"Flandre, let go. Don't scare her."
Hong Meiling reached out with her steady, practiced hand, gently pulling Flandre back by her shoulder while offering a series of polite, apologetic nods to the visibly startled local woman.
Coming back to her senses, the young woman let out a long, ragged breath of pure relief. She tentatively looked up, scanning the highly unusual duo standing before her—one tall, composed martial artist and one remarkably short blonde girl.
Although the pairs' clothes were undeniably bright, pristine, and luxurious—the kind of premium attire usually seen only in the wealthy upper-tier plazas—their eyes completely lacked that deeply ingrained, instinctual disgust that ordinary citizens of Kazimierz almost always directed toward the Infected. Instead, the little one's eyes were filled with an innocent, bright curiosity, looking for all the world like a sheltered kid wandering in the woods. Meanwhile, the taller woman's gaze remained perfectly calm with a faint hint of sharp, professional scrutiny, making it instantly clear she was acting as the child's capable bodyguard.
"I'm sorry..." the woman stammered, rubbing her arm nervously. "What... what did you just ask me?"
The girl asked Flandre to clarify her previous question. Only after listening carefully and confirming that these two wealthy outsiders were actually tracking down the underground Pinus Sylvestris order did she ask with a look of profound curiosity, "What are you two doing looking for the Pinus Sylvestris anyway?"
"To visit them, of course!"
"I saw one of their matches on the big broadcast screen before; it was super, super cool! Flandre likes them a whole lot!" the little vampire cheered, proudly waving her small, tight fists in the air.
"Uh... you actually liked the Pinus Sylvestris just because you saw a single tournament match? So you voluntarily risked entering a restricted Infected community just to search for them?"
A look of absolute, staggering disbelief washed over the local girl's face. After all, this was Area 0 —a designated Infected slum. Normal citizens and wealthy tourists would want to stay as physically far away from these gates as humanly possible to avoid the plague. Why on earth would anyone willingly come down into this grim darkness just for a bit of casual idol worship?
However, once she thoroughly confirmed that the two foreigners harbored absolutely no hostile motives, the girl still pointed them down the path, generously sharing the exact location of the Pinus Sylvestris. Truth be told, since the Pinus Sylvestris stood as one of the very few independent Infected knight groups in Area 0 currently qualified to fight in the official Major Tournament, the duo could have easily uncovered their coordinates by asking practically anyone else on the street, even if she had remained silent. Besides, the knight group's main headquarters was located right at the concrete dead-end of this very street.
After offering their pleasant thanks, Flandre and Hong Meiling continued their leisurely walk deeper into the heart of the knight group's territory.
When they finally reached the looming main gates of the Pinus Sylvestris, they immediately noticed a massive, densely packed sea of people. And from a single glance at their weathered faces and exposed skin, it was clear they were all Infected.
The desperate crowd was queuing up in a long, winding line outside the reinforced gate, with select individuals being permitted to enter the facility every now and then. After waiting a while, the onlookers could see a stark contrast in the people leaving the exit: some who emerged were absolutely jubilant, holding small packages like they had just won the lottery, while others walked out entirely dejected, their shoulders slumped in defeat.
Leveraging her natural, harmless cuteness to its absolute maximum, Flandre casually sidled over to a small group of elderly local onlookers resting nearby, asking them innocently what was currently happening at the gates.
"What else could it be, little girl? They're recruiting new blood, obviously."
"After they miraculously beat the arrogant Bloodboil squad in the arena yesterday, not only did their public reputation soar across the underground, but they also legally secured a considerable amount of corporate prize funding and a massive, vital batch of premium Oripathy medicine."
"But the knight group's life-saving medicine is definitely going to be prioritized for their own active members first, right? So all these desperate people are standing here today to see if they're lucky enough to pass the recruitment standards and join up."
"After all, standard corporate medicine to treat or suppress Oripathy is far too expensive; ordinary folks like us can't afford a single dose."
The elderly residents explained the grim local situation all at once, and Flandre and Hong Meiling instantly understood the underlying economic reason for the chaos.
From yesterday's major, unexpected stadium victory, not only had the betting public made a fortune, but the independent Pinus Sylvestris order had also made an absolute killing in resources. Especially those life-saving Oripathy blocking agents, which were worth more than pure platinum in the slums and made many desperate people green with pure envy.
But the Infected knight group was absolutely no pushover; given their hardened combat prowess and lethal arena skills, no street gang or local syndicate dared to try and force their way inside to steal the supply.
Of course, the leadership of the knight group also explicitly understood that being far too secretive or hoarding the medicine would inevitably create a bitter, violent rift between themselves and the other suffering Infected in the district. So, they had come up with this brilliant, strategic plan.
If you want the life-saving medicine, come forward and take the knight group's official combat and physical assessment. As long as you possess the baseline merit to become a registered member of the order, your share of the medical suppressants will naturally be distributed to you legally. This way, they not only successfully eased the underlying social conflict between the knight group and the surrounding populace, but they also rapidly gained a massive batch of high-quality, determined new members to bolster their ranks.
However, the Pinus Sylvestris' assessment was certainly no walk in the park. From what Meiling and Flandre could observe from the sidelines, only about two or three out of every ten applicants were actually successful. As more and more rumors of the medicine spread through the alleys, the desperate queue outside the wall only continued to swell. Fortunately, the leadership had fully anticipated this rush, stationing several fully armed, armored Infected knights directly at the gate to strictly maintain order and prevent a chaotic riot.
"It looks like we won't be able to safely go inside for a nice visit today," Hong Meiling murmured down to Flandre, watching the intensely busy, stressed knights managing the crowd.
"Yeah, it's a real pity," Flandre pouted slightly. "I thought that nimble, red-tailed leader girl was very interesting yesterday and wanted to get a much closer look at her."
Fortunately, Flandre wasn't the type of spoiled child to throw a wild tantrum when things didn't go her way. Seeing the heavy, vital scene unfolding before her, she knew the knight group was entirely occupied with serious official business, and her sudden intrusion would only cause unnecessary trouble for them. With a slight hint of casual regret, the two turned around and decided to explore the other sectors of the district instead.
Since they had already gone through the trouble of crossing the border, and going back to the main city would involve a massive, tedious mountain of biological inspections anyway, they figured they might as well observe the daily life of the Infected district a bit more.
They hadn't walked more than a few blocks down a deserted side street when their path was suddenly blocked by several burly, rough-looking men clad in literal rags. Their eyes darted around before locking greedily onto the two travellers' obviously expensive, high-class clothing.
"You two," the leader sneered, stepping forward and brandishing a wicked, rusted dagger from his belt. "Leave every single coin of your money on the ground right now, and get lost."
Flandre and Hong Meiling didn't even bother to blink in the face of the mortal threat. From the looks of their hollow cheeks and ragged gear, these men were probably just desperate, starving souls driven to the absolute brink. Of course, economic desperation was absolutely no legal excuse for launching a blatant, violent highway robbery against them.
The only reason the duo didn't immediately launch the thugs into the stratosphere was because their supernatural senses had just picked up the distinct sound of someone else rapidly approaching the alley.
Initially, the thugs thought it was an extra accomplice arriving to secure the perimeter. But instead, a figure leaped clean over the trash heaps, landing with a sharp thud directly in front of Flandre and Meiling, shielding them completely with her own body.
"What exactly do you think you're doing? This district isn't a lawless zone!" the newcomer shouted, her voice ringing with absolute authority. "Armed robbery is a serious crime, especially when directed against completely unarmed, innocent civilians!"
"Drop your weapons and leave this alleyway right now, and I will let it slide today. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to drag you all out and hand you directly over to the Police!"
The young girl stood tall in front of Flandre, sternly rebuking the desperate men who were right on the verge of taking a catastrophic wrong turn in life.
Meanwhile, Flandre's attention wasn't focused on the threatening thugs or the danger at all; her large eyes were staring completely fixedly at the girl's bright, vibrant red tail. The fluffy appendage was flicking defensively back and forth right in front of her face, creating a visual temptation that was becoming exceptionally hard for the little vampire to resist.
While the heroic girl was still fiercely scolding the criminals, Flandre slowly, silently reached her little hand outward to grab the fluffy tail.
Luckily, Hong Meiling understood Flandre's chaotic habits perfectly and had been keeping a laser-focused, protective eye on her the entire time. Just as Flandre's fingers were about to successfully make contact with the red fur, Meiling swiftly reached out and caught her arm, shaking her head with an amused sigh.
At that exact moment, the cornered thugs grew aggressive, realizing their intimidation tactics had failed, and decided to use pure force to resolve the issue. They let out a collective roar and suddenly charged forward together.
At this sudden escalation, the girl standing in front of Flandre didn't retreat a single inch, stepping aggressively forward to meet their kinetic charge head-on. Even though she was entirely unarmed at the moment, her physical movements were incredibly, terrifyingly sharp.
She cleanly intercepted the leader's incoming wrist, squeezed down on the hand holding the dagger with bone-crushing force, and struck his forearm with her other palm, instantly knocking the weapon away into the dirt. Then, utilizing his own forward momentum against him, she executed a flawless, high-speed shoulder throw, hurling his heavy body directly back toward the second man.
The second thug clearly hadn't expected his formidable leader to be disarmed and thrown like a ragdoll so rapidly. By the time his brain finally reacted to the threat, his leader's airborne body was already flying straight into his chest. He could only instinctively open his arms to try and catch the weight, and both men went tumbling hard to the ground in a chaotic, groaning heap.
The third and final man finally managed to reach the girl's flank. He swung his massive, calloused fist forward, aiming a heavy, desperate blow straight for the side of her head.
Completely unfazed by the incoming strike, the girl nimbly dipped her torso, ducking beneath the powerful punch with millimeters to spare. Capitalizing on the man's overextended posture, she swung her fist upward in a vicious, lightning-fast counter, striking the man squarely and deeply in the kidney.
This precise, concentrated liver punch carried devastating force; the burly man's eyes rolled back instantly, and he collapsed to the pavement in a breathless heap, completely paralyzed and utterly unable to rise.