Man on the ark, forced to become king

Chen and Qiu Bai had both witnessed such a scene before, so they weren't too surprised. In their minds, since their teacher was personally involved, it was only natural that such a grand-scale spell would appear.

In contrast, the expressions of Huang, Mudrock, and Magellan were very realistic, especially Magellan, who unconsciously opened his mouth wide, his head full of question marks.

What is that?

She was only stationed on the ice plains for a few months, without any contact with the outside world. Had the times already changed?

Is she so outdated that she can't keep up with the times?

What's with that ridiculously large golden tree that takes up half the sky?

If she wasn't mistaken, it seemed to be a spell cast by someone? And the person sitting on the throne in mid-air casually sliced ​​the earth into two distinct parts with a wave of their hand?

As the shadows of the trees reflected in the sky dissipated, the emblem suspended in the void became exceptionally conspicuous. The golden screen appeared and disappeared in the night, shimmering rhythmically like breathing, and the light it emitted drove the darkness hundreds of meters away.

Through the giant screen, you can see the pitch-black ink that is isolated from the outside, as if it has been scraped up from the snow by an invisible scraper, all piled up on the other side, wriggling and rolling, slapping against the bottom of the curtain separating the snowfield, stirring up layers of ripples, but it can never move forward a step.

On this layer, the snow and ice under the light are pure white, as if all impurities have been separated out, leaving only the purest part, which is dazzlingly white.

A curtain of light separated two worlds.

Is this still magic?

With the golden light reflected in his eyes, Magellan suddenly felt a huge sense of unreality. In particular, this powerful figure seemed to have come with Saria. Could it be that he was also from Rhine Lab?

When did Rhine Labs become such a terrifying entity?

This can no longer be called human, can it?

As a pure scientific researcher, Magellan did not believe in so-called theology. Everything she understood came from knowledge and exploration. But this time, the outline of 'God' involuntarily emerged in her mind.

It wasn't just an overwhelming power; for the first time, she witnessed firsthand what 'divinity' truly meant.

It turns out that there really is a creature in this world whose mere existence can influence everything around it. To look at it is like observing the sun with the naked eye, or gazing up at the deep starry sky. Awe is born from instinct.

That is the fear and submission of a weak life to a higher level of life, imprinted on the body and soul from the very beginning of life, making it difficult to even raise the desire to explore.

This clearly doesn't align with the mindset of researchers, but Magellan genuinely dared not observe the majestic being seated on the throne; in fact, her body didn't even qualify for direct observation.

"Saria, that's... your badge?"

Squeezing off his awe, Magellan cautiously approached Saria, intending to glean some information from his only acquaintance at the moment.

But upon closer inspection, she was astonished to discover that while Saria's clothing appeared largely unchanged, her shield had been altered. The Rhine Labs emblem was gone, and the insignia on her clothing had also been replaced by a strangely shaped golden emblem, identical to the one engraved on the wall that isolated the earth.

Saria betrayed us?

This was even more shocking to the penguin than the sky falling down. Just thinking about it made Magellan feel that she couldn't accept it, and she immediately rejected the guess.

After all, who would doubt Saria?

Saria's existence is equivalent to Rhine Lab itself, so how could she possibly betray herself?

"Magellan...Rhine Lab has disintegrated."

However, Saria's answer far exceeded Magellan's expectations, leaving her stunned.

What does "disintegrate..." mean?

I've only been out on fieldwork for a few months, and such a large company like RheinLife is gone?

This...this...this...how is this possible?!

Although Rhine Lab may not be the strongest company in Colombia, it is a leader in scientific research and holds a very important position. It could just disappear like that.

What should she do?

Are people on the ice fields facing immediate unemployment?

No wonder the supply delivery team kept missing its deadlines; it turns out the company had gone bankrupt...

The sudden bad news left Magellan silent for several minutes before he could catch his breath and asked in a trembling voice, "Can you tell me how Rhine Lab disintegrated?"

"...This matter is rather complicated."

Saria leaned on her shield, her voice low and somber. For her, it was not a pleasant memory; it was more like a nightmare.

“As you know, Magellan, Rhine Lab has always been at the forefront of scientific research, and is carrying out multiple cutting-edge research projects, including the General Lab. She is also pursuing something.”

"However, no one noticed that in the pursuit of so-called truth, they had become arrogant and blind. The fanaticism of academic supremacy had overshadowed the essence of humanity, which was not a good thing."

"In pursuit of their desired results, they even began to cross moral boundaries, conducting forbidden human experiments that were not permitted, and using them as bargaining chips to gain profits."

“I warned her before that rapid technological advancements are sometimes not a good thing, but unfortunately…”

"Human experimentation..."

Magellan's eyes widened, and after hearing what followed, he instinctively retorted, "But exploration and progress can't be considered a bad thing, can they?"

"Why wouldn't it be a bad thing?"

Saria's expression darkened, and she said quietly, "The development of science and the progress of technology exist to better serve humanity. They must never be used to trample on humanity itself, especially not to place them above morality and ethics."

"Uncontrolled power and desire inevitably lead to destruction. Everything must have an inviolable bottom line, and Rhine Lab crossed that bottom line and went down the road to madness."

"No matter how many achievements or how lofty the ideals, they cannot cover up the fact that it is wrong."

"No one's sacrifice is a given, and when people trample on life in pursuit of their own truth, their fate is sealed."

"What you're saying seems to make sense."

Magellan thought about it and realized that this made a lot of sense.

Research and exploration are meant to serve humanity. Results generated by trampling on human rights completely contradict the original purpose of research. Before bringing progress, they bring suffering and destruction. Such a research method is, of course, wrong.

"That Rhine Lab was taken over by Columbia..."

"Don't think of them as some kind of noble people. The entire Columbia research community is practically rotten to the core and beyond redemption."

Saria's lips curled into a cold smile, an expression she rarely made, which made her appear particularly terrifying.

"Without the protection of the Colombian government, how could Rhine Lab have successfully carried out those forbidden experiments? Not only Rhine Lab, but many research projects in other institutes have benefited from their support."

"The collapse of Rhine Lab was not due to official control, but because their actions angered a big shot who went to Columbia and Trimont and overturned the table, causing Rhine Lab to collapse overnight."

"A big shot? How big of a big shot could do something like that? And that's in Colombia."

Does this mean that the person who destroyed Rhine Life came from outside Columbia?

Magellan shook his head, somewhat bewildered. How could an outsider be allowed to act so recklessly within Colombian territory? This was not the usual practice of the Colombian government.

"How big is it? Didn't you just see it?"

Saria pointed to the sky and sighed, "If you knew what happened in Tremont, you would understand. At that time, Rhine Lab was nothing; they simply didn't have time to care about Rhine Lab's affairs."

"Ok."

Magellan was confused, but didn't ask any further questions. She looked in the direction the finger was pointing and saw the figure floating in the night sky. She felt a strange sense of entitlement.

If such power existed, destroying Rhine Lab wouldn't be so hard to accept.

"So, you're working for him now?"

"Golden Tree, that's our name, and it will soon be yours too."

"It's a very fitting name, I don't really care..."

In the Colombian context, a sense of belonging is a luxury. Individuals serve companies and enterprises in exchange for the wealth and resources they need. Essentially, it is a transaction where each party gets what they want, with little emotional involvement. Magellan was no exception in this regard, and perhaps even more so.

She prefers exploration and research to working for Rhine Lab. Whether it's Rhine Lab or anything else, as long as it doesn't conflict with what she wants to do, it doesn't matter.

So she had no intention of refusing Saria's suggestion. Working in the same place as her old friend seemed pretty good, much better than going to a completely unfamiliar place.

—This is on the premise that her job duties will not change significantly.

"Now that I'm an employee of Golden Tree, can I still be the same as before?"

"Of course you can. Everyone has the right to choose. If you like, you can still stay on the ice sheet. We also have very convenient technology that allows you to travel quickly between the city and the research station, so you won't be almost completely isolated from the outside world like before."

It wasn't Saria who answered Magellan's question, but Lin Lu, who descended from the sky after noticing the 'pointing and whispering' here.

If that's all the requirements, it's not difficult to fulfill them at all. He wouldn't mind making things easier for the Emperor's 'little sister'.

Moreover, even disregarding those considerations, his original intention was to rebuild a research station here. Exploration and research were secondary; the main purpose was to guard the seal of the Golden Tree to prevent any unforeseen circumstances.

Without a doubt, Magellan, who had been stationed on the ice field for many years, was the best candidate to guard the new research station. He was experienced and could adapt to the harsh environment, making him a perfect candidate and saving the trouble of finding someone else at the last minute.

"what!"

Startled by Lin Lu's sudden appearance, Miss Penguin jumped up and nimbly darted behind Saria, clinging to her shoulder and peeking out with half her head, cautiously observing her.

"...I'm not that scary-looking, am I?"

Lin Lu subconsciously touched her face, looking completely bewildered, and then suspiciously asked Saria, "What did you say to her?"

"Am I like that kind of person?"

Coming from Saria's mouth, these words were highly credible, and Lin Lu thought about it and felt there was nothing wrong with them.

Everyone might gossip, but Saria, a stoic and unsmiling woman, is not one of those possibilities.

After reaching a conclusion, he could only wave his hand dejectedly, attributing the reason to the penguin's inherent timidity, and then suggested, "Because of your matter, the Emperor is unusually furious, waking me up in the middle of the night to save someone. Do you want to come with me to see him?"

-------------------------------------

"An anomaly detected, support needed."

"I saw."