Man on the ark, forced to become king

The dragon's tail, burning with orange-red flames, swayed gently. Miss Nian, with two bright red dragon horns on her head, waved her hand dismissively and suddenly moved closer.

"Well, I won't waste any more time. I'm a little short on cash these days, could you lend me some?"

Good heavens! Good heavens! If I knew you were here to borrow money, I would have thought you were here to collect a debt! Are people this brazen in asking for money these days?

Lin Lu looked at those pale purple eyes that suddenly leaned in, and felt so angry that she wanted to punch them and give them a perfect panda makeup look.

"How many times has this happened! Think about it yourself, how many times has this happened this month!"

"Emergency help needed! Emergency help needed!"

His eyes darted around, and he smiled shamelessly, extending his left hand with practiced ease.

"Give me some?"

"No, get out!"

"Wow! What a heartless man! Have you forgotten that we were under the Lungmen Bridge—huh?"

Nian's expression suddenly turned serious. His gaze fixed on the silent Lani doll. As if he had thought of something, he reached out his bright red floral arm and patted Lin Lu's empty right shoulder, a knowing look on his lips.

"I didn't know you had this kind of hobby."

Chapter Four: The Years When My Family Fell into Poverty

Did she see it?

Lin Lu paused for a moment, and a special meaning appeared in her eyes as she looked at Nian.

Year was the first friend she made in this world. He always considered himself a great director, had a particular fondness for writing bad movie scripts, and had never shown anything special about himself.

Looking back now... she might not be as simple as she appears.

From an outsider's perspective, Lani sitting on his shoulders should just be an exquisite doll, at most with a slightly strange design. But Nian clearly didn't think that way—she sensed something deeper hidden beneath the doll's appearance, and someone capable of doing that could never be an ordinary person.

Either she had learned some special Originium Arts, or... she was a powerful person with exceptional eyesight.

"Don't talk nonsense about what hobbies you have."

Lin Lu patted Kai Nian's arm, grinned, and introduced, "You lousy director must be imagining some melodramatic script again. But you're wrong this time. This is my wife, Lani."

So what if they figured it out? He never intended to hide it in the first place.

Before the Furnace of Life is restarted to give birth to a new body, Lani will have to maintain her doll form for a long time. Does that mean she has to be hidden away forever?

Impossible. Even if Lani were willing, Lin Lu would never do that. Why would she need to hide her own wife?

As for whether a talking doll will cause any trouble... let's not even talk about the fact that this world also has Originium Arts, which are similar to magic. Even if there is trouble, would he be afraid of it?

On this street at the border, ask around and find out who's the boss! He's the man who slaughtered his way through the entire border area!

"Who's the director of bad movies?! My films are masterpieces that haven't stood the test of time!"

Nian retorted angrily, but then immediately noticed the key words in Lin Lu's words.

"You're saying this is your wife?"

"Of course! We're a famously perfect couple, aren't we, my wife?"

Snapped!

The outstretched hand was slapped away by the doll's tiny arm. Although it was a doll that couldn't make expressions, Lin Lu could still feel Lani's fierce gaze.

"How did it get like this?"

The playful expression on his face vanished, and Nian glanced again at Lani, who was completely hidden under the huge brim of her hat, his brows furrowing slightly.

This attitude warmed Lin Lu's heart, making her feel that she had made a good friend—he was genuinely worried about her. Of course, it would have been even better if she had paid off the debt first.

"That's all in the past."

Lin Lu didn't want to say much about Lani's matter. He shook his head and subtly changed the subject: "What do you want to do with the money this time? Are you out of money for food?"

"How can it be!"

When questioned about being so poor that he couldn't afford to eat, Nian immediately became furious, raising his voice sharply and even making the flames on his tail burn brighter.

"A director as famous as me has countless people lining up to treat me to dinner! I've had my share of glory, you know!"

"Oh, so Miss Nian, who was once so glamorous, could you please pay back the money you borrowed earlier?"

"Well, aren't we down on our luck now..."

When this matter was mentioned, Nian's momentum immediately weakened. She muttered something under her breath, and noticing that Lin Lu's gaze was focused on the tip of her tail, she rolled her eyes and raised her tail forward.

"Give me 200, and I'll let you touch me, how about it?"

"Well, this isn't good."

Lin Lu really wanted to touch them; he had always been interested in the ears and tails of beast-eared girls. However, with Lani right next to him, he couldn't actually do it. What if he got hit?

"Tch, you don't know what you're missing. Not just anyone can touch my tail."

Seeing Lin Lu's hesitant and timid expression, Nian rolled his eyes, then rubbed his hands together, put on a fawning smile, and moved closer.

"Two thousand, it's two thousand. I'll pay you back at the end of the month. You have no idea, my movie is sure to be a huge hit by the end of the month, I won't shortchange you!"

"Alright, alright, this is the last time."

Seeing her determined attitude, Lin Lu had no choice but to take out her wallet, take out a few Lungmen dollars and hand them over, considering it a way to avoid further trouble. Otherwise, she didn't know how long this troublesome woman would keep pestering her. As for her claim that the film was a big hit, she didn't believe a word of it.

If those terrible movies can sell so well, then the world's aesthetic sense is completely ruined.

"Thanks."

Upon receiving the money, Nian beamed with joy, stuffed it into his pocket, and turned to leave.

"I won't disturb your time together. I'm leaving now, I won't bother you."

"..."

Lin Lu twitched the corners of her mouth, watched the elevator lights bounce a few times, then turned to the first floor, tilted her head and poked Lani's big hat.

"Did you notice anything?"

"...No, I'm just a puppet right now, how could I possibly see anything?"

Lani, holding her hat with both hands, replied irritably.

"Alright, this troublemaker, I really can't guess what she's thinking."

Unable to figure out what Nian's purpose was, Lin Lu simply gave up trying to think about it.

Judging from today's performance, Nian clearly has other unknown identities. He can see through Lani who is possessing the doll at a glance. If such a person really wanted to, would he be short of money?

The reason someone keeps asking him for money might be for other purposes, or it could simply be that they want to borrow money...

After all, he's a fun-loving person, so it's not surprising that he might do something out of line.

Whether they have ulterior motives or not, it doesn't matter. They'll find out sooner or later anyway. These days, who doesn't have a secret?

Putting all these things out of her mind, Lin Lu looked at her wallet with a pained expression, sighed, and instead of taking the elevator, she led Lani up the stairs and ran all the way to the first floor, through the apartment lobby, and onto the street outside.

As the bustling crowd came into view, Lin Lu immediately felt her clothes being pulled up a little on her shoulder, and couldn't help but tease, "It seems our princess is a little nervous?"

"……No."

The witch's weak voice rang in my ears, sounding somewhat unsure of herself.

Lin Lu didn't expose her, but simply straightened her body so that Lani could see further.

"Isn't it a beautiful city?"

"The residents here...are not carrying any weapons; they seem very confident in their safety?"

Lani's perspective was a little different, and the question she asked surprised Lin Lu.

He thought for a moment, then said somewhat uncertainly, “Probably. I’ve been here for a few months now, and Lungmen is indeed very safe. Of course, that only applies to the main city area. The Guard Bureau officers patrol the city regularly, so there’s basically no one causing trouble here.”

boom!

Before the words were finished, the roar of an explosion, mixed with a sharp whooshing sound, rang out simultaneously.

Lin Lu quickly dodged to the side, and half of the billboard spun past them, crashing to the ground and shattering into pieces. Looking up, she saw a large burst of flames erupting from a shop not far away, and pedestrians on the street were fleeing in panic, turning the entire neighborhood into chaos in an instant.

Chapter Five: Crimson Sky - Drawing the Sword

"It seems things aren't as peaceful as they appear here."

Lani pressed her two arms against the brim of her hat and the other two against her clothes to steady herself, and said something in a low voice.

Lin Lu touched her nose, feeling a little embarrassed.

Is today an inauspicious day for travel? How come we've encountered an accident that we might not experience for months at a time, and it's such a horrific event as a bomb explosion...?

The street was in chaos, filled with screams. Lin Lu dodged past the fleeing crowd, and before he could get a good look at what was going on, he heard the sound of glass shattering overhead. A slender dragon tail swayed past his eyes, and the paving stones beneath his feet crumbled. A dragon-horned girl wearing a shirt and shorts fell from the sky and landed to the side.

"List?"

Lin Lu was stunned for a moment, looked up at the top, then looked down at the bottom, and almost doubted that she was seeing things.

He and Chen shared an apartment on the sixth floor! He just jumped like that?!

"Hmm? Lin Lu?"