On the Ark.

……

He didn't know how much time had passed, but when he opened his eyes, he found himself lying in a riot control vehicle.

"You're awake already?" Chen's voice rang in his ears. He struggled to lift his head and found Chen leaning against the trunk door, looking at him sideways. "You've only slept for less than twenty minutes, and you've already rested enough?"

Lin Ye felt a headache coming on and his body was very weak, but his consciousness was slowly returning: "Where am I?"

"You're still at the theater. My people are handling the situation," Chen said. "We were originally planning to take you straight to the hospital, but after checking you out, we found you were just a little exhausted, so we contacted your colleagues. They're on their way. You should rest a bit more; you'll be back soon."

That's what they said, but Lin Ye didn't want to lie down any longer, so he struggled to sit up. He found that, just as Chen had said, the theater was sealed off, and the Guard Bureau had put up a cordon. Outside the cordon were onlookers, seemingly wanting to go inside and take a look. But there were at least twenty Guard Bureau agents guarding the cordon, and there were obviously many more agents inside the theater.

“I’ve already heard the general outline of what happened from Swire,” Chen said slowly. “That guy, Neil Watson, was expelled from Lungmen by the Guard Bureau. His father, Neil Watson, was executed by us. We never expected that good-for-nothing would retaliate against Lungmen in this way. If I had known it would turn out like this, I should have just killed him back then.”

Chen's face was very gloomy.

But Lin Ye could understand her; it was indeed hard to accept that such a thing had happened.

At that moment, the green-haired operator we had seen earlier walked over.

“Old Chen,” she said, “no survivors have been found; they are all dead.”

Although she had expected it, Chen's expression still turned even more grim. She nodded but remained silent.

The green-haired operator looked at Lin Ye and then extended her hand to him: "You are Dr. Lin Ye, right? I am Hoshiguma from the Lungmen Guard Bureau. You can just call me Hoshiguma."

"Hoshiguma..." Lin Ye said without thinking, "Hello, officer."

"Let's not use honorifics," Hoshiguma said with a wry smile. "Today you acted more like a police officer than we did."

"what?"

“Swire told us that if it weren’t for you, she wouldn’t have survived until Old Chen came to help.” Hoshiguma patted Chen on the shoulder. “Alright, Old Chen, what’s done is done. We should think about what to do next. And I think we should both thank Dr. Lin.”

“I know, I’ve known him for a long time.” Chen looked at Lin Ye. “Although I’m very unhappy with that young lady, she is, after all, a member of the Guard Bureau. You saved her, and the Guard Bureau will remember you. Expressing gratitude is just empty words and doesn’t mean anything. My mind is a bit muddled right now. Let me talk to you about these things when I’m more clear-headed.”

"Old Chen, this is..."

"Alright, Hoshiguma, we haven't finished our work yet."

Hoshiguma looked at Lin Ye and said, "I'm sorry, Dr. Lin, Old Chen is just like that, so awkward."

"It's alright, Officer Chen and I aren't strangers." Lin Ye shook his head. "Besides, I was just trying to protect myself. By the way, where did Superintendent Shi go?"

“She’s already been taken to the hospital,” Hoshiguma said. “Her injuries are much more serious than yours. No, you’re not injured, you’re just exhausted. So Old Chen has decided to hand you over to your colleagues. They should be here soon.”

"Alright." Lin Ye nodded. "I hope Superintendent Shi is not in danger."

“Don’t worry, Swire isn’t fragile yet. This injury will only take her a few days to recover from.” Hoshiguma sighed, then turned to look at the theater and said softly, “But this isn’t a place where you can recover in just a few days. What was that stage master from Ursus called again?”

“John Walker,” Lin Ye reminded him.

“Yes, it’s him.” Hoshiguma looked very troubled. “He and his team were attacked in Lungmen and all of them died. This is no longer a simple terrorist attack; it’s a diplomatic issue. I really don’t know how to explain this to Mr. Wei.”

At this moment, Chen, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up: "I should say that I don't know how to explain this to Lungmen. It was the Lungmen people who died more than the Ursus people."

“I understand what you mean, but… um?” Hoshiguma looked up and gazed into the distance. “That car is… Dr. Lin, your colleague is here to pick you up.”

Lin Ye turned his head and saw ACE and his team members hurrying over.

Leave

I'm feeling a bit nauseous from all the debts I've been paying off at the end of the month, so I'm taking a day off to watch Nezha. Updates will resume tomorrow, mwah!

One hundred characters.

Chapter 171 Only by learning swordsmanship will you know...

"Open your mouth." Hemer said to Lin Ye, holding a small flashlight. "Ah..."

Lin Ye opened his mouth and let out a silly "ah".

A few seconds later, Hamer turned off the flashlight.

Even though he knew he was fine, Lin Ye still asked, just to be on the safe side, "Am I alright?"

Himer put away the flashlight, thought for a moment, and said, "I still have something to do."

Lin Ye immediately tensed up: "What's wrong?"

"You should brush your teeth."

Lin Ye: "..."

"Just kidding." Hemer said as he put the flashlight back into his medical kit. "Just like the Guard Bureau said, you're just a little weak, nothing serious. You'll be fine after a few days of rest."

Ifrit, who was listening nearby, said in surprise, "He's completely unharmed? Wasn't the whole theater supposed to explode? Why is he completely unharmed?"

Lin Ye glanced sideways at Ifrit: "You seem disappointed that I'm alright? You unlucky kid."

Ifrit was a little angry: "Hey, who are you calling an unlucky kid?"

The little dragon was thinking that if Lin Ye was injured and came back crying after being beaten up, she could help him get revenge. That way, Lin Ye would be incredibly grateful and would willingly take her to Saria. Plan worked!

Himer rubbed Ifrit's head: "Alright, Dr. Lin Ye isn't injured, you can go back to sleep now."

"But I'm not sleepy yet..."

"You can go back to sleep now," Hermer said calmly. "I have something to discuss with Dr. Lin Ye."

Since Himer had said that, Ifrit could no longer stay in Lin Ye's room to watch the show, and could only leave rather dejectedly. So, only Lin Ye, Himer, and ACE, who had been waiting by the side, remained in the room.

"Looks like today isn't your lucky day." ACE looked at Lin Ye and said with a smile, "If this accident hadn't happened, you would probably be spending a wonderful evening with that female superintendent from the Royal Guard right now. It's so nice to be young."

Lin Ye looked at ACE speechlessly: "Don't tease me at a time like this."

"Hahaha, sorry, sorry." ACE laughed, then his expression slowly turned serious. "I just wanted to lighten the mood. After all, after what happened, I heard that you and that police superintendent were the only survivors in the entire theater."

“Yes,” Lin Ye sighed, “everyone else is dead.”

“A truly heinous terrorist attack,” Himer said. “While the specific reports may not be available until tomorrow, we know in advance that our days in Lungmen are not going to be easy.”

Lin Ye was taken aback: "Why do you say that?"

ACE crossed his arms and slowly began, "Aside from those in the theater who were affected by the terrorist attack, what do you think is the biggest impact of this incident?"

Lin Ye thought for a moment and said somewhat uncertainly, "According to the Guard Bureau, because one of the dead was John, a famous stage play master from Ursus, it will inevitably affect the relationship between Lungmen and Ursus. This is a diplomatic issue."

“John Walker,” Himer said calmly. “I watched his plays when I was working at Rhine Labs, and he truly lives up to his reputation as a master. However, the diplomatic issues between Lungmen and Ursus are clearly not our concern; we should be concerned with matters that concern us personally.”

"I don't know about that."

“The relationship between healthy people and infected people,” ACE sighed. “That’s what’s truly relevant to us.”

After ACE's explanation, Lin Ye understood: "You mean..."

"The relationship between normal people and infected people is basically the same as the relationship between Lungmen and Rhodes Island," Himer picked up the conversation again, speaking softly. "In Terra, Lungmen's attitude towards the infected is relatively tolerant and open, but only relatively. If nothing goes wrong, it's fine, but if something does happen, especially a terrorist attack caused by infected people, do you think Lungmen's attitude towards the infected will still be the same as before?"

Lin Ye was speechless.

"And the attitude of the people of Lungmen basically represents the attitude of Lungmen's top leadership," Himer continued. "Most of those who died in the theater this time were wealthy businessmen from Lungmen. Their deaths will inevitably impact Lungmen's economy, which is something that Lungmen's leader does not want to see. This is the second attack on Lungmen by the Infected organization in several months. If the first attack's impact wasn't so great, since the residents weren't affected, this time it's clearly much more serious, and both attacks have exposed Lungmen's current security vulnerabilities. I think the first attack should have made Mr. Wei realize that his most trusted Guard Bureau had problems, right? This time it will only further confirm his judgment."

Lin Ye said, "You mean, Mr. Wei will suspect us?"

“Not necessarily.” ACE shook his head. “But Wei Yanwu will definitely become wary and cautious of all infected organizations because of this, and Rhodes Island is obviously the largest of all the infected organizations that cooperate with Lungmen.”

Lin Ye was at a loss for words; this sudden, heavy topic had completely shattered his joy at surviving the ordeal.

Himer said, "Rhodes Island's development is inseparable from Lungmen. We have many projects that require Lungmen's help to complete. Once Lungmen becomes wary and suspicious of us, many projects will not be able to proceed smoothly, and Rhodes Island's development will inevitably be hindered. This is a big problem. When you meet Kal'tsit, you must explain the terrorist organization called Reunion Movement to her. Have her negotiate with Lungmen's leader, Wei Yanwu, and try to clarify things as much as possible."

Lin Ye nodded: "I understand."

ACE patted Lin Ye on the shoulder and said, "Don't think too much about it. Even if you want to say something, wait until you see Kal'tsit. What you need to do now is get a good night's sleep. You've been through too much tonight."

Himer stood up as well: "Then I should go back too. By the way, I suggest you brush your teeth before bed."

Lin Ye was a little embarrassed: "Is my breath really that bad?"

"Actually, there's not much of an odor, but brushing your teeth helps you relax. As a psychologist, you should know that better than I do, right?"

"Okay, thanks." Lin Ye was genuinely worried that he had bad breath.

“Then you go to sleep first. I’m going out for a smoke and to say a few things to the others,” ACE said. “You should rest well and not overthink it. But next time you go out, you’d better be careful, or ask me to go with you. There have been two terrorist attacks in just a few months, which is enough to show that Lungmen is not as peaceful as it used to be. It’s best to be careful.”

Lin Ye nodded: "I understand."

Seeing that Lin Ye was indeed alright, ACE and Hermer left the room, leaving Lin Ye alone.

Lin Ye immediately pulled out his Colt Python from the bedside table, filled the magazine with bullets, and then put it inside his clothes.

Originally, Lin Ye had always carried the gun with him after leaving Chernobog, but he had forgotten about it today because ACE had been urging him. Who knew he would be attacked tonight? He didn't know if it was his own fault or just bad luck. But no matter what, he would never leave the gun behind again. After learning swordsmanship from Yato for several months, mastering the Leaping Wave Strike, and successfully using both techniques in actual combat, Lin Ye discovered... guns are still the best! So from now on, he would keep the gun in his pocket even when he slept.

After all, this wasn't his past life; the world of Terra was far less safe than his homeland.

After putting away his gun, Lin Ye finally felt a weight lifted from his heart. He then went to wash his face and brush his teeth, intending to get a good night's sleep, as he was truly exhausted today.

However, after getting everything done and lying in bed, I was so tired, but I still couldn't fall asleep.

After tossing and turning for a long time, Lin Ye still wanted to find someone to talk to.

However, ACE has not returned yet.

Lin Ye thought for a moment, then got up and, hoping to try his luck, took out his phone and dialed Skadi's number.

Chapter 172 Do you have time?

Mephistopheles hung up the phone, tossed it aside, and stood by the window, leaning on his cane, humming a tune as he gazed at the waning moon in the night sky.

"Looks like you're in a good mood?" W's voice sounded behind him. "Looks like the mission is accomplished."

Mephistopheles turned around and looked at W, who was standing behind him with his arms crossed.

“Well, how should I put it?” Mephistopheles shrugged. “We got the result we wanted, but there’s a little bit of regret.”

"Regret?" W raised an eyebrow. "What's the regret?"

“The sad thing is that those compatriots who sacrificed themselves for the results we wanted can never come back,” Mephistopheles said. “It pains me to see them give their precious lives.”

W narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at Mephisto's upturned lips, and slowly said, "Before you say you're suffering, please don't act so happy. And you never intended to bring them back, otherwise you wouldn't have given them that kind of drug. Mephisto, being too hypocritical is disgusting."

“Miss W, your words sadden me.” Mephistopheles leaned on his cane and slowly walked towards W, his other hand slightly raised as if giving a speech. “I feel sad for their sacrifice, and I am proud and joyful for the results they have achieved. Of the two, the latter is more important to me, so isn’t it a wonderful thing for me to send my compatriots off with a smile?”

"Oh."