Ark Chess Player.

Unable to obtain any information about the other party, Lin Lu subconsciously assumed that Talulah was a mage capable of casting Cataclysmic spells, but he did not expect Talulah to move so quickly. The black greatsword arrived in front of him almost in the blink of an eye, its sharp blade radiating the cold luster unique to Originium.

“My Lord is here!!”

Lin Lu raised the white flag high, a golden apple materializing in his left hand. Behind him, a pair of butterfly-like transparent wings emerged, radiating light. The soft light spread to every corner of the plaza. A Rhodes Island Vanguard team operator was surprised to find his injuries healing and his toothache, which had bothered him for days, disappearing.

"what?!"

Talulah's sword pierced Lin Lu's neck, but the outcome was not as expected.

Her sword seemed to strike the air, receiving no response whatsoever.

"I told you not to underestimate my operators! So what if they're French?! Can't this world be any better—so white!" Lin Lu's voice rose unnaturally. Given Myrtle's height, his gaze could only reach Talulah's skirt. Holy crap, how can her legs be so white! Wait, it seems like it's not just her legs that are white!

Talulah frowned, took two steps back, and felt a chill run down her spine, seemingly unable to comprehend what had just happened.

"It seems that I underestimated you."

"You know you were wrong, right?"

Lin Lu covered his feverish nose and groaned.

The Cost value was almost accumulated… Lin Lu looked at the data box in the Spirit Realm perspective; the numbers had reached a considerable amount. For some reason, the Silver Lotus seemed quite angry. The artificial intelligence lifted its long skirt, revealing its long, white legs, and shouted at Lin Lu, “Are other women prettier?! Are other women prettier than me?”

"Let's use this card from now on."

Lin Lu ignored the silver lotus and took out a pure white card from the card box hanging on his waist. The white card had no class symbol on it, and the silver lotus had not given him any hints, but he had a familiar feeling that choosing this card at this moment would have unexpected results.

Lin Lu pulled the side of the driver, threw the card into the card slot, and gradually became arrogant as he pushed the side of the driver with one hand to complete the transformation.

"Prog Rise!"

Golden light shimmered across the low-visibility plaza, while white shadows were projected from the Ark Driver's central hub.

Talulah's eyes narrowed slightly. She stepped forward again, raised her sword, and swung it, but the blade was blocked by an ethereal white shadow.

"...Didn't anyone tell you that you're invincible when you transform as a knight?"

“Ark Ride Grani”

Under layers of shadows, Lin Lu's appearance changed once again.

Compared to the previous operator, Myrtle, Lin Lu's height has increased significantly, growing from 131cm to 154cm, evolving from a shorty to a dwarf.

His clothes had also changed, from a shabby white shirt to a commanding mounted police coat, with close-fitting gauntlets on his arms. The leather buttons on the uniform could be used to expand equipment, and overall it was fine, except for the pants. He discovered that the sides of his pants had been cut off, and his thighs felt cold, revealing pale skin.

Well, in a sense, these pants are very convenient for couples on dates.

"Doctor, he... he's turned into Grani?!"

As a new instructor at Rhodes Island, Dobermann felt conflicted, as both of them were acquaintances.

"Ah, he seems like a very serious and hardworking child."

Lin Lu twirled his light cavalry lance. This weapon was designed to fold; when unfolded, it could be used as a tactical short gun, and when unfolded, it could be used as a standard light cavalry lance for charging. Compared to Grani's somewhat slender and petite frame, this lance was clearly too large, and in many ways, it seemed an ill-suited weapon, but…

Lin Lu sternly twirled his spear, the long spear dancing in a powerful, swift motion, a flash of silver light disappearing from the tip.

Grani must have put in a lot of effort to master this weapon.

With the help of the anemone, the data of the vanguard operator Grani flowed into Lin Lu's spiritual domain.

Although she may seem silly, Anemone is never careless when it comes to serious matters, giving people the impression that she would be a beautiful, static woman if she just kept quiet.

"Then, let us enumerate your sins."

Lin Lu unfolded his folding spear and charged forward. Unlike Myrtle, Grani was like a warhorse chosen from among hundreds! Lin Lu leaped with all his might, soaring four or five meters through the air. The cool breeze brushed against his coat, and the sensation of it brushing against his thighs was inexplicably addictive.

"Can we even finish counting all these things now?!"

Talulah swung her greatsword, and the flames wrapped around its blade splashed out as she swung it upwards, igniting an inextinguishable fire on the ground.

The spear and the greatsword clashed, sparking dazzling flames. Lin Lu and Talulah were so close they could see each other's eyes.

"The leaders of the Integration Movement were corrupt all along."

Lin Lu blocked the spear, turned around and delivered a spinning kick to Talulah's abdomen.

"Each each other."

Talulah dodged to the side, and as she deflected the spear that was pressing down on the greatsword, she swung it upwards again, almost splitting Lin Lu in two from bottom to top.

The two weapons were not even in the same league. When the heavy greatsword clashed with the light lance, the overwhelming force of the former almost slammed Lin Lu to the ground. But in the continuous clash of swords and spears, Talulah gradually fell into a disadvantageous position. She could feel her opponent's attack power rapidly increasing, its momentum overwhelming, each spear thrust as heavy as a mountain.

Lin Lu's fighting spirit intensified, his steps were light yet steady, and his dark blue coat fluttered in the wind.

A hazy shadow overlapped with his, and together they brandished their spears.

Never back down!

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Person Who Trusts You Most

"PhD……"

Amiya slowly opened her eyes, her vision blurred, a burning pain shooting through her chest, and her breath carrying the smell of rust. It was as if she had just woken from a nightmare; she couldn't remember anything from the dream, but the signals of fear from her brain lingered, reverberating in her hazy memories.

What I'm doing is... Oh right, we're surrounded by the Reunion Movement, Talulah, the leader of the Reunion Movement—

"PhD!!"

Amiya finally came to her senses. She covered her head and struggled to get up from the ground.

Amiya, are you alright?

"I'm...I'm fine, Ace. How are you doing?!"

Amiya was anxious to confirm the information, but Ace gently pressed her shoulder down.

"Amiya, don't rush, calm down. You need to recover now. The Doctor is fighting Talulah, buying us time."

"What?" Amiya gasped, quickly pushing Ace's hand away and standing up despite feeling dizzy. "Ace, you don't know, you don't know... The Doctor just woke up from the sarcophagus, he's still very weak, he's been enduring it! I have to go help the Doctor, I can't let him be in danger."

Amiya stumbled forward two steps, nearly falling to the ground, but Ace caught her just in time.

Ace sighed softly, picked Amiya up with one hand, and carried her back to the temporarily cleaned floor, which was covered with several layers of newspaper.

"Amiya, trust the Doctor."

"But……"

“Amiya, we are not just relying on the Doctor; the Doctor also trusts us.”

Ace pointed behind Amiya. Rhodes Island's wounded were being treated at the rear of the lines. Nearl, whose injuries were the most severe, was out of danger, but her armor was completely destroyed and unusable, greatly reducing her combat effectiveness.

"The Doctor is currently unable to command, and you are the only one who can lead the rescue team. We are still in danger and surrounded by the enemy. Even if the Doctor can defeat Talulah, we must prepare for the subsequent evacuation. Amiya, the situation is not good, please remain calm."

"……I see."

Amiya calmed down a bit and looked at Ace's left arm, only then realizing that something was wrong.

Ace's left hand seems to be moving in the wrong direction? Wait, it's moving in the wrong direction!?

"Ace! Your hand—"

"It's a minor injury. I'll treat it when I get back to Rhodes Island."

"No! The bone is already injured, we can't delay any longer! Otherwise, this hand of yours will be useless!"

Amiya's azure eyes regained their clarity. She forcefully made Ace sit on the clean ground, seemingly forgetting her fatigue, and hurried off to find a medical operator.

Ace stared in disbelief at the girl's retreating figure, shaking his head and chuckling softly. No wonder Scout said Amiya and the Doctor were alike; they were the same—for the sake of others, they would never complain no matter how hard or tiring it was, always taking action before even thinking.

Ace suddenly had a bold conjecture.

"Could Amiya be the Doctor's illegitimate daughter?"

……

In the center of the battlefield, a desolate square.

"Your backhand is weak! Your forehand is poor! Your footwork is loose! Your reactions are slow! Not a single movement is decent!"

With the upper hand, Lin Lu forced Talulah into a retreat. The three-meter-long police rifle in Lin Lu's hands was like an extended arm, wielded naturally and smoothly. In contrast, Talulah's swordsmanship was to perfect the basic slashing, parrying, and thrusting techniques, without any variation beyond that. It was rigid, outdated, and antiquated.

"That's it? That's it? That's it?"

The silver spear light, like a silver dragon, utterly destroyed Talulah's defenses, leaving marks on her body.

Talulah's black dress kept tearing, exposing her beautiful skin to the air, which showed an unhealthy blush.

...It wasn't that Lin Lu wanted to be a scoundrel, but rather that Talulah used Originium Arts to enhance her body, making it impossible for light cavalry lances to penetrate her defenses.

Talulah was furious, but she couldn't do anything about Lin Lu. Her spells were repeatedly nullified by Lin Lu's close-range attacks, and her combat skills were completely suppressed. But she didn't give up. Instead, she tried her best to calm herself down and observe Lin Lu's weaknesses.

Talulah noticed that Lin Lu's attack speed gradually slowed down over time.

"All you can do is talk the talk."

Talulah sneered, her greatsword slamming into the ground and sending sparks flying as it rose heavily, lifting Lin Lu, who was parrying with his spear, into the air.

Talulah had planned to deliver a fatal blow when her opponent lost his balance and fell to the ground, but she did not expect Lin Lu to leap and move horizontally in the air, circling his lance to adjust his falling trajectory. The moment he landed, he turned around and swung his lance heavily! Fortunately, she reacted in time and raised her sword to block it, but she was forced back several steps as a result, and her arm was sore and numb.

"You didn't expect that, did you! That's how confident we Insect Glaive players are! Are you kidding me?! Take this Flying Round Slash!"

"???"

Talulah looked at Lin Lu with a puzzled expression; she didn't quite understand what he was saying.

In fact, Lin Lu didn't know what he was saying, but he involuntarily straightened his back, his words carrying weight even though he was in the wrong.

"Anemone, is this my limit?"

Beneath his outwardly imposing demeanor, Lin Lu inwardly questioned himself: even though he had pushed Grani's power to its limit, transforming his unwavering belief into an invincible force, and increased his attack and defense by an astonishing 80%, he still couldn't pierce the enemy's armor.

"Doctor, as I explained when introducing the Ark Driver, the strength of the class card is synchronized with the panel data based on the operator's trust level towards you. The Vanguard operator Grani has never met you and has a trust level of zero. In other words... you haven't yet reached ten percent of her potential."

"Yeah……"

Lin Lu smiled gently.

"That's really great."

"...Doctor, are you out of your mind? What's so good about this?"

"I am happy for this hardworking and talented child, and I know that all her efforts will be rewarded."

Lin Lu gently ran his left hand across the police rifle, and he could see the girl's persistent efforts in every mark on the weapon.

Anemone paused slightly, then involuntarily revealed a warm smile, put her hands behind her back, and murmured to herself.

"You really are still that gentle person."

"What do you say?"

“I said… Doctor, I suggest you use another class card.”

The card holder on Lin Lu's belt popped open automatically, and a card popped out. Lin Lu instinctively swung his hand and caught it.

"This is the Rhodes Island operator with the highest trust value for you in the current PRTS system's operator profile data. Please cherish her."

"...Every time you put on a serious expression, I feel like you're acting. But I also want to see who's willing to believe me."

Lin Lu tugged on the side of the Ark Driver, causing the central core to rotate ninety degrees, and carefully inserted the card into the slot.

"Medic"

He took a deep breath and pushed the drive with both hands.

The central core of the Ark Driver shone brightly, and the Vanguard's symbolic emblem gradually dimmed, transforming into a medical icon.

"Aurhorize (Authorization Successful)"

Golden light, flickering and shimmering like flames, flowed around Lin Lu, leaping and dancing like a joyful elf, before condensing into a pillar of light that shot into the sky! The dazzling halo scattered in all directions, and the resulting shock even pushed Talulah back half a meter.

“Ark Ride Kal'tsit”

A magnificent golden halo reverberated, and Lin Lu felt an unprecedented power, reshaping his body under the 3D projection.

Her shoulder-length white hair, emerald green eyes, and fluffy cat ears created a captivating contrast.

A beautiful figure, a slender neck, a supple body, and an incredibly strong spine.

And a heart riddled with holes.

Lin Lu stood quietly in place, his head slightly lowered, his pupils trembling.

For some reason, he felt very sad and distressed, as if he were immersed in cold, damp lake water.