A significant amount of time had passed. Inside a relatively secluded house in a corner of the village, Talulah and several others were staring at the equipment before them with dark lines across their faces.
"Talulah... are you sure this is how it's supposed to be assembled? Why do I feel like you've put this thing together in a very strange way?"
FrostNova, who had returned from her patrol, had heard from her Yeti subordinates that Talulah had brought back a "fun toy" and was currently assembling it. Naturally, she had walked into the room out of curiosity to watch.
However, seeing Talulah drenched in sweat and fumbling with a hand-drawn instruction manual, she could guess that things were definitely not going smoothly. FrostNova's presence had one unintended benefit: her naturally cold body temperature acted as a "physical cooling system" for Talulah's overtaxed brain, helping her stay as calm as possible.
This way, there was no need to worry about Talulah getting so frustrated that she'd lose her temper and accidentally set the precious instrument on fire.
"It should be right... I specifically watched the shop owner demonstrate it himself. Why doesn't it work now that it's in my hands?"
Talulah scratched her head, feeling genuinely baffled. She was starting to suspect someone had deleted her memories. She clearly remembered the owner's demonstration being flawless, and she had even successfully assembled it once herself back then. Why was it that now, even with her own notes, she couldn't get the pieces to fit?
Talulah tried again, following the steps in her memory, but for some unknown reason, the damn thing refused to show the green light that indicated everything was functional.
"Could something have been rattled loose during the bumpy trip? It is a precision instrument, after all. It's possible a part got damaged from all the clashing and bumping," Alina suggested. Unlike FrostNova, she didn't doubt Talulah's memory; she knew her friend's mind well and chose to trust her.
"What are you all crowded around here for?"
Crownslayer, passing by, saw a group of snow-white Yetis huddled around a small shack, peering at something. Intrigued, she walked over to take a look.
"Look, Big Sister Talulah brought something back and it seems to be broken. We're waiting to see if it actually works. I heard that with this thing, you can contact people from incredibly far away!" a Yeti explained. They were clearly fascinated; they had never seen such a device.
They had heard it could even reach the territory of the Yan Empire! Although they didn't know exactly how far Yan was, they had heard from the Captain that reaching Yan required crossing several vast snowfields. For people who had only ever messed with a few battered old radios, this was immensely attractive. If it weren't so valuable, they might have already taken it apart just to study it.
Crownslayer noticed the screwdrivers they were subconsciously fiddling with and realized they truly did intend to dismantle it—though putting it back together would have been another matter entirely.
"Let me take a look. I used to play around with equipment like this. Maybe I can spot the problem."
At this, everyone's attention shifted to Crownslayer. They hadn't expected the newcomer to have this kind of skill. She actually sounded confident! It seemed this compatriot had a decent family background before becoming Infected; no wonder she came from a large southern city. She wasn't just an Arts user; she was a technical specialist!
"Then please, have a look. I'm stumped. My wiring seems perfectly fine! Why won't it turn on? Did I really remember it wrong..." Talulah stood up to let Crownslayer check the "hunk of junk," muttering to herself all the while.
Crownslayer knelt in front of the device. While she wasn't a professional repair technician, her unreliable father had a habit of giving her "unreliable" gifts that forced her to learn many useless things. She remembered her fifth birthday gift was a device with a structure very similar to this. She had only managed to finish it with her father's help.
Thinking back, buying a toy for a five-year-old with a recommended age of fifteen... that dad was something else. Shouldn't toys back then have been a bit more "girly"? Had her father been raising her as a son?
"...It looks like a wire froze and broke. The merchant should have given you some spares, right? I'll find one and swap it out."
Relying on her experience, Crownslayer realized Talulah hadn't actually wired it wrong. A wire that was likely already slightly damaged had simply snapped in the freezing environment. It didn't take long for Crownslayer to find the faulty line and replace it. As the merchant had told Talulah, the installation was actually quite simple.
"That's strange. I asked the shop owner specifically, saying it gets quite cold at my house during winter, and he said it wouldn't be an issue?" Talulah was confused. She had bought it precisely because the merchant claimed it was frost-resistant.
"Where in Ursus isn't it cold? When he heard you say that, he probably thought you were just a traveler. Who could guess you were talking about a place this cold?" Crownslayer replied without stopping her work.
It made sense. Who would expect someone living in such a desolate place to buy a device like this? It usually wasn't very useful here. These devices could function in low temperatures, but the harsh environment of the snowfields was another beast entirely; this place required specialized industrial models.
As she spoke, Crownslayer finished the repairs. The signal light they had been struggling with for so long finally flickered to life. When the green glow appeared, everyone cheered.
"Hey, the green light is actually on! I wonder if it works. If we can use this for radio later, we won't have to wander all over the place when we're looking for tumor-beast milk."
The Yetis outside were excited. Getting tumor-beast milk wasn't easy; the Guerilla only had a few beasts, and their milk wasn't enough to go around. They usually had to find wild tumor-beasts to milk, or even check if any rippers had milk to spare.
"Go, go, go! Go catch your beasts somewhere else. The adults are going to discuss important matters; little kids shouldn't be hanging around watching."
Looking at her embarrassing subordinates, FrostNova stepped out to shoo them away. Besides, when they called Jeanne later, there might be sensitive information they shouldn't hear.
"Big Sister, you can't be like that! I'm significantly older than you! Compared to me, you're the little kid here, right?" a Yeti joked as he retreated. FrostNova, used to their antics, retorted:
"Sometimes, being a 'little kid' isn't decided by age. Now go catch your beasts and do your milking."
With that, FrostNova shut the door. She realized that Crownslayer had disappeared at some point as well; even while she was shooing the Yetis, she hadn't noticed the Lupo's departure.
"Let's test it out. See if we can reach Jeanne."
Talulah took out the matching handset she had bought. The handset looked remarkably like a mobile phone style that had once been extremely popular on Terra—the No*ia!
This brand remained a bestseller even now, famous among the Catastrophe Messengers of various nations for its ability to remain intact through Catastrophes. It was said that if you dug one out of the rubble, it would still work. Almost every Catastrophe Messenger carried one; if they were ever caught in a Catastrophe, it ensured they could contact their families to secure their compensation.
Talulah dialed Jeanne's number. Perhaps because of the distance, it took quite a while for the call to connect. Talulah wasn't impatient; she knew the signal between here and Lungmen was unstable. She just needed to be patient.
FrostNova and Alina waited quietly. FrostNova even pricked up her ears to listen to the sounds coming from the receiver. After a long wait, a voice finally emerged from the other end.