On the Ark.

"But you've already experienced it."

The ranger glanced at Lin Ye again and said, "I admit there is something about him that makes me feel at ease. Maybe it's his scent, maybe it's his appearance, or maybe it's something else. I can't find it yet."

"But you are the third case."

"You were the first case?"

"Yes, he pulled me back from the brink of dementia."

“That’s interesting. No wonder you recommended him for Rhodes Island. If he truly has such abilities, he will be one of our most indispensable talents.” The Ranger then asked, “So, who is the second case?”

"Near Light".

"Near Light?"

“Yes.” Shining nodded. “He plucked Nearl’s tail hair and is still alive and well.”

The forest ranger remained silent for a long time.

"Okay, I believe you."

At this point, Lin Ye finally couldn't listen anymore. If he hadn't been wearing a seatbelt, he would have jumped out of his seat.

"Don't talk like it's sexual harassment!" Lin Ye said. "I just accidentally pulled out a few hairs, and it was without my awareness."

"That doesn't matter."

"It's a big deal, isn't it!" Lin Ye's face turned red with anger. "Your statement makes me sound like a pervert."

"In Linguang's eyes, you are a pervert."

Lin Ye: "..."

After listening to the whole story, the ranger suddenly said, "If his abilities can truly be proven, then we can hand the child over to him."

Lin Ye turned to look at the forest ranger: "What 'that child'?"

“A child who desperately needs your help, provided you truly possess the kind of ability the Shining spoke of.” The Ranger suddenly stopped the car.

"Well then, welcome to Rhodes Island."

Lin Ye subconsciously turned his head to look out the window, and then slowly opened his mouth wide.

He saw something moving.

"City".

Author's BB:

The fact that operators can lose their minds due to the power of Originium is a setting in this book, not an official setting. I've also revised many other settings to better suit the book's creation, so please stop accusing me of disrespecting originality by focusing on the settings, or saying my writing is disgusting. I addressed the setting issues in Chapter Two; why are you still reading? Seeing comments like this, I can only delete and ban the user.

Of course, I still welcome everyone's opinions and additions to the settings. I will also try my best to respect the settings and restore them as faithfully as possible without affecting the plot development, as long as you don't use profanity.

Chapter Seventeen: A Small Gift as a Sign of Respect

In the game's setting, most cities in this world are mobile, like giant fortresses, in order to avoid natural disasters. Chernobog is one of them, but Lin Ye, who has been in Chernobog for two years, has never seen it move.

Rhodes Island was the first moving "city" Lin Ye encountered. Although it was far from being a city in terms of scale, resembling more of a massive warship, it still possessed an imposing, sky-covering presence as it moved. This made Lin Ye, observing the entire Rhodes Island from inside the vehicle, feel incredibly small, like an ant looking up at an elephant, even though ants don't actually look up.

"Where is it going to move to?" After watching for a while, Lin Ye couldn't help but ask.

“It’s right here,” the ranger said. “It just needs to find a good place to stop.”

"A good place?"

"Just like people choose a comfortable position when they sleep, if nothing unexpected happens, we will be stationed here for a long time, so naturally we need to choose a better location."

"...Does it still need to be situated near mountains and water?"

"if you can."

While they were talking, Rhodes Island also stopped advancing.

The giant stopped, and white steam billowed from the exhaust pipe like a surging wave, instantly engulfing their vehicle. Caught off guard, Lin Ye was startled, but thankfully the ranger had already closed the windows, preventing the steam from entering the car.

"Is this your first time seeing a moving city?" The forest ranger turned to look at Lin Ye, whose face was pale. "Are you alright?"

Lin Ye forced a smile and nodded: "It's alright. If we were outside, wouldn't we get burned by the steam?"

“You can give it a try,” the Ranger said with a smile. “Anyway, Shining will heal you.”

...I'm not that brain-dead.

As he was engulfed by the sea of ​​air, Lin Ye felt a strange mix of emotions. He could feel the temperature outside the car rising rapidly. A true daredevil should open the window like this, feel the "warm" embrace from Rhodes Island, and then suffer a second-degree burn.

Huh, what am I even thinking about?

After waiting for about a minute, as the white mist slowly dissipated, the Ranger restarted the vehicle and headed towards Rhodes Island. Seeing that the car could still start under such conditions, Lin Ye couldn't help but sigh at the absurdity of the technology in this era. Why bother with magic when everything is already this advanced? How about a clash of steel torrents?

Driving through the clouds and mist, a sense of etherealness and unreality always lingered in Lin Ye's heart. This feeling was not unfamiliar to him; he first experienced it when he was a few years old, watching the TV series "Journey to the West." The Heavenly Palace there was built above the clouds, and Sun Wukong fought the gods while riding on the clouds, filling young Lin Ye with much longing and anticipation. However, these longings and anticipation were shattered when he was ten years old. That year, he traveled to the capital and discovered that the elementary school students fighting in the smog seemed not much different from Sun Wukong playing in the Heavenly Palace… even more ethereal and unreal, because they would disappear from sight mid-fight.

Lin Ye's mind wandered.

After an unknown amount of time, the car stopped again. Lin Ye then came to his senses and realized that they had arrived inside Rhodes Island, in a closed parking lot.

"It's time to get out of the car." The forest ranger took out the key and opened the car door. "It's getting late, I need to go back and rest."

Lin Ye also quickly got out of the car.

Although he already knew the answer, he couldn't help but ask the Ranger, "Is Rhodes Island a mobile city powered by steam technology?"

"Steam technology?" The forest ranger looked at Lin Ye with a strange expression. "What are you talking about?"

"Uh……"

The ranger stomped his heavy boots on the ground, making a dull thud: "Besides an Originium engine, what could possibly power this huge thing beneath our feet?"

Lin Ye had nothing to say.

"Alright, that's all for today. Welcome to Rhodes Island." Ranger extended his hand to Lin Ye. "My name is Ranger, as you already know."

Lin Ye immediately freed his hand to shake hands with the ranger. He had to admit, shaking hands with a lizard was a completely new experience. Lin Ye had expected the ranger's hand to be slippery, but it wasn't; in fact, it was drier than his own, probably due to the scales, and it even felt a little rough. "Thank you," he said.

“I hope that next time we meet, I’ll change ‘Welcome to Rhodes Island’ to ‘Welcome to Rhodes Island.’” Ranger released Lin Ye’s hand. “That’s about it. Shining will help you find a place to stay. My dorm is in 12B. You can come find me if you need anything.”

Lin Ye thanked the forest ranger once again, and the ranger left.

Watching the ranger's retreating figure, Lin Ye realized that he had developed some affection for this uniquely-looking operator.

"So, what should we do next?" Lin Ye turned his gaze to Shining, who hadn't spoken for a long time. "Submit the application?"

"Did you write an application?" Shining asked.

"Uh, no."

"That's settled then." Shining slung her sword and staff over her shoulder, turned and left. "It's off-duty time now. Let's talk about onboarding tomorrow. Come with me, I'll find you a place to stay."

Lin Ye immediately followed Flash.

"After I get the job... I mean, if I get the job," Lin Ye asked, "what should I do?"

"Naturally, do what you're good at."

"A veterinarian?"

Shining glanced at Lin Ye.

"Okay, just kidding." Lin Ye scratched his head. "You said you were going to give me 'that child,' who is 'that child'? What happened to her?"

Lin Ye noticed that when he mentioned "that child," a hint of melancholy flashed in Shining's eyes, but it quickly disappeared.

"You'll find out." Shining and Lin Ye entered the garage elevator. "When that time comes, I hope you can do everything you can to help her."

“Of course,” Lin Ye said with a smile. “This is my first job at Rhodes Island… I mean, if I get the job, I’ll definitely take it seriously.”

Shining nodded, then pressed the button for the 16th floor, and said nothing more.

As the elevator slowly ascended, Lin Ye, carrying a suitcase in her left hand and pet supplies in her right, felt somewhat nervous.

After all, a new life is about to begin.

Following Shining to the 16th floor, after many twists and turns, they arrived at the room marked 16F. Shining took out his room card and swiped it, but did not go in immediately after the door opened.

"You go in and put your things down first, I'll go register with the staff on duty," Shining said.

Lin Ye nodded repeatedly. After Shanling left, he took his luggage and went into the room.

This is a very nice room.

It has a wardrobe, dining table, sofa, TV, bed, and a blonde animal-eared girl sitting on the bed wearing only a thin shirt.

That's really great.

Ok?

Lin Ye was taken aback.

Something feels off.

Then I looked closer.

Wearing a shirt and shorts, Nearl was also looking at him coldly. Five seconds later, Nearl picked up the Switch Axe that was placed next to the bed.

Lin Ye was almost in tears.

"I'm sorry," Lin Ye stammered. "It's...it's our first meeting, no, no, it's our second meeting. I was very, very offensive before, please forgive me."

Lin Guang didn't answer, but just stared at him.

In a panic, Lin Ye pulled out a small gift: "It's just a small token of my appreciation."

He handed over the pet conditioner.

Then he saw the flames of anger reignite in Nearl's golden eyes.

Chapter Eighteen: The Child Named Nightingale

Shining returned to the dormitory and looked down at Lin Ye, who was squatting by the door with his luggage and pet supplies scattered all over the floor. She tilted her head and asked, "What are you doing?"

Lin Ye raised his head, his face filled with utter despair: "What do you think I'm doing?"

Why didn't you wait inside?

Are you serious about asking this question?