"Hey! You two have already run six rounds…" Kanna lay languidly on a beach chair, brought out via her ring, on the rooftop, basking in the sun.
"Hmph! We are dedicated to our work and taking our mission seriously, so we are patrolling back and forth!" Hearing Kanna's words, Ifrit put her hands on her hips, looking at the lazy Kanna with a 'can't believe you' attitude.
"I still have chairs, drinks, and snacks here. Want to come sunbathe together?" Kanna said while setting up a large circle of beach chairs on the rooftop, enough for everyone in her squad.
Ifrit was heard saying, "This is such idleness, what a terrible temptation," as she climbed onto a chair and lay down languidly.
And Kanna, without any hesitation, directly called up the other team members who were on duty downstairs using her communicator.
Soon, everyone arrived on the rooftop.
Looking at the circle of beach chairs, everyone silently chose their spots and lay down.
"Rope, any thoughts on returning to Lungmen?"
Kanna, sprawled on her chair, first asked the local, Rope.
Rope shook her head. After entering Lungmen, she didn't follow the main group here but, after asking Kanna for leave, went back to the familiar streets alone.
It looked as if nothing had changed from a year ago, but Rope clearly noticed that the roads were much cleaner, and there were many more strangers on the streets.
Stopping and starting, she arrived at her former home, only to find new residents there. After a brief pause, she continued to a small shop she used to visit occasionally for a treat.
"Welcome… Oh, isn't this little Rope? Long time no see!" The boss looked up, recognized Rope, and warmly welcomed her in.
"Boss, long time no see! I'll have a bowl of dandan noodles, just like before!" Seeing a familiar face, Rope rarely showed a smile.
"Coming right up!" After serving the dandan noodles, the boss sat opposite Rope, taking advantage of the free time.
"A year ago, I heard you were taken away by the Lungmen Lungmen Guard Department / Guard Department and disappeared. The neighbors were worried for a while, until a pharmaceutical company called Rhodes Island said you were working for them. Everyone felt a little relieved.
But then some people said this company was using the Infected for human experiments… At the time, everyone was in a panic, but fortunately, that news quickly disappeared. It's rare to see you back today, and you seem to be doing well!
Look, you've grown quite a bit this year, gained some weight, and your spirit is much better than before!"
The boss looked at Rope's uniform and equipment, which clearly didn't look cheap, and spoke with a hint of envy.
Rope nodded, "Everyone at Rhodes Island is very good to me. It's a legitimate institution for the treatment of the Infected, and because many of the medications used are self-developed, the prices are much cheaper than outside.
According to what I know, Rhodes Island and Lungmen have reached an agreement to open a specialized hospital for the Infected here. The medications used will be subsidized by Lungmen, and Rhodes Island will sell them to the Infected at cost, so in the future, people won't have to watch their loved ones leave because of an acute Originium disease flare-up and no access to medicine."
The boss's eyes widened upon hearing this. "Really! This is wonderful news! I'll help you spread the word to everyone."
After finishing a nostalgic bowl of dandan noodles, Rope wandered for a while longer, then arrived at the building where Kanna and her group were located.
However, before she could adjust her mood, Kanna called her up to the rooftop to sunbathe.
Now, listening to Kanna's inquiry, Rope stretched out her body. The warm feeling of the sun on her skin made her reluctant to move. "It's alright, but Lungmen seems to have changed quite a bit this past year. I walked around outside and saw many unfamiliar faces. Although there used to be many newcomers to Lungmen, this year feels particularly numerous."
"Of course…" Blue Poison leaned against the edge of the rooftop, looking at the bustling crowd below.
"Since the Chernobog battle, Lungmen's attitude towards the Infected population has changed significantly, and this change is for the better. Our Operators sent here by Rhodes Island have also earned a good reputation for the Infected.
According to intelligence, the number of people hostile to the Infected in Lungmen has decreased by one-third this year, and many factories have even opened dedicated workshops for the Infected to recruit them.
While inequality and oppression against the Infected still exist in Lungmen, it is much better than before."
Hearing Blue Poison's words, everyone nodded.
"Are we really not going to watch from below? What if something happens?" Atro, leaning back in her beach chair, was a bit worried about the situation downstairs.
"Don't worry! Aren't there drones patrolling on every floor? If a problem arises, the drones will alert us, and it won't be too late to go then."
Kanna chose to rest on the rooftop also because even if each person protected one floor, each floor had many rooms, and one person simply couldn't cover them all.
It was better to gather everyone and use drones to monitor the situation inside the rooms, then dispatch people to rescue wherever a problem occurred.
After all, if it was an instant death, having someone on the floor or not wouldn't be able to save them. If not, with Atro there, they could at least ensure the person survived until transferred to another hospital.
Folinic did not participate in this operation for a simple reason: a patient she was responsible for had reached a critical point these past few days, requiring constant monitoring of their condition.
Originally, she could have transferred the patient to another Doctor under the pretext of being on a mission, but Folinic insisted she could handle it. Kanna considered that this mission was not dangerous, and the demand for medical care was very low. Having two medical Operators for such an easy and boring task was indeed a bit luxurious, so she agreed to her request to stay at Rhodes Island.
Just as everyone was gathered in a circle sunbathing, footsteps came from the stairwell.
"Yo! You're all sunbathing here. No wonder I only saw drones patrolling inside on my way up." The newcomer had an unusually tall stature; it was Hoshiguma Dajietou, who had previously trained Operators at Rhodes Island.
"Why are you here?" Kanna waved her hand, and a beach chair appeared beside her. She gestured for the other person to sit down while asking.
"Rhodes Island's establishment of a large hospital in Lungmen is highly valued by the higher-ups, so they arranged for people from the Lungmen Guard Department / Guard Department to be on duty here to manage the surrounding security. Considering I've stayed at Rhodes Island and have a good relationship, they assigned me to be in charge here," Hoshiguma said contentedly, lying back in the chair, relaxed.
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