Ark Chess Player

"You...you're only gloating for now!!"

Esby could barely move his uncontrollable lips; he was powerless to resist and could only watch helplessly as his companions died one by one before his eyes.

From beginning to end, an invisible force suppressed him, dulling his fighting spirit, extinguishing his will to resist, and making his limbs feel as if they were filled with lead. Even with this smiling demon right in front of him, he didn't have the courage to struggle. It seemed that from the very first moment he failed to retaliate, he lost some kind of right.

"The Ursus Empire will never let you get away with this! Your actions will leave an indelible mark. When the Northern Iron Cavalry tramples the wasteland, I will be waiting for you in hell," Esby said viciously. He knew what his fate would be, and he knew that begging for mercy would be meaningless to the man before him. Rather than that, he would rather uphold the dignity and pride of being an Ursus citizen.

However, Lin Lu could only laugh at his face.

This man, from beginning to end, still believed in this country that had betrayed its people—no, in the king who had betrayed his people. One wonders what kind of expression he'll have when he learns the truth. But Lin Lu wasn't interested in that; he wasn't a twisted, mentally ill person who fed on the suffering of others.

"What does the disappearance of a small number of Chernobog refugees have to do with me, Lin?" Lin Lu waved his hand and said.

"You—what is this!?" Esby's eyes widened so much they almost popped out.

Black mud spread from the soil, swallowing the bloodstains on the ground. The scattered, fragmented pieces of the corpse slowly melted, eventually turning into pools of black mud.

Lin Lu lightly twirled his fingers, the black sludge extracted from Ghost Shark's church robes flowing through his palm. This ominous power, in a sense, was related to the knight he transformed into after using the black card. It was like a gift from an unknown realm, its price already secretly marked.

"Even if we don't clean it up, I can still prove in another way that this was done by Originium-infected creatures. Or, I can just leave these corpses here openly and wait for the Ursus people to come. Do you think they would create a new enemy for a bunch of expendable pawns? Heh, they will only use you as bargaining chips to make profits. Even dregs can create new value through recycling. You are the dung, and the fertile pile of corpses will promote the crooked branches of Ursus to flourish, eventually crushing the decaying and rotting trunk."

"you……"

Esby knelt on the ground, his eyes no longer filled with the arrogance he had before.

Lin Lu took out a tactical rope, one of the essential supplies for frontline operators procured by Rhodes Island's purchasing department from Raytheon Industries. The tactical rope can be contracted at both ends via a central axis structure for easy carrying. It is extremely tough and highly wear-resistant, making it popular among bondage enthusiasts.

Whether or not this body retained some muscle memory of binding enemies, Lin Lu easily tackled and tied up the two-meter-tall strongman. To prevent Esby from resisting, he also deliberately dislocated the man's hands, watching with satisfaction as the hypocritical strongman screamed in agony on the ground.

A true macho man is slender and thin, and can bend his fingers at a 90-degree angle without changing his expression.

The fake macho man, as strong as an ox and with well-developed limbs, couldn't stop whimpering and trembling like a maggot when his hands were dislocated after being tied up.

"Guess where we're going next?" Lin Lu patted Esby's face hard, his smile spreading across his face as he spread his arms wide with childlike joy. "We're going to Chernobog! Surprised? Unexpected, right? You went through so much trouble to escape from your former homeland all the way here, looking like drowned rats. But now, you'll be going home soon."

Lin Lu thought for a moment and added, "I just don't know if your infected neighbors, whom you've been so concerned about, will welcome you back."

Aisby's eyes widened suddenly, and he burst out cursing, "*Ursus profanity*!!!"

Ignoring Esby's roar, Lin Lu tied the other end of the tactical rope to the back of Noah's motorcycle, and even tied a figure-eight knot to make sure it wouldn't break free when the 86 went down the mountain.

"Ok?"

As Lin Lu straddled the car, ready to depart, he seemed to sense something and subconsciously glanced at the end of the wasteland.

After staring intently for sixty seconds, Lin Lu smiled, pressed the accelerator to the floor, and the Noah motorcycle sped to its top speed, the engine roaring through the night.

The sudden increase in speed even flung Esby, who was tied to the back, to the front of the vehicle, but he quickly fell back to the back due to the inertia of the high-speed movement. Esby enjoyed the exhaust fumes as he kissed the ground intimately, like a fish that had fallen ashore. Large patches of his skin were torn apart by the wasteland full of Originium impurities. His shrill screams were initially loud, but eventually faded away.

-

On a hill one kilometer away from where Lin Lu had been.

A deep red motorcycle slowly came to a stop. The man sitting on the motorcycle took a deep drag of his cigarette and exhaled thick white smoke toward the bright moon.

The crimson motorcycle has the word "Angela" carved with a knife on its front, and hangs a badge that once made countless mercenaries yearn for it and made countless nobles tremble with fear.

The emblem of an army without borders.

Chapter Ninety-Five: The Damp Smell

The roar of the Originium Engine continued for a long time, and a bright beam of light pierced through half of the desert.

Under the high beams of Noah's heavy machine, the rugged ground was full of potholes, and occasionally cracks several meters long would suddenly appear. Originium clusters would occasionally emerge in the dim vision.

The harsh environment made Lin Lu frown. If it weren't for the Noah motorcycle's powerful performance and shock absorbers, even he wouldn't have been able to maintain full speed for half an hour.

This made him understand even more why such an incredible mechanical design as a mobile city exists; perhaps only tracks and off-road vehicles could adapt to this wasteland.

Assuming that most of the world of Terra is like this, then calling this world hell wouldn't be an exaggeration, would it? It's simply unsuitable for human habitation, and due to the lack of clearing and maintenance, rampant Originium seeps into the soil, draining even the nutrients for planting, turning it into a veritable wasteland.

Lin Lu could smell the Originium even with his breath, not to mention how high the Originium radiation was here.

Roughly calculated, perhaps two-thirds of the refugees who trekked from Chernobog to Lungmen would be infected with Oripathy, and the rest wouldn't fare much better.

Without any preparation, the refugees had no protection against Originium dust, and perhaps due to injuries, these were all important factors contributing to their infection with Oripathy.

Lin Lu narrowed his eyes. He had been using the information processing capabilities of his spiritual domain to analyze the potential dangers along the way and avoid areas with hidden hazards. Even with such caution, he had still narrowly escaped being killed by the harsh environment.

Noah's Heavy Machine repeatedly and perilously crossed the fragile, collapsed ground, crushing countless tiny fragments of impurity source stone.

If someone were to leave the mobile city-state in such low visibility conditions as he did, unless they possessed considerable strength, they would become nourishment for the land.

"Doctor...you seem to be in a very good mood?"

The miniature anemone lay obediently on the dial of Noah's motorcycle, occasionally peeking out to admire the scenery. At first, she was moved by the distant mountains and the bright moonlight, appreciating the unique beauty of the landscape. She made a picture frame with her hands, looking left and right, as if taking a photo.

Later, the anemones got a little tired of it and lay there like a salted fish, basking in the moonlight.

Because the data related to Noah's Heavy Machinery is directly mapped into the Spirit Realm, transforming into a chart with its own amplitude of increase and decrease, the anemone can roll around on the dial without any restraint.

"Is it that obvious?" Lin Lu's voice came from inside the helmet, sounding a bit muffled, but you could still tell that his tone was a little higher than usual.

"Hmph, I can read your mind, I know what you're thinking. Let me see what you're thinking right now—oh dear, Doctor, you're so lecherous." Anemone, lying on the dial, suddenly stuck out her tongue, covering her long skirt that was billowing in the wind, looking like she had been taken advantage of.

"...Fine, I see now, you're just trying to put me on display."

Lin Lu suppressed the urge to complain.

However, it's true that he was in a good mood. He felt that the frustration that had accumulated over the past few days was dissipating in the process of speeding.

Especially when Lin Lu encountered several clueless Originium creatures charging at him, he used his superb driving skills to brake and drift, using the human hammer Esby, which was tied to the back of the car, to smash the hideous infected monsters to the ground. The feeling of this Stand attack was indescribably exhilarating.

Especially the crisp sound of bones cracking is enough to calm all restlessness.

"Anemone, I have a premonition right now. Even if I regain my memories and recognize my past self, I will not be confused."

Lin Lu chuckled, saying that whether in the past or now, what he had to do was the same.

"After all, Doctor, you used to be a pervert, and now you've just become an old pervert." Anemone spread her arms, stepped on the watch face, and shouted, "Celebrate! The ultimate beast-eared maniac who wanders outside of time and is lost in the past and future, he is the battlefield commander of Babel Tower, the leader of the Army Without Borders, the Doctor of Rhodes Island. At this moment, history has finally turned to its final chapter."

"I'll give you three seconds to rephrase your statement."

"I'm sorry, I was wrong, sob sob sob."

Anemone instantly backed down and sat on the clock face, pretending to squeeze out two tears.

Lin Lu shook his head helplessly. He understood that Yinlianhua was trying to ease the awkward atmosphere by acting silly. After all, he had gone a bit too far before, tearing living people to pieces in front of an artificial idiot and breaking the attacking city defenses in two, as if possessed by a demon. Perhaps even the Originium monsters were not as cruel as him.

But Lin Lu has no regrets.

He was convinced of one thing when he woke up.

There are only two kinds of people in this world: his people and his enemies.

Of course, Lin Lu himself is not included in this category; what he needs to do is take care of his own people and eliminate threatening enemies.

“Doctor, we are about to arrive at the mobile city of Chernobog. I suggest you slow down and turn off the headlights. Anemone hereby requests permission to drive the Noah Motorcycle independently. I will be responsible for the rest of the journey and will ensure your safety.” Anemone offered, extending her hand.

Although most of the time Anemone acts like his ex-girlfriend, she always manages to be intelligent enough to provide Lin Lu with necessary assistance when it comes to being serious.

"Approved."

Lin Lu confidently removed his hands from the Noah motorcycle's grips and slowly moved his aching wrists.

The headlights of the Noah motorcycle gradually dimmed, and the autonomous driving route was marked on the ground in the Lingyu data display field of vision.

Lin Lu remained silent for a long while before slowly asking, "...Why didn't you tell me from the beginning that this thing could drive itself?"

"Doctor, life is short, so take it easy. Slacking off is so much fun, don't you want to?"

Lin Lu nodded with deep feeling: "That makes sense. I'll leave it to you on the return trip. It's better to touch it together than to touch it alone."

"Doctor Onore! Aren't you afraid I'll drive in the opposite direction all the way to the Reunion Movement's home base?!"

"How dare you, you beast! You traitor! You artificial idiot!"

"Go ahead and curse me again!"

The Noah motorcycle suddenly stopped, nearly throwing Lin Lu off.

Fortunately, he possessed exceptional waist strength, managing to withstand the momentum. He didn't end up flying into the air like Esby, who became a blurry, pixelated mess, only to be pulled heavily back to the ground by the tactical ropes that bound him, making a dull, lifeless thud.

"Anemone, are you trying to kill me so you can inherit my Alipay Huabei account?!"

Lin Lu clutched his waist and said fiercely, but before he could recover, the Noah motorcycle's engine suddenly started and sped off to the left.

Just as Lin Lu's upper body was thrown back by the reaction force, his dizzying perspective caught a blurry outline, and he realized that a black shadow had appeared in his original path.

"--hiss."

A muffled breathing sound arose, and a deformed monster attacked at high speed from the shadows, bringing with it a surging, damp smell.

Lin Lu decisively drew his tactical short blade and, almost the instant the monster charged, severed the tactical rope connecting the back of the vehicle, abandoning his stand, Esby, on the wasteland.

The Noah Heavy Machine accelerated to its highest setting, the roar of its engine filling the air once more. At this point, it no longer cared about being discovered while stealthily moving. These indescribable, bizarre monsters were far more threatening than the Reunion soldiers of Chernobog. Anemone used almost all of its processing power to accelerate the Noah Heavy Machine, leaving behind illusory afterimages.

Even from a great distance, Lin Lu could hear the bizarre sounds of human bodies being chewed.

Lin Lu took off his helmet against the wind, the damp smell still lingering in his nostrils.

Chapter Ninety-Six: Just as I wished

"What the hell is this...?"

Lin Lu frowned and couldn't help but swear.

Anyone else would have been stunned into silence upon seeing the strange creature Head & Shoulders charging at them, falling into a disadvantageous position and completely at their mercy. But Lin, at least, remained calm and collected, analyzing the situation with sharp insight.

Lin Lu narrowed his eyes slightly, and the area covered by his spiritual domain expanded further, tentatively extending towards the location where they had been before. He found that the mutilated corpses were still on the ground. In the end, Esby still couldn't return to his hometown alive. It was truly a sin, a sin.

Strangely, the monster that had appeared earlier was no longer there; it had vanished without a trace.

No, to be precise, it was the first time the ever-reliable Spirit Realm had failed, unable to read this kind of information.

Is it because of the anemone's celebration? Well, anemone, that poisonous milk has killed someone! You'd better shut up from now on!

...That's what they say, but if Anemone doesn't react in time, Lin Lu might fall into an ambush due to his overconfidence.

In a sense, it was the anemone that saved his life, and the Paw Patrol made a great contribution.

"Doctor, are you alright?" Anemone asked, her voice less silly and more calm.

"According to the data, your heart rate is fast, your blood pressure is high, and your mental state is unstable. Anemone suggests, would you like me to tell you a corny joke to calm you down?"