The current comrcial operations of Rhine Lab were still underdeveloped—far from the bustling activity Felix had envisioned, filled with a flood of orders. Aside from a handful of military research contracts that provided decent compensation, most of the researchers were engrossed in projects driven by personal interest, dedicating little energy to comrcial ventures.
Of course, Felix wasn't in a rush. He knew Rhine Lab would eventually find its footing. In the anti, he continued dismantling and inspecting the Patrol unit, refining its design to improve controllability. He removed its original firearm functions and replaced them with modules for power endurance, Originium contamination detection, and other exploratory enhancents.
These modified Patrol units could be marketed to frontier explorers—and even more so, to players eager to explore the wilderness. By removing race and support-class restrictions, Felix ensured that even non-Sakota players could equip them. With no major wars currently underway, players were pouring their enthusiasm into hunting wild beasts like the claw beasts. So of them began to take interest in the land itself, stepping into the unknown like true pioneers, eager to map out everything they saw.
And amid their exploration, they discovered sothing that made even the "NPCs" feel a chill down their spines.
A Sarkaz player was killed in battle. The unit captain had already recorded the casualty, but when he looked up—there stood the sa "rcenary," sliced in half just monts before, now perfectly alive.
"What the hell?!"
The bewildered captain, unsure of reality, imdiately filed a report to his superiors. His conclusion? "It's suspected that the outsider possesses an immortal-type Originium skill."
The Sarkaz began to realize sothing was off. Since the war's onset, tens of thousands of Sarkaz had suddenly appeared—strangers no one had ever seen before. They claid to be from isolated villages, completely ignorant of history or current affairs. Strangely, they were all young n and won. Not a single one of them was Infected.
This anomaly had already caused the upper echelons of both warring factions to frown. But soon, they noticed another peculiarity: these outsiders voluntarily joined both sides' armies, forming small rcenary squads and diving into the battlefield.
These outsiders were weak—barely a match for common rcenaries—yet their courage was absurdly fierce.
And now, here was the result, plain to see.
"This mission ca down to us. Huh, it was actually issued by the Kazdel Military Committee—our direct superior. What do we do? Do we take it?" asked the deputy captain of the Dynasty team, Kachimake, who had allied with Theresis. He scratched his head. "They're offering a ton of LMD, but it's a solo mission. We can't go in as a team."
The Kazdel Military Committee, a governing body organized by Theresis, had been established to resist foreign interference and oversee the construction of the mobile city essential for Kazdel's revival. Now that the war with Theresa had broken out, the Committee had evolved into a full-fledged military authority, holding absolute power on Theresis's side.
"I received it too."
The mbers of the Dynasty Team spoke up one after another. Huang Tian Hou Tu remained silent for a mont. Lately, he had noticed that their rcenary leader's attitude toward them had beco sowhat unusual. He wasn't particularly adept at reading into the storyline and preferred not to overthink things. After all, as professional players, their focus should be on getting stronger.
"Let's go check it out," Captain Huang Tian Hou Tu finally decided. "The rewards are generous, and it's a fixed-location triggered mission. These money alone are enough for us to trade for new equipnt."
At that thought, he couldn't help but sigh. As a player, he often browsed the forums to kill ti. He had seen the posts about a Sankta pioneer who was giving out rewards to new players. It would be a lie to say he wasn't jealous. While his Dynasty Team was fighting on the front lines every day—The Sarkaz waking up to hallucinated battle cries of WAAAAAAAGGGGGH!—others were enjoying a peaceful farming experience like Stardew Valley. anwhile, they were dumped straight into Mount and Blade... except these Sarkaz didn't even have horses.
It was unrealistic to expect that the novice ntor would ever co to Kazdel. From what he'd heard from other players, Laterano and Kazdel had a blood feud. If the pioneer had even half a brain, he wouldn't step foot in Kazdel.
Still, he couldn't help but covet the gear being sold by that pioneer. Sure, there was no shortage of quests to do in Kazdel, and PVP also yielded decent experience—but the deaths were piling up. Over the past few days, several mbers of the Dynasty Team had already started losing experience points. It was ti to stop taking those lucrative, high-risk battlefield missions and focus on safer logistics and supply quests.
"Are all of them players here?"
Upon arriving at the designated eting point, Huang Tian Hou Tu noticed that over fifty Sarkaz players had gathered in a small square. When they saw the Dynasty Team arrive, they lowered their voices and exchanged glances.
After a short wait, a group of figures appeared not far from the square—dozens of individuals clad in black robes, wearing eerie golden masks, and wielding dark, twisted staffs. The mont the players laid eyes on them, their scalps tingled. Soone quickly cast a reconnaissance skill.
[[Confessarius]] (Red)
"Crap, it's a red danger level!"
"Why aren't they saying anything? Are they shy?"
"What the hell is going on?"
One bold player took a few steps forward—only to stagger and collapse to the ground a mont later.
"Shit! Brothers, grab your weapons!"
Seeing these mysterious figures suddenly attack one of their own, the players shouted in anger. So prepared to retaliate, while others turned to flee. Huang Tian Hou Tu and Kachimake exchanged glances—they knew they couldn't win this fight.
They were getting ready to run.
But just as they were about to flee, a ntal spell was cast.
[ntal Judgnt Failed — You have fallen into a coma]
One by one, the players collapsed. The Confessarius calmly stepped forward and began dragging the unconscious bodies into the infirmary.
That was when the Confessarius noticed sothing strange—they couldn't remove the players's underwear, no matter how hard they tried. Were these foreigners born with it on? How did they even reproduce?
Even stranger, the Confessarius soon discovered that prolonged contact with these outsiders caused them to vanish on the spot. They wouldn't reappear until nearly an hour later. What was happening? Could these people possess so sort of Originium-based teleportation?
The Confessarius had been commissioned by the Kazdel Military Committee to investigate the nature of these outsiders—which, of course, included dissection. When they cut into one of the bodies, it bled as expected. But the wound emitted a soft white glow, and they couldn't clearly make out any muscle tissue or internal organs. Not long after, the player used as a test subject "died" and disappeared from the operating table. Nearly an hour later, he reappeared—fully alive and awake.
"Fuck you!"
"You're fucking dead!"
The Confessarius couldn't understand a word of what the furious player was shouting. They simply used Originium arts again, and the player collapsed once more.
The Confessarius observed carefully. Aside from the players' apparent immortality, they discovered that the outsiders' souls could not be detected. Originium techniques had no asurable response on them—it was like casting a stone into the ocean. Aside from their inability to die and reproduce, they had no other remarkable traits. In fact, they were remarkably weak.
A day later, over fifty players walked out of the infirmary completely unscathed. The Confessarius looked at one another. Even after years of experience on this strange land, they found themselves at a loss for explanation.
"Report… we have new data on the outsiders. Just how many of them have appeared in this land?" the Confessarius muttered amongst themselves before departing one by one.
The players, at first furious about being used as test subjects—especially those who lost a significant amount of experience points from the ordeal—soon cald down after receiving a hefty sum of coins and experience as compensation. In the end, dying once didn't seem like such a big deal after all.
Huang Tian Hou Tu didn't care about the attitude of the Kazdel Military Committee. As long as there was work, and as long as it brought money and experience, that was all that mattered. Still, one thought lingered in his mind.
"I need to talk to the coach about the importance of spirit resistance stats. Otherwise, it'll be a huge problem when facing Casters next ti."
Kachimake nodded in agreent. The Dynasty Team returned to their usual routine—so heading to the front lines, others focusing on logistics.
In the days that followed, the Theresis Army began to adjust its mission strategy. They deliberately deployed those undying foreigners against the enemy's own undead forces. After all, death carried a heavy cost—it lowered overall combat effectiveness, and if the fallen had family, compensation would be required. But if the outsiders couldn't die, why not let them fight each other?
Theresa's forces soon uncovered the sa truth: the mysterious outsiders could not die. However, unlike Theresis's faction, they conducted no dissections. After internal discussion, they accepted this new developnt on the battlefield. An undead army fighting another undead army? That was perfectly reasonable.
Yet one question lingered on both sides: Where will these undead foreigners eventually go?
If such immortal beings were to turn against them, they would make terrifying enemies—cannon fodder with no fear of death. But for now, both sides judged them too weak to pose a real threat. Recruiting them would be pointless. Feeding them just for show would be a waste.
Immortality ant little in the face of overwhelming power. Even the most reckless undead extrovert could be crushed without consequence.
After this incident was posted on the forums, players across the ga praised the experience. Many marveled at how realistic it all felt—even the NPCs seed slightly afraid of them. So of the "guinea pig" volunteers boasted about how they were knocked out by Casters, proudly showing off their mission completion reports. The sheer number of LMD they earned made others green with envy.
And so, the Kazdel civil war opened a new battlefield. It beca the first large-scale player-versus-player (PvP) conflict. Though players wielded crude military clubs and short blades, they enjoyed themselves imnsely, fighting day after day. Their rivalry spilled over into the forums as well—verbal sparring accompanying every in-ga duel. For Sarkaz players, this was a dream fulfilled. This wasn't just idle conflict—it was real, satisfying hand-to-hand combat!
Naturally, so Caster-class players were thrilled. Reading the others' posts about how terrifying Casters were, they fantasized about casting a single skill to knock out enemies instantly. Wouldn't it be amazing if Casters had a spell—or app—that could put enemies into a hypnotic state…? Sadly, there wasn't one. What a pity.
---
Felix was browsing the forum. Though both Theresis and Theresa's forces currently looked down on the players due to their low strength, they had started extending olive branches to a select few. After all, if these immortal outsiders could be properly trained, they might beco lethal, unrelenting killers on the battlefield.
However, both sides clearly underestimated the nature of players. For them, loyalty was tied to benefits. They'd go wherever the rewards were greater. Sentint and loyalty didn't feed you—and couldn't be exchanged for gear.
These rival factions were Felix's competitors. That was why he adopted a two-pronged strategy toward the players: on one hand, he had to offer more lucrative benefits to attract them; on the other, he needed to win their hearts. He needed them to admire his charisma and charm—needed them to feel a sense of honor in following him.
For this reason, Felix could not afford to relax for even a mont.
In March, Rhine Lab welcod a new senior researcher: Ferdinand Clooney. His expertise lay in the utilization of various known heat sources—such as Originium, solar energy, geothermal activity, and biological energy—as well as the thods for storing and applying them. Naturally, a welco party was held in his honor.
The youthful and composed Ferdinand sat to the side, sipping wine with restraint as he discussed the technical challenges of his current project with Felix, and the "old goat."
When the familiar strains of traditional Leithanien music began to play, Ferdinand approached Saria and invited her to dance. She did not refuse.
Following Ferdinand's lead, Felix soon found himself dancing with three different won. As expected, the ending of every welco party seed to echo Victoria's cocktail receptions.
In the days that followed, Felix finally deciphered the "peaceful" operation mode of the Patroller drone. He temporarily nad the refined model "Pathfinder." This modified aircraft had a reduced maximum flight height of just eight ters. Equipped with exploration tools and miniature robotic arms, it was designed to operate efficiently even in extre environnts—all controllable via a handheld remote.
Naturally, Felix customized a Pathfinder specifically for Muelsyse. This special unit included a thermal imaging module, an automated watering and patrol system, and an air composition analysis module. Felix and Muelsyse had collaborated on this module together—after all, ecology was not Felix's field of expertise.
During a small internal eting at Rhine Lab, Felix stood before the others, holding a controller that resembled a gapad. The Pathfinder hovered above the conference room as he gave his presentation.
Drawing inspiration from corporate dramas, Felix had prepared a full PowerPoint presentation. He explained the machine's developnt from concept to execution, even delving into topics like fluid dynamics—of which only a handful of attendees besides Kristen could grasp even the basics.
Ferdinand gave a subtle nod of approval. Ahrens gently stroked his trimd beard with a smile. Muelsyse's eyes sparkled with interest. Saria wore a faint smile. Kristen watched the drone in flight with a quiet sense of longing, while Yara typed diligently at her terminal, recording all the key points.
The atmosphere felt much like one of the Maylander Foundation's high-level etings. Felix, dressed in a white lab coat emblazoned with Rhine Lab's logo, kept his presentation precise and efficient.
After finishing the main demonstration, Felix handed the controller to the senior mbers so they could try out the various features and test the modules themselves.
"We could send an invitation to the Pioneer Association for this prototype," Yara suggested.
Before developing any product, it was crucial to determine the target audience—ask them what they truly needed and what problems they faced in the field. This was a vital step in research. After hearing the product's specifications and features, Yara believed the Pioneer Association would be very interested. After all, their guiding principle was safety first, and no pioneer wanted to risk Originium infection on the job.
Felix nodded. Mass production orders could be outsourced entirely to Raythean Industries. This company was known for its discretion—it would never leak client designs—and had a longstanding reputation, having worked with both large and small firms across Columbia. It was a na he could trust.
Ultimately, the final market value of the Colombian gold certificates would depend on the outco of the negotiations.
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