After Hoederer and the others temporarily joined the Reunion Movement, Lucas specifically instructed everyone to remember to monitor Hoederer's group at all times, paying closest attention to the transmission of information.
This wasn't a Mobile City, so there was no network. The only other way to send intelligence was through letters, which provided an opportunity for supervision.
At the same time.
Lucas's consciousness returned to Rhodes Island, arriving at Kal'tsit's adjacent office.
Pushing the door open, a faint floral scent lingered in Kal'tsit's office. Kal'tsit herself was sitting at her desk, frowning and exhausted, deep in thought. The instant the door opened, the expression on her face vanished, replaced by her usual coldness.
"Why didn't you knock..."
Kal'tsit's voice was stern, as if questioning the Doctor.
"I did knock."
Lucas smiled. "I didn't expect even you to look so worried, Dr. Kal'tsit. I thought you had no other expression besides that icy look."
"Hmph!"
Kal'tsit snorted coldly.
"Spit it out. What do you want? I highly doubt you came here just to chat."
"What if I did just come to chat?"
Lucas smiled, in no hurry to ask the question on his mind.
When talking to this kind of Riddler and her cold face, you couldn't be too straightforward. Going along with her too much would just get you painfully rebuffed by Kal'tsit's 'Riddler' talent. Of course, other Operators didn't need to learn from Lucas, because if any other Operator tried this, they'd probably end up hanging from the mast on the deck.
"....."
Kal'tsit hadn't expected Lucas to make such a playful remark. Her expression flickered slightly before hardening again as she retorted icily.
"Just say what you need to. I'm busy."
Kal'tsit couldn't even be bothered to speak in riddles.
Lucas got down to business. "No more joking around, Kal'tsit. Do you know Hoederer?"
"?"
Kal'tsit froze.
She hadn't expected Lucas to ask this question.
She didn't answer Lucas's question, asking one of her own instead.
"How do you know that name?"
"He was in the files you had Amiya give me. It was just a name, though, no other information. There was also W, and Ines. It seems W was also at Babel back then, right? How come she's not at Rhodes Island? I remember quite a few Operators here were former Babel members."
This was the reason Lucas came up with. He couldn't possibly tell Kal'tsit that his soul fragment had met Hoederer in the Reunion Movement.
"Are you suggesting we abandoned our comrades?"
Kal'tsit started jumping to conclusions.
"Something like that."
Lucas took the opportunity.
"I remember ACE, Scout, Amiya, and many others were from Babel..."
Kal'tsit seemed to recall something, and her gaze toward the Doctor turned cold.
"W, Hoederer, and Ines were once a team, all mercenaries from Kazdel. W later joined Babel, staying by Theresa's side and becoming our colleague. But Hoederer and Ines never joined; they just continued to work with Babel as mercenaries. Later... you probably don't remember."
"Theresa died... she was assassinated..."
When she said the word "died," Kal'tsit's gaze toward Lucas turned sharp and harsh, but she concealed it again a moment later.
"W was a follower of Theresa. After learning Theresa was assassinated, W left Babel to hunt down the mercenaries involved in the assassination. Later... you should know this from Amiya, Babel was no more... Rhodes Island was founded. We couldn't find W when we left."
"Thanks for the explanation."
Lucas smiled faintly and stood up to leave. Just as he was about to turn away, he suddenly remembered something and teased her.
"Kal'tsit, let me ask you a question. I asked Amiya this before, and I want to compare your answers."
"Not interested."
Kal'tsit lowered her head, her tone icy.
"If, one day, Oripathy could be cured, and the Infected could shed their status as Infected... what would you do? Retire? Or find a man, get married, and have kids?"
Lucas said half-jokingly, but was met with Kal'tsit's cold reply.
"Get out!"
"Just kidding."
Lucas smiled, turned, and left. The moment before the door closed, Kal'tsit finally spoke.
"War will not disappear. Even if Oripathy vanishes, war will continue. This so-called Oripathy is just a medium. So, even if Oripathy disappears, Rhodes Island will still have a new mission."
"That's about what Amiya said. I'm leaving."
Lucas closed the door and left.
After confirming he wouldn't come back in, the ice-like armor on Kal'tsit's face relaxed slightly.
She stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the night, slowly murmuring to herself.
"I really envy you, Doctor. You've forgotten everything. At least now you can rest for a while without any worries. This land is weeping, trembling, yet the people on it are unaware, lost in their own desires. Theresa died for her ideals, Theresis fights for his... At least we have new hope, Doctor."
As expected.
W was once part of Babel. But after Theresa's death, W left. As for why she was with Hoederer again over a year later, and even came to the Reunion Movement, it could only mean they had other motives. After all, according to Kal'tsit's introduction, Hoederer and Ines are both mercenaries...
Mercenaries?
By definition, they follow a client's orders.
So, there must be a client behind them who deliberately sent them to the Reunion Movement. And this client is actively monitoring Reunion. It's basically confirmed that Hoederer's intentions aren't pure.
However.
What bothered Lucas most was what Kal'tsit said about Theresa's death.
Lucas didn't know how Theresa died. In his fragmented memories, he only remembered that Theresa was dead, but not how. According to Kal'tsit, she died at the hands of a team of assassinating mercenaries.
Is that possible?
Is that possible?!!
No matter how you think about it, it seems impossible.
Mercenaries just assassinated Theresa like that? She was a princess! Unless every one of those mercenaries was outstanding, possessing the strength of an Emperor's Blade. But W went to hunt those assassins after Theresa died, and W's strength... from what Lucas sensed, it was average. At best, she's elite, but that's the limit.
To be killed by a single Elite Operator like W, it means the individual strength of those mercenaries wasn't even at the elite level. They could only be considered high-level operators.
So it doesn't make sense at all.
Combining this with the faint smile Theresa gave him before she died (in his memory), Lucas had a bold guess. Theresa's death wasn't an accident; it was premeditated. Considering his past self, the 'Doctor', was a top-tier strategist who could force a 50/50 stalemate against Theresis's level-18, six-god-item army using a level-1 starter-equipment army, it was hard not to suspect that Theresa's death... might have also just been part of a plan.
A plan that, perhaps, even Kal'tsit herself didn't know about.
Otherwise, she wouldn't hate him so much.
In other words.
Why Theresa died, what the purpose was... possibly only his former 'Doctor' self knew.
However.
The 'Ghost Doctor' from the past was gone, all memories wiped, leaving only a god named Lucas. This was equivalent to saying no one in this world knew why Theresa died. It's not like they could resurrect her and ask, right? Besides, she's gone, how could she be resurrected?
Lucas stopped thinking about this, returned to the Reunion Movement, and summoned Patriot and the others to the meeting hall. As for surveillance, he left it to the Shieldguards. The Shieldguards were all battle-hardened veterans; monitoring a group of Sarkaz mercenaries was easy.
"Mr. Reeve, is something wrong?"
Patriot's group asked in confusion after being called in.
"Yes, there is."
Lucas smiled mysteriously.
He immediately possessed Patriot's body. Patriot didn't resist. The others didn't know what Lucas wanted to do and just stood there, watching quietly.
After occupying Patriot's body, Lucas placed a hand on his chest.
Immediately, Patriot's crimson eyes turned black, and a golden light shimmered in their depths.
Golden runes lit up around Patriot's body, instantly winding around the hand on his chest.
Divine power and Originium energy are different.
The power of gods is divine power; the power of mortals is Originium energy,
The two types of power are on completely different levels.
Divine power is far superior to Originium energy. It was just as Lucas had seen with his special vision: Originium energy was generally dark red mixed with black, while divine power came in various colors.
'Rules' belong only to gods. Therefore, to fully utilize a 'Rule', divine power is required as the medium. Although Originium energy could barely be used, it was like putting a small car engine in a large truck—it really couldn't handle the load.
The golden light lasted for a long time, and everyone just watched quietly.
It lasted for about ten minutes.
The massive amount of Originium energy in Patriot's body was completely drained by Lucas's 'Rule' before it stopped. It had to be said, even someone as strong as Patriot was completely incapable of perfectly activating a 'Rule'.
Lucas left Patriot's body and returned to Alina's side.
The others around them might not have known what changed in Patriot.
But Patriot himself was utterly shocked. "Shocked" wasn't even enough to describe it. His heart, which had been silent for so long, could even be described as "agitated."
He quickly deactivated the Raythean Industries power armor he was wearing, revealing his terrifying Wendigo body.
Now.
It wasn't just Patriot who was shocked.
Talulah, FrostNova, and Alina were also speechless, their mouths slightly agape.
"This... Senior Patriot, you!!"
At this moment.
On Patriot's chest, collarbones, and indeed his whole body, the number of Originium crystals had noticeably decreased! They had originally covered more than half his body, but now the Originium crystals on other parts of his body had disappeared, leaving only a few core lesion areas.
"My Oripathy... seems to have lessened considerably."
Patriot said slowly.
"!!!!"
The most agitated among them was FrostNova.
As his daughter, although she didn't say much on a daily basis, she definitely worried about Patriot's health. After all, her father's Oripathy was too, too severe. Even with a Wendigo's constitution, he was likely already struggling to bear it, but there was nothing they could do. Although Lucas had periodically given the Reunion Movement Oripathy suppression medication, these drugs had no effect on Patriot, and barely any on FrostNova herself. Their illnesses were too advanced.
Now...
The Originium crystals on Patriot's body were receding. This meant...
Everyone turned their gaze to Lucas in unison.
Lucas smiled faintly. "Don't forget, I am a god. While my current energy can't provide a complete cure, I have a way to completely suppress Oripathy."
"...."
The meeting hall fell silent for a long time. No one spoke, perhaps because Lucas's words were simply too shocking.
Finally.
FrostNova said excitedly, "Really? Mr. Reeve?"
"Really."
"That's wonderful!!!"
Alina couldn't help but hug Lucas. If this was true, everyone in the Reunion Movement could be saved! For so long, even with medication, some people had still died from Oripathy. These were her compatriots. Every death pained Alina's heart.
Now, there was finally hope.
FrostNova couldn't help but hug Lucas as well.
FrostNova was also overjoyed. This way, her father and the "children" could all be saved! They wouldn't have to live in fear of Oripathy anymore. They could live together happily as a family!!
Lucas hadn't expected them to be this emotional.
He quickly solidified his body to let them hug him, preventing FrostNova and Alina from passing through his body and colliding.
Talulah and Patriot stood silently to the side, watching quietly.
They had only one thought in their minds.
There's hope!!
Especially Patriot. A scorching fire ignited in the depths of his eyes. After his wife and child died, Patriot had once fallen into self-doubt, losing his purpose in life. It wasn't until he adopted FrostNova that he found a new goal.
But at that time, Patriot was already tormented by Oripathy. He knew that even with his Wendigo body, he couldn't live much longer under its effects.
Because of that, Patriot had become somewhat impatient, knowing his time was short.
He clearly had so many things he wanted to do, but the progression of his Oripathy not only dragged down his body, but also caused his strength to gradually decline from its peak. He could even only watch helplessly as his daughter, FrostNova, was also tormented by Oripathy.
But now, hope had arrived!
Lucas, bearing hope, had descended like a god from the heavens. This hope was like a life-saving straw for a drowning man, giving Patriot hope and a new purpose.