For most people, searching for the so-called Guerrilla Fighter in this seemingly endless snowy wilderness would be no easy task.
After all, the guerrillas rarely interacted with the outside world. Their sole purpose was to rescue the Infected, train them into warriors, or simply let them go free—nothing more.
It was difficult to guess what their ultimate goal was, or if they even truly understood the purpose behind their actions themselves.
However, for Steven, this was the easiest problem to solve. When it came to tracking people down, there was probably no one better suited for the job than someone with a built-in minimap Mod like him.
And sure enough, after a few casual loops around the village, Steven quickly found traces of the guerrillas' passage.
More specifically, he found traces left behind by that big white rabbit he had encountered before.
Perhaps due to her unique physique and abilities, there was always a distinct residual aura in the places she passed through—something Steven was particularly sensitive to.
From this, he could roughly deduce that the Guerrilla Fighter likely had a camp nearby.
But why were they still lingering here?
The mine situation had already been resolved, so why hadn't they left? Did they really not fear being discovered by the Infected patrol squad? Or… did they have some other agenda?
Compared to Talulah, who was still stuck in the phase of ideals and self-doubt, these guerrillas—who demonstrated their beliefs through direct action—were much easier for Steven to respect.
At least they were actually doing something.
Now that he had a general location, pinpointing the Guerrilla Fighter's exact base was even simpler for him. Before long, he found their hidden camp deep within a dense forest.
However, there was something different from the last time he had encountered these guerrillas at the mine.
Instead of the familiar white uniforms with red accents, this camp housed another group of soldiers—completely covered in thick black armor, leaving no part of their bodies exposed.
Each of them carried a massive black shield that radiated a strong sense of security.
Steven instantly felt a strange sense of goodwill toward them.
Anyone who loved heavy armor and tower shields couldn't possibly be a bad person—this was one of the ultimate symbols of a man's romance!
That being said, personal admiration aside, Steven wasn't reckless enough to just walk in and casually say hello.
The fact that they had set up camp in such a hidden location meant that they clearly didn't want to be discovered.
Barging in uninvited would definitely be impolite.
It was better to find a familiar face first.
Staying low and moving stealthily, Steven quickly bypassed the camp's guards and began searching for the "old friend" he had come to find.
Fortunately, while finding most people would have taken some effort, tracking down that big white rabbit was easy.
Just follow the coldest area in the camp—there was no way to go wrong with that.
Sure enough, he soon found a small, isolated tent at the far end of the camp, away from the others.
The frost forming on the surrounding branches was a dead giveaway—this had to be her tent.
Carefully, Steven tiptoed toward the tent, checking his minimap one last time to confirm that she was indeed inside.
Only then did he deactivate his stealth and softly clear his throat a couple of times.
From inside the small tent came a sudden commotion, the sound of objects being hastily shuffled around. The noise lasted for a while before the tent flap was finally pulled open just a tiny bit, revealing a face that Steven was all too familiar with.
"Who is it?"
The girl's voice was slightly muffled, as if she still had something in her mouth. Perhaps because she was inside the camp, she wasn't particularly on guard—just a little flustered from being interrupted.
But the moment she saw the boy standing at her tent entrance with that familiar smile, Yelena blinked in surprise, her mouth slightly agape.
She was so startled that the white candy in her mouth nearly fell to the ground.
"—Steve?"
Quickly covering her mouth with her hand, she caught the candy just in time before tilting her head, visibly confused as to why Steven was here.
If she remembered correctly, this was a Guerrilla Fighter base—not exactly the kind of place that anyone could just stumble upon.
Had he changed his mind midway, decided to join the guerrillas, and been brought back here?
"It's me. But seriously, you're already an adult, and you still like eating candy? And you're even hiding in your room to eat it? Is it really that embarrassing?"
Steven responded calmly, then casually pulled a chair out of his inventory, sat down, and made himself comfortable—looking like an old man settling in for a chat with an old friend.
As for the freezing cold aura Yelena was unconsciously emitting, Steven barely reacted. To him, it was no different from sitting in a nicely air-conditioned room.
If anything, he found it rather pleasant.
If he had a blanket to go with it, he figured he'd sleep like a baby. After all, cool air, warm blankets—that was peak comfort.
"…What I want to eat in my free time has nothing to do with you, don't you think?"
Yelena pushed the candy to the side of her mouth with her tongue, making her cheek puff up slightly in an unintentionally cute way. As she spoke, she straightened her clothes and stepped out of her small tent.
Due to her unique physique, she usually lived a little further away from the others—which, in this case, worked out perfectly, allowing for a private conversation without other people overhearing.
Despite her cold exterior, Yelena was still just a young girl. She had joined the guerrillas mainly to help her father. If not for the fact that she had to maintain a certain image in front of her fellow Yetis, she actually longed for companionship.
And this mysterious boy in front of her—she was willing to count him as one of her few friends.
Even though they had only spent a short amount of time together, and even though they had exchanged only a handful of words, the way Steven spoke to her—the casual, familiar tone—made it feel as if they had known each other for a long time.
Besides, considering his display of strength, there was no reason for him to deceive her. If anything, she owed him a huge favor.
So, the moment she realized it was Steven, Yelena completely let her guard down. After all, even if she wanted to stop him, she couldn't beat him.
And besides… he didn't seem like he was here to cause trouble.
"—Says you. You call this a house? At least have some proper walls."
Steven pointed at her rather shabby little tent. From every possible perspective, this didn't qualify as a house. Even if he just stacked some matchsticks together, it would probably hold up better than this.
"As long as someone lives in it, it can be called a house," Yelena replied matter-of-factly. "But enough about that—why are you here? Did you finally change your mind and decide to join the guerrillas? Or… is it that 'fate' you were talking about?"
One good thing about recognizing the gap in strength between them was that she could completely let herself go. After all, she and Steven weren't that close, so why not just be her true self?
"…Can't I just say that I missed you?"
Steven put on a shy and slightly bashful expression, gazing tenderly at the girl in front of him—or rather, at her ears.
"…Heh, I bet this is what you really wanted, huh?"
Yelena raised a hand and pulled her hood up over her tall, perky ears, shielding them from his sight.
That look in his eyes had already betrayed his thoughts.
"Alright, enough jokes. What do you really want? You don't seem like the type to suddenly change your mind and join the guerrillas."
Taking a seat beside him, Yelena curiously studied the uninvited guest. He had come looking for her with a purpose, that much was clear.
But someone like her—a guerrilla fighter with nothing to her name—she couldn't think of a single thing she had that could be of interest to him.
Surely, he hadn't come all this way just to touch her ears?
"…Mm, just think of it as me checking up on a patient I treated, making sure you're in good health. And… trying to figure out why you guys are staying here. After all, this place is a bit too close to my home."
Steven scratched his head and casually pieced together his response.
Since there was nothing secretive about his reason for coming, there was no need to lie.
His gaze swept over the girl, carefully examining her condition.
Seeing that she no longer looked like she might drop dead at any moment from Oripathy, Steven finally relaxed, leaning back in his chair with an easygoing posture.
Her current condition seemed pretty good.
Sure, she had probably ignored his advice and continued using her special Originium Arts, but at least she was still a long way off from dying.
"—Huh? So you actually live around here? You mean, in one of the nearby villages?"
Yelena quickly pieced together the truth from his words. What surprised her was that someone like Steven—a powerful individual—had actually chosen to live in a remote place like this.
She had assumed that someone like him would be living in a mobile city, since he wasn't even an Infected.
But she quickly accepted this fact, then rummaged through her pocket for a while before pulling out a piece of candy—one that looked just like the one she was eating.
She held it out toward Steven.
"If we disturbed your peaceful life, I apologize," she said. "But trust me, the guerrillas are only here because we noticed a group of Infected evacuating from a nearby mobile city."
"So we're waiting here to give the pursuing Infected patrol squads a little 'lesson.'"
<+>
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 Patreon[1]
Latest Chapter in Patreon: Chapter 182: Why Target This Little Iberian Chick?[2]
Link to the latest chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/124724465?collection=55713[3]
https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl[4]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/arknightcraft-124768044
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/124724465?collection=55713
[4] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl