Ark Chess Player.

Meteor instinctively pulled Jessica into her arms; as a Sarkaz, she was used to resisting the cold.

Frostleaf silently moved to a spot closer to the edge of the cover. Her petite frame couldn't block much of the cold wind, but at least it softened the chilling frost.

The spellcasting process of the Integration Movement mage did not last long.

A short while later, the soldiers walked forward, cursing and swearing.

As the temperature rose, Jessica's shivering finally subsided.

These are racial characteristics of the Felin race, and she can only silently endure them, trying her best to overcome them. Fortunately, this time she has two reliable teammates by her side. Although they are not her senior mercenary colleagues from Blacksteel International, they have never held any grudges against her.

Rhodes Island's operators come from all over the world, but they get along very well with each other.

If operators argue with each other, Amiya will feel very sad. She will assign particularly difficult tasks to the arguing operators with a feeling of disappointment, and then send them to a deserted place for ten days to half a month. If they can come back alive, they will stop arguing.

The battlefield is a place that hones interpersonal relationships. No matter how much people dislike each other, as long as there is no deep-seated hatred, saving each other a few times on the battlefield and fighting for a common goal will eventually turn them into brothers who have been through thick and thin together.

This is how the once borderless army forged strong bonds among mercenaries. No one is invincible, and there will always be times when they need help. At those times, a trustworthy teammate is more valuable than anything else.

"Jessica, are you feeling better?"

"Um……"

Although Jessica still looked somewhat listless, she adjusted her breathing rate to quickly replenish oxygen to her brain.

"Cheer up."

Jessica muttered to herself, pinching her cheek to force herself to stay alert through the pain.

This is a battlefield, a place where the slightest lapse in concentration can implicate teammates and lead to certain death. She cannot… drag others down again, she cannot, she cannot, she cannot—the shadow of past failures lingered in Jessica's mind, her breathing became slightly erratic, but she gritted her teeth to suppress her trembling, overcoming her fear with sheer willpower.

"Jessica?" Frostleaf noticed that something was wrong with Jessica.

"It's okay, I'm fine!" Jessica shook her head. She took stiff steps and walked out of the bunker somewhat absentmindedly. Pointing to the place where the Reunion Movement had left behind, she suggested, "Shall we go take a look?"

"Ah."

As Jessica walked ahead, Frostleaf turned to look at Meteorite, seeking her opinion.

Meteor didn't know what Jessica had been through in the past, so she couldn't comment directly and could only say she would wait and see.

"these are……"

Jessica stopped and pointed to the wall covered with a thin layer of frost.

"Sure enough, this is exactly the same wall with the remaining traces of magic as before, and these corpses are also frozen inside the building. This is probably to maintain the low temperature, after all, these guys... are particularly difficult to kill."

Frostleaf said calmly, as she herself was a warrior skilled in ice-based Originium Arts. She could imbue her axe blade with magic, using her slashes to slow down enemies, but her magic was not enough to freeze an entire wall in an instant.

In terms of Originium Arts alone, her talent is indeed inferior to her opponent's.

"cover me."

Frostleaf reached out and placed her hand on the wall, attempting to analyze it using a reversal spell. A faint white glow emanated from the wall, transforming into patterns that extended outwards. These patterns eventually branched into two paths, one pointing straight down, the other extending into the building. Only then did the three realize that black Originium was buried around the infected corpses.

"hiss!"

The spell reversal reached its limit, and a thick layer of frost instantly appeared on Frostleaf's hand, with purple frost extending from her wrist to her shoulder almost instantly.

"Miss Frostleaf!" Jessica grabbed Frostleaf's waist just in time and pulled her away from the wall.

"Are you alright? Do you need any medical supplies? I have some here!"

Jessica quickly rummaged through her pouch for medical supplies, some of which were from Rhodes Island, and others were Rhine Lab's emergency spray purchased from the export market. The value of a single item exceeded the reward for this mission. Only Jessica would go to such lengths to prepare such supplies; other operators would have simply used bandages and endured their injuries to return to Rhodes Island for free medical treatment.

"It's okay, don't be nervous."

Shuangye said calmly, her tone completely flat.

Even though she was the one suffering from the backlash of the spell, Jessica was even more nervous than her.

Frostleaf was involuntarily touched by Jessica's naiveté, and she whispered, "It's just a minor injury, nothing serious. It'll probably heal on its own in about ten minutes, no need to make such a fuss..."

"No... we can't just ignore even the smallest injury!"

Frostleaf said casually, but Jessica didn't just obediently listen; at this moment, she was incredibly reliable.

Jessica meticulously examined Frostleaf's arm, rolling up her sleeve to reveal her purplish arm. After confirming it was frostbite, Jessica took out the appropriate ointment and applied it to Frostleaf's hand.

The overly direct physical contact made Shuangye's shoulders tremble slightly, and she turned her head away somewhat uncomfortably.

"More, more nosy..."

Jessica's hands were much warmer than she had imagined.

"Ah la..."

Meteor cast a warm gaze at Frostleaf, causing Frostleaf to lower her head with mixed feelings.

After a quick treatment, Shuangye raised her eyes, hesitated for a moment, but still whispered a thank you.

"Ah...ah ah..." Jessica, who hadn't heard what Frostleaf was saying, stiffened. She belatedly realized she had acted so forcefully, and almost burst into tears. "Miss Frostleaf, I didn't cause you any trouble, did I! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

"No! No trouble at all!"

Frostleaf was startled by Jessica's bowing apology and quickly comforted her.

She turned to look at Meteorite, trying to seek help, but received only a more wicked, aunt-like laugh from Meteorite.

In this brutal battlefield, there is only such a short time for the girls to relax.

"Woo..."

After Jessica finally calmed down, Frostleaf glared fiercely at Meteorite, who was still typing "|OMO".

"If I'm not mistaken, those three Reunion soldiers... were from the Yeti Squad. They came silently with icy cold and left silently with warmth, leaving the victims shivering in the shadows."

Frostleaf raised her arm, which was burning with pain. Frostbite, when it reaches a certain point, is similar to a burn; the skin feels intensely hot. She had been too complacent. If Jessica hadn't helped treat her injury, her arm might have been ruined.

"When I was a mercenary in Columbia, there was a legend circulating in our barracks. There was an infected guerrilla group in the northwest of Ursus that had always been an enemy of Ursus. There was no weakling in this guerrilla group; even the most ordinary person could single-handedly suppress a mine. Not to mention their leader, he was a monster as tall as an iron tower, and no one could stop him. In front of him, shields would shatter, weapons would break, and lives would end."

Frosty Leaf turned her gaze to Meteorite.

Meteorite's expression gradually turned serious; she had also heard the legends about the Ursus guerrillas.

"There is a special squad in this guerrilla force. They are monsters from Ursus fairy tales, they are synonymous with the cold winter. Wherever they go, they leave behind only lifeless, frosty land, and ice sculptures of the Ursus Inspectorate Army."

Frostleaf pointed to the frozen pile of corpses and let out a heavy sigh: "We are now... witnessing a legend firsthand. The Yeti Squad is right in front of us, and we have no way to turn back. Move forward, at least we need to report the information to Dr. Kal'tsit. If things really don't work out, then we need to tell the Doctor and Amiya—don't come to rescue us."

"makes sense."

Meteor showed a slightly helpless smile, but she did not refute Frostleaf's words.

“Hmm…” Jessica didn’t join their conversation; her gaze remained fixed straight ahead.

"Jessica, what's wrong?"

"Um, can you smell something...?" Jessica sniffed, her brow furrowed, "...a burnt smell?"

"Speaking of which, the explosions have stopped, which must be related to this." Shuangye had been paying attention to the explosions coming from the center of the city. She looked back at the dark horde of corpses and said helplessly, "Let's go, let's go and face the truth."

If the mastermind behind these infected, mindless zombies intends to guide everyone who enters the city to the city center, then... they have no choice but to move forward.

This is not about merely surviving, but about gathering more intelligence and conveying hope for survival.

Salute to those who went to their deaths.

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.

Lungmon, the Imperial Guard Building.

"Char Siu Cat, what time are you planning to sleep?!"

Chen Huijie took a can of black coffee from a plastic bag and threw it on the head of the sleeping Swire, startling her awake. Swire, somewhat dazed, thought the Guard Bureau building had also been invaded. She looked around warily, and it took her a while to realize who was behind it all.

"Changfenlong! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" Swire roared like a lioness from the east bank of the river.

"Who's courting death? What time is it? Still sleeping! Aren't you afraid of being gossiped about?"

"You filthy swear word! How did you know I'd been sleeping all this time?!"

"All I know is that the first thing I saw when I arrived was you slumped over my desk. Do you really want my seat that badly? Miss Shi."

"Say it again! Believe me or not, I'll pounce on you and bite you to death!"

"Alright, alright, stop! Old Chen, Miss woke up when you went to the slums. She was handling matters related to the wealthy Longmen district for you."

Seeing that the two were about to argue again due to a misunderstanding, Hoshiguma quickly stopped them.

These two have never given her a moment's peace; they're both incredibly stubborn and neither is willing to back down.

"Really?"

Chen Huijie looked at Shi Huaiya suspiciously before her gaze finally fell on the neatly organized documents.

Sometimes, Chen would rather go out to work on the outer ring of Longmen for a month than deal with the affairs of the wealthy area.

The demands made by the wealthy residents are mostly unreasonable and domineering, yet the Imperial Guard is powerless to stop them. As long as they don't cross the legal line, they usually try their best to accommodate their requests. For example, they felt the scenery along the way was too monotonous and demanded that Lungmen plant flowers and plants in the middle of the road crossings, requiring dedicated personnel to maintain them daily, and they couldn't bear to see a single flower wither due to vehicle exhaust.

"Really." Hoshiguma sighed helplessly.

"Alright, here's a bottle of black tea as a reward." Chen Huijie took a bottle of Taikoo black tea out of the plastic bag and tossed it over, while at the same time pulling out a bottle of green tea and handing it to Hoshiguma, smiling and saying, "Hoshiguma, thank you for your hard work."

"What kind of discrimination is this?!"

Swire jumped up and caught the black tea, gritting his teeth in anger.

Chen picked up the canned coffee that had fallen on the table, pulled the tab, and rolled his eyes.

"It's good enough that you have something to drink."

Who do you think you are?!

“You two—” Hoshiguma was a little annoyed. These two rivals would argue over the smallest things. She reminded him, “Mr. Wei has a mission for us. Just half an hour ago, we received a warning from Rhodes Island. Their reconnaissance team provided some useful intelligence, so the higher-ups held a meeting. That’s why I told you to come back from the slums, Chen.”

"...Rhodes Island."

Chen Huijie recalled seeing the Rhodes Island Doctor and Amiya in the slums that morning, and then thought of Alexander Swirl's ultimate sycophantic face, and her mood instantly became extremely bad.

"So, Rhodes Island has been discovered as a stronghold of the Reunion Movement?"

“You were right.” Hoshiguma was somewhat surprised. She pulled out a confidential file from the third drawer on the left side of the table, which Wei Yanwu had given her, and handed it to Chen. She said in a deep voice, “Mr. Wei instructed that only you can see this. We will wait for you outside. Before that, let me add some information about the Rhodes Island alert and some of the meeting’s content.”

"Please say."

"In short, Rhodes Island has located the Reunion Movement's hideout, and several Reunion Movement teams are planning attacks on Lungmen's defenses. Regarding the ruins of Chernobog, Rhodes Island's reconnaissance team has detected traces of the Reunion Movement's leader."

Hoshiguma read the information on her mobile device, and said hesitantly, "Rhodes Island reminded Lungmen to strengthen its vigilance, stay in Lungmen and don't wander around... That's their advice."

Chapter 366 Frost Star (4K)

"Rhodes Island doesn't take the Guard Bureau seriously at all."

Superintendent Chen frowned deeply; given her temper, she was about to start yelling at someone on the spot.

Rather than advice, it was more like—go sit quietly to the side and nibble on your nails, don't bother Rhodes Island, okay?

Where did Rhodes Island get the audacity? If the cooperation between Lungmen and Rhodes Island hadn't ended, the situation wouldn't be like this now.

Chen looked up at Hoshiguma and asked, "What did Commander Wei say?"

Hoshiguma suppressed the urge to sigh. In her opinion, she preferred Rhodes Island's suggestion, but unfortunately…

"After the meeting, Mr. Wei stated that dealing with the Reunion Movement was the top priority, and that he would do everything in his power to take over this sub-city! He would demonstrate the strength of the Guard Bureau and prevent the rich people in the wealthy district from causing chaos and shaking the order of Lungmen."

Ultimately, the Guard Bureau has no chance of obediently hiding in Lungmen just because Rhodes Island said a few words.

If the Imperial Guard Bureau really does this, then no one can bear the reputational damage, not even Wei Yanwu.

Ever since the Maria defense network was destroyed, the rich guys in the wealthy district have started causing trouble, all wanting to escape Lungmen. Anyone with a modicum of sense knows that leaving Lungmen at this time is like throwing lambs to the slaughter; the Reunion Movement might be lurking right outside! These people probably think differently than normal people, but the Guard Bureau can't just let them leave—they haven't had their fill of exploitation yet!

Want to leave? Sure.

A low-EQ way of saying it: "This road is mine, this tree is mine. If you want to pass, leave some money behind."

A high-EQ approach: Are you interested in developing a security contractor in Lungmen?

"That's right, miss."

Hoshiguma turned to look at Swire, who was sipping her black tea, and met her bewildered gaze. Without warning, he said, "Mr. Wei said that you will also be going to the front line for this operation, and Superintendent Alexander Swell will be in charge of Lungmen City."

"puff--"

Shi Huai-ya was so startled that he spat out his black tea.

Old Chen yelled, "Char Siu Cat! This is my table!"