NOVEL NEXT Chapter 347 The Shadow of Trouble
347 The Shadow of Trouble
"That nurse seems fierce. I think she can go toe to toe with me in hand to hand combat." Gluttony comment on the nurse.
Daniel didn't comment any further, since that nurse is one of people he had actualized from teh card. She's actualized from a common card named 'Combat Medic!
Card: Combat Medic
Illustration: A man dressed in red and white cloth tends to wounded soldiers on the battlefield, while in the background, others in the same uniform fire guns from behind sandbags, protecting their comrades.
Rarity: Common
Type: Creature, Human-Medic
Mana Cost: 1 Light, 1 Fire, 2 Non-Element
Description:
Tap, Heal 5 HP
Tap, Pay 1 Fire, This creature get +2/-1 until the end of turn
Power: 1
Toughness: 3
Flavor text: Dressed in white and red garb, this medic's healing hand is ever ready, yet they stand poised to leap into battle to shield their comrades..
Daniel recalls that while the card illustration portrays a man, the appearance after actualization of the "Non-Named" card is quite random. These actualized people have varying stature and gender, unlike "Named" cards such as Penthesilea and Odysseus.
Despite the diversity in appearance, their personalities also vary, much like real people in the same profession. However, they still exhibit certain personality trends. For example, if they are military- related, the individuals depicted tend to have fierce and outgoing personalities.
While at the Atlanteus base, Daniel also overheard a joke from his soldiers, who are the actualized people, of course. They were joking about medics and doctors knocking out soldiers who attempted to escape from the medical center bare-handed, only to drag them back for continued treatment.
It was a humorous reminder of their fierce dedication. However, Daniel refrained from sharing this with Gluttony, as he wished to avoid interrogation of where actually he got these people from. After the incident with the nurse, the Witches began socializing amongst themselves while Koyuki ate her breakfast. Despite the late hour-10 AM-she still needed to eat.
Gluttony, in particular, became overly nosy about Koyuki and Daniel's love life, bombarding them with private questions until Envy silenced her with a Jolt spell, effectively shutting her up.
Pride also engaged with Koyuki, albeit with a dry and unfriendly tone, attempting to appear indifferent while still answering Koyuki's inquiries about her meetings with Daniel, Koyuki's husband, causing Pride to blush from time to time.
The socializing session among the witches lasted about half an hour before Envy intervened with a fake cough.
"Ahem... Ladies, please pause for now and listen to me," Envy interjected, halting both Pride and Gluttony's incessant chatter. Then, Envy turned to Daniel. "Daniel, this matter concerns you as well," she added.
Daniel, who had been checking his tablet for emails and news regarding the situation in his company, stopped and set aside his device, sliding his chair closer to Koyuki's bed to listen to what Envy had to say.
After seeing that everyone was paying attention to her, Envy produced a sealed transparent box. Inside the box lurked a black, centipede-like insect, still alive, its maw bristling with rows of blade-like sharp teeth, and its many legs resembling claws more than appendages. Coiled into a ball, it was roughly the size of a child's fist.
"What is this thing?" Daniel inquired, oblivious to the origin of the insect.
"Is this... a Gu? A parasitic Gu?" Gluttony asked, her expertise in Shamanic and Necromancy magic making her familiar with many cursed objects and ingredients.
"Correct. This is a parasitic Gu. We found it coiled around Koyuki's heart vein, awaiting instructions from the one who controls its seal to either destroy or torture the host," Envy explained.
Daniel was startled by Envy's explanation; this was news to him. Since he had delegated the task of overseeing Oceanos to Envy and entrusted the planning of the campaign to Odysseus, all the details regarding resources and manpower were in reports that Penthesilea would send him later.
Consequently, he was spared from the nitty-gritty details of the operation and his company's day-to-day operations, focusing only on the bigger picture by perusing the reports. Since he had yet to read the report on the operation from the previous night, this revelation came as a surprise.
"Are you sure? Isn't this thing impossible to remove from the host? Any interference, whether scientific or magical, would result in the host's death," Gluttony queried.
"Normally, yes," Envy concurred before continuing, "but with
Daniel's stasis technology, which halts time inside the body, including this Gu, it's possible to extract it without endangering the host. This is the true form of the curse that Nobunari Hojo had placed inside Koyuki," Envy elucidated.
Hearing this, Daniel's eyes grew cold; now he had marked Hojo for death. But perhaps a swift demise was too merciful for him; maybe he should subject Hojo to test out some functions of his new card, the details of which he had yet to fully grasp. For instance, he pondered, how effective was the card 'Fanatic Interrogator"?ŋơ۷ɛl Ɩŋɛҳɬ
"What are you trying to tell me, Envy? Are you implying that death is too merciful for Nobunari? If so, then I fully agree," Daniel stated with a cold, murderous glint in his eyes.
"It's not that, Danny. Don't go on a war-crime spree on me now," Envy retorted in annoyance before adjusting her tone and continuing. "I'm trying to say that this kind of Gu cannot be easily nurtured using Onmyoji magical arts, despite their significant influence from the Qin Empire's magical arts. Besides, this Gu seems to be older than several hundred years, which should be impossible for the Onmyoji to nurture themselves," Envy explained.
"Are you suggesting that the Qin Empire had a hand in this!? Since Gu that are more than a hundred years old are exclusive to some of the Qin Empire's poison and curse-related sects," Gluttony queried.
"Yes," Envy affirmed to her student before turning toward Daniel. "Danny, the Qin Empire or those sects never sell this kind of high- value and exotically rare Gu to just anyone. If they sell to someone, it means they have something to gain beyond the compensation of this Gu alone. I suspect they may have a master Gu or some King or Queen Gu that can control the entity inside Koyuki, thereby controlling the Orochi power too," Envy elaborated.
"So... You're saying... that someone in the Qin Empire wants an orbital blast to their face. Right?" Daniel teased, but his smile and the glint of murderous intent in his eyes left Envy uncertain whether he was joking or serious.
"I think maybe you've been spending too much time with Odysseus or that Christopher friend of yours. It's not good for your mental health if you're always thinking about committing war crimes," Envy chided in annoyance before placing the box down on the table and clapping her hands to draw their attention away from thoughts of war crimes or massacres.
"Anyway! I just wanted to tell you that the waters in this incident related to Koyuki run deeper than we thought. We should prepare ourselves to defend against potential threats from the Qin Empire or at least the sects operating within their territory," Envy concluded.
"I have one question," Daniel raised his hand.
"Yes? Please ask," Envy responded.
"Why does Nobunari not know that he just got scammed by... er... wherever he got this thing from?" Daniel inquired.
"Maybe because he didn't have The Witch of Envy, one of the most powerful and knowledgeable Witches, and a former Hightower Grand Councilor, as one of his confidantes?" Gluttony teased Daniel, still attempting to elicit a reaction from him or embarrass Envy.
"As much as I appreciate your admiration, Gluttony, I think it's time for you to go to bed," Envy said, casting a sleeping spell on Gluttony, causing her to fall soundlessly asleep on the cold floor.
"Serves you right!" Pride muttered under her breath.
After Envy had silenced Gluttony, Daniel let out a tired sigh before asking again, "So? What do you think? Do you believe he truly didn't know, gambling with them in the hope that one day he could rectify this, or does he have the confidence that he can fix this?" Daniel asked.
"I don't know, Danny. Perhaps that's a question you should ask the man himself," Envy suggested.
Daniel nodded in appreciation at Envy's information.
He recalled the ambitious past of the Qin Empire, their aspirations to dominate Asia, reminiscent of their unification efforts decades ago. (Author's Note: The Unification War mirrors the Vietnam War in our timeline, where a smaller country triumphed over a larger one.)
However, after their rather embarrassing defeat, they grew silent and redirected their focus toward the Ming Federation, which centuries ago had seized one of their small islands and declared it a sovereign nation.
Daniel recalled the history books detailing the origins of the Ming Federation. It all started with a band of Ming Dynasty loyalists who fled the Qin mainland and carved out their own territory on a small island. Despite numerous attempts by the Qin Empire to reclaim the island, the Ming loyalists held firm, turning it into a formidable stronghold. Eventually, they achieved independence and evolved into the modern-day Ming Federation.
However, despite boasting a GDP larger than some small countries in Southeast Asia, the Ming Federation is still referred to as a group rather than a recognized nation. Why? Well, it's because every time they try to upgrade their status in the UN, the Qin Empire whips out the veto card, still salty about the whole ordeal.
Daniel couldn't help but sympathize with their bitterness. After all, if he were in their shoes, he'd probably be dishing out salt too.