aid can't extinguish the dark clouds looming over Kazdel," she said, her face filled with worry. "The Royal Court desires war."
"Regarding the war, I actually have a solution." Hearing this, Xia Yu said with a smile, "We don't just provide material and technological aid."
"Mercenaries?" Theresa asked curiously. She could naturally hear the underlying meaning; after all, being mercenaries was the most famous profession among the Sarkaz.
"I prefer to call them Crisis Management Specialists," Xia Yu explained. "As long as you can offer a high enough price, we can handle any crisis for you all."
"From minor local wars to massive planetary crises, we have the absolute most professional personnel to handle them."
"Then, to handle the Sarkaz's Civil War crisis, what price do we need to pay?" Theresa asked naturally.
Since being mercenaries was an old tradition of the Sarkaz, she had absolutely no objections to this way of doing things.
"Kazdel can't afford what we want." Xia Yu looked at the Doctor to the side. "But someone can pay for you."
"Sure enough, it still comes down to me," the Doctor shrugged. "Speak, what have you set your sights on?"
"Knowledge," Xia Yu said without hesitation. "We need you to solve some... technical problems for us in the future."
"After all, as you know, everyone in our team has their own specialization, but those scholars who can truly take charge on their own... it's impossible for them to come out and adventure everywhere with us."
Xia Yu shrugged. "They have plenty of daily work to do, pursuing the truth all day. Usually, if you want to ask them for a little help, you have to wait in a queue so long you'd want to die..."
"Doctor, although your physical stamina is lacking, your mind is top-notch."
"Alright, I agree." Hearing this, the Doctor nodded without hesitation.
This was a win-win situation, or at least he saw it that way. The other party needed his knowledge, and he also needed to conduct research using the things the other party provided.
"Alright, then it's a deal," Xia Yu nodded in satisfaction. "Let's return to Rhodes Island. Go find a place, Theresa."
"I'll unload the goods for you."
Rhodes Island — Medical Department.
Kal'tsit was almost going crazy.
"This data... is wrong, it's absolutely wrong!" She frowned so hard she could crush a fly. "According to the data provided by the Doctor, this child's Infection problem should be quite severe!"
"But..." She looked at the report in her hands, and then at the well-behaved Amiya in front of her.
"Oh, you mean Amiya," Mudrock, who was standing to the side, explained upon hearing this. "She has been treated."
"Treated? What treatment?" Kal'tsit was indeed drawn in. "I don't recall any medicine on this vast land that can achieve such an effect."
"Uh, it's not medicine, it's Arts," Mudrock looked at the stern-faced Kal'tsit, feeling a bit apprehensive. She could tell that the other party's status was far from ordinary.
In this Medical Department, everyone had to greet her when they saw her.
"Arts? Arts would be impossible too... wait, no." Kal'tsit was just about to refute it when the events that happened in the Snowfield a few months ago suddenly surfaced in her mind. "Was it a kind of golden Arts?"
"Uh, yes." The surrounding Sarkaz Mercenaries were baffled. 'How did it seem like the people of Babel didn't know the power of the Divine Doctor's Arts?'
'But the Divine Doctor had already come over to seek refuge with them...'
"That Knight really does exist!" Kal'tsit's eyes shone when she heard this. "Where did you run into her? Do you know where she went?"
"Uh, isn't Miss Bailu right here on Rhodes Island?" Mudrock said cautiously upon hearing this. "Before coming over, I saw her leave together with Her Highness Theresa..."
"Indeed," Ascalon suddenly emerged from behind them. "I saw with my own eyes that young lady's miraculous Arts."
"Theresa," Kal'tsit breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they were still on Rhodes Island, it was fine. "I'll go find them right now!"
"Doctor Kal'tsit," Ascalon spoke up softly to remind her. "Miss Bailu's... relationship with the Doctor isn't simple. They seem to share some sort of secret mutual understanding."
Kal'tsit's footsteps paused upon hearing this.
'Oh no!'
'Could the Doctor have dug up some ancient relic?'
'Hiss, a female, possessing the miraculous ability to manipulate Originium, and appearing by the Doctor's side...'
Kal'tsit's PTSD acted up on the spot.
Even though she had only awakened the Doctor, why would Priestess...
She didn't dare to think further and directly walked briskly toward Theresa's exclusive reception room.
If it really was that person... Rhodes Island was in danger.
"Closure," Kal'tsit ordered as she broke into a jog and turned on her Communicator. "Be ready to take over the authorization for the ship's defense system at any moment! Notify all squads to stand by, we're in big trouble!"
"What? Impossible, my substitute system hasn't even been written yet!" Closure blew up on the spot when she heard this. "There's no way to take over the authorization at all!"
"Even if you don't take over the authorization, as long as you can temporarily paralyze it, it's considered a success!" Kal'tsit said through gritted teeth.
The Rhodes Island was converted from a starship from Prehistory, and the power of its full-ship defense system was unquestionable.
If Priestess had truly awakened, this system would only become the most powerful weapon in the other party's hands.
"Alright, I'll do my best." Closure gritted her teeth. She knew that since Kal'tsit was saying this, there must have been some major incident.
'This person wouldn't joke around at a time like this. No, did this person even know how to joke at all?'
Kal'tsit jogged all the way to the Rhodes Island reception room, and along the way, everyone who saw her looking like this became vigilant.
For this workaholic to be in such a hurry, something huge must have happened.
"Theresa!"
Kal'tsit slammed the doors of the reception room open with a bang.
But there was no one inside.
At this moment, she felt as if enveloped in solid ice, her blood running cold.
But the next second, a heavenly voice (like a special attack against Kal'tsit) came from behind her.
"Eh? Kal'tsit? What are you..." Theresa poked her head out curiously from behind the stunned Kal'tsit, looked at the empty reception room in front of them, and then turned to look into her eyes. "Looking for me?"
"Time is tight." Kal'tsit sighed in relief seeing her safe and sound, but then immediately reacted, grabbing her hand and asking, "Where is that woman who came back with the Doctor?"
"Woman? Hiss..." Just then, a shocked voice came from behind her. Xia Yu said with a face full of utter astonishment (?), "This unknown Miss Kal'tsit, even though I'm several hundred years old, based on the average lifespan of the Vidyadhara Race, I'm still just a child!"
"You are..." Kal'tsit turned around and saw the Doctor casting a complicated look at her, along with the tiny dragon-blooded girl beside him.
"My name is Bailu," Xia Yu waved at her. "Hmm, looking at you like this... oh, my dear Ms. Kal'tsit, you didn't mistake me for some unknown lady with dark brown hair and light purple eyes who is undyingly loyal to a certain person in black robes, did you?"
"...Kal'tsit, well, I know you have some... rather different views about her," the Doctor also felt quite helpless hearing this. "But she isn't that sort of unreasonable person."
Yes, at least for the Doctor, Priestess had never been an enemy, even if they had differing opinions.
Facing the Observer, Priestess was despairing yet rational. Humans could not possibly defeat such a cancer of the universe. Rather than struggling in despair, it would be better to bury everything into the Internalized Universe.
The Doctor, on the other hand, was emotional and full of hope. He believed in life; he believed in miracles.
Therefore, he would ultimately give ama-10 a name, letting her pursue her own path.
"That's great." Looking at the tiny dragon-blooded girl in front of her, Kal'tsit didn't mind her teasing.
As long as Priestess hadn't awakened, it was fine.
The girl in front of her absolutely couldn't be Priestess. After all, that person was incredibly proud and would never allow herself to appear beside the Doctor using a different body and face.
"The Vidyadhara Race?" Kal'tsit calmed her emotions and then asked, "Forgive my ignorance, but Terra has never had such a race."
"But the Milky Way is vast, isn't it?" Xia Yu blinked at her.
The Milky Way?
Kal'tsit's pupils shrank upon hearing this.
She looked at the Doctor, and the latter nodded gently.
After receiving confirmation, Kal'tsit closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
The Milky Way, outsiders...
These were all major events.
"Let's go into the reception room to talk," Theresa held her hand, gently soothing the unease in her heart. "When distinguished guests come to visit, we still need to show basic courtesy."
After saying that, she ushered the group into the reception room.
"To be honest with you, Miss Bailu, I'm also very curious about the starry sky," Theresa smiled and said. "Could you clear up my confusion? The starry sky outside... what exactly is it like?"
"A barren wasteland," Xia Yu shrugged. "At least for you guys, it is."
"The disaster back then affected too broad of an area."
"And your location is very unfortunate, just happening to be quite far from the Federation. Honestly speaking, under normal development, it's likely no outsiders would come here for thousands of years."
Xia Yu smiled and said, "But our profession is special, so we can explore within this star system that others fear."
"In other words, your side won't interfere in Terra's internal affairs for the time being?" Kal'tsit asked upon hearing this.
"Interference? There should be some," Xia Yu didn't hide anything and said frankly, "After all, we need to show some results too. We finally managed to find a surviving civilization, so we definitely have to max out the perks."
"If the higher-ups come down to inspect and find that this planet is actually still engulfed in war, where would that leave our department boss's face?"
"But well, the Federation also has its own regulations. We can't directly intervene; that's illegal."
"Is that so," Theresa nodded upon hearing this. "Then, let's talk about the matter of the food."
Her eyes were full of impatience. "Just how much food does Miss Bailu have on hand?"
"...I don't know," Xia Yu curled her lips upon hearing this. "Anyway, it's a lot, that's all."
"Uh, is there no specific amount?" Theresa blinked when she heard this.
"I can't finish counting it..." Xia Yu looked up at the sky speechlessly. "How should I put it... during a previous operation, Sister Acheron eradicated a Honkai disaster capable of affecting half a continent for a certain civilization."
"Sister Acheron as a person isn't very good with words. When the local administrator asked her what she needed, Sister Tarnished casually mentioned in the internal channel that the Infected in the Ursus Icefield were short of food and clothing."
"So Sister Acheron asked for food, and as a result, those people mobilized countless amounts of food within three days as a token of gratitude. Because the timeline was so rushed, many things couldn't be quantified, and there were even mistakes in some of the material categories."
That's right, she was talking about that pile of old Soviet Union stock! A whole shipping container of PPSh-41s!
She was genuinely curious how the people from Russia managed to load these things onto ships transporting food and deliver them to her.
Xia Yu continued, "But as for Sister Acheron, her abilities are tremendous. Many places need her to pioneer them, so these things ultimately fell into my hands to fulfill our department's quota."
"Simply put, we have more than enough supplies," Xia Yu said with a smile. "But our demands cannot be violated either."
Hearing this, Kal'tsit roughly understood. The other party had a batch of supplies, and Theresa needed to make a certain promise to obtain them.
"Then may I ask, what is this demand..." Kal'tsit asked carefully.
"You cannot proactively initiate a war," Xia Yu answered. "After all, it has to be written into the department's report. We definitely don't want the higher-ups to come down for an inspection and see the people we funded using the food we aided them with as military provisions to invade everywhere."
"This..." Hearing this, Kal'tsit shot a troubled look at Theresa.
The current situation in Kazdel... was hard to say.
It wouldn't be surprising if a fight broke out at any moment.
"Regarding this point, we've already solved it," Theresa patted her hand to soothe her. "Thanks to the Doctor's selfless contribution, we now have a super mercenary."
"How super?" Kal'tsit asked subconsciously.
"Take the city of Lungmen, for example," Xia Yu spoke up to give an example upon hearing this. "To tear down this city, she would only need a brief instant."
Actually, she couldn't. She hadn't completely unlocked all of Firefly's power yet, but that didn't stop her from bluffing.
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T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me.
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