It wasn't long before Jeanne and Lemuen reached the entry passage for Chernobog. Upon seeing the passage, however, they discovered that it was vastly different from Talulah's description!
The passage was clean and tidy, with burly Ursus military police standing guard on either side. Around the passage, professional service staff were meticulously checking the credentials of every guest.
This scene was the complete opposite of what Talulah had told Jeanne. It would be more accurate to say it felt like a different city entirely.
According to Talulah, the people on duty here were supposed to be thugs with ties to local gangs, looking to squeeze a profit out of travelers. They wouldn't ask for too much, fearing that a major scene would be hard to settle, but the Ursus military police usually wouldn't lift a finger to stop such "pocket change" extortion.
However, if you entered the city without paying them a "toll," you had to be careful; the darkest side of the city would open up to you. At that point, the bosses behind those thugs would come find you to discuss "life and ideals," conveniently borrowing some money from you for their spending. And that time, it wouldn't be settled with mere pocket change.
As for those who still refused to pay, you either had to have the strength to deal with those people, or else the slums might find themselves with one more Infected resident a few days later.
Of course, there was another type of person who could pass safely: the "Big Shots." These thugs had trained their ability to read people to a supernatural level; they could tell at a glance who was not to be trifled with.
But now? The guards and staff watching the passage looked like elite soldiers. These were definitely not the kind of people who would collude with gangs.
"Hello, welcome to Chernobog. Please hand me your identification. We also require an Originium screening to confirm your status."
The person in charge of the inspection spoke to them with great poise; their tone was as pleasant as a spring breeze.
Looking at this entrance, which was the polar extreme of what Talulah had described, Jeanne knew that someone possessing such etiquette was no mere entrance inspector. This was a waiter who had undergone professional etiquette training.
Jeanne carefully observed her surroundings and discovered that most of the people entering the city were actually foreigners! Whether it was their clothing or their accents, they were distinctly different from the local Ursus citizens.
It seemed that because Ursus was about to hold talks with Laterano, many foreign journalists and professionals from other fields had flocked to the city. Currently, Chernobog was being watched by countless pairs of eyes. Even if just for the sake of his own position, the current City Mayor could not allow any scandals to leak out of Chernobog.
If one compared the current Chernobog to its former self, it was like comparing the polished image on a promotional poster to the actual physical product—the gap was simply ridiculous.
After confirming that the two of them were non-Infected, they entered the city smoothly. Once inside, they looked up to see a bustling, prosperous city greeting their eyes.
"Is this really Chernobog? Compared to when I came here before, it's practically two different cities! Though, I remember back then we didn't enter through this passage."
Lemuen looked at the city; it was nothing like the place she had seen when she last stopped here for supplies. Did the Mayor move this fast? To be able to renovate the city so beautifully in such a short amount of time?
"This should be the former economic district and the commercial center. That Mayor didn't make any massive structural changes; he just moved his most prosperous sectors here."
Jeanne looked at a promotional map on the side, comparing it to the city layout Talulah had described, and found that they didn't match at all. Looking at the distribution of major buildings in the nearby districts, Jeanne realized the Mayor had very cleverly swapped the city blocks around like building blocks.
This was normal, though. With so little time to reorganize, it was far more efficient to move the prosperous blocks to the front and hide the poverty in shadows where they couldn't be seen. Furthermore, not many people were willing to step out of these few sectors to see what the sights they couldn't see actually looked like.
After all, everyone was well aware of the treatment of the slums and the Infected; there was no need to pull back someone else's "fig leaf," because every country needed a similar fig leaf of its own. Once it was torn away, it wouldn't look good for anyone.
"What do we do then? Now that all the blocks have been disassembled and reorganized, it means the address Talulah gave you is void. Do we have to wait until the day they rearrange the blocks back to how they were?"
Lemuen also came over to look at the map, but it only showed a detailed layout of the five nearby sectors. There weren't even guides for the rest of the areas! With such a rudimentary map, trying to find a clinic that was already deeply hidden was a pipe dream. Never mind them—even the locals might not be able to find it.
"Not necessarily. Let me think... Hmm... If I want to go to Azazel, how should I go... Ah, like this, then that, and then like so..."
Watching Jeanne close her eyes and whisper to herself, Lemuen panicked a little. How did a perfectly fine person start talking nonsense?
"Who on earth are you talking to? Don't scare me like that! I can hold a lot of jobs, but I'm not a doctor..."
Lemuen was at a loss for a moment. She could only observe the surroundings while whispering in Jeanne's ear, terrified that her "ancestor" was having some sort of episode.
But Jeanne continued to mutter things to herself, and the situation began to attract the attention of several bystanders. People stood at a distance, whispering about this abnormal scene.
"Found it. Let's go. Those people are hidden quite deeply; we've got a long way to drive. Luckily, I have a special way of finding it."
As she spoke, Jeanne pulled Lemuen back toward where they had parked their vehicle. The current location of Azazel was quite far; it was unrealistic for the two of them to walk there.
"Who were you talking to just now? I didn't see anyone else; I just saw you there by yourself muttering who-knows-what."
Being pulled along by Jeanne, Lemuen asked with a hint of curiosity. She had been observing the surroundings very seriously just now, yet hadn't found a single person Jeanne could have been talking to.
"Well... just consider it a type of Originium Arts! I can quickly get the answer to a certain question I want to know."
"That convenient? Then why are you still unable to do math problems? Can't you just use this ability to get the correct answer directly?"
Lemuen recalled Jeanne's painful struggle while learning math back in the village and couldn't help but wonder. Could Jeanne be so self-disciplined that she refuses to look at the answer no matter how hard it gets?
"Have you ever experienced the feeling of seeing an answer, only for the 'solution steps' to just say 'omitted'? That's my situation. Even if I know the answer, I don't know the specific steps!"
Jeanne spoke of her pain with indignant sorrow. As she talked, Lemuen could faintly see the expression of grief and indignation in Jeanne's eyes—a feeling Lemuen could empathize with deeply.
"I understand, I understand. I ran into that situation when I was doing summer homework back in the day. That feeling is indeed terrible..."
" I don't need that kind of sympathy!"
Looking at Lemuen's pitying gaze, Jeanne's heart was filled with frustration.