Onboard the Rhodes Island.
Kal'tsit sat at her desk, watching Amiya handle the company's daily documents.
The failure of Babel was a heavy blow, but after leaving Kazdel, the Military Commission did not completely eradicate them, which gave them a chance to regroup.
Unfortunately, while Kal'tsit could debate eloquently and held influence across four nations, her talent for business itself was not outstanding.
Tens of thousands of years of dowry and several centuries of accumulated connections were nearly depleted, and she began to consider whether she should awaken the Doctor.
"Forget it, it hasn't come to that yet," Kal'tsit shook her head. "Maybe I can pick up some part-time work in Columbia?"
With that thought, she opened a cabinet and pulled out intelligence reports from the Columbia office.
After reading several insignificant news reports, a Rhine Lab report suddenly made her expression turn serious.
Amiya keenly sensed Kal'tsit's change in mood, so she put down her work and came to Kal'tsit's side.
"Doctor Kal'tsit, has something happened?"
"...No, this weapon shouldn't exist on Terra."
Amiya leaned over, looking at the intelligence report—a large-scale unknown plague outbreak in Trimounts, with the President and local government about to implement a city-wide lockdown.
"Vomiting... diarrhea... skin shedding, and severe internal bleeding. Doctor Kal'tsit, are these new symptoms of Oripathy?"
The physical constitution of the people of Terra was quite robust; large-scale diseases were generally limited to a few types, with Oripathy being the highest priority for consideration.
"It is indeed related to an Originium, but it's not Oripathy."
Kal'tsit knew the symptoms of this disease, but she had never personally witnessed it.
For the Pre-civilization, a minor radiation sickness was laughable.
"Amiya, notify the bridge. Immediately change course and head for Columbia."
"But didn't we just arrange to meet with the Elector of Leithanien to discuss cooperation?"
"Let him wait for a bit," the development of Rhodes Island was important, but this weapon was even more deadly. "Oh, and send a message to the engineering department. I need them to immediately produce a new type of protective suit according to my instructions."
"Understood, Doctor Kal'tsit."
After Amiya left, Kal'tsit sat restlessly in her chair. Soon, she got up and went to the reception room to see if there were any new clues.
"Are there any updates on Clue One?"
"Uh, no, Doctor Kal'tsit."
Kal'tsit bypassed the temporary operator and went to the desk.
"Why is it all Clue Seven?"
...The cruising speed of Rhodes Island was relatively fast among landships. Furthermore, when they received the news, they were not far from Columbia, so they quickly entered Columbian territory.
After successfully connecting to Columbia's intercity network, Kal'tsit began to collect intelligence online.
Amiya had also just finished processing her batch of work. Taking advantage of the break, she opened her terminal to browse the internet and relax a bit.
Columbia's network wasn't as lively as Kazimierz's, but it was certainly more interesting than Leithanien or Sargon's.
"...I am Demon King Theresa. I didn't die in the civil war. V me 50 Originium Ingots. When I overthrow Theresis, I'll make you a Lord..."
Time: This Thursday.
Something that just happened recently?
Seeing someone joke about Theresa, Amiya was very unhappy, so she prepared to follow the network and the author of the post to give them a good lecture.
There was only this one post under this unverified account; it was clearly just a prank.
However, searching for "Theresa resurrected" or "Demon King resurrected" yielded quite a few posts.
These were mainly discussions among people of other races; the Sarkaz people were mostly advising them to maintain respect.
Theresa was as dead as dead could be; this had been declared by the collective souls.
"Doctor Kal'tsit, does this look like Miss Theresa to you?"
Amiya handed the terminal to Kal'tsit; it showed Theresa presiding over a farewell ceremony.
At this time, she was wearing a specially tailored black dress and a black wig, which did not match her usual appearance.
"From the face shape alone, it's almost identical, but I'm not sure if she has a habit of dyeing her hair," Kal'tsit remembered that she had worn a white dress from two hundred years ago and maintained the same attire two hundred years later.
Generally, unless something life-altering happened, the appearance of a Sarkaz would not change.
But she decided to verify it again, so she asked Amiya to call Saria and Silence over.
"Saria, Silence, have you seen these two people in Columbia?"
Silence and Saria took the documents Kal'tsit handed them. The identity column for both individuals stated "Senior Technical Advisor for Columbia and Meland Foundation."
"To become a Senior Technical Advisor, they wouldn't be unknown figures in Columbia's academic circles," Silence said.
"But Silence and I have never heard of a Yan Country person named Xing Chen," Saria had met many Yan Country people studying in Columbia, and Xing Chen gave her a similar feeling. "As for Theresa, isn't she the Speaker of Babel?"
"Alright, I understand the situation now," Kal'tsit nodded; she already had her own deductions. "Next, regarding this nuclear incident, I will be heading to Rhine Lab. Do you want to come along?"
"Nuclear incident? What is that?" Silence seemed to have heard a term she had never encountered before. The official explanation from Columbia for this incident was 'a large-scale disease caused by special Originium.'
"A weapon on this land no less devastating than a Catastrophe."
---
Xing Chen had long anticipated that Rhodes Island would rush to Trimounts to confirm the situation.
His arrangements in Columbia were nearing completion.
Rhine Lab and the Columbia Department of Defense had already classified matters related to enriched uranium and nuclear weapons as state secrets, which Rhodes Island, as a transnational medical company, could not access with its current status.
On another note, he had also met with Kristen and proposed the design concept for a large rocket engine.
Terra had no heavy bombers, and the existence of the Barrier did not support their development.
If one didn't want to create abstract things like nuclear rocket-propelled grenades or nuclear landmines, then the only way to deliver a nuclear bomb was via missile.
And this missile wasn't an ordinary missile; it had to be an anti-ship missile type, possessing armor-piercing capabilities to deliver the nuclear warhead inside a high-speed battleship for detonation.
Who knew how thick a high-standard concrete bunker the defense of a high-speed battleship was equivalent to?
Coincidentally, Kristen had an aerospace dream. Missile engines and aerospace rocket engines shared some commonalities. Xing Chen informed her that once missile technology matured, the development of manned rockets could also be put on the agenda.
"Let's go. We can rest a bit now," Xing Chen walked out of the confidential meeting room. Theresa was waiting for him outside. "Oh, how did your discussion with the Head of Human Resources go?"
"It's settled," Theresa smiled happily, indicating that not only were her original objectives met, but she likely had additional gains. "She has promised to continue running projects like our band after we leave, and she will also help us establish a foundation to improve the treatment of the Sarkaz people within Columbia."
"That's good," Xing Chen took Theresa's hand, and the two walked towards the elevator together.
Just as the elevator doors were about to close, a green figure appeared on the other side of the corridor.
Their eyes met. Xing Chen, dressed as a scholar, and Theresa held hands, smiling as they met the green gaze.
Kal'tsit was stunned for a moment, and then a massive M3 immediately emerged, with such force that it damaged parts of the corridor.
However, even with the speed of a person from Terra, she could not catch up with the descending elevator.
"Doctor Kal'tsit, what just happened?" Amiya was also startled and quickly rushed to comfort Kal'tsit, who had transformed into a Spinosaurus.
"Hiss—M3, come back. I might be... a bit stressed..."