Ark, after I died, the operators started to love me.

……

"Is things not going well?"

Holhaya's voice followed her footsteps into the office.

Mike was still standing in front of the Sami map, staring at the red line in silence.

A pair of soft, warm hands rested on his shoulders, and a light, fluttering earlobe brushed against his neck.

Are you here to comfort me?

"Maybe so."

Holhaya paused for a moment, then continued, "During my studies, I read many heartbreaking stories about this land. Giving up is not shameful. After preparing again, at least there is still a chance to step onto the stage. But if you leave the stage early, it means there will be no chance at all."

Very good advice, Mike agreed with her, but then changed the subject, saying, "Besides me, there are very few people in this land who can take such a large stake to the poker table. I don't think that Sami hero they're talking about can do it. On the contrary, he'd probably be on the opposite side of us."

"You actually compared Sammy's demons to the dealer at a poker table?"

"No, I don't care who the other party is or whether they are the dealer. If they just stand in my way, I will negotiate with them with my knife instead of putting my bets on the table. I will not gamble with a dealer like that."

Mike hugged Holhaya tightly. This woman had provoked him time and time again, and she must be prepared to pay the price.

Feathered Serpent smiled, having already guessed Mike's actions and even pleased with them, but she noticed that the man was simply holding her and did nothing more.

Why did you stop?

"I thought you would say no and then tell me to leave you."

"Why not? My race has a short lifespan. If I don't enjoy life while I can, wouldn't I be wasting my life?"

Mike ran his fingers across the feathered serpent's cheek and asked with a smile, "You really think so?"

"I'm afraid this isn't the right place."

Holhaia gently pushed the man, her body floating lightly as she slid out of his palm, but the feathered serpent's voice still echoed in the empty room.

“Doctor, I heard that Director Muirsey is coming here soon. You know that my relationship with her is not good, so I think this should be one of the few opportunities I have in this limited time. I won’t lock the door tonight.”

Mike couldn't quite tell if Holhaa was a bird or a snake. She swayed her hips and left the office, leaving him all alone.

After a long silence, the man murmured:

"Everyone is telling me to give up, but I know I absolutely cannot give up now, don't you think?"

Mike reached into his pocket and touched a hard snowball.

Several days passed, and even though it was kept close to the body, the snowball showed no signs of melting.

Anma's gaze remained fixed on her, never straying far.

……

In a transport vehicle, near the window, slender, pale fingers held a pen and slowly wrote in a notebook:

A lot has happened lately. Colombia, Sami, Letania, Ursus—no country has truly been at peace.

At first, our research and investigation into the evil spirits came to a standstill, but at a certain moment a great breakthrough occurred. Even the most rigorous and excellent scholars could not explain whether it was due to the limitations of technology or some other reason.

I have already submitted a report to Seria, and as a conservative, she asked me a question that I could not answer.

What would happen if this technological breakthrough was within the other party's expectations, or if it was deliberately guided by the other party?

To be honest, I don't want to admit that such a thing happened, which means that we have always been the weaker party in the eyes of the other side.

Being weak means being at the mercy of the enemy and becoming part of their bullying and manipulation.

Well, I think maybe I'm overthinking it, or maybe Seria has been very neurotic ever since Christen left. She's too nervous and worried about a similar accident happening again. After all, Rhine Lab can't withstand this kind of ordeal anymore.

The hand holding the pen stopped writing here, and the water sprite with her long hair looked up at the car window. Outside was a vast expanse of white wilderness, where the land could only lie barren in this temperature.

During the day, nothing can be seen in the sky, but at night, the twinkling stars can be seen. However, the water sprite cannot distinguish which star is the one she is looking for.

"How can I express my condemnation of your cruelty? You left me, so far away that even seeing you is a luxury for me."

68. Horhaiya won.

Inside the room, a war without gunpowder had just ended, and the victor was embracing his prisoners and talking.

"Do you regret it?"

"Kind of."

Holhaa nestled close to Mike, her fingers gently tracing circles on the man's arm.

Mike laughed and said, "It's too late to regret it now."

The feathered serpent's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile, and it let out a heavy nasal grunt.

"I regret not doing this sooner. You're really amazing, my doctor."

"Ha, I have something even more amazing. It seems like you were the one begging for mercy just now."

Mike's sarcasm made Holhaya's expression freeze. The woman said resentfully, "Yes, I should bring more sisters next time. You have no idea how many people want to get something from you."

This time, it was Mike's turn to be embarrassed.

Bringing more than one person at a time is not impossible, but too many monks and not enough meat could easily turn into a free-for-all. He understands the principle that it's not scarcity that's the problem, but inequality.

The feathered serpent rolled its eyes at him: "You wish!"

"Thinking about it isn't a bad thing."

Mike's hand had somehow landed on Holhaya's waist, and he couldn't resist the soft, fleshy feel of it.

A deep male voice came from inside: "There's something I haven't figured out."

"You want to know why I'm being so proactive? I'm not telling you."

She had mentioned leaving the door open for Mike today, which was just wishful thinking, but she never expected the Doctor to actually come.

It's not bad, anyway.

Holhaya rolled over, lying on her side towards Mike, and naturally knew what the man's restless hands wanted to do.

The feathered serpent struggled symbolically for a moment.

Tonight is still long.

……

The next day.

When Mike appeared in the office, Destreet was sitting at her desk, impatiently pointing to her watch: "Mike, you're almost an hour late, and so is Holhaya. Where is she?"

"We don't need to worry about her anymore. Quetzalcoatl asked me to tell her that she wants a day off today."

"what?"

Desty immediately raised her voice and looked at Mike with suspicion, as if she could find the answer to her question in him.

Mike didn't ask Kuranta to give him his seat; he simply sat down opposite him and asked earnestly, "How's the questionnaire we sent out yesterday going?"

"The recovery rate is less than half, and the vast majority of people are unwilling to continue traveling. After the base camp was attacked by evil spirits and faced life and death, few people can still muster the courage to actively face danger."

Destreet flipped through the documents in her hand and continued, "No one is willing to come with us, but that doesn't mean no one is willing to provide supplies. The various caravans stationed at base camp should allocate their resources to us."

"really?"

"Really, it's provided free of charge."

Mike asked further, "How can there be such a good thing?"

Destreet patiently explained, "Because we saved headquarters, and then they thought we were going to our deaths, and there's no point in collecting debts from the dead."

Mike seemed unsurprised by the answer, and his long-brewing scheme was finally revealed: "Okay, I think that makes sense. It's time to start an internal meeting."

The man didn't reveal the contents of the internal meeting, but Destle had already guessed part of it.

Miss Kuranta gave him a deep look but said nothing.

And so another peaceful day passed at headquarters.

On the third day, at a closed-door meeting, all team members were present, plus one person whom Typhon hadn't expected to show up.

Magellan.

Faced with his friend's questioning gaze, Li Boli scratched his hair and chuckled foolishly, "Hehe, I don't think it's a big deal, really."

Typhon clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, saying, "You haven't been brainwashed by him, have you?"

"Brainwashing? Of course not. Didn't I tell you before that besides being an employee of Rhine Labs, I'm also an operator of Rhodes Island?"

Typhon thought carefully, and it seemed like he had heard Daitouyu mention it before, but what did it have to do with anything?

Magellan pointed with his fingers and said, "Of course it's related. First, I'm an employee of Rhine Labs, which is why I can be here. Second, I'm also an operator of Rhodes Island, and most of the people here are my former colleagues. Third, Rhine Labs' convoy is on its way, and Rhodes Island has also sent a team to explore Sami. How could I refuse?"

What Daiyu said made a lot of sense. She was not at all like her usual dull self. Typhon almost did not recognize her, but after thinking about it carefully, he wondered when Rhodes Island had become involved in the operation.

Li Boli pulled his best friend's arm and quietly pointed to the man sitting at the head of the table, whispering, "Look, that's the doctor from Rhodes Island. You can't ignore what he says."

he?

Is he the doctor from Rhodes Island?

Typhon looked in the direction Magellan pointed and saw none other than Mike, whom she had once cursed. At that moment, Mike gave her a gentle smile.

But even the gentlest smile seemed too cold to Typhon.

broken.

I've said so many bad things about him, will I be retaliated against?

"Is it too late for me to quit now?"

"late."

Mike's voice echoed in the office, startling Typhon. What truly frightened her was that Elki had actually met this man before.

Dessie, who was organizing documents, looked up, an eerie light reflected from her thick glasses. She tapped the table hard, reminding everyone, "It's meeting time now. You can deal with personal matters after the meeting."

Kuranta looked at Mike's suppressed smile and couldn't help but sigh a few more times.

You are not a kind person when you meet someone.

Just as rumored, his temporary boss couldn't resist the sight of beautiful girls.