Over the next few days, with no urgent matters to attend to, Jeanne spent a relatively peaceful period in Lungmen.
Because the L.G.D. (Lungmen Guard Department) had not yet finished processing the recent events, Ch'en had not summoned Jeanne to the headquarters to provide a detailed briefing. Furthermore, according to Ch'en, new chaos had erupted in Lungmen: a large number of gang members—or those associated with them—in the lower districts had been mysteriously burned to death.
This added yet another burden to the already busy L.G.D. Fortunately, the fact that these "victims" were notorious gang members allowed the officers to breathe a slight sigh of relief. Generally, the L.G.D. did not intervene deeply in gang disputes within the slums; this was, after all, the "rule" the gangs themselves had arrogantly established when they dominated the area.
With no other tasks, Jeanne began to observe this world-renowned financial hub, taking in its more prosperous side.
"I really didn't see this coming... is this shop actually that popular? I think I saw a branch of this store back in Chernobog, too."
Jeanne stared at the storefront before her, unable to comprehend why a daily necessities shop would have such a massive audience, even resulting in long queues stretching outside. It bore a rather peculiar name: the "Originium Cloud" General Store.
Normally, shouldn't a shop try to avoid being associated with something like Originium? A store that used "Originium" directly as its brand name—weren't they afraid of losing money?
"Isn't this because of what you did?" Lemuen said, looking at her. "The official statement Lungmen gave the public is that Rhine Gold conducted illegal Originium research without authorization, which resulted in a disaster. Fortunately, the L.G.D. controlled the situation in time."
In the entire report, Lungmen hadn't mentioned a single word regarding Infected! They feared such information would worsen the plight of the Infected population. Despite Lungmen being an open city, the residents still harbored a "hear-Originium-turn-pale" attitude toward the disease.
If they knew the fire was connected to the Infected, extremists would surely find ways to drive every Infected person out of Lungmen, fearing for their own safety.
Jeanne could only sigh upon hearing this, knowing such systemic issues couldn't be changed overnight. The tragedy lay with those Infected used as experimental subjects; even after being decimated by others, no one would ever clear their names in the eyes of the public.
"Even if I lit the fire, it didn't cause any negative impact, did it? Aside from a few unlucky cameras and lenses. But what does that have to do with this shop?"
Watching the shop, which had only just opened and was already nearly sold out, Jeanne found it incomprehensible. Why was she the one lighting fires while this shop was the one getting rich? The citizens were even hauling away boxes of daily necessities, giving off the illusion that the apocalypse was coming and everyone was frantically hoarding supplies.
"Because the report said the fire was ignited by a failed Originium Art. Immediately afterward, rumors spread that the air is now filled with invisible Originium particles, greatly increasing the risk of contracting Oripathy."
As Lemuen spoke, she looked at the frantic shoppers with a complex gaze. It was obvious someone was pulling the strings behind the scenes. Why else would so many accounts post this exact news simultaneously? During the two days Jeanne had been asleep, this information had spread like a wildfire out of control.
"And coincidentally, this company started running advertisements a few days before the incident. Guess what their slogan is?"
Jeanne didn't even need to think; she could guess it with her eyes closed. In fact, it was written clearly on the shop's billboard:
Originium Cloud Daily Necessities. Contains natural lavender essence from Kazimierz. Effectively eliminates most bacteria, offers a degree of resistance against Oripathy, and reduces the chance of infection...
Jeanne understood now—the owner of this company was a master of the "routine." Use a sudden emergency to manufacture panic, then drive the residents to buy your products. It was a calculated coincidence; they had already been using aggressive marketing tactics, plastering ads in every alleyway.
"As expected of a company from Kazimierz; this marketing strategy is formidable."
Looking at the Kuranta employees inside, who were so busy they were practically tripping over themselves, Jeanne felt a strange sensation. These employees seemed... trained?
From their gait, it was clear these guys had undergone a significant amount of combat training. They were a group of soldiers with decent fighting capabilities. To use soldiers as shop clerks—this owner was certainly extravagant. Or perhaps, like the Vodka situation, this was a front for an intelligence network?
"What are you two beautiful ladies discussing? Would you like to come in and take a look? I can give you a discount!"
While Jeanne and Lemuen were observing, a blue-haired Kuranta wearing a "Store Manager" badge approached them with a practiced, commercial smile.
"Originium concentrations might rise lately. Buying some supplies can help prevent Oripathy infection!"
The blue-haired Kuranta continued, sounding very much like he was trying to swindle two innocent girls. Unfortunately for him, neither of the women in front of him was easy to fool. Furthermore, one of them wasn't afraid of Oripathy in the slightest.
"Forget it, maybe we'll come back later."
With that, the two turned and left the area, showing zero interest in speaking further with the commercialized smile of the Kuranta man. Both could sense the manager wasn't ordinary; his combat strength was likely quite high. He looked sturdy enough—perhaps he could take one of Jeanne's punches without dying?
Considering Jeanne could easily shatter mountains and that, currently, only Patriot in Reunion could go toe-to-toe with her in strength, she estimated it would take at most two hits to finish him.
After the two women left, the lazy expression on the blue-haired man's face vanished. He turned and walked into the back of the shop.
"Where did you go? Don't tell me you're trying to leave me to handle the mission alone while you slack off?"
In the warehouse behind the store, a cold voice drifted out. A blue-haired Feline looked at him with an impatient gaze.
"Even if you want to be lazy, don't do it now. This is a mission given to us by the Darksteel. I don't want to have to get used to a new Lazurite after we go back."
As one of the only two "Lazurites" in the Armorless Union, the Feline named Monique glared at her partner who had arrived in Lungmen with her—Roy.
"How could that be? I've been working diligently for the Armorless Union for so many years."
Roy maintained his smile and waved a hand at his partner. He knew some inside information; due to his seniority, he actually knew more than Monique.
According to a director of the Business Federation who collaborated with the Darksteel, Columbia's Rhine Lab had suddenly begun dealings with Lungmen. The goal was a specific researcher. They wanted to extradite him back to Columbia and were willing to pay a massive ransom. This had caught the attention of a director who viewed Columbia as a rival.
He had struck a deal with the Darksteel, causing the two Lazurites—who rarely left Kazimierz—to rush to Lungmen to investigate the matter. If conditions allowed... they were to find a way to kill that researcher without being detected and bring all his research data back to Kazimierz.
As for why they were using this shop manager identity as a cover? Because this shop from Kazimierz happened to have three owners. Coincidentally, his superiors also consisted of three people.
"Besides, I know how important this is! The Darksteel almost strapped us to arrows and shot us here directly just to save time."
A hint of lingering fear flickered in Roy's eyes as he spoke. Despite his relaxed appearance, he wasn't feeling easy at all.
"I just went out to strike up a conversation with those two, to see if I could fish any info out of them. Sadly, they weren't interested in me."
Roy put on a look of pity, then changed his clothes to go out with his partner to gather more intel. Having spent so much time on assassination work, he was a bit rusty at this kind of infiltration.
As for why he approached those two? It was because they weren't ordinary—especially that woman with the pale gold eyes. She gave him the distinct feeling that she could kill him effortlessly.
"Hey, do you think if I opened a shop like that, I'd make more money than they do?"
Back on the street, Jeanne spoke to Lemuen on a whim as they walked away.