"Don’t listen to them." Medeia replied, "They always talk nonsense."
Joy said, "But after watching you from the beginning, I think they were right."
Medeia narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean by that? Are you mocking me or what?"
"No! Of course not!" Joy explained immediately, "What I mean is that sometimes you act so fierce and mean, but kind at the same time."
Medeia creased her forehead. Why did people keep calling her kind? She acted mean and hot-headed all the time, so why did they still think of her as a nice lady?
She didn’t say anything and decided to let Joy talk more.
"At first I was afraid of you because I thought you’d kill us without mercy." Joy hesitated for a moment, her eyes falling to her hands as she fidgeted nervously. "But you saved us. You gave us food, shelter, and even your protection. No one truly cruel would do that."
Medeia blinked, unsure how to react. She crossed her arms. "I didn’t save you out of kindness. I saved you because you were useful. Don’t get the wrong idea."
Besides, Joy and the other young doctors hadn’t touched the children yet, so Medeia had no reason to punish them. Except for them, she spared the other doctors because the system forbade her to kill them.
That was the only reason.
There was no kindness from the beginning, but people always misunderstood her behavior.
But wasn’t that what the system wanted?
It wanted her to be kind.
She hadn’t put in much effort to achieve that goal, but the result was exactly what the system wanted. In the end, a victory was still a victory.
"Still, you give us a lot of good resources. Even my friends’ complexions look better after a few days here," Joy said.
"What exactly are you trying to say?" asked Medeia.
Joy sighed before she said, "What I’m trying to say is ... I want to give my loyalty to you and want to stay here as long as you want me here."
Medeia raised an eyebrow. "Do you mean what you say? What is this? Are you planning to take my heart and stab me from behind later?"
Joy’s eyes widened, her face pale with panic. "No! I would never do that!" She shook her head so hard that her hair whipped around her face. "I really have no hidden agenda."
Medeia rolled her eyes. "Oh, people always have agendas, Joy. It’s in our nature. So enough with the chitchat and tell me what you really want out of this?"
Her argument was ridiculous. Medeia was only giving them a lot of good things because they had made a deal before, so it wasn’t really charity at all.
A person like Joy wouldn’t be stupid enough to trust someone so easily. Besides, she had just arrived in Red Canyon, so how could she think that giving her loyalty to Medeia was a good thing?
"You can see the potential of this base, can’t you?" Medeia narrowed her eyes. "You expect this place to flourish and become an ideal place to live, so you want to secure your position from the start."
Joy flinched at Medeia’s sharp observation, her face flushing slightly. She opened her mouth, then closed it, as if trying to decide whether to defend herself or admit the truth.
"I won’t deny it," Joy finally said, deciding that lying to Medeia would be the stupidest thing she could do. She didn’t want to test her luck with that.
"Yes, I see the potential here. You’ve created something incredible, Miss Medeia, and I’d be a fool not to want to be a part of it."
Medeia tilted her head, her lips curling into a smile. "At least you’re honest. Most people would have tried to cover their tracks with flattery."
Joy straightened her back. "I’m not here to lie or manipulate. I’ve seen enough chaos and bad people in my life and I don’t want to be a part of it."
"Since the day I arrived at the Warstock base, I haven’t been able to shake the guilt in my heart," she said. "I didn’t experiment on those children in the basement yet, but I know that if I had stayed there any longer, I would have become the monster who destroyed their lives and futures."
"That’s why I ... I want to do something to make amends," Joy continued, her voice trembling slightly. "Maybe my abilities are far from expert, but I want to use them for something good, for something meaningful. If you’ll allow me to stay here, I want to dedicate myself to helping this base grow."
Medeia asked, "What about your old base? Don’t you want to go back there?"
Joy smiled, but her eyes were blank. "That base ... General Orlon had already destroyed it to the ground. When I told you I wanted to go back, it was just an excuse to leave."
Medeia also thought it was impossible that Orlon would leave other people alive in that place. A man as rotten as him would not allow people who could potentially trouble him in the future to remain alive.
Medeia sighed. "We have a deal anyway. As long as you can be useful to me, I have no reason to kick you out." She went on, "Words are cheap, Joy. If you want to give me your loyalty, you’ll have to prove it by your actions."
Joy nodded immediately. "I understand! Miss Medeia, I will make sure you don’t regret giving me a chance."
[Congratulations! You have completed a mission: Gain the Loyal Followers]
C-Point: +1,000+800 XP350 gold coins]
[Loyalty Amulets of Red Star Alliance (Grade-S) — Effect: Increases the loyalty of your followers by +20%, grants a +30% increase to the performance of your followers, such as their efficiency, combat skills, and their mutant ability.]
[The Loyalty Amulets are unlimited, so you can give this amulet to as many people as you want, Host.]
[Once someone wears the amulet, then it can’t be used by others.]