Léon: The Cat Killer

"Does that mean I can go back to the fourth floor?"

"...What are you saying? The medical department's rounds have only just begun..."

Completely bewildered, I followed Kal'tsit into an open space on the third floor. Although the black soundproof floor was not yet finished, it was enough to isolate the noise from the unfinished lower floors.

A tall, massive engineering spotlight temporarily provided illumination, and under its intense light, Nana saw Sussurro and Touchmark, whom she had seen before, using a spell unit to heal a screaming person. Meanwhile, small groups of people nearby seemed completely unconcerned about the situation, sitting in the shadows of the spotlight with their luggage, creating a stark contrast with the fully armed Rhodes Island operations team in the light.

"Ah, Nana! ~ And Kal'tsit..."

He instinctively wanted to salute again, but this time Huang held back.

As ACE, clad in a helmet and holding a shield, coughed softly, the large cat, seemingly sunbathing under the engineering lights, merely stuck out its tongue. Nana nodded in response, waved, and quickly followed Kal'tsit, who was hurrying towards the crowd.

"They are..."

"During our stopover, we took in some Mineral Patients from Lexington. Several of them are in serious condition and look like they're having an attack... Stop talking and come help! Trace, report the situation."

She took out a mask and protective goggles from her pocket and tossed them to Nana. As the cat put on the protective gear and entered through the path cleared by ACE and Huang, Nana quickly saw Susuru struggling to hold down the patient struggling on the hospital bed, holding the patient's hand and saying words of comfort.

The cat and the little fox exchanged glances but didn't have time to speak. Kal'tsit was talking to the touch marks and had no time to pay attention to herself, so Nana had to figure it out for herself...

"Oripathy attack... third stage, acute... pain relief spell?"

"No! His Originium crystals are showing signs of activity, so normal medical spells can't be used!"

Seeing Susuluo's words, the dark aura in Nana's right eye began to gather, and the orange-yellow light that almost occupied half of the patient's body made Nana frown.

"...Then...the blocking medication...and the removal of dangerous lesions at the same time...this should be the standard treatment, right?"

“Yes, yes… but the landship hasn’t installed a dynamic imaging system yet… and the imaging equipment on the fourth floor emits strong radiation. The crystal activity in his body is too high; it’s impossible to use those devices… and if only the blocking drug is used, the isolated active crystals will immediately disintegrate…”

Yes, the disintegration of the active source stone... This is the main way that active source stones drive modern machinery; simply put, it's an explosion.

Generally speaking, even experts in treating Oripathy... when faced with a patient who seems like he could explode at any moment, the only thing they can do is euthanasia... Touchmark and Kal'tsit are constantly discussing whether or not to do this, as Rhodes Island currently lacks the capacity to handle such an acute pathology.

But this person is very lucky; Nana is right here.

"It's okay, I can see..."

As she spoke, Killer Cat flicked her bangs and used her headband to sweep all the hair in front of her head back, her only remaining right eye seeming to exude an ominous black mist from the corner of its eye:

"I will use Originium Arts to show you the active crystals of the clusters."

"...Miss Nana, can you really do something like that?"

Not only does she nod to indicate that she can do it, but if Nana combines it with Blood Demon Sorcery, she can even directly reduce the activity of the opponent's Originium Crystal, making him lively again.

However, that witchcraft looked too bloody and evil, and it wouldn't have a positive effect on the base fusion rate of Oripathy. The best way to reduce the patient's suffering and prolong his life was to remove the Originium crystals that had clumped together to the point of active reaction.

However, upon hearing Nana's explanation, Susuluo hesitated.

Ultimately, the removal of active Originium crystals is a precision operation that requires accuracy down to the millimeter or even the 'micrometer' level. One person verbally instructs another, and maintaining this precision, along with the trust and understanding between the two, can affect the patient's life or death... and even the doctor's own survival.

After all, what was being removed was a top-tier, highly dangerous explosive device. It's perfectly normal for Sussuruo to hesitate.

"And your vision is now..."

Listening to Sussuruo and Nana's conversation, Kal'tsit and Touchmark exchanged a glance and immediately made a decision:

"It's not a big problem... She can handle any potential visual errors herself... The only issue is... Medic, are you skilled enough to perform this type of removal surgery?"

"If you're expecting me to perform minimally invasive treatments, that's definitely not an option... I'm still more proficient with traditional equipment... Does Rhodes Island currently have the resources and facilities to support battlefield medical care? Mainly blood bags..."

Hearing Nana's question, Kal'tsit shook her head...

Just as the 'Medic' girl, on her first day of work, was about to declare the patient's fate sealed, Sussurro seemed to have made up her mind:

"I know minimally invasive surgery...that's what I studied in school...but I need equipment...and a very detailed description of the lesion..."

"The equipment is fine; there's a very advanced eight-arm operating table on the fourth floor...and the description of the lesion..."

Seeing that everyone was looking at her, and hearing the faint moans and groans from the hospital bed, which were barely breathing, Nana blinked, then took out a pencil and a pencil sharpener from her bag full of weapons.

"Give me some printer paper... I'll try to draw it to your size to make the treatment easier."

As Nana and Sussuro began drawing on the patient's body and making marks with pens, Kal'tsit glanced at the touch marks. After examining the patient, she nodded... The patient's Originium activity level visibly stopped increasing suddenly.

In other words, the surgery can be performed.

"Then prepare for surgery. Ace, go check if this patient has any family members..."

……

…………

The preparations took from morning until noon, with Nana following Kal'tsit throughout the entire surgical preparation process.

Although Sussuro was under immense mental strain as the surgeon, the removal of the active crystals went very smoothly thanks to the accuracy of Nana's drawings and markings.

The patient was able to walk right after leaving the operating room and receiving some magical treatment. In comparison, Sussuro, who was paralyzed under the operating table, might have seemed more like the patient.

The person who underwent surgery even loudly (in a good-natured way) mocked Susuluo, while Nana was being tugged at by the crying little fox, who was telling her how nervous she had been and how she had even stopped breathing.

Touchmark, who had witnessed the entire process, or rather, deliberately observed it, was secretly conversing with another senior Rhodes Island operator in the background:

"To be able to achieve effects comparable to the most advanced X-ray machines with the naked eye, and to draw perspective views with a pencil... Outcast, you've really struck gold..."

"Ha, drawing with a pencil is nothing. I saw this little one kill three fully armed combatants with a pencil yesterday, completely unarmed. I originally thought Kal'tsit found her to join the combat team..."

With a lollipop in her mouth, Outcast didn't say anything more; her gaze towards the black-haired kitten was full of worry.

"To be honest, I would be more at ease if Ms. Kal'tsit had sent her to the combat team... The medical department is the core department of Rhodes Island. Working in the medical department would inevitably involve getting involved with the 'Tower'."

“Outcast, you’re very worried about her…”

"Although she appears to have fallen, she is still recognized by the Discipline... I'm certain she used 'Judgment' in her final moments yesterday..."

“Recognized by the Discipline Center…I see. Outcast, are you worried about her clashing with our Sarkaz colleagues?”

“That child is very naive… Perhaps it’s because of amnesia, or perhaps she has simply given up on life… The Loken Water Tank might have been a relief for her, but we dragged her into a conflict she had already distanced herself from…”

With a sigh, outca帬刘捌疚午坝⊙四另st looked at the two little ones embracing and laughing, and couldn't help but smile slightly as well:

"...Perhaps as people get older, they tend to think about these 'what ifs' and 'possibilities'...Ms. Kal'tsit, on the other hand, was very clear that she wanted to protect her..."

Watching the two future doctors continue their work in the medical department with Kal'tsit, Outcast slightly removed his hat in greeting...

Whether it's Sussuruo or Medic... I hope everything goes well.

PS: Today's cat picture

Nana's Security Bureau gear (laughs), don't ask me why the armband is Griffin... I haven't decided yet whether I should actually write about Griffin...

PS2: I wasn't feeling well... I rested for a day... but the plot doesn't seem to be progressing much... I'll write another chapter this afternoon...

The Mystery of Medic 2nd: 027 Nana's Work

Nana twitched her cat ears in response to the outcast waving her hat at her from afar... The work in the medical department was even busier than she had imagined. After finishing the surgery, there was no time to rest. She had to continue following Kal'tsit out of the operating room to connect with the Touchmark who had taken over the ward rounds.

According to Kal'tsit, she almost single-handedly completed the subsequent ward rounds... and now, they need to check if there are any other patients in similar dangerous condition to the one they just saw.

Nana now seemed to understand why Kal'tsit always looked like she hadn't slept enough with dark circles under her eyes. According to the medical department's manual, ward rounds were conducted twice a day, morning and evening. If there were patients with acute illnesses to treat, then several hours of treatment would follow... After nightfall, there were meetings of the medical department for research projects, and in the latter half of the night, there was the organization and storage of medical records, as well as late-night ward rounds...

Could this bonsai-colored film have been working non-stop all day without a break?

“…Nai…Medic!”

"Huh? Yes, I'm listening..."

Coming to her senses, Nana looked at Sussuro beside her, who was tugging at her sleeve with dissatisfaction. Although she had just collapsed from exhaustion, she seemed to be in a state of high spirits no matter how you looked at her:

"You're really energetic. Weren't you just collapsed on the ground, unable to move from exhaustion?"

Seeing Nana's somewhat absent-minded expression, Su Suluo realized that the person who had just performed such a difficult surgery with her was not a professional doctor.

The little fox, who had tied her pink hair into low pigtails, tried her best to suppress her excitement, but the smile on her lips was still clearly visible:

"Before working at Rhode Island, I had experience working at a public hospital in Syracuse. Although my first time as the lead surgeon took more effort than I had imagined... but Medic was probably my first time participating in surgery, right?"

"Um... I've never worked in an operating room before..."

The main issue is that she's never had the experience of saving lives through surgery, though she has had missions involving killing people in the operating room... Of course, such things can't be said here. But Susuru couldn't grasp the underlying reason for Nana's hesitation. The way she looked at Nana was like a little fox, always at the bottom of the medical department's ecosystem, suddenly seeing a kitten smaller than itself... it was definitely the kind of look one gives to a junior.

"So, how does it feel? This is your first time participating in surgery, and such a successful and highly complex removal of active Originium. What are your thoughts?"

"Thinking?"

Nana gently touched the bandage around her left eye and decided to tell the truth:

"...It went fairly smoothly? Although that's to be expected."

"Ugh... That doesn't sound like something a doctor would say on their first time saving a life... Don't you feel any excitement about saving a patient?"

Nana hesitated for a moment when asked this question. She nodded first, then shook her head. The implication was that saving people felt good, but excitement... was definitely not an option.

Although this was Nana's first time participating in surgery, the Cat Killer was no stranger to similar processes... of deciding the life of a target. Nana only felt sorrow for the fact that others couldn't control their own lives; as for whether the person lived or died, the assassin was numb.

Seemingly sensing that the cat, using the alias Medic, didn't care much about the duties of a 'doctor,' Sussurro, recalling the fact that the other party was essentially forced to come to Rhodes Island as a 'refugee,' sighed and patted this 'partner' who was about the same height as herself after a moment of empathy.

"It's alright, the kitten will definitely get better... You're so capable, and we have renowned doctors like Kal'tsit here, there's bound to be a way..." Yi

"...Actually, the little one is perfectly fine, everything is normal..." Lin

"...Then why are you looking so gloomy?"

Before Nana could answer, Kal'tsit, having completed the handover with the touch mark, said without looking up:

"You're probably hungry... After all, when I got up this morning and went to the temporary shelter, I found there were acutely ill patients. I hadn't eaten breakfast and was dragged into high-intensity use of Originium Arts... Although I was the one who woke Medic up, as a fellow doctor from Rhodes Island, I suggest you either bring some snacks or prepare your own breakfast in advance."

"Ugh..." Wu

Hearing Susulue make that strange sound again, Nana looked at her with confusion... The little fox then patted Nana's cat ears again in a comforting manner: [The text abruptly ends here, likely due to an incomplete sentence or a formatting error.]

"I see. Get used to it. This is the difference between practicing medicine in the wilderness and running a city hospital." (Shu)

"But even if you say that, there's nothing to cook in the ward... I didn't bring any food supplies when I came."

Seeing Nana instinctively reach into her purse but find nothing, Sussurro pulled a chocolate from her pocket, but just as Nana was about to take it, Kal'tsit intercepted it... Kal'tsit stuffed it back into Sussurro's pocket:

"Lunch is almost here. Eating sweets will affect your appetite for lunch and thus interfere with your work schedule in the afternoon..."

Not even one bite?

"...Medic, you just look like a child, but you're not actually a child. Why do you have to be greedy for this piece of chocolate before lunch?"

"But this was a gift from Sussuruo... This is the first time I've ever received snacks from a friend..."

Hearing the cat killer's words, both the living and the dead around her couldn't hold back anymore. Susuluo sighed, rubbed the corner of her eye, and stuffed the chocolate into Nana's mouth.

Kate's voice echoed in the cat killer's ears once again:

"Speaking of which, I was going to treat you to the red bean paste bread I just learned how to make... Let's take Mia to the kitchen when she wakes up. We should be able to interfere with reality while we're around Mia, so I'll make it for you then."

Ignoring Kate's subsequent rambling about her bakery experience, the girl, upon hearing the keyword 'kitchen,' remembered Kal'tsit's instructions to... feed the kittens:

"Speaking of which, I still need to prepare lunch for the little one... Shall we go to the cafeteria next?"

She nodded, but Kal'tsit's expression seemed to worsen even further.

"Although it's called a cafeteria... never mind, you'll see for yourself when the time comes."

Nana couldn't believe how unreliable the bonsai cat sounded, but when they arrived at their destination, she realized that perhaps her definition of 'unreliable' was wrong from the start.

Even by the standards of the Columbian frontier, Nana's definition of a 'cafe' should at least include a food bowl, tables and chairs, and food that, while inevitably dusty, is at least edible... But what did she see in Rhodes Island's 'cafe'?

The gaps let in air and sand, making the dining environment feel like a sandblasting machine.

Patients brought their own food containers, and since there were no tables or chairs, the patients and Rhodes Island's own action team ate as they walked... Nana saw many places along the way where food was spilled on the ground or oil stains were added to the walls.

The 'cafe' where the chef was located caused Nana's blood pressure to spike, especially when the chef, Ace, wearing an apron, saw Nana and reached out with a 'Oh!' After that, Nana, who was already low on blood sugar, really wanted to just faint.

This is hardly a cafeteria; it's just a few tables pieced together, barely qualifying as a kitchen counter.

The stove used for heating was a field kitchen vehicle that had been phased out by some unknown country. Several members of the E3 action team who picked up Nana from the island last night were currently stirring a mushy mess on the heater with lifeless expressions. It looked like either porridge or stew, but the color was very unappetizing.

Ignoring the large black cat, also wearing an apron and holding a whole block of dried cheese, looking gloomy but with its cat ears standing up as soon as it saw Nana, Nana's attention was completely drawn to the mysterious items in the small kitchen cart's waiting area.

"...Kal'tsit, you said you wanted me to prepare food for the kittens...does that mean if I can't cook, then we'll have to eat this kind of stuff..."

"Hey, I'm still here."

Ace tapped the container full of mushy paste in front of her with the large ladle in her hand, giving an expression that said, "I didn't do this voluntarily," and gestured to the empty cans behind her that had been emptied, crushed, and packed into boxes.

"We only have these materials and this many people. The kitchen isn't finished yet, and we only have one Victoria cooking cart... We'd like to make something decent, but honestly, without using those... fast food items, to prepare food for hundreds of people, thickened broth is the best option, isn't it?"

"...Weren't there fresh vegetables yesterday?"