Chapter 120: Why Don’t You Just Rob Me Instead?
Leaving aside whatever was happening with the guerrilla fighters after he left, Steven quickly made his way back to the village he had visited earlier.
With the help of his minimap, there was no risk of getting lost. Following the waypoint, he soon found his way back.
He had no real sense of how long he had been gone. The mines were dark and endless, making it impossible to track time. Even while mining, he hadn't paid much attention to it.
But thinking about it, he figured he hadn't been gone for too long. Most of the time was likely spent digging up high-purity Originium in that monster's den.
As for the battle afterward? That wasn't even worth remembering. Just another routine encounter—nothing special.
Having satisfied his urge to mine, Steven walked with a noticeably lighter step.
His haul this time was quite bountiful. Forget the piles of Originium ore—just the loot from the final boss alone was enough to make him ecstatic. Not to mention the side products like copper, iron, lead, and coal. At the very least, with all these materials, he wouldn't have to worry about resources when working on new technology.
All in all, this mining trip was a great success.
As for whether he would continue raiding other mines in Ursus? That was a matter for another day.
But knowing himself, Steven figured he would eventually go back underground. He was particularly curious whether the deeper parts of other mines also hid strange creatures like the Fallingstar Beast.
Of course, his main interest was still their loot.
For now, though, it seemed that this was the only mine in the area. Without another target, he lost the urge to keep mining.
It was time to head back and mess around with some of Vic's Modern Warfare Mod stuff—see if he could craft a few guns first.
Seriously, what kind of era was this? Why were people still using melee weapons? It was time to teach these primitive folks a lesson—the times have changed.
With that in mind, Steven considered skipping the village entirely and heading straight for his cabin.
But just as he was about to leave, he suddenly stopped.
A familiar scent of blood drifted past his nose, making him frown and glance toward a nearby grove of trees.
Blood wasn't an unusual sight in the snowy plains. But for it to be this thick—Steven immediately thought of something he had encountered before.
Sure enough, as he walked into the grove, following a trail of trampled snow, he found a mutilated corpse.
It wasn't human—rather, it appeared to be a gray wolf, a canine native to the tundra. Its entire abdomen had been hollowed out, and blood had painted the entire grove red—a sight chilling enough to make anyone feel uneasy.
Steven already knew what had caused such a gruesome scene.
This time, though, he wouldn't be stupid enough to inspect it up close.
There wasn't any worthwhile loot anyway. The last one he killed only dropped a piece of Collapsal flesh, which barely had any EMC value.
Not worth his time.
Cleaning up the scene and erasing his scent would be too much trouble—better to just pretend he was never there.
So, before the corpse had a chance to transform into a monster, Steven turned on his heel and ran straight back toward the village without looking back.
Let the professionals deal with this so-called Collapsal. He had no interest in wasting his energy on something pointless.
But even as he dismissed the matter, a thought nagged at him.
The last time he tracked the monster, it had fled away from the village. So why was there a fresh kill this close?
Did it change directions halfway through and circle back? Given its cunning nature and tendency to lay traps, it wasn't impossible.
That was... concerning.
Steven turned his gaze toward the village in the distance, falling into deep thought.
The creature clearly wasn't a normal beast. To him, it wasn't a threat at all. But to ordinary people, that was a different story.
The village was full of elderly, women, and children—not exactly warriors. The only one who might stand a chance against that thing was Talulah, that little dragon girl.
If the creature did approach the village, it could be a huge problem.
Steven pursed his lips. After spending days with these simple, honest villagers—who had practically worshipped him just for giving them food—he had grown quite fond of them.
Hell, even he felt like he was being too much of a capitalist, but these people still thought he was kind-hearted. He couldn't really bring himself to call them ungrateful.
And if a monster really was lurking nearby, these kindhearted fools might be in serious danger.
Steven's main concern, however, was Alina.
He knew these villagers liked to wander into the surrounding forests and tundras to forage for mushrooms and wild vegetables. Alina included.
"Guess I'd better go give Talulah a heads-up. And check how Alina's doing while I'm at it."
With that decision made, Steven changed course and headed toward the village.
It wasn't long before he spotted the small settlement, warm yellow lights glowing from its homes and thin trails of smoke rising into the snowy sky.
At the very least, the Collapsal hadn't attacked yet.
Steven's status in the village was practically god-tier at this point. Even the village chief would bow and scrape when he saw him—probably wouldn't hesitate to drop to his knees if Steven asked.
After all, a man who provided jobs and food was practically their lifeline. How could they not worship him?
So the moment he stepped into the village, he was swarmed by enthusiastic villagers.
Their sheer enthusiasm made even Steven feel a little embarrassed.
After much effort, he finally escaped their clutches and made his way to Alina's house.
Even before he entered, he caught a faint whiff of medicine in the air.
Frowning slightly, he knocked on the door.
But instead of Alina's voice, he heard Talulah coughing from inside.
After getting permission to enter, Steven pushed the door open—only to find Talulah lying on Alina's bed, looking pale and weak.
"Well, well, if it isn't our Savior of the Infected, Lady Talulah. What happened? I leave for two days and you're already down for the count?"
Smirking, Steven strolled up to the bedside, openly amused at her sorry state.
And without any hesitation—or shame—he yanked back her blanket to check her injuries.
"You bastard," Talulah scowled, her brows twitching with irritation. "If you're not here to help, fine. But did you really come all this way just to laugh at me?"
Despite her glare, a sharp twinge of pain made her expression falter. She slumped back against the bed, shooting him a resentful look.
"Of course I did," Steven chuckled. "Watching someone drown in their ideals is way too entertaining to pass up."
But his playful grin faded as he got a closer look at her injuries.
On her shoulder, there was a wound—it looked like she had been hit by some highly corrosive energy, leaving burns across her skin.
And more concerningly, the lingering aura around the wound felt eerily similar to the Collapsal remains he had collected earlier.
Did she… actually run into that monster?
But something felt off. That wound—it looked more like it came from a fist.
Cough, cough "I wouldn't say I 'drowned' in my ideals," Talulah retorted with a light cough, covering herself up as she noticed her blanket had slipped slightly. Even though she knew Steven was technically a doctor, she still had some sense of shame.
"And besides, I already accomplished what I set out to do. This wound? Just a little accident during my retreat," she added casually.
She wasn't lying. Her mission had been a success—she had helped the infected escape from the sewers of that mobile city. The only unexpected factor was running into someone she should never have encountered there.
To this moment, she still couldn't understand why an Emperor's Blade had appeared in such a remote city.
Could it have been because of the nearby guerrilla activity?
But… that shouldn't have been enough to attract those monsters.
Even as she pondered over it, she refused to admit she had screwed up.
She had achieved her goal. And besides, the Royal Guard she encountered hadn't seemed all that interested in her—after knocking her back, he didn't even bother chasing her.
So, technically, she was still progressing toward her ideals—not drowning in them like Steven claimed.
"That's really a shame," Steven sighed dramatically. "I thought that after going through all this, you might have actually learned something. Guess I was expecting too much."
Still, seeing that her injuries weren't life-threatening, he casually pulled a bottle of potion from his bag.
"Open your mouth."
Without explaining what it was, he simply gave her a look before tilting the oddly pink, glowing liquid toward her lips.
"I have hands, you know."
Rolling her eyes, Talulah snatched the potion from his grip and downed it without hesitation.
She trusted Steven—at least enough to know he wouldn't poison her.
"Much appreciated," Steven grinned. "That'll be 500,000 LMD per bottle. So tell me, miss—will you be paying cash or card?"
Talulah nearly choked.
"Why don't you just rob me instead?!"
<+>
If you want to see more chapter of this story and don't mind spending $5 monthly to see till the latest chapter, please go to my
Latest Chapter in Patreon:
Link to the latest chapter: