Charlotte looked at the ring of heavy armored vehicles around her, her palms sweaty against the handle of her hammer.
She became even more tense when dozens of broad-shouldered, well-armed Sarkaz jumped down from the vehicles.
Beside her, the hooded figure peeked out curiously from behind her shoulder to get a better look.
The little rabbit being led by the hand behind the hooded figure also tilted her head slightly, peering forward with curiosity.
"Doctor... Sigh, today we're in real trouble," Charlotte swallowed hard as she watched the Sarkaz Mercenaries.
"Wait for my signal. Take Amiya and run toward the woods behind us. Run as far as you can!"
"Leave the rear to me!"
Charlotte cursed her luck in her heart. She had only offered to escort them home out of concern, and she never expected to run into something like this.
"...There's no need to be so nervous," the Doctor said, patting her shoulder. She wasn't actually that afraid.
Mainly, she knew it was impossible for her to be traveling without someone following in the shadows. If these were armed personnel from another nation, it might be tricky, but if they were Sarkaz, Theresa's name still carried a lot of weight.
After all, she and her brother had not yet publicly broken ties.
The Sarkaz of the Mudrock Squad merely glanced at the trio after getting out of their vehicles and then went about their business.
To be honest, the Sarkaz weren't exactly a friendly race. The reason the Mudrock Squad became so reasonable later on was due to years of constant refinement and a unified style; not everyone in this batch of Sarkaz Mercenaries was like that yet.
But when living on the edge, the most important thing was a sharp eye for detail. Who was the financier for this mission?
It was Doctor Bailu! The Divine Doctor! The Miracle Worker!
She could even treat Oripathy, and she was kind-hearted to a fault, having treated over a hundred thousand Infected in Lungmen without charging a single cent!
Even they, these Sarkaz, had been treated by her in passing.
Following someone like that, if you still wanted to commit crimes under her nose... you really had a death wish.
For the Sarkaz, no one recognized the value of such a doctor more than they did, as they were the most susceptible to infection.
Even if she didn't say a word while watching you bully the weak, a single frown from her would make plenty of Sarkaz in the motorcade willing to 'solve' the problem for her.
Who didn't have family or friends these days? And even if you truly didn't, couldn't you find a couple of drinking buddies?
Who wouldn't want their sick loved ones to live a bit more comfortably?
Thus, the Sarkaz Mercenaries were incredibly well-behaved throughout the journey. Normally, if they reached a good camping spot and saw it was already occupied, they'd at least make a show of force to chase the others away.
Even if the area was vast.
But now?
The Sarkaz Mercenaries merely gave a few looks and then began to set up camp in an orderly fashion.
This left Charlotte, who was holding her brush-like war hammer, somewhat dazed.
In the distant woods, Ascalon, who was ready to strike at any moment, blinked in surprise.
Rare. You actually see such a disciplined mercenary team these days?
And looking at the equipment... they clearly weren't short on money.
But why did the people look like such amateurs?
A layman watches for the spectacle, but an expert watches for the technique.
As a disciple personally trained by the Theresa siblings, Ascalon had encountered more than her fair share of mercenary teams.
She'd seen all sorts, but such a strange team was truly a first.
Quite an eye-opener.
Luxurious equipment, but the quality of the personnel was worrying. However, even if they were a bit green, their sense of morality was off the charts for a mercenary team.
"Doctor..." The soft, waxy little rabbit pulled at the Doctor's sleeve. "Who are they...?"
"A band of mercenaries," the Doctor said, watching the mercenaries set up camp without taking her eyes off them. "A very strange band of mercenaries."
"They are strange," Charlotte nodded unconsciously. "It's the first time I've seen such polite Sarkaz... Sigh, but one can't be too careful. Doctor, let's move to another spot."
The Doctor thought for a few seconds. She wanted to say it should be fine, but seeing Charlotte's worried eyes and tense body, she ultimately chose to silently pack up their belongings.
Just then, Xia Yu stepped off the vehicle with Mudrock. With a casual glance, she spotted the tiny camp nearby.
"Who's that...?" she asked, looking at Mudrock.
Mudrock looked at her second-in-command, Iron Pick, who was responsible for clearing the way.
"Oh, just a few scattered travelers," Iron Pick explained. "They arrived before us. Do you feel unsafe? Shall we go and 'ask' them to leave?"
He spoke quite politely, even using the word 'ask'.
Xia Yu turned and took another look at the small camp.
This time, her heart skipped a beat. At a glance, she saw a very familiar hooded figure watching the scene with great interest.
The woman beside her had already packed her things and looked ready to leave.
"...Mudrock!" Xia Yu nearly jumped. "Take your men and surround them! Don't let them get away!"
Talk about an unexpected windfall!
Finding them without even searching!
Hearing this, Mudrock immediately grabbed her great hammer. The surrounding Sarkaz Mercenaries also raised their weapons in a flash, surrounding the bewildered trio within a few sprints.
"What... what's going on?" Charlotte had just finished packing when she was met with this heart-stopping sight. She looked at the Doctor. "Doctor, what did you just do?"
She had been packing, while the Doctor had been staring at these people.
"Huh?" The Doctor was also stunned. "I didn't do anything, I just looked for a bit..."
'Did they only act that way to make us let our guard down?' Charlotte thought instinctively.
But it didn't make sense. Even without the act, the other side had fifty or sixty people, while her side had two deadweights. They could win easily just by charging.
There was no need for such schemes.
This was bad.
Charlotte anxiously tried to find a breakthrough in the circle, but the surrounding Sarkaz Mercenaries were no pushovers.
"Don't worry," the Doctor patted her shoulder, sensing her unease. "I should have a bit of 'face' with the Sarkaz."
At that moment, Ascalon, who was currently the keeper of that 'face', watched in dumbfounded silence as the Sarkaz suddenly changed their demeanor.
No, how could your transition be so smooth? But what for?
Just as she was about to step forward, the mercenaries made a move.
A girl emerged from the center of the Sarkaz Mercenaries, surrounded like a princess.
"Why so serious?" Xia Yu said with a smile. "Put your weapons down and go cook a feast. I want to entertain guests."
The surrounding Sarkaz put their weapons away one after another, but they didn't leave their positions.
Only the chef left.
"Miss," Charlotte plucked up her courage and spoke. "I don't believe we've done anything to offend you?"
"I suppose not?" Xia Yu walked straight over, watching them as they barely dared to breathe.
The surrounding mercenaries were quite calm, not worried at all about her being taken hostage.
"Only... what are you doing?" Xia Yu stood before the three of them, frowning as she looked at the Doctor, who was returning her gaze with curiosity. "How did the plan have such a massive oversight?"
"Huh?" The Doctor was completely floored. What plan? What oversight?
Also, do we know each other?
After hearing those words, the alert Sarkaz visibly relaxed a little.
Charlotte was also shocked.
"You know her?" She turned to the Doctor.
"I don't!" The Doctor was certain she didn't know her.
"You don't know me?" Xia Yu put on an expression as if she had just heard a ridiculous tall tale. "Are you serious? You don't know me?"
The Doctor looked at the dragon horns on her forehead, then at the tail behind her, and shook her head with absolute certainty.
"I really don't know you, Miss."
There was no such person among her colleagues back then!
"Heh, don't know me?" Xia Yu looked as if she were laughing from anger. "Playing that game with me, are you?"
"Since you don't know me, do you know Priestess?"
At this, the Doctor's attitude finally turned serious. "Little... um, Goddess, where did you hear the name Priestess?"
"Do I need to 'hear' it from somewhere?" Xia Yu looked incredulous. "Priestess... has your brain really gone soft? How can you ask me if I know Priestess?"
"Even if we weren't in the same project group, we at least shared a common identity! Is it necessary to pretend you don't know me?"
Now, it was the Doctor's turn to panic.
She carefully recalled every important detail in her mind. Right, there definitely wasn't such a person!
"We really don't know each other, right?"
Her tone was actually a bit hesitant!
"You just can't accept it... fine, that's your business," Xia Yu curled her lip. "Prophet, what have you been doing all these years?"
"Look at the situation now. The Horizon Arc's status is unknown and can't be contacted. The Preservationist has lost his power supply. The Deep Blue Tree... has also been dug up. The situation is getting worse and worse."
"And what about you? What about your plan with her?" Xia Yu looked as if she were demanding an explanation. "As you can see, this has completely diverged from your original intent. Heaven knows what's happened to them over the years."
"It's simply ridiculous. Couldn't you have left someone to watch the door when you made the plan? Look at how distorted everything has become!"
The Doctor became even more confused.
She truly racked her brains but couldn't figure out who this person was.
But those specific technical terms didn't sound fake at all.
In an instant, the Doctor thought of many things.
But Xia Yu clearly didn't intend to give her much time to overthink.
"So, what exactly is wrong with you?"
"I... I don't know?" The Doctor stammered. "Perhaps I have face blindness?"
She truly didn't know what was happening.
"Also, what on earth happened? How could your test subjects lose control like this?"
Even so, the Doctor still couldn't remember who she was.
"I don't know," the Doctor gave her go-to answer.
You have to understand, if you're walking alone and someone suddenly greets you, but you can't for the life of you remember who they are... that feeling is a real torment.
The Doctor said awkwardly, "As for why... I'm also investigating the cause."
She was lying.
She had been wandering around these days, and the traces of her travels were quite obvious.
"There's something wrong with you," Xia Yu said directly, looking at her with suspicion. "You haven't really lost part of your memory, have you?"
"Ha, how could that be," the Doctor chuckled, avoiding a direct answer.
Mostly, she was starting to doubt if her own memory was actually wrong.
There was no helping it; the person opposite her was too confident, appearing perfectly normal.
"What is my name?" Xia Yu suddenly threw out a question.
"This... well..." The Doctor smiled awkwardly. "I truly have forgotten..."
"You can't just lose your memory for no reason, especially the kind where you don't even notice it," Xia Yu said flatly. "Is it another conflict between you and her?"
"Well..." The Doctor chuckled, clearly not wanting to mention that person.
"I see, it must be," Xia Yu acted as if she had just had a realization. "I knew you weren't such a cold person."
The Doctor still felt something was off.
But the other party was critiquing a series of plans; clearly, she had to be very familiar with them.
"So why are you here?" Xia Yu came to her side. Under Charlotte's wary gaze, she pinched little Amiya's cheek. "Weren't you supposed to wake up much later?"
"It was Kal... no, it was AMA-10. She woke me up."
"You were going to say Kal'tsit, weren't you," Xia Yu glanced at her. "It's fine. I've had plenty of contact with her over the years. Stubborn as a mule."
"Oh? Where did this child come from?" As soon as she pinched little Amiya's cheek, Xia Yu fell in love with the feel of it. "How can she be so cute?"
"Th... thank you?" Amiya nodded blankly.
So, sister, who are you?
The Doctor was double-checking her mental records, but she simply couldn't find who this person was.
"Right, since she woke you up, why are you here?" Xia Yu acted helpful. "The public security around here has been very poor lately."
"Where is she?"
"Kal'tsit is waiting for me to return to Babel," the Doctor said, testing her as things felt more and more bizarre. "She's had a hard time these years."
"Indeed," Xia Yu nodded indifferently. "She has indeed worked very hard."
"Right, since you're back, you can handle the matters regarding Oripathy," Xia Yu said seriously. "Honestly, what did you two do to make it turn out like this?"
"I don't know?" The Doctor was also beginning to mutter to herself.
The mission back then wasn't like this. It was meant to plant Originium to take root on the planet, then consume everything on the surface while everyone hid in the Internalized Universe.
But after she woke up, her heart sank.
Where did all these demi-humans come from?
I remember Terra was a planet that no one thought much of back then?
How is it that now...
The Doctor's head was full of questions.
Xia Yu turned back and told the mercenaries to go back to what they were doing.
Hearing this, the attitude of Mudrock and the mercenaries softened.