Man on the ark, forced to become king

Their eyes met, and the girl from Draco's body tensed instantly, even instinctively standing up, and the temperature around her seemed to rise slightly.

With just one glance, she felt as if she were being stared at by some indescribable, terrifying being, and she froze completely.

Fortunately, that terrifying feeling only lasted for a moment before disappearing.

At this moment, Chen had already cheerfully gone to greet him.

That one word, "Teacher," made Talulah realize that the man before her was the one she had been waiting for for so long.

The leader of the Golden Tree, Chen's teacher.

Chapter 190 Student Talulah

Talulah didn't know much about the Golden Tree; most of what she knew came from snippets she'd heard from Chen, and a small part from Lady Wenyue's brief description after they returned to Lungmen.

Lady Wenyue seemed unwilling to share more details about the Golden Tree with her, always remaining tight-lipped. Even when she swallowed her pride and went to Wei Yanwu to inquire, the answer she received was always, "You don't need to know for now."

The couple who managed Longmen were both extremely wary of the Golden Tree and did not reveal any valuable information about it.

Compared to the young and naive Chen, Wei Yanwu and Wen Yue were far more shrewd and calculating. It was not easy to get information out of them. After several fruitless inquiries, Talulah gave up and instead begged Chen to take her to the courtyard that belonged to the Golden Tree, where she waited day after day, hoping to see that person.

Perhaps because she also possessed the blessing of the Golden Tree, she did not encounter any obstacles. The people living there did not say much and tacitly allowed her to stay again.

After waiting for several days, we finally met the legendary leader of the Golden Tree.

young.

That was Talulah's first impression of Lin Lu.

This person was so young; he didn't seem to be much older than her, around twenty-six or twenty-seven years old.

Horror was the second impression.

She had never seen such a terrifying person.

Facing the pressure from this leader directly is far more intense than facing that projection of his avatar back then.

At first glance, it seemed as if a whole golden ocean was rolling in, like a mountain falling, making her heart skip a beat.

Fortunately, that terrifying aura was quickly averted, and when you looked again, the person had become unusually peaceful, with a faint, warm smile on their face.

However, intimidated by the initial intimidation, Talulah stood still and watched as Chen rushed over and hugged the leader's arm in a very intimate manner.

But... weren't they being a little too affectionate?

The young girl cautiously peered in that direction, a question mark appearing in her mind.

She saw that her younger sister was almost pressed against that person, and the way they were in the relationship didn't seem like master and disciple, but more like... lovers?

Coupled with the thick, unyielding smile on Chen's face and the emotions mixed in his eyes, it looked even more like him.

This doesn't seem normal, does it?

That girl practically wears her heart on her sleeve; there's no way to hide it.

No, no, now is not the time to think about these things...

After calming herself down, Talulah hesitated for a moment, then pursed her lips and walked over slowly, thinking about what to say as she went.

Before meeting Lin Lu, she had mentally prepared many short essays, but after seeing her in person, she couldn't express any of them. At this moment, she was at a loss for words and had no idea how to begin.

"Tallulah?"

Lin Lu noticed the girl's embarrassment, waved to Ling, indicating that she should go into the courtyard to find Nian and the others, then patted Chen who had jumped on her, took a few steps forward, and spoke softly.

In his eyes, the girl's nervousness was almost overflowing. She didn't even know where to put her hands. She wanted to say something, but all he could see was her lips trembling, and she couldn't utter a single word.

Left with no other option, he had to take the initiative to speak up and break the awkward silence.

"You, you know me?"

As soon as she opened her mouth, Talulah knew she had made a huge blunder.

What kind of talk is that? It's not like they haven't seen her before. Although the leader only had an avatar when she descended to the Ursus Icefield, it still possessed a clear consciousness and even gave her the mission of 'attacking Chernobog'. How could they not recognize her?

"...I have no reason not to recognize him, do I?"

Lin Lu was also confused by this question. Was it possible that he and Talulah didn't know each other?

"I, I, you..."

"Calm down."

A pale blue glow rippled in the air, spreading over a range of several meters. When the light fell on her, Talulah immediately felt a lightness in her body. Her chaotic thoughts returned to calm, and her mind became clear. Her face flushed slightly, and she apologized repeatedly.

"I was too nervous. Thank you and Golden Tree for your help!"

The girl blushed and bowed deeply, finally appearing somewhat normal.

"It's something I do casually, nothing special."

Lin Lu accepted the greeting without hesitation, pulled Chen off her arm, and patted her head.

"Go find your teacher's wife and the others. Your sister and I have something to talk about."

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Chen's head drooped, somewhat disappointed.

She could tell that her older sister and teacher had something to say and wanted to listen.

"Oh, what? Hurry up and go. Oh, and take the Yumen specialties I brought back with you."

"Oh."

The teacher's intimidating presence was quite effective. Despite her reluctance, Chen didn't dare to refuse. She picked up her things and walked out of the yard sullenly. Her emotional changes were so obvious that everything was written on her face.

"Go ahead, what do you want to ask?"

Lin Lu waved and walked to the stone table under the golden tree, gesturing for Talulah to sit down before speaking.

It has to be said that Talulah and Chen are indeed sisters, and in some ways they are quite similar, both being the type who can't keep secrets.

Talulah was slightly better than Chen, at least she knew how to hide herself, but her hiding was only so-so, and there weren't many people who could be fooled by such clumsy acting.

"I……"

Talulah hesitated before sitting down, then gritted her teeth as if making a decision, and suddenly looked up: "Huijie told me that you have a way to cure Oripathy? This... I pestered her to find out, please don't punish her for this."

"What are you thinking? Why would I punish her? It's not a big deal."

Lin Lu was both amused and exasperated. He could see that Talulah shrank several heads in his presence. Even with the aid of magic, she was still very nervous and cautious, afraid of saying or doing something wrong.

He's not some monster or a fierce-looking muscleman, so why are you so scared?

"You heard right, I do have a way to cure Oripathy. That stuff doesn't bind the Golden Tree, so it's not that difficult."

"That, that..."

After mentally encouraging herself several times, Talulah finally mustered the courage to ask the question that concerned her most: "What price must I pay to obtain the cure for Oripathy from you? Is conquering Chernobog enough?"

"What do you think?"

Lin Lu looked at her but did not answer directly.

"Probably... not enough."

After saying this, Talulah lowered her head in frustration.

No matter how much she tried to convince herself, she had to admit that a mobile city was no match for a cure for Oripathy.

Since the development of the Originium Industry, Oripathy has existed in countries all over the world, and no one has been able to overcome it to this day. Even the simplest methods of suppression have not been very effective.

At this point, a method that could completely cure Oripathy might even have the power to shake up the fundamental rules of the world.

While mobile cities are highly valuable, they are ultimately just a product of industrialization and not particularly rare. They cannot be compared to the treatment for Oripathy.

The idea that taking Chernobog would get her what she wanted was merely wishful thinking and self-deception.

"You already know, so why ask?"

"..."

Talulah lowered her head even further, almost burying it in her chest, as shame welled up from the bottom of her heart, making her feel utterly ashamed.

This man had already saved them on the ice field and later provided the Reunion Movement with a lot of supplies, yet she still shamelessly wanted to ask for more.

Even if the Golden Tree had some ulterior motive in helping the Integration Movement, that help was genuine and undeniable, especially... the debt of saving lives.

Without Mr. Lin's intervention, the Reunion Movement would have been doomed in the face of the Ursus Guards' blades. She herself would have had her consciousness devoured by the Black Serpent, her body taken over, and she would have become a completely different person.

This kindness could never be repaid in any way, yet she was still not satisfied and greedily wanted to continue to obtain that precious treatment method.

"Alright, I'm not kidding you anymore. I do have a treatment for Oripathy, but at this stage, I can't make it available to the whole world directly."

"Golden Tree has a dedicated team researching treatment options that can be widely adopted. They have already shown initial success, and a finished product has been developed that can effectively curb the worsening of Oripathy. Perhaps it won't be long before a real treatment drug can be developed."

"At that time, you won't need to pay anything; I'll take them out for free."

Seeing the girl from Draco blushing and looking utterly ashamed, Lin Lu waved her hand and stopped teasing her.

If we keep teasing them, they might explode on the spot. Although it's very interesting, it's best to stop while we're ahead.

"What—why?"

Upon hearing this, Talulah looked up abruptly, her astonishment evident.