Man on the ark, forced to become king

True warriors must be born from trials of blood and fire.

With this in mind, Talulah's future holds endless possibilities.

"Teacher, how is Mr. Patriot?"

Talulah suddenly remembered the matter of Bozokasti and asked with a slightly nervous expression.

When Lin Lu left, she said that as long as she arrived in Chernobog, she would be able to see Mr. Patriot again.

This sentence has become the spiritual pillar for Yelena, the Yeti, and the Shield Guards.

This is a large part of the reason why they have been able to continue to hold their ground on the ice sheet.

For them, Patriot Bochokast is their only leader, and they will see him again at any cost.

"Patriots... Bozokasti?"

It took Lin Lu a moment to remember who Patriot was, and she gave Talulah a relieved answer.

“Bozokasti has already reshaped his body at the Golden Tree. I’ve arranged for someone to watch over him. He should be adapting now, and you’ll be able to see him again soon.”

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Today is the New Year in Yan Kingdom. Aren't you going to Old Wei's place?"

"I……"

Talulah nodded, then shook her head, looking conflicted.

The past is history, and now that she's back in this city, she feels almost no sense of belonging.

Lady Wenyue is alright, but her feelings towards Wei Yanwu are rather complicated, which is partly why she has been staying at the Golden Tree these past few days.

Spending the New Year together... it does sound wonderful, but being with Wei Yanwu, she felt out of place and had nothing to say.

"Then go back and tell Madam Wenyue that we can spend the New Year together."

Lin Lu noticed her hesitation and offered a suggestion.

Wei Yanwu would likely not refuse the idea of ​​the two families celebrating the New Year together.

That old dragon has many thoughts on its mind; it couldn't be more eager to get closer to the golden tree.

"it is good."

Talulah nodded, said nothing more, and walked directly outside the courtyard.

Watching her leave, Lin Lu stretched her arms, let out a soft breath, and walked into the house, preparing to tell Lani and the others the news.

However, before he even reached the door, he encountered Lani, who was carrying a large box.

"What is this?"

Lin Lu scratched her head and carefully examined the box that Lani was holding. It looked like some kind of packaged food. Why did she take this thing out?

"Something's not right. I was thinking of showing it to you."

Lani struggled to pull the box down, poked her head out, and looked confused.

Seeing her like this, Lin Lu couldn't help but feel curious. She quickly took the box, placed it on the stone table in the courtyard, and tapped it twice.

Unexpectedly, the box trembled twice when it was tapped, as if something was moving inside.

"The Rat King sent a box of ingredients through a fishmonger, supposedly seafood from the sea, but..."

Lani crossed her arms and stared at the box, her confusion deepening.

"We don't think we've ever eaten fresh seafood before... I'm not sure... Is this what seafood is like in this world?"

The border area also has a sea, and seafood from the sea is quite common, such as crabs and shrimp, which are plentiful in Lake Lienia.

Moreover, these things are often huge in size, and at one point they were popular as food.

Lani, who comes from the Kalia royal family, has eaten seafood many times. She is not exactly an expert on seafood, but she is certainly not unfamiliar with it.

But this thing that the Rat King sent... feels a little off.

Because she had never seen what seafood looked like in this world, she wasn't entirely sure.

"Hmm? What kind of seafood? Let me see!"

Lin Lu's body trembled, and his curiosity immediately surged.

He's an expert on seafood!

The guy I met in Lienia who cooked shrimp was a master at preparing seafood. That stuff even had special effects, and he'd eaten quite a lot of it.

Although he had never seen live seafood in Terra World, he had seen what it looked like in the market. It was just that the seafood was much smaller than that in the border region. How strange could it be?

He walked around the table twice, then reached over and lifted the lid of the box a crack. He looked inside, his eyes widened in shock, and he slammed the lid shut.

How strange... Is this seafood?

Take another look...

The lid was lifted, revealing a larger gap, exposing a deep blue 'creature' inside.

It's supposed to be a fish, but it has four legs.

Despite being described as a land animal, it also has fins and prominent scales.

The area that should have been the fish's head has been altered, appearing as closed petals.

This thing is so weird...

From any perspective, it doesn't look like something edible.

"Didn't they say what it was when they delivered it?"

After closing the box, Lin Lu stroked her chin, looking just as confused as Lani.

"He said it was a rare fish caught from the sea, and the meat was very delicious."

As Lani spoke, she reached out to lift the lid, but then withdrew it halfway.

"A rare fish, with delicious flesh?"

Hearing her say that, Lin Lu couldn't hold back anymore.

It is indeed rare enough; this strangely shaped 'fish' is truly unheard of. But its flesh is delicious?

This raises a question mark: is this thing really edible?

"Should I go ask him?"

Lani had quite a few doubts about whether this thing was edible. She thought about it and decided that she should ask the person who brought it, since he should know the answer.

"What did they say? She's always running around and they don't know her?"

"Nian said it felt somewhat familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen it before, and she felt that this fish was inedible."

"That's it..."

Lin Lu stared at the box for a while, thought for a moment, then walked over, lifted the lid, and poured the strange thing inside onto the ground.

Upon landing, the 'rare fish' seemed to have been switched on, instantly becoming active. Its already bizarre body changed rapidly at a visible speed. The flower bud on its head grew larger and larger, and its limbs grew rapidly, then quickly degenerated, eventually transforming into the shape of tentacles.

In just a few minutes, Lin Lu watched as the thing transformed from something that could barely be identified as a fish into a large flower with many tentacles. The white petals were entirely made of flesh, and the center of the flower disc had a structure resembling a mouthpart, with many tiny, sharp teeth visible. The dense tentacles, like the roots of the flower, served as the "feet" supporting the entire body.

After the transformation was complete, it began to wave its tentacles and pounce on Lani.

slap~

Transparent ice crystals materialized out of thin air, freezing the strange flower that the 'rare fish' had transformed into inside. Lani frowned and took two steps back in disgust.

In terms of appearance, this thing does not conform to human aesthetic standards and looks a bit disgusting.

"Now we can be sure that this thing is definitely not edible, and it can't be a fish."

Lin Lu witnessed the entire change and couldn't help but complain.

This is clearly not seafood! No matter how rare a fish is, it's still a fish. Whose fish can change shape?

No matter how delicious the meat is, who could bring themselves to eat it if it looked like that?

That's way too extreme...

"That goes without saying..."

Lani pursed her lips, raised her palm, and was about to finish off the thing, since she wasn't going to eat it anyway.

It looks disgusting; I can't bring myself to eat it.

"You wait first."

Lin Lu stopped her, took a closer look, and felt that there was definitely something wrong with it.

The Rat King isn't senile, so why would he let Zi deliver something like this? Even if he were to deliver it, there must have been prior notice.

They simply brought the fish without saying anything, which suggests they probably didn't know the fish would turn out this way.

That would be very interesting...

Things that come from the sea evolve very quickly and can transform... They look exactly like the sea creatures that the wolf mother mentioned.

Could this really be Hai Si?

Bang!

The large, frozen block of ice was thrown back into the box. Lin Lu closed the lid, picked it up, and walked away.