Man on the ark, forced to become king

It's breached, completely breached now.

Theresa's pretty face flushed red, both ashamed and angry. Lani seemed not to say anything, but her eyes said it all!

"Alright, alright, you two are evenly matched, so stop hurting each other here."

Melina quickly ended the conversation; if they continued, they'd be fast-forwarding into revealing each other's pasts... Well, Theresa didn't know about Lani's past.

But she knew!

Having traveled all over the border region with Lin Lu, how could she not know what kind of mess Lienia was?

Leaving aside the Kalia royal family, the Realucalia Magic Academy itself has more than a dozen factions fighting each other and disliking one another. Monsters roam the swamp and nobody cares. Even the academy's mages can encounter dragons and be swallowed whole when they go out.

The enormous shrimp and crabs that emerged from the water at that time caused them considerable suffering. There were also those troublesome little cults, the crystal people digging holes everywhere, and the royal ghosts in the ruins... One can only imagine how miserable the lives of ordinary people were.

You have the nerve to compare yourself to others with this? Have you no shame?

"Um, teacher, Talulah..."

Following behind the group like a little tail, Chen, who was wrapped up like a ball, couldn't help but ask about her sister's situation again.

The problem is, she has asked similar questions no less than ten times along the way, and she's almost obsessed with it.

Snapped!

Lin Lu slapped his forehead, feeling utterly helpless. He should have kept it a secret from this silly girl; letting her find out was just asking for trouble.

"Talulah will be fine! You better behave yourself!"

"But you let her go..."

Chen looked very melancholy. She was very happy to hear that her older sister was safe and sound, and she was so happy that she didn't sleep all night—even though she couldn't sleep after sleeping most of the day anyway.

However, after learning that Lin Lu had arranged for Talulah and her infected organization called Reunion to attack Chernobog, she remained uneasy and unable to relax.

That's a mobile city! And an industrial city with a military presence!

To attack a place like that, isn't that just sending yourself to your death?

Even if Talulah has changed over the years and become much stronger, it's still impossible for her to be an enemy of a mobile city!

“You… don’t forget that’s our territory. Their real trouble is just the things on the road.”

Lin Lu pressed down on the little dragon's head and rubbed it hard before finally making a promise.

"Don't worry, if Talulah is ever in any danger, I'll be there to save her immediately, okay?"

"Yes, yes."

Chen nodded blankly, still not completely at ease. Whenever Talulah was mentioned, she seemed to shut down her brain, acting silly and cute, which was really unlike what a Royal Guard inspector should be like.

In this situation, she could only calm down on her own, so Lin Lu simply ignored it and pulled Theresa and Lani forward.

Perhaps to better match the 'ice and snow' atmosphere, many ice sculptures stand on both sides of the road. Most of them are probably made by the shop owners themselves. They are not very big or very exquisite, but they do create a great atmosphere.

The ice sculptures were in various shapes, including human figures, bizarre shapes, and all sorts of animal figures. Lin Lu even saw a penguin sculpture in front of an ice cream shop.

Compared to the ice sculptures in front of other shops, this one is much more exquisitely crafted, lifelike, and even painted. It's wearing a hip-hop style oversized T-shirt, and if it weren't for the thin layer of ice and snow covering it, it would look just like the real thing.

"It's so similar."

Lin Lu went over to take a look and reached out to touch the ice sculpture's little wings. They were cool and soft... soft?

"..."

The penguin's little eyes twitched, and it turned to look at the penguin from a different angle.

"Emperor?"

After a moment's thought, Lin Lu tentatively asked a question. He had only ever seen one creature with this appearance, the Great Emperor. That guy's aura was strange, as if he didn't exist, so he wasn't sure if it was him or not.

"How long are you going to keep touching me?"

"Uh, sorry, sorry."

I recognized him instantly – that black-hearted penguin!

Lin Lu quickly released her hand, coughed lightly, and looked a little puzzled.

"Didn't you say you weren't coming? You even gave me the invitation, so why did you still come?"

"Why do you think we came?"

The emperor's tone was unusually resentful, like a woman who had been holding back her resentment for months, her resentment almost overflowing.

"You ran off without a word! Mostima went to Laterano and hasn't come back yet. You even lured Texas away, the new recruit. So why did I come here? Because I'm all alone in the bar!"

An indescribable penguin scream.jpg

"So you're just here to join the music festival? What about the invitation..."

Lin Lu felt a little embarrassed when the topic came up.

Well, it really is his fault. The Emperor finally found a new employee, but he lured him away. Now he's a lonely old penguin, no wonder he has to come out looking for fun.

"An invitation? I don't need that."

The Emperor scoffed dismissively and said arrogantly, "It is their honor to be able to invite the greatest hip-hop artist!"

"Ah, yes, yes."

Boasting was a daily occurrence for this guy, so Lin Lu wasn't surprised at all; all she had to do now was agree with him.

"So, together? By the way, what's with you standing here like an ice sculpture?"

"I'm looking for inspiration!"

The emperor's small eyes darted around, and with a flap of his wings, he exuded an imposing aura.

"A mortal like you cannot understand art. Only by immersing yourself in ice and snow can you feel the pulse of this land! Inspiration will then flow endlessly!"

If I'm not mistaken, St. Petersburg is a moving city; you can't feel the pulse of the earth here.

Lin Lu looked at him indifferently, wanting to complain, but she held back and decided to treat it as caring for an elderly person living alone.

"Okay, okay, art, art! We're going to the central square, the venue for the music festival. Want to come along?"

"Since you've extended this invitation with such sincerity, then I—"

"Stop talking nonsense, are you going or not?"

"Hey, go away! What's the rush? Can't you feel the genuine emotions surrounding us?"

Seeing that Lin Lu was not giving him any face, the Emperor couldn't hold back any longer. He chased after her with his short legs, complaining as he went.

"Even if the old boss pays off your debts, you're still nominally an employee of Qiewuliu, and you should show me, your boss, more respect!"

Boss? I remember perfectly well how you cheated me out of money by using the shared database!

Lin Lu glared at him irritably, but was pulled back as she turned her head.

The Emperor stopped, tiptoed closer, and whispered mysteriously, "I heard from Old Wei that your Golden Tree is looking for allies or something?"

"I guess so, what's wrong?"

Kazdel is incredibly poor. After the civil war ended, Theresis had to purge the internal rebel forces and spend money to buy a lot of materials for infrastructure construction, such as mobile cities. Now he's probably penniless and can't really make any money off the ground.

If Golden Tree wants to develop further, it naturally needs to seek opportunities from the outside. This is why it has deepened its cooperation with Lungmen, Taigu Group and Yan Kingdom. Its involvement in Ursus is also based on this consideration, which is not a secret.

But this doesn't seem to have anything to do with this heartless penguin? Could it be that he'd be willing to cram penguin logistics into Golden Tree as well?

"I'm creating opportunities for you, so you should thank me."

With its short wings flapping against its belly, the Emperor grabbed Lin Lu's arm and pulled her in one direction, looking somewhat like an illegal vendor selling CDs under the Longmen Bridge.

“Look over there, if you want to seek allies abroad, he is the most suitable candidate.”

"..."

Penguin Logistics has extensive reach and its intelligence network spans various countries. This ruthless penguin is always well-informed, and perhaps it has indeed discovered some potential stock.

Following the direction he was pulling, Lin Lu turned her head and was immediately stunned.

Wow, what a dashing man!

At the entrance of a shop selling winter gear, in front of a stall, stood a Felin man wearing an exquisitely crafted black coat with silver patterns, his thick leopard tail curled behind him, looking thoughtful.

He was extremely tall, a head taller than the Ursus man next to him. He leaned on a cane, and a large gray-black parrot perched on his shoulder. His aura of authority was unmistakable, and he looked quite different from the others.

Unlike aristocrats who like to flaunt their status with various luxury goods, this person has a more reserved and composed demeanor, not impetuous, but possessing a natural air of authority.

For some reason, the moment Lin Lu saw him, she felt that this person must be rich, extremely rich, exuding an aura of a wealthy tycoon.

At that moment, he felt that he, Lin, was determined to be friends with this person!

but……

People with this kind of temperament and attire are either high-ranking officials or bosses of large companies or heads of large families. Even if they were to attend the Ice and Snow Music Festival, they should be respectfully invited to the main venue and specially prepared rooms for them. How could they appear at a street stall?

An incognito visit? To understand the people's conditions?

Lin Lu never considered that this seemingly very wealthy man might just be interested in Originium artifacts from Ursus. How could that be!

"I'm not lying to you, this guy really is a good business partner."

Perhaps afraid of being overheard, the emperor lowered his voice so much that it was almost inaudible.

"You see, this kind of temperament isn't something just anyone can have, right?"