Ark Chess Player.

Since Lawyer Lin said it was no problem... let's just let him be.

“Amiya will be the commander of this rescue operation, and you will serve as her adjutant,” Kal'tsit issued her ultimatum. “This is taking into account your current physical condition and your tendency to lose control of your emotions when you encounter Mephisto; you will be unable to remain calm.”

"Huh?!" Amiya's eyes widened. She pointed at herself, glanced at the Doctor, and turned to Kal'tsit, asking, "Me, the commander? I... I'm not as capable as the Doctor. This mission is no less difficult than the Upper Chernobog. For Scout and Meteorite's sake, shouldn't the Doctor—"

"Amiya, calm down."

Lin Lu gently patted Amiya's shoulder to calm her down.

"I agree. I will obey Amiya's command in this operation and do my best to assist her."

"Doctor! How could you! You are clearly more..." Amiya wanted to argue, but under Lin Lu's gaze, her voice gradually faded.

Amiya realized she was still dependent on the Doctor, subconsciously believing he was superior and more perfect than her. She overlooked the fact that the Doctor could also get hurt and tired... and she also overlooked her own long-held desire to share his burdens.

“Amiya, you are already an excellent commander, better than any senior superintendent in the Guard Bureau. This time, I will stay by your side. Whatever the order, I trust you.”

Lin Lu recalled the Amiya he met when he awoke from the stone coffin. In such a short time, he had witnessed her growth. He had seen all of Amiya's efforts.

"Amiya, please take command—Rhodes Island."

"PhD……"

Amiya's azure eyes flashed with countless emotions. She clenched her fists, her gaze gradually hardening.

"I understand! Leave it to me!"

Seeing this, Lin Lu smiled and nodded.

He glanced at Kal'tsit and noticed that the corners of her mouth were turning up.

Lin Lu then realized that he had fallen into Kal'tsit's elaborate trap.

Chapter 364 CNM, it's on fire! (4K)

"We know too little about the situation on the ground, so we can't just blindly launch a straight attack."

Lin Lu fulfilled his duties as adjutant, providing tactical ideas to Amiya, the commander of this operation.

Just as he believed in his theory, only the voice of a commander is needed on the battlefield. Since both Kal'tsit and he believed that Amiya had this ability, he would do everything he could to help Amiya and turn this battle into nourishment for Amiya to stabilize her mind.

Amiya is growing up so fast that she doesn't even know where the limits are.

December 23, 1096, was the day the Rhodes Island rescue team set off to Chernobog to rescue the doctor.

Today is the fourth day of the new year. In less than two weeks, one large-scale battle after another has taken place, and Amiya has been involved in every single one. She has taken command time and time again from Lin Lu, bearing the pressure of being a commander. Every order she gives will affect the lives of the operators; a mistake could plunge them into an abyss of no return.

Either you transform yourself in adversity, or you perish in it.

Clearly, Amiya did everything she could, and she did it very well, even exceptionally well.

Without Lin Lu as her trump card, Amiya first withstood the onslaught of countless Reunion Movement thugs with her meager strength in a night raid, and later, when ambushed in the slums, she successfully took Misha away and defeated the Bone Holders. Yes, Amiya did a great job—if you only look at the conclusion.

The true commander of the night raid was Lin Lu. He was the one who defeated the lumberjack who had lost his mind and turned into a beast, and he was also the one who continuously carried out decapitation operations. Lin Lu single-handedly killed the Avenger, the Butcher, and Red Knife Bro, the strongest fighter in the Reunion Movement at the time. Letting any one of these boss-level enemies go would cause the defense line to collapse.

As for yesterday's command and operation...

Amiya's misjudgment nearly led to the Rhodes Island team being wiped out by the Bone Hijackers. If Misha hadn't stepped forward as an exchange, Amiya would have lost all her operators. Just thinking about it sent chills down her spine, not to mention that Misha wasn't rescued entirely by her own power, but rather by using the Doctor's Ark Driver.

Without this weapon, what price would Amiya have to pay...?

Will it be like the projected version of myself, turning into fragments and shattering into pieces after releasing the chimera?

Amiya felt confused, subconsciously believing she was far from being as good as Lin Lu. If the Doctor were in command, he would definitely do his best, protecting everyone while eliminating all enemies.

However, what Amiya didn't know was that Lin Lu's expectations for her were never as simple as just having her keep up with him.

Lin Lu is single, but he already treats Amiya like his own child and hopes she can surpass him as soon as possible.

Even in the darkest of times, Lin Lu would lift Amiya up high and push her toward the throne.

“Hoo…” Lin Lu took a deep breath, his breath carrying a burnt smell. “I suggest making the abandoned city of No. 14 the key operational target, and having the reconnaissance teams from other branch cities concentrate on the perimeter of the No. 14 ruins. We don’t need them to risk going in, but we need them to block the roads and gather more intelligence.”

"Based on the current intelligence we have, we can only deduce that Mephisto, a cadre of the Reunion Movement, is conducting human experiments. There are traces of Reunion Movement members left at the scene, and the original residents are basically nowhere to be found." Lin Lu placed his hands heavily on the table and said with an unprecedented seriousness, "If we cannot understand this, we will be in an extremely passive state."

Lin Lu spoke in a low, somber tone, confident that Amiya and Kal'tsit would understand his meaning.

Even if Lin is exceptionally skilled, he could not possibly lead his men directly into the enemy camp without knowing anything about the situation.

Even if you're playing StarCraft with your eyes closed, you should at least send out a few Zerglings to scout and explore the map. How can you fight if your vision is completely black? What if you encounter a Terran player with a full set of Hiroshi? If you swagger out at the start and run into a tactical nuke, then you're done for, completely done for.

"Amiya, what should we do?"

Lin Lu did not make a decision directly, but instead consulted Amiya in the manner of an adjutant.

We provide ideas, opinions, tactical analysis, and resources, but we absolutely will not act recklessly.

Amiya pursed her lips deeply. Based on her experience, she judged that the current situation was the most suitable for Rhodes Island's combat strategy.

"This operation is defined as a rescue operation. Regardless of whether Abandoned City 14 is a Reunion Movement stronghold, and regardless of what kind of enemies are inside, our first priority is to rescue Scout Squad and Mobile Squad. If any surviving original residents of the Abandoned City are found, then the rescue will be carried out while ensuring the safety of the operators."

Amiya knew it was cruel of her to say this, but she still gave the order as commander, making the choice.

Rhodes Island cannot save everyone in the world.

Rhodes Island can't even save all the Oripathy patients in the world, but at least...

"We will never abandon our operators. This is the first piece of information we include in our employment contracts, apart from the confidentiality agreement. It is also a belief we have always upheld: protecting the lives and property of our operators is Rhodes Island's obligation."

Amiya's gaze was firm as she held the tactical virtual map in her hands, the object in her palms both invisible and heavy.

“Dr. Kal'tsit, the Doctor and I are heading to the scene to direct the operation. I think the Guard Bureau needs to know about this operation. Even though our agreement with Lungmen has expired and we don’t need to interfere in Lungmen’s affairs.” Amiya raised her head, her beautiful azure eyes filled with determination. “Chernobyl’s branch city is too close to Lungmen. I have a feeling something bad is going to happen.”

Amiya said after careful consideration, "I suggest Lungmen strengthen its defenses and not let its guard down just because yesterday's battle is over. If the Guard Bureau doesn't take it seriously... then we've done our best, and now it's up to Lungmen's fate."

"I understand."

Kal'tsit's eyes revealed a look of satisfaction.

"W-what's wrong, Dr. Kal'tsit?"

Amiya's sense of authority vanished under Kal'tsit's gaze.

"It's nothing, just a little touched..." Kal'tsit shook her head, turned to look at Lin Lu, her eyes instantly turning cold, and even her tone became much more indifferent, "This operation is different from Lungmen, we can't send too many operators to infiltrate the ruined city. I hope you can assist Amiya well and rescue our operators."

"And... stop trying to be strong all by yourself."

Kal'tsit silently swallowed those words.

Lin Lu obediently straightened his back, saluted, and said, "Understood."

Kal'tsit resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Didn't she know Lin Lu well enough?

The more decisive and efficient Lin Lu appeared, the less he listened to what was being said. Don't let his easygoing appearance fool you; if he were to actually meet Mephistopheles in the Chernobog branch, he'd probably just jump up and chop you up on the spot, without a second thought.

"Well then, Dr. Kal'tsit, let's set off now."

"Congratulations on your triumphant return."

After Amiya led the Doctor out of the room, Kal'tsit, rubbing her forehead, looked at the coal mine along the Linlu Belt and Road and gave up struggling.

Kal'tsit extended her finger and gently waved it, bringing up the corporate communication email address of the Lungmen Guard Bureau.

In the dimly lit office, Kal'tsit, her face illuminated by a soft blue light, took a sip of coffee.

"Longmen... how long are you going to keep putting on this act?"

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.

12:57 am Cloudy, visibility 7 km.

Abandoned area 14 Chernobog.

Rhodes Island Mobile Search Team.

Meteor, Frostleaf, and Jessica's trio, surrounded by layers of enemies, had no choice but to venture deeper into the city.

Every time they stopped to regroup, they were attacked by the enemy. The longer they stayed in one place, the fiercer the attack became. By this point, even Jessica, the least naive of the three, could sense that these native inhabitants covered in Originium and the infected dressed in Reunion uniforms had lost all rationality and were being manipulated like puppets.

"Shh..."

Frostleaf grabbed Jessica's sleeve and covered her mouth before she could make a sound.

Extremely shy and uncomfortable with being touched, Jessica's eyes were brimming with tears, but this time she controlled herself well and didn't make a sound. Jessica obediently followed Frostleaf's movements and hid behind the wall of an abandoned building around the corner.

"Integration Movement."

Shuangye lowered her voice and whispered.

Less than 400 meters ahead, the mobile squad finally encountered rational, normal people.

The reason they were able to get here unimpeded was probably because these Reunion Movement members cleared a path for them, so they didn't have to worry about being attacked from both sides and could focus on dealing with the zombie hordes that were gathering from the outside.

“Those people…looked like they were moving things, like they were…moving corpses.”

Meteor carefully lowered her voice, raised the ballista, used the scope to check the distance, and sighed again.

“No, we are too far from the enemy, and their positions are quite spread out. Even if we use grenades, we can't eliminate three people at the same time. Moreover, the posture of those Reunion Movement members is obviously different from that of ordinary thugs. Even if they are not the elite of Reunion Movement, they have at least received formal military training and exude the spirit of soldiers.”

Meteor has been roaming the battlefield for years and has encountered countless enemies.

Based on her experience, she can judge the strength of an enemy by their unconscious movements.

Simply put, those who have witnessed bloodshed will change how they look at others.

Because it's been killed, and it wasn't difficult to kill, the value of life is just that—it's all there is to it.

This is just like human traffickers, who equate a person's value with monetary value. To them, different people are simply judged by their health, racial characteristics, and whether they can fetch a good price.

Moral values ​​have absolutely no effect on these people.

Jessica peeked her head out from behind the wall, watching the Reunion soldiers. She whispered, "Their equipment is military-grade, though cheap. But even if the Reunion is rich, they shouldn't have access to military equipment. Could it be provided by the Ursus military? No way, how could that be…?"

I buy everything from the black market; a box of etched bullets costs me a month's worth of cookies!

Jessica didn't say it aloud, but silently complained to herself.

Meteorite nodded in agreement. She was about to speak when she noticed Jessica looking their way, and hurriedly pulled her head back behind cover. In her haste, she didn't care about being rough; Jessica almost cried out, but the brainwave was so comfortable that her surprise turned into delight. Her head was buried in Meteorite's open chest, and she felt a tingling sensation in her ears.

"Strange."

The Reunion member who turned to look around frowned and muttered, "Is it just my imagination?"

"Anton, stop looking around! Hurry up and help throw these corpses in, I'm about to cast a spell." A sorcerer not far from him shouted, his hand covered in Originium crystals as he reached out from under his gray-white robe.

“I know… Damn it, who knows what will happen to these corpses if they aren’t frozen. That bastard Mephisto, he actually did something like this! If I saw him, I’d chop him up alive! Tear him to pieces on the spot!” The Reunion soldiers complained. They had suffered a lot, and some of them had almost been left here forever.

"How many dishes? You've had too much to drink! Stop bragging and hurry up and finish these, then catch up. Big Sister and the others are ahead; I heard Dad's coming too." The mage said coldly, "This time, we'll clean house. Mephisto, that cancer of the Reunion Movement, should have been removed long ago if it weren't for Leader Talulah stopping us!"

"Damn, this is getting exciting! Keep it up!"

Anton picked up a corpse in each hand and threw them into the building.

More than 300 meters away from them, Meteor slowly released Jessica, whose face was flushed.

At such a distance, I could barely hear the other person speaking the Ursus dialect, but I couldn't make out the specific content.

"Can we snipe them?" Shuangye asked softly.

Meteorite shook her head gravely. She lowered her voice and said in a low voice, "The enemy is more responsive than we thought. We were almost discovered just now. We can't act rashly. If we can't deal with them immediately and give them a chance to call for help... then we'll be in danger. Behind us is a horde of infected zombies, and ahead is the Reunion Movement. There's no way to escape."

"If the opposing sorcerer has a targeting spell, then once we fire the first shot, there is no turning back. We have no choice but to go all out."

Meteor pointed at the sorcerer who was casting a spell, her hand trembled slightly, and her expression changed instantly.

White mist condensed in mid-air, an invisible suction force gathered from afar, and the radiating heat outlined a human figure.

Seeing this, Meteor quickly retreated to cover, asking with surprise and uncertainty, "Did you sense anything? Jessica, your senses are the most acute, did you...Jessica?!"

Meteor turned to look and saw Jessica biting her finger hard, her tail bristling.

Chapter 365 Paying Tribute to the Dead (4K)

"The temperature... has dropped by about ten degrees."

Jessica was trembling, her ears were drooping, and she looked very listless.

She bit her finger to prevent her teeth from chattering and making a sound.

Shuangye watched silently, her gaze softening considerably. She secretly admired her, thinking to herself, "What a remarkable child."

Although Jessica's combat experience wasn't as extensive as the other two operators present, she never missed a single combat training session, always arriving first and leaving last. To avoid causing trouble for others, Jessica diligently improved herself, never complaining once. Despite her family background allowing her to choose a brighter path, she still chose to stand here.

"Shh..."