Ark Chess Player

"It's okay, it'll be quick."

"Hmm? You look down on me? I think you have absolutely no idea!"

"What are you saying? Don't move, or I'll hit you."

The regicide picked up a wooden comb and began to tidy up Lin Lu's messy, shoulder-length hair. He then carefully took a dark red ribbon and used it to tie up Lin Lu's hair.

"This is my most precious treasure. You must not lose it. If you do, I'll beat you to death."

The regicide snorted, placed her hands on Lin Lu's shoulders, slapped him hard, and pushed him toward the door.

"Ryu, go do what you want to do."

Lin Lu was pushed out the door. He looked back and saw the King Killer smiling and waving at him.

As the cabin door closed, Lin Lu raised his hand and touched the ribbon in his hair, feeling a sense of peace involuntarily.

"To do what I want to do...?"

Lin Lu tilted his head back, took a deep breath, and his invisible spiritual domain rapidly spread and expanded.

"—!?"

Elite operators throughout Rhodes Island, as well as those with higher levels of Insight, all looked up. Some even reflexively prepared for Level 1 combat, surprised and suspicious of this spying.

Kal'tsit, who was working on documents in her office, frowned slightly and muttered, "What is he up to now..."

When Lin Lu opened his eyes again, a flash of cobalt blue flames appeared in his eyes.

"found it."

Lin Lu took a deep breath and walked towards the engineering department.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Rhode Island Chief Engineer's Office.

Kroos, who calls herself a 42-star operator, one of Kazdel's top 100 youths, and a Rhodes Island ship reliability engineer, suddenly has a bad feeling.

Her intuition was always sharp; whenever she sensed something good was about to happen, something bad was sure to follow. Whenever she had a bad feeling, an unavoidable disaster was about to befall her.

"The Ark Drive... it's floating?"

Kroos rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was hallucinating because she had been working for twenty hours straight.

During the Battle of Chernobog, the Ark Drive was corroded by an unknown blood, causing irreversible damage. Even after she disassembled it into individual parts for inspection, replaced them with the parts currently available from Rhodes Island's tools, and reassembled it, it still exuded an ominous aura that filled her with dread.

"My God, this is unbelievable."

Koro1 suddenly realized what had happened and abruptly looked up to check the surveillance equipment.

To avoid being caught slacking off by Kal'tsit, Kroos had already tampered with the passageway leading to her office, intending to alert anyone approaching. However, all her equipment was now malfunctioning, even the backdoor she had left in the PRTS system was ineffective.

For a moment, Kroos felt like her own child had entered a rebellious phase and was unwilling to share what was happening at school with her.

"I understand."

Kroos nodded thoughtfully, muttering to herself, "There are only two people in this world who can hack my devices! One is my lifelong nemesis, and the other is..."

She whirled around, raised her hand, pointed at the newcomer, and shouted, "There's only one truth, and it's you! Doctor!!"

After Kroos shouted, she was silent for a few seconds, then tilted her head.

"...Who are you, handsome?"

Chapter Eighty-Eight: Armed Cavalry

Kroos once saw the Doctor without his mask.

Black hair, black eyes, dark circles under the eyes, pale skin, high nose bridge, and chapped lips.

His eyes were empty, as if there was nothing in them, like a corpse that was still breathing.

On the most brutal battlefields, the man always wore a hood and a mask, completely concealing his face.

It's like... being replaced by anyone at some point.

Anyone who wears a mask can be called a "doctor".

At this very moment, the handsome young man standing outside the Rhodes Island chief engineer's office had changed his hair color and his entire demeanor. He had gone from lifeless to walking with a confident stride, from unsophisticated to a fashion icon. But Kroos could tell at a glance that he was still the same person.

"Are you Kroos?"

Lin Lu looked at the information provided by the Spirit Realm and then matched Kroos with the image of the Rhodes Island engineer in the PRTS system data in his mind.

Standing amidst the chaotic pile of junk and machine tools, the Sarkaz Blood Demon looked like a young woman who had just come of age. She had long, dark blue hair, orange-red eyes, and faint dark circles under her eyes. She wore a white undershirt, a heavy engineer's coat, and a multi-functional pouch slung across her waist.

"Doctor, don't you recognize me? Huh? Did I sleep too long and become stupid? Oh dear..."

Kroos covered her face with her hands, seemingly feeling sorry for the Doctor.

This guy is probably a drama queen, Lin Lu thought to himself.

“I’m here to retrieve the Ark Driver.” Lin Lu pointed behind Kroos.

"No!" Upon hearing this, Kroos slowly shook her head and said, "It's not fully repaired yet, and we can't guarantee it will work properly. Especially the black class card, which has already developed cracks under overload! I've seen the detailed battle report of the Chernobog operation in Kal'tsit's files. Doctor, you almost died on the spot, do you know that!"

Kroos's expression turned serious. If Kal'tsit were here, she would be very surprised.

Because Kroos is always smiling, it seems that no other expression will ever appear on her face.

"As an engineer and a designer, I am glad that my work can function and protect those I cherish. However, if you, Doctor, die during use because of my work's malfunction, I will remember it for the rest of my life. Don't underestimate the Blood Demon's life; it will be an incredibly long and painful time."

Kroos turned around and hugged the Ark Driver and the Class Card Box, unwilling to let go.

Even though she was once teased by the PhD as a shrewd businesswoman, even a shrewd businesswoman has her bottom line. Although the things she sells are expensive, the quality must be good!

Lin Lu was somewhat lost in thought. After returning to Rhodes Island, he was surrounded by people who admired him.

Only those who share his views can see other things from different perspectives.

"Thank you."

Lin Lu smiled slightly, his smile sincere.

It wasn't because of the Ark Driver, but simply out of gratitude for the Blood Demon Girl's concern for him.

“However, please rest assured.” Lin Lu raised his left hand, palm up. “I will absolutely not die, absolutely. Once I die, there will be no turning back.”

Kroos's arms trembled, and the violently shaking Ark Driver, along with the class card box, burst out of her embrace and fell into Lin Lu's hands.

Kroos: "???"

Whether it was a blessing or a curse is unclear, but after W used forbidden blood to smear the Ark Driver that maintained a mental connection with Lin Lü, Lin Lü's connection to the Ark Driver became stronger, even reaching the point of mastering the void. This was both an advantage and a weakness for him.

"If we don't fight, we can't survive."

Lin Lu chuckled self-deprecatingly, omitting the last sentence that belonged to this passage.

He approached Kroos, who looked like she had seen a ghost, placed her employee ID card on the table, and pushed it forward.

"I'd like to try it."

According to the PRTS system, Kroos is the head of the purchasing department of Rhodes Island's biggest black market dealer (just kidding), a certain heavy-armored operator instructor is a snack vendor, and a heavy-armored operator from a contracted logistics company is a private vendor. Therefore, it's clear that if Kroos were ever deployed to the front lines, Lin Lu would definitely give her a shield.

Kroos stared at Lin Lu, her gaze shifting from his eyes to the Ark Driver, then to the employee cards on the table, before finally letting out a helpless sigh.

"Whether in the past or now, you haven't changed a bit. Fine! I know! You don't even listen to Kal'tsit, so what can I, a mere bystander, say? Come on, take a look at the goods! Friendly reminder: my products are all worth buying!"

Kroos swept all the mechanical props off the table, the sound of the parts hitting the ground crisp and clear.

The robot vacuum cleaner reluctantly stepped forward to clean up, and the vacuum cleaner automatically collected, categorized, and moved the waste to the storage container.

Kroos slammed her hand on the table, her gaze fixed on Lin Lu's shirt and black vest. "Doctor," she asked, "do you need a new coat?"

Lin Lu nodded: "That's right."

"Very good." Kroos snapped her fingers, resetting the hacked area system and regaining control.

Here, Kroos's office is her castle, and she is the only queen of this castle.

The mechanical instrument installed on the ceiling fell down, and a bright blue light covered Lin Lu, quickly reading his basic information.

Kroos asked, "Doctor, is this for a formal occasion or a social event?"

After a moment's thought, Lin Lu replied, "Social."

"To wear during the day or at night?"

"One for daytime and one for nighttime."

What style?

"Latran".

How many buttons are needed?

Two.

What about the lining?

Lin Lu said decisively, "Armed cavalry."

Kroos blinked, took a slight breath, and then slowly relaxed her shoulders.

"Doctor, are you planning to storm back to Chernobog and kidnap the leader of the Reunion Movement back to Rhodes Island? Or is there some giant Originium creature nearby that has breached the defenses, and you're planning to do some rehabilitation training and take care of it while you're at it?"

Lin Lu smiled warmly: "I'm getting old and can't sleep, so I just want to take a walk at night. The neighborhood isn't very safe, so I need some security."

"I don't believe you for a second, you wicked Doctor!" Kroos snorted, waving her hand as she transmitted the compiled data to the machine. "D32 steel sheet, exceptional strength, impenetrable, smoothly conducts Originium Arts. Polymerized gel matrix, accompanied by laminated materials, Pope-class musketeer armor. The processing station is working at full capacity, please wait a moment. Doctor, is there anything else you want?"

Lin Lu seemed to be deep in thought when he asked, "Do you know about the Ghost Shark?"

"I know all the information about Rhodes Island's operators, and we support delivery services!"

Kroos confidently patted her rather large chest, causing the rounded curves to sway and shake.

Lin Lu picked up his mobile terminal, checked the PRTS system for a while, and slowly placed an order: "I want a set of Cambrian Series 1096 winter new clothes, delivered directly to Specter's private ward. In addition, please send a bottle of vodka to Andre Cher of Rhodes Island Operation Reserve Group A4, and make a note that it's half a catty of sweet potato liquor."

Chapter 89 Doctor, This Heavily Sinned Man

"Kroos!!"

Kal'tsit abruptly pushed open the office door of Rhodes Island's chief engineer.