Ark Chess Player.

She looked up ahead, but she doubted she was seeing things. How could such a monster exist?

A massive, hairy head, pockmarked like an almond stone, appeared atop the Guard Bureau building. It was impossible to tell where the eyes were, or rather, there were countless eyes. Numerous wriggling tentacles emerged from beneath the bronze-like hairy brain, instantly leaving one feeling utterly bewildered.

With three pairs of three-segmented arms, it clung to the nearly forty-meter-high Guard Bureau building, its sharp claws digging deep inside. Countless Guard Bureau officers were crushed to death in the process. A single small action caused heavy casualties to the elite team that stormed the Guard Bureau building, making them feel as small and helpless as an elephant accidentally crushing a few ants.

The scariest thing is...

Regardless of distance, everyone who witnessed this monster felt as if something had exploded in their minds, triggering a complete mental check. Most of the less resolute went mad on the spot, attempting to destroy everything in their path, some even resorting to self-harm.

If Mephisto sacrificed more than two thousand Infected members of the Reunion Movement when he held the ceremony, then the number of people who died in Lungmen at this moment due to loss of sanity almost instantly exceeded that number.

"Evacuate everyone! Quickly, evacuate Lungmen!!"

Kal'tsit, clutching her forehead which was stinging, immediately intervened in Rhodes Island's current operation.

She knew what it was, and it was precisely because she understood that she was terrified, even though Governor Wei Yanwu of Lungmen was right in front of the conference table.

Even if Rhodes Island abandons the cooperation this time, she won't let her operators die in vain! Most of Rhodes Island's operators are infected, which is the most fatal flaw. The higher the Oripathy infection rate, the more susceptible they are to the effects of the unspeakable. Only those with unwavering will can resist the fear of their sanity evaporating, like dragon slayers, drawing their swords against the dragon's might.

Kal'tsit took a deep breath, maintaining her breathing rhythm and keeping her mind clear.

"Kroos, where is Skadi?" Kal'tsit contacted Kroos, the engineer on the Rhodes Island main ship. Currently, only she and Warfarin have the authority to activate the PRTS system to search for operators wearing Originium reconnaissance rings with location-tracking capabilities.

"Ah... this... Skadi and Grani are currently on a mission in Drip Village, Kazimierz."

"Understood. Get ready to activate Rhodes Island. We can leave Lungmen at any time."

Kelsey hung up the phone, bracing herself for the worst.

Wei Yanwu's expression also turned serious. Even he heard the strange sound, and his willpower wavered.

"Dr. Kal'tsit, what is that?"

Wei Yanwu frowned, radiating an invisible dragon's might. He felt that the two enormous monsters that appeared yesterday... combined, couldn't compare to this one. This intense sense of crisis was something he hadn't felt in a long time since he took control of the Dragon Gate.

Kal'tsit silently turned to look at Wei Yanwu, staring at him with the eyes of someone who cares for intellectually disabled children, as if to say, "It's really good that you don't understand."

"Amitala..."

Kal'tsit spoke slowly.

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.

"Xiaomei? No, Ino... Ino!!"

Faust couldn't find Mephistopheles, so he rushed desperately towards the spot where Mephistopheles had been. But as if sensing something, he followed his intuition and stared at the sky above.

“No, no no no!!”

Something deep within Faust's mind shattered.

He knew; he knew that Mephistopheles had been influenced by someone from the beginning.

On that day, Faust witnessed Talulah stuff a black substance into Mephistopheles' ear.

she says.

"Mephisto."

"From this day forward, you are Mephistopheles, and you have nothing to do with your past self."

"Do whatever you want. I allow it, because you are Mephistopheles, you are a lone demon."

"We must fight for a future for our fellow infected people, and everyone can sacrifice for this ideal."

"Including you, and including me."

From that moment on, Mephisto became a completely different person. He became radical, irritable, and... unwilling to listen to anyone's advice. Anyone who disobeyed him was turned into a herd. He began using his squad's infected as pawns, resorting to any means to achieve victory, even turning Reunion soldiers into Originium bombs.

When Mephistopheles entered a sarcophagus in Chernobog and emerged with something strange, he became even more ruthless. Faust, acting on his orders, deliberately allowed himself to be captured by the Guard Bureau, and together they stormed the Guard Bureau building.

"Why...why did this happen..."

"Faust murmured, tears welling in his eyes."

Amida slowly lowered its head, its wriggling tentacles seemingly intending to surge toward Faust, as if to soothe him... if those tentacles did not condense into spell-like units.

Faust paused, then felt a deep sadness.

It wasn't because he was about to die, but because Mephistopheles no longer recognized him.

Mephistopheles called himself the player of the game throughout his life, but he was ultimately just someone's pawn.

"cut!!"

A sword light flashed past, the Crimson Sky Sword shattering all laws, directly deflecting an arcane beam of light heading towards Faust. The terrifying beam pierced through the southeastern side of the Royal Guard's rooftop from top to bottom, penetrating all the way to the ground.

Chen's eyes widened involuntarily. In the past, when she commanded Chixiao, even the most powerful spells would be severed by her with a single strike. But the full-force attack she had just unleashed couldn't even cut through the monster's tentacles; it merely disrupted the monster's spellcasting.

Amida slowly turned her head.

The amygdala-like head was covered with countless grooves, and in the next moment, eyeballs emerged from these grooves.

He was angry.

Arcane units coalesced, unleashing terrifying power and surging forth countless arcane rays.

In the blink of an eye, the Royal Guard building vanished completely, as if a god had wiped it off the map of Lungmen.

Chapter 406 You Smell So Good

The pitch-black sky appeared even more somber amidst the swirling dust.

The Dragon Gate was shrouded in endless dark clouds, and the entire mobile city sank into fear and madness.

The once-renowned Royal Guard Building, a symbol of Lungmen security, vanished completely from sight, leaving not even ruins. Arcane light erupted from Amidala's immeasurable compound eyes, and not only that, His palm shattered the Royal Guard Building's load-bearing pillars, wiping out all the Royal Guard officers who hadn't had time to evacuate.

"what……"

Chen opened his eyes.

She found herself being held by the collar, just like the Reunion Movement sniper.

As the light of destruction descended, Chen clearly realized that he and his opponent were not on the same level at all, and even Chi Xiao could not cut through it.

Just then, a dark figure swooped down from the sky and caught Chen and Faust on the collapsing rooftop of the Royal Guard Bureau. It grabbed the two and jumped off, first using air pressure propulsion to accelerate, then creating airflow and vacuum pressure just before landing to slow their descent, demonstrating its Originium Arts to the fullest.

Who exactly was it that saved her in such a critical moment?

Chen looked up, paused, and her lips trembled slightly.

"The Doctor from Rhodes Island?"

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.

Longmen Outer Ring Fifth District, Luotizhou.

The Rhodes Island main ship's engineering department, the office of 42-star operator Kroos.

"Ugh! Seriously, why are monsters from ancient ruins popping up in Lungmen?! And so many squads are out of contact, and I don't know how to command! Kal'tsit's not here, the Doctor's not here, Amiya's not here! What do we do?!"

Kroos was in a terrible predicament. She was just an ordinary engineer; how could she possibly manage such a large-scale operation?

"Where does Kal'tsit get the courage to think I can be as perfect as the Doctor?!" Kroos wailed.

"I think I heard someone praising my good looks."

A slightly androgynous, deep, and steady voice echoed in the office.

Kroos blinked, matching the voice to its owner in her mind, then became so excited that her shoulders trembled, and she turned and pounced on it!

"Doctor! My dear Pure Originium VIP customer! My wallet! You're finally back! Ouch!" Kroos was flicked on the forehead and involuntarily closed her eyes. She had just been so flustered that she didn't know what to do.

"Doctor, wow, you smell so good."

Kroos twitched her nose slightly, and when she opened her eyes, she realized that the person standing in front of her was not the Doctor.

"Hey, long time no see, little dwarf."

"Mei, Mei...Mei Lulu?!"

Kroos pointed at the person in front of her, her face filled with disbelief.

A fitted white robe, a black vest, and a white shirt covered all the skin below her neck, yet made her alluring. Long, crimson hair, beautiful eyes, exquisite features, and a dignified, noble air.

Bai Huang, the leader of the Borderless Army R&D team, made a dashing entrance. Without any hesitation, she flicked Kroos on the forehead again, warning, "There is only one person who can call me Meruru, but that person is definitely not you."

"Wow..."

Kroos's forehead turned bright red, and she was almost stunned by the blow.

This was even with Bai Huang holding back; otherwise, it wouldn't have been impossible for her to beat Kroos all the way from the office to the end of the corridor.

"Why are you here? This is Rhodes Island, all the elite operators are here. Aren't you afraid Logos will fight you?" Kroos asked curiously.

"I'm not afraid of a fight. Before I became a researcher, I was a mage." Bai Huang wasn't worried at all. However, this time she didn't sneak in. Instead, she carried Lin Lu's ID card and got through unimpeded.

“That’s true. Unless they gang up on you, you can just teleport away using those strange spells.” Kroos understood Bai Huang’s abilities perfectly and knew that Bai Huang was an extremely skilled mage. Anyway, she couldn’t beat her.

"By the way, where's the Doctor? I just heard her voice."

Kroos stood on tiptoe, trying to look behind Bai Huang with a curious expression.

"I am in Longmen."

A huge display screen hanging on the wall showed the PRTS communication wavelength, and Lin Lü's voice came from the speakers.

"The situation is urgent, so I'll keep it brief."

"Amiya is the supreme commander for this operation, and I am her adjutant."

"Rhodes Island operators in Lungmen are deployed in a fan shape to suppress anyone who has gone out of control and is running amok. Anyone."

"Specter, Shining, Nearl, Faruzan, Platinum, Blue Poison, I need these operators to assist me in defeating Amidala."

"Kroos, you and Meruru work together to repair Alex's weapon, the Bonebreaker Gunblade. As for Alex, I've already had the Kingkiller and Asakayama do some ideological work on him. Oh, and get Misha's combat suit ready; the siblings are the trump card for this operation."

Kroos, feeling overwhelmed, quickly shouted, "Stop, stop, stop!"

"Any questions?"

Lin Lu countered, noting that his communication was not very good and he could hear static from time to time.

“There are too many problems!” Kroos raised her right hand, counting on her fingers. “First, Kal'tsit has abandoned the Lungmen operation and ordered a full evacuation from Lungmen. Even the Rhodes Island ships are ready to leave at any time. Second—”

"Rejected. None of the above are problems."

The loud electrical noise startled Kroos so much that she almost jumped up.

"Amiya and I have decided that we must resolve this crisis. This is not some trivial matter like continuing our cooperation with Lungmen; it is purely because of Mephisto's desecration of the lives of Oripathy patients and his utter destruction of the social status of the infected for his own selfish gain. As a conscientious company, Rhodes Island will never tolerate such a thing, nothing more."

"...I feel like I understand a little, but I also feel like I don't understand at all."

Cleopatra, her head still foggy from staying up for two nights, tried her best to keep up with Lin Lu's pace.

Seeing this, Bai Huang flicked Kroos's forehead again and said helplessly, "Are you stupid? Do you need to think so much?"

"Huh?" Kroos was dumbfounded.

"What do you mean 'huh'? Just do as the boss says."

Bai Huang buttoned up her white coat and said without hesitation, "The BOSS is right. You only need to understand this point. You don't need to think about anything else. Even if the BOSS asked you to take off your clothes and run around naked right now, the BOSS would have his reasons."

"Only you guys would be this obedient..."

Kroos covered her forehead and muttered to herself. She pursed her lips and finally gave up and messed up her hair.

"I know! I'll obey! If that old woman Kal'tsit gets angry because of this, let me tell you, you'll have to take the blame! I finally managed to get the purchasing department's funding, and if something goes wrong, you'll be responsible."

Lin Lu asked, "How much funding did Kal'tsit promise you?"

"400,000 LMD! Impressive, right?"

Kroos put her hands on her hips with a hint of smugness.

Kal'tsit is extremely strict with her accounts; getting even a single extra penny from her is a remarkable achievement.

"I'll double your funding, get on it now."

"Good dad!"

Chapter 407 To deal with you, I'll use this card.

Let's move the time forward a little.