The Vixen's Gambit: Tonight We Hunt

Lee's plan was to chill at the orphanage until the 6th Herrscher appeared, then fake accepting a suicide mission to fight it, staging a dramatic farewell with the orphans before skipping town. Kalpas would protect the orphanage, even if Twilight Street went back to its chaotic ways.

She wasn't worried about losing access to Aponia and the others. Such high-efficiency energy sources were bound to be involved in the main story, which, for now, revolved around Fire Moth. As long as Lee lived, they'd meet again.

She hadn't expected to farm much energy in this peaceful orphanage. Calm stories rarely triggered strong emotions.

But Aponia, the seemingly quietest person in the orphanage, surprised her.

"Aponia…"

Lee's expression darkened as she looked at the listless patients in the basement ward. She turned to Aponia, who stood silently beside her. "Do you know who these people are?"

"They're… patients who need help."

"They're Honkai-infected!" Lee snapped. "You're keeping them together, in the orphanage?! Fire Moth and every government have forbidden this! Don't tell me you haven't seen the news!"

Aponia remained silent.

"Sorry, I lost my composure." Lee calmed down, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You need to move these people. They can't stay together… I can't explain the details, but their condition will worsen, and it could lead to disaster."

"…No." Aponia, usually agreeable, shook her head stubbornly. "If I send them away, they'll die."

"Everyone with Honkai sickness dies. There's no cure."

Fire Moth did have antibodies, but those were incredibly rare and wouldn't be wasted on ordinary people, especially not from Twilight Street.

For them, Honkai sickness was a death sentence.

"Medicine and my ability can help them…" Aponia bit her lip. "It's easier to treat them together. I can't care for them if they're separated…"

"Aponia, it's only temporary. They'll get worse." Lee looked at the markings on their bodies. "If their Honkai sickness becomes an outbreak, the consequences will be far worse than their deaths."

"The children, the elderly, the innocent people on the street—they don't deserve to die."

"But do these people deserve to die, Lee?"

Aponia's words silenced Lee.

"I know some infected turn into monsters, but… look at them, Lee. They're people. They want to live. Is that wrong?"

Aponia watched as Lee closed her eyes, seemingly deep in thought. "There's no cure, Aponia. You're just delaying the inevitable. More and more people will get sick, until it's beyond your control."

"Lee, I know, but I can still manage…" Aponia bowed her head. "Please, Lee."

"…I need to think about this."

Lee left without another word.

…

Didn't expect such juicy gossip on my evening stroll. Aponia's good at hiding secrets.

Back in her room, Lee sat deep in thought.

So that's why the orphanage uses so much medicine… Aponia's sneaky. If I hadn't found out, she could have kept this up indefinitely.

Lee already had a solution. Her blood was cheaper than the system's Honkai antibodies, and it would bring in energy later.

But instead of just offering her blood, she'd act like she was making a difficult decision for Aponia's sake. Better for goodwill farming.

Even if Aponia didn't find out, the players and readers would. And if they didn't, Lee would "accidentally" reveal it herself.

Good deeds must be known!

So, Lee put on a worried expression and scrolled through her contacts.

She started typing to Mobius, "[Doctor, if I found a large group of Honkai-infected—]", then deleted it.

"Asking the Doctor to develop antibodies is too much…"

Then to Mei, "[Mei, can you make some Honkai antibodies—]"

"No, that's too much to ask of Mei, too…"

"[Vill-V, you—]"

"Vill-V doesn't specialize in this…"

Lee scrolled frantically, searching for a solution, then her eyes lit up.

"…Su? Right, there's him!" Lee sat up, excited. "It was a long shot back then, but if it worked once, maybe… I'll try it."

Perfect! My performance, my inner monologue, all perfect! Giving my blood is totally justified now!

How much blood did I give Su…?

Whatever, two cups per person should be enough. Aponia only has a dozen or so patients. I can easily spare a few dozen cups.

Is giving my blood… bloodletting?