Man on the ark, forced to become king

The heavy-looking wooden door was violently pushed open, attracting the attention of the only two people in the bar.

Logically speaking, this kind of place shouldn't have any customers during the day—who would come to a bar to drown their sorrows in broad daylight!

"Good morning, Your Majesty, and Little Mo!"

"Lin Lu?"

Under the slightly glaring light from outside, Mostima squinted before he could see who had pushed the door open and entered.

She completely ignored the title 'Little Mo' and turned to look at the Emperor, a strange light flashing in her calm eyes.

Anyway, that guy has been calling her that for months and hasn't changed his ways despite repeated attempts to correct him. There's nothing she can do except ignore it. What's surprising is that he comes to the company on his day off.

In Yan Guo dialect, Lin Lu is a typical example of someone who "won't come to the temple unless he has a reason." He would rather slack off than take the initiative to work. Getting him to give up his day off and go to the company to work overtime is less likely than the probability of the Great Emperor quitting drinking.

Mostima pondered for a moment and felt that she probably already knew what the Emperor meant by the 'bad premonition' he had just mentioned.

"You little rascal, you didn't get into any trouble, did you?"

The Emperor also realized this, and cautiously took a few steps back. His gaze shifted to Lani sitting on his shoulder, and he immediately patted his belly and burst into laughter.

"What kind of trendy look is that? Don't worry, we won't laugh at you for secretly buying dolls, right Mostima—"

Mostima remained silent, simply moving away from the Emperor.

call out!

A sharp whooshing sound rang out inside the bar, and a palm-sized ice block shot through the air, leaving a long trail of pale blue icy mist that went straight to the Emperor's beak, looking quite comical.

"Gah——!"

The Emperor's laughter abruptly stopped, and an indescribable penguin scream echoed from inside the bar, startling passersby on the street.

"You're not getting your salary this month!"

"You asked for this, it wasn't me who hit you."

Lin Lu shrugged, pretending not to hear.

He hears about having his wages deducted about once every two days on average, but he doesn't take it seriously at all.

"Ok?"

Upon hearing this, the Emperor casually pulled the ice cube off his mouth, blinked his dark little eyes twice, and looked down at the little puppet that was raising its hand.

"Is this little guy using Originium Arts? Interesting craftsmanship..."

He seemed to have thought of something, and a human-like look of reminiscence appeared on his penguin face.

"If I'm not mistaken, this doll's body contains a real soul?"

Ah this...

How come they all seem to be able to see through Lani's situation? Surely he can't be surrounded by hidden experts?

The year was like this, and so was the Emperor… Mostima didn’t speak, and her face was equally expressionless, making it hard not to suspect that she had also figured it out.

Lin Lu sensed something was off, but she nodded nonetheless.

"Sit down and talk."

For some reason, the Emperor became unusually serious, pointed with his wing to the nearest booth, and curled up on the sofa with his round body, looking like a giant penguin doll.

"I'm sorry, young lady, I must apologize for my rudeness just now."

After sitting down on the sofa, the Emperor suddenly spoke, and what he said shocked Lin Lu so much that her eyes widened and she looked like she had seen a ghost.

This penguin actually apologized?

"What's with that expression? I'm never hesitant to admit my mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes."

“That’s not what you said last month when you asked me to collect the debt.”

Lin Lu glanced at him sideways, her eyes full of disdain. Anyone else would have been more believable than this stingy, petty, and short-tempered penguin.

He was even unwilling to reimburse taxi fares within the scope of his duties!

"Well, that was just an accident."

The emperor's eyes darted around, and he began to change the subject, his expression turning serious—who knows how a penguin could become serious.

“Sometimes you have to be lenient with those unreasonable bastards. As your most respected and kindest boss, I have to give you some advice: for the next two months, don’t let her attract attention.”

"why?"

Lin Lu could tell that he was really serious when he said those words, and there was no joking in his mind.

The Emperor is usually a jovial, comedian-like figure, and it's rare to see him serious. Since he spoke of it so solemnly this time, it must be for a reason.

Is there anything different in the last two months?

"The technique of transferring souls into objects originates from the ancient witchcraft of Letania. After the death of that witch king, all of these things were labeled as 'the witch king's legacy' and were listed as taboo by Letania, forbidden from being spread. Moreover, you should know that those tower sorcerers have always valued knowledge more than life itself."

The Emperor did not explain directly, but instead talked about something that seemed unrelated, which made Lin Lu slightly stunned.

How should I know? What do I know about ancient witchcraft...? Could this penguin be mistaking him and Lani for forbidden wizards who escaped from Letania?

"I have no intention of delving into your past; it means nothing to me. But as your boss, I have to remind you that Lungmen and Letania have done a business deal. You'll be seeing a lot of Letanians on the streets lately. If you don't want to get into trouble, you'd better keep a low profile."

Chapter Thirteen: Penguin Logistics' Deeply Deceptive Tactics

Business between Lungmen and Letania?

Although Lungmen is the western gateway of Yan Kingdom and borders Ursus, it is still separated from Letania by Kazdel and parts of Ursus and Syracuse. What kind of business can be done there?

After several months in the world, Lin Lu had gained some understanding of the situation. Under the threat of natural disasters, the locations of mobile cities in various countries were not fixed, and there were few complete paths connecting them. Under such circumstances, it was not an easy task to transport goods from Letania to Lungmen. What could Lungmen, or rather Yan Kingdom, be so eager to facilitate?

However, Lin Lu didn't pay attention to these things; they were matters of the Dragon Gate and had nothing to do with him. He was more concerned about the information about Letania that the Emperor had revealed.

In the country called Letania, there is a group of tower sorcerers who value knowledge highly and possess extremely advanced magical skills. They can even transfer souls into inanimate objects, which is not an easy task even in the borderlands!

Lani had put in a lot of effort to do that, and she also relied on some things from the border region, but she can't do it now.

If we could acquire the key technology, we might be able to give Lani a better body so she wouldn't have to live in that little doll anymore!

Cultivating the Golden Tree into the Life Furnace form is no easy task. To be honest, Lin Lu has no clue what to do right now. If there is a temporary alternative that makes it easier for Lani to move around, then it is still very necessary to get her.

As for whether doing this will cause any trouble... he is the King of Stars, invincible in the borderlands, what trouble would he be afraid of?

nonexistent!

Even though he has lost most of his power and is now in a sorry state, as long as he wants to do something, no one can stop him!

I will be more careful.

Lin Lu nodded, not refuting the Emperor's good intentions, but she also did not intend to hide Lani away for the time being. Not to mention the huge Dragon Gate, would those Letanians really be able to find her? Even if they did find her, so what?

He certainly wouldn't be so arrogant as to confront the world's higher powers right now, but a few mere Leitanians from elsewhere aren't worth his attention.

Moreover, being timid and hesitant has never been his style. Those so-called tower sorcerers may be difficult to deal with, but Lin Lu is by no means a kind person either!

He walked towards the throne, stepping over countless corpses at the border, trampling over many heroes and even demigods. When did he ever utter a word of fear?

How can one become king if one is filled with fear?

Power is the reason to be king; if I want something, I will take it—that is the way of a king!

He, Lin, has never been a kind-hearted person.

"Tsk, young people are always like this."

The Emperor stared at Lin Lu for a while, then shook his head with a smile, clearly realizing that Lin Lu did not intend to do that.

He didn't say anything more. He gave her the advice, and whether Lin Lu listened to it or not was up to her.

Moreover, only people like this are to his liking; doing things while being hesitant and indecisive is too boring.

"It seems you have no connection with Letania, but if you're looking to cause some trouble, I can provide you with a little bit of information."

I think you just want to stir up trouble, don't you?

Lin Lu felt she should reflect on why so many of the people she had met in this world, with whom she had a fairly good relationship, were so entertaining. Was it because birds of a feather flock together?

However, it must be said that regardless of whether the Emperor was just watching the show, his suggestion was indeed very attractive. Being able to know the future direction of Lungmen in certain aspects, this penguin's ability was probably greater than expected, and the information he provided should be quite useful.

"Is it free?"

After thinking for a moment, he asked a question that he was quite concerned about.

"Impossible! Don't even think about it! Penguin Logistics has clearly marked prices; even internal employees have to pay!"

The emperor's spirits lifted noticeably at the mention of money, and he flapped his wings to draw a cross in the air.

"Employee discount: 100,000 Lungmen Dollars!"

"Why don't you go and grab it!"

Upon hearing the price, Lin Lu's eyes widened instantly, as if she wanted to tear open the penguin's belly to see if its heart and liver were black.

One hundred thousand Lungmen Dollars! His monthly salary plus commission barely reaches ten thousand Lungmen Dollars. Even if he doesn't eat or drink, it will take him ten months to save up!

"Hey, what are you saying? Isn't this much faster than robbery? Intelligence is a very valuable thing, of course it should be sold for a good price."

The emperor smiled smugly, his small, marble-like eyes narrowed, looking completely fearless.

"Internal employees can enjoy installment payment services, with 10% interest each month, how about that?"