Lucian froze for a moment. "Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals? The one that claims to fight for Infected rights, owns a Landship, and is suspicious as hell?"
He dissed them on the spot.
Of course he remembered that organization—Exusiai had gone to meet with them not long ago.
According to Exusiai, despite calling themselves a pharmaceutical company, Rhodes Island was full of elites.
Just from the brief time she spent on their Landship, she saw plenty of clearly battle-hardened operators.
Their population was split nearly half-and-half between Infected and non-Infected, coexisting peacefully. Even their leadership was made up entirely of Infected.
A "pharmaceutical company" with a mobile Landship, a formidable combat force, and a mixed Infected–non-Infected crew.
Lucian's strongest impression of them could be summed up in one word: weird.
But Exusiai also mentioned that Rhodes Island's leader was a very cute little rabbit.
If Exusiai called someone cute, then they were actually cute.
And she was a bunny. A bunny!
Her name was… Amiya!
"Xiaoling." Lucian looked deadly serious as he addressed his personal little bunny. "Take me to the pretty lady. I'll make braised pork for you later."
So Xiaoling bounced away, leading Lucian to meet the "pretty lady."
The moment they stepped into the Great Courtyard, Lucian spotted someone sitting in the distance.
Long, glossy black hair that fell past her hips—a perfectly straight style he adored. His experience growing up among women told him immediately:
This is definitely a good woman.
Instinctively, he raised a hand in greeting. "Hello, I'm Lucian Sinclair from Penguin Logistics. Are you Miss Amiya?"
"Hm?"
The beauty stood up.
…And the problem became immediately obvious.
Not a young lady, but a mature beauty. Over 170 centimeters, tall and voluptuous, with curves that radiated confidence and womanly charm.
She flipped her long hair, grinning boldly. "Wrong person. Do I look like a little bunny to you?"
Her pointed cat ears flicked, and she jabbed a thumb toward her face. "Name's Blaze! Senior operator from Rhodes Island. Nice to meet you!"
…This was fraud!
Lucian's smile froze. He leaned toward Xiaoling's ear. "Xiaoling… didn't you say she was a pretty young lady?"
"But Blaze-sis is really pretty?" Xiaoling blinked innocently.
Pretty? Yes.
Young? No!
She was big! Everywhere!
Before Lucian could complain, Xiaoling scampered straight toward the towering feline beauty. "Blaze-sis!"
Without hesitation, she leapt two meters into the air, landing on Blaze's shoulders like a backpack.
Blaze didn't mind at all. She held Xiaoling steady with one hand and laughed. "You jump so high! I wish Amiya could learn from you. You're both little bunnies, but she's so frail and indoor-type. She won't even let me hug her."
Isn't Amiya your leader? Can you really hug your leader whenever you want? And how long have you been here—how are you already this close to my bunny?
Lucian had a whole list of complaints about this bold big sister, but none of them left his throat. The situation was too awkward.
Still, as the host, he had to be polite.
Lucian composed himself and held out a hand. "Welcome to Lungmen, Miss Blaze. If there's any job Penguin Logistics can help with, feel free to say so. …Especially your hand—are you here in Lungmen to rest?"
He glanced at her right hand.
Blaze's right arm was in a sling over her chest—clearly injured.
But Blaze didn't mind at all. She shook his hand with her left. "Don't worry about it. This kind of injury happens all the time."
The moment their hands touched, Lucian's brow twitched.
Through physical contact, he could tell—Blaze's Originium fusion rate was extremely high.
She was heavily Infected.
Her infection level surpassed even the Reunion Movement's Crownslayer. For a normal person, it should've been agonizing—daily life nearly impossible.
But Blaze's bright eyes showed no gloom. She had no idea what he was thinking, and simply smiled.
"Where's your Exusiai? I want her to show me around Lungmen!"
A short call later, Exusiai arrived at the Great Courtyard. She spotted Blaze instantly and waved wildly.
"Blaze! You made it!"
"Aaah Exu! I came to play with you!"
They greeted each other like best friends reuniting after weeks apart—complete with fist bumps and weird hand signs… very bro-like, actually.
Lucian blinked. "El, you knew Miss Blaze before this?"
Exusiai shook her head. "Nope. We met when I went to Rhodes Island last time."
She slung an arm around Blaze's shoulders and added, "Blaze's an operator there. I ran into her the moment I boarded. She tried to steal booze from the Kitchen, but the medical staff caught her and dragged her away by the legs."
"Arghhh don't say embarrassing stuff!"
Blaze's face turned red as she frantically explained, "Amiya banned me from drinking! I was just holding it in for too long! And it was only a tiny injury—I'm totally fine! They're the ones overreacting! They even barred me from the important mission! So I ran away!"
"You snuck out?" Exusiai was stunned.
Blaze pouted, furious. "I applied for leave! Rhodes Island is starting an important operation soon. Even injured, I should've stayed on the Landship for standby duty! But Amiya said, 'Blaze hasn't taken a break in a long time. Don't worry about us—please relax.' She made it sound like I'm useless! Who could stand that!? Stupid Amiya!" she pouted indignantly.
…What an oversized brat.
Despite having the appearance of a mature big sister, Blaze whined nonstop and even dove into Exusiai's arms to sulk.
The usually restless Exusiai actually showed a gentle, big-sisterly expression, patting Blaze's hair like an Sankta.
What kind of dynamic is this?
Well, their personalities matched, so no wonder they got along.
Watching the two of them, Lucian suddenly saw a flash of childhood Exusiai and Mostima in his mind. It made him unexpectedly nostalgic.
While he drifted in memory, Exusiai—still holding Blaze—secretly shot him a look.
She mouthed: "Comfort her. Now."
Ugh, how annoying.
Lucian made a face.
Exusiai kept kicking him under the table.
If he didn't cooperate, this delinquent Sankta would kick him somewhere far more painful.
Lucian had no choice but to force a smile. "Well then, Miss Blaze, we'll take on the role of guides. But keep in mind—Infected are strictly forbidden from entering Lungmen city proper. You'll need to stay hidden and stick close to us…"
"Just call me Blaze."
Tears shimmering in her eyes, Blaze sniffled. "You're Exusiai's fiancé, right? That makes you my brother too. Call me Blaze."
"Hold on!" Lucian snapped. "Who said I'm her fiancé!? I'm not—"
THUD. Exusiai stomped on his foot.
While Lucian twitched in pain, she continued—shy yet smug:
"Come on, Blaze. Lucian and I are Childhood Friends, but we're not at the marriage stage yet. He's just my boyfriend. If you say things like that, you're gonna make me blush."
Blaze's face scrunched up. "So lucky… Childhood Friends are the best! I'm so mad! I need a drink! Exusiai, drink with me! I'm not stopping until you're flat on the table!"
Lucian was still gripping Exusiai's ankle under the table, but everything had already been decided.
Women… were such a pain.