When recounting the reasons, the 'little' thief miss (Rope) suddenly scratched her head sheepishly. In truth, she hadn't wanted to voice this reason at first.
However, she felt that such a reason would be more likely to garner sympathy and recognition from someone kind-hearted who didn't harbor much prejudice against the Infected, rather than just appearing selfish. If one could earn a chance to make five hundred Lungmen Dollars just by acting a bit pitiful, the line of people waiting would likely stretch from here all the way to Chernobog, and maybe even take a turn back to Lungmen.
At this moment, Rope used the corner of her eye to peek at Jeanne's reaction, wanting to know if her efforts would actually land her this job.
"The Infected's conditions are suddenly worsening?"
Rope's words caught Jeanne's attention. Could it be that the reason the Revelation pointed toward the slums was because of this? Or was this merely an unrelated matter? Jeanne wasn't ignorant of how Oripathy worked; such a flare-up meant the disease was rapidly deteriorating.
Yet, even with deterioration, the frequency of flare-ups shouldn't be this high, and it was rare for a group-scale simultaneous outbreak to occur. Nevertheless, she decided to take a look, regardless of whether it was directly related to her current task. She was still a member of Reunion, after all, and couldn't ignore this.
"Alright, consider it my commission for you to lead the way. However, I don't have any cash on hand in Lungmen Dollars. If you trust me, how about I withdraw the money and pay you tonight when things are finished?"
As she spoke, Jeanne didn't wait for Rope's reaction. Instead, she began rummaging through her satchel as if searching for something.
"Sure, it doesn't matter to me when I get paid; paying after the job is done is fine. So, where do you plan to go first? Or is there a specific place related to what you're looking for?"
Rope's eyes immediately lit up upon hearing Jeanne agree. She hadn't expected her luck to be so good today; just a day of guiding could easily earn her five hundred Lungmen Dollars. That was five hundred—enough to buy a whole bar of Pure Gold! If she weren't an Infected right now, she could have taken that money and started a small business.
With that money, even after covering her own food and drink, she could afford to buy some low-quality painkillers. Although they were somewhat addictive and dangerous, for people like them, they were already rare treasures.
"To the place where you live now. The place you mentioned where the Infected are having collective outbreaks. I need to see the condition of those Infected first."
While speaking, Jeanne finally found what she was looking for in her satchel. In the next moment, she tied an armband around her right arm, the long ends fluttering in the wind.
It was an orange-red armband embroidered with black thread in a strange pattern of intersecting spirals, resembling DNA. It was precisely the Reunion symbol that Talulah and the others had designed and produced.
Talulah had taken this off her own arm the night before Jeanne departed. She had told Jeanne to promote Reunion to the Infected of Lungmen if the opportunity arose and to help them. Talulah knew Wei Yenwu very well; the fact that he allowed Infected to live in the slums was already considered an act of mercy. As for how they survived, that wasn't his concern.
At this very moment, "Saintess" Jeanne, who had reached a deal with the Emperor of Ursus, was going offline for a while. In her place stood Jeanne, a cadre of Reunion—an organization dedicated to helping the oppressed Infected. She was here to do what she ought to do: aid the Infected in pain.
In an instant, Jeanne's aura shifted from that of a gentle, kind 'little' girl to something far more mature. Her gaze, once like spring water, became sharp and heroic.
Rope hadn't expected that a mere change in gaze could make it feel like a completely different person was standing there. Yet, this transformation didn't feel abrupt; it felt as though this was how she was meant to be.
"Are you sure you want to go, miss? Looking at you, you must be a non-Infected, right? That area is a concentrated zone for the Infected. If someone accidentally 'pops,' the collateral damage could ruin your life!"
Rope offered a kind warning. Going to an Infected gathering area was a completely different concept from just walking through the slums! In those concentrated zones, one could be scratched by Originium on the ground just by walking. Non-Infected who contracted Oripathy that way were not few in number.
"No need to use formal addresses like 'Master' or 'Miss' when speaking to me. Just 'you' is fine. Or you can just call me by my name, Jeanne."
Jeanne spoke while resting her hands on her hips, looking at Rope who had been using honorifics. Using such formal terms made it feel as though there was a vast distance between them. Jeanne was here now in the name of a Reunion cadre. She should be their comrade, and there was no need for such rules and honorifics between comrades.
"As for the infection issue, don't worry. I have long been prepared for such matters. I believe that contracting Oripathy is something that simply won't happen to me."
"Well, alright then. Please follow me. By the way, you can call me Rope. But please, don't say anything to provoke them regarding the infection. They've become very volatile and irritable because of the disease lately."
Seeing Jeanne insist on going to her hideout, Rope had no choice but to agree. However, she was curious—what did that armband mean? Why did Jeanne put it on and demand to go to the gathering zone the moment she heard about the worsening conditions?
"Jeanne, what is that pattern tied on your arm? I've lived in Lungmen for so many years and I've never seen that thing."
Halfway there, Rope couldn't suppress her curiosity and turned back to ask about the armband.
"This? It's the symbol of our organization. Don't think I'm from some wealthy family; right now, I'm just a cadre in an organization for the Infected."
As she spoke, Jeanne raised her arm so Rope could see the pattern clearly. Hearing it was an "Infected organization," Rope looked at Jeanne with eyes full of disbelief.
In this world, were there actually people who dared to actively approach the Infected? Jeanne's actions truly challenged the worldview Rope had built over the past dozen years.
"Why? You are clearly a non-Infected, so why choose to be with the Infected? Since you aren't one, wouldn't it be better to enjoy a non-Infected life?"
Rope couldn't understand. In her eyes, no matter how poor a non-Infected was, they still had it better than an Infected, simply because they were "just" poor. They could find decent factory jobs, unlike Infected workers who did the dirtiest, hardest, and most exhausting labor for the lowest wages—some even had their wages stolen just because they were Infected.
She couldn't comprehend why a non-Infected with a bright future would insist on meddling in the affairs of the Infected.
"Infected, non-Infected... is there some rule that says one must step on the other for it to be considered 'correct'? Because I want to help the Infected, I chose to join this organization. It's as simple as that."
Jeanne's answer left Rope silent. It wasn't that she agreed with Jeanne, but rather she couldn't think of a reason to refute her view, yet she couldn't accept it either. She could only respond with silence.
Jeanne didn't interrupt her thoughts, quietly following behind. The buildings along the way gradually became more dilapidated, and pedestrians were rarely seen on the streets.
Finally, after walking a considerable distance, Rope led Jeanne to an area that was relatively cleaner than the rest—though "clean" was a very relative term. However, right now, the surroundings felt like a haunted house. The cries of children and the wails of adults rose and fell, creating a vivid sense of a place being haunted.
"It's like this. Looking at them, they've started acting up again. It's been like this for the past few days; every so often, there's a sudden flare-up. We can only wait for the symptoms to ease or for them to stop screaming because they've run out of strength."