Ark Chess Player.

Lin Lu followed the clues and found a private elevator. He waved his hand, and the elevator door opened automatically.

"This is truly a huge...surprise."

Compared to the main hall of the office, which was frequently used by people, the elevator, which was only known to Wenger and a few mercenaries who aided and abetted him, naturally saw far less effort put into cleaning up the aftermath, or even no effort at all.

Bloodstains everywhere.

Perhaps before Lin Lu arrived here, the headless corpses that Wenger had enjoyed countless times were all transported from this separate elevator to the underground parking lot, and then sent directly to Alexander Anlongdor's private cabin by several mercenaries.

This is a stable production chain.

But who knows how many wronged souls are buried there?

Chapter 263 Interlude

Longmen Fifth District, Luotizhou, is a foreign warship berthing area.

Rhodes Island land-based ships, rest area outside the shooting training room.

Jessica slowly opened her eyes, blinked, and felt a little dizzy.

What's wrong with me... Why do I feel so weak all over, and nauseous?

Is it because of overtraining? My throat feels burning and painful, and even my fingers are a little numb.

Jessica tilted her head back, trying to sort out her chaotic thoughts. Countless images seemed to flash before her eyes, and even her body reacted.

"Come, drink some water."

The person next to her spoke softly, holding a disposable cup containing a semi-transparent liquid in front of her.

"Ah? Thank you..." Jessica subconsciously bowed her head to express her gratitude, taking the cup with both hands. She first licked her dry lips, then took a sip. The water was warm, seemingly a little salty, with a hint of sweetness. It warmed her tired body, making her feel a little better.

"Thank you! You are—Blue Poison Senior?!"

Jessica turned her head and was so shocked that she trembled all over, and the water cup she was holding spilled onto her shorts.

When Jessica was assigned to Rhodes Island by Blacksteel International Security Contractors, her senior colleague Franka kindly told her interesting stories about Rhodes Island.

For example, the mournful cries of women can often be heard from the depths of Rhodes Island ships, crying out and demanding to know why they are being imprisoned there. Or, in the dead of night, the desolate cries for help of women can be heard from the decks, sometimes echoing all night long until sunrise. And also, if you encounter a young woman on Rhodes Island who wants to paint your portrait, don't hesitate, run, run!

Rumor has it that during a mission, a sniper operator named "Blue Poison" poisoned an entire base of armed wanderers.

It's said that the operatives responsible for coordinating mission reports turned pale, because the corpses of the wanderers formed a colorful forest—and this isn't a figure of speech. The toxins Blue Poison implanted in the bodies of the armed wanderers returned their life force to nature, causing branches to grow and a small forest to sprout in the Terra desert. These branches, nourished by human bodies, were bizarrely colored—red, blue, white, green, cyan, blue, and purple—creating a chilling scene reminiscent of a cult fairy tale.

This also spread Blue Poison's fame beyond Rhodes Island, and the reputation of "poison" spread far and wide, making people tremble with fear at the mere mention of his name.

Even though everyday contact with Blue Poison doesn't affect its "poisonous" abilities, the fear of toxins is still deeply rooted in everyone's heart.

Franka described these anecdotes so vividly that Jessica was trembling with fear and almost cried when she first arrived at Rhodes Island. Even Azlan, the HR operator in charge of the initial contact, was startled and comforted Jessica in the same way she would comfort Puffa.

Afterwards, Franka was forced by Thor to apologize to Jessica, with a gun pointed at her back.

Although Franka was telling the truth, her desire to seduce Jessica was also genuine.

"...I'm sorry to have made you uncomfortable."

The pink-haired, blue-eyed young woman stiffened slightly in front of Jessica and apologized.

Her thin, cherry-red lips tightened slightly, revealing an expression that was hard to describe. Her bright, blue crystal-like eyes gradually dimmed, her long eyelashes obscuring her eyelids, and she lowered her head in despair.

Upon seeing this, Jessica quickly bowed her head and apologized, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was just a little surprised, I didn't mean anything by it! Really, I didn't!"

Blue Poison smiled somewhat awkwardly and waved her hand. "It's alright, I'm used to it. Don't worry, it's just a cup of ordinary salt water, nothing else was added. I happened to see you lying on the ground when I entered the training room, so I took you to ask the medic Gavial who was stationed in the main training room. She said you were just overtraining, and you just need to find a place to rest. You'll be fine."

Blue Poison recalled the strange looks from the others in the training room when she helped Jessica find Gavial, and couldn't help but feel a little lonely again.

Perhaps in those people's eyes, Jessica was poisoned by her.

Perhaps after today's incident, another page will be added to the list of rumors about her on Rhodes Island.

"Thank you, Senior Blue Poison."

Jessica held the glass, thought for a moment, then raised it and drank it all in one gulp.

If the other party wanted to harm her, they would have done all sorts of bad things while she was unconscious.

Senior Blue Poison treated her so well, yet she still looked at her with such strange eyes; this was truly outrageous.

"Gurgle gurgle... Pfft, cough cough cough."

Jessica drank too fast in her haste and choked, her eyes filled with tears and her tongue sticking out.

Blue Poison paused for a moment, then reached out to comfort Jessica, but stopped halfway through and slowly withdrew her hand.

She once tried to help an injured operator, but was slapped away in fright. This incident took root in her heart and she could never forget it.

"It tastes so good, senior."

Jessica straightened her back, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and said with a smile.

"Really?" Blue Poison looked at the empty cup in Jessica's hand, and a smile involuntarily appeared on her face. She pursed her lips and smiled, "This is a salt water I specially made. I experimented many times with the ratio of salt and sugar to get what I think is the most suitable taste... If you want to drink it, I can pour it for you."

Blue Poison excitedly took out her water bottle from her small handbag, which she had originally planned to use to replenish her energy after shooting practice.

If it were Jessica, I wouldn't mind giving her everything.

It's been a long time since anyone has been willing to believe her like this.

She clearly did nothing wrong.

She clearly didn't do anything.

"No, thank you," Jessica politely declined, instinctively.

"I see..." Blue Poison's smile gradually disappeared.

"No, um, I'll have to trouble you, senior."

Jessica said hurriedly, holding the cup in both hands and leaning forward.

"Yes! You're welcome~"

Blue Poison happily poured Jessica a glass full of special salt water, almost overflowing.

To avoid getting caught in an endless cycle of pouring water, Jessica took small sips of her cup this time, while relaxing her back against the chair.

"Senior, I feel like I've had a very long dream."

Jessica looked down at her reflection in the water of the glass. She had a strange feeling, as if she had been fighting a bloody battle in another place just a moment ago. In her dream, she seemed omnipotent; things she would never have dared to imagine before appeared naturally in her mind. She calmly dealt with dangers time and time again, turning peril into safety. Even her hands felt slightly numb, as if they were yearning, anticipating, and pursuing something.

"I want to go back to the training room and try again. I have a feeling that I can do things that I couldn't do before."

"You've just woken up from a coma, so it's best not to push yourself too hard."

Blue Poison looked at her with some concern and offered suggestions based on objective evidence.

"It's alright, senior."

Jessica stood up from her seat, took a deep breath, and naturally assumed the posture of the central axis locking system. Despite having no formal training in this area, she felt an innate understanding, and even the image of the Doctor appeared before her eyes, in a distant place.

"The summit is my goal; I can't allow myself to stop halfway up the mountain."

Chapter 264 Lin, the Wife-Protecting Maniac (4K)

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The outer ring of Longmen, at the border of the slums.

Silverwing Private Armed Security Contractor Corporation.

Where do you want to climb to?

Lin Lu returned to the office lobby with slightly heavy steps, leaving a trail of blood on the floor as Wenger crawled toward the French windows.

Wenger never imagined that his clever move of locking the office door and blocking most of the furniture in front of it would become his fatal mistake. He was left with only one option: to walk towards the broken French windows. Thinking about it carefully, it seemed he had made a mistake from the very beginning; one wrong step led to another.

If Wenger has any regrets, it's that he didn't point the hunting rifle at his own head; perhaps death would have been a better escape.

"wanna die?"

Lin Lu smiled gently, his eyes narrowing slightly beneath his hood.

Did you ask for my consent?

Lin Lu said calmly, and with a wave of his hand, a clump of black mud exuding an ominous aura fell to the ground.

The black silt eroded the bloodstains on the ground, constantly solidifying and forming puddles of semi-solidified, semi-liquefied material, resembling bony hands. These hands bound Wenger's legs, dragging him back to his original spot with brutal force, as if skinning him alive.

Lin Lu turned over and sat on the expensive mahogany desk. He looked at the mud flowing back and forth in his hands with a solemn expression.

"Actually, I don't like using this power. It always makes me feel like Mephisto, relying on this dangerous substance. But compared to you, Mephisto is just an ignorant child in kindergarten, only knowing how to stuff snowballs into the collars of his classmates' clothes."

The black mud in Lin Lu's hand changed according to his will, sometimes solidifying, sometimes gaseous, and sometimes flowing like a liquid.

"Ah...it works pretty well..."

Lin Lu gently rubbed his fingers together, separating a small piece of the black mud and throwing it into the secret room behind him.

Black mist instantly filled the office ceiling. When the abyssal substance touched the floor of the sealed room, it reacted violently within seconds, like adding Mentos to a Coke. A faint popping sound first came from inside the sealed room, followed by a series of soft popping sounds as bubbles expanded and burst. An unsuspecting person might think someone was playing the twelve-shot New Year's Eve music, even though it wasn't the New Year yet.

Wenger's face was ashen; he listened to the strange sounds coming from the secret room, his heart filled with fear.

"Don't rush, it'll be your turn soon."

Lin Lu said calmly, flipping his palm over. Since he extracted the Abyss Extract from Specter's nun's habit, he had only used it once. It was on a night when he was heading to the outskirts of Chernobog, where he killed some Ursus refugees who were trying to take advantage of Rhodes Island operators and used the Abyss Extract to destroy the evidence.

After the battle of the Upper City, the sight of the black mud reminded him of Mephisto, making him feel nauseous and disgusted, so he stopped using it.

I just didn’t expect that…

Evil people need to be punished by evil people.

"Please, please, spare me..."

Wenger's trembling voice came from below.

Lin Lu raised an eyebrow and said unhappily, "Huh? I can't hear you."

"Please, please let me go!!"

Wenger coughed up the blood that had congealed in his throat, his face covered in blood, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Lin Lu.

“I… I still have 20 million Lungmen dollars in assets in Lungmen, and I can give you all of that. My funds are held in two places, one in Lungmen Bank and the other in Victoria Bank. I can give you the bank cards and account numbers!! I beg you to spare my life, I can even give you this building! Besides this secret room, there's another place in this office where I keep my safe, containing 2 million Lungmen dollars in cash, as well as the keys to a villa in Lungmen's wealthy district! I've stored some antiques and artworks there, and oh yes, I also have some beauties in my basement, all of that is for you!”

Driven by an intense will to survive, Wenger cried out for mercy. He endured the excruciating pain and, with a sliver of reason, laid out his bargaining chips on the table.

"..."

Lin Lu gazed at him calmly.

Meeting Lin Lu's cold gaze, Wenger bit his lip, trying to suppress his pounding heartbeat and make his voice sound as soft as possible.

"If none of these meet your needs..."

Wenger's lips trembled as he weighed the pros and cons, finally gritting his teeth and declaring, "I can also give you the company's ledgers! They contain not only intelligence we've accumulated in Lungmen over the years across various industries, but also records of corruption and embezzlement by some of Lungmen's powerful figures. Embezzling tax revenue, misappropriating disaster relief funds, seizing land, monopolizing slum construction funds, controlling medical resources for those infected with Oripathy, etc... The powerful figures they collude with are not just wealthy businessmen and high-ranking officials. I believe you understand the value of this!"

For Wenger, compared to his 20 million LMD in liquid funds, this ledger, which could easily be fatal, is his biggest trump card. Exposing the information in this ledger would cause a massive upheaval in Lungmen, and could even cost many lives!

For Wenger, this is a hot potato—valuable yet unpalatable.

Even though he wielded considerable influence in Lungmen as the president of Silverwing Private Armed Security Contractor, if he were to reveal the existence of this ledger, he wouldn't survive past the next day. Everyone whose names were recorded in the ledger would become desperate and try every means to kill him, destroying all evidence.

“My lord, you must understand! If it were you, those people wouldn’t be able to coerce you with force. When they can’t change the situation in a simple and direct way, they will come to you for help, just like I am now…” Wenger looked down at his pathetic state lying on the ground like an animal and let out a strange self-mocking laugh, “Those powerful people will definitely come to beg you not to publish the evidence in the ledgers in public, they will become your… dogs.”

"Please, spare my life."

Wenger pressed his head to the ground, blood and tears gushing out in a pathetic state.

"Finished?"

Lin Lu raised his right index and middle fingers and tapped the table.

"That's it?"

Lin Lu's banging on the table grew louder and louder. "That's it? That's it? That's it?!"

Wenger felt a chill run through him; he didn't even dare to look up, keeping his head firmly pressed against the ground.

"Isn't this enough?!"