On the Ark.

Unexpectedly, El actually started to consider it: "Walking back doesn't seem like a bad idea. It takes a day by car to get from Lungmen back to Rhodes Island, but it would take about three days and two nights to walk."

Lin Ye's lips twitched slightly, thinking to himself, "Don't do that, I was just kidding."

ACE overheard El and Lin Ye's conversation, walked over, and said, "No, it's too far."

“How about going back to Lungmen?” El suggested. “Going back to Lungmen shouldn’t be a problem, it’s only fifty kilometers. If we hurry, it won’t take too long, and it’ll be much faster than going back to Rhodes Island.”

ACE thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No. We have too many wounded right now, and Ifrit hasn't woken up yet. Walking back to Lungmen wouldn't be good for their health. Besides, Lungmen is in too much chaos right now. If we go back in this state, we'll probably be blocked by the Lungmen people. Let me contact Kal'tsit and ask her to find someone to pick us up."

Lin Ye and El both agreed. As ACE said, although no one had died, there were far too many people seriously injured and unconscious, including Ifrit. Traveling far without transportation at a time like this was certainly not a good decision.

"I'll contact Kal'tsit right away. You guys go and get some rest." ACE took out his phone.

Lin Ye nodded and was about to go back to find Skadi when a hand suddenly pressed down on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Ace, who had a rather serious expression.

"Dr. Lin," ACE said after El had walked away, "go to the medical department for a check-up as soon as you get back."

"Huh?" Lin Ye didn't react. "Why? My injuries have already been healed by Hermer."

ACE looked at Lin Ye's tattered clothes, remained silent for a while, and then said, "Ifrit's flames are infectious."

Lin Ye was stunned.

"Although Dr. Himer treated Ifrit a long time ago, Ifrit had already gone berserk by then, so it's hard to be sure that the precautions Dr. Himer took for Ifrit are still effective. So let's get her checked out."

Lin Ye's mood immediately turned heavy. He nodded and said, "I understand, thank you."

“Don’t worry so much. It’s still uncertain. Besides, Himer just took some protective measures for you, so the chances of you getting infected are quite small,” ACE said. “In addition, I’ve always heard that pure humans can’t be infected with Oripathy. I don’t know if that’s true.”

……

ACE's reminder was like a bucket of cold water poured on Lin Ye, who was overjoyed at surviving the ordeal.

The thought of possibly being infected himself made Lin Ye feel as if a huge rock was blocking his chest. Then he saw Skadi sitting by the wall, resting with her eyes closed. He took a few deep breaths to dispel the tightness in his chest before walking towards Skadi.

Skadi heard footsteps and slowly opened her eyes.

Lin Ye sat down next to Skadi: "We'll have to wait here for a while."

"Ah."

"The car broke down. ACE is going to contact Kal'tsit and ask her to send someone to pick us up and take us back to Rhodes Island."

"Ah."

"You're coming back with us, right?"

"Ah."

"...Why do you keep saying the same word?" Lin Ye asked.

"Why are you in a bad mood?" Skadi asked in return.

Lin Ye was speechless. He turned his head and found Skadi looking at him as well.

"I... I'm not in a bad mood," Lin Ye said, feigning nonchalance. "I'm in a great mood. I was about to lose my life, but I didn't. How could I be in a bad mood?"

"is it?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

Lin Ye was silent for a moment before asking softly, "How did you know I was in a bad mood?"

“I could tell at a glance,” Skadi said calmly.

"Okay, I thought I hid it well." Lin Ye rubbed his face vigorously. "But don't worry, it's nothing, I can handle it myself."

“Okay,” Skadi replied briefly.

Lin Ye smiled. For some reason, after chatting with Skadi for a while, his heart felt less heavy than before. Then he saw Skadi take off her upturned-brimmed hat, and her long, gray hair instantly cascaded down.

"What are you going to do?" Lin Ye asked curiously.

“It hurts,” Skadi replied. “I’m all sticky and covered in blood.”

"Who told you to fight so violently?"

"There's no such thing as violent or non-violent combat methods, only effective and ineffective ones." Skadi took a bottle of water out of her backpack and handed it to Lin Ye. "Help me."

Lin Ye, who was taking the water, didn't understand Skadi's meaning: "What? What do you want me to do?"

"Help me take a bath."

Lin Ye: "..."

Skadi glanced at Lin Ye: "Can't you even open the lid and pour it over my hair?"

"Oh, oh, yes, yes, yes." Lin Ye, who had misunderstood, felt a little embarrassed. He immediately opened the bottle cap and was about to pour it on Skadi's hair when he realized something was wrong. "No, you're still wearing clothes."

"So, do you want me to take my clothes off?"

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant." Lin Ye shook his head repeatedly. "What I meant was that it would get your clothes wet."

"It doesn't matter."

"So it doesn't matter anymore?"

Skadi sighed softly, "Why are you so slow? Let me do it myself."

Then she reached out her hand to Lin Ye, trying to take the water bottle back.

Lin Ye, of course, wouldn't give it to him: "I just think it's unnecessary. It's just a little water. Wouldn't it be better to take a shower when you get back? You're being too clean."

"not good."

"Why? You always did this before," Lin Ye said. "You always washed up after returning to the island."

“It was different before.”

"What's different?" Lin Ye asked, puzzled.

Skadi glanced at Lin Ye and said calmly, "Because I was alone before."

……

After a brief standoff, Lin Ye finally gave in to Skadi and used the water from the bottle to wash Skadi's hair.

A few hours later, a large truck slowly stopped in front of the factory. The driver's side window slowly rolled down, and a woman with black hair, wolf ears, and a cold expression appeared in front of everyone.

“Rhodes Island? Get in the car,” the woman said slowly. “Penguin Logistics, Texas.”

Chapter 190 Want one?

Ultimately, Kal'tsit contacted Penguin Logistics to pick them up and take them back to Rhodes Island.

If it weren't for the sheer volume of events that day that left Lin Ye feeling a bit overwhelmed, he probably would have remembered that the Rhodes Island member driving the car was the person Exusiai had asked him to take care of.

Ifrit was still asleep. To take care of her, Himer took her to the last row, the most spacious seat. The other wounded were seated from back to front according to the severity of their injuries. After the assignments were made, Ace ended up in the front passenger seat, while Lin Ye and Skadi, who had sustained "minor injuries," sat in the front row. It was already sunset. As soon as Lin Ye got in the car, he felt a wave of fatigue wash over him, as if every part of his body was telling him to rest. No matter how hard he tried, he eventually fell into a deep sleep after exchanging a few words with Skadi.

But he didn't sleep well that night, and kept dreaming that he was in the medical department of Rhodes Island, and that Shining, wearing a white coat, said to him with a serious face: "Lin Ye, I'm sorry to inform you that you have been infected."

Then Lin Ye felt that the whole world had gone wrong. Because he had died of illness in his previous life, and had lived his whole life in the pain of congenital heart disease, he had tried very hard to protect his body in this life. So even in his dream, he still felt despair, as if life had lost its color.

Until the Shining in the dream slowly said, "He's a lunatic."

He instantly yelled "Holy crap!" and woke up from his sleep, staring blankly at the two wolf ears that had popped out from the driver's seat.

They haven't arrived at Rhodes Island yet.

Recalling the dream he just had, Lin Ye couldn't help but clutch his chest, thinking that Flash was truly his nemesis in dreams. Not only had it killed him twice in the dream, but it could also tell lame jokes and scare him awake. Really... Hmm? Where did that hat come from?

Lin Ye suddenly noticed a hat on his chest. He picked it up and saw it was Skadi's. He instinctively turned his head and saw Skadi asleep against the car window, her long, soft, gray-white hair hanging down to the ground. He thought for a moment, then slowly bent down, picked up Skadi's hair that had fallen to the ground, and piled it all on the seat.

"Don't you find it inconvenient to have such long hair?" Lin Ye muttered to himself, but Skadi, who was asleep, didn't hear him.

Although still somewhat tired, Lin Ye wasn't sleepy anymore. He glanced around the car and found that most of the E3 team was asleep, with only two or three still awake. Even ACE, sitting in the passenger seat, had his eyes closed. He must be exhausted; after all, as the captain of the E3 team, ACE had done his best today.

I wonder how Ifrit is doing.

Just as Lin Ye was wondering whether he should go check on Ifrit's condition, a crisp "click" sound came from the driver's seat.

Lin Ye turned his head and saw that the Penguin Logistics member who was driving had a chocolate bar in his mouth.

Seemingly sensing something, Texas looked up and stared at Lin Ye in the rearview mirror.

"You are Lin Ye?" Texas asked slowly.

Lin Ye was taken aback: "You know me?"

"A talkative angel told me that," Texas said calmly.

"Oh, so you and Exusiai are colleagues."

"Yes, I'm using package number two."

"What?"

Lin Ye was taken aback at first, then recalled what happened during his first encounter with Penguin Logistics. Back then, Lin Ye was being chased all over the building by thugs, and in a moment of panic, he ordered the number one meal deal. Twenty minutes later, Exusiai kindly appeared. Although the angel's rescue was cool, powerful, and comical, the reward required afterward made Lin Ye's eyelids twitch. If Kal'tsit hadn't reimbursed him, he would have cried his eyes out.

"I see." Lin Ye looked at the stick in Texas's mouth and asked, "What are you eating? Chocolate?"

"Pocky".

As Texas spoke, she unzipped her jacket, which made Lin Ye's heart skip a beat. However, Texas simply took out a whole box of chocolates with "Pocky" printed on them from the inside pocket of her jacket and waved it around.

Would you like to try some?

Chocolate! It's chocolate! It really is chocolate!

Lin Ye hadn't eaten chocolate in a long time, but out of politeness, he still said "shyly," "It's not really appropriate."

"Oh." Texas put the chocolate down. "Never mind."

Lin Ye: "..."

This girl is really... straightforward.

Never mind, it's just chocolate, and I don't even like chocolate.

Lin Ye mentally reminded himself, and then continued chatting with Texas: "Texas... I think I've heard Exusiai mention you before."

Don't worry about it.

"what?"