A fire consumed the contaminated grove, and the three continued their journey.
Although the Imperial Guard had appeared nearby, they weren't necessarily looking for Xing Chen and Theresa (the two had indeed brought boundless flowers to attract the Imperial Guard), let alone an ordinary shieldguard.
The Ursus Empire was vast, and its rulers had many issues to consider; their attention was limited, so it was impossible for them to keep a close watch on just the two of them.
Perhaps their status in the eyes of the Ursus rulers was even lower than Talulah's.
Xing Chen had done many things in his own country, but apart from those close to him (either through personal relationships or research), who might consider him a somewhat capable scholar, most people didn't even know who he was.
A few individuals at the top might notice him, but the will of the nation certainly would not.
Much of the attention he currently received was either from influential friends like Yu Bo or a little bit of his mentor's prestige.
To make a national-level will recognize an individual, you either had to be worth two towers or five divisions.
Xing Chen and Theresa were nowhere near that in either world.
“You two, something seems a bit off,” Ivan, who was responsible for observing the surroundings, suddenly called out to the two.
“What's wrong? What happened?” Theresa also observed for a bit, but besides there being a few too many soldiers, she didn't detect any problems.
They were now very close to the town; Xing Chen could even see the double-headed eagle emblem hanging on the city wall with his naked eye.
He also sensed that something was amiss.
“What have you both found? Speak,” Seeing that neither Xing Chen nor Ivan reacted, Theresa started thinking, and finally, she also discovered the anomaly.
As a regional energy hub, there should have been many merchants and travelers coming and going, but on the road now, apart from soldiers, there was only their group.
“I haven't seen their insignia before; they definitely aren't troops from the Western Cluster.”
“Stop! The road ahead is blocked.”
Several Ursus soldiers suddenly appeared. Xing Chen and Theresa raised their hands, and then Ivan went to negotiate.
The shieldguard's status was much higher than that of ordinary soldiers, giving him a natural advantage in negotiations.
Ivan explained that he was a shieldguard on leave, needing to resupply in this city. Theresa and Xing Chen were Columbia travelers they met on the road, and they were traveling together because their paths aligned.
“Infected?” The inspecting soldier glanced at Theresa, then compared her passport with those from Columbia and Victoria. “Go in, be honest, and don't go to crowded places unnecessarily.”
Then, the three entered the city, with unbelievable ease.
After a distance from the checkpoint, Theresa whispered that Ursus didn't seem to be so ruthless towards the Infected after all.
“Perhaps because we have dual identities from Columbia and Victoria?” Xing Chen speculated.
“What you said has some truth, but it's not entirely accurate,” Ivan explained to the two. “All Infected have only two fates: to be sent to centralized factories or mines.”
However, this city happened to be built right on an Oripathy-formed ore vein.
For the Infected, stepping out meant entering their own place of exile. Here, they had their relatives, friends, and colleagues, and could receive much more care than in the icefield mines.
Because of this, a relatively lenient management atmosphere formed here, and some nobles and wealthy merchants would also send their Infected relatives here.
However, even if the living environment was much better, the profession of an Oripathy miner was simply not long-lived.
“No wonder Klonny could manage to stay in Ursus for a few years.”
Xing Chen did not plan to stay in this city for long; he intended to complete his resupply as quickly as possible and then leave swiftly.
As for Oripathy patients not being allowed on the streets?
If I don't expose my Oripathy crystals, how would you know I'm an Oripathy patient?
Oh, Theresa is a Sarkaz.
There was no other way. Xing Chen could only divide the tasks: supplies that could only be collected in normal markets were left to Ivan, while those that could be found in the Infected gathering area would be handled by Xing Chen and Theresa.
After agreeing on a meeting point with Ivan, the two walked towards the quarantine zone.
For convenience of work, the Infected gathering area was very close to the mine entrance.
The quarantine zone and the ordinary living area were separated by an unguarded high wall.
At regular intervals along the high wall, there was an unmanned watchtower, and near the tower, there were gates allowing people to pass through.
The number of gates was limited, and many people communicated through them. Interestingly, everyone tacitly queued up.
“It seems it's not as bad as imagined?” Theresa followed behind an Ursus person wearing an air filter; he should not be Infected.
“This is the benefit of everyone following the rules.” In front of Xing Chen was an Infected person, who deliberately maintained a significant distance from those in front, behind, and to his sides.
Xing Chen didn't know how long this state had lasted; it would only take a few rule-breakers for this place to become a completely different scene.
Crossing the high wall, visible Oripathy particles immediately appeared in the air.
Several bodies of Infected were hung on the high wall, with signs on them crookedly displaying a few Ursus words.
“Judging by the wounds, it doesn't look like weapons from the Ursus army or the Infected Control Squad.”
“That's why I said the order here is relatively stable.”
Very close to the high wall, there was a market. Theresa went to purchase supplies, while Xing Chen wandered beside her.
Infected communities usually didn't have anything good, but he saw a brand new hospital here.
“Senko Oncology Hospital.” Below the Ursus name, there were also names in Victorian and some other core-circle languages.
Theresa completed her task with extreme efficiency and brought him some interesting things.
“Ta-da! Tumor inhibitors. I thought you'd be interested?”
“Tumor inhibitors?” Xing Chen was a bit puzzled.
“Isn't cancer a very dangerous disease where you come from? Just like our Oripathy.”
“Do many people here get cancer?” Xing Chen wasn't very convinced by this item.
Theresa was a little disappointed by Xing Chen's indifferent attitude, but she quickly shook off that emotion.
“By the way, Xing Chen, we might need to find a way to leave this city.” Theresa brought very bad news. “Due to the increase in cancer cases recently, the local lord has issued a lockdown order.”
“Is it really locked down? Then how did we get in so easily?”
“Cancer isn't as dangerous as Oripathy,” Theresa waved her hands. “At least the former isn't contagious.”
“Then have you considered why a non-contagious disease would suddenly see an increase in cases in a short period?”
Perhaps, for the people of Terra, cancer and tumors truly weren't a big problem.
Who would worry about a disease that would kill them years or even decades later, amidst a disaster-ridden environment that could take their lives at any moment?