Man on the ark, forced to become king

“None of your business, Hedley. Get your identification tag ready. I've agreed to the terms. This is none of your concern.”

The girl called W walked up to Lin Lu, their eyes met, and she made no attempt to hide the danger and murderous intent in her eyes.

"You want me? Then I agree."

"Very well, then the deal is done. You have no objections, right, Captain Hedley?"

"No."

Hedley's words seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, with a hint of gritted teeth, but in the end he still compromised.

Since W made his own choice, he had no reason to refuse. W wasn't the only one in the mercenary group, and not everyone cared about this. As the leader, he needed to be responsible for everyone in the group.

"You made the right decision. Oh, by the way, we also need to take an extra car. You won't refuse, will you?"

"..."

Did he have any other choice?

His whole body trembled slightly with suppressed emotions. He forcibly suppressed the agitation in his heart, placed the promised three hundred identification plates on the car, closed his eyes and listened to the sound of the car starting and driving away, remaining silent for a long time.

“…Ines, calm down and tell me what you saw.”

His tone was very calm, but everyone could sense the extreme anger suppressed beneath that calm.

Ines had also calmed down completely. Upon hearing this, she subconsciously glanced in the direction the car had left, her expression complicated.

“Shadows, I saw many dazzling shadows: a one-eyed giant, a mad serpent, a savage warrior… I have never seen such a person before. It’s as if the beings of mythology gathered within him, merging into a human form. He is mythology itself…”

Her words sounded like the delirious ramblings of a madwoman, making the already silent wilderness even colder.

No one questioned or refuted them. The mercenaries looked at each other, and a long silence followed. They had indeed survived as they had hoped, but it seemed they had paid for it all.

“W…”

Hedley murmured the name softly, his heart filled with indescribable complex emotions. Pain grew and spread in his heart, eventually turning into a helpless sigh.

Having been taken away by such an enemy, W's fate was almost predictable; death was perhaps the easiest outcome.

As has happened countless times before, this cannibalistic land is never short of victims. Everyone is a potential sacrifice and food, to be completely devoured at some point in the future, turning into a skeleton that no one cares about, or a bargaining chip.

They never had a choice; they were forced to accept it.

Chapter 55 W: You want to get something for free?

From Hedley's perspective, he naturally assumed that W would not have a good ending after being taken away, as similar precedents were not uncommon in Kazdel.

Those captured or missing mercenaries almost never return alive. If they are lucky, they might be found dying on some road or in some corner a few days later. More likely, they will only find their bodies, or even that will not be found.

Especially female mercenaries.

This land is indiscriminate in its consumption of people, especially in chaotic places like Kazdel. Without sufficient force to protect oneself, even a quick death is a luxury.

But in reality, W's situation was far better than he had imagined. Lin Lu hadn't come with the intention of toying with or tormenting him; she simply wanted to bring W under her wing.

From the first moment he met her, he sensed that this young mercenary girl possessed certain qualities that others lacked; her seemingly crazy exterior might just be a deliberately displayed facade.

He didn't know if his choice was right, and maybe W wouldn't even meet his expectations.

But what does it matter? In the end, asking for people this time was just a spur-of-the-moment decision. If it works out, great; if it doesn't, so be it. It's just a matter of doing things on a whim.

If you want to do something, just do it. The reasons don't matter. Why should he explain his actions to others?

Therefore, he did not imprison W or restrict her personal freedom, allowing her to sit in the back seat of the car with Fiametta and petite Lani. In this respect, W's experience was much better than that of her peers in similar circumstances.

The vehicle sped across the wilderness, from night to day.

This time they were lucky and encountered no further accidents, steadily approaching their destination.

The group ate some dry rations, and even W received a portion of Lungmen's specially made wilderness emergency food. Then, the Lateran messenger duo moved to the front, with Mostima continuing to drive, traveling non-stop.

Lin Lu sat in the back seat, holding the petite Lani in her arms and closing her eyes to rest.

"Hey, what exactly are you planning to do with me? Can't you just give me a straight answer?"

For over ten hours, no one paid any attention to her. Apart from distributing food, these people acted as if she didn't exist. After being treated with such passive-aggressive behavior, W finally couldn't take it anymore.

She had imagined what kind of torture she would suffer after falling into the hands of this group, and even planned how to find an opportunity to fight back. But her current situation made her feel as frustrated as if she had punched cotton with all her might. She had no strength to exert and could not figure out what they wanted to do. She was always on edge.

After glancing at Lin Lu sitting next to him more than ten times, W couldn't help but take the initiative to start a conversation.

The atmosphere was so unbearable that she felt she would rather be beaten up than be in this situation.

"Dispose of? You may have misunderstood something. I didn't bring you here to torture or take revenge. Like I said before, I need a good weapon right now, and I feel you're just right. That's all."

"Huh, weapons?"

W squinted. Although the Sarkaz were indeed no different from tools in their current state, being described in this way still made her very disgusted.

However, being under someone else's roof, she had nothing to refute and didn't show her emotions on her face.

"You want me to be your knife? Aren't you afraid of hurting yourself?"

"The word 'fear' is not in my dictionary."

Lin Lu didn't even open her eyes, and answered very casually.

"So-called mercenaries, aren't they just knives in some people's hands? What's the difference between working for others and working for me? We have no grudges against each other. If you really want to get to the bottom of this, you should thank me for not holding a grudge. Or are you trying to avenge the teammates who died at my hands?"

"..."

These words made perfect sense, and W fell silent, unsure of what to say.

Indeed, she had no past grudges with this group; they were just strangers who had met by chance. It was her mercenary group that launched the attack first. Given their strength, it was fortunate that they weren't killed on the spot. There was no reason for her to harbor resentment.

As for those teammates... ha, in the world of mercenaries, loyalty is the least valuable thing. Teammates one moment might turn against each other the next. Even if everyone else in the team were to die, W wouldn't even think of avenging them. That's just ridiculous.

Since the other party had no intention of killing or torturing her, but only wanted to take her under their wing, it really didn't matter who she worked for.

Having figured this out, W found that his restless state of mind seemed to have calmed down considerably.

This person is right. For mercenaries, as long as they can survive, it doesn't matter who they work for.

"Why did you choose me? If you want to recruit people, there are better choices than me in terms of both ability and experience."

W hesitated, pondering, and asked in confusion. She didn't think she had anything particularly noteworthy about herself compared to other mercenaries.

Although she didn't want to admit it, Hedley and Ines, as leaders of the mercenary group, were more experienced and stronger than her. As long as the reward was sufficient, they wouldn't care who they worked for. So why was she the one chosen in the end?

It can't be... because of her looks, right? But if that's the case, Ines isn't bad-looking either.

"That's not your concern. Remember, from now on you're mine. The only thing you need to think about is how to help me get things done smoothly."

"So, what's the reward? What can you give me?"

After accepting the premise of changing allegiances, W wasn't opposed to it. After all, changing bosses was commonplace for mercenaries. However, no matter which boss she worked for, she would receive compensation afterward. What she was more concerned about was what she could gain here.

Every mercenary tries their best to survive on this cannibalistic land, but simply surviving is not enough.

Everyone has desires, and given the opportunity, no one would refuse to get more.

"a lot of."

This time, Lin Lu finally opened her eyes, met W's gaze, and spoke calmly.

"What others can give you is nothing more than some wealth, but I can give you something you've never had before: dignity, and the real strength to stand on your own two feet in this land. As long as you work hard enough, you can gain far more than you can imagine."

"Dignity... strength?"

W pondered these two words for a long time, then suddenly raised his head, a strange smile playing on his lips.

"I get it, you want to get something for free?"

Chapter Fifty-Six: The Fire of Madness

"Pfft~"

Fiahmet, who was sitting in the passenger seat and seemed to be half asleep, couldn't help but laugh out loud when she heard this, leaving Lin Lu quite helpless.

That's such a vulgar way to put it...

What does it mean to freeload? Am I, the mighty King of Stars, someone who freeloads?

Getting someone to do something for you without paying is called freeloading. I'm asking you to do something for me, and you're supposed to pay me. How can that be called freeloading?

Thinking of this, Lin Lu carefully chose her words and said, "Young people shouldn't value money too much. There are many things in this world that money can't buy, such as the opportunity I'm giving you."

"As long as you do things well, I can provide you with channels to learn and become stronger, allowing you to come into contact with skills and spells you've never seen before, so that one day you can stand on your own two feet in this world. Of course, none of this is free; you'll have to pay a price to obtain it."

"So you're asking me to do things for you, and then I have to pay you? I'm paying to work for you?"

W was completely stunned. She had never been to school and had limited education. After racking her brains, she finally came up with a phrase to describe this behavior: she had never seen such a shameless person!

Good heavens! She exclaimed, "Good heavens! Compared to this man, even the most powerful conglomerates in Colombia would be ashamed!"

"I've told you young people shouldn't value money too much. What I can give you is something that money can't buy."

Lin Lu was completely unfazed by the mercenary girl's disdainful gaze, which caused W's lips to twitch slightly, leaving him speechless for a moment.

Paying to work? She'd never seen anything so outrageous in her life!

"So, you're saying I pay you to do things for me, and then I'm expected to be grateful to you?"

Hard! The fist is hard!