Ark Chess Player.

The regicide wasn't stupid; she was just too lazy to think things through and didn't want to think too much.

However, since it concerns Lin Lu, no matter how unwilling she is, she will actively use her little brain to figure things out.

The person Lin Lu is about to meet is likely the person who has been in control of the organization during the years he has been missing. There are two possibilities: if this person is not driven by years of lust for power, they will obediently submit and return the leadership of the Army Without Borders to Lin Lu.

The second scenario, of course, is... the worst-case scenario.

“Ryu, no matter how many underground levels we are, I will take you away.”

The regicide stared directly at Lin Lu, conveying his words before releasing the hem of Lin Lu's hooded coat that he had been unconsciously gripping.

"I really wish I were the one saying such cool things." Lin Lu smiled, gently rubbed the King Killer's head, waved, and went inside.

The regicide clutched her head, her gaze lingering on Lin Lu's retreating figure until the door closed again.

"Idiot...you're the one who said those words to me."

She muttered quietly.

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.

Lin Lu narrowed his eyes.

Bright beams of light surged in from all directions, and the temperature was frighteningly high, as if there were a small sun inside.

In Lin Lu's expectations, this should have been the research team's research lab, or at least an architectural design similar to a research center. But reality often differs from expectations. He felt as if he had been transported to another world. At the end of his field of vision was a long corridor, and the surrounding material was a mineral that resembled a mirror.

As if stepping into a kaleidoscope world, Lin Lu momentarily couldn't tell whether he was standing on the ground or in the sky. A kaleidoscope is an optical toy. Brightly colored objects are placed at one end of a cylinder, a prism is placed in the middle of the cylinder, and the other end is sealed with a perforated glass. By looking through the perforation, one can observe symmetrical and beautiful images.

The constantly refracted light gave the white world a mesmerizing glow, and the further you walked, the more you could feel something appearing in your mind.

"——————"

Lin Lu could vaguely hear murmurs echoing in his ears, the sounds drawn out.

The sounds started as faint, barely audible crawling like ants, but gradually escalated into a cacophony of construction noise, a constant barrage of irritating din. It was like someone had shoved a TikTok video right next to his ear and blasted it at full volume, and then, damn it, wrapped tape all over his head! How utterly inhumane!

"It's so noisy, shut up."

Lin Lu did not fly into a rage or scream hysterically.

He stood calmly in place, speaking in a stern tone that left no room for argument, as cold and resolute as a king.

The invisible pressure transformed into a tangible wave of air, sweeping through the hundred-meter-long corridor, and the faint echo of colliding glass could be heard.

These noisy voices were instantly suppressed, not even a rustling sound dared to be made, for fear that the solicitous words of advice would be regarded as noise.

"..."

Lin Lu strode forward indifferently.

The deeper he went into the corridor, the more he realized that his remaining strength was being plundered.

When he was halfway there, a strong feeling of dizziness hit him, and he staggered forward, almost falling to the ground.

Even so, Lin Lu did not lean against the wall for support. His intuition told him never to try to touch anything around him, as it would have terrible consequences.

Lin Lu had no choice but to keep moving forward.

He can't go back; if he turns back, he'll lose.

He dislikes losing, no matter the occasion, the game, or the situation—he has to win.

Chapter 211 Meruru

"Haa...ah...haa..."

When Lin Lu had walked about two-thirds of the way down the corridor, he could no longer see his surroundings clearly with his eyesight alone.

The intense white light caused severe pollution; even with his hood up and eyes closed, he could feel the eerie glow pouring down upon him. Every few steps, faint black smoke emanated from his body, like the malevolent aura emanating from a demon.

When Lin Lu finally reached eighty meters and was just a short distance from the door, he began to hallucinate.

These hallucinations were so real, it was as if I could smell the battlefield.

Smoke filled the air, and the stench of blood and corpses filled the nostrils.

Even with his eyes closed, Lin Lu could see the person in front of him gazing at him with expectant eyes, pleading for his command in a hoarse voice. So much expectation, so heavy hope, at the moment he chose to take on this burden. He felt as if he were wearing a mask—a mask called reason.

"I must win."

Lin Lu's chapped lips trembled, and his voice escaped involuntarily.

But why win?

"If I don't win, I'll die, and everyone will die."

Lin Lu bit his lip hard, squeezing out beads of blood from his dry lips. The stinging pain made him take another step.

—What do those people have to do with you? You brought victory to them, yet they buried you in a sarcophagus with their own hands! Look closely, is the respect in their eyes really respect? They are afraid, they are terrified, they are worried about you, the rational monster! Will they see you as the next pawn, to die for victory?

“I am not a god, I do not have the power to change the world with one hand. I can only try my best to win, even if I am misunderstood. I promised her, and her, that no matter how miserable we are, we must persevere.”

—It's okay if you're considered a monster?

"..."

Lin Lu did not answer the question.

He had reached the end of the corridor.

Lin Lu raised his hand and placed it in front of the door. He pondered for a long time, longer than the time it took him to walk from the entrance to this place.

Finally, a faint smile appeared on Lin Lu's lips.

"I am a monster."

The locked door was quietly pushed open.

------

"Brain pollution index is no less than 20%, nervous system damage rate exceeds 25%, and numerical visual field is almost half destroyed. The hippocampus may have physical damage, and there is a layer of black airflow blocking the cerebral cortex, making further observation impossible... BOSS, what exactly made you like this?"

Spotlights shone down from all directions, converging on the steel throne. Lin Lu sat quietly upon it, his head slightly lowered, silver-white hair falling across his face. A layer of black-gold metallic skeleton enveloped him, like a giant opening its arms to embrace him, or like some monster opening its blood-red maw to bite him.

The messy yet orderly wires connect to the frame, while the various instruments connected to the other end display the values ​​in the form of digital graphics and lines.

When Lin Lu stepped through the door, he was already trapped in an illusion and guided onto the machine.

Judging from the BOSS's mental state, he should be waking up by now, right?

As expected, Lin Lu slowly raised his head, his deep cobalt blue eyes almost overflowing from their sockets.

He woke up, walked to the end of the corridor of consciousness, and broke the illusion with his own power.

Lin Lu exhaled a puff of white mist. The feeling of his entire body being almost steamed by the high temperature was not an illusion; he could vaguely feel the traces of electric current coursing through his body, and his whole body ached. He smelled the aroma of alcohol, a very strong and intense fragrance, coming from afar, making him feel drowsy and involuntarily immersed in it. The strong, pungent liquor had a spicy flavor, so rich that it almost filled his nostrils, revealing a strong possessiveness.

"Welcome back, Boss."

"……Who are you?"

Lin Lu looked in the direction of the sound, and a magnificent red color came into view, making him momentarily lost in thought.

Her long, crimson hair, as red as fine wine, was tied high in a ponytail, and her bright rose-gold eyes stared straight at Lin Lu, filled with joy and longing.

The black vest beneath the floor-length white robe failed to conceal her figure; not a single inch of skin was exposed from her neck to her black leather shoes, yet it exuded an even more lethal allure. It was hard to say whether she intended to cover herself completely or to use the uniform to showcase her perfect figure. Her slender, shapely legs, full and firm hips, and the red tie stretched taut by her heavy breasts made her waist appear incredibly slender, almost too delicate to be grasped in one hand.

"Bai Huang, leader of the Borderless Army R&D team."

The beauty seemed to remember something, revealing a slightly lonely look in her eyes, and said softly, "Of course, you can also call me by the name you used to like... Meruru."

She recalled that when the Army Without Borders was first established, the research and development team was penniless and had nothing.

At that time, she kept pestering Lin Lu for money, after all, researching and developing technology was a money-burning endeavor, and there was no guarantee of recouping the investment. But a qualified organization couldn't function without logistics; technology was the primary productive force. Without technology, there was no progress; without technology, one would fall behind; and falling behind meant being vulnerable to attack. Lin Lu deeply understood this principle, so he poured all the initial funding for the startup and the rewards from bounty missions into Bai Huang.

As the Army Without Borders grew larger and larger, Lin Lu, having accumulated considerable experience, began to take on the challenge of crisis contracts.

The more dangerous the mission, the richer the reward. Lin Lu was able to win every time, and gradually the Army Without Borders began to have money. What to do with money? Of course, continue to develop technology! First, level up the technology tree. I want all kinds of big bombs. Bigger is better, bigger is more powerful, the bigger the more powerful.

Lin Lu changed his tactics, turning the situation from Bai Huang chasing him for money to Lin Lu carrying box after box of money and chasing Bai Huang for new toys.

"Pah! You're talking nonsense about Meruru when you don't even have a blueprint."

This was one of Lin Lu's catchphrases back then. He started calling Bai Huang "Mei Lulu" at some point. Only he could use this nickname. If anyone else dared to call her that, at best they would find all their equipment turned into suicide bombs during a mission, and at worst they would be unable to even leave the house and would be immediately transferred to the medical team.

"Meruru?"

Lin Lu seemed to be deep in thought. He had heard this name before, but where had he heard it from...?

"The Ark Knight System was jointly developed by the 42-star operator, the Rhodes Island ship reliability engineer, the Rhodes Island SUPERVISOR great systems engineer, the top 100 youth of Kazdel, the advocate of open source software, the eternally seventeen-year-old girl Kroos, and Meruru, the leader of the Army Without Borders research team."

—The silly voice of the anemone echoed in Lin Lu's mind.

Chapter 212 The Demon Scientist

"Boss, are you aware of your physical condition?"

Bai Huang freed Lin Lu from the constraints of the metal frame and easily lifted him up in a princess carry, looking quite skilled.

She had carried the exhausted Lin Lu back to his room like this countless nights in the past.

Lin Lu was not only a commander, a soldier, and a legendary mercenary, but also a researcher. His ideas always opened up new worlds for other members of the research team; his theories were absurd yet feasible, making people eager to try them out.

Lin Lu's original plan was to create a giant humanoid alloy machine, approximately eighteen meters tall. Although this vision was not realized, they did solve the biggest challenge for upright bipedal walking weapons—balance. To this end, the Borderless Army's research team began manufacturing armor. Unlike Victoria's steam armor, their vision was much broader. They didn't want toys; they wanted to create mythology, they wanted to recreate history.

Therefore, Lin Lu was more than just a leader in the eyes of the research team members; he was a like-minded friend and a kind-hearted madman. Only a madman could come up with such brilliant ideas; the title of "Devil Scientist" was truly well-deserved. How could a good boss who was willing to put himself in his subordinates' shoes, willing to take the research products directly to mercenary missions for practical testing, and participate in development through testing experience, not respect the other researchers?

"Am I in a bad physical condition?"

Lin Lu strained to tilt his head back, even though his neck ached as a result.

This angle is absolutely amazing, truly incredible.

Seen sideways as a peak on the side of the ridge, the height varies from far to far.

I don't know the true face of Lushan, I am only in this mountain.

Wow, wow, the uniforms of the Army Without Borders are so nice, so nice. I wish Rhodes Island could have something like that... But wait, if Amiya wore those uniforms, she'd probably look pitiful and lacking in substance.

For some reason, whenever Lin Lu thought of the words "steel plate," he would always imagine a white, tender fist pounding into his nose. Was this just his imagination?

Bai Huang knew where Lin Lu was looking, but she didn't mind. Their relationship had actually been separated by a thin veil for many years, and once that veil was broken, everything would fall apart.

In the army without borders, whether in Chaoshan or Jing, there are quite a few women who have feelings for Lin Lu that exceed those of the opposite sex.

Lin Lu is happy to interact with them, but he will never do anything that crosses the line.

This wasn't because he always adhered to the rule that superiors shouldn't kiss subordinates, nor was it out of gentlemanly manners, but because... once upon a time, a woman took his heart with her the moment she left, that's all.

It's probably for the best that he has amnesia now. If he doesn't remember those things, it's a kind of redemption for the BOSS.

Bai Huang settled Lin Lu in a chair that looked unremarkable but was surprisingly comfortable to sit in.

Because his entire body was filled with electric current, Lin Lu's limbs were still a little numb, but this subtle pain was not bad for him. At least he could clearly feel the reality that he was still alive.

This is the outer area of ​​a research lab, somewhat like a meeting room, but it's actually used for meetings.

The research and development team holds regular weekly academic discussions here. Despite the boss's absence over the past few years, they haven't let their work slack off; on the contrary, it has fueled their research drive. This is because the boss left behind a wealth of incredible conceptual blueprints, enough to keep them thoroughly researching.

For example, firearms that can be used without Originium Arts, real firearms, weapons that even ordinary people can use.

And the diagrams of humanoid figures—though they didn't know why the BOSS was so insistent on anthropomorphizing these weapons, his expression at the time deeply shocked them. Guns and girls—this was a man's romance, something the big shots above wouldn't understand!

“I’ve watched the combat footage shared by the intelligence team. Those new recruits were so excited that they hugged and cheered, as if they were on drugs. To them, you are their idol, their guiding light. You are a living legend, the mercenary king who dominated the Crisis Contract, and the one who dared to say, ‘We are not helpless in the face of natural disasters.’”

The research institute's large screen projected ultra-high-definition combat footage, showing Lin Lü's best battle scenes.

For example, Lin Lu cleaved a lumberjack's arm in two with a single sword stroke, then swiftly slashed through the enemy's spine with a backhand thrust before severing his heavy head. The scene was extremely bloody, but the Army Without Borders, being a private armed force, was already used to such things.

Death is like the wind, always by my side.

The sight of the enemy being killed in three moves brought tears to the eyes of the soldiers of the Army Without Borders.

It's like seeing the cat boss pick up a gun again after many years...

"But for me, and for those of us who have lived from five years ago until now, Boss, you've regressed."

Bai Huang has always been direct in her speech. For example, she had proposed to Lin Lu more than once, but he had rejected her every time.

"You used to be able to infiltrate the spell-infused towers of Letania single-handedly, launch a fierce attack on the Knights of Casimir alone, and even wipe out the entire Colombian Marine Corps, kidnapping their lieutenant to serve as a recruit in your combat team. Compared to the BIG BOSS of yesteryear, you're now a BIG BABY, a kid who's just learned to walk. You think it's impressive to decapitate an enemy with three sword strikes? It's a far cry from your past self, not to mention the battles that followed. When I saw you being beaten to a pulp, do you know what I wanted to say? I wanted to drop a Veronica on the spot and take down the Hulkbuster armor for you. It was so frustrating, so incredibly frustrating to watch!"

Bai Huang cursed and turned off the projector, pouting angrily, and crossed her arms over her chest.

Lin Lu quietly observed her, and for some reason, he found it quite interesting.