Ark Chess Player

"……snort."

Natasha did not object.

Lin Lu smiled faintly. If someone who knew him well were here, they would have secretly thought something was wrong.

That's just how people are; they always give the other person a treat first. The person who gets the treat probably won't realize there's a knife in the candy until their throat is slit.

"Major Natasha, I've come to a conclusion from your files—that no matter how harsh the environment, it can't break you; you'll always overcome every obstacle." Lin Lu continued in the most calm tone, "Why is it that someone like you, as the commander of the Third Army Group in the Ursus border region, could have watched helplessly as the city you could have saved was destroyed in the flames of war? Your enemy wasn't even a country, not the valiant soldiers of the Yan Kingdom, not the technologically advanced Colombian Federation, not the Victorian Kingdom with its superior steam technology. It was a group of infected people who fought for survival, for revenge, for retribution."

Lin Lu asked calmly, "Answer me, why?"

Natasha remained silent.

She first felt angry, followed by a strong sense of powerlessness. The crushing defeat that almost broke her back made her hands feel cold.

Because the other party reiterated the facts: the fact was that she couldn't do anything, and that as a soldier, she couldn't disobey the emperor's orders.

"You can't answer that? Okay, here's the next one."

Lin Lu tapped on the mobile terminal, and the screen, radiating a crystal-clear light, quietly lit up, from which a hoarse voice came through.

"This is the Chernobog Military Police Station... Zoya from Valery's squad..."

Natasha looked up abruptly, vaguely understanding what awaited her next.

"Requesting support from the Ursus Third Army garrison..."

Please stop talking, please stop talking.

"Repeating... Requesting support..."

"Stop talking!!"

Natasha cried out and suddenly stood up straight.

She roughly grabbed Lin Lu's mobile terminal, intending to smash it to the ground, but her raised right hand couldn't be swung down.

The mobile device, held tightly in my hand, continuously emitted sound; it was very close to my ear and I could hear it clearly.

"...We were forced to stay on the top floor, and people were dying every single second..."

"Our food supplies ran out three days ago, and we've also run out of drinking water... We request reinforcements..."

"Reply to me...reply to me..."

The mobile device continued playing the entire call log from that evening.

Natasha held the mobile device aloft until the screen gradually dimmed.

She knows.

She heard it.

She had heard countless requests for backup from the military police, and she stopped the communications officer from attempting to sever the signal connection with Chernobog.

She wanted everyone to hear it, to hear the Third Army and the Second Army, and even to hear the current emperor.

Until four days ago, when the upper town of Chernobog was completely destroyed, she could no longer hear the cries for help from the girl named Zoya.

Natasha bit her lip tightly, a strong sense of powerlessness almost consuming her.

She tilted her head back, her emerald green eyes, determined not to shed a tear, fixed on Lin Lu.

Lin Lu did not look away. Their eyes met, and his cobalt blue eyes remained calm.

"I heard you."

Lin Lu slowly extended his left hand to lift Natasha up, and then held her right hand along with the mobile terminal.

“I believe you heard it too.”

Chapter 151 Are We Pawns Too? (4K)

Lin Lu was clear-headed; he wasn't just blaming Natasha.

Why should an honest person make things difficult for another honest person? Why should a reckless person make things difficult for another reckless person? Lawyer Lin just wanted the other party to face reality.

If the Ursus delegation hadn't sent Natasha, but rather Ivan from the Second Army, known for his underhanded tactics, Lin Lu would probably have just gone through a brainwashing process, turning her into an idiot. Why would he need to carefully choose his words here? This was only because Lin Lu subconsciously controlled his speech, not saying anything too harsh, lest he make Natasha shut up on the spot.

The war sparked by the Integration Movement has no right or wrong; it is a collision and fusion of two ideas and ideologies.

The Ursus Empire wants to strip those infected with Oripathy of their human rights and turn them into tools.

Those infected with Oripathy retaliate in the most brutal and direct way, nothing more.

The most innocent people are not the citizens of Chernobog, but the very few ordinary people who stand beside the infected; they are no longer human, either inside or outside the community.

Lin Lu held Natasha's hand, continuously channeling the warmth of his palm into her cold, numb right hand. He said in a deep voice, "I definitely heard that distress signal that night. Your Third Army is the one the citizens of Chernobog are truly waiting for. I was just a passerby, a stranger who learned of this news by chance."

"I hesitated for a long time, I wandered in confusion for a very long time. I am not some messenger of justice, nor do I want to save the world. My thoughts are very simple: I must take good care of the people I cherish. As for the people I don't care about, I won't even flinch if they bleed on the spot. I am just such an egotistical person. What I want, I will fight for myself. What I don't want, if anyone tries to give it to me, I will blow their head off."

"Just when I was about to be locked in a mental prison by the dilemma of choosing between two options, a very stupid girl gave a very stupid solution. She said, 'Since you care so much, why don't you go to Chernobog for a look?' Listen to that, isn't that unreasonable? It's like saying it as if you're just going downstairs to buy a pack of cigarettes, making it sound so easy."

“But she just patted me on the shoulder and said, ‘Lv, go do what you want to do.’” Lin Lv shook his head helplessly and sighed softly. “I was even more stupid than her, so I set off. Whether it was a moment of impulse or madness, my body just went into action. I arrived in Chernobog and did what I wanted to do.”

Natasha listened quietly, looking at Lin Lu who was so close to her, and could see the cobalt blue eyes beneath his armor.

Lin Lu slowly released her hand and instead spread his arms, his figure shining brightly in the sunlight streaming through the window.

“Your intelligence is correct. Rhodes Island operators have indeed set foot on Chernobog’s soil again.” Lin Lu gave a thumbs up, pointing to himself, “That person is me, the Doctor from Rhodes Island! I followed the source of the distress signal all the way from sunset to sunrise, and brought the kids back to Rhodes Island.”

"The little rascals?"

"It's Zoya and the others, the only survivors left in the upper city of Chernobog, which was separated from the plate."

"...I see."

Natasha shrugged, lowered her head slightly, and after taking several deep breaths to calm herself, she finally mustered her courage.

"I want to go see them."

"You'll be resented," Lin Lu warned.

Even so, I will go.

Natasha stared intently at Lin Lu, a faint light returning to her eyes.

Lin Lu couldn't help but sigh inwardly, this girl was even more resilient and indomitable than he had imagined.

Most people would have become depressed on the spot, started going dark on NetEase Cloud Music at midnight, and turned to the dark side (8 years old).

"Let's go."

Lin Lu put his mobile device into his pocket and took the lead, which had become a habit of his.

Natasha slowly lowered her head to look at her right hand, which had just been tightly gripped, and something seemed to surge into her mind along with the sensation of touch.

Lin Lu suddenly pushed the door open. The force of the movement startled the guards of the delegation standing at the door, who mistakenly thought that something had happened to their leader and put their hands on their weapons in shock.

"What's all the fuss about? Is this all the Ursus soldiers are like? You jump up as soon as a door opens? Are you cats? No way! No way! Do you have no confidence in your superiors at all? Or am I so strong that you're panicking like this? I can't stand this. You all need to learn more and broaden your horizons."

Lin Lu raised his hand to cover his mouth and burst out laughing. If it weren't for the hooded mask covering his expression, his lethality would have been ten times greater.

The guards of the Ursus delegation were all making sarcastic remarks to the point of having a stroke, but apart from Auguro, this apostle-level cold-faced man remained unaffected from beginning to end.

Natasha paused, a faint smile appearing on her face, a strange psychological reaction welling up inside her. "So this person is even more sarcastic when talking to others. I'm actually quite mild-mannered... Wait, why has my favorability rating inexplicably increased?"

Natasha said to the guards, "You wait here, I'll be right back."

"Sir?"

Didn't you hear me clearly?

"Listen clearly!"

Natasha glanced at him lightly, and the guard who had raised the question quickly shook his head and stood obediently to the side.

Upon seeing this, Lin Lu's lips curled up slightly, and he turned around and led the way toward the medical room.

Unlike the private ward on the fourth floor, Lin Lu is now heading to a more common multi-person ward.

After Lin Lu brought the Ursus student council cubs back to Rhodes Island, Amiya quickly arranged a series of physical examinations for them. Fortunately, in Chernobog, a city ravaged by natural disasters, these children were spared excessive exposure to radioactive ore and did not contract Oripathy.

Even so, the prolonged lack of food and water, coupled with the strain of surviving in such harsh conditions, left these children incredibly weak. Once they were sure they were safe, the children's long-strained nerves relaxed, and they finally got a good night's sleep.

Sonia was no exception; this was the first time in a long time that she had slept for a full six hours without vomiting from nightmares. Rada, who had lost a lot of blood, also recovered. Fortunately, Lin Lu had given them an emergency spray; otherwise, Rada's injuries probably wouldn't have been able to withstand the force of the Fulton recovery system.

These children received the best care on Rhodes Island, with all expenses deducted from the doctor's salary.

Since he was someone the doctor had taken in, the medical department promptly made him their guardian.

"We've arrived."

Lin Lu placed his hand on the edge of the ward door, and before pushing the door open, he turned to look at Natasha.

Are you ready?

Natasha didn't answer, but instead glared at him resentfully, making him feel uneasy.

Lin Lu shrugged and instead of pushing the door open, he gently knocked on it.

"Please come in."

Only after receiving permission did Attorney Lin push the door open.

He's at least a sensible adult male who knows what respect is.

Such disrespectful behavior—simply barging in without any regard for the other person's feelings—often leads to disastrous consequences, something Lin himself knows all too well. Even accidentally witnessing someone changing clothes can hinder the progress of a seduction attempt; only a truly lucky pervert would resort to such underhanded methods.

Happiness is something you have to fight for!

Lin Lu thought to himself, he had to come up with a way to lure Kal'tsit to the spa area.

As soon as the door was opened, the ship's windows let in comfortable sunlight, bathing the room in a warm glow. The familiar calming incense carried the fragrance of flowers after the rain, neutralizing the smell of disinfectant. It seemed that this ward had been personally prepared by a perfumer operator to help the children of Chernobog adapt to a safer place more quickly.

Natalia, a white-haired beauty whose skin was even whiter than the white gauze curtains by the window, smiled gently and said softly, "It's been a long time, Doctor."

"Seriously? You still recognize me even dressed like this?"

Lin Lu pointed to the hood on his head and tapped it lightly with his fingers, making a crisp sound.

"What? Is it the Doctor?! Doctor, Doctor~"

Rada, a short-haired girl with blonde hair and orange eyes, was still hiding under the covers when she heard it was the Doctor. She immediately jumped off the bed excitedly.

"Doctor, Doctor, are you alright? I heard from the doctors that you were seriously injured when you came back, and the whole deck was covered in blood." Rada ran around Lin Lu a few times. He was completely different from the weak and almost dead Lin Lu she remembered when they last met. This made her feel at ease.