Man on the ark, forced to become king

"Everything about you? What if I just wanted you as a person?"

The surging momentum, like a tide, suddenly dissipated, the oppressive atmosphere melted away, and Lin Lu, with a strange expression, crossed her arms and asked in a teasing tone.

"Yes, yes, that's fine—"

"Kidding."

Ignoring the girl next to her who had turned bright red like a boiled shrimp, Lin Lu stood up and paced around the living room for a few moments. After a moment's thought, she stated her terms: "I can help you find Talulah, but the price is that you have to join the Golden Tree and work for me."

"Okay, I agree!"

Upon hearing this condition, Chen agreed without hesitation. She breathed a sigh of relief but also felt a little disappointed and inexplicably irritable. However, she quickly suppressed this strange emotion and did not show it at all.

"If you can do that, I can swear allegiance to you."

"Swearing allegiance? Is that still fashionable these days?"

Lin Lu waved her hand dismissively, not taking it to heart at all.

Those things are ancient relics from some distant era. They don't care about that here. The blessing of the Golden Tree is the best constraint. Once you join the Golden Tree, you think you can run away? That's impossible.

To be honest, Chen's value is not enough to offset the cost of provoking a Duke of Ursus, but... who can blame him for being Lin Lu?

The King of Stars, does whatever he pleases, does whatever he wants, that's how unrestrained he is!

Let alone a mere duke, even the emperor of Ursus... that would be a different story.

However, once the Golden Tree has grown further, even the Emperor will not be someone to be trifled with. Ursus is a world-renowned military power with a large army, many generals, and excellent weapons, making it a very difficult opponent.

However, they could send a large army to invade, and Lin Lu was confident that their emperor would not see the sun rise the next morning.

If one is strong enough, an individual's martial prowess can truly surpass that of an empire. Taking the head of a general amidst thousands of troops is not just empty talk. When an individual's strength reaches a certain level, the number of weak individuals becomes insignificant.

Of course, the current Golden Tree is not enough to support him to that extent, but dealing with a mere duke is not difficult. The Great Blessing has been reconnected, and the divine weapons he once collected are lying in the warehouse waiting for their master's summons.

Killing the emperor is difficult, but killing a duke... is very easy.

If Koschke were smart enough, he would know how to think about his own head.

"When do you plan to take action? Is there anything I can do for you?"

Seeing hope for the first time in so many years, Chen was unusually positive, sweeping away his previous dejection and confusion, and became excited as if he had been injected with chicken blood, eager to do something.

"You? You don't need to do anything. I have other things to take care of recently. Your sister's matter will have to wait until next month. Just wait for news at home. Anyway, you don't have much ability to help. Going there will only cause trouble."

Lin Lu glanced at her indifferently and poured cold water on her without any politeness.

"Ah this..."

Although she knew that her strength was basically negligible in front of a Grand Duke, there was no need to say it so bluntly...

Chen said those words were a bit hurtful, but she endured them for her sister's sake.

She couldn't bear it. If this matter could be accomplished, then this person would be her boss for the rest of her life. What else could she do but endure it?

Thinking about that teasing question from before, Chen felt his face start to flush again, unsure whether it was a joke or something else.

However, snatching someone from the Grand Duke of Ursus... that sounds insane. Chen dares to guarantee that no one in the entire Lungmen, including Wei Yanwu, would dare to have such a thought. Even if you told them, they would probably just laugh it off and think that anyone who said that has lost their mind.

But this man... he was really going to take action and gave a clear timeframe, next month. In his words, he didn't take the nobleman, whom ordinary people would be too in awe to even think about, seriously. You could even say he treated him like he didn't exist.

Putting everything else aside, just that spirit alone gave Chen a little bit of longing. She remembered that when she was a child, she said that she wanted to be a knight-errant... This is probably what a real knight-errant is like, right?

As an outstanding graduate of the Victoria Royal Guard Academy, Chen Ziran, who had received a good education, knew that his personal value was far from enough to justify taking action against Duke Ursus. Yet Lin Lu had only made such a request. Did this mean...? No matter how hard he tried to suppress it, that teasing remark kept looping in his mind.

Chen felt somewhat embarrassed, sensing that something might have gone wrong. He grabbed the Holy Seal from the table and hurriedly ran back to his room, almost as if he were in a panic.

"...What's wrong with her?"

Lin Lu wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt that Chen today had the potential to become a severely mentally ill patient. His sudden outbursts and obvious mental state were clearly not right.

Perhaps it was because he was too excited?

People are prone to making irrational decisions when they are extremely excited, which is understandable...

“Let me think. The cooperation with Babel will stabilize soon, then there’s Lungmen… Lungmen shouldn’t be a problem. And then there’s the Letania Theater Troupe that the Emperor mentioned—the doll-making and soul-transfer technology. We absolutely have to get our hands on that. Lani seems to be waking up less and less lately; we can’t delay this…”

The little dragon escaped back to his room, and Lin Lu took over the entire sofa by herself, lying down comfortably and muttering to herself as she planned what to do next.

There's nothing to worry about regarding the collaboration with Babita and Lungmen, since it's already been finalized. We just need to proceed step by step. The only troublesome thing is the Letania Theatre Company that we'll be contacting next.

Based on his understanding of the Emperor, any troupe that the Emperor would remember could not be a simple performing group; it must be hiding a deeper secret and might not be someone to be trifled with.

However, it's not a big problem. At worst, we can call on Fiameta and Mostima to join us. If we're in Kazdel, we might be able to get the current Demon King Theresia to help us, or get some assistance from the Tower of Babel. Either way is fine.

Moreover, he wasn't going to destroy that troupe; he just wanted to acquire the technology. This could probably be accomplished through a trade. He still had quite a few valuable items in his possession, which should be more than enough to exchange for some technology.

Once the theater troupe's affairs are resolved and he obtains the relevant technology, he can set off for Ursus, to Duke Kosich's territory, to find Chen's sister, Talulah.

Since Koschei chose to take her away instead of killing her back then, Talulah must have had other value to him. The probability that she is still alive is very high. As long as she is alive, even if she is dying or terminally ill, it doesn't matter. The Golden Tree's restoration technology is second to none in this world and has remarkable effects. As long as she has a breath left, she can be saved.

Even if someone is dead, there's still room for maneuver if their body can be found, but that would be much more troublesome. From a convenience standpoint, it's better for a person to be alive.

Whether attacking a duke would attract the attention of the Ursus Empire is not important.

He's not stupid. How could he possibly reveal his true colors and attack someone doing something so shady? Only an idiot would do that.

The King of Stars possesses more than a hundred methods of killing, many of which have never existed in this world before. All we need to do is cleanly and efficiently eliminate Koschei and bring him back to the chaotic Kazdel. The naturally chaotic environment there is the best way to erase all traces, and no one will guess who did it.

He wasn't a famous person at all; he was practically unknown in this world. The emperor of Ursus had no idea who he was and couldn't contact him at all.

With careful planning beforehand, this matter can be considered foolproof.

The only thing to consider is how to remove the Koschke procedure cleanly and efficiently, and what method to use to leave the fewest traces.

Unfortunately, what he had in abundance was the means to kill.

Chapter 103 The Great Discovery of 1943

"Xiao Lin, here for steamed buns again?"

"Who can blame me for Uncle Wang's excellent cooking skills? I never get tired of these xiaolongbao (soup dumplings)."

In the early morning, Lin Lu casually found an empty seat at the breakfast stall, chatted with the owner for a bit, broke open her chopsticks, picked up a small steamed bun, bit into it, chewed it carefully, and finally drank a sip of the clear seaweed and egg drop soup, instantly feeling refreshed.

Putting everything else aside, the food in this world is indeed much better than that in the borderlands. There's a wide variety of food available, especially in the highly developed commercial region of Lungmen, where there's no shortage of delicacies from all over the world. However, his favorite is still xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), which are cheap, delicious, and affordable. It's the breakfast he's eaten the most lately.

I can't help it, that's just my taste.

"Hey, Lin Lu, good morning."

Snapped!

A plastic plate containing two fried dough sticks was placed on the table. Lin Lu looked up and immediately saw the big, furry head right in front of her.

Ah, an employee of the Lungmen Koi Detective Agency, is also a notorious black doctor active in the gray areas of Lungmen. He is unruly and often acts unpredictably. His homemade unlicensed medicines and bizarre treatments leave a deep impression on every patient he treats, especially the inexplicable side effects that cause them great suffering.

However, some of the medicines he made were quite effective for pranks, and Lin Lu was one of the buyers.

In a place like Longmen, delivering packages in the Upper District is certainly respectable, but Penguin Logistics' business scope is not limited to the Upper District. They accept all sorts of people, as long as they are paid, and they often encounter a few unruly customers. Due to Longmen's rules, they have to be careful when they want to fight back. This is when A's unlicensed medicine comes in handy.

"It's rare to see you in the morning. You're up quite early."

"Hey, I was sleeping when Old Carp suddenly came back, making quite a commotion."

Ah complained, then suddenly gave a strange laugh, looked around, and leaned closer mysteriously to whisper, "I've recently developed something great, want to know more?"

good stuff?

Lin Lu immediately became alert, subtly pulling her steamed bun a little further away and leaning back slightly: "Tell me about it."

"that is--"

"What's this interesting thing? Let me see it too?"

A slightly hoarse female voice sounded from the side. Arden shuddered and grabbed a fried dough stick from the table and ran away. However, before he could take two steps, a bright red tattooed arm grabbed his collar, and he deflated.

"Big sister! I was just kidding, just kidding!"

He turned his head away with a mournful face, like a kitten whose fate had been seized by the scruff of its neck.

"Never mind, I'm in a good mood today."

Seeing his expression, Nian clicked his tongue, released his hand, and watched Ah run away in a panic. He smiled with pleasure, sat down in his previous seat, and called out loudly.

"Boss, four fried dough sticks, a bowl of tofu pudding, and extra chili!"

"Tsk, what's wrong? You're broke again?"

Lin Lu subconsciously touched her wallet, then remembered that she had only brought one hundred yuan with her when she left, which made her feel much more at ease.

As long as I have no money, no one can borrow money from me!

"No way, don't worry, I'm not here to borrow money, I just came to see you."

Her eyes darted around, her small nose twitched a few times, and suddenly she frowned.

"You got into a fight?"

"Is your nose like a dog's?"

Lin Lu was taken aback. That happened several days ago, how could she still smell it?

"It's so obvious, that smell..."

Leaning on the table, Nian looked over with a puzzled and confused expression in her large eyes.