Ark Chess Player.

"That was the happiest time of my life. I didn't have to worry about so many trivial things. Every day I just followed my older sister to cause trouble. That's how the world is. When you're out there, it's either you beat me or I beat you. It's that simple. I've always believed that only things can change people, not people can change things. But my older sister and her group changed some things! I'm proud of myself!"

Afa's body began to tremble uncontrollably, his emotions taking over. He became more and more agitated as he spoke, and his wounds showed signs of reopening.

"Am I a terrible undercover agent? I was initially assigned by Lungmen to monitor them, but I unknowingly became attracted to them. I know that what goes around comes around. So I'm prepared. Between Lungmen and them, I choose the latter, even if it costs me my life." Ah Fa laughed, his teeth covered in blood, a frightening laugh. "Commander Chen, there are two things I'd like you to pass on to Sister Gui."

"Talk to her yourself."

Chen Huijie, who had been listening attentively to the other person's story, stood still, patted Xingxiong on the shoulder, and pushed her forward.

"What do you mean? Wait, are you acting against me? No way!"

Ah Fa was so anxious that he tried to stand up, but he lost his balance and fell down from the pile of cardboard boxes.

Before his face hit the ground, Ah Fa's right shoulder was gently supported, the steady and strong hand making him feel as if he had returned to the past. Every time they crushed other gangs, they would put their arms around each other's shoulders and go back to the bar for a victory celebration.

"Miss?"

"Well, I'm here."

Hoshiguma lifted Afa up in her hand as easily as if she were carrying a chick.

“Commander Chen, you’re my superior. What you’re doing is wrong.” Afa turned his head toward the direction from which the voice had come from. His face was flushed red in the dim light. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I’ve said so much already. I might as well be dead.”

Chen Huijie waved her hand: "You didn't ask."

Ah Fa stared in disbelief: "You—"

“You won’t die,” Hoshiguma comforted her. “The doctors at Rhodes Island are very skilled. Unless your head falls off, they can cure you.”

"Big sister, what you're saying is making me even more scared. Is Rhodes Island doing some kind of human experimentation?"

"If you're not even afraid of me, what else are you afraid of?"

Hoshiguma carried Afa's thin body on her back and walked towards the main entrance of the warehouse.

"Big sister, actually... we've always been afraid of you... but we all know you're good to us."

Ah Fa slowly lowered his head; he was no longer conscious. The glory of his last burst of energy had faded, leaving only exhaustion.

“Wake up, the Rhodes Island doctor is here, don’t sleep.” Hoshiguma remembered what they had talked about earlier and raised her voice. “Your identity has been exposed, and you can’t be a spy anymore anyway, so you might as well come back and reopen the bar. If you don’t have enough start-up capital, I can recommend you to a friend’s bar, where you can start as a bartender. Even though the other person is a penguin, he loves to drink just like me.”

"...I'm sorry, big sister."

"Don't apologize, you'll cover my drinks this year."

"I might as well just die."

"Is it really that exaggerated?!"

Hoshiguma blushed. It was true that she loved to drink, but no matter how much she drank on her days off, it was just beer! How much does beer cost? It just meant she had drunk away all her savings except for the motorcycle she bought.

Just as she was about to speak, a cheerful sound came from the warehouse door.

“Those who need treatment, step forward!”

The Rhodes Island medical team makes a dashing debut.

Gavial, dressed in white with green hair, stood at the doorway like the Grim Reaper, holding a warhammer-like Originium staff.

Hoshiguma paused for a moment. She knew Gavial and was familiar with him.

She silently tossed Afa in front of Gavial.

"Go well."

—Ah Fa passed away peacefully that day.

Hoshiguma watched as Afa, with his hands clasped in front of his chest, a smile on his lips, and his eyes covered by a white cloth, was lifted onto a stretcher.

It's not safe here; Reunion members could appear at any time. It's best for the wounded to stay on Rhodes Island.

"Ugh."

Hoshiguma sighed softly.

This is Longmen City.

If it were her last week, she would never have imagined that Lungmen would face this day.

"Hoshiguma, you don't look too good." Chen Huijie noticed her friend's pale complexion and pointed to the doctor Gavial, who had just waved his staff in a circle. "Do you need to come over?"

Gavial's ears twitched; she was in a good mood. "If you want to be treated, come within my reach first."

"No, no, I'm fine, I was just thinking about something." Hoshiguma Ju refused, her tone serene. "I never imagined that Afa was a spy sent by Lungmen to monitor me, hiding so deeply. If it weren't for this, I probably wouldn't have guessed it even in my coffin."

"He already knew which way was his final destination," Chen Huijie said softly, still full of respect for Afa.

He spent ten years without revealing his identity.

How many decades does one have in a lifetime?

Chen silently pulled out Afa's handwritten copy, which contained crucial intelligence that Afa had risked his life to preserve, as it concerned the safety of Longmen.

She opened the password book on her mobile device, deciphered the text content according to the cipher, and obtained the account and password for the intercity cloud storage network.

The information in this separate account is encrypted twice. Even if someone obtains this information from other channels, they would need the appendix of the original handwritten copy to decrypt it.

"This is a file of black mud material produced by the corpses of infected individuals from the Integration Movement, which was analyzed by the Longmen Research Institute three days ago."

Superintendent Chan had practiced speed reading and could read ten lines at a glance without any problem. He could also analyze complex information to get the gist of it.

"This is the information analyzed from the fragments and ashes of the skeletal monster collected in the slums last night. The basic composition is actually identical?!"

"The composition of Originium accounts for the vast majority, and there are other components for which we cannot yet draw conclusions."

"besides……"

Chen Huijie read the intelligence report from beginning to end, then raised her head and let out a long breath.

Even someone as intelligent as her needs time to understand something so complex.

"Old Chen?"

Hoshiguma prepares to beckon the quack doctor Gavial to launch a spectacular backstab at her friend.

"I'm fine, just a little tired." Superintendent Chen frowned, holding her mobile terminal, and said seriously, "The information that Afa risked his life to bring out is very useful. He also infiltrated the camp of the Infected in the Reunion Movement to confirm it. It can be basically confirmed that the person who invaded Lungmen this time is an executive of the Reunion Movement named Mephisto. The monsters that appeared in Lungmen before were also caused by this person's Originium Arts."

"What kind of Originium Arts could create such a monster?"

Hoshiguma was somewhat surprised. She tilted her head, recalling the scene where she had used Hannya to stop one of the monsters. The number of dangerous beasts that could fight her to a standstill could be counted on one hand.

"I don't know. This kind of spell has never appeared in the known Originium Arts system. Maybe it's just a trigger. I have a feeling that it's not Mephisto controlling the monster, but the monster controlling him."

Superintendent Chen's tightly furrowed brows showed no sign of easing as he said in a deep voice, "Secondly, I can be almost certain that the mysterious organization that appeared in the Lungmen slums yesterday to help residents evacuate to the sewers—they have mastered the Guard Bureau's secret codes! They obtained all the information from this manual, successfully logged into the cloud, and even left their message."

Chapter 388 The Patriots' Advance

"How to say?"

Hoshiguma looked at Old Chen curiously.

Detective Chen adjusted his non-existent glasses and summarized the situation: "Before we and the Reunion Movement arrived, the people from this mysterious organization knocked out Ah Fa, obtained the handwritten copy from him, successfully cracked the code, logged into the cloud, and deleted the messages about them."

“The evidence is right here.” Detective Chen showed the mobile terminal to Hoshiguma. “The history shows that the last access time was 15:42 PM, which is about half an hour ago. That is, it’s close to the time when we received the confidential communication on Rhodes Island and when Afa hung up the communication.”

"I have a bold guess."

As if background music were playing in Detective Chen's world, she speculated, "I suspect this is Alexander Swail's doing!"

Hoshiguma looked up and sighed deeply, "That was quite bold indeed."

“My intuition tells me that Alexander has been hiding something all along, clearly possessing strength but never showing it. He pursued Swire under the guise of a playboy, but he never had any real feelings for her, nor did he ever do anything excessive to her. It wasn't until yesterday, when Lungmen was invaded by the Reunion Movement, that he revealed his true strength. In just one night, he won over the hearts of the people in Lungmen's slums.”

Detective Chen, a crack detective, confidently stated, "This was a premeditated plan. When the time was right, Alexander Swell stopped hiding. He must be a member of that mysterious organization, and this organization is definitely connected to the doctor from Rhodes Island! Otherwise, Alexander wouldn't have treated that person with such utmost respect. I see, that's how it is. I'm gradually understanding everything!"

Hoshiguma smiled and nodded. She didn't say anything; at this moment, a smile was enough.

Because it's too outrageous.

Hoshiguma was too embarrassed to tell Chen that she had seen the Rhodes Island Doctor's information in the Rhodes Island staff introductions. Plus, she had met a purple-haired Sarkaz doctor who enthusiastically told her about the Doctor and strongly recommended the "Doctor-Slayer" pairing! She even played a short dialogue for Hoshiguma; although there was a lot of background noise, you could feel the genuine emotion in it.

This is probably the persistence of intelligence chief Furong. Perhaps she and Scout will get along well and form the BoALL marriage-urging team.

"Is that all the information we have about Afa?" Hoshiguma asked.

Old Chen hesitated for a moment, then finally told the truth: "Besides that, there's also information on the location of the central hub connecting all the Reunion Movement's strongholds, down to the level of personnel and weaponry. I'm not sure if this is a trap or a gift left behind by the other side. If we can destroy the Reunion Movement's communication facilities, our chances of retaking the Guard Bureau building will increase significantly."

"The Reunion Movement is not a real army and lacks a sound command system. It is easy for panic to break out when intelligence and communication are lost. This applies to any country in the world. Even Yan can only establish multiple ranks of soldiers to ensure stability, and that's all."

Superintendent Chen couldn't be sure whether the intelligence was a gift or a trap.

Judging from the location of the intelligence, the Reunion Movement's target is in an affluent area, which is quite intriguing.

Logically, the Reunion Movement's infiltration of Lungmen was primarily achieved through using infected individuals from the slums as informants to gather intelligence. This is why Wei Yanwu was furious; he could not tolerate traitors. Whether infected or young newcomers to Lungmen, the fate of betrayers was always the same, without exception.

"Go and have a look."

Superintendent Chan made a decision; she was not the kind of commander who hesitated.

"If this is true, then the Reunion Movement must have a specific objective in the wealthy area, and it's definitely not just about building a base. According to Commander Wei's plan, all buildings in the wealthy area and the city should be empty, and everyone should have been evacuated. Whether the Reunion Movement is really doing something here or setting up an ambush, the point is to defeat them."

Superintendent Chen glanced at Hoshiguma, who nodded deeply, and they walked forward side by side.

"It's time to tell each other who the hunter is and who the prey is."

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.

Chernobog No. 14, an abandoned urban area.

The plaza was riddled with holes; it was the main area where the infected horde of zombies exploded, almost peeling off a layer of the ground.

The black ice crystal was scooped up from the ground level; to be precise, it was pulled out from the bottom layer by Patriot alone with one hand.

Throughout the entire process, Patriot didn't utter a single word, his crimson eyes fixed intently on Lin Lu, who was clinging tightly to his precious daughter. The black ice crystal used most of its space for reinforcement; to avoid being crushed by falling rubble, Frostnova amplified this when casting her spell. If it weren't for her quick thinking, the two wouldn't be in such an ambiguous position.

"Your dad seems pretty intimidating."

Lin Lu held Shuangxing in his arms and asked, the two of them changing from lying together to standing and embracing.

This is because the old patriot single-handedly erected the black crystal and planted it on the scorched earth.

"If I told you now that there's a custom in Ursus where the groom must demonstrate his strength to his lover's father... defeat him before we can get married, would you regret it?"

Froststar smiled knowingly; she wasn't in a bad mood.

This is probably what it feels like to take your boyfriend to meet your father who is arguing.

She could see a side of her boyfriend that was different from usual, and she could also feel her father's anxiety.

"I'm afraid..."

Lin Lu hugged Shuangxing and whispered.

Froststar paused, blinked, and asked, "What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid if I beat your father to a pulp, will you hate me?" Lin Lu said, looking aggrieved.

"you--"

Froststar was furious. She hadn't expected that this was what Lin Lu was worried about!

"If you can defeat him, I'll not only join Rhodes Island, I'll even marry you!" Frostnova said instinctively.

"A word is settled!"

Lin Lu suddenly perked up and looked intently at Shuangxing.

He felt better than ever before, as if a little person inside him was shouting the Wei Tian Annihilation Wave!

"But how are we going to get out? This thing feels even sturdier than the armor plates of a mobile city; even a zombie horde explosion couldn't break it... Wait, did you hear anything?" Lin Lu felt the surroundings trembling and couldn't help but frown.

Soon, Lin Lu realized the reason for the earth-shaking tremors.

The Patriot placed his spear and shield on the ground and began hammering the black crystal with his bare hands, producing a deafening roar. Following the direction of his fist, spiderweb-like cracks spread, carving out countless ice crystals.

"Yelena."

"what happened?"

"Do you guys in Ursus have a custom where a woman can marry a man? I don't even know if my parents are still alive, so just consider this a forfeit. Or how about I go with you to the Reunion Movement? I'll warm your bed for you..."

Chapter 389 Be More Bearish on Me

"Hi, father-in-law."