Man on the ark, forced to become king

"I walk very fast."

Skadi shook her head again and stopped the old carp from approaching any further.

"Don't come any closer to me, or you'll get into trouble."

Her voice sounded cold and slightly hoarse, without any fluctuations, giving off an aloof feeling. Her seemingly not-so-strong arm rested on the hilt of the sword leaning against the withered tree, causing Lao Li to stop immediately.

Danger!

For no apparent reason, my intuition started screaming alarms.

The moment the girl gripped the sword, Lao Li's body instinctively tensed, entering a state of combat readiness.

He is a master!

With his mind racing, the experienced old carp quickly made a judgment.

The girl in front of him looked very young, but she was definitely not to be underestimated. Anyone who could give him this feeling was no ordinary person.

That makes sense. How could someone who dares to walk alone in the wilderness not have some skills?

There's a saying in the martial arts world of Yan that has been passed down for ages: when traveling in the wilderness, it's best not to provoke lone women, the elderly, or children.

On the surface, the fact that the most vulnerable group can walk in the perilous wilderness likely means that they have absolute confidence in their own strength and believe that their personal combat power is superior to the bandits, monsters, and wild beasts they may encounter on the road.

Such people can often defeat a team single-handedly.

In Lao Li's opinion, the girl he met belonged to this category.

As for whether he might be a greenhorn fresh out of school...

That kind of person couldn't possibly survive in the wilderness; the possibility is extremely low. At least, the one in front of us is definitely not one of them.

However, it's not a big problem, because he really didn't mean any harm; he just wanted to do a good deed on a whim.

"Don't be anxious, don't be anxious."

Old Carp chuckled and raised his hand to reassure her, not moving any further. He continued to explain gently, "What trouble could there be? It only takes about an hour to drive from here to Longmen. What else could happen?"

"Girl, it's so cold outside, why bother sleeping in the open in this desolate weather? Don't you think so?"

"...Okay, thank you."

An hour's journey shouldn't be a big problem.

Skadi tilted her head and thought for a moment, then realized that what this person said made some sense. In such a short time, as long as no accident caused her to bleed, she would be fine. If others couldn't even get close to her for an hour, then she wouldn't even be able to enter the towns of the land people.

However, after agreeing, she hesitated again, took out a deflated wallet from her bag, and pulled out the only two crumpled bills inside.

The rule for people living on land is that you have to pay for everything, including taking a ride.

The man didn't seem like a bad person and kindly offered her a ride, so she naturally had to follow the rules.

"This is all I have. If it's not enough, I'll find a way to make up for it once we get to Lungmen."

When she took out her money, Skadi's eyes flickered for a moment, as if she was a little embarrassed, but her expressionless face did not show it.

Life on land was not easy. She came to land from the deep sea with nothing but the clothes and weapons she wore. She could only survive by hunting wild animals in the wild. She wandered for a long time before she found a job as a bounty hunter.

However, the profession of bounty hunter is inherently unstable, with income closely tied to the missions she receives. In order to maintain her daily bodily functions, she eats more than the average person, so most of the time she barely manages to stay within the basic needs of food and clothing.

This time was no different. Before receiving the mission reward, she had no extra money to pay for the fare, and all the money she had left was here.

"That's enough, that's enough."

Old Li smiled and took the two banknotes without even looking at them, nor was there any need to.

The blue coin is undoubtedly a Lungmen coin, but its face value is... too small.

Let alone paying for the bus fare, even eating a bowl of wontons on the streets of Longmen is a bit of a struggle.

However, he hadn't intended to collect money anyway, so it didn't bother him.

"Miss, get in the car. Your sword is a bit big. You can sit in the back seat, but the trunk probably won't fit."

"it is good."

Hearing what the old carp said, Skadi carefully reached out and opened the car door, picked up the greatsword with one hand and placed it at her feet.

crunch~

The moment the sword was placed on the ground, the Beetle visibly shrank, making Old Carp's hand tremble.

He's truly ruthless. Just the weight of this sword alone is conservatively estimated to be over a hundred jin (approximately 50 kg). As for its exact weight, it's impossible to estimate it directly with the naked eye.

Such a heavy weapon is easy to lift, but few can actually wield it effectively in combat.

Putting everything else aside, even just the weight of the weapon itself could bend steel bars when it hits a person, and if it did, the person would either die or be maimed.

However, this powerful weapon was lifted by the girl's slender arm, which was far from strong, with one hand, as if she were lifting a wooden stick.

Crunch!

To Lao Li's surprise, the little beetle then let out another mournful cry, as if it could not bear the burden.

After placing the sword, Skadi sat down. As she sat down, the beetle's chassis lowered again, almost touching the ground, though not quite.

The girl's weight was much heavier than that sword!

What monster?

A heavy weapon is uncommon, but it's not something that would make Lao Li overreact. However, Skadi's weight is really making Lao Li a little nervous. He thought to himself, "This girl doesn't look heavy, so how come she's heavier than iron?"

Even if his car were full of fat people, it wouldn't be crushed like this. How big must that person be?

Good heavens, if it were any heavier, it might have crushed the car.

No wonder, no wonder he could afford a sword weighing at least a hundred pounds; things suddenly make sense.

"how?"

Skadi, now seated in the car, also felt the obvious change beneath her buttocks, and her embarrassment deepened.

She was naturally aware of her weight, but she hadn't ridden in a car since coming ashore.

Argonauts also have similar vehicles, but their vehicles are generally designed with certain special needs of the Argonauts in mind, so this problem is not an issue.

"Nothing, nothing."

Old Carp waved his hands repeatedly, sighed almost imperceptibly, and got into the driver's seat.

To take this young lady back to Longmen, his little Beetle, which had been with him for many years, was probably going to suffer a lot and would need to be sent back to the factory for major repairs after arriving in Longmen.

There's nothing we can do about it; he brought this on himself. He has to swallow his pride and bear it.

"Girl, sit tight."

Toot toot~

The Beetle's engine started up, the body creaked and groaned as it moved forward.

However, its speed is not satisfactory.

Such a heavy load is beyond its capacity; it's already quite an achievement that it can even be driven. We can't ask for more.

"Girl, what's your name?"

The car wasn't going very fast, but Old Li couldn't stop talking.

It was fine when there was no one in the car, but with another person in the car, he instinctively wanted to say something to ease the silence.

"Skadi."

Standing on her greatsword, the girl from the deep sea fell silent after saying her name.

It's clear that she's not very good at talking to people; she doesn't talk much.

"What are your plans for going to Longmen?"

"I want to go there to submit bounty missions. Lungmen should have a bounty office, right?"

Upon hearing this question, Skadi belatedly realized that she hadn't asked Lungmen if there was a place to submit bounty missions.

If she didn't have any, she wouldn't suddenly have extra money after she arrived, and she still wouldn't be able to buy supplies.

She can't do anything else besides being a bounty hunter.

"Of course there are. Lungmen is a world-renowned commercial capital, and you can find most things there. You've come to the right place. Today is Lungmen's New Year. Even if you can't collect your reward for now, many merchants will offer free food to passersby to bring good luck."

As a seasoned veteran who had been navigating the world for many years, Lao Li was well-versed in these matters and immediately noticed the girl's predicament, offering words of comfort.

"New Year? Free food?"

The words "free food" greatly piqued Skadi's interest. She subconsciously touched her empty stomach, her hunger growing stronger.

Corresponding to her terrifying physical abilities is an enormous energy expenditure; she has a huge appetite and it's difficult for her to feel full. Perhaps if there were plenty of free food...

"The New Year is a festival in Yan State, a day for family reunion. Those who are able will rush home on this day to reunite with their families."

Old Li wasn't surprised that the girl didn't know about the Yan Kingdom's New Year. After all, it was just a festival in Yan Kingdom, and it was normal for someone outside of Yan Kingdom who hadn't learned about Yan Kingdom's culture not to know.

"Reunion...family..."

Looking in the rearview mirror, Lao Li saw the girl's eyes suddenly dim, as if she had remembered something sad. He immediately realized that he might have said something wrong.

I never would have thought that someone so young would become a bounty hunter, wandering the wilderness alone; something major must have happened in their family.

This is like bringing up a sore spot.