On the Ark.

Lin Ye took a deep breath and said in as calm a tone as possible, "Get out of here."

……

……

Author's comment: I got Magellan... Seriously, Magellan is so cute! So cute that I want her to make an appearance.

Recently, some readers have commented that there's too little slice-of-life content in this book, and the pacing is too fast. So I'd like to ask everyone's opinion: do you prefer plot-driven stories, or this kind of nonsensical slice-of-life content?

Chapter 311 You are the only man in the team (3K5)

Two days of preparation time was not long for Lin Ye, but it was certainly not quick either.

After all, Skadi had been missing for almost a week. Although he didn't show it, he was quite anxious. But he also knew that being anxious was useless. The predicament that Skadi couldn't handle was definitely not something he could solve with just enthusiasm.

In other words, thorough preparations must be made before departure to avoid being wasted. Therefore, even though Lin Ye was worried about Skadi, he had to keep his temper in check. He waited for Kal'tsit's notification, and thankfully, he didn't have to wait much longer. Two days later, Kal'tsit informed him that he could depart, as all the members in charge of the operation had returned to Rhodes Island.

Lin Ye then took his belongings and went to see them.

But what Lin Ye didn't expect was that he didn't see "them", but "them".

Yes, when Lin Ye arrived at the meeting point and saw the four women waiting for him, he was taken aback.

"Oh ho, you've finally arrived... Hmm, at least there's a man here." The first to greet him was a tall woman with long silver hair. "Hello."

The woman's attire appeared very "Oriental" to Lin Ye, but what drew even more attention was the weapon behind her.

Is that... Guan Gong's sword?

"Ha, it seems you're quite interested in my weapon." The woman smiled and extended her hand to Lin Ye. "I haven't been back to the island for a long time. Hmm, this is a completely new face. Let me introduce myself. My name is Chōmaru, and I come from the Eastern Country."

From the East? No wonder you're dressed so Easternly.

Lin Ye extended his hand and shook hands with Chanmaru: "Hello, my name is Lin Ye."

The second girl, dressed in dark red, also had silver hair and wore thick headphones. She was sitting in the corner listening to music. When she noticed Lin Ye's gaze, she slowly stood up. She was considerably shorter than Chanwan.

She took off her headphones, shook her hair, and then slowly said, "Former Colombian soldier, Frostleaf, nice to meet you."

"Uh, nice to meet you."

He's just a little kid.

This was Lin Ye's first impression of Shuangye. His second impression was of the weapon Shuangye carried on her back—a black battle axe that was taller than her, which made her figure appear even smaller.

The last two girls, one of whom Lin Ye already knew, was Blue Poison. She smiled and nodded at him as a greeting. The other girl was dressed like a researcher, wearing a heavy uniform, but had a baby face. When Lin Ye looked over, she gave him a very sweet smile.

"Hello, Dr. Lin Ye." She bowed slightly. "I've heard of you before, and it's great to finally meet you. My name is Magellan."

Magellan?

Lin Ye was surprised that this seemingly innocent and cute girl had such a great name. Then he felt that he had heard the name somewhere before, not in his past life, but recently.

Fortunately, he didn't have to think about it for long before Magellan gave him the answer.

“I used to work at Rhine Labs.” Magellan’s voice was also clear and crisp. She had short hair that reached her ears and looked like a high school student who was not yet an adult. “I was a colleague of Ms. Himer and Ms. Seria, and I also took care of Eve for a while… ah, that is, Ifrit.”

Lin Ye then remembered that the white-faced owl had mentioned this name to him two days ago.

“Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for Ifrit, and also for Ms. Seria and Ms. Himer,” Magellan said with a smile. “I was really happy to hear that their relationship had been repaired.”

Lin Ye and Magellan's relationship was quickly strengthened by the relationship between Saria and Himeru.

“Alright, Dr. Lin Ye,” Chūmaru said. “Dr. Kal'tsit said that we can set off immediately once you arrive. Whatever we need to say, we can talk on the way.”

Lin Ye was taken aback: "Are we setting off already?"

"if not?"

"Is everyone here?"

"Yes," Chūmaru nodded. "Is there a problem?"

How could there be no problem?

Even Lin Ye, an amateur, could see something was wrong with this team at first glance. How could Chanmaru not see it?

Currently, Ch'en and Frostleaf appear to be Guard operators, Blue Poison is a Sniper operator, and after some conversation, Lin Ye also learned that although Magellan and Haze are both researchers, Magellan is not a Medic operator, but a Support operator. In other words, their team consists of two Guards, one Sniper, one Support, and Lin Ye, whose role is unclear.

This team has neither a heavy-armored operator nor a medic, which is unprecedented. Keep in mind that when he went to Kjerag, his team had Horn, a heavy-armored operator, and Sussurro, a medic.

So he directly voiced his doubts.

Frostleaf frowned slightly: "Aren't you a medical operator?"

One question was enough to kill Lin Ye.

Lin Ye scratched his head and said, "I know basic medical techniques, but I'm definitely not a medical operator."

"Ha, how could Dr. Lin Ye be a doctor?" Chōmaru said with a smile. "Didn't you see that Dr. Lin Ye is carrying a weapon? Wow, what a beautiful sword, can I touch it?"

Lin Ye took a step back and shook his head repeatedly: "It's better not to touch this."

"Haha, I was just joking, don't be nervous."

At this moment, Magellan spoke up: "Because our mission this time is rather special, our partners have only given us six slots. Dr. Kal'tsit believes that our current combination is the best."

"Six spots?" Lin Ye looked at Magellan. "But we only have five here. Who's the last one?"

“Miss Skadi,” Blue Poison said, “Our partners are unaware of Miss Skadi’s disappearance, and we cannot tell them, so Miss Skadi is also on the travel list.”

Lin Ye then remembered that Skadi's name was indeed on the list for this mission.

"As for why we don't use heavy-armored operators and medics, it's because heavy-armored operators and medics are better suited for squads with a full complement of members," Magellan said. "We only have five people here, and Dr. Lin Ye, you absolutely have to go, and I also have to be on the list because of my special abilities, as does Miss Blue Poison. So, we only have two positions available. If we send heavy-armored operators and medics, it will be difficult for us to handle any unexpected situations."

"Is that so?" Lin Ye hadn't thought about it before, but now that he thought about it, if there were only two positions, it would indeed be more appropriate to choose a Guardian Operator.

Blue Poison also spoke up: "Moreover, in the environment we are facing, it is difficult for heavy armor operators and medic operators to have a chance to perform."

"I see." Lin Ye nodded, and then his phone rang. He took it out and saw that it was Kal'tsit calling. "Excuse me, I need to make a call."

He walked a little further away and answered Kal'tsit's call.

Kal'tsit cut to the chase and asked, "You saw someone, right?"

"Yes, I saw him."

“Once you’ve met them, prepare to depart. There are less than two days until the appointed time, so you’d better get there as quickly as possible,” Kal’tsit asked. “As for the choice of personnel, Magellan has already explained the reasons to you, hasn’t he?”

"Yes."

“Let me elaborate a bit more,” Kal'tsit continued. “It’s not just about the lineup. To be honest, while Ch'en and Frostleaf are quite strong, they’re definitely not the top tier on the island. But I still let them in, even waiting a couple more days for them to return. The first reason is naturally because of them. Ch'en is an Oni with excellent talent, and so is Frostleaf. Don’t let her appearance fool you; she’s been through war and is incredibly resilient. The second, and most important, reason is that they are both very stable.”

Lin Ye was taken aback: "Stable?"

“Yes, or you could say obedient, but the word ‘obedient’ has a negative connotation here. However, you should understand what I mean.” Kal’tsit said slowly, “Lin Ye, you are likely to face a predicament you have never faced before. This kind of predicament cannot be overcome simply by having enough strength. Otherwise, Skadi wouldn’t have been in trouble.”

Lin Ye nodded: "I understand."

"You still don't understand. What I'm trying to say is that once you encounter this kind of predicament, the first thing you need to break through is unity. In other words, there absolutely cannot be any unstable factors in the team. I think you should have a deep understanding of unstable factors."

Kal'tsit's words made Lin Ye nod with a wry smile.

Looking back on the past six months—the seriously ill Nightingale, the berserk Ifrit, and Lappland who fights without regard for anything else—it's truly a blessing that Lin Ye has survived this long.

“The people I’ve chosen for you this time may not be the strongest, but they are definitely the most reliable,” Kal’tsit said. “They won’t have too many ideas and will resolutely carry out every order.”

Kal'tsit's words made Lin Ye feel something was wrong: "Wait, who initiated the command?"

"What do you think?" Kal'tsit said calmly.

"Yes, it's me?!" Lin Ye was very surprised. "But I don't know anything about them, and I'm the least experienced among them, right?"

“I haven’t asked you to do too much. Magellan knows the specifics of the work; you just need to listen to her. But this is based on the premise that nothing goes wrong. If something does go wrong, and you have to face some seemingly unsolvable predicaments, then you will need a voice. And I hope that voice will be initiated by you, Lin Ye,” Kal'tsit said calmly. “As for qualifications, Lin Ye, I know what you’ve done in the past six months. I believe you are capable of this job, guiding the team out of dire situations. Of course, if you are unwilling, I can also let Magellan take command.”

"This..." Lin Ye didn't know how to respond.

"Don't you dare? I thought you were truly chosen by God."

Lin Ye smiled wryly, "Don't provoke me like that. It's not that I'm afraid, but..."

"Doubt your own abilities? To be honest, I don't really believe it either."

Lin Ye was somewhat puzzled: "Then why do you still..."

“Because I trust Skadi, even though she doesn’t really trust me,” Kal’tsit said calmly. “She’s a powerful hunter, and I believe it wasn’t meaningless for her to call out your name in her final moments before disappearing.”

Lin Ye fell silent.

After a long pause, he slowly said, "I'm willing to give it a try."

"That's good." Kal'tsit said calmly, as if she had expected this. "Then let's leave it at that."

"Ah."

Just as Lin Ye was about to hang up, Kal'tsit spoke again: "Wait."

"what happened?"

“This may sound like a joke, but I’m serious,” Kal’tsit said slowly. “You’re the only man in the group. I’m entrusting these girls to you. You have to bring them back safe and sound. Can you do that?”

Lin Ye took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

"can."

……

……

Author's note: Ah, I still wrote Magellan. Firstly, because the team really needed such a character, and secondly, Magellan is just too adorable! Although I have a feeling I'll be proven wrong later, it doesn't matter anyway, since Rhine Lab is already gone here lol. By the way, I updated 6,000 words today, so that counts as one chapter, and I still owe 36 chapters.

Chapter 312 Watch out, or I'll burn your underwear!

A day later, they successfully arrived at the seaside town called Harlan.

As soon as Lin Ye got out of the car, he sensed that something was off. It was noon, but the sky was foggy and raining. Ursus soldiers in black raincoats, carrying heavy crossbows and short swords, stood around the town. They stopped the Rhodes Island car and immediately surrounded it.

"who?"

The Ursus soldier asked in a low voice. Lin Ye noticed that the soldier's hand was on the hilt of his sword as he asked the question, as if he would draw his sword at the slightest sign of trouble. So he quickly identified himself to the soldier.

"Rhodes Island?" The soldier checked Lin Ye's identification, then glanced at the girls in the car and nodded slightly. "Understood. You can go in, but it's best to leave the car outside."

"Why?" Lin Ye asked, puzzled. "Can't we drive in?"