Ark Chess Player

"Error! Error! Error! Error!"

The Ark Drive emitted a constant humming warning. In Lin Lu's digitized vision, a spiraling tower rose out of thin air in his spiritual realm, the gusts of air it created nearly blowing away the anemone. He slowly clutched his chest; the intense pain in his heart began to subside, but the pain felt like it was bound by chains, constantly sending maddening waves of agony.

Dark purple lightning crackled around his body. Kal'tsit's form had vanished, and he stood in place in his original form.

Lin Lu reached out towards the spiraling tower, as if trying to grab something, clenching his fist tightly and letting out a roar.

"Henshin!!"

Dark lightning seeped into the ground, accompanied by a series of ear-piercing screeching sounds, and thick black smoke billowed out.

A dazzling meteorite, trailing a crimson tail, hurtled towards them at high speed. Even from a great distance, the oppressive feeling of impending death could be felt. The howling hurricane almost forced people to their knees; the earth trembled, and the burning sky was lowering the curtain of doom.

As the scorching meteorite approached, the desolate square was chillingly cold.

Amidst the thick fog that crackled with electricity, a clear and cold mechanical sound could be heard.

"Boss"

"Commander"

"-Be The One! Ark Ride Doctor!"

Thick black smoke suddenly billowed out, sealing off the ruined square, as static friction caused by magnetic interference erupted.

She held the Talulah sword in front of her, and fire magic swirled around her for protection, but even so, she still felt numb all over.

"How could this be! You...you...who are you!?"

Talulah's eyes widened, and she made a sound of disbelief.

"Impossible, impossible! Why are you here!?"

The black smoke swirling around Lin Lu dissipated, revealing him now shrouded in unique black armor. Countless patterns were etched onto the jet-black armor, each engraving recording a unique Originium technique. Blue light flowed through the etching process, eventually converging on the Ark Driver, where the central core displayed the pattern of a spiral tower.

Lin Lu stared silently at Talulah, whose ferocious mask emitted cobalt blue flames, like a demon king returning from hell.

"..."

Lin Lu raised his hand, and dark chains surged from the void, attacking Talulah.

Talulah held her breath slightly, and the orange-red flames formed a barrier, blocking the chains. The chains, which canceled each other out, emitted countless plumes of black smoke. Each chain was equivalent to a full-force attack from Mon3tr. Talulah felt the organs within her body that were growing Originium heating up, and her magical shield was reaching its limit.

The next moment, the black gauntlets pierced through Talulah's barrier, and a merciless iron hand gripped her neck, lifting her up.

Talulah did not give up struggling. She raised her sword, trying to pierce Lin Lu's chest, but the blade could not move forward even an inch, as Lin Lu held it tightly in his hand.

That's his... left hand!

"you--!!"

Talulah could only watch helplessly as her weapon shattered on the spot, the seemingly indestructible Originium greatsword instantly riddled with cracks. The sharp blade flashed past, and the blazing flames were crushed by Lin Lu's bare hands, turning into dust and dissipating with the wind.

"..."

Lin Lu stared at Talulah, pressing his palm against her trachea, slowly applying pressure. He could feel her throat bones trembling.

At this moment, Lin Lu only needed to tighten his grip slightly to easily strangle the leader of the Reunion Movement. No one could save her; this square was shrouded in his black mist, and no one could break in… But he hesitated.

As Lin Lu roughly and forcefully extracted her source stone energy, some previously undetectable information flowed into the spiritual realm.

"There are two souls in your body."

"One is naive and ridiculous, the other is insidious and vicious."

"Which one is the real you, Talulah?"

Lin Lu murmured, his voice like an old cassette tape, hoarse as if a piece of Originium was stuck in his throat.

"I……"

Unable to breathe and with blood flowing poorly through her carotid artery, Talulah lost all resistance. Her hand fell limply to the ground, and she completely lost consciousness.

Lin Lu tossed her to the ground as if she were a rag doll.

“Anemone, I need all her information.”

"Yes, Master."

Anemone bowed respectfully, her body shifting between illusion and reality, her silvery horns still shining brightly in the black mist. She floated before the unconscious Talulah, cupping her face in her hands and pressing her forehead against the other's.

Lin Lu took a deep breath; he had more urgent matters to attend to.

During the brief period he suppressed Talulah, the falling meteorite was imminent, the blazing fire in the sky contrasting sharply with the cold, damp black mist on the ground. At this rate, if Lin Lu did nothing, the impact of this Originium, drawn by Talulah, would wipe out the Reunion soldiers gathered on the perimeter.

Talulah, what do you take your soldiers for?

The shadows that blotted out the sky continued to expand across the ground, the winds of Chernobog carried the smell of burning, and the Originium, a symbol of both destruction and creation, was close at hand.

Lin Lu raised his right hand toward the void, and the dark silt condensed into a slender straight sword, which he held in his hand. He casually ran his left hand along the blade, and the sound of sharpening the sword was clear and loud.

Lin Lu reached for the central core of the Ark Driver and pressed down deeply. The Ark Driver, like a heart, increased the frequency of Originium energy transmission, and cobalt blue light rapidly flowed across the armor, activating countless Originium Arts.

"Final Attack Ride! Do-Do-Do-Doctor!"

If Talulah was able to single-handedly summon calamities and unleash natural disasters, like a messenger of the gods sounding the horn of destruction, then what followed was a mortal act of power comparable to that of the gods, deeply etched into everyone's memory, never to be forgotten.

Natural disasters struck, and the end of the world arrived, but a golden, shimmering light illuminated the dark earth.

Ten holographic card-shaped light walls are stacked from bottom to top, forming a ladder leading to the altar.

Lin Lu gripped the longsword with both hands, the black mist that permeated the surroundings gathered on the blade, and blackish-purple lightning sparked before him.

As the light on the blade turned golden, Lin Lu stomped heavily on the ground, leaped upwards, and slashed upwards, the incandescent sword shadow condensing into a beam of light! The dazzling sword light soared into the sky, breaking through the golden light wall in the void. With each layer of three-dimensional light and shadow it touched, the sword energy of the Dimensional Slash increased by three points.

The world seemed to be distorted, the sword light at its peak blurring the boundaries of reality.

A magnificent sword aura resonated with a long, drawn-out whistling sound. The pillar of light, capable of destroying everything, met the Originium falling from the sky, forcefully halting its descent! The swirling wind nearly blew people away, and a heavy roar echoed in everyone's hearts! People prayed, hoped, and waited for a miracle to occur.

A crack appeared on the meteorite and continued to spread until the entire source stone was covered with cracks.

In the end, just like a flower blooming, the Originium crumbled into countless fragments, and a not-so-romantic rain fell.

Lin Lu slowly straightened up, drenched in the black drizzle, and gently stroked his straight sword with his left hand.

The sound of wiping the sword still rang out loudly amidst the rain.

Chapter Thirty-Six Frost Star

"Its daybreak."

Bright light shone on everyone, and a thin layer of black Originium covered the barren land, reflecting the light of a rainbow.

The Rhodes Island operators looked up at the sky. They realized that the sky in Chernobog was so blue. No, this was the first time they had ever seen such a beautiful clear sky.

"Amiya, is there something wrong with my eyes?" Dobermann murmured.

"No."

Amiya shook her head slightly and smiled foolishly.

"You read that right, the disaster cloud was dispersed, it was the doctor who did it."

Although it was only the outer area of ​​the central city, the sky above Amiya and the others was perfectly clear.

This is a once-in-a-century clear day in the world of Terra. Since Originium became the industrial energy source of this world, people have never had such a clear sky.

After all, the world can no longer do without the rapid development brought about by Originium technology. Mobile cities, airships, ships, and other such devices all rely on Originium as an energy source.

Whether it's impure Originium or highly radioactive Originium ore, it can be extracted and processed into dangerous yet essential substances in the factory using advanced industrial techniques.

When Originium dust drifts into the sky through chimneys, even after filtration and isolation, some residue remains. This residue floats in the air, mixing into the ecological cycle, assimilating the sky into an eerie color. Raindrops falling into the mouth or seeping into wounds increase the infection rate of Oripathy. Furthermore, contaminated rainwater irrigates the land, polluting all planted organisms, and then, through specific means, falls into the mouths of living beings, where it is digested and spreads.

Therefore, even the healthiest and best-protected person cannot have a blood Origin Stone crystal density of zero.

Someone once joked about this, saying, "Living in this world, you can smell the fragrance of Originium even when you're just breathing."

"Amiya, come and take a look."

The tiny Filin medical operative picked up a fragment of Originium from the ground in astonishment.

She knew all too well just how hard Originium was; the shadow of its sharp edges piercing her body still lingered in her memory. Yet the Originium fragments on the ground were perfectly smooth, with rounded contours. Falling from the sky felt like being pranked with a bucket of sand, not like being stabbed into a pincushion by falling knives.

But that's not the most important thing; it's...

"These Originium stones have extremely low radiation levels and are very pure, as if they have been refined."

The medical officer said this, while also letting out a sigh of relief, as it was good news from a medical perspective.

Not everyone on Rhodes Island is infected with Oripathy. If the Originium fragments that just fell were of Cataclysmic quality, then even ordinary members of the rescue team would contract Oripathy. Furthermore, contact with highly radioactive Originium would increase the fusion rate of Originium with the cells of everyone present, and consequently, increase the density of Originium crystals in their blood.

When the Originium fusion rate reaches a certain value, the infected will watch helplessly as they turn into ore in excruciating pain, step by step marching towards death.

"Collect the Originium fragments on the ground and give them to Dr. Kal'tsit for testing when we get back."

"Yes."

Amiya gave the order, then walked forward, gazing at the black knight's retreating figure with a smile.

"Doctor, you're still as gentle as ever."

……

"Master, 50% of the data sharing is complete. The remaining 50% of the data has an extremely high risk of infection. Should we continue the synchronization process?"

Within the digitized spiritual realm, Silver Lotus inquired, her forehead still pressed against the forehead of the unconscious Talulah.

"...No need, come back."

"Yes, Master."

The silver lotus rose gracefully and respectfully returned to Lin Lu's side.

Her eyes flashed with a torrent of numbers as she began processing data to assist the spiritual realm's information processing.

Lin Lu, carrying his longsword, walked gracefully toward the unconscious Talulah, but an extremely cold ice pillar pierced through the air and blocked his path.

Stop.

A cool female voice came from behind him, and Lin Lu's gaze involuntarily turned to the side.

"—!"

The menacing visor suddenly erupted with cobalt blue flames, and the invisible aura forced the Reunion Movement soldiers who were trying to rush forward to rescue their leader to their knees. The silver-haired, rabbit-eared girl standing at the forefront of them couldn't help but let out a cold snort, staggering slightly, but still straightened her back, showing no sign of fear.

She has always been very strong-willed, no matter what.