Ark Undead

"No need, the manager brought us food up tonight, and Dosa and the others have already eaten."

As he spoke, the man coughed twice, but his body remained completely still, pressed firmly against the bed. After coughing, he took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling slightly before calming down again.

"Speak less; your current condition is very unstable. Try not to speak except for necessary communication."

The old man sat on the edge of the bed, helped the man straighten the bed, then stabilized his body, and tucked the somewhat disheveled blankets back in.

"Um..."

A complex expression crossed the man's face; he seemed to want to say something. But then he could only sigh, close his eyes, and remain silent.

The old woman pursed her lips, stood up from beside the man, and replaced all the missing medications and other items needed for future dressing changes on the man's bedside table. Then she left the room with the paper bag on the table.

The door closed, and the room returned to its quiet state. In the darkness, only the sound of breathing gradually subsided until it finally became still.

The old man, carrying the paper bag, went to the next room.

Upon entering, the girl, who had been sitting with her eyes closed, sat up straight and looked at the doorway with a wary gaze.

She only breathed a sigh of relief and stretched after confirming that it was the old man who walked in.

"The old man is back."

After stretching, the girl leaned on the table in front of her and squinted her eyes.

"Go to sleep, it's alright, tonight will be a peaceful night."

"But there was thunder just now, yet it didn't rain?"

"It's alright, it has nothing to do with the rain."

When the girl talked about the thunder she had just heard, the old man just smiled, showing no awareness that he had just passed by the person in question.

Although he had already realized what it was, he chose to ignore it.

The first reason was that the old man felt threatened by the oppressive feeling emanating from that person.

Secondly, of course, it's because he is no longer just himself; he also carries the lives of many people who are counting on him to survive.

Unexpected complications will always bring trouble upon yourself.

"The supplies have been purchased. Although it's not much, it should last us for a few days."

The old man put the paper bag on the table, then came to the girl's side and ruffled her soft, light purple hair.

"Those unscrupulous merchants, when we arrived, all waved their hands, saying they had none left..."

The girl muttered to herself, dissatisfied with her current situation, and her previously prized social skills had suffered a devastating blow during this period.

"I understand. Everyone's been having a tough time lately, and they'll be under strict scrutiny too. Luckily, I still have some influence."

When the old man went there, he didn't encounter any difficulties. He simply told them what he needed, and the bosses who had previously received his favors immediately retrieved those items from the warehouse.

Of course, money still needs to be paid, after all, it's business, and at this crucial time, being able to sell so many medical supplies to the old man without questioning their origin is already a great favor.

After all, almost everyone who knows the old man knows that he is no longer the same as before and has embarked on a different path.

The girl was a little disappointed, but she quickly cheered up and lifted her head.

No candles were lit in the room. The last candle had been used up when the medicine was applied, and its light left its last warmth to the people suffering from hardship before turning into molten wax and solidifying in the dish.

So the girl took the food from the plate next to her and handed it to the old man sitting next to her.

"Grandpa, over here."

"Ah."

The old man took the now-cold potato, peeled off the charred outer shell to reveal the almost solidified core inside, and ate it in large bites.

"What was going on outside yesterday?"

The girl couldn't help but ask another question.

"Don't worry, there won't be any problems."

The old man shook his head at her and put his index finger to his lips.

"They are just some travelers passing through. The shopkeeper also said there is no danger."

"it is good."

The girl put aside her doubts, and drowsiness immediately washed over her like a tidal wave.

He yawned again, slumped onto the table, and closed his eyes in a daze.

The old man sat back in his chair, legs crossed. He held a potato in one hand and placed the other on his lap.

The moonlight shone on his silver hair, making it shine with a pure white luster.

With a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, the old man chewed on a potato while pondering what to do next.

Finally, he sighed, threw the potato peels, now just charred shells, into his mouth, and ate the last bit of nutrition to fill his stomach.

His right hand unconsciously stroked the long sword leaning against the table.

I kept telling myself this in my head.

There's always tomorrow.

176. Entering the Game

When W woke up, the first thing she noticed was that sitting behind her was the very person she and Scout had conspired to kill: Garson himself.

"I thought you would pretend to be asleep and only wake up after I left."

Garsen coldly held the knife in his hand, peeling the fruit in his left hand, then looked up at W lying on the hospital bed before burying his head back down.

"You're quite decisive. Looks like you didn't do anything wrong on this trip?"

"What are you referring to as a guilty conscience?"

W smiled. She knew Garsen had come to test her intentions. But she hadn't expected Garsen to be so direct, stating his purpose so clearly. It seemed he wasn't planning on playing games with W.

"If we're talking about things you've done wrong, you should be the one who's afraid, right?"

"..."

Garsen stopped, glancing expressionlessly at the bloodstain on his left thumb caused by the sharp blade.

W had never spoken to him so directly before. Even though the two didn't get along, on the surface, W was still Garson's subordinate. What made her so arrogant?

Garsen sensed something was wrong. But he still used his glove to absorb the blood seeping from the cut on his thumb and continued peeling the skin with the knife.

“Your entire squad consisted of more than a dozen people. After the natural disaster last night, only you returned, and you even had two more holes in your body. The others were all dead without a complete corpse.”

Garsen lifted the peeled fruit into the air, then flipped his left wrist to carefully examine the fruit, making sure that no more skin remained.

"Is this the message you brought back? Are you planning to leave the group and start your own thing?"

With this statement, Garsen subtly warned W.

Currently, all the Sarkaz mercenaries have submitted to the regent, but now W wants to leave the group and start his own, meaning he wants to part ways with Garzan.

But Garson himself represented the Regent's will, and was the leader who came to support the Reunion Movement as the Regent.

If W has even the slightest thought of going against Garsen, that is, going against the regent.

How could W not understand this? She hid all the mad hatred in her heart, leaving only the arrogant image she had painstakingly cultivated, and then revealed a joyful smile.

"Lord Garsen, don't try to set me up. Although I do dislike this feeling of being restrained, I have never thought anything of the Regent's faults."

All I want is to tear that guy to pieces.

"What do you mean by starting from scratch? It's much more comfortable and enjoyable to step on your head than to start something new."

W's words can be seen as a direct declaration of war against Garsen; she intends to rise to power by stepping over Garsen's head.

Garsen was about to take a bite of the fruit when he heard W's words. He immediately stopped what he was doing, and even his open mouth stopped moving.

W chuckled twice more, a pleasant laugh, but Garsen detected sarcasm and disdain in it. This inexplicably ignited a fire within him.

His thick beard twitched, and Garsen raised his head, turning his gaze to the immobilized W.

W ignored the warnings and continued speaking.

"You're saying last night's thunder was a natural disaster? Ha, only a blockhead like you would think those few claps of thunder were a natural disaster at a time like this. Or are you trying to use the excuse of a natural disaster to cover up the fact that you did something wrong?"

"They are your teammates! You ran back alone, this is your responsibility!"

"I don't recall having a dozen or so team members. Didn't I only have nine 'loyal' Sarkaz mercenaries? What happened to the extra members? Lord Garsen, can you give me an explanation? I don't understand!"

W's tone became increasingly arrogant, and Garsen's temper grew increasingly simmering.

Every time I talk to this crazy woman, she ruins any good mood I might have left.

Indeed, on the surface, W was only assigned nine members. But secretly, as long as she was active in Chernobog, three spies would follow her and monitor her every move.

Although W herself knew how to counter surveillance, as long as she was still intimidated by her own power, she knew she couldn't take action against these guys and had to expose her whereabouts to them.

But this matter has always been something the two of them kept to themselves in secret. When has she ever brought it up in the open?

As Garsen grew angrier, he felt increasingly uneasy. The more unrestrained W became, the more it proved that she had something that could threaten his position.

Since that's the case, then perhaps...

Thinking of this, Garsen took a bite of the fruit in his left hand and gripped the knife in his right hand tightly.

"Oh, right, there's something I need to report to Lord Garsen."

W seemed to sense the change in Garsen's emotions, and she spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Last night's lightning wasn't a natural disaster, but rather reinforcements brought by a swarm of rats. Moreover, I know exactly where they are hiding and what they're doing. I suppose you got that information from those parasites yesterday too?"

W sat up, leaning against the pillows behind her, her lips pale and her face bloodless.

But her expression now conveyed an indescribable sense of pleasure and joy.

"A frozen blood river on the icy plains?"

Garsen's breath hitched. This was exactly what he needed to figure out. Two days ago, when W followed those rats out of the city, she saw this scene on the ice plains, and the informant planted in her team told Garsen about it.

Garsen immediately realized that something beyond their control had come to Chernobog, and they were unaware of its information.

When the report was submitted, Garsen was instructed to eliminate this potential threat before the Reunion Movement leader took action, or at least to find out the other party's background and location.

From yesterday to today, Garsen himself had spread his spies all over the city, but he never expected that this guy would beat him to it.