Ark Chess Player.

But this is just an appetizer.

Lin Lu's next movements were as swift as lightning and as fast as the wind, all done in one smooth motion.

His left hand, poised to strike, clenched into a fist, slicing through the air with a loud bang, and struck the mercenary leader squarely in the abdomen.

Lin Lu stood firmly on the ground, using his waist to drive his back, then his back to his shoulders, then his arms, and finally blasting a burst of energy from his hands onto the enemy.

"Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora!!"

The fists struck the flimsy armor repeatedly, but what truly injured the enemy was not the direct impact, but the invisible internal force.

A series of explosive sounds erupted between fists and flesh as Lin Lu delivered twenty-seven powerful punches to the mercenary leader's vital areas in just three seconds. The final punch struck the mercenary leader squarely in the throat, causing him to involuntarily clutch his throat, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets beneath his goggles.

Taking advantage of the opponent's tendency to bend over, Lin Lu swiftly pounced with both hands like a snake, tightly wrapping them around the opponent's arms and forcefully lifting him upwards. At the same time, he swept his right leg heavily across the ground, kicking the mercenary leader hard in the shinbone, and directly back-throwing him to the ground, breaking his spine.

Lin Lu completed his entire set of close-quarters combat techniques in less than ten seconds.

"Grandma once said..."

Lin Lu stretched out his left hand and caught the mobile terminal that had been thrown into the air at the beginning with a "whoosh".

"Justice is myself; I am justice."

The battle was not over yet; until all the enemies fell, they took a walk after dinner.

Without further hesitation, the two mercenaries in the back row pulled the triggers, and the crossbow bolts that were already prepared were released and flew away.

At such close range, if these veterans were to miss their target, they might as well just shoot themselves and commit suicide on the spot!

"Qiang Qiang."

A crisp, light sound rang out; the crossbow bolt, powerful enough to shatter a stone wall, failed to penetrate Lin Lü's armor.

The enemy not only failed to harm Lin Lu, but also triggered the emergency defense system of the hooded coat.

The photon skeleton emitted a cold, silvery light, constructing an Originium magnetic field with a diameter of five meters. This directly trapped the melee mercenary who was attacking from the other side with a sword in the mud, making his movements as if he were walking in a marshmallow. The menacing frontal attack turned into childish play.

With his left hand holding the mobile terminal, Lin Lu flashed forward and grabbed the greedy mercenary with his right hand, pulling him to the side and behind him.

"Guard Vent"

"Pfft—" The sound of flesh being pierced was incredibly clear.

The mercenary's eyes widened, filled with terror and despair.

A bloody spearhead pierced through his waist, a fatal blow to his kidneys, a pain that would haunt him for life.

It turned out that, seeing the situation was not good, the mercenary guard immediately chose to flank and attack from behind, attempting to kill Lin Lu with a single blow. In addition to being able to cast spells, the spear made of Originium, when it successfully pierced the human body, caused the Originium components to mix with the blood. Even if it did not kill the person, it would infect them with the fatal Oripathy.

This is why the mercenary who was drooling over the luxury cars earlier showed a face full of despair when he looked down at the penetrating wound in his waist and abdomen.

Lin Lu tossed the deathly pale mercenary into the luxury car he had been longing for. The mercenary, who had half his body inside through the broken window, coughed up a mouthful of blood, which splattered onto the face of another corpse inside the car.

Anlongdor's butler died with his eyes wide open, his yellowish-brown eyes fixed on the sky, stained with blood.

"Retreat, retreat quickly!"

The two mercenaries in the back row immediately chose to run away; they were neither fools nor loyal knights.

There are usually only two reasons for becoming a mercenary: either they simply enjoy the taste of blood and battle, or they are pitiful people with nowhere else to go who can only seek a place to survive in the simplest and most brutal way. But what's the use of acquiring a lot of money if you don't have the life to enjoy it?

To be honest, the mercenary in the center also wanted to run away; in fact, her legs had started to tremble.

She never expected her all-out attack to go astray. It was all because of that inexplicable feeling of weightlessness that her unstoppable momentum vanished. Otherwise, she would surely have hit her target and pierced through it.

"The only thing that can affect Originium is Originium itself."

Lin Lu glanced at the Originium spear in the hands of the Central Guard mercenary. It was precisely because of this weapon's neutralization of the photon field that she was able to deliver a powerful blow.

well.

Confiscated.

Lin Lu's legs tensed instantly, and he was like an arrow released from a bow, arriving in front of the Central Guard mercenary in the blink of an eye.

He then noticed that it was a young woman, with a pointed chin and a classic oval face. Her eyes, hidden behind goggles, held a resolute determination; she seemed determined to fight to the death. Since escape was impossible, she would fight to the bitter end, and if she was going to die, she would die knowing why.

It's a good seedling.

Unfortunately, he can't see things clearly, and he's a bit slow-witted, not very good at judging people and current events.

Lin Lu is good at many things. In addition to tactical command, business management and logistics management, he is best at two other things.

Close-quarters combat and firearms shooting.

The mercenary suppressed her fear, staring intently at Lin Lu's approaching movements, desperately trying to decipher his intentions. Finally, she took a deep breath and thrust her Originium spear, gripped tightly in both hands, upwards.

The target was quite insidious; men would fall silent upon seeing it, while women would weep.

Lin Lu initially planned to use a hip thrust to knock her back, but then he thought that if he used that move on other women, it would be considered cheating in a sense, right? Amiya, the expert at catching cheaters, might defy the laws of physics and teleport over, and he would inevitably get a beating.

Besides, I don't want to fencing with anyone...

Lin Lu sighed inwardly and boldly reached out with his left hand to grab the Originium Spear.

The other party was stunned, thinking that this person must be crazy to catch a spear with his bare hands. Wasn't he afraid of being pierced through? But considering the person's abnormal fighting ability, even the squad leader was beaten to a pulp and was hit by three rounds of Ora in an instant, lying on the ground, his life hanging in the balance.

She understood that this was her only chance.

If she can't take advantage of the situation to subdue the enemy, then she'll be the one getting blown away next.

There is death for those who are born, but glory for those who do not die.

The mercenary in the center widened his eyes, and with an indomitable spirit, he charged forward with a sudden, powerful thrust!

Lin Lu waved his hand, and the double helix mark on the back of his hand emitted a faint orange-red light.

extraction.

The moment Lin Lu's left hand touched the Originium spear, the sharp spearhead immediately decomposed, transforming into the purest Originium energy and returning it to the mark. Although not as pure as Originium, it was still of superior purity, with fewer impurities, making extraction quite easy.

The mercenary's large eyes were filled with terror. She could no longer stop her charge, watching helplessly as her weapon melted in the enemy's hands. Not only that, she herself fell into the enemy's arms. Without her Originium Spear, she was unable to withstand the photon field. The magnetic field generated by the Originium particles was like an invisible hand dragging her body, slowing her movements and even slowing her thinking.

What should I do? What should I do?!

This was her last remaining wisp of consciousness.

Lin Lu grabbed the gun handle in her hand with his left hand and pulled it out completely, while his right hand wrapped around the mercenary girl's slender waist.

The young mercenary girl was being held in the arms of a stranger for the first time. Fear and novelty surged through her, and her heart pounded rapidly. The stench of blood suddenly dissipated, and the slender arms moved up from her waist, emitting a scent she had never smelled before, yet it didn't feel unpleasant.

Just as the girl was about to rise into the suspension bridge effect, the hands that were caressing her upper body suddenly tightened around her neck.

Such idyllic scenes do not exist. How could our exemplary Mr. Lin be someone who would be unable to extricate himself from the allure of beauty?

Lin Lu turned the girl over, lifted her chin with both arms, and applied pressure precisely to her carotid artery. In less than three seconds, the mercenary girl lost her resistance; insufficient blood supply to the brain caused her blood pressure to drop sharply, and she slumped unconscious.

If someone completely ignorant were to perform this action, they would likely strangle the person to death on the spot rather than simply knock them unconscious. This not only requires a certain precision in targeting acupoints, but also demands precise control of the force applied and the enemy's cooperation. Too little force won't knock them unconscious, while too much force will result in immediate death.

Lin Lu had a strange feeling that he had been through countless trials and tribulations, as if he had killed countless women while holding them in his arms, and that practice made perfect, and his body had muscle memory for it.

“…Ah, you can’t tie me up, you can’t tie me up.”

Lin Lu habitually took out the Fulton recovery device from his pocket, almost sticking it directly to the target. Fortunately, he reacted in time and realized that there were no aircraft carrying Fulton recovery devices hovering over Lungmen. If he had just put it there, it would probably have turned into the sixth installment of "The Mercenary Girl's Bizarre Adventure".

"Their talent is average, but their character is good, and they're not bad looking. Why don't we have the conman take them back to the Army Without Borders? The talented ones can be brought back to Rhodes Island, and those who can't be seen by Amiya can be kidnapped and taken back to Paradise Island. Very good, as expected of me... Am I going back to my old ways, or am I a professional child-picker?"

Lin Lu placed the unconscious mercenary girl in a shady spot away from the sun, marked her with a special tag, and sent a terminal message to the scammers.

The other party responded quickly, immediately dispatching a support team to the scene, ready to help the doctor clean up the mess.

"They really are reliable... I'm even a little tempted by an army without borders."

Lin Lu smiled gently; it felt so good to have logistical support.

What to do? Suddenly, the position of leader of the Army Without Borders seems pretty appealing. Is it true that no one in this world can defy the laws of nature? But I, Lin, don't want to be a corporate slave; holding two jobs at once might just lead to my death from overwork sooner or later.

"Let's talk about it later, let's talk about it later."

Lin Lu muttered to himself in a low voice.

The reason he can't get over this mental block is because... he doesn't want to become the Lin Lv of the past.

"Doctor, the enemy's defenses are fully activated. The entire building has become an impenetrable fortress. Our previously planned route map is no longer effective."

An anemone quietly emerged, her eyes gleaming with the light of data, constantly updating the building's information and intelligence.

The Silverwing Tower has seventeen floors and a rooftop. At this moment, mercenaries are guarding every entrance and exit, from stairwells and elevators to even the ventilation ducts, leaving no stone unturned, not even for a rat. Upon learning of the task force's defeat, Wenger immediately declared the entire security contractor to a state of high alert, deploying all on-duty mercenaries.

Most professionally, Wenger called the police.

Yes, he called the police. Officially, Lungmen Silverwing Security Contractor is a legitimate, law-abiding company in Lungmen. All that tax money they pay every month isn't just wasted; it's about enjoying the rights of a Lungmen citizen and entrepreneur, and having the Guard Bureau's agents come and clean up the mess.

"Okay, let's go in through the main entrance then."

At the end of Lin Lu's gaze, the heavy iron bars of the Silverwing Company's main gate were lowered.

He tapped his helmet lightly with two fingers, then pulled out the Ark Driver and a class card from his pocket.

"Sniper"

Chapter 258 Burning Ashes - Jessica (4K)

Silverwing Private Security Contractor Building, first floor reception area.

"Hey, what kind of enemy did you encounter? Is it really necessary to be shaking like this?"

A mercenary nudged the old crossbowman next to him with his elbow, pointing at his trembling arms.

The old crossbowman then noticed that his hands were trembling, and he quickly covered them tightly, trying to suppress his fear.

As a crossbowman with extensive combat experience, his eyesight was exceptional; he could see clearly even objects 300 meters away. This was due not only to Liberi's racial talent but also to his daily, persistent visual training.

And that's why, when his crossbow bolt hit the enemy... he saw something he shouldn't have seen.

As the dazzling silver light rose from the black coat, revealing the armor's patterns, the old crossbowman saw a hint of cobalt blue deep within the helmet.

The old mercenary had lived on the battlefield for thirty years; he was arguably the most senior among them. If it weren't for his age, the task force captaincy should have been handed over to him.

The longer you live, the more you learn. The more painful the scars, the deeper the fear.

Those deep, cobalt blue eyes were only the second time he had seen them in his not-so-short life.

The first time I met him was five years ago in Ursus, in a remote, impoverished town.

A rash mercenary had merely accidentally knocked over drinks and candles while looting a tavern, starting a fire. In the border region of Ursus, this was nothing unusual; the tavern owner and his family weren't burned to death, at most they were disfigured. For mercenaries of that era, the most they felt was the loss of a stable source of income; no military or police would come to their aid, and no one would offer a helping hand.

...that's how it should be.

Until a rookie mercenary found a homeless little girl on the streets of the town. He learned from the girl that her family had been burned down because they could not bear the world and the country. In their despair, they committed suicide by burning charcoal.

After the rookie mercenary found out what had happened, he took the little girl to the secret mercenary base he had built twenty miles outside the town. When he walked out, holding the girl's hand, he was covered in blood. Apart from the dark red bloodstains, the only color on his body was his pair of endlessly deep cobalt blue eyes.

The old crossbowman was present, but he wasn't one of the mercenaries; he was part of another group of mercenaries planning to rob the bandits. Mercenaries killing each other is perfectly normal; there will always be those who will stop at nothing to amass wealth, and there will always be stronger ones to fleece them.

The veteran crossbowman in charge of reconnaissance waited patiently until the blood-covered man left. Then, with a tentative mindset, he entered the mercenary's lair to investigate.

...In the end, he walked out with his mouth covered, vomiting all the way, his face pale and his hands trembling.

In the mercenary base, none of the mercenaries who participated in the burning, killing, and looting survived, and none of them had their bodies intact.

Later, the mercenary with cobalt blue eyes became a legend in the mercenary world.

"Legends never die."

The old crossbowman murmured, recalling the long-standing Ursus proverb.

Even though there have been rumors for years that the great BIG BOSS has fallen and been buried in Kazdel, the homeland of the demons.

The legendary mercenary organization, Army Without Borders, vanished without a trace, and no one knows where they went. The status of mercenaries is no longer what it once was; it's as if they've lost their core. Even though this rotten world still needs people to do the dirty work of trading lives, mercenaries have no chance to get a share.

Bounty hunters have risen to prominence, these hunters with formidable individual combat skills taking on tasks that originally belonged to mercenaries. This is why the old crossbowman came to Silverwing Private Contractors; it seems the glorious era of mercenaries has been turned.

Up to this day.

The old crossbowman slowly stopped his trembling hands and let out a deep, weary sigh.

"Have you written your will?" the old crossbowman asked softly.

The young mercenary beside him then realized that the words were being spoken to him.

"There's no need to be so tense, is there? Even if your squad can't win, it doesn't mean all of us can't!" The young mercenary pointed around. They were all hiding under cover, with various longbows and crossbows set up at their positions, and a sniper mercenary with a gun sitting on a high platform to oversee the overall situation.

"Even if that person has the ability to break in, even if he can blow up this iron gate, I'll shoot him into a sieve on the spot if he dares to come in!"

The young mercenary patted the armor on his chest, a mysterious confidence on his face, as if he were the commander in charge.