Chapter 775: Kaltsit Trembles! A New Crisis on Rhodes Island, the Berserk Specter
Gladiia's gaze locked onto the feline woman before her. "Greetings, manager of Rhodes Island. I am Gladiia, an Abyssal Hunter."
Kaltsit's body felt like melting wax, but she desperately feigned composure, forcing her spine straight. Suppressing the tremor in her throat, she replied, "Kaltsit. Head of the medical department at Rhodes Island."
Gladiia's sharp eyes narrowed slightly. She didn't buy for a second that someone capable of commanding Skadi was merely a common doctor. Still, since Kaltsit offered the title, the Abyssal Hunter captain didn't press the issue.
"Excuse me, Doctor Kaltsit. How is my squad member—another Abyssal Hunter, Laurentina—faring under your care?"
Kaltsit desperately wanted to maintain a serious, professional front while negotiating with an Abyssal Hunter captain. But Ren was making that entirely impossible.
His fingers lazily stroked the sensitive base of her lynx ears, sending relentless waves of tingling, electric heat straight down her spine. Her knees felt weak, completely drained of strength. If she parted her lips to speak, she knew a soft, embarrassing hum would escape instead of words.
For the very first time in her long, storied existence, Kaltsit broke.
She reached up, her trembling fingers gently wrapping around Ren's wrists. She tilted her head back, shooting him a desperate, pleading look. The all-knowing, ancient lynx—a being who had walked the earth for ten thousand years—finally learned what it meant to yield.
As her master, Ren found the sight incredibly pleasing. He didn't mind granting his new pet a small reward for her obedience.
He released his hold, letting his hands drop. Kaltsit immediately pulled her highly sensitive ears away from the fingers that had been mercilessly teasing them. She took a deep, shuddering breath, seizing the chance to recover before her flushed face could betray her absolute embarrassment.
Exhaling slowly, she forcefully locked her mind down, burying the lingering heat under a thick layer of ice. In a matter of seconds, she returned to her usual, detached demeanor—the cold, calculating doctor who cared for nothing and feared no one.
She crossed her arms over her chest and planted her feet slightly apart, her gaze returning to a flat, indifferent stare.
"Laurentina, operating under the codename Specter, is currently undergoing conservative treatment at our Rhodes Island facility," Kaltsit stated, her voice perfectly level.
She didn't need to elaborate on the harsh reality that Oripathy remained entirely incurable. Specter's condition, however, was exceptionally severe even by those grim standards. The massive dose of high-concentration liquid Originium injected directly into her spinal cord had forcibly mutated a proud Abyssal Hunter into a critically infected patient.
Coupled with Specter's violently unstable mental state, suppressing her chaotic outbursts proved exponentially more difficult than managing standard Oripathy sufferers.
Gladiia's expression darkened. "If we take Laurentina away right now, how long can she last?"
Kaltsit's brows knit together. "I strongly advise against removing her from our care. There is no facility on this land capable of curing Specter. Not even your Aegir—assuming that underwater utopia even exists anymore. When it comes to the research and suppression of Oripathy, no organization is more equipped or professional than Rhodes Island."
Kaltsit had multiple motives for her speech. Rhodes Island truly was pouring every available resource into developing Originium suppressants. But beyond that, she desperately wanted to recruit a powerhouse like Gladiia. Although Rhodes Island operated under the guise of a pharmaceutical company, surviving in this brutal world required a formidable private military.
They already boasted anomalous powerhouses like Patriot, but elite Operators were a rare and highly coveted resource. If she could bring Gladiia into the fold, Rhodes Island would secure another massive tactical advantage.
Unfortunately for the ancient lynx, the conversation did not pivot the way she calculated.
Gladiia shook her head, her tone dismissive. "Apologies, Doctor. But I believe we have a far better option."
Skadi stepped forward, bypassing the medical expert entirely to stand directly in front of Ren. She looked up at him, her crimson eyes filled with quiet hope. "Ren... can I ask you to cure Laurentina?"
Kaltsit stared at the scene, her stoic mask cracking. Their target was actually Ren? That meant these Hunters already knew the extent of his terrifying capabilities.
Then, a sudden realization hit Kaltsit like a physical blow. Could a man who casually manipulated the starry sky and treated reality like a playground actually... cure Oripathy? Earlier, she had been too overwhelmed by the sheer, mind-shattering scale of his cosmic power—and subsequently distracted by his relentless teasing of her ears—to properly consider the practical applications of his godhood.
Gladiia spoke up, her voice deep and measuring. "Skadi claims you possess the means to cure Laurentina."
"Curing her is effortless," Ren replied casually, not a trace of hesitation in his voice. He reached out, resting his palm affectionately on top of Skadi's soft silver hair. "But what exactly are you offering in return?"
A wicked smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as he gestured lazily toward the green-haired doctor beside him. "Even this proud Kaltsit offered herself up as my personal pet just to glean a tiny fraction of information about me."
Gladiia blinked, her gaze shifting toward Kaltsit with genuine curiosity.
Kaltsit's eyebrow twitched violently. Yet, she offered no rebuttal, merely giving a stiff, reluctant nod.
'Just to get information...' Gladiia thought, thoroughly surprised that the seemingly rigid doctor possessed such reckless audacity.
The Abyssal Hunter captain knew practically nothing about Ren. She only understood that he wielded a power that defied all logic and reason. She had witnessed merely the absolute tip of the iceberg, and Skadi's absolute faith in his ability to save Specter was the only guarantee she had.
But for Gladiia, that was enough.
"Cure Specter," Gladiia declared, her posture rigid and absolute, "and you may have anything I am capable of giving."
With Aegir's fate entirely unknown, Gladiia's sole driving purpose was the survival of her remaining kin. Skadi and Specter were the only Abyssal Hunters she had managed to locate in this desolate world. She didn't care what price she had to pay to keep them breathing.
Skadi leaned into the warm hand resting on her head, her expression deadpan but her voice entirely sincere. "I can give myself to you, too."
Kaltsit's lips pressed into a thin line. It seemed Rhodes Island was about to lose two incredibly valuable Abyssal Hunters.
However, a spark of intense curiosity ignited within the doctor's chest. She needed to see if Ren could actually achieve the impossible. This was Oripathy—the absolute scourge of Terra. The cosmic visions he had shown her were terrifying, but they lacked the grounded, concrete reality of curing an incurable disease.
As the old saying went: hearing was believing, but seeing was absolute proof.
Ren glanced over at his new pet. "Kaltsit, I assume you wouldn't mind us taking a little trip to Rhodes Island right now?"
Kaltsit paused, her mind calculating the logistics. "Departing Lungmen requires handling a maze of bureaucratic procedures. Chief Executive Wei Yenwu is already highly suspicious of our presence here."
"Bureaucracy is boring," Ren chuckled dismissively. "We'll just skip the commute."
Whoosh.
Without a single ripple of Originium Arts, the four of them vanished completely from the Lungmen streets.
Meanwhile, deep within the armored hull of the Rhodes Island landship.
"Doctor, do you have any idea why Doctor Kaltsit suddenly departed for Lungmen?"
Amiya leaned over the massive desk, her chin resting on her hands. Her long, soft Cautus ears twitched and swayed with restless curiosity. The sudden, unannounced departure of their head medic alongside Skadi had left the entire leadership scratching their heads, and the young leader was no exception.
"I have absolutely no idea," came the muffled, distinctly girlish voice from beneath a heavy, oversized coat.
The Doctor slumped in her chair, her face hidden behind the dark visor of her hood. She didn't particularly care about Kaltsit's mysterious errands right now. She could feel her sanity levels scraping the absolute bottom of the barrel. Groaning softly, the Doctor pushed herself up from the desk, preparing to shuffle off and replenish her sanity.
Just as she stood, the heavy automatic doors to the office hissed open.
A medical Operator sprinted into the room, his face pale and slick with sweat. "Doctor! Amiya! It's a disaster! Specter's condition has violently deteriorated! She's gone completely berserk and is currently tearing the special medical room apart!"
"What?!"
Amiya's bunny ears snapped straight up, rigid with alarm. She shot up from her chair, her gentle demeanor instantly replaced by the hardened resolve of a leader.
"Immediately dispatch all idle elite Operators to the medical wing to suppress her!" Amiya ordered sternly. Specter's unique physiology and terrifying strength meant any containment breach required overwhelming force and extreme caution.
She turned to the cloaked figure beside her. "Doctor, we need to move, now!"
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